ReALm Of SpIkEfIRe

Perseverance is TOUGH!!

2012-02-15T02:02:00.003+08:00

There's so much to do, so little me and time to go around.

Need to do faster, think faster, grow another pair of hands and brains. I need to clone myself!!

Everything I managed to clear some stuff new ones just seem to piled up even more.

I need to hang on till reinforcements reach.

Prioritise

2012-01-29T05:09:00.000+08:00

Key word here is in the title.

Feeling overly tired recently cos there's a lack of priorities.

Gotta remind myself of the following in the coming weeks as things are getting more hectic very soon.

1. First things first
2. Important things firsts
3. Urgent things can often wait
4. 6pm is time to go home. Coming earlier is fine.

Let's see how things work out. :)

I cant help feeling like this

2012-01-19T02:11:00.001+08:00

TIRED!!!

Going home already.. :/

2012-01-09T13:29:00.001+08:00

On transit train now to KLIA LCCT. We stood outside the train just now like dum dums, cos the train doors were closed. Train was abt to leave in a min. Then this other passenger came and pressed a button on the door and it opened!!

You can't imagine how "smart" that made us felt....

Got free wireless on the train too. Also noticed that trains here have emergency ventilation panels. Why don't we have that?!?!

Had a relaxing time here, simply cos we were tourists. It seems the pace if life here in KL is just as hectic as SG, if not more. The place is flooded with expats as well.

Touch Down @ KLIA LCCT

2012-01-07T09:29:00.001+08:00

It's my first time to KLIA, only now I know they have a budget terminal too. And it's name is actually worst than our budget terminal. LCCT, stands for Low Cost Carrier Terminal!! Super LC!!!

But they do have much more stuff here than our budget terminal.

Oh btw, there's Old Town here but the price is not cheap.. So sad. Shldn't it be half of sg price at least??

2012

2012-01-01T19:34:00.001+08:00

It's a new year.

It's going to be an exciting one. There will be so much on my to-do list.

First off, I have a daily schedule to follow with regards to exercising. I seriously hope to follow it as closely as I can. If I can pull this off, I'll be the old me in record time. To pull this off, I'll need huge support from me beloved. There's no way and no point for me to do this by myself.

And that first task is my foundation step to achieve the next following

Ippt
Photoshoot
Wedding

12/12/12 will be the biggest date on my calendar, it's so exciting!! It's so scary as well.

This time last year, I was planning for my proposal. This time we're planning for the final leg of journey before entering a new phase. Most things still seem to be order, i hope it all turns out as planned and as arranged.

*FINGERS CROSSED***

New hair - old me

2011-12-17T03:22:00.001+08:00

I've been fashioning my new short hair the past week. People have been asking why cut. My answer so far has more or less been just wanting a change in hairstyle.

In retrospect it's probably more of wanting to be the old me. This was my hairdo for many years in the past. This was also Wat I had when I was most physically active. I want to be active again...

Win-Win Situation

2011-11-19T13:13:00.001+08:00

I was at the mixed vegetable rice stall yesterday during lunch. There's this guy ahead of me ordering. At first I felt he was quite rude rude and impatient to the auntie serving us.

But when paying for the food, the guy gave the auntie a $10 bill and asked her to keep the $1 change. It's quite surprising to see a Chinese person with that gesture. Anyway, the auntie immediately had a wide smile on her face.

At the same time the guy asked for chopsticks and since the cutlery were closer to me than any of them, I instinctively grabbed two pairs and passed it to the guy. Smiles and "thank you"s went around.

Auntie acknowledged my assistance and started talking to me. She said it had been some time since I visited her stall. I'll be super surprised if she really recognises me. I just nodded anyway.

In the end my food servings for that meal was slightly more generous than usual.

A true Win-Win for all. Heh

Day 2 of Walk n Jog

2011-11-19T11:34:00.001+08:00

Covered 5 km from home to Waterloo St in slightly under an hr. Quite relaxing pace. Which means doing this in the morning daily is definitely within means.

It is a Start!! :)

2011-11-18T09:01:00.001+08:00

Did not manage to leave house on time, but did manage to get 3km on my mileage and reach office on time.

Better luck (i mean decision making) next week!!

An Awesome Plan Not To Be

2011-11-17T08:47:00.001+08:00

The plan was to be up at 5.30, leave by 6. Take a jog or walk to office. Take a shower, start work before 8.

I was up by 5.30, but I gave in to the zzzz monster. I was up again at 6, but the monster won again.

This must not continue. I'm blogging this to serve as my reminder that this will be the last time the monster wins.

Home Ridden

2011-11-16T00:08:00.001+08:00

I had do much on my to-do list for the week, but I had to be sick? I chose to stay home instead of going to office. I could if I wanted to, but I'll be coughing everyone's ears off like what I did to myself on Sunday night. I was waking myself up every hour. It was more irritating than uncomfortable.

Went to the doc's and got myself some meds. Doc said he wun be giving antibiotics cos he wants to give my body some time to foggy back on its own. I totally agree that Shld be the way. But I know now that meant more time was needed. That explained my 2nd day at home.

