November

What's the first thing you'll think of about November? If you grew up in the 70s, it would definitely have to be November Rain by Guns N' Roses! All time favourite and during my school days, Guns N' Roses was the talk of the town. I still remember the Guns N' Roses stuff that I've drawn on my classroom's table, my school bag, almost everything was Guns N' Roses!

This is what I drew on my school bag and table!





November Rain

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you

Sometimes I need some time...on my
own Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one


Well.. Let's see what has happened in November for me.. I know I know.. I've not been updating much on my blog.. Other than being hooked on Heroes season 1 and 2, completing all episodes for the past 3 days on tudou.com and sleepless nights, it's been some time I'm hooked on series other than Sex and the City which was years back, and my last DVDs marathon.

Let's see...

This was one morning which I've yet to sleep and mum asked me to follow her to the supermarket. I couldn't remember the last time I went to the supermarket with her, and I just thought why not, since I used to accompany mum in the past.


These were the items mum bought and she was giving me a "lesson" on the price increase and which are the items that their prices have gone up and by how much... Mum really know her shopping in the supermarket well!


She even know what to purchase in order to get this packet of whatever-it-is for a discounted price!


Maddie's back on flight and she's craving for indo cuisine so we head down to this particular place at Far East Plaza. Beside been busy with her flights and me listening to her complains about work, I don't really see her much these days after she start flying, only when she's back from flight and have enough time to meet up. Other than that, flights were all packed.


Tereza's, her mum and godma (Vivian's mum) were in town! She was in Hong Kong for some Tatler photoshoot with 5 others from other parts of asia and made a stop here as well to visit LS. Apparently it's for some anniversary edition and covering on asia. They spent about 4 days here and as usual, bringing them around town and it was a first visit for Vivian's mum. I'm glad they had fun. We even brought them to Dragonfly! Hahaha...

We went shopping and had a try on the Godiva ice-cream


We had dinner at LS's new place, which is also Sammie's place, and LS is the cook for the night. He insisted on cooking for us and want us to try his cooking after he has done a few dinners for our friends, he wanted his mum, godma and sis to try as well, before going back home the next day.

Super Import Night at Expo. The guys arranged to go down for a look and it's been some time we met up as well. I brought along my DSLR and carelessly, I forgot to check the battery level since I just went for a photoshoot in Changi with the SPUG guys. When I reached there, took 2 shots and that's it! Low batt! WTF!!

Went around checking out who are using Nikon and tried my luck to see if anyone has any spare batts... But no luck... They're not so kind afterall... Well, what to do... Left my dslr at my friend's booth and just looked around while some of them had fun with the new racing game. Took a few shots with my mobile though...

Porsche GT3


Sean's new ride on display. He got a very good deal for this!


Met a lot of friends and their booths there since this car industry is not that big and someone knows someone anyhow. 6 degrees of separation.

Need a haircut and was lazy to go to PWP which I usually have my haircut at QB cut. So I walked out to the indian barber just along the main road which is near my place. It's the popular barber which has appeared on countless ads. If I'd not forgotten, it should be called, New Star Barber. A very very old place, which I believe should be more than 30 years of history. The equipments and stuff they have in the salon is really old! Antique! Even the barbers... I was in a bit of cold sweat when he was shaving for me... Hahaha... And the haircut took about 25 mins... Then again, I loved it. Traditional nostalgia place. I wonder if the boss will allow me to take some photos there... Anyway I did took a few with my mobile on the barber shaving me, my stubble.




Sammie, LS and I had lunch at this Chilli Padi restaurant which serves nonya buffet. Sammie was saying how nice and delicious it was so we went down for lunch and give it a try. It's cheaper for lunch and it's because they have 3 dishes lesser than the dinner menu. I just don't find it delicious and to my liking though.... I'm beginning to doubt Sammie's taste bud....




We took a bus back and Sammie is fast to meet the Z monster!


It's been some time I've met up with Elvin and Felix, my school mates. Besides busy with work overseas and Felix's new born girl, Elvin is in town and brought us to this pub which he's a regular called 酒潭林 at Carpenter Street. Very cosy and comfortable pub. I like their old chinese days concept and their female waiters (locals) are very friendly but not too friendly. We actually went down 3 days in a row and the number of liquor I've drank for these 3 days brings me back to the days I'd spend in Shanghai!

