Bad Luck

With 300 resumes on his desk and a need to pick someone quickly, my boss told me to make calls to the bottom 50 and toss the rest. "Throw away 250 resumes?" I asked. "What if the best candidates are in there?" "You have a point," he said. "But then again, I don't need people with bad luck around here."

- Becky Horowitz in Reader's Digest Feb 2007 issue

Christmas 2007

It was almost a perfect day yesterday.

I remember sitting in the garden in the late afternoon, the sun on my face an the wind blowing.

That was after most of the preparations had been done - the flowers bought from Far East had been arranged and put up, the floor swept... The 2 heavenly slabs of beef gently roasting in the oven, with their delectable smells wafting through the air.

The menu that night was two 2kg slabs of roast beef and a 3kg slab of pork, rolled and stuffed with prunes and apples. That was accompanied with the perfect red cabbage. There was also a platter of roast vegetables which I had to force myself not to gobble up - the roast pumpkin was to die for. There was also my favourite roast sweet potato! Oooooo! And for carbs, we baked our own bread! I can tell you, you've got to hand it to bakers who knead their own bread! It took forever. We baked two types, a flaxseed and black sesame with wholemeal and a poppy seed loaf! Yup, poppy seeds which we bought locally.





I don't know how genuine they were and I can't tell anyway, so I'll just take the lady's word for it that they were poppy seeds.

You don't get high on them. At least I don't know how to prepare them such that they wil make you high. So, will poppy seeds cause you to fail a drug test?

Poppy seeds come in two colours, the black and white. If I am not mistaken, the white is generally used for pastries and savoury dishes, while the black can be used for curries and stews.

We went for the usual midnight mass after dessert of a annual flaming christmas pudding with rum and some strawberry port to wash it down.

Of course we didn't get seats at church. I don't know what it is... But I am beginning to questions my faith, or the lack of it.

Popped by Chin Sin and Thad's place after mass and but I didn't drink. Thad was pissed drunk. Lol.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Will be seeing the blondes. Amir is playing for th RJ alumni band. but I think you know who I'm wanting to see, no?

Distractions

Been wanting to post for sometime now. Damn videostic.com - the cause of my delay? Heroes.

Last night we celebrated Holly's birthday. Mum made an amazing, and I mean AMAZING roast pork. It was a 2kg slab of pork loin that was rolled with a stuffing of chopped prunes, apples, coriander and spinach leaves. After rolled the pork was tied and roasted fat side up at about 180 degrees for about 2hours. With the fat crackling, the only word to describe it was exquisite!

There was a red cabbage side as well. Initially I thought that it would go and hey, how tasty could cabbage be? But the cabbage was an explosion of flavour. Baked in a dish with apples and onions, it was the perfect complimentary dish for the pork. Also it didn't hurt that it looked so bloody good with the purple cabbage.

Dessert did not disappoint either - a Chocolate Amer - a flourless chocolate sponge layered with bitter chocolate mousse from Bakerzin. Thankfully didn't get the bigger cake - this was was a size 5 and just nice for the 6 of us.



Well, dinner time!

Home

Met De and Nick today after work. 

Nick got me two tailored shirts! Very nice. And pants too! Argh, feel bad. It still amazes me when we finish each others' sentences or when we know each other's humour so well that it just cracks us up. Lol. I was laughing on the way back in the cab. 

De got great Christmas presents too. They were early and not wrapped, but they were #1 issues of some of my favourite comics like Wonder Woman (Wonder-f**king-Woman!) and Supergirl. I think I am gonna frame those up. Can't believe he got them. And I suppose it has been awhile since I have been reading comics but I so miss doing that. 

We ate at the above Tonkatsu restaurant, Tonkichi. Great food, and you would probably never have realised that there were a few variations to the seemingly-common tonkatsu. It is quite a different experience - to start with you get to grind your own sauce! Well, just the sesame seeds and then you can add your own chili powder... I loved the pickles. Always have.  I could just eat them with rice on its own. To wash it all down we had ume-shu. All very tai-tai like. 

Also spent a bomb on facial cleansing products. From no less than Kiehl's. I shan't say how much, but I suppose it was an investment for my face. Oh dear, what a blonde. 

I should go to bed. 

Christchurch – Day 8

Christchurch – Day 8

Didn’t write last night. There wasn’t much to write about anyhow.

The weather this morning was great! The Sun was actually out and it looked to be a great day. Though about three it turned for the worst and didn’t get better.

I went opposite Bealey to Circa today since Jacksons was closed today. I didn’t see the last time, but there was this rubber-stamp shop which sold an incredible about of rubber stamps. You could go crazy just looking at them. And then I bought about twenty bucks worth of paper and the lovely lady gave me oneof her catalogues. Really makes you realize how small art is a part of Singapore.

Went to the Art Gallery and the weekend Art Centre market today. They really had unique stuff there.

There was this green woolen jacket I had been eyeing since Wednesday and I finally decided to get it today. I mean it was hand-woven and didn’t cost much – about $89 as compared to the Icebreaker. So I rushed back to the cathedral square about four thirty and went to the stall. I was hoping he hadn’t closed yet, because they normally start to close about four and lo and behold, it was the ONLY piece he hadn’t kept!

We finally got a chance to go to Strawberry Fare. On the whole the mains weren’t fantastic – they were good but I think I’d probably rather got there for a dessert or a light meal instead. Sarah and I shared the entrée of Glazed Figs with creamy blue Castello, proscuitto and fig vincotto with crostini. Now that was fantastic. The cheese was Brie but was more like blue, strong and almost pungent. I really enjoyed the way the cheese and the figs mix in your mouth or the way the saltiness of the proscuitto cuts across the sweetness of the figs. Truly a match made in heaven. The mains were a duck confit and a sweet Briar Merino Lamb rack. The duck wasn’t what I was used to as a confit – the skin was pretty soft, like it was stewed. The texture of the lamb was only so-so but the taste was fantastic. There were two complimenting sauces – a yoghurt mint and some spiced chutney, which complimented it perfectly.

Dessert was the highlight – I had the Ultimate Chocolate Dessert, which consisted of a rich chocolate brownie, a chocolate mousse, a chocolate ice cream and another dark chocolate pudding. To top it off there was a raspberry coulis and a bunch of sliced strawberries thrown in. Sarah had the sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce.

It’s the last night. Time to pack.

 

Christchurch-Day 6

A trio of three pork cuts with sweet corn & kumara cakes, leek and feta fondue, saffron & apple jelly… Now doesn’t that sound heavenly?

On the rectangular platter, from left to right was first the sirloin of pork, grilled to perfection and sitting on top of it was the leek and feta fondue - A slightly tart bite to cut the saltiness of the pork. Oomph! And then an amber-coloured jelly of saffron and apple resting atop a glorious terrine of pork wrapped with a strip of crispy bacon. Lastly, closer to my local palate, was a chunk of pork belly with the sweet corn and kumara cake under, very much like the local “begedil”. 

Dessert was shared between Zoë, Sarah and I. A strawberry and chocolate tiramisu with Tahitian vanilla bean anglaise and vanilla ice-cream, a warm Italian ricotta cake with espresso anglaise and chocolate ice-cream and a chocolate plate of soft-centred fondant, chocolate marquise and decadent chocolate ice-cream.

All this at the posh Joir De Voir, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

The day was spent mainly at the art centre, the cathedral square market and the High St and Tuam St area, which is probably the equivalent of the Haji Lane area.

Was thinking of taking a trip out to Lyttelton or Akaroa tomorrow. I do think Lyttelton would be more practical – only about a 45min ride out. We’ll see how. 

Christchurch-Day 5

I managed to wake up earlier today. Earlier being 10.15am. Went over to Jacksons and bought breakies for everyone.

I had a chicken, cranberry and brie sandwich while bought a canned beef with whole grain mustard and another beef sandwich for the two men and a pancakes with blueberries and bacon for the lady. Of course she ate it only about one odd hour later, when it was cold.

Above is the wall at the entrance of Jacksons.

The highlight of today was dinner with Zoë. I was, initially, apprehensive about dinner with her naturally. It has been awhile, and the last time we me last year it was only just alright I suppose.

But tonight was great! We actually had conversation! She picked us up at six at the Motor Lodge and drove a few roads down to Deli de Luxe for dinner. Dinner lasted till almost ten thirty.

Tomorrow will be mostly for myself! Whoo-hoo! I would love to go to the market at the cathedral square and hopefully get that necklace!

Breakfast: Chicken, Cranberry and Brie Sandwich, Jacksons

Lunch: Buckwheat noodles in Bonito Soup with Canadian Crab, Crowne Plaza (Yeeeuck!)

Dinner: Ravioli la Bela, Deli De Luxe | Hazelnut Latte & Pumpkin and Chocolate muffin, Coffee Culture

Christchurch – Day 4

Woke up late today, at 11am. Since it was so late I just did the laundry until lunch which was in the hotel's cafe.

I had a very nice and light baked aubergine, courgette and mozzarella tart.

After lunch I had to get a pair of formal black shoes. Shoes in NZ are pretty expensive. Generally about a hundred over dollars. In the end I got a Hush Puppy pair for $119. Most people recommend Sergios along Colombo St. It was a very nice shop, though I think mostly branded.

Dinner was a very long-drawn affair which started at six and ended about 11 plus.

Tomorrow we move to the Avenue Motor Lodge along Bealey Ave. We stayed there last year and it was a very decent and nice place. Family run by a lovely couple, Bernie and Jeff. They've got an adorable cat, Muscles and magnificent German Shep, though the name eludes us now. (Ah, his name was Kaiser and he was magnificent.)

Night night.

Christchurch – Day 3

Back at the ol’ Crowne Plaza now, the gang at their usual hangout, the Christchurch Casino. Went for a late dinner at the Casino with them before heading to the 24 hour convenience store to buy back some instant noodles for them – they’ll be needing it since I reckon they’d be coming back about 4am, the same as the other day.I was exhausted today. The free Internet access at Bethlehem Motel didn’t help - I was up till late. So, on the flight on the way back I was knocked out and didn’t even realize when we took off.

We took a Bombardier Q300 from Tauranga to Wellington - a relatively small carrier though bigger than the Beech. Wellington was a beautiful city. From what little I saw, it was coastal town that looked fantastic in the evening sun. The apartments by the bay all built upon the hilly terrain, the clear blue water, a haven for anyone loving the sea. While on transit in Wellington, we collectively bought about $800 worth or woolies from this brand, Icebreaker Merino, which apparently is very good for winter. I got two pieces – a thin inner tee and an outer sweater.

Lunch was in Tauranga with Wendy and Neil and was at a seaside joint, the name escapes me now but I shall get it from dad later. It was a great place and I had a Red Wine Platter. Probably the only reason I chose it was because apart from the fact that it gave a good sample of almost everything, there was blue cheese! Yum yum - A platter of heaven. Apart that giant slice of cheese, there was roast beef with a side of caramalised onion, salami, smoked sausages, and this pepper or something stuffed with a cream cheese.

Tomorrow should be a great day – I think I can finally go to the art museum.

Lunch: Seaside cafe in Tauranga, Red Wine Platter

Dinner: Christchurch Casino, Open Lamb Sandwich

Tauranga - Day 2

Kia Ora. 

Or that's "hello" in Maori.

Today finds us in Tauranga. A beautiful piece of nature cut out from the rest of the world. Here there are no skyscrapers or road congestion and their idea of crowded is the road with 6 cars at the traffic light. 

We took a flight from Christchurch Airport to Auckland which took about 1h 15mins. Of course there was plenty of delays and I think we took off only almost half an hour after the scheduled time. We sat on a small Boeing 737 which felt quite rickety. Touched down in Auckland at 1.50PM- the time we were supposed to board the other plane to Tauranga. 

The domestic airports are quite different. For one I guess you could say the security is quite relaxed with minimal checks in between Auckland and Tauranga. We had to walk onto the tarmac to get onto the next plane. I thought I had seen small. This aircraft was a Beech 1900D and it was small. Like zero flight attendants and I think no more than 20 people kinda small. Lol. 

Tauranga or the Bay of Plenty is really a beautiful costal town. We were out tonight with dad's friend's here and after a very filling dinner we went for a walk by the coast which was alive and thumping with the beat of the music. I think New Zealanders are pretty religious people. What may have sounded like a rock band was actually this guy belting out Christian Rock. I've got some pictures from dinner, of course only of my food. Will upload if they look nice. 

Oh, and on a random note, New Zealand has a population of 4.2 million people. In the WHOLE of New Zealand! Golly. The same as Singapore!

Tomorrow it's back to Christchurch.

Hopefully I'll get up early enough to go to the nearby bustling market (which consists only a a small row of shops) to pick up some freshly baked bread for breakies. Yum yum.

Ka kite ano.

Christchurch – Day 1

The moon seems brighter, the sky more vast here in New Zealand.

We touched down in Christchurch at about ten in the morning, local time. The flight was bearable – at ten odd hours. Upon coming out from the Christchurch Airport, there was a sense of nostalgia – just one year ago in September I followed dad and Sar here. Back then it was winter, and there was snow on the same path I was walking on. That was also the first time I remember seeing snow up-close.

Reached the Crowne Plaza just before noon and we basically slept till 5pm, even though I wanted to take only a one-hour nap. I went to the gym about six-ish had a run and some upper body workouts… And by 7.30 odd we were out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant nearby.

It’s a 12.09am now and the rest are out at the casino. Lol… The favourite hangout while we are here.

Tomorrow we’re off to Tauranga. There will be a 2-hour transit in Auckland. It’ll be my first time there, am quite excited.

I’m also looking forward to next week – because then is when we’ll have more time to explore. Meaning I can go around the cultural precinct!

Until then.

It was Spring...

My baby

13.3-inch glossy display

2.0GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Up to 4GB memory

Up to 250GB hard drive

Apple Remote with Front Row

Built-in iSight camera

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Slot-loading optical drive

Built-in AirPort Extreme

FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports

Gigabit Ethernet

Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

Still needs getting used to. But my goodness - this means more than just a laptop. It represents my life for the next five years. Australia beckons and that's where I'm gonna be! Now I wanna get that 500GB external hard disk. Man, it looks so sweet! Hahah.

Mum made a lovely roast last night. I did take pictures, perhaps I will upload soon.

J

Because I am bo-liao.

Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, and things. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name. Nothing made up!

Your name: John
Four words: Jack-off, Jovial, Jubilant, Joyful
State/country: Jordan or Jamaica!
Boy Name: Josiah / Julian
Girl Name: Jacqueline / Jennica
Occupation: Jam Taster (Well, someone's gotta do it right?!)
Something you can wear: Jock-strap!
Something found in a kitchen: Juicer
Something you shout: Ja-neh!
Something you do at school: Joke around
Name of an animal: Jaguar
Name of a drink: Jello Shooters
Name a holiday: July the 4th
Name a body part: Jugular

Jim Carrey- Veracosa

There's bad and then there's baaaaaaaaaad.

Hope and macaroni

Mum made a comforting macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. Yum Yum. Though sometimes we crave the cheap junk food version, tonight's one was made with good cheese. I think there was at least a Parmesan in it. Topped with breadcrumbs. Man, stomach's rumbling now.

So I was looking up the dish online and it seems it has more history and culture than American TV dinners I associate it with:

When cooked traditionally, the cheese sauce is often prepared in the style of Mornay sauce, a classical French sauce of butter and flour cooked into a roux, to which milk and cheese are added. Alternatively, the sauce may consist of a custard base with cheese added. The sauce and cooked macaroni are then combined. Often the dish is then baked as a casserole, sometimes with a breadcrumb topping. The resulting dish displays a contrast between a soft interior and crisp exterior that can only be made by dry-heat cooking.

I also bought some O-Level Math books today. Yeah... My attempt to get back in the mood for studying since Feb isn't too far away and I suppose I will need to learn how to study again. Lol. Army is baaaaad for you man.

I'm actually quite excited about doing more Math. Or perhaps I'm just saying that... Wait till I get the first question wrong. Sigh. Lol.

Ermm, just a little of how I am feeling in the poem reflected below... Still takes up a lot of my thoughts...

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

~ Langston Hughes

I suppose that is all I can do. That, and hope.

To De

Because everyone should see how gay he is...



Miss you De.

The tourist trap

Had dinner with Josh at Newton Circus last night.

Do not eat hor-fun there.

My goodness. There was only one stall I saw which sold hor-fun - stall number 62.

And my goodness. It sucked. Really.

It really is a tourist trap. With the generally mediocre food, and the deaf and mute people selling Nemo the clownfish... I guess the company made it better. Okok, the or-lua was pretty alright.

Feeling very annoyed now. At work. And then I thought of a question Joshua asked me, about who irritates me. Last night I couldn't think of anyone... Hahah, I just messaged him to tell him who I finally realised never fails to irritate the life out of me. I shan't put his name here. :)

At least thinking of the conversation last night and then realising that I do get extremely annoyed by someone made me laugh.

I don't know why.

Meeting the Blonde's and Josh tonight. At least that will be a relief.

TGIF.

Stardust

I must say, I first picked up the book only because of the cover. I mean, check it out. Doesn't it look waaaayyy cool? Haha.

Talk about judging a book by it's cover. But as it turns out, it was a very entertaining read and I am happy with the movie adaptation too. Not too much changes, Claire Danes as Yvaine the star and Michelle Pfeiffer as Lamia are just perfect. Not to mention that adorable-looking Charlie Cox as Tristan.

The movie was very nice.

Perfect date movie. Honest. Sigh.

Being the complete sucker for romance, of course my favourite scenes were all the soppy romance parts when they were dancing together on the ship, when he pushed her into the bush to take cover and I think when Yvaine finally shines.

De Niro as Captain Shakespeare was fabulous. In every sense of the word. He injected the right kind of lighthearted-ness which only made watching the movie more enjoyable. Gotta love him for giving Tristan that makeover.

Thanks to Nadia (Mmmuacks Babe!), she searched for the quote I was looking for and sent it to me! My favourite quote from the movie:

Yvaine: [in the pirate ship] Tell me about Victoria.

Tristan: Well, she... she... [Yvaine waits for an answer]

Tristan: There's nothing else to tell you.

Yvaine: The little I know about love is that it's unconditional. It's not something you can buy.
Tristan: Hang on! This wasn't about me trying to buy her love. This was to prove to her how I felt.

Yvaine: Ah... And what's she doing to prove how she feels about you?

Tristan: Well... [doesn't answer her question]

Well, that and:

Yvaine: You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn't true. I know a lot about love. I've seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Tristan is... I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no fits. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.

Now doesn't that make you want to fall in love? Hahah...

Personal Profile

Colorgenics - http://www.paulgoldinresearch.com/cg/

Enough is enough - and you feel that you've had enough for a while. You don't need any more battles. You just would like to be able to shout 'stop' and experience a little peace and calm - even if it be only for a little while. This doesn't mean that you need to cut yourself off from the rest of the world - it just means that you are seeking some respite, some physical or emotional relaxation that could release some of the the tension and possibly reduce the internal conflict.

You are a leader in every sense of the word. You know where you are going and you know what you need to do in order to get there. You exercise an inherent initiative in overcoming obstacles and difficulties. You either hold, or wish to achieve, a position of authority by means of which full control can be exerted over events.

You are feeling under considerable pressure and you are being forced to make concessions. You are not particularly happy with this state of affairs but you feel that you have no alternative. If you were to force issues you would be left out or completely ignored by one and all.

For some time now your hopes and expectations have been denied and because of this you are becoming withdrawn and introverted. Continual disappointment has manifested itself in you becoming both suspicious and restrained you have become withdrawn from others and have receded more and more into yourself. You seem to have lost your innate enthusiasm and imaginative nature, for fear that you may be carried away by it only to find that you are wasting your time. You are loath to trust people, as in the past your trust has been misplaced. You seem to be keeping yourself cautiously aloof from others. At this moment in time your attitude is to trust nobody - until they can prove themselves to you.

Disappointment and the fear that there is no point in formulating fresh goals have led to anxiety and you are distressed by the lack of any close and understanding relationships. You feel you are not appreciated by those who matter to you. You are attempting to escape into a world on which you can relax and feel at ease.

Going bananas

I meant to write this post yesterday, on Thursday. It's now 2.09am.

We had to prematurely harvest this first batch of bananas as the ants were getting to them. Moreover for some weird reason they were randomly splitting down the centres. So rather than let them all go to waste dad decided to just chop off the whole bunch.

They look perfectly ripe after they'd split though. And the ants and fruit flies certainly thought so. I think it's cool, the way we've got a whole farm at home. Lol. Apart from bananas, there're papayas, mangoes (though we've yet to really eat them), and soon coconuts too. Not to mention the odd basil, spring onion and parsley I try to grow now and then. Oh, and then that blackberry shrub we got from Cameron Highlands. Only bears fruit once in awhile an when it does never enough for anything substantial.

When I feel like it I'll go cut down the banana tree - they only bear fruit once, after which they are useless. But no worries, they're plenty more shoots growing out from the sides.

I made a boo-boo today. I shall not elaborate here but I feel i should have known better.. Business etiquette and all. After the meeting we had a lunch. My goodness, I couldn't wait to get out of it. It was just so draggy. Furthermore that HR woman was acting so familiar with me. Argh. What do you talk to straight business women about? I haven't a clue. It was almost awkward. And the thing is I think I almost didn't bother trying. It's not that I don't give a hoot about the business, it's just that I didn't deem the HR woman anyone important enough to give a hoot. Sigh, all for the sake of pretense.

The beef hor-fun at Geylang Lor 9 is fantastic. Stomach's rumbling now just thinking of it. Oooo... Plus the cut green chili.

I suppose I should turn in now.

Serenity

I made payment for Newcastle today.

And then I also realised that the orientation is on the 11th of Feb, which is a Monday. And Pang advised me to go in on the Thursday before that which is the 6th just in case I want to purchase anything before the weekend when the bulk of the shops would be closed. Golly. That's very little time left. All that's left now is to purchase the air ticket and finalise my lodging.

After work went for dinner and had a very pleasant evening at Botanic Gardens. It's changed with all the new plants and that masive swan sculpture in the middle of the lake. It looked daunting in the twlight, I have to see it by day. I seem to recall the paths and the layout in more or less the same manner. Of course there was Mr Kaypo in his sunglasses in the middle of the night. Lol.

He really does make me want to be a better person. I don't know why. I suppose the closest thing I can describe it is like an aura. And his soul is just so... "good" (for the lack of a better word) that it just overflows.

His cup runneth over. Lol.

Interestingly, the origin of that phrase was from the Bible:

Psalms 23:5 (King James Version):

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I wish you love...

Goodbye, no use leading with our chins,
this is where our story ends,
Never lovers ever friends.

Goodbye, let our hearts call it a day,
but before you walk away,
I sincerely want to say.

I wish you you blue birds in Spring,
to give your heart a song to sing,
and then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love.

And in July, lemonade to cool you
in some leafy glade, I wish you health,
and more than wealth,
I wish you love.

My breaking heart and I agree,
that you and I could never be.
So with my best, my very best
I set you free.

I wish you shelter from the storm,
a cozy fire to keep you warm,
Most of all, when snowflakes fall,
hot damn, I wish you love.
All kinds of love, a whole gang of love.

-Frank Sinatra

Lightning strikes

The Sun was magnificent today. It got overcast about three plus and then eventually started pouring. Just before it did, there was this brilliant flash of lightning followed by the indomitable boom of thunder.

The flash was just a tad too bright and the boom too loud to be far away. What followed was a crack of something breaking.

Looking into my neighbour's house, I saw a chunk of masonry on the glass roof. The glass was cracked, with spiderweb patterns, and it just led me to think of the force of that lightning strike. Also what would happen if I were at the receiving end. Haha, somehow, I don't think I'd end up like The Flash.

Three fun facts about lighting:

At any given moment, 2,000 thunderstorms are estimated to be underway around the world, and lightning strikes the ground about 100 times each second, or 8 million times a day. The U.S. has more thunderstorms than any other nation in the world, averaging over 100,000 thunderstorms a year; China is second in the world with over 85,000.

Lightning does strike the same place twice. The Empire State Building in New York City is struck about 23 times a year, on average.

When an aircraft in flight is struck by lightning, the aircraft itself usually induces the flash. Typically, there is little or no damage to the flying aircraft. Commercial aircraft are struck by lightning once every 5,000-10,000 flight hours.

For more information on lightning check out Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

Went to Amir's place yesterday evening. It was kinda partly for Hari Raya.. And his mum's nasi briyani was quite good... We played a really old-school game of Payday.. It was fun enough. I suppose. For a bunch of guys over 21 years old! (Except Josh, Lol.)

We eventually left Amir's place after 1am, much to the chagrin of his mum. Long story short I ended up at Emerald Hill with Josh after he had washed off the bird-droppings (Time was either 0220, o221 or o222. We'll see if it comes out.)

Anyway, I really like talking to him. Budding friendship. Gaaah! After a pretty long but I suppose nice chat, we headed home. It was already almost 4.

Later on tonight we're supposed to be going for dinner to celebrate Joshua's (my brother this time) 18th birthday. He normally likes meat so perhaps we'll go for Brazilian at East Coast.

Ecstatic

Was talking to dad today... And I told him that it was time to pay for my Uni fees as the new year starts this March.

He actually gave me a cheque to open a new bank account! So tomorrow will be heading down to OCBC to open a current account...

