CNY 2

Another day of pai nian-ing.

We woke up super late today. Best thing is no tranport and our first stop is my 2nd uncle house at...CCK!!... all the way from my Tampines. 27 stations by the way.

I had hoped we took the bus since there is a straight one from our interchange. We could surely get seats and we could just sleep throughout the trip. But my family feels otherwise and went with the train.


West side is so ulu

We finally reached our stop and had to peel my butt from the seats.




Actually I love the west side. I always toy with the idea of finding a house there. It is like domestic immigration to me. Totally new places, totally new people. And west area has much more natural sceneries to relax in.


The journey took a toll on my missus

We were making up for time and didn't stay for long before moving to my Big Auntie house at Woodlands. Day 2 is always about covering the perimeter of Singapore.

I saw this super funny declaration there. It is signed by Timothy, my Big Auntie's grandson:


wahaha. A contract leh. I wonder if the dad would sue if this is breached

We stayed there for 3 years hours listening to non-stop 80s music. I think that got a bit of brain washing effect as I actually started to like the music towards the end.

Moving on, we proceeded to River HongBao. Yeah. Crowded places, my fave.

I believe a lot of people didn't realise this year's one was moved to Padang. All along it had been held opposite Marina Square. Because of that, there was this unncessary jam created.

We thought that the whole thing was finished and I was hoping we could just go straight home but we passed by Padang before the highway.

It wasn't as bad as I thought. I guess my threhold for crowd endurance had gone up with age.


Look like not many people by the side because:


...all queuing for toilets


People....


More people....


... and Hong Bao Na Lai if you wanna drink sucky brand can drinks

The Chai Shen(God of Fortune) is getting bigger and taller. I can barely see it's head. Next time can only take pictures with his lucky toes.




My wife's head is bigger than chai shen. haha

We also saw Ming Yi Venerables from the Ren Ci Hospital. He touched my niece wor! I quickly carry her to spread some bless to myself:



And finally the highlight of the whole thing, the fireworks! We were just in time for the 9.30pm.

CNY day 1

image_00049
Originally uploaded by @drian.

One thing I always like about CNY is how deserted the road and public transport would be since most people would be spending most of their time in other people's house.

Was I wrong man. The road was jammed, the train was packed. Super misled by this view I saw when I stepped out of my house.

We left my place close to noon and went to Ang Mo Kio to my in-laws mother's place.










Our CNY outfits

I'm glad my future bro-in-law managed to borrow a vehicle. It is really so convenient lor.

Very standard, my chu yi will always end up at my cousin place. I always look forward to it. There is air-con, the food is much better(I have no idea what leaves or roots my wife's relatives cooked) and those people are the ones I grew up with.

His place is really cool too:

Because it has a movie theater setup. That's a projector screen there. His house was selected by some magazine before I think. To do a review of his entertainment system.


A PCs room(It looks like a monitoring room to me). You are looking at 3 laptops and two PC below. The LCD TV on the left is really big. A 26" Amoi brand bought at BIG BY SAFE. Now I'm really tempted to get one myself.



A larger than my niece R2D2. And also a robotic vacumn cleaner that I didn't take a picture of. There are a lot more Starwars around the place.



Of course tonnes of gaming console. Annie and Wen Wen totally absorbed into Mario Partyworld 4. Playing Gamecube on a projector screen is really a different kind of experience.

Maybe I can try to emulate. I'll start off small, will get a wireless controller for my xbox first.

Little India

Hmm.. what am I doing at Little India on CNY eve?


It sure is deserted, isn't it.



Just the best time for......

THREADING!!!


My virgin attempt and damn does it hurts!



It looks like she is sewing up my eyelids.

Torturous but the end result seems ok. I look "fiercer" hor. Now I just need a darker tan.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Young Singaporeans need to have dreams

A very thought provoking piece I picked from the ST Forum. Maybe especially so for me since I'd been through this phrase earlier in life.

Although my parent wasn't as critical, other people around me were. I had tonnes of cold water poured onto me.

"Zhui Ming Xing Meng". Now you know where I got my blog's name from.

Young Singaporeans need to have dreams

I NEVER used to have a goal in life. When people asked me what I was going to be when I grew up, I would think about it and choose the simplest answer I could think of: a teacher.