With the craze on Facebook going on, it was quite amazing that how Facebook has been growing so BIG! And how amazing it is linking all those you know. Yes, the people you know, but has lost contact for years... School mates that I've not seen since we left school in 1993, friends who have not been in contact for some time... They're slowly coming back in contact, again... No wonder this thing is worth millions!

So, November's is a month busy hosting Tereza, her mum and godma, with Facebook, with Heroes season 1 and 2. Doing things that I've used to do in the past, feeling nostalgic. Going out with friends who are busy and asking you out when they're free.

SPUG photo shoot

Brian organized a photo shoot in SPUG cos he lately purchased a camera and is into photography now. There were discussion of a photo shoot in SPUG for some time already cos there were a few photographers but it didn't fall through somehow. 5 of us turned up, Fish, Mark, HongJia, Brian and me.

Actually I was late, very late. In fact I didn't go for the photo shoot cos I dozed off just 2 hour before the meet up. It was raining and the weather is so nice, and I dozed off after chatting with Brian on msn that we'll meet up to chit-chat even though it's raining. My mobile happened to be on silent mode so didn't hear the calls and smses from them.

Eventually I woke up in 2 hours time, went down to meet them, and they have came back from shooting at Fullerton. But on my way back, I took this new road tot he highway and took a shot of the night skyline. And also another on the highway.





This Sunday we'll be going to Changi for another SPUG photo shoot.

Pontikarananak

Was fiddling around with Photoshop and also going through photos on Karan's and Axelle's facebook which they took in BKK. Came upon their Happy Friends' Day photos where they played with shutter speed and their theme was "Possessed", thus inspired me to do a movie poster from the photos they had, and with halloween round the corner.

I present to you all, Pontikarananak!!



Axelle prefer it in grey wordings

Alan & Terine

Our family has a new member. Let's welcome Terine to the family. My brother got married and I wish him all the best and a blissful marriage.



The dinner went well at Novotel Clarke Quay and the food was great. It was fun, high and dry. It's one of those occasion which gives you the excuse to drink a lot, and yes I did. My brother can't hold his liquor at all and I stepped in to help him on the cheers by his friends. Even stayed back after sending the guest off and continue drinking with his friends. Came back high and dry.

Here are some photos I took and a video.

The BMW Z4 as his wedding car. It's one hell of a ride. We took it out for a drive and gosh the power of this car is fantastic!






Our youngest aunt, Janet and 3rd aunt


Uncle Patrick (Janet's husband) checking out the sucking pig


Him teasing Zachy


Gabby enjoying her Huat Kueh


Snacks made by mum and sis




Video taken in the morning, fetching the bride, being "played" by the sisters and footage in ECP

[差一点] by 阿杜

[差一点] by 阿杜's new album [差一点] and here's the MV. It's been some time 阿杜 come up with some good songs. This sounds not bad. Plenty of jokes were cracked on the song's title [差一点] as well. Hehe...



[差一点]

＃差一点　你就是我的女人　差一些　手牵手的完整
　却在对的时间错过对的人　抓不住幸福时分

遇上了　错的人　渐渐的吻在她无心的嘴唇
感觉像一个旅程　走完了就分

错过了　对的人　决定就只在那一秒那一分
爱情的岔口　你是我等不到的路人

＊差一点　你就是我的女人　差一些　就和你共度一生
　因为对的时间对的人　就值得我为你奋不顾身

Repeat ＃

错过了　对的人　决定就只在那一秒那一分
如果没缘分　我也会固执的为你一人

Repeat ＊,＃

[想太多] by 李玖哲

[想太多] from 李玖哲's new album, [想太多]. Nice MV. He's getting better and slimmer. Love their Machi group as well.



[想太多]

妳笑著說　他是朋友　但妳眼中太溫柔
我的不安　那麼沉重　只有妳不懂

＃他霸佔了妳的心中　屬於我的角落
　所以妳說　我們　不是妳和我

＊是我想太多　妳總這樣說　但妳卻沒有　真的心疼我
　是我想太多　我也這樣說　這是唯一能　安慰我的理由

　Repeat ＃,＊

　我想我沒有　錯怪了什麼　雖然妳不說　或許錯在我
　太晚我才懂　愛了妳太多

　Repeat ＊

Movie marathon

Was home for the past few days and went on a movie marathon. Haven not visited the cinemas for a long time and I got this stack of DVDs which I've not watched.