I was already change and prepared to go to work after much painful dragging and forcing myself to get ready. When I was about to get out of the house I realised I was not ready. My entire body was telling me "no" and so I went to extend my mc.

I think I'm feeling much better now. Not sure if I'm ready to face the heaps of work that will be welcoming me jn the morning but I'll do what I can.

Take the first step to a shift in Paradigm

2011-11-10T23:52:00.001+08:00

After a 3 days course on 7 habits of highly effective people. I'm telling myself and getting myself to get into a positive change. Over the next few weeks, I'll be getting into a changed mode. I'll be training myself to think differently from the very foundation.

Paradigm shift will be the aim on the 7 weeks.

Physically it's time to make use of my Vibram Shoes
Mentally it's time for more self-discipline
Socially it's time to really listen to the people who mattered
Spiritually it's time to clearly define my personal missions and long term goals

Be Warned!! Change in on the horizon!! :)

Interesting Conversation

2011-11-05T22:16:00.001+08:00

Me: You may never find the right chance. You have to create them yourself.

Dear: Go ahead sign off..

Me: Har?

Dear: You just made a quote, sign off..

Me: You may never find the right chance. You have to create them yourself. -Lim Peh, 2011-

Good Day @ Paintball

2011-11-05T19:44:00.002+08:00

Had been playing paintball for slightly more than a year. And today I felt like I'm finally getting better. Took a while but yes I think I'm improving. Still quite amateurish, but i'm getting there. It's really quite something for someone with more airforce radio-telephony background than any "chiong-sua" experience.

I think I got like 5 "kills" today. That's like average 1 per game and managed to stay alive more often than not!! Woohoo! hahahaa.

iPhone Newbie

2011-10-29T03:50:00.002+08:00

Been spending the past day getting used to my new iPhone 4S. Manually keying my 300 contacts to the new phone. Finding a few apps to download. Getting used to iTunes.

Just tried out Siri, seems likes it works but it's kindda laggy. And I do feel weird talking to the phone, when the phone takes a while to answer.

6hrs to my first IPhone

2011-10-28T00:07:00.000+08:00

Due to the demise of my samsung ultra touch, i'm going to convert to an Iphone user pretty soon. it's kindda exciting. hahaa.

My Samsung Ultra Touch S8300

2011-10-24T23:39:00.000+08:00

My Ultra Touch has just passed away. Yesterday it showed symptoms of failing. The touch screen became half dead. And today, it went fully dead. It's a sign!!

Hello IPhone! :P

Old and Fragile

2011-10-21T18:21:00.001+08:00

You know you are getting older when a day of IPT + a day of volleyball gets you slumping in bed the entire day. And I still can't feel my legs!! :(

Bye Gong Gong & Po Po

2011-10-14T03:40:00.002+08:00

About a week ago, I was told my grandfather was admitted to the hospital. He years of smoking in his early life has finally done him in.

However it still does not change the fact how drastically his health deteriorated from when I met him just a few weeks back. I brought mooncake back for him and also my maternal grandparents. It was the first time I bought mooncake for my grandparents with money I've earned. That was a moment which I felt really proud of myself.

Looking back now, I suddenly realized how much older everyone around me has become. Suddenly, I'm no longer the kid I was 10yrs back. We are so gradually thrown into new surroundings and adapt to them. That's growing up, but we won't notice it. There's simply no time to take a break and have a good look around us.

Now grandfather has passed, and I'm at the funeral for the night again. There's time for me to quietly look around me. Look at those relatives I have. Look at all things that have happened in the past. There's no definitely right or wrong in all those past actions and the stories I've been told. It's all a matter of perspective. What's right to one can be very wrong to another. We have to learn to accept our differences. Not condone them, but accept that we are all different. And from a different pair of eyes, the world is a very different place and everyone also appears different to each individual.

I'm fortunate to have spent some part of my life living with him and my grandmother. And now, I want to write down some of the memories I have of them. So that 1 day, I may look back at it again if I forget.

To me, my grandmother was plump old lady who likes to hug me whenever I arrive or leave for my Yishun home. She cooks and is also a full-time couch potato. She likes to watch TV, sometimes it does seem she doesn't really get the storyline but at least the shows were entertaining back then. Remember those days when SBC was actually entertaining rather than propagating?

She usually sits at the 3-seat sofa in front of the TV, she would have a pillow behind her back so that she could lean back onto the arm rest and watch TV. She would very often watch TV until she fell asleep. Sometimes I feel she's needs the TV to get asleep.

She's always concerned about is having enough food, food is always plenty when we are there. During CNY, there's always Shark's Fin Soup. Come to think about it, it's been 10 yrs since I last had it from her. I miss the table full of food during CNY.

Those were the days when MRT had just begun, she had fears about taking the train, it just seemed too alien for her and she didn't want to walk to the stations. I remember she would sometimes come stay with me at the Yishun house during holidays, she would take a cab. Costed less than $10 to get from Commonwealth to Yishun then.

Grandfather was a quiet man, thin guy. He doesn't talk much, grandma usually does most of the talking it seems. He was a cook at a hotel, I don't really remember if I've ate anything which he has cooked cos the chef at home is usually grandma. He's a tough man healthy most of his life, smoking and alcohol seems to be his simple pleasures after work. He doesn't talk much and my memories of him are little. I do remember that he always sits in the single seater chair next to the alter, facing the TV.

He seems to like shopping at cold storage, I remember he once brought me to Queenstown, which was pretty much like the town centre back then. We ate something there, can't remember what, but I do remember he bought some frozen fried stuff back. Most probably fish fingers or scallops. Those were among my favourites.

Hearing some of the old stories some of my uncles talk about their time with grandma and grandpa gave me new insights and new perspectives into their personalities. My memories of them are bits and pieces, we see things at face value, not really knowing why they did certain things in particular ways. These stories for others make the image of them as a person, slightly more complete.

In his final days I visited him at the hospital quite often. I was there the night before he left, I felt proud to be the grandson who could still communicate with him in hainanese but it was difficult to find the right thing to say. Each night before I left I told him, "I'm getting married next year, you need to get well because I want you to be at my wedding." The 1st night I went, he could not respond, I was not even sure if he could see me. On the last night, his eyes were bright and wide and I was very sure he could see me clearly. He responded to us and nodded when I told him he needs to get better to attend my wedding.

I was happy when I left that night, but sadly he left the next morning. I knew he tried to stay.

Midway Oct 2011

2011-10-10T23:40:00.001+08:00

2 weeks into October and i'm feeling swarmed. Work is there as always. Somehow there's so many other things on my mind I just cant focus.

No matter how much we can multi-task. We can still only focus at 1 task at one time.

When September Ends

2011-09-30T23:00:00.000+08:00

There's this song in the CD which is playing all the time in my car which has this line "when september ends". I seriously can't remember the title suddenly. But that's not important.

It time to look back at the past 30 days and ponder what had been done, what had not and what will be up next!!

F1 is over, I had a fun experience being involved. Perhaps more than I should be, but I always enjoyed being more involved in whatever I get involved in. There were some cockups and I've found a description for JOC (Joint Olways Cockup). Many would agree with me on that.

Much of the month had been spending doing last time preparation and amendments to the plan for F1. In the end, you may wonder why bother cos it will not fail. It will just happen and be over. Well, if we did not scamper around with our tiny modifications and improvements here and there. It may be over for good. Not trying to get big headed, but i think it's true.

Just as I thought there would be time for me to relax after F1, realization came that I'm still being bogged down by daily work. I would like to share with everyone that the daily work load here is HEAVY!! The only way you can clear everything is to give haphazard answers and do a half-F*** job. I try not to do that, which is why my home is now my 2nd home. :P

IPT has begun, had my 1st session on Wednesday. Super lethargic, can't feel my shins for the past 2 days. Let IPT be the beginning of my wonderous task of losing 35kg by June 2012. So lunch khakis, please watch my diet. Friday supper buddies, let's just drink tea. Hahahaa.

Hello October!!!

Fleeting August

2011-08-31T23:30:00.001+08:00

I don't want this post to be another one of my "time passes so quickly" posts, but I can't help it!!!

Too little time too much stuff to do. I'm getting myself entangled in a quicksand of work. I need a long break, like weeks long. Unfortunately I can't afford it, cos gotta save up the leave for next year!!

Highlights of August.

1. I stayed late in office for several nights during 7th month, felt nothing, saw nothing.

2. Very disappointed TCB did not win PE.

3. Pre-F1 preparation 90% done.

4. Got a good lesson on expectations of grassroots. They are a very unique breed.

5. Settled on Wedding Bands!!

6. Found a not bad massage near my place

7. Weekends are getting filled with activities!! Paintball/Badminton/Volleyball!!

End July

2011-07-30T00:05:00.000+08:00

More than a month have past once again.

Time just seems so insufficient when I start working. I've been working for more than a year it seems. I still feel i'm quite new to the job. There's still passion in me to improve the things around. I still feel there's contribution to be made, efforts to be put in.

It's been so busy the past few weeks, I've probably lack time breathing. Somehow I feel it's just going to get even busier. Prioritizing is really something I need to do more.

LIDO & IMAX

2011-06-04T14:07:00.000+08:00

Lido has just completed it's renovation. The whole place went under a huge facelift, but unfortunately the new design simply does not appeal to me. Gone are all the Mac, KFC, Pastamania, LJS, Subway. In their place is a shick white wall laden with Samsung TVs as posters and a box office 3 times it's original size. Now Lido is just a cinema, it's no longer a place to hangout. That was really really sad, considering all the closing speech i've heard on the final day that they are a management who treasures tradition and will want to preserve as much as they can. I think they lost the focus.

