This is the first movie I'm going to fail in my blog so far. Watched it on HBO yesterday and it was a waste of time.

After the death of her grandmother, Karin inherited her house. Together with her boyfriend Jeff, she went back to clean up the place. During her stay there, Karin constantly had nightmares. To make things worse, the housekeeper Pierce appeared to be psychotic. When Jeff left the town for his work, Karin's sister Wendy came to join Karin. What followed was a series of horrible visions and encounters, which in actual fact was Karin's hallucination.

The producers did not fully make use of the good storyline. They tried to frighten the audiences by incorporating lots of cheap scare effects. Too much concentration on creating suspense, little on telling the story, which results in a boring movie. And the script was lousy.
I give Ring Around the Rosie (Fear Itself: Dark Memories) 3.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

My day started with a painful stomach. Feels like menses cramp but the date seems to be a little early. On the train, the pain was so bad that I broke out in cold sweat.

When I reached TB, I walked up the escalator and there was this woman walking slowly infront and finally came to a stop. So I wanted to overtake her, end up I fell down! Face down and lying on my stomach. It was very painful but I need to quickly drag myself up. Good thing I was wearing jeans or else I might be injured badly.

What a way to start the day...

Labels: Miscellaneous

The second book of Inheritance Trilogy, Eldest narrates the story after Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, saved the Varden from destruction.

This book started with the death of Ajihad and the disappearance of Murtagh & The Twins. After Ajihad's funeral, Eragon & Saphira had to travel all the way to Ellesméra to receive their training from the elves.

On the other hand, his cousin, Roran, went back to Carvahall upon hearing the news of his father's death. Galbatorix sent his soldiers and the Ra'zac to capture Roran so as to locate Eragon. Carvahall was plunged into a total chaos and Roran's fiance, Katrina was caught by the Ra'zac. In order to save the villagers, Roran led them out of Carvahall to seek refuge in Surda.

Back to Eragon's training, he went through hardships and pain until the Blood Oath Celebration, whereby Eragon was healed of his wound and acquired elvish qualities that enhanced his strength and agility. When Eragon realized that the Varden and Surda were going to war with Galbatorix's army, he quickly travelled back to assist them.

Halfway through the battle, Eragon reunited with Roran, whom helped in fighting. Before the book ends, Eragon found out that Murtagh betrayed him by becoming the new rider serving Galbatorix. The most shocking news, however, was the truth about his identity - Eragon was the youngest son of Morzan, meaning he and Murtagh were brothers.

In the end, Galbatorix's army was forced to retreat. The Varden and Surda won and Eragon's next mission was to rescue Katrina.

I prefered Eragon to Eldest. Book 2 is very draggy. More then three quarter of the 700 pages talks about Eragon's training. The exciting part occupied only the last quarter. But with the twist towards the ending, at least I see some hope in a better finale, which is to be published in 2008.
I give Eldest 6.8 upon 10.

Labels: Book Reviews

Humans are weird. Look at the Hello Kitty craze followed by Crocs craze and now...I am not a plastic bag craze.

Singaporeans throughout the island took leave and gave up the comfort at home to queue up outside MacDonald day and night, just to get this:

The prices of these mouthless dolls rocketed up to hundreds of dollars at auctions. But there are people whom are willing to pay the sky high price. The hundreds of dollars spent and effort wasted resulted in dust coated dolls lying in cupboards, useless and forgotten.

At least the Hello Kitty dolls were quite adorable. But the next that I am going to introduced is ugly, unglamorous and dangerous:

Why would anyone pay so much for rubber, holes filled and ugly looking shoes unless you want to look like Ronald MacDonald? But apparently, many people are willing to. Even if the slippers are free, I wouldn't want to wear them at all. Ok, everyone perceives beauty differently so I shouldn't be so bias but crocs have been reported to be dangerous. Ya, its true that parents should look after their children properly when using the escalator but seems like many of these escalator accidents involve children wearing crocs so I can only say that the rubber sandals are contributing factor.

Last but not least, the latest trend:

I do agree that the bag is not bad looking but to queue up overnight and to fight over it is just too crazy. Again, this bag's price has been increased significantly on online auctions. And this craze is not just limited to Singapore or Asia, its all over the world.

