Thomas sold his LCD monitor and bought himself a PSP, the "fat" version. For SGD220, he got the console, Logitech plastic casing, Sony pouch, earpiece, Sony 1gb & 32mb memory stick, charger and 1 original game.

Quite a good deal. He talks about it almost everyday and with the recent PSP craze, I was abit tempted to get one too. But I was torn between the color selections.

I like the classic black, modern white, sweet pink and soothing lavender.


And of course, the latest deep red...


How to choose??? Unable to decide, I gave myself a period of time to really think hard about this. My final decision...don't buy the set. Firstly, I think this is a come and go quickly thing. Secondly, I have not even complete my PS2 games, why am I thinking about buying a PSP? Lastly, its too expensive for my current situation and I simply do not have the time. I rather read my books, ya ya, call me a nerd.

Before PSP, my interest was with the PS3. Actually it still is. The graphic of certain games is just too fascinating, e.g. Assassin's Creed, Conan, Uncharted Drakes Fortune, Ninja Gaiden Sigma... BUT there's still no mod sets available =p

Shall wait and monitor. Sigh, if only I'm rich *dreaming*

Labels: Miscellaneous

A massacre and the theft of the bones of the Three Magi during a church service roused the Vatican, Romes carabinieri and the Sigma Force to collaborate and dig out the truth behind. Grayson Pierce of the Sigma Force assembled a team of elites for this special operation. They stumbled upon clues that brought them to the Seven Wonders Of The World and crossed path with the terrifying Dragon Court, in search of a hidden secret.

In my previous review of the book "The Collectors", I mentioned that it was so Dan Brown. Now that I have read Map Of Bones, I think that James Rollins is even more comparable with Dan Brown. Both authors write books that are based on scientific, religious, technological and historical facts plus fictional plots. However, I find that Map Of Bones is abit more complicated, you have to read carefully to fully understand. Once the understanding is there, the enjoyment and excitement follows. Some parts seem abit bizzare but as the author quoted in the front page "Life is stranger than any fiction." It's up to you to judge whether these parts are absurd or not. You won't get to find out the full truth at the end, maybe its intentional for some reason however it was quite disappointing as I read and read just to get to that part but I didn't find out much.

I give Map Of Bones 7.5 upon 10.

Labels: Book Reviews

On Christmas eve night, in a small town, a boy lies in bed thinking about whether Santa Claus exist or not. Suddenly, he hears a thunderous roar and he dashes out to find a train along the pathway with a conductor asking him to come on board. He joins other children in an extraordinary journey to North Pole in search for the answer to his doubts. Not only did he find the answer, he also receives a precious gift that can only be experienced by believers.

I love X'mas and I love this movie, it brings out the mood in me. Beautiful and lifelike graphics except for the humans whose movements and expressions are not that fantastic. The Polar Express is full of magic that enchants me from the start till the end. Watch it, especially during this festive season.

I give The Polar Express 7.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Lucas Nickle is a small boy with no friends and is often bullied by a notorious gang of bigger size boys. To vent his anger, Lucas destroys the the ants' home in his garden. Zoc, the wizard ant, conjures a magic potion to shrink Lucas to the size of an ant and forces him to live like an ant. During his stay with the colony, Lucas learns many important lessons which later on, helps him to save the insects from destruction.

A relatively short film which brings across an important message, or should I say reminder, about how being united can do wonders. I like the graphical presentation, the voices and the funny characters.

I give The Ant Bully 6.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

An autistic boy, Simon Lynch breaks a code in a puzzle book and calls the number displayed in the book. But little does he knows that this is actually a test run by the NSA to see if human mind can break what they thought is an unbreakable code. When they realize what Simon has done, assassins are sent to kill the boy and his family. Luckily Simon escapes by hiding in a hidden compartment of his closet. A FBI agent, Art finds him and sent him to the hospital. From there, he finds out about the complications involved. After rescuing Simon from a second attack, Art attempts to find out the truth.