HOWEVER

IMAX 3D is a revelation, even Pirates of the Caribbean looked awesome under those screens. It was an overwhelming experience. The screen was humongous and the 3D effects are all "jumping at you" type. This movie experience is really $$ worth spending. It was really an "immerse in the movie" experience. Try it and you'll love it. Choose seats wisely, middle seats will be awesome side seats will make you feel a little distant from the fun, but not much less awed.

Conclusion: LIDO, come for IMAX because there's nothing else left worth coming for. :P

Life after Life

2011-06-04T13:57:00.000+08:00

Major changes in my life and the life in Singapore.

I'm engaged and the opposition now controls a GRC! And people who are giving feedback are getting even more aggressive and unreasonable. The authority doesn't owe you a living, you know!!?? And yes we pay just as much taxes as you do. We are not your servants!!

Work is getting more hectic and more cramped, 24hrs is no longer enough for a day.

Loads of work and quite a few projects on hand. I don't feel totally overloaded, but I can't focus for long without getting distracted by something else. Just look at how long it took me to blog about all that I've just said and about to say. hahaa.

Will be needing more breaks, but all the more I cannot afford more breaks.. Conflicting irony. WTH!

The painstakingly long project to convert attach to engaged (Egomaniac Me)

2011-06-04T13:50:00.000+08:00

Planning began as early as Dec 2010. It took me a long time to run through my mind what are the processes, who to get involve, where to do it, when to do it, how to do it. It's basically a one man operation to begin with, which ended up as the biggest affair conjured in all my 29 years.

Feb 2011, I started roping in her clique and slowly her sisters get involved as well, then I got her colleagues to be in cahoots with me as well. For a good 3 months, she was living under a huge cover-up which was largely unknown to her. Being able to be the mastermind behind this operation really showed me how much i've known her over the years. Every single little reaction of hers was within calculation in the end. I'm sinisterly glad how good i am at that.

Getting in touch with various cinema providers and blazing through my mind for the movie to play and the meaning behind everything was a gargantuan task. There had to be a meaning behind every detail, from the the movie title, to the proposal clip, to the background music even the certification date on the proposal ring. One would think that ridiculous amount of planning had to go into this. Yes, alot of planning went in, but not everything was planned, many things just simply fell into place. I had to have quite a bit of faith and luck. Fate and chance had a large part to play in many parts. In the end I believe fate has decided we are meant to be together, so don't even think about otherwise. Muahahaa.

12 May 2011, Cineleisure Orchard. There was a movie titled "Surprise" to be shown. Under the disguise of a surprise movie screening, that was how this project was to be executed. In order to camouflage the familiar faces from her, there had to be many others who had to play the part of the smoke screen. Thanks to the help of many of my colleagues, the place was well filled and the setup up to the moment was fantastic.

Honestly, it's painfully difficult to be so exciting about the whole thing for so long and yet withhold all that excitement when I see her everyday. The final moments were the toughest, many times I smiled sheepishly at her. She was always expecting something, but i've already laid a decoy long ago so that she would suspect something else. Although she said she expected a proposal at the end, I don't think so. :P

Thanks to the help of everyone involved, my entire plan was able to play out as well as it did. Although it was not perfect, but I believe the imperfections in the pursuit of perfections will leave just as deep an impression in her, myself and everyone else who has turned up to share this wonderful moment with us.

THANK YOU ALL!!

GE 2011

2011-06-04T12:48:00.000+08:00

This year is the first General Election where most Singaporeans are given the opportunity to vote for the party which we feel should be forming the government. For the first time in our 40 odd year history did the opposition parties seriously rise up to give a challenge to the ruling party.

I'm not sure if I've been so indoctrinated by the policies as i grew up or i simply have a very very neutral mind to tell that some opposition candidates are plain jokers. Not to say that I support all the new candidates from the ruling party, there are a few who do not seem to be the best fit for the job.

But I do understand one thing, the flaw in democracy is democracy itself. It makes the assumption that the citizens know best and will choose for the best outcome. The truth is, all the citizens know the end goal, they want a good life, good everything. But not everyone know how to get to the end goal and the government has to be the one leading the citizens in this pursuit.

More difficult here is a "good life and a good everything else" may vary from one to the other. If only we can gather everyone with the same goals and put them in one country. That would make the job of all governments in this world have a much easier time. The down side, peace within countries, but like chaos among countries.

Anyway, back to GE. Results this year is also a turning point in our political history. And from my layman understanding of the results. This is what I see.

Generally Singaporeans are now more educated, voters especially. Before this election, there is a sense that the country is run in a "everything the government says is right" way. Because the government is always right, no one said otherwise until this year, there had been so much opposition voices coming forward. So much so that it brings out all the little unhappiness everyone has about the government and amplifies them. I'm skeptical that singaporeans hate the ruling party as much as the results shows. But some opposition party did do well to really amplify all those tiny unhappiness and amplify them so big that they mattered.

All in all I still think the government had done a wonderful job bringing us to where we are, and perhaps this change is something we need to bring us even further into the future. Nothing is perfect, development of a government/country especially, don't expect this small in the political scene to make everything perfect miraculously.