Here's the list of movies I've watched in a day. WIth my ratings and links to the trailers.

Transformer 7/10

A war re-erupts on Earth between two robotic clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, leaving the fate of mankind hanging in the balance. High-school student Sam Witwicky buys his first car, who is actually the Autobot Bumblebee. Bumblebee defends Sam and his girlfriend Mikaela Banes from the Decepticon Barricade, before the other Autobots arrive on Earth. They are searching for the Allspark, and the war on Earth heats up as the Decepticons attack a United States military base in Qatar. Sam and Mikaela are taken by the top-secret agency Sector 7 to help stop the Decepticons, but when they learn the agency also intends to destroy the Autobots, they formulate their own plan to save the world.




Gridiron Gang 8/10

Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together. The movie is based on a true story of a juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson), who is frustrated by the 75% recidivism rate of the teenage felons that he is responsible for at Camp Kilpatrick. Sean Porter, a former college football star, comes up with an idea to form a football team. Porter believes that football will teach the teenage inmates what it takes to be responsible, teammates, and be winners for the first time, not losers. Porter and probation officer, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit) become the coaches, and they only have 4 weeks to get a team together before their first game. The juveniles must give up their gang rivalries on the gridiron to unite as a team.



DOA: Dead or Alive 5/10

The movie adaptation of the best selling video game series Dead or Alive.
A number of fighters are invited to DOA, an invitational martial arts contest. They travel to the tournament island by plane, until they have to jump out mid-flight with parachutes, and then have until sundown to reach the main island to be entered into the tournament. Fighters are then pooled against one another in a knock-out style tournament, with the loser of a battle sent home, and the winner progressing to the subsequent round. The plot revolves around four female fighters who begin as rivals, but subsequently find themselves teaming up against another force.



Employee of The Month 6/10

At Super Club, a large warehouse store, the employees strive to obtain the "Employee of the Month" award with the benefits of having their picture featured on the wall of fame in the staff lounge. Zack Bradley, a box boy, and Vince Downey, a cashier, are two competitive Super Club employees. Vince has become head cashier of the store and winner of seventeen consecutive "Employee of the Month" awards. Zack, on the other hand, is a slacker but is popular with his colleagues. Zack has not won any "Employee of the Month" awards and has no desire to except when Amy, a new cashier who only dates "Employee of the Month" winners, transfers to the store. Zack and Vince compete to get Amy's attention through competition and courtship. Vince attempts to impress Amy with skills as a cashier and his seventeen "Employee of the Month" awards, while Zack attempts to use several methods of charm and comedy to win her affection. After realizing that Amy is falling for Vince, Zack believes his only chance to get her is to win Super Club's next "Employee of the Month" award.



Tazza - The High Rollers, also known as The War of Flower 7/10

The story involves a group of grifters involved in the Korean card game called Hwatu.
Go-nee has lost his entire savings, saved over a period of 5 years, at a gambling joint. While Go-nee drinks heavily, determined to throw away his life, he discovers that he was swindled by professional fraudulent gamblers, so-called ‘slickers’. To regain his sister’s money, Go-nee begins training to be the best slicker under a master of gambling, Mr. PYEONG. Go-nee becomes famous, wandering about different gambling places throughout the country with PYEONG. Moreover, Madam JUNG who has never gotten along with Mr. PYEONG, begins to show interest in Go-nee…



The Show Must Go On 7/10

In-gu (Song Kang-ho) is a kingpin in a dark world. However, hes the sweetest husband and dad, full of love for his family. His only goal in life is to build a picturesque house out in the country and live a gracious life with his family. But, theres a problem. His daughter, going through puberty, is embarrassed about her dads job and stays away from him. And his wife nags him constantly to get a stable job. Nonetheless, he tries even harder to keep his syndicate together, thinking that the only way to be a good dad is to work hard and bring home the bacon. However, in reality, family matters get in the way of his business. To make things worse, he faces a power struggle against an ambitious underling.