Bruce Willis, no doubt is a very good actor but that is not enough to hide the fact that this movie is totally illogical and makes no sense. Other then Bruce Willis, the actor playing the autistic boy is fantastic. His name is Miko Hughes and I think he is the best in this film.

I give Mecury Rising 5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Ethan Hunt has resigned from his job as an IMF secret agent and is about to be engaged to Julia. At this point of time, he receives an invitation to join in a mission to rescue agent Lindsey Farris from the villain, Owen Davian. He accepts the offer but unfortunately, Lindsey dies during the escape. Ethan is determine to capture Owen and bring him to justice. But this mission is more dangerous then what Ethan thought it would be. He needs to protect Julia, uncover the spy and complete his mission with the help of his team.

I have never watched part 1 and 2 before but I will do so, after watching such an exciting part 3. I held my breath throughout the 2 hours and I felt my heart dropped every time Tom Cruise did his stunts. If talking about flaws, I would say its the nothing new plot, some parts are easily predicted. I'm pretty sure that I will experience deja vu every now and then while watching part 1 & 2. BUT I will still recommend MI3 for its action and explosions.

I give Mission Impossible III 7 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Yipee!!! Having a long weekend, holiday till Wednesday.

Organised a simple pre-X'mas celebration, just hanging out at Thomas's place for the day.
In the morning we brought Belle to buy her school books. Afterwhich, we proceeded to Cold Storage to buy ingredients for dinner.

On our way to Thomas's place, Belle asked me about her father, about how he is now. I was a bit surprised as she never asked about him and I wonder why the sudden interest. But I just answered her that he is ok but busy and that his working hour is different from mine so it might be difficult to arrange for a meeting. I think its normal for her to miss him but I'm worried about how she would accept me and Thomas in the future, if one day we decided to tie the knot. I will definitely consider her feelings as the most important factor. Thomas is a great guy and he treats us very well, hopefully this will make Belle accept him more then just a friend to us.

We specially recorded Ant Bully for Belle to watch but she wasn't interested so we let her play PS2 for a while. In the afternoon, we made dinner and Belle helped with cutting carrots and other chores.


I passed her 2 presents, one from Ms Sim and the other from Alex but I didn't tell her that she would be getting another one from me. However, she wasn't disappointed with the small gifts. That's the plus point about her, contended and not spoilt.

After dinner, I gave her the present me & Thomas got. And she was sooooo happy.






Although it wasn't an interesting day but I can tell Belle enjoyed herself and I'm really glad she likes our cooking and the present from us:)

Labels: Family Affairs

Had a misunderstanding with my best friend, Derwin. I tried my best to explain to him but I know somehow, our friendship has been strained. Its really depressing and unfortunate. It's my fault but I must emphasize once again that I do not hate you and you have done nothing wrong. I love you alot as a friend and you mean a great deal to me. Whatever I have done, there are reasons behind. Its not easy for you to digest my reasons and I dare not say that my reasons are correct but I just hope that you will forgive and understand me one day. Don't know what else to say, I'm pretty depress and I wouldn't have felt this way if I don't care. I pray that nothing has been changed and that time will heal everything.

Once again, I'm very very very sorry.

Labels: Friends Affairs

For the past few months, I had been going through hell. With my boss's unexplained attitude change, I am practically suffering at work. But I'm glad to have a few colleagues whom help me survive this ordeal. Whenever we are unhappy, we just turn to each other for support. And of course, Thomas plays the most important role by providing me with ample love, care and concern.

Received a Christmas gift from Ms. Sim yesterday. I only mentioned to her once that I liked her keychain and she really bought it for me. It's nothing expensive but its the thought that counts. Thanks Ms. Sim and I love the present alot.

Mine


Belle's


Lydia's


And this morning, when I stepped into office, I saw a packet on my desk. Its breakfast bought by Uncle Lam for us. Nice and warm breakfast, what more could I asked for...


So tell me, I am actually quite fortunate, right?

Labels: Friends Affairs, Work Affairs

The passengers and crew on board a gigantic cruise ship - Poseidon, are celebrating countdown to New Year when disaster struck. Hit by a huge wave, Poseidon capsized and was on the verge of sinking. One of the passenger, Dylan Johns disobeyed the captain's order to stay and wait for the rescue team. He teamed up with a few other passengers, together they seek their way out by utilizing their skills and knowledge.

This movie is a mixture of Armageddon and Titanic with more action and lesser emotions involved. Great graphics, exciting but lacking in the story. You get very involved in the race with time but that's it. You won't care much about the characters or what happened to them later on. A common phenomenon in Hollywood blockbusters. They spend millions of dollars to make the movie just to create the spectacular scenes but pay little attention to the story, convincing acting, character build up, the flow or even the ending of the film. Despite my negative thoughts about Poseidon, I wasn't bored with the film. In fact, I was quite engrossed and for a few times, I felt my heart in my throat. But it doesn't leave a deep impression in my mind afterwards, that's the major flaw.

I give Poseidon 6.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Took this quiz at Golden Compass official website. I must say its astonishing. For those who know me, you will know why I say so (hint: look at the picture).

Anyway, I still have NOT watch Golden Compass. Dear, when???

Labels: Miscellaneous

Monday blues again...Didn't sleep well yesterday, dreamt of my monstrous boss.


On my way to work, I got scolded by an old lady. She was behind me on the bus and while getting off, she stepped on my sandal so I lifted my foot away. When I placed my foot back to the ground, I accidentally stepped on her. She screamed at the top of her voice, cursing and swearing at me. I apologized but she continued with her shit. I mean, I didn't do it purposely, I apologized and I didn't stepped that hard, why must she scold me that way??

Really spoilt my day, tough luck.

Thought that office will be alot quieter without my boss around. Well, it was more peaceful but not by alot. Received calls, messages and emails from him still. But again, I should be thankful that at least, I didn't have to see his sickening face.

I was terribly moody until afternoon, I checked my email and I saw an incoming mail from my sis. She sent me a few recent photos of her, Ben and Melissa:)

Melissa's 5 Yr Old BD


The chocolate cake looks soooo goood...


The BD girls




Pre-X'mas Celebration


X'mas advice from Santa


Actually I kinda like her skirt


Face painting


Angels...



You know what, I miss them so much...

Labels: Family Affairs, Work Affairs

The director of the Library Of Congress's rare book division - Johnathan Dehaven, was found dead. The police ruled it as natural death but Oliver Stone of The Camel Club smell something fishy and was determined to find out the truth together with the other members of the club.
After some investigation, they came to realize that the recent assassination of the U.S. Speaker of the House was linked to Johnathan's death.
With the help of Annabelle Conroy, a con artist and ex-wife of Johnathan, they solved a shocking mystery that would shake the whole nation.

The book started slow paced and uninteresting but with the flip of the pages, you get hooked and you race along with The Camel Club in search of the murderer. Contravasey, mystrey & suspense...its just so Dan Brown but maybe not as good but fair enough to hasten me to complete the 436 pages in less then a week. If you are into Dan Brown, you may want to check The Collectors out however do not expect a plot as good as Dan Brown's.

I give The Collectors 6.5 upon 10.

Labels: Book Reviews

Woke up early yesterday to tidy up my room and in the afternoon, went out with Thomas and Alex. We headed to Orchard Road, and it was damn crowded! I should have anticipated it as it was a Saturday, lots of year end sale and many people out for christmas shopping. A guy scared us on our way up the escalator but I supposed it wasn't intentional and the next thing that came out from Thomas's mouth was vulgarity and I was pissed. I never like him to scold others, especially with vulgar language. And he was angry with me for quarelling with him over others. But it wasn't for others, it was for his own good. Maybe it was the crowd that sparked up my temper and maybe it was my fault. There's something about our characters that always stir up a quarrel or arguement every single day.

Anyway, the first stop we went to was Gucci. Thomas kept asking me to pamper myself and buy something but I didn't feel like it. I guess he wasn't happy but I really didn't want anything. Then we proceeded to LV. Again, nothing bought. Strolled around for a while, then we left Taka and went to Heeren, John Little, Centrepoint and Cathay.

Unable to manage our hunger and weariness anymore, we finally settled at Mr. Bean's Cafe for a meal. Thomas and I ordered 2 seafood soup and a piece of Chocolate Truffle Cake to share. Alex ordered brownies with ice cream topping. Our deserts were served first, we finished the cakes and waited...and waited...and waited...but the soup didn't arrive. We need to check with the waiter for 3 times before the soups were served. Alex was so angry, he practically shouted at the waiter. To tell the truth, I cannot be as daring as him. The most I will do is to bitch the waiter abit. When we recieved our bill, Alex told the waiter that we would not be paying for the service charge. The cashier was clearly unhappy but the service charge was offsetted. And I was like sooooo embarrassed. HaHa, but good for Alex, helped us save $2 plus.

I thought we were going home but I WAS WRONG. The 2 guys wanted to play pool so we went to Parklane but Alex thought that the billard salon there was a bit cheapo so we went around searching for others that were "up to his standard". However, all of them were booked so we had no choice but to go back to Parklane. I can't play so I sat around reading my book. I was so tired, bored and Alex actually bitched me, saying that I blocked his way *&!@>#*!!! Thank goodness the session lasted for less then an hour. Walked back to Somerset to catch the night rider. By the time I reached home, bathed, lazed around and slept, it was already 4am.

Phew...what a day...

Labels: Outings

Marion Crane stole $400,000 from her company's client and ran away with the money. Along the journey, she was caught in a heavy rainstorm so she stopped at Bates Motel for the night. Upon the disappearance of Marion, her sister (Lila), together with a private detective and Marion's boyfriend investigated the Motel. What they didn't expect was the deadly secret of the Motel's owner - Norman Bates.

The plot was actually quite good but the film makers did a bad job in bringing it to the screen. There wasn't any fear factor and at some point, I thought that I was watching a comedy. The acting was really bad and the "scary" scenes make you laugh and shake your head in disapproval. This was actually a remake and I would love to watch the original because I heard that it was very good.

I give Psycho (1998) 3.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Spencer Armacoust & Alex Streck are fellow astronauts sent to space to repair a satellite. During their mission, they lost contact with the headquarters for 2 minutes but managed to return safely. However, strange things start to happen. Alex died and his wife committed suicide. Spencer seems to change to a different person and his wife Jillian is determine to find out why.

The initial part of the movie was quite good, building suspense and fear. I felt really helpless for Jillian while she was escaping from Spencer. But towards the end, the excitement started to wear off until the final part, my jaws nearly dropped. The ending was quite bad that I find it hard to accept. Johnny Depp wasn't really up to my expectation, maybe he is better off with his usual eccentric roles. But he looks exceptionally good looking in this film with his clean shaven face. I would recommend this movie only to Johnny Depp lovers and Sci-Fi lovers (provided you don't mind the cheesy ending).

I give The Astronaut's Wife 5.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

After Vianne Rocher and her daughter moved into a small town and opened a chocolate shop, they faced nonacceptance from the locals, especially from the mayor who was determined to banish her from the town. But Vianne slowly win them over by helping the people around her and treating everyone with love and sincerity. With the help of Vianne, the townspeople even changed their attitudes towards a group of river drifters. Among the group is Roux, who was to become Vianne's love.

This movie is not my cup of tea, too boring. But I must compliment Juliette Binoche for her outstanding performance. I watched this movie because of Johnny Depp but to my despair, there are very few appearances of him although I love the scene of him playing guitar. But that is not the reason for my poor opinion of the film. The film showcases several realistic society problems but the flow of the story is just too simple and dull.

I give Chocolat 5.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews