My Brother the rockstar CHAMPION!

This is one of the rare moments when I'm actually proud to be his older sister.

My Brother and his band emerged as the champion of their "Zero to Hero" Competition! All of us were really pleasantly surprised.

One of the objectives of the competition was to turn laymen [that would be my brother] into overnight rockstars and of course the rules of the competition made it mandatory for at least one person in the band to have no such musical background and capability.


Hmm...seems like his endless lonely nights of strumming his bass to his mp3 worked out after all...


He's fierce.He's cold. He's Mr. Ice King, the menace. [hiak hiak!]

That would be one of his publicity pictures....


OK, people would think that I'm obssessed about my bro but he rarely pops us such surprises. At least he's doing other productive, enriching activities rather than just cooping himself at home with the computer keeping him company....



I'm so glad that I took half day leave yesterday although I think my supervisor's not gonna be happy when I tell her that I'm gonna take the morning off next Thursday again...

It's really refreshing to see your friends instead of businessmen and women in their smart coats and their power suits for a change. The clan went for lunch at Singapore Poly in the afternoon.The food was cheap and the portions bigger than the usual but what was more enjoyable was the company of course. Stayed in the food court and chatted for about 2+ hours before Cui had to go. Then Sze Yee wanted to bring us to see her Optometry Centre but as it was quite far and we were running out of time, we decided on touring the nearby schools instead.


Met Rhyss and Sam after that at Dhoby Ghaut for dinner before making our way to YMCA. We were late cos I thought that Steph's church would be at YWCA so I brought them to the wrong place. The church members were really friendly and sociable and VERY extroverted. It's like Steph's the quietest amongst them man! There were very few locals there...according to Ryan and Kay Pee, there were only 3-4 locals and a whole lot of other foreigners....



What I'm really amazed is the worship. Although it was simple, it was really something I did not expect cos not only were they singing, some of them were harmonising on their own accord that it felt like I was in Choir again! heh heh!


The night was not over yet. We were about to take the escalator down to where the trains were when we saw a woman in her late 20s-early 30s, collapsing at the foot of the escalator going up. She smelt of alcohol, her face was flushed and she seemed to be emotionally down/depressed cos she kept saying that she was gonna die.. She was accompanied by her male friend, who seemed like a foreigner, and all of us were trying to help her up and everything cos she could not walk steadily. A group of nuns and church people happened to pass by too and they comforted her and calmed her down.

This incident reminded me of the time when Marie-Anne, Rachel Kwan and I witnessed a hit-and-run accident near SHSS. All 3 of us did not talk on our way to the bus stop and until one of us started reflecting about what happened did we all talk again.

Similarly, we were quite taken aback [well, at least I was] and we were quite quiet for a few moments....


I wonder how the woman is doing now. Is she OK? Is she still depressed? At least, God put a nun into her pathway in her darkest moments like what Rhyss said.


God really works in unexpected ways.....

Varsity blues...

It's that time of my life again.


The whole routine of applying to get into a new institution is really such a hassle. Essays to be written, forms and supporting documents to submit, interviews, etc....


Went for the NUS open house today and was quite glad I did [even though Mimi, Ai Ping and I spent more than half the time getting our bearings!]. I've more or less made up my mind on the course I'm planning to pursue even though it seems like there are many who disapprove.

Anyway, having settled on my choice(s) that will either make or break my future, I'm feeling a little better but the downside is whether I will be successful.

I was reading the papers today about the number of students trying to get into the 3 local unis as well as the Ivy League Trio, HYP. (Harvard, Yale and Princeton) What was more surprising [and perhaps, shocking] was the fact that some applicants are willing to part with more than a 1000 bucks to hire people to write their uni application essay for them!


Looks like I'm in for a bit of competition. I better start drafting my essay now.


Even though I'm in the process of applying for admission, I seriously don't feel like a prospective undergrad. Since young, I've always looked up to uni students as semi-adults who are leading their own little, independent lives away from home in their cosy hostels, doing serious research and whatnot. Somehow, i don't feel prepared to enter uni. The whole task of making friends and adapting to a new environment [a much, bigger one] all over again is rather draining. It's not a matter of being antisocial but it's just tiring at times.


Well, 'guess it's part and parcel of life. Maybe things could get worse when we're in the working world for good: all those hardcore politics and stuff. 'Guess it's through times like this where I really have to surrender everything and leave it to The One Above.

Slow Me Down - Emmy Rossum Official Music Video

Emmy Rossum (aka Christine from POTO!She sang all 150 harmonies in this song, which took a month to record!

Gerry Butler..Japanese kick! *funny interview*

AHHH NOT FAIR! GERARD BUTLER GETS TO SING A PHANTOM SONG WITH THE INTERVIEWER!!!

It's gonna be tough on Monday without her.


Before she left, work was much easier as we depended on her to solve problems that arose from day-to-day operations. Although sometimes she expects a lot from us to a point where I get frustrated with myself for not being able to do something properly [sometimes due to my lack of experience in this field] , or even sometimes with her for being too much of a perfectionist, the things she did for us and the advice and guidance that she provided overrule every negative trait of her that I have thought of for the past few weeks.


I'm really glad that we had THAT OT that night. All 3 of us got to clear all misunderstandings that we developed over the course of our work due to that perfectionist streak in her which was good for the job but not necessarily for those working under her [aka. us]


It was during that OT night that we got to know more about the company and its people, [interesting revelations I must say] and it opened our eyes to why some people in the office were behaving nastily to certain people. Office politics really suck. If there was unity, I'm sure the company would have a larger revenue man.


Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. I'm not sure if the rest of them felt that way too cos that was her last day of work. Sarah and I concluded that it was a day where we got paid to eat cos we seemed to be eating about three quarters of the time!

In the morning, she treated us to Spinelli and spent half an hour with us. Lunch was a grand affair at a Japanese restaurant across the street with almost half the Finance department, as well as the 2 Big Bosses , coming along. Sarah and I bought a dozen Munchy Donuts for her. [Emma and Yi Si chipped in too] During our training, we were munching on donuts as well and not long after that, we went for dinner at Han's....

Judging from the many lunch/dinner treats she received from different cliques of colleagues, I can say that she was highly respected and loved by so many in the company.

One thing I liked about her was that she really took care of us: gave us many treats [I can vividly recall the time where she bought muffins for the department and specially saved the only double chocolate one for me cos she knows that I love chocolate even without me telling her], always remembered us whenever she went to buy her favourite Teh Tarik or vegetarian bee hoon, shared the taxi ride with us home after OT and made sure that we were home safely. When we couldn't finish the work allocated to us that day, she had to do OT just to finish it and only went home in the wee hours of the morning.

Even though these acts may seem insignificant to others, they really mean a lot to me, especially when others in the office only regard you as "an inexperienced temp staff."

It would be really hard to find a supervisor like her: someone who encourages us as well as someone who is not afraid to reprimand us when the occasion calls for it. Like what the Bible said, if you spare the rod, you will spoil the child. Why didn't I realise that earlier?


Perhaps it really is human nature to take the poeple around you for granted and only appreciate them when they are out of your life. Now that she's not working with us anymore, it is inevitable to ignore her absence but hopefully, we will be able to remember what she has imparted to us during her work tenure here.


Elaine, I wish you well wherever you are going. You will be greatly missed...

My brother the rockstar

Future bassist wannabe..woohoo! Haha..I didn't even know this photo of him existed until I found it by chance at the main menu. Guess this is for the publicity poster for the competition he is entering....

Anyway, I gave him a surprise on the day after his birthday but as expected, he wasn't really interested and we took a long time to coax him to smile for the camera. After much persuasion, he relented. This is his best:



Valentine's day this year was OK and like all the singles who are sore about this day [which was, honestly, actually not created for them], it really is overrated and uneccessary. Maybe one day I might have a different opinion about it when I finally become attached but for now, VALENTINE'S DAY IS OVERRATED!

Anyway, on that special day, [my brother's birthday falls on that day], went to church for the Valentine's day event. Too bad Sam couldn't go due to fever but anyway, I'm already contented that she went for the Chinese New Year event at Yireng's place. This event was quite good not only because of Pastor Marion's timely message about sexual sin but because of the many clandestine pairings that were only revealed that night. Heh heh....


Supper with Midori and Esther after that was quite nice and we started talking about relationships and stuff. [Don't know why but these few days, most of my friends are talking about marriage and relationships and having children and stuff...]

For now, my verdict on relationships is not to rush into it and not to be desperate to find someone [anyone,actually..] as a partner. Even though I mentioned this several times to my curious and paranoid aunties, one of which wanted to matchmake me to her friend's nephew, I will just leave it to God to decide. Even if finally God wants me to remain single, I wouldn't mind actually....


Anyway, to end this post nicely on a light note, we celebrated my paternal grandfather's birthday last month and my brother decided to capture them looking their best so, here goes...


Presenting.....Paparoti!


And sexy mama!

I miss Vietnam...

Despite everything that happened, I missed Vietnam a lot. Even though I've been to Korea before this trip, I'm very attached to Vietnam 'cos I spent a lot of time researching on the country (upon thinking of the number of hours I spent in the library reading Lonely Planet, the frequent correspondence between Mr Trang and me when arranging for accommodation, etc...)


Korea was nice but it was a tour so I didn't really bother to read up about its culture and the places to go and what-not. Anyway, this trip was really an eye-opener. Ok, that's the whole point of travelling but compared to Korea, a thriving urban country, this trip made me appreciate Singapore more. You should go see the number of people with multiple deformities lying around the streets of Ho Chi Minh City [and I believe many other parts of Vietnam]. Most of them are the victims of Agent Orange from the Vietnam War and it was really painful when I compare it to the spoilt and pampered teenagers [including me] of Singapore who are wasting their lives away.


Anyway, Ai Ping, Er Yi and I went together for this trip.

Not long after we touched down at Tan Soon Nhat International Airport, we headed to Ben Thanh Market cos both of them were hungry.


Ai Ping and her pork rice noodles

Actually, we wanted to try the desserts but didn't in the end. That's the only regret I had besides not getting to eat their durians [they were pulsating with yellow goodness ok!]
Just look at the prawns....really worth your money man...

They adopted a traditional way of seating,that is, sitting around the stall where they ordered from...

Pork Rice Noodles...


Vietnamese Spring rolls...it was really raw and the smell was quite rancid, probably due to the basil leaves. Felt like vomiting cos I was not used to it but after that, it tasted fine...

Pigs' brains anybody?

Pigs' intestines...

Pigs' everything!!!!

This was perhaps one of the highlights of the trip:the cyclo ride. According to Lonely Planet, they're gonna phase out this mode of transport in order for modernisation to take place..therefore, this ride was worth it.The uncle in white could speak French so well cos he witnessed the French colonising Vietnam. The other one spoke Cantonese...

The ride took us to the War Remnants Museum...before that, the Vietnam War seemed like any other ordinary war, just another statistic added to the crimes that humanity is capable of but my perspective of it changed after going there...just imagine how Ai Ping would react man...


Famous photo by the Pulitzer-prize winning photographer of a naked Vietnamese girl running away from the flames. The photographer committed suicide after snapping this due to trauma.

Sometimes I wonder why we resort to war to solve the problem. I'm a pacifist at heart...

Admire these Viet Cong women who are brave enough to fight for their country...and still smiling while at it...

Don't realy have a soft spot for such military equipment but it's quite amazing how such things work when you examine its complexities up close...

Went to CuChi tunnels (pronounced KOO-CHEE) the next day after signing up for the local tour at Sinh Cafe. It was quite boring initially, me having not studied history, but the thrill began when we became tunnel rats for the day.



At the entrance of the tunnel...

Don't be deceived by these pictures, it was actually pitch dark in the tunnel but due to Ai Ping's camera, it made the whole duck-walking journey seem like a bed of roses. Uncle Niam aka George was filming the whole journey at the back. We went with Er Yi's friends for this tour...


After what seemed like forever, crawling in the dank and dark tunnel [those suffering from claustrophobia not advised to enter], we emerged victorious into the blinding sunlight (heh heh!)

Viet Cong guerillas...

The opening was specially designed for the small-sized Vietnamese soldiers to enter...how small can they get man...


Some of the traps devised by the Vietnamese to counter the Americans...

Went to My Tho.Ben Tre the next day. We cruised along the Mekong for 40 minutes [quite boring after awhile and all we did was take many pictures of boats...] Tried cocnut candy, toured bee farms, I carried a snake (!!!), drank snake wine [VERY repulsive], listened to traditional music,took a pony ride and tasted honey with kumquat juice.





Just look at the size of the Mekong fish!




We also got the chance to explore the smaller creeks of the Mekong...quite nice too...


It was heavy and the scaly,slimy skin was pulsating with life....

Spent 3 days at Phan Thiet.Mui Ne Resort which was a 5-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh. I think we Singaporeans weren't used to the lazy, slow lifestyle that is typical of such resorts. hence, the days were long there but it was a good time of rest and relaxation. We could hear the waves of the South China Sea crashing against the shore every night while we slept...







Sunset from our resort room...


On the second day, we went on a tour around Mui Ne to the White and Red Sand Dunes. The picture above was taken on the way to the white sand dunes. Really beautiful...the water was literally blue!

This was NOT photoshopped or edited!!

We rode horses while we were there too. At first, it was quite scary cos there was not much support at all and you only had the reins to balance yourself. At one point of time, the owner slapped the horse's back and caused it to run..very scary! VERY!


Horny monkey which kept flashing its privates at us. [It was a male by the way...]

White Sand dunes! While we were there, there was a mini sand storm and bits of sand were attacking our limbs. They felt like tiny needles pricking you everywhere and it was quite uncomfortable. The girl with us asked Er Yi whether we wanted to slide down the dunes for a fee but we declined cos they were really steep.

These were the red sand dunes. Not as impressive as the white ones cos it looked as if they dropped us off at some random construction site and showed this to us.

Throughout the tour, we made friends with 2 Korean ladies. One of them was a piano teacher working at Ho Chi Minh City. During the bus ride, there was an international language exchange of sorts: the Korean ladies, a Hong Kong couple and the 2 Vietnamese tour guides as well as us. Really enjoyed it!

Explored the area around the resort. Saw the fishermen and their bowl-shaped boats...


This calf was sucking its mother's udders so vigorously that the mother winced in pain occasionally...

For 2 days, we roamed the shores and helped fishermen and their children sort cockles. Played with the children as well...they really have a hard life man...

Looks like the musical "Miss Saigon's" cover...


The trip to the beach at night is simply worth going...besides catching the sun set, you can literally see the tide slowly coming closer to the shoreline [high tide].



Also visited Cho Binh Tay, Vietnam's answer to Chinatown while we were at Ho Chi Minh. It was quite boring for Ai Ping and I cos the adults (Er yi and her friends) took ages to shop and haggle over cashew nuts and coffee. By the time we were done, it was nightfall.

Coffee was super cheap there. They usually add a dollop of condensed milk together with their coffee to tame down its bitter taste...


There was hardly room to walk so we had to squeeze into nooks and crannies to wait for the aunties...

Super cute...boy with motorbike helmet. The ratio of motorbikes to cars in Vietnam is almost 10 to 1 or even more. Owning a car is a status symbol there...

Very adorable..we couldn't believe we actually saw a Vietnamese Ah Beng cradling his baby so fondly in broad daylight in front of everyone...

Makeshift hawker stalls for the hungry...

This looks as if it came straight from a postcard- Lonely Planet Style


As the adults went to Carmargue, an expensive French restaurant for dinner, both of us decided to explore the area for cheap and good food. On the way, we saw Duc's paradise:


We also passed by an Opera House near the Sheraton and Hilton Hotels...the night was really breezy and there were many couples around...come to think of it, it's quite ironic as Vietnamese couples, in general, are not afraid to show their affections openly despite them being a conservative Asian country...

Decided on this Italian restaurant after walking aimlessly for quite some time. They played a Jean-Baptiste Maunier and a Clemence song!

Ai Ping performing a surgery on the pizza...

The bill came up to very cheap and when we inquired about the food at the French restaurant, the adults said they weren't satisfied...

As we were not completely satiated yet, we went for ice cream at Kem Bach Dang, one of the well-known ice cream parlors recommended by Lonely Planet. The pandan,yam and strawberry ice cream was really nice...different from those we have in Singapore. The chocolate one wasn't that good though...very ordinary...brought the adults here for dessert. The owner recognised us and was very happy that we brought business for him.

I know this doesn't flow with the dialogue but we saw the fake Notre Dame Cathedral from the rooftop of Liberty 4 Hotel, the hotel where Er Yi's friends were lodging at. It was "fake" cos there is actually another one near the War Remnants Museum which we did not get to see...

On the last night at Ho Chi Minh, Er Yi decided that it was worth it to watch the Water Puppets even though the prices were exorbitant as it was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience." Did not regret watching it although there were mosquitoes everywhere. The musicians, seated at the side, also lent their voices for singing and mimicking real-life conversations of the peasants of the early ages...

Our breakfast for 3 days while lodging at All Asia Hotel 2 recommended by a friend of a friend of my Dad. We didn't really mind at all cos the baguette and the eggs were good.

We had this for dinner on the first night. Walked in circles just to locate this shop- "Pho 2000" - where Bill Clinton patronised before. Our efforts were rewarded! Accrding to Ai Ping and Er Yi, the chilli was really spicy and the Basil very shiok. I had mine plain so as not to spoil the taste of the clear broth.

I miss Pho Bo! (pronounced FUR-bo)

We had baguette at Pham Ngu Lao, HCMC's backpacker district..the sauce and dressing was very fresh. Throughout our stay in Vietnam, we kept drinking fruit juices and shakes cos they were less than S$1! Got so used to drinking such healthy stuff that when we had lunch at Changi Airport after touching down, I had to order Watermelon Juice!


Don't mind going back to Vietnam again man....there is still Hoi An and Danang,etc...