Breach 8/10

"Breach" is based on the true story of former 25 year veteran FBI Intelligence agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper). In December 2000, Hanssen, one of the best Intelligence agents at the FBI, was reassigned to the Washington D.C. FBI Headquarters to head up a new division to protect all the FBI's classified information. Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is a young surveillance and computer specialist who hopes to become an FBI field agent one day. Eric is recruited to his dream job in Intelligence at FBI headquarters to clerk for Robert Hanssen. Eric soon finds out why he was really assigned to work for Hanssen. Hanssen is suspected of being a traitor and selling American secrets to the Soviet Union for years. Eric must discover Hanssen's secrets and bring them to the light of day, before more damage is done to the security of the United States.




The Holiday 8/10

Movie trailer editor, Amanda of Los Angeles, CA and journalist Iris of Surrey, England live five thousand miles apart and have never met, but are dealing with the same problem: men. Amanda having just broken up with her cheating boyfriend, Ethan and Iris having pined for her ex, Jasper, becoming engaged to the woman he left her for decide to take a vacation during Christmas. They come upon a website called home exchange and swap houses for two weeks both with a goal to forget their troubled love lives. But love ends up finding them anyways. Amanda starts a romance with Iris' older brother, Graham, a book editor and Iris starts a romance with a movie composer named Miles. With new found romance, both their lives change forever.




Sunflower 9/10

After dropping out of high school, Tae-sik sweeps out bullies on the street with his bare hands. Whenever he drinks alcohol, he becomes doglike and he is called "mad dog" because of not being afraid of a knife or blood. He is paroled, but Min-seok--who Tae-sik harasses---has become a detective. Yang-gi and Chang-mu, Tae-sik's ex-followers, become enemies of each other and people surrounding them are tense. Not concerned about this, Tae-sik holds a diary in which are written promises to keep, including staying away from booze, fights and erasing his tattoo. He goes and sees Deok-ja, who gave him the diary, and she welcomes him like her true son. Tae-sik begins a new life with Deok-ja and her daughter, Hee-ju, at a quiet diner at Sunflower, however, nobody believes him except the mother and daughter. At the end of cold distrust, the unimaginable counterattack of despair comes... will his wish be realized?



The music video. I so like the OST. Although I don't understand Korean, the singer's voice bring the feeling so much into the song!




Among the list, my favourite's gotta be Sunflower. The story line not only touching, it also strike home some reality. Well, I also quite like Gridiron Gang and Breach cos I'm one who like to watch movies based on a true story. Like wise for The Holiday, heart warming, just like Love Actually, moreover I like the UK accent in some movies. Which is why I would prefer UK/Ireland flims. Just love that accent. I quite like Korean movies as well. Their slapstick comedy and expression, it's just so funny!

I prefer movies which are based on true stories, foreign languages and love movies. Some action movies is fine but not really a big fan of them.

Zachary's 3rd birthday

Happy Birthday to my dearest nephew, Zachary! He's 3rd birthday and this boy is getting cuter as the day goes by!


Mum was the chef of the day and she cooked up one helluva feast for everyone! Chef Jenny doing her stuff!


This is Zachary's birthday cake. Baked by his mum. Cupcakes as birthday cake. Dark chocolate cupcake covered with nutella and sprinkles.




Look at the table full of food need to be cooked!


Beancurd mixed with chestnuts, prawns, carrots and then cut into pieces ready to be fried. With a dip of Thai chili sauce, this is the most popular dish of the night.




Duck braised with wine that were made from glutinous rice and vinegar that were left over for days, which produce this wine called ShaoXing.


Broccoli, as a base for mushrooms to be placed on top of it.




This is my favourite! Although I don't really like spicy food, this sambal prawn and squid with lady fingers is super delicious! Everyone agrees that this dish is good and it was finished by the time the party ends! All left were some lady fingers.


The spread!


One of my younger cousin, YanLing. Taking her 'O' levels this year. Camera shy as well.


Zachy boy is sitting on my 3rd grand aunt's lap while being "lectured" by grand aunt Janet. Who is my youngest aunt.


Zachy with sis, cousins and friends. There were still about 10 more babies in the house. The one day that I see so many children in the house... Scary sight... :P


Zachy, grandma and Gabby (Zachy's sister)


Zachy and grandma


Zachy being cheeky




Another cousin of mine, Vanessa, with YanLing enjoying the cupcakes. I got 4 younger cousins, YanLing, Clarissa, Nicholas and Vanessa. YanLing the eldest, Vanessa the youngest.


Enjoying his cupcake.




Kids just love presents!


He had so much fun today!