*being a civil servant or public servant will never be what it used to be*

Mind Overloaded - Off-loading Time

2011-06-04T12:27:00.000+08:00

I've not updated my blog in quite along while. and there has been so many things in my mind which I've been wanting to share. So in order not to have a super long post, which sometimes makes reading tough. I'll be posting a series of short posts to try to cover everything I wanted to share.

What type of person is susceptible to what type of stress?

2011-05-04T01:02:00.001+08:00

Why does a person becomes stressed? Or why do I feel stressed?

Well, stressed up is a feeling i get when something matters to me. Stressed up abt work, abt each project, abt each consultation and every feedback I get. I get the feeling from the moment I get a job to until the final instant that the job is closed. Why so stressed? Cos it's my job, to feel stressed about it is to have ownership to it. But sometimes, just too many people asking too many thing at one go, just doesn't help. I'm not avoiding the issue, I just need a refreshed and opened mind to restart the whole thought process.

Well, I get stressed easily, cos there are many things happening other than just work. And nowadays work seems to be getting the bulk of the attention. Several other things like personal life and volleyball have taken a back seat. It's time to balance everything again.

Not to mention election. Although I've already made my decision on it, it's still stressful.

Like I said before, if it matters, it stresses you up. The only way to be stress-free is to not care.

Here i am thinking abt this and that. Jamming my head with this and that.

I learnt another lesson from my storybook again. (Terry Goodkind - The Sword of Truth Series) You can care about everything, one just have to decide when to care about which one. It's a good read, i'm only 2/3 thru the whole series of 12 books. Lots of life lessons to be learnt from this book.

1 year of working

2011-05-03T18:50:00.000+08:00

It's probably an irony to be staying home on the day that marks my 1st year into working life. I've been kept awake the entire night!! Not sure why, probably just stressed and pressure. I was in my favourite sleeping position and yet I couldn't fall asleep. And when I think I've fallen asleep (I was no longer aware of my surroundings) I started having a nightmare of sorts. I realised my surroundings when my aircon went off at 6am as it does everyday. It's just super disturbing and irritating. Like I have not slept at all.

It gave me a terrible headache when it's time to go to work. I washed up and ironed my clothes, I was ready to change. I decided otherwise, I just had an indication that my brain is totally going to be switched off today. So I took the day off and rested the day away.

And I'm feeling much better now, still kindda traumatised by the dream though. :P

How not to start a week

2011-04-27T00:08:00.000+08:00

Felt giddy on Saturday, skipped paintball :(
Blocked nose and headache on Sunday, screwed up volleyball :(
All the above plus cough on Monday, messed up work schedule :(

Slightly better on Tuesday, managed to survive half alive. :)

Please let Wednesday be better!! :)

The Beginning of a Long Weekend

2011-04-22T02:18:00.000+08:00

For the first time I enter a weekend with more than 100 emails still unread in my inbox. uurrggghhh!! That's just besides the point.

Long weekend is here, lots of things to do over the weekend. Watched SOURCE CODE just now. It's a good movie with an interesting plot. It's somewhat like matrix, inception but yet another totally different concept of its own. Nice. Good Watch.

Competitive Volleyball

2011-04-19T00:54:00.000+08:00

Have not played at such an intensity for a long long time. My whole body is now aching like hell. I missed the days which I played with a regular team of players week in week out. I wonder if I still have it in me to sustain high intensity training.

Shortest Work Week EVER!!!

2011-04-18T04:30:00.000+08:00

I'm so looking forward to this week. Monday to Wednesday on course. Thursday back at work. Friday is GOOD FRIDAY!! Muahahaa!!!

Time for a break

2011-04-15T03:03:00.000+08:00

Stayed till super late today, cos i'll be on leave tml and on cse from mon to wed next week. Have so much stuff to clear. I can't believe the amount of issues I had to respond to after dealing with the urgent issue. Then again, after that urgent issue, I just kept getting 1 urgent after another. Not to forget meetings after meetings. Seriously!! I think there's something wrong with our workflow. Nothing much I can do abt it, not at this stage at least.

I'm so happy there's someone waiting for me with dinner when I work late. Thank you! :)

April's Fool??

2011-04-06T01:21:00.000+08:00

While many ppl are happily collecting their bumper bonuses, there are few lucky ones like me who have only to look in envy at the bulge of others' wallets. oh well, facts of life, you don't always get rewarded for what you have worked for. here's a another fact, you can't stop trying harder either.

The next few months is going to be a trial for myself. Taking up the numerous tasks and projects. I'm testing myself, stretching my time. Will I be able to pull them all off? Or will I end up burnt at both ends, only time will tell. I just hope i'll get better with each task and wiser with each hurdle.

Simple goals, arduous journey...

Multitude March

2011-03-23T02:23:00.000+08:00

Ever since coming back from Hanoi, March had been pretty eventful. Ups and downs, disappointments and hope. It's this kind of time when it seems nothing seems to be going well, yet it seems there's hope that things will take a turn for the better. Lot's of new things happening around me too.

Got my first bunch of credit cards. Citibank. It's so easy to get them, instant issuance at vivocity branch. Quite cool actually, and I got 3 cards at one go. Aside from the M1 card which I know I'm going to use it to pay bills, I'm still confused when to use the rewards card and when to use the dividend card. Anyone with advice?

I got a new TO this week. There had been quite a few staff who came in after me, but this time I feel like I've been in TM for a while. Perhaps cos he'll be working with me, and suddenly I feel like a senior. Hahaha. Not really sure who to distribute the workload around in future. For now, its me and my buddy going through almost everything together, but 3 guys going thru the same thing together seems redundant. That means i'll need to find a new way to redistribute the workload once his honeymoon period is over.

I believe we had a roadkill today while doing our site check. It was an unfortunate incident involving a very reckless animal. I wanted to go back to take a look, but my buddy avoid the route. I just hope this is not a bad omen, the last time I saw a road kill, I flunk my O'lvls.

Sapa Twist & DBS vs UOB

2011-03-03T18:38:00.000+08:00

After spending 8 hours on the train, I've arrived at Sapa. It's nice and cool, the weather is just wonderful.Totally reminds me of the weather back in yellowstone. Cold, foggy, snow-like raindrops. The hotel i'm staying at also reminds me of the hotels in yellowstone. Very wooden but not as classy.

An unfortunate event occur today during the first part of my hike into the native villages. My wallet was stolen, the side pocket where I kept my wallet was open when I was trying to get money to pay for lunch. I was really annoyed with myself then. However I tried to convince myself that it was probably left at the hotel and there was still chance of finding it. Nope!! no such luck, it was not there and the wallet was gone. Luckily this was my holiday wallet, only 2 card and some money inside. Good thing I still have some spare USD to spend, so things were not too bad.

What I really want to comment about was the difference in service level for DBS and UOB. So yah those were the 2 cards that went missing along with the wallet.

First I called DBS, after verifying my IC number, the service person agreed that the card would be suspended immediately. When she asked me if I wanted to be given a replacement, I said yes. It was a new card, just issued not long ago. She went on to ask several other questions to verify my identity, most of which I couldnt remember at hand. She asked for things like if my account was a salary payable acc, wat were the details of my last transaction, acc no. and even i had any giro arrangements for this acc. But WTH!! I just lost my card, I want a replacement sent to my home address, how much security do you need for that?? The bank records have my address, i'm not going to tell them to send to some 3rd party location.. simply duhzZ.. I told the person I was overseas so I did not have access to all tha tinformation she needs. So I had to solve the situation myself by telling her that i'll call DBS again when I get back to Sg to get a replacement card. The best part was that checked with her if any transaction was made in the past few hrs. She told me she could not reveal anything. she still doesnt believe that i'm who I am! wth!!

In contrast, UOB had much better customer service and verification were so much easier. Just full IC number, credit limit, and when I answered my limit slightly off, she followed abt asking my current employer, which i answered correctly. That was it and they suspended the card and asked me if I needed a card couriered to where I am. How nice? They even informed me that my card has been unused in the past 24hrs so that i could have a piece of mind. The level of service is so very different.

I'm so disappointed with our local homegrown DBS. It's time to relook into useless and pointless procedures. Thanks to the customer service of DBS, I have struck off 1 bank from my choice of credit card banks to look at for my application.

Still in Hanoi

2011-03-02T00:48:00.000+08:00

I'm still here in Hanoi. I'm enjoying it. I'm staying in a hotel with impeccable service. They are so proactive, i felt scared. It's too much for a singaporean. The westerners simply loved it. The amazing thing is that they seem to provide the same level of service even though we are asians who are often known for not being able to reciprocate the same sort gratefulness the westerners are able to provide.

Hanoi is fast-paced, yet there's a zen feeling about it. You can feel that sense when you cross the roads here. Traffic lights basically have no meaning for the people and the motorists here. no one cares cos no one needs them. people cross wherever they want and whenever they want. Here's the zen magic, the pedestrians never ever turn to look at the traffic, and the vehicles will always seem to weave around the pedestrian without even losing a beat. How amazing is that? You will not know the feeling until you try it. There is order in chaos. I have not see any accident between the vehicle and the pedestrian over the past few days and the roads are super super packed.

The food here is great. Lots of veges, lots of mint and basil in everything. That's probably the reason why I don't see any rounded bodies around me. Probably also the fact that the average annual wage is 7-800USD. I'm sure there's also an elite rich class here. It's just that i'm not in the right city to see them, not that I care to see them. The pho (noodles) and the banh xeo (rice paper wraps) are some of the stuff that we liked here. Yummy Yummy.. Food is quite cheap here, but I believe it's still inflated due to the tourist attraction.

Loads of places have internet access, and i'm typing on a hotel provided IBM thinkpad right now!! Another fantastic service from the hotel. hahaa. But somehow, facebook is being blocked here. No way I could load the page. interesting.

I'll be off to another part of Vietnam tml evening. Sapa valley, a place where we are going to meet up with the local tribes and probably live among them for a while. Looking forward to it. :)

Not Enough Rest

2011-02-17T00:24:00.000+08:00

It's been a month since my last post. There's been so many instances that I wanted to blog about something so many times there are things happening that i wanna just record down before I forget about it. But you know what? I'm always so tired when I get home, I fall asleep soon after I turn on the com. And I've also forgotten about what I wanted to blog abt.

Few hours ago, I was thinking abt something, I wanted to blog abt it. But by now, it's out of my mind already!!!

Amnesia + Parkinsons + Dementia + Alzheimer

Aargghh!! WTH!!

2011 - A New Beginning

2011-01-16T03:14:00.000+08:00

It's been 2 weeks into the new year and things are happening at quite a fast pace. I have experienced for the first time the change in work pace at the turn of the year. Immediately as the holidays ends my inbox gets filled in a pace pumped with steroids. It's quite scary actually, i was getting used to the 2nd gear speed of daily work for the past few months. Suddenly things are happening so much faster.

Luckily I have this knack of getting used to new things/environment quite easily. I think I'm quite up to speed already, but the thing is my schedule is simply packed. Having enrichment courses going on at the same time doesn't really help the situation. Those days while i'm gone, I can only hope that people realize i'm not around and relent a little in their bombardment. Alas, it doesn't work that way.

New year, new experiences. I've have several things on my agenda which i'm trying to push for. I hope I can achieve them and make some good improvements in my area. I'll have to be determine to follow through with what i've started and make progress. I just hope i'm not killing myself by juggling the multiple locations i'm trying to handle. Time to psycho myself. All is WELL!! hahaa

Tried a new dim sum restaurant friday night at location where I used to have my sichuan food. Operated by the same chain, the taste of the sichuan food has changed slightly. I wonder if I could get them to do it the way they used to if I requested. Anyway, the dim sum was not bad. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual place we always hangout on friday nights. The menu had many interesting items as well. Most exciting of all was Durian Muah Chee. The durian was really rich, the skin was relatively thin, so it basically bursts in your mouth. Quite shiok.

Also tried paintball for the first time today. It really felt good pulling the trigger and seeing the pellets fly. But as a first timer, there are many lessons I learnt today. Painful lessons. It was an exhilarating experience. time passes very fast in the few games that we played. The location has pretty good facilities and the equipment were quite well maintained. Definitely would be something I would return for. Down side is simply the price. It's not a cheap past time.

Open mind, Open heart, the year will be good ahead. :)

Mixed Feelings

2010-12-21T23:57:00.000+08:00

Dear is back - Happy!

Completed RT- IPPT today, slightly improved on my running time - Happy!

Whole body aching after IPPT - SHAG!!

Had a nice dinner, bah chor mee + satay + rojak - Fulfillment!! Guilty at the same time!!

Managed to clear all my emails yesterday - Happy!!

Just realised while I cleared my work yesterday, I actually missed a wedding dinner of someone impt to me - super super sad and guilty!!

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 105kg with 160 days left
Lost 4kg and used 50 days

A night before returning to my real world

2010-12-17T17:27:00.000+08:00

Having spend almost a week here, i've learnt..... a lot really.. first and foremost i have to say this wasnt what i expected. I had expected much more work to be done, laborious stuff that should be done on missionary trips. But no, this was a family visit in an unfamiliar place. We were well taken care of and we had lots of play time with the nieces.

While we spent most of our time within the house compound and garden, it was easy to realise that we are not in our element. It would have been difficult for us to survive here. The people here don't look like the usually indons we are used to, they were aborigines. They looked more african than asian, and like seeing any race for the first time. They all looked the same!!! It was tough to tell one from the other. We dare not try to talk to anyone either, they had this fierce look in their eyes.

There seemed to be some familiar type of indon faces as well, but those were not the majority. There were also a few chinese. While the general feel is that the place is full of people who are poor and made living of simple crafts and small crops. There also seems to be people are are very rich, huge house on hilltops, large 4-wheel drive all-terrain vehicles.

There are no mega malls here, as far as shopping centres, the largest was one at Jayapura, the main city of the province. It consists of a pizza hut, KFC and a supermarket. Supermarkets always make me feel at home, no matter what country i'm in. Seeing a supermarket always makes me feel i can survive in that place. Much like the same feeling i had when I saw walmart for the first time in US. SHIOK...

Most of the time spent here was within the house, the house was huge by singapore standards but really quite cheap. I had a lot of time reliving my childhood with the kids. Playdoh, make-believe, lego, watching cartoons. The rest of the time I was indulging in my storybook. 900pages of it, and i've just finished it in less than 6 days!! That felt like running through 25 episodes of CSI or something and I just wanna get home and start on my next book. That would have to wait.

Back home, i know what awaits. Work and more work. RT as well. I hope I have rested enough over this trip to be recharged for the final dash of the year. This is supposed to be a lull period for the public sector, but i do have a few need-to-dos on my list.

In Unfamiliar Land

2010-12-11T16:39:00.000+08:00

Arrived in West Pupua/Irian Jaya today. It's a different place to me in. culture shock is the word. I have no idea how to communicate with them. It's going to be a tough week ahead if we are to try to explore around here. Our main purpose here is to visit yanli's nieces. They are super excited to see us, even more excited when they see all the new books and gifts they are getting. The stuff we have to lug over is super heavy, but we somehow managed. Phew.

Thanks to the attacks on the cyber world recently. This blog had actually disappeared for a short while. That kindda got me lost for a while. I have not saved the blogs for this year and it would be super sad if I had lost all those records. This is where I record part of my memories and I would very much like to have them available. So it's time to back up again!! :)

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 105kg with 172 days left
Lost 4kg and used 38 days

Changing Times

2010-11-29T02:16:00.000+08:00

Last week had been another one of those busy weeks. But bonus has been announced, it's good, but mine will still be pro-rated. Quite sore about that but it's still better than nothing. That also meant that i'll getting my first bonus ever since starting work. sound cool.. looking forward to it.

Results for HDB balloting was out.. and the results sucks!! my application was beyond the 300% mark for the queue number, thus it was deemed as an unsuccessful application. That really sucked when they kept sending letters in november informing that my results would be out in november. I really liked that place!! AARRGGHH!!! Now we just have to wait again for a suitable BTO to appear or hope that there are leftover flats offered for this location soon...

Watched a few movies this week, cos it's been awhile since I catch up with the movies. I'm still lagging behind. there are still movies i've not watch but at least i'm trying to catch up with the popular ones. Watched "Harry Potter" and "Easy A" over the week. I like this Harry Potter, it's dark and somewhat gloomy and much more adult minded then the earlier versions. After reading the final book, I already knew that this last installment is more about death than anything else. I think that part of the book was very well done in the movie. Super looking forward to the final movie and perhaps a movie marathon just before the end.

Easy A is a well done movie. Funny, lame but really sweet in the end. Well recommended too.

My Remedial Training has begun for this year. Met guoping at the training session. I was quite surprised he has to do RT too.. But at least now there's someone I know to go training with me. We did 1 good thing today, we change our RT schedule to Sunday mornings with Tues evening. That schedule make some of my upcoming events easy to manage, so i'm actually happy about that!! :)

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 106kg with 184 days left
Lost 3kg and used 26 days

Kaboom!!!

2010-11-20T20:57:00.000+08:00

I finally managed to begin washing by bicycle. I made good progress and the bike wash pretty much cleaned. All I needed to do was to fill the tyres and I use it to get back onto the road again. But...

人算不如天算，命运永远不是掌握在自己手中。乐极生悲，喜极成泣。。。

my tyre "pong chiek"!! super depressed.... yet it was not unexpected, cos i believe the rubber tubing inside could have already harden by now. so now i'm going to look for spare tubings.. and also some spray paint.. time for extreme makeover.. muahaha!!

自强不息！！:P

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 106kg with 193 days left
Lost 3kg and used 17 days

Home Hoping

2010-11-19T21:13:00.000+08:00

Closing date for application was last week. I've been waiting anxiously for a positive answer since a few weeks back. It's nail biting i tell you. aarrgghhh.. the best part is that they can still send me letters informing me about having to prepare my supporting documents when i get my balloting queue in Nov last week... it's already Nov!! This week they send me another letter telling me i'm in the first applicants group and results of the ballot will be out in Nov! How many times do they have to tell me that results will be out in Nov?? Especially when it's already Nov!! DuhzZ!!

It has been a busy week, somehow my issues seems to be involving higher level people. That's really stressful, and the multi-layer clearance needed to get to that level make my message so distorted by the time it reaches up there. It weird actually. Everyone does things based on a standard, this standard is supposed to be the same standard but yet everyone can have a different understanding and perception of the standard and that leads to very different results. It like the chinese saying "一种米养百种人“. I believe some people can't understand my analogies but that's how i feel.

My goal for weight loss seems to be hitting a blockade. No volleyball this week. No dosage of exercise. Only maintaining my carbo during lunch only diet. Even though I did take come potato and bee hoon for dinner recently. But the weight is still maintaining. I'll be cleaning up my bike tml. Next week it's time to start using it. Muahahaa.

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 106kg with 194 days left
Lost 3kg and used 16 days

My other Prongs of Actions

2010-11-10T01:19:00.000+08:00

I'm going to wash and clean up my bike soon. Then i'll be able to cycle to work early in the morning and get some workout done. It might not be a everyday thing to start with, cos I think i'll be drained after doing it the first time. It has been ages since I cycled to somewhere.

The 1 meal carbo per day thing seems to be okay, sustainable for now. However its really hard to find stuff to eat for dinner without carbo.

Today I shocked my office vball mates with my enormous amounts of perspiration. Hah!! I always get that when I start wringing my t-shirt. hahaa.

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 105kg with 202 days left
Lost 4kg and used 8 days

Busy week again

2010-11-08T03:11:00.000+08:00

"Busy" seems to be the word popping up most often in my blog recently. There just seems to be too much work going on. Somehow i'm not able to clear the backlog