BBQ~!

Looking forward to the BBQ tmr!
All my favourite food~~~Hehe!

Happy Birthday~

Empress Wang is one year older.....
Going to treat her a good meal....
Soon....
Lolz~

Update Update

--Work--
Ah Ching is still alive & kicking, though I'm still very bothered with the outstanding stuffs I have with me now.
Attended my department's kick off meeting at the Chamber in The Art House (old parliament house). It's a last minute thing, as I did not received the invitation email, and other people was telling me that I have to go. Lolz~
The meeting was not too bad, it's more like a review of 2009 and what's coming up next in 2010 for various sub-departments. The company is expanding very fast, more branches & products will be coming up soon. I think they are quite aggressive with their credit cards roadshows now.
Another interesting stuff abt the meeting is that I finally got to know who is who after seeing their names and/or receiving some of their calls for the past few months. Lolz~
Had my light dinner after the meeting....the stir fried beef was delicious. Hehe!

TV Drama Review #227 - When Easterly Showers Fall on the Sunny West 东山飘雨西关晴

No.of Epis: 30
Year/TV Stn: 2008/TVB
Cast:
Liza Wang ~ Zhuang Feng Yi
Joe Ma ~ Pan Zhuo Xing/Mu Xing
Charmaine Sheh ~ Ye Xiang Qing
Raymond Wong ~ Pan Zhuo Hua
Selena Li ~ Fang Bao Qi
Edwin Siu ~ Guan Hao Chang
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Zhuang Feng Yi abandoned her eldest son immediately after he was born as she didn't want to be labelled as a woman who gave birth before she was even married. However, her son Mu Xing manages to find his way back to her. Due to Pan's reputation, Yi & her husband keep Xing's true identity a secret. Yi's younger son, Zhuo Hua falls in love with Xiang Qing, but because their different status and Yi's strong objection, they cannot be together. Pan old master finally recognises Xing's identity and name him the head of household before he passes away. Xing soon gains fame & power, and he confesses his feelings for Qing. On the other hand, things start to turn bad for the Pans...
Slacker's review:
Tuan told me this drama was average, and maybe I should have heeded her advice. Haha! I really could not tolerate the storyline towards the end, as Zhuo Xing became too ambitious and selfish, and he indirectly caused the deaths of his family members. (I really think Xing's character changed too drastically la). The drama's background was set during the new republic era, and the story focused a lot on how the older generation's mindset clashes with the new generation. While the youngsters fought for their freedom, they still could not escape their fates as the society has not caught up with their western mindset. I liked the ending, though I see it as an opened one. Maybe it's better to end it that way, or else it would be too unfair to Xiang Qing.
Liza has always portrayed a strong woman image, and Feng Yi was not an exception. But somehow, this character was quite different as well. Yi was not an arrogant woman, in fact, she's just an ordinary mother from the affluent upper class. It was a costly lesson for the lady to realise that her methods of teaching her children was wrong.
Joe Ma's acting was great, especially when Xing turned bad. Haha! (Joe has lots of experiences acting as baddie in the past). Like what I mentioned earlier on, Xing changed too much in a short time. Of course, anybody can be blinded by fame & power, but Xing was such a kind person who was willing to sacrifice himself for his family. Watching him using family as an excuse to do evil deeds was just so uncomfortable!
Charmaine, sadly, was underused. Xiang Qing seemed to be more of a supporting role towards the end. I could not feel much for Qing, though I liked her personality. (another strong lady~)
Raymond's performance was not too bad here, he's the righteous guy, and nearly married Qing. I liked how he work against Xing later on, but it's a pity that did not last long...
The funny couple has got to be Bao Qi & Hao Chang. Their story was not full of happiness either. Qi was force to marry Hua, while Chang was betrayed by his "brother" Xing. However, the couple finally got together in the end :) Selena's performance was great, while Edwin was new to me. (Just realised he's actually Xiao Zheng Nan...a pop singer before he joined TVB).
Opening theme is "Ai Zai Tian Bian" by Liza Wang while ending theme is "Pei Ni Ku Ye Zhi De Wo" by Charmaine & Joe.

BBQ

Ah Ching is gg to have a BBQ with family on 30/01/2010 at Harmony Park (near my house).
Inviting CC Gang to join us...hehe!

Time: 6p.m
Venue: Ah Ching's House
What to bring: Empty Stomach

Do let me know if you're interested.

p.s: HM could not attend (got wedding dinner).

Upcoming Trip to Central & East Java

I know it's still early to confirm the date for my upcoming trip, but I need to know who is interested to join la.
I'm aiming for a long weekend, probably National Day that week, if CC Gang is joining me.
The trip would probably be a week long, since I'm covering 2 provinces.

As for now, I wanna know who wants to join la.
Hope to see some responses soon. =)

On the battefield Part 2~

--Work--
After my first ever Monday Blue yday, today is "Black Tuesday" (quoted from CY). Reason? Coz' many ppl wearing black. Lolz~
Anyway, worked until 7 plus, before I was called to join in for a dinner gathering with my ex-boss. I did not know that we were gg to treat him la, but thank goodness I went. (since I have wanted to treat him a meal for quite sometime liao~) Big boss also joined us la, and it's nice catching up with the funny guy.
Back to work, I have not officially report to my new boss yet, and I don't know when will that happen. So, currently I'm still working under big boss la (shall refer him as my boss from now onwards..ha!)
Work is getting stressful, but it's a good opportunity for me to see if I'm up to the challenge.

頑張って！

p.s: I only reached home at 10p.m, but surprisingly I don't feel sleepy at all....weird~ [Ah Ching always feel tired by 9 plus....though I left office on time!]

Upcoming Concerts

Ah Ching is looking forward to listen to CO again!!! Yeah~~~
Anyway, I'm gg to attend a few concerts in the next 3 months.
1. in::music - Peggy Hsu @ Esplanade Recital Studio with ML.
The reason why I decided to attend is because I like Peggy's new album...lolz~ Ah Ching hardly attends pop-related concerts, so it's gg to be a rare experience.
2. Music Rendezvous by SCO @ S'pore Conference Hall.
I have wanted to attend SCO's concert since last yr until now, but none really interest me. Finally, I decided to go for one this yr. Already jio some CC gals to attend..hehe! It has been a long time since I last stepped into SCH (as a performer). E.W is going too~ Hehe!
3. Gala: Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble with SSO @ Esplanade Concert Hall.
I have never attend SSO's concerts before, and I chanced upon this upcoming concert with famous cellist Ma Yo-Yo! The programme is not out yet, but I thought the Silk Road theme sounds interesting. The concert will be held in late april, and I shall update again soon....if i wanna go.

TV Drama Review #226 - JIN 仁医

No. of Epis: 11
Year/TV Stn: 2009/TBS
Cast:
Osawa Takao ~ Minakata Jin
Nakatani Miki ~ Tomonaga Miki / Nokaze
Ayase Haruka ~ Tachibana Saki
Koide Keisuke ~ Tachibana Kyotaro
Uchino Masaaki ~ Sakamoto Ryoma
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Minakata Jin has spent the last two years in anguish, as his fiancee Miki lies in a vegetative state after an operation he performed. One day, he faints at the hospital and awakens to find himself transported back in time to the Edo period. He is soon attacked by a samurai, but he escapes with the help of a man named Kyotaro. Kyotaro suffers a serious injury to the head while trying to protect him, but Jin manages to save his life despite a lack of proper medical equipment. Because of that, Kyotaro's sister Saki begins taking an interest in Jin and becomes his assistant. Meanwhile, Jin is determined to find a way back to the present.
Slacker's review:
"JIN" is probably the best autumn drama I have watched last season. The theme itself was not very new (TVB's "Xun Qin Ji" got a similar cross era theme), but the plot was engaging. At first I thought the storyline would focus on how Minakata struggled to return to the modern era, but I got to see how the guy used his modern medical knowledge & techniques to help the Edo people. Of course, the highlight of the story was when Minakata met Nokaze, who looked exactly like Miki. I liked how the characters interacted with each other. While Saki was rather reserve, Nokaze was much more straight forward in her speech and behaviour towards Minakata. Ending was kinda ambiguous. Minakata in modern era was still in coma state, but there's a scene where Minakata actually slipped forward into time and saw Miki. Just as I thought he went back to modern era, the next scene was Minakata got up from his fall and he's still in Edo! (I think there will be an upcoming special soon...)
I have been waiting for Osawa's drama comeback, and his acting was great. Minakata is not those "overly serious" character, so I thought Osawa's portrayal was just nice; kinda funny at times, but not to the extend of exaggerating, and he could be very serious when he's operating on his patients. Chemistry with Ayase was not too bad, but the fireworks was with Nakatani. (Maybe Ayase looked more like a sister beside Osawa).
As much as I liked Ayase's character Saki, I thought I loved Nokaze more. This woman was much more sophisticated, probably it's because she's the top oiran. I loved the ending for the lady, as she's a like a caged bird who was set free and could lead a peaceful life.
Koide's Kyotaro is a support role, but there's a side plot b/w him and another oiran. I thought it's nice to see Koide in a more matured and serious role.
Uchino's Sakamoto is an impt character here, but seriously I found Sakamoto too "noisy". Haha!
Theme song is "Aitakute Ima" by MISIA.

Sis is back...

--Tuan--
Fetched my sis @ T3. E.W failed to recognise her daughter from afar. Lolz~
I think I should just trust my judgment next time. Hahaha!
--Pizza Hut @ Hg Mall--
Ordered their 5 course set meal. Price was reasonable and food was not too bad, but service was lagging behind.
Soup of the day (Cream Mushroom) + Pepsi.
Main course. It has gotta be my favourite Curry Chicken personal pan pizza.
Criss Cross fries.
And we topped up for my favourite sweet n' spicy drumlets!

A long week

--Work--
Ah Ching is mentally tired, after 5 stressful working days.
Too many things just popped out and I gotta handle them.
Gotta thank customer's complaints as well....
Because of them, I gotta tons of work to do. Lolz~ (Ok...we really need to improve on those issues)
Time passed too fast today.
Only managed to grab my lunch with SN at nearly 2pm!
And we only finished our daily duties at 6.30pm? (Norm is before 5...)
Thanks alot gal! Had to let u finish all the routine stuffs by yourself after lunch.
Anyway, just found out some other SIM folks in the bank, though I only know a handful.

Not looking forward to Monday liao~

Thursday Report~

--Curry San @ Far East Square--
My first visit to the mall, and my first visit to this Japanese curry rice restaurant. I thought for a moment I mistook this restaurant as that one located @ Central.
Saw how pathetic my curry rice was? I could count the potatoes and carrots leh! What's worse? Two small slices of cheese fish katsu, plus the curry was so watery! Haiz...potato wedges was bad too. What's the best thing in this set meal? PEPSI!
--Home--
I think I did not observe my surroundings well enough. While I was walking home, suddenly saw the mango tree full of mangoes!!! E.W told me she saw the mangoes "long time ago". Hahaha! (Ok I'm slow~)
But how edible are these mangoes? We need guinea pigs.

On the battlefield~

Ah Ching has not returned home on time ever since ex-boss left.
There are just endless things for me to do, and the best is...I have never done those things before!
Anyway, met up with GC & HM for lunch at Amoy Street Hawker Centre.
It's my first visit there, lots of stalls to explore.
Finally got to eat my fish porridge + yu sheng, but the food was not as delicious as the ones I had at Chinatown. Lolz~
Hopefully we can meet up again with SC on friday, but nothing's confirm yet :(

p.s: i'm getting blur & blur these days. Could not even speak properly. Alamak!

11.26P.M: Finally, I could understand how a customer felt when he could not perform first time login for his ibanking token. I am that unfortunate customer too. Idiot! Should have stop login the fourth time! Now gotta call! :(

Realisation

--Work--
Day 2 of my "one woman show" (that does not mean I'm working alone, but rather working under no direct boss).
I realised I seriously need to know what stuffs are under "my area of control". (Reason is because many ppl started asking me all sorts of questions which I could not provide an answer. Why? Coz' I'm not the right person to ask. Haha!)
Don't worry, I think as time pass by, I will know how to tackle such problems la. I just need to have more experience. Lolz~!
Ex-boss came today, but sadly, he was not able to do some testing, and that's bad news for me. Ha! Anyway, I am quite thankful to him as he had "enlightened" some things to me (be it good or bad).

It has been quite sometime since I last looked forward to Friday. I don't know why this feeling is back again. Maybe it's because of the Monday "terror"....Haha!

Fighting A Battle

--Work--
I feel like I am gg to battlefield soon.
Ex-boss told me that I would not have the luxury to adapt on changes or new things thrown to me at the pace which I am comfortable now.
How true it was....
I could not even enjoy for one more day....
It's really challenging now, as there are changes going on for my core duties, plus extra work coming in, plus new implementations with other depts.
I wonder if I can handle the stress, though I know once I get over with the implementation stage, I should be alright.

Ganbatte!

--Update--
Updated "Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 4 2010 Winter Special". Go to "Tags", then "Japanese Drama 2009" to see the drama review.

A day @ Pasir Ris Park with 呆呆二人组

--Blogger--
I can't get used to the new editor :(

Back to my post.

I remembered our last cycling trip was at 28/6/07.(So long ago!)
KH was sick, so could not join us.
HM was late, and the lady called me 20 minutes before our meeting time. Ha!
--Xin Wang HK Cafe @ White Sands--
Met up with SC first and I had my lunch la. It has been quite sometime since I last dined in at Xin Wang.
My Spicy fish & egg fried noodles. (Forgot the exact name) The noodles was not too bad, and I liked the egg. Haha! The fish cubes were alright, kinda hard somehow.
--Cycling--
We rented our bikes at 5 bucks each for 2 hours! When did the rate dropped ah? It was really cheap leh! Hehe! We cycled towards Downtown East direction first. It's a Sunday, but the park was not crowded.
Saw the ships parking together side by side? Anyway, this part of the beach was damn smelly & polluted. The stench was just unbearable....
We continued to cycle to the Mangrove Boardwalk. I did not know there's a boardwalk leh! So slow right? Haiz.... Anyway, we were there at the wrong time. The mangroves were all dried up, and there's nothing to see besides the trees, their roots and soil. What a pity!

The entrance to the Mangrove Boardwalk.

See the dried mangroves? We could not see any living creatures...

I don't know what flower are these, but they looked like Frangipani to me. Haha! Saw the lovely flowers near the Maze Garden.
The map of the Maze Garden. It was too hot for us to go play in the maze la.
View of the sea coast.
The Kelongs.
Loved this sitting area at the Park.
This kite looked so nice. Saw some other ppl playing with "electronic kites"? Anyway, the kites can do stunts like aeroplane, and they were damn noisy. Haha! Well, these kites attracted lots of eyeballs~
--Dinner--
We returned to White Sands, and had our dinner at Subway. Their Tuna sandwich was quite delicious. Ha!
The gals talked about work from the time we met until we left. Lolz~~~
That's working life.

Friday Friday~

Let's see what I've done today.

Stepped into Wilkie Edge for the first time, boss's pal opened a yogurt shop there, so brought us to try~
Finally got to see our W.E branch too, and that's where my new boss is working at.
Had lunch at the Kebab stall at Peace Centre, but the wait for the food was damn long.(I think it was a good 30 mins...at least!)
Had another round of "finger food eating session" with AYS colleagues....I think I have enough of Old Chang Kee. Lolz~
Returned home and saw 2 envelopes on my table. First one was my DBS iBanking token. Damn efficient leh! (I applied on the 6th and it's on my table 2 days later!) Maybe it's because of my work, what I was more interested was how DBS packaged their token, how they instruct customers to do first time log-in & how they sent out their stuffs. Lolz~
Second one was my Co's credit card. Finally went to apply, since there's no annual fee. I was expecting their classic mastercard, but the card turned out to be pretty leh. (So it was a Platinum...) The joke of the day was...the credit limit of my card. All I can say is that it's damn insulting to the Platinum card la. Hahaha! And because of my work, I was actually curious to check what kind of stickers they used to paste the card onto the cardholder. Haha! Even their cardholder looked damn cool~ Haha!
Vomitted my dinner & fruits out after I drank a few sips of coffee. Luckily I still have time to chiong to the toilet. The feeling sux as I have not puked for quite sometime. Hahaha! I think the problem was I could not digest the food properly ba, coz' I felt perfectly alright after that. (So, I doubt it's food poisoning....) The best thing is...kena "suaned" by my senior on FB. WTH?!

Last but not least, Tuan is returning home next Sat. Damn fast~
Looking forward to my upcoming museum trips. Hehe!

Today

Grey clouds greeted me in the morning, and then came the rain.
Lunch with HM & GC postponed again for the 2nd time. (We'll meet for sure next wk!)
Farewell gathering for boss in the evening
&
I'm not attending a KTV & drinking session on Monday. (I know it's not nice to siam for 2nd time, but it's really late....9pm!)

It's about work....again.

Don't worry, I'm not here to nag. Lolz~
What I have been anticipating is coming real soon.
But it's kinda hard to guess what's really going to happen from next Mon onwards.
I think I shld just focus on my main duties la.
Everything will be fine :)

TV Drama Review #225 - Proong Nee Gor Ruk Tur 明天我依然爱你

No.of Epis: 30
Year/TV Stn: 2009/Ch 5
Cast:
Aom Phiyada Akkaraseranee ~ Kaewkunya
Pong Nawat Kulrattanarak ~ Poramin
James Ruengsak Loychusak ~ Peeput
Pin Khetmanee Wutthanasina ~ Putthamart
Mod Kanlaya Jirachaisakdecha ~ Wunnaorn
Fluke Pachorn Tummon ~ Gongpohdin
Oh Anuchit Sapunpong ~ Peerawit
Peemai Sumonrat Wattanaselaratas ~ Pueng
Peck Premanut Suwunnanon ~ Noot
Synopsis: (translated & edited from Thai Style blog)
Poramin & Kaewkunya have been together for quite sometime and they're preparing to get married. Just then, Kaew's sister was shot dead by Por's sister Putt after she was seen lying on the bed with Putt's husband Peeput. Putt was sentenced to jail while Kaew broke up with Por and left the city with her mum & brother, Gong.
Por was deeply hurt but life goes on. After 6 years, Kaew decided to work in her friend, Pueng's working place, but it happens to be Por's company. Por makes Kaew his secretary & plans to take his revenge on her. When Por's girlfriend Wun sees Kaew, she immediately dislikes her & bullies her. On the other hand, Por dislikes to see Noot, Pueng's colleague, chasing after Kaew.
Gong has been hiding the fact that he is a gay. After he meets Peeput's brother Peer, the two of them have fond liking for each other. Gong rejects Peer, but Peer is persistant about their relationship. Finally, they date secretly.
Putt is released from jail and together with Wun, they tried to seperate Por & Kaew by creating lots of trouble. The two ill-fated lovers finally get together after conquering the obstacles, but Wun tells Por that she's pregnant with his child...
Slacker's review:
Pong is back with his 3rd drama in 2009. This time round, he was paired up with Aom, a famous Thai actress from their co, Exact. "Proong Nee" is the usual Thai-style melodrama, and there's nothing new in the plot. However, one of the side plots was interesting...and that's the gay love b/w Gong & Peer. This is probably my first time watching a drama where the gay love was full of developments, and the scriptwriter has no plans to throw either of them a girl. Lolz~ (In this aspect, Thais are more open-minded than other Asian folks). Furthermore, the acting from the two leads were superb, especially Pong, who showed great improvement from his previous roles.
I really heart Pong in this drama. His acting was full of emotions, & I just loved his expressions. He handled his heartbreaking scenes very well as he struggled to control his tears, with faint smile etc. Of coz, the guy looked so cute when he's in happy mood....hahaha! Pong is famous for his "wicked smile" la, and you could see plenty of it in the drama...won't get bored~
I loved Pong & Bee, but Aom appeared to have great chemistry with Pong too! I did not like Kaew throughout the drama, maybe it's because she kept rejecting our dear Por, and chose to "bluff" her own feelings. I just don't like such characters, though Kaew was not a weak person. I liked how she bickered with Por in their usual office bickering. Hehe! There were many sweet & bitter moments b/w the couple, and I could not get enough of them! Ha! Aom's acting was great, but I thought Pong was better. (not that I'm bias~) I think the reason was because Por was suffering more than Kaew, and Pong had more chances to express his emotions through his acting.
Fluke & Oh were the next "couple" who got lots of attention. Ha! This was my 2nd time watching Oh...and he's pretty alright. He has yet to impress me la. As for Fluke, he looked quite different in real life, not the mummy's boy in the drama. Ha! Anyway, his performance was not too bad for a rookie.
Too many baddies in this drama, and I don't feel like commenting. Haha! I hate Jame's Peeput to core, but his acting was good. Lolz~ I loved Mod in "Ngao Asoke", but she transformed into a total evil b**** here! Oh my~ Her evil expressions were damn good, but irritating. Pin's Putt was terrible as well, and I could not sympathise with her, though she was clearly the victim (but being a victim does not mean she can anyhow shoot ppl...)
Support cast was alright, saw that "ladyboy" in "Dum Kum" again! Ha...
Theme song was quite nice, and it's the theme song for the Por & Kaew as well.
"Proong Nee" is easily my favourite Thai drama till now...

Family Outing: Southern Ridges

I'm back at the Southern Ridges...for the THIRD TIME! This time round, I went with Mr Chean, E.W & Aunt Jo. Hehe~! I tried to take pics of new stuffs la...so enjoy~
--Hort Park--
There seemed to be changes in the park, but I could not exactly pin-point what the changes were. Anyway, I managed to "conquer" the entire park. It's good that we went there early in the morning.
Lots of Jambus on the trees~
Lovely flowers~
CNY is coming? Haha!
The veggies at Organic Veggie Garden.
Butterfly Garden.
The glasshouses. Lots of super big & lovely flowers inside.



My beloved Orchird~
Chikus...
丝瓜.


Passion fruit.


Check out how u can plant your plants using recycled items. The bathtub~

Basin & toilet bowl.

Chameleon.
老黄瓜.
Wild mushrooms.
New way of planting...on the walls.
Starfruit.
--Alexandra Arch & Forest Walk--
Alexandra Arch...no chance to see the bridge at night eh.
View from Forest Walk bridge.
--Hilltop Walk--
The beautiful Terrace Garden at Telok Blangah Hill Park.
--Henderson Waves--
One of my fav. bridges in SG, but it's damn hot here~
I wondered what flower or fruit this is...saw lots of it from Forest Walk to Mount Faber.
--Mount Faber--
City view from Mount Faber. Could see The Pinnacle @ Duxton clearly wor. I thought I saw Sg Land Tower too...faints~
--Lunch @ jpot--
E.W & Aunt Jo were too familiar with this hotpot restaurant liao~ My first visit to jpot at Vivocity.
We ordered the individual set lunches & some a la carte dishes. My Bak kut teh soup & mixed side dish (incl. veggie, mushrooms, crab meat, sweet corn & egg tofu).
Mr Chean's beef set, and my pork set with meat balls & Quail egg.
The sides...fried yam & sweet potatoes.
Raw Pork Liver.
Delicious fish noodle~
Not so nice handmade fish balls.
E.W's mixed mushrooms.
Err...it's beef, but I don't know what's the full name. Haha!
Basically, the hotpot was alright & the service was nt bad. Set lunch starts from $9.80++, and their set dinner is quite ex.
--Doraemon--
Forgot to post this on yesterday's entry. Asked E.W to buy our Chinese zodiac Doraemons at McDonald's. Hmm....cannot grumble as the soft toy only cost 2 bucks. Haha!