You cannot believe the excitement I am feeling. Though the plans look pretty solid, I cannot fully grasp this happiness, because money is fleeting. In the sense that money is rolling in now, but in the fickle world of business, if the customer drops us, well, we're fucked.

I also cannot help but feel selfish in this pursuit of my future... By going overseas, of course there will be a burden on the family. I can only do my best to balance work and studies there, and try to supplement my income.

Newcastle has just changed their course accreditation. It was initially a five year course - the first three years a mandatory Bachelors in Design (Architecture) and only upon graduation do you get to proceed to the final two years where you get a Bachelors in Architecture. Now, they've changed that to a Masters! At least now I don't have to think I'll be behind those in Singapore since they too get a Masters in five years.

Need to go walk Mandy now...

Bleak

Am feeling way better today though I was cooped up at home the ENTIRE day! The contractor from next door was over today to fix that hole in my wall.

It was interesting though, when I first woke up in the morning and wondered what that bright orange steak was.. Until I realised it was the thin layer of masking tape that covered the hole.

So while I wilted away most of the day trying to figure out small but oh-so-annoying HTML problems and errors blogspot kept showing up. And then I realised, "Oh! I have to revert back to the stupid old format!" What's the point of upgrading if the two systems aren't even compatible?!

On a more positive note, because there wasn't much food at home and I think I ate quite healthy - nut bars, almonds, pistachios, peanut butter (Oh, man, this one really sticks to the roof of your mouth! I think the brand was Adams'.)

Kinda hungry now... TGIF.

Oh, and the album Joshua recommended, Mika's Life in Cartoon Motion, is awesome! Also the theme song for Luct, Caution is stuck in my head. But it is a beautiful piece.

Oooh... Argh... Too much of the good thing?

Man, been trying to add in a new blog skin. Tried following all them instructions but still to no avail.

It is infuriating.

Didn't feel too good today. Was sleeping in the boot of the car for a bit and when we got down to go for tea I had this slight headache. Of course I had been having a queasy tummy since morning.. So I guess I already wasn't well. No idea what caused it.

Dinner was at the Sha Villa - Rosette was it? SHATEC's training school. Marcus's grading of sorts was this week and he asked Nadia and I to come down.. We called Nick too.

The food was so-so only. I suppose I will still go to rate food like this in the future since I of all people feel the need to encourage talent. The duck was tough, the soup salty, the palate cleanser too overpowering and there was nothing velvety about the desert - which was named "something-velvet".

We bumped into Chin Sin and his mum while we were there. He was ever so gracious to offer us a round of red wine. Such a gentleman.

I was frank with my opinions with Marcus... Hopefully they learn as a school. There was this charming girl too - Czarina. Gorgeous really. And then there was the innuendo about me liking milk when she was serving coffee. Lol, that was hilarious.

Feeling a little under the weather. Going to turn in.

The icing on the cake

Aren't they pretty? Fairy cupcakes.

In the movie "No Reservations", Catherine Zeta Jones asks her shrink why life can't be like a recipe. You mix only what the recipe asks for and the results will always be the same...

Of course I am still an novice and the next time I do those cupcakes they could well look completely different. (They were by the way, made for my twenty second birthday.)

I am actually trying to force myself to type something here.. I guess if I do go to Australia to study I still want to keep in contact with family and a couple of friends back home. But it is trying. I can never like this whole blogging thing. Plus I suck at IT and thus cannot pretty up my page with HTML. Oh well, I guess in time.

I went for mass today. A few of the closer people asked if it was because of JL. No it wasn't. Although I must say I feel so dirty next to him... And he does make me want to be a better person. Religiously.

I think I should try going more often though I can only feel comfortable with Holly there.

It's late. Need sleep.

Of birthdays, unfulfilled wishes and hopes...

Was meaning to start this new blog just as I hit 22. It was supposed to be a more serious place to pen down thoughts... Because I feel i have been very messed up recently.

I suppose in some sense I want a place I can place my opinions - I don't know if people view me as just a dud or a good time, with nothing more than a joke to share. Besides, it is time to grow up. I want to take a political side, stand up for homosexuals, and be well-read on literature. Sound impossible.

Josh's a nice guy. Yup, that's all I'll say right now. Of course I've edited this post! Lol. :)

(I can't believe I am talking about something as frivolous as a boy in my first post! But I guess "keep the end in mind")

That dream of studying architecture is just around the corner... I can only hope I make it good.