Seriously, I don't understand human minds. Spending more money on a merchandise then it should be, wasting their time queueing up throughout the night, getting into quarrels or even fights just for a fad, that comes and goes quickly.

Labels: Miscellaneous

Went to Mum's place at 10am to pick Belle up, then together with Thomas, we went to Parkway Parade for some shopping.

Spotted this costume and we got Belle to try it on. Initially she was abit reluctant cos she was scared of the skull.


A gift from me:


Then we walked from Parkway Parade to East Coast to meet my sister. Belle won herself some Macdonald vouchers so she treated Melissa to a meal.


Free toys that came along with the Happy Meal:


And for myself, sis got me a Latte from the MacCafe.


Sis brought some cakes made by Ben's relative, moist and rich, very nice!


Belle's signature pose:


We love the sun, the sea and the sandy beach:)




Having a good time...


Melissa developed a habit of making ugly face when taking photo, see what I mean:


Who can throw the furthest?


And of coz, building sand castle...although not very successful


Then we rented bicycles for the kids.




Back to innocence...


Thomas teaching Belle how to ride a 2-wheel:


Melissa's turn:


Towards the evening, we were overwhelmed by the aroma from the nearby BBQ pit. My sis jokingly told the kids to ask for food. AND THEY DID! HaHa, the guy told them that the food wasn't ready yet so I thought he would just forget about it but I was wrong. He brought them some sausages, see the kids enjoying their free food...


One more photo before going off.


We went back to Parkway Parade as Sis wanted to buy Melissa the same pair of sandals I got for my kid. Then we had our dinner at the food court.


Tired? Don't be fooled, she was just pretending.


While queuing up for a taxi, look at what the kids are doing to kill time:

Waiting for the cab is frustrating. The queue was long and there were very little taxis. Most of the taxis were on call. Finally we gave up and made a booking. But our frustration didn't end there. Upon booking confirmation, I got a message within seconds that the cab had arrived. I looked around and saw one cab waiting but that cab had been waiting there long before I made the booking and the car plate number allocated was different so I thought that it couldn't be that one. Then we continued to wait for 10 minutes, finally the cab driver called me and said he had arrived long time ago, & I realize that it was the first cab I saw. We got on and the driver complained why we took so long so I explained to him. What angered me was that he said that we were not alert enough! Then I told him that he cannot blame us cos it was clearly not our fault. Thomas was irritated by the driver also cos he talked about this throughout the 15 minutes journey. Some people just have problem analyzing situations.

It was a super tiring day, we developed aches and sores everywhere. The moment I reached home and bathed, I fell asleep immediately. But nevertheless, it was a fulfilling day and I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves very much.

Labels: Outings

I watched Sleepy Hollow many years ago and I thought that it was very good. Now that I watch it again with Thomas, I think lesser of it.

Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) was sent to New York to investigate a series of murder. The victims' heads were all missing, apparently taken by the headless horseman. Legend says that the horseman was brutally killed and his head was being chopped off with his own sword so it was suspected that the ghost might be back for revenge. Towards the end of the story, there is a twist in the plot to reveal the mastermind behind.

The visual effects of this film is great, Johnny Depp is brilliant (as usual). The storyline...all right. But I thought that the horseman is a joker. Although there were some gory scenes but this movie is far from being scary.

I give Sleepy Hollow 7.3 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Watched V For Vendetta on Cable TV HBO channel last week but I only managed to catch half of the show. The way this film is shot attracted me so I decided to watch it again in another time slot.

Set in the future Britain, the movie started by telling how the fascist government has taken control over Britain. A man whom constantly wears a mask to cover his burned skin, known as V, is determined to do anything in order to set the citizens free. He rescued a lady, Evey, from the secret police and she became his ally in his terrorist plan to bring justice and freedom to the corrupted society.

This movie is good. I love the way the film is shot and how some current affairs are being discussed about. But what I'm concern about is that if anyone will apply some of the issues mentioned in the film to their own thoughts in the wrong way. All I can say is, watch the movie and enjoy it as a fictional piece of work. In reality, it is hard to discuss about the balance of power. Some scenes can be quite disturbing but necessary.