Now that I am in my teens, I dream of using my voice to make a heart ache. I ended up taking singing lessons, dancing lessons, performing lessons, etc. I never used to dare to do things. I was not sure of myself.

But because of music, I have found my haven. Now I sing without fear, without worry that people would laugh at my lousy techniques.

Then came the day my singing teacher asked us to join Singapore Idol. When I told my parents about it, my dad looked at me closely and told me that I would never go far. He listed the criteria for being a star: a voice like Whitney Houston's, a hot body and a stunning face.

He told me not to chase after fluff-filled dreams, and predicted that I would never be able to make it.

And this is not the first time such advice had been dished out. My close friends learning singing with me encountered worse comments. We had parents asking us not to zhui ming xing meng (chase after the dream of being a star), saying that the world is filled with so many other better singers than us.

Some parents even went as far as forbidding the children to continue their singing lessons, just like how bans are imposed on every single thing that has the potential to harm. Parents are naturally protective of their children, and do not want them to be exposed to the raw side of life.

Obviously everything is done out of love and concern for us. My mother once told me that no matter what age I was, I would always be her baby. I agreed that I would always be her baby, but her baby did not belong solely to her.

Everyone is their own person, in pursuit of their own goals. Living life without a dream is to live an unhappy life. I came alive because I found acceptance among people who felt the same way I did about music, instead of a home where music was not even allowed to be played.

For a country where citizens complain so much about the lack of artistic development, it is ironic that when we finally start to take a baby step towards discovering our potential, we are told to stop dabbling in this 'dangerous wild-goose chase'.

If we live a life without taking risks, how can we ever hope to step out of our self-imposed boundaries? No matter what dreams you or the people close to you are chasing, I am sure everyone feels the same. You would not want someone to tie your wings before you could flap them.

Parents should give their children a chance to fly, because only dreams can give people courage to go beyond themselves.

Alva Huang Yanting (Miss)

You don't have to go to car shows to see these

Spotted @ Safra Mount Faber car park

If you think Picanto is cramp, wait til you see one of these

Down with cough...

After a week of torturous coughing, i finally relented and went to see my GP.

It took me one week as my chinese medicine keeps giving me false impression that I'm recovering. Worse is my cough always seemed to be gone in the morning to only come back in full force by night time. I didn't know cough also comes with timing.

I sure had a good nap this afternoon (4 hrs) that I'm having a headache now. Had wanted to go to Chinatown to take a few pictures. Guess that would have to be pushed to the last day this Friday.

Unfortunately my phone take lousy pics at night so I should be bringing along my camera. So tourist. But I realised that my pictures folder is pretty outdated. With my last vacation in July 05, I didn't really get much chance to use my camera since.

Shall bombard my blog with more pics real soon. Like the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

No wonder my blog so no traffic.

His father's carpark

Spotted below my block

Tampines Avenue 6

One step one step closer to owning my dream home although still a long way ahead... and I have not paid for anything yet... and it has not been built yet... er.. and no blueprint either.

BUT, it is nice to know that a developer has been awarded and things should pick up from here.

I'm talking about the new HDBs that will be built in Tampines. Having lived here for ages, I really hope that I could start my family here as well. I mean there are shopping centres, swimming pool, parks, stadium and it's so near to the airport. There are also many wonderful memories that was created here too

Based on my understanding, the flats should look like condo but no condo amenities. So it should be cheaper and I guess the developer won't take their own sweet time to get it up from the ground. Time is money for them after all.

A sample of what could be expected:

(Fwah! Very glassy hor. How to hang shelves. Drill one hole, the whole "wall" gone.)

This is their latest project. If this is a gauge of what's to come, I'll surely be a happy Tampeenee resident.

I wasn't that enthusiastic at first but I went to my coll's house over the weekend and it sort of dawn onto me I should priortize in getting my own roof. Her place's at queenstown.





















This is the view from her window. See the white squarish thing in the middle? That's a statue ok! And check out the grass covered walkway. Cool heh.

My personal water fountain

Pretty cool ya? I got this on monday. Someone was selling this door-to-door and I find it quite interesting. It runs on 2 AA battery. You just pour water and on it.

The sound of water trickling down is supposed to induce a calming effect but it seems to induce my frequency of going to the toilet instead.

But that shouldn't be a long term problem... 'coz I think it's breaking down soon. :( *suay*


On another note, I was standing in for my coll today and attended to a weirdo candidate. In the recruitment line, you will come to face with plenty of weirdos.

There are:

1. The Stinko (I think they came from the gym)
2. The Stalker (Call and call and call)
3. The Nagger (Talk and talk and talk)
4. The Close Talker (You would think he is trying to kiss you)
5. The Smart Alec (Teaching the pro how to do his work)
6. The YOHAL(You-owe-him-a-living)
7. The Contradictor(They don't even know what they are talking about)

Today I got to witness another species. The Plain Psycho. It didn't help that he not only behave like one but look the part too.

I thought he was a stinko at first but he was a hybrid. I passed him the application form to fill and he was asking me if my colleague is out for lunch.

"Yes, she is. You need to see her?"

"No" (stare at me for 5 sec)

(Then you ask for what?)"Ok, can I have your IC please. I need to make a copy"

He rummaged through his wallet and he just stared in my eyes for about 10 sec(Yucks)

When I was about to elaborate on the apppointment for him(Damn! he stinks!), he just grab the document and proceeded to read it himself. I was gasping for clean air and prayed for him to read fast.

In what seemed like years, it finally ended and I was doing all kind of gesture to show that the meet up is OVER. He don't seem to get hints easily

I had no idea why our customer would want to hire him. This kind of people sure cannot work one.

Maybe he was attracted by the scent.

I Not Stupid 2

I was passing by tampines central and ran into a publicity event meant for Jack Neo's latest movie, I Not Stupid 2. Actually bought the first movie and pretty enjoy it.

Actually Jack Neo's movie all quite standard in terms of quality of script and production. Just the content would be different. But one thing I'm sure of, you can be prepared to see a lot of New Moon abalone in the new movie.

The young cast had changed too i think.

Still remember I used to idolise Jack Neo so much when I was in my Primary school. With only SBC channels to watch back then, he was one of the few comedic relief on the box.

There was once I was interviewed by him at Chinatown. I was so in awe that I just shied away. Obviously, my part didn't make the broadcast.

Come to think of it, that could have been a tell-tale sign for me that a TV career wasn't my thing.

I wonder where he fixed his hair loss problem.

XiangYun still looks attractive at her age.

Borrowing

I had lunch with my friend today and he got a call from one of his customer. His customer ran into some problem as he had volunteered to be a guarantor for a friend two years ago over $2,000. His friend ran away and the loan balloned.

So he is borrowing left, right , center to secure the repayment.

About 5 years ago I was asked by a friend to be a guarantor too. She was a colleague and she was selected to be a cabin crew with SIA. And SIA need a guarantor in case they ran away given the bond they had to carry.

Despite her attractiveness, I'm quite proud of myself come up with a lame excuse and rejected her plea. I'm not sure if she had broken the bond but I would have been in deep shit had she broken it. I was surely beyond any means to pay for the bond then.(Well, nether could I now really.)

My point is lending or pledging $$ is a very sensitive thing to me. If I were to work in a bank, I don't think many customers would pass my clearance. The possibility of default scares me and I can think of a 101 ways to put this same amount to much better use, at least for myself.

And vice versa, I hate to borrow money. I had to about 3 times for business purpose but absolutely hated the feeling.

That's the thing about money isn't it. It can buy you a lot of things and a whole lot of trouble too.

Singapore's innovative naming exercise

Just when you thought we have learned our lesson the first time, the government tries again and had to run a contest to gather a unique name for the new budget terminal from a 15 year old. And the new name is........ Budget Terminal.

Wah leow. This name is really something I can never think of. Terminal Lite, Low Cost Terminal (LCT), Tiger Air Jetty, I still can come up with. Budget Terminal? Cheem...

Simply Budget Terminal

Singapore's first low-cost terminal named and ready for take-off in March

Tuesday • January 10, 2006

Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg


SINGAPORE'S first budget terminal has been named — what else? — the Budget Terminal.

Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong presented the winner of the "Low Cost Terminal Naming Contest" — 15-year-old Jonathan Sng of St Andrew's Secondary
School — with a StarHub-sponsored cash prize of $2,000 and a 3G mobile
phone, during a site inspection of the completed airport yesterday.

While 44 of the 12,000 or so entries had suggested "Budget Terminal", it was
Jonathan's justification for the name — "short, easy to remember and
representative of what the terminal is" — that clinched him the award,
said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

Other suggestions submitted during the three-month contest period included
"Funport", "Seabreeze Terminal", "Oasis Terminal" and "Orchid Air
Terminal".

Naming the no-frills airport was a no-brainer for Jonathan, who told Today he thought of it over a few minutes during recess.

Stress

It had been 4 months since I started going back to gym and hoping to hike it up to twice a week.

I'm giving myself plenty of time to prepare for my next fitness test, deadline this Nov but I can't seemed to see any progress. I still can't proceed beyond the 5th round of 2.4 and could only pull myself up at most 5 times. My weight seems to be going up somemore.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm immune to exercise. Just like my other immunities. I am immune to a certain kind of antibiotics, my daily 3 cups of coffee doesn't keep me awake, panedols doesn't seemed to cure me of my weekend headaches(yes, I ONLY get them during weekends. I don't know why) and 12 hours of sleep still makes me a tired man when I wake up.

And I'm still nursing a 5 months old ankle injury that never seemed to heal.

What is Job Stress?

Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.

Could it be? I can never take my mind off work after I leave office, during weekends and I even brought a laptop to my honeymoon so that I could check my office mail. Being a natural pessimist and an incessant worrier surely doesn't help.

Maybe this explains my weight problem. ;)

The Pondering Smoker

I always think that smoking is good in a certain way. It allows you to take a legal break away from work, it gives you the opportunity to chat up and bond with your fellow smoking colleague & it gives you a period of bliss to reflect and think.

Am I the only one who thinks this way? Yes, it is a long-term killer but it also helps one to destress, gives an opportunity to train your social skills and while doing do extend your social circle. There had been so many stressful situations I could recall that was eventually pacified after a round or two of smoke.

Not forgetting the smokers chat, that bonding, the conversation that led to other things which might had not occured had I not been a smoker. One of the best time I had during NS is when the big group of us go for our smoking break and started our talking cock session. And maybe that's why I always have to bring a pack with me for my reservist.

Smoking alone, my mind always wander. It's during these solitude time that I had came up with many ideas for my school work, my business and just for myself.

I guess the cold rainy period had triggered this thought. My favourite occassion to smoke is at a sheltered coffee club amidst a heavy rain. I think I had also laid off for close to 1/2 a year. It's not by choice as it is becoming a really expensive addiction. Next year, the $$ should be even higher.

But looking out at the rainy weather now, I really wish I had a lighted cigarette to twirl between my fingers. Inhaling the warm thoughts and giving it an acknowledging blow.

Bliss.

My Prawn Mee brunch.

Life is surely about enjoying the small stuffs in life and I most certainly did this afternoon. Despite the horrendous never-ending rain, we went to Siglap to savour the popular prawn mee. There is also a Ngoh Hiang stall there that carries a even longer waiting time.

But it sure didn't disappoint. One of my best brunch given that I've been having my sunday's meal settled across my house, week after week.

I think this will be one of my resolution, to have an excellent brunch every sunday. Losing weight can take a step back.

A boring Chinese Tall Story

I will never watch any show that has her again!

Just when you wish to give HK movie another chance, it just takes you for granted again.

It's a pity really. This movie was helmed by the same director who directed Stephen Chow in Journey to the West part I/II.

It comes with excellent computer animation and the cinematography is very beautiful. Every scene is like a scenic wallpaper screensaver.

But the show is just that. Like a screensaver, there is zero believable story line. Using the chinese classic as a premise to highlight a love story between the monk and a demoness is also an insult in my opinion. And incorporating people from outer space?? Super run of out ideas.

Maybe the one by Stephen Chow is too good to be compared with but I'll trade this show for the old classic anytime.

Again, another one bites the dust

Wah... Would my prediction come true???

Jan 2, 9:08 PM EST

Macau casino magnate, Australian partner withdraw from biding on Singapore casino

HONG KONG (AP) -- Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho and the media and
gaming empire headed by Australia's Packer family have abandoned their
joint bid to build Singapore's first casino, the companies said Tuesday.

Ho's Melco International Development Ltd. and Australia's Publishing
Broadcasting Ltd. said the expected returns didn't justify the
high capital costs of the casino at Marina Bay, just outside
Singapore's downtown business district.

"Both Melco and PBL have now decided to withdraw from the bidding," Melco said in a legal notice.

PBL head Kerry Packer died last week at age 68, setting the stage
for the elder of his two children - James Packer, 38 - to become the
fourth generation of the Packer dynasty to run the family business.

The scrapping of plans to build the new casino is the first major business decision announced by PBL since Kerry Packer's death.

James Packer, PBL's executive chairman, said in a statement Tuesday
his company would continue to look for opportunities to expand its
casino business around Asia with Melco.

"We are enthusiastic about the potential for new casino projects as
governments in the region liberalize gaming laws," Packer said.
"Expansion beyond Australia and Macau remains an important strategy for
both PBL and Melco."

The duo are building two casinos - the Crown Macau and the City of
Dreams - in the fast-growing casino market of Macau, a former
Portuguese enclave that returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

Melco and PBL's withdrawal from the process to select the builder
and operator of the planned casino resort in Singapore follows that of
Australian gaming and casino company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. in December,
which also cited escalating costs to justify the move.

Other bidders for the development, expected to cost about US$3
billion (euro 2.53 billion), are consortia of Harrah's Entertainment
Inc. and Singapore's Keppel Land Ltd.; Las Vegas Sands Corp. of the
U.S. and Singapore's City Developments Ltd.; Malaysia's Genting
International PLC and Star Cruises Ltd.; U.S.-based MGM Mirage and
Singapore developer CapitaLand Ltd.

Singapore lifted its ban on casino gambling in April, hoping to draw
more tourists. The bidders for the casino license, the first of two,
have to submit their proposals by the end of March, with the casino at
Marina Bay expected to open in 2009 or 2010.

More NSS,ERS? I sure hope so.

Singapore 2005 GDP growth better than expected

MONDAY , 02 JANUARY 2006


SINGAPORE: Singapore's export-driven economy grew by a better-than-expected 5.7 per cent in 2005 and should expand at a previously forecast rate of three to five per cent next year, the prime minister said on Saturday.

Lee Hsien Loong said the city-state posted broad-based growth this year thanks to a sharp rise in manufacturing output and a stronger services sector.

"Many businesses, from banks to shipyards, reported better results," Lee said in a New Year's address released to the media.

"Retail sales were brisk and the property market showed signs of improvement," he said, adding that Singapore drew a record 9 million tourists this year.

In October, the government raised its full-year growth forecast to 5 per cent from a range of 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent, following strong third-quarter GDP results.

A Reuters poll had forecast 2005 growth at a median 5.5 per cent due to strong manufacturing output, especially in the biomedical and transport engineering sectors.

"We started the year on a low note and we are ending the year on a high because all sectors bounced back," said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at DBS Bank.

"The economy has proved to be remarkably resilient. We saw an across-the-board upward swing."

Lee said Singapore's external trade grew by 14 per cent in 2005, boosted by the island-state's growing network of free trade agreements.

"To sustain growth, we must press on with economic restructuring. We have to continue to change and adapt, in order to stay competitive and vibrant," he said.

Singapore grew a robust 8.4 per cent in 2004 after recovering from the Sars crisis a year earlier. This year's growth rate would be the second highest since 2000, when the economy grew by 9.6 per cent.

Economists said the island's high-technology goods and drugs production bolstered output and exports in the fourth quarter.

Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB-GK Research, said the 5.7 per cent full-year figure would put annual growth for the fourth quarter at 7.7 per cent and annualised quarterly growth at about 10 per cent, after adjustments for seasonal patterns.

"The goods-producing sector, especially manufacturing, was sustained by pharmaceuticals and transport engineering, and also supported by the tech cluster," he said.

Lee's comments preview advance estimates on gross domestic product - the total value of goods and services - for 2005 and the fourth quarter, due to be released on Tuesday at 8am (1pm NZT). The data is largely based on figures from October and November.

Economists said the solid 2005 growth figure could prompt the government to hold an early general election, which is not due till June 2007.

Singapore's economic growth has steadied in the second half of the year after a choppy first half.

GDP contracted at an annualised rate of 4.6 per cent in the first quarter, due in large part to a fall in drugs production, but then rebounded by 18 per cent in the second quarter.

Exporting economies in Asia, including Singapore, are expecting a pick up in the pace of exports to continue early in 2006, bolstered by a recovery in the global tech sector and economic expansion in the United States and China. - Reuters