I give V For Vendetta 8.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Few weeks ago, Sim told me that our every move is monitored by a video camera. I was shocked. I always thought that the camera only capture shots at the entrance and showroom to prevent theft and crimes.

So now, we have become suspects as well hur.

Today, I saw the computer that is linked to the video camera and this is one of the imageI saw:

I only add one image here as Dear told me that I may get into trouble as this involves security issue.

Now, I can't even adjust my undies or pick my nose, everything will be caught on video! What exactly is the reason behind this? The most affected person is CCD, his desk is the nearest to the camera.

Sim is very disturbed. Although we have nothing to hide but to be spied on makes us feel uneasy. Unless we are dealing with cash or valuables directly, I don't see the need for our boss to do this. What do you think?

Labels: Work Affairs

This morning, HSS (a new nick for ULS, haha, credits to Dear) called office to check. This was our conversation...

HSS: I'll be in abit later, have an appointment. Anyway, is everyone in office already?

Me: No.

HSS: Who isn't in?

Me: Daryl lor.

HSS: *laugh* He's always late hor and still dare to complain you last time.

Me: He complain me??!?!!! Well, he's getting from bad to worse lately and he still dare complain??

HSS: Don't worry, I have strongly recommend a pay raise for you. Blah blah blah *bleah*

I'm disgusted. I've always known that Daryl is a hypocrite but to think that he is that bad.
He is always late, we start work at 8:30 but he usually arrive after 9am. Few days ago, he actually reached at 10:30 and went out for lunch less then an hour later (boss wasn't around, that's why). And he dare to complain about me! Infront of me, he acts like a gentleman, what a disgusting idiot. Lazy fat ass! Last week he went with uncle to site to fix up some lights. Nobody asked him to go but he offered to. In the end, he went there, dropped uncle off, lazed around abit then went off. The worst part is HE DIDN'T COME BACK TO OFFICE. Apart from all these, he always preaches like he is some kind of saint. His crazy philosophy...even if you sin a great deal, before you die, just say that you accept Christ and a room is automatically reserved for you in heaven. CRAP! You have to mean what you say and truly accept Christ, not just say for the sake of saying.

HSS isn't any better. He's the boss and he shouldn't have create such a dispute by telling me tales. Pay raise?? I wonder how much he is giving. 50? 100? Even 300 cannot compensate the damages I suffered mentally. Before Linda joined us, HSS treated Daryl like his next of kin, but now...he treats him like shit. Just now, I heard HSS reprimanding Daryl (though I'm not sure if heard wrongly cos HSS was talking in his room but his door was open and he was quite loud). He asked Daryl if he had read his email and Daryl said that he is in the midst of reading. Then HSS said: "What have you been doing? Seems like you have not been working since last week!" Looking back, just 2 months ago, HSS always asked Daryl out for tea and confided in him. Now that Daryl is of lesser value, HSS just kicked him aside. Despite being a manager, Daryl was assigned the seat that is at the entrance, making him look like the receptionist. But then, Daryl deserves it, he should know that bootlicking alone won't help him in his career. However, I think he has not learn his lesson cos the bootlicking doesn't stop, instead it became worse.

Here I am, working so hard but getting peanuts. But they, so slack and getting more then me. Both of them bought new cars lately, HSS got himself a 3 litre! I know, this is the way of life, unfair. But as I say, what they are doing won't help them forever in life.

I can go on endlessly about these 2 animals but I better not as I might have to type non-stop for 3 days 3 nights. In actual fact, I am not really angry with Daryl or HSS, there are just nobody to me. As I said earlier on, I simply felt disgusted. Why do they have to appear in my entries so many time??!!! ARRRGGGHHHH, DON'T LIKEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labels: Work Affairs

The reason...my wonderful bf whom always buy me nice food and whip up delicious dishes for me.

His new project today: Braised Oyster Sauce Chicken Wings.
He was inspired by me as I had cravings for the braised chicken wings sold at NTUC.

Marinating


Sent to the wok


Finished!!!


Tasted abit too salty but very fragrant. Not bad for a first attempt and I'm sure Thomas will continue to improve. Thanks dear:)

Oh, and btw, I welcome a new pinky member to my collection of Ipod Shuffles ><

Labels: Food Affairs

It's a rare occasion.

My sis, her husband and daughter have been staying in UK for many years and come back once in a while to visit. This time she is back with Melissa for 2 weeks.

For the past 10 years or so, my brother worked in several countries - KL, Hong Kong, China... and finally back to Singapore this year.

Yesterday, we had a gathering at our parents' place. Pap & Mum were delighted. The kids had a great time, me & my siblings had a good chat, it was exceptionally jovial.

For dinner, we went to a nearby coffeeshop for Teow Chew Muay. Recommended by Pap and the meal was delicious. According to Pap, since the opening of this stall, 2 other stalls selling Teow Chew Muay ceased operation because their customers were snatched over.

Here are some shots of the night:

Me & Melissa (we had to force her to smile for this pic)


Loving cousins




This is gift from Melissa to Belle. It works this way...open the cap and pour in M&M chocolates, close the cap and pull down the wand, a chocolate will appear on the book. The bottom yellow portion is for you to keep packets of chocolates. Quite cute.


Belle gave Melissa a present as well - this pretty looking musical cum jewellery box


The children playing. The lady in blue is my brother's gf.


Belle teaching Melissa how to read in Chinese


Story teller


This was after we came back from dinner and the kids had bathed themselves. The clothes Melissa was wearing used to be Belle's but she had outgrown them.


Building a garden


Me with the cheerful kids


Monsters Inc


Melissa & Ah Ma


The happiest & most contended Ah Gong


A gift from brother's gf


Despite my mum's usual constant nagging and the kids' nosiness, I enjoyed myself.

Labels: Family Affairs

All the while, I wasn't very satisfied with my blog appearance. Tried using the templates in blogskins.com but kept getting an error message. Only till yesterday did I realize the reason is because I am using blogger beta. The only way to solve this is to either use new templates designed for the beta version or to revert back to classic template but you will lose the possibility of using new features. Spotted a classic template at pannasmontatatemplates.net which I quite like so I used that and had to spend some time editing the code so as to customize according to my preferences.

And here it is...a total makeover. For a finishing touch, I changed the URL to carry my initials:)

Labels: Miscellaneous

Brought Thomas to Killiney Road for the famous Chee Cheong Fun. I had been patronizing this stall since I stayed at Somerset few years ago. Totally in love with it and is anxious to find out if they managed to maintain their standard after all these years. Ordered XO Durian Chee Cheong Fun, Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun, Prawn Chee Cheong Fun & a bowl of porridge.

To my delight, everything taste the same. The chee cheong fun is very smooth and they are not stingy with the fillings. My favourite is still the XO Durian Chee Cheong Fun.

For those whom have never eaten this might find the combination weird but I can assure you that its a wonderful dish, try it and I'm sure you will like it unless you hate durian.

Labels: Food Affairs

In the mood of having a feast, Thomas & I decided to have our dinner at Geylang. We took the train to Kallang & walked to Lorong 9. Along the way, we noticed that the whole stretch of restaurants were serving steamboat buffet and almost all were fully packed.

Our first stop is at Yong He, a famous shop selling soya bean milk and you tiao.


Here's what we ordered:


The You Tiao was very crispy and the soya beancurd was smooth.


The carrot cake was not bad. I didn't favour the Xiao Long Bao though, too dry and the meat wasn't really tasty. Introduced Thomas to the Or Ar Mee Sua and he liked it.




Oh, and I would like to comment on one of the waiter. His attitude was VERY BAD. When we ordered the soya beancurd, he asked if we wanted peanuts. Maybe I'm outdated, I didn't know what he was referring to so I asked what he meant. Giving us a look like we owed him millions, he said: "Peanuts! You want peanuts or not?!?!" We still didn't understand so Thomas asked if the peanuts are sprinkled on or what. And the stupid fella replied with a sigh: "Peanuts! You want peanuts on the beancurd or not?!!" Irritated by his attitude, we said no. I mean...normally the soya beancurd we eat elsewhere doesn't come with any peanuts or shit. So if we don't understand, can't you just explain it nicely once and for all instead of wasting time showing us your attitude but not getting the message across? Peanuts come in several forms... crushed, not crushed, roasted, not roasted, and the pricing, is there a price difference? All these affects our decision so what's wrong with asking what he meant. Tried to take a photo of him but all I got was this blur image:

Short spiky hair, small eyes, skinny, tattooed arms...Watch out for this guy, don't let him ruin your dining experience.

Back to the food, for my opinion, I still feel that only their You Tiao & soya beancurd/milk is the best.

Still not full, we continued our search for a shop selling fermented beancurd at Lorong 41. As this trip was meant to be an outing, we dropped all form of transport and walked all the way there. It was an eye opener. You get to see many old men in groups, either at the coffeeshop or along the pathway, waiting for women to approach them. Just in case you don't know...Geylang is a red light district and is one of Singapore's most popular nightspot. I didn't take any photos because I was so tensed, cling onto Thomas throughout the whole journey. The crowd was so rowdy and I didn't want to be mistaken as a pros. Even if you don't look like one, I still recommend that ladies do not stroll along Geylang. For food, just stick to Lorong 9, nothing further.

Finally after walking for what seemed like ages, we found the shop. Ordered the fermented beancurd, raw fish slices and fried intestines.





Don't get fooled by Thomas, the beancurd wasn't that smelly and it wasn't that special either. The fish slices were normal. The fried intestines was quite nice but its kinda eeeee eating such things. To summarise, I wouldn't recommend this stall to anyone.

Took a bus back to Lorong 9 and bought my favourite Fried Oyster Omelette for supper.


Other famous food at Lorong 9 are the Beef Kuay Teow, Frog Leg Porridge and not forgetting the fruits galore.

Labels: Food Affairs

Panicked during the last 2 hours of work as I had some urgent issues that had to be resolved ASAP and I cannot afford to work OT because I need to attend my good friend's wedding today. Thankfully, I managed to knock off on time. Rushed home to get ready but in the end, I'm still abit late.

When I reached, solemnization just started.






Our session of cam-whoring...
Me & Thomas




Vivi & Juliani (Vivi transformed alot, for the better of coz)


Me & Zabor!!


The ladies


Bride (see her tattoo?)


Bride & Groom


We left at around 10 plus. Upon reaching home, saw the white doggie downstairs. She's not a pretty dog but I like her alot. For a stray dog, she's actually very good natured.

Thomas had a hard time taking a proper photo of me and the doggie.

1st attempt, the dog moved her head...failed


2nd attempt, the dog moved her head again and my position...failed terribly


3rd attempt, image is blur but almost there


Finally, succeded


I had better luck taking photo for Thomas and her. I think the main reason is because she prefers him and is more cooperative.




Tiring day but happy for Zabor:)

Labels: Friends Affairs

Surf's Up is about a young penguin's persistence in pursuing his dream. Despite negative comments from his family, Cody participated in the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship. And he was supposed to learn as much as he could from Big Z in merely 3 days so that he could beat Tank Evans, the 9 times champion. In the end, he gave up his chance of winning to save his friend, Chicken Joe but nevertheless, Cody earned respect and honour from everyone, including his family.

Surf's Up story is simple but it teaches us one thing, never to give up our dream despite the countless obstacles we meet.

The movie's animation was terrific and the characters were lovable. The humour of this film makes you laugh non-stop.

A good cartoon for the whole family. I give Surf's Up 7 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

A beautiful story about 2 lonely people communicating with each other by putting their letters in the letter box outside a lake house. The miraculous part is that one of them, Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock) is from 2006. And the other, Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) is from 2004. The letter box serves as a communication channel from the past to the future and vice verse.

As they slowly fall in love with each other, they arrange for a meeting but it wasn't successful...Alex did not turn up. So Kate decided to give up and told Alex not to write to her anymore and that they should stop their relationship. Little did she knew that the reason why Alex did not turn up wass because of a fatal accident he met later on. And when she did found out, Kate tried to stop this tragedy from happening.

Did she succeed and did they manage to be together?? Find out yourself by watching this fabulous movie.

The Lake House is one of the few romantic movies I like alot. The summary I wrote might leave you thinking that this movie is absurd and uninteresting but please, watch it and I guarantee that you will love it like I do. The chemistry between the lead actors was great and needless to say, their acting too. The story was beautiful, touching and meaningful. It leaves you thinking even after a long time.

I give The Lake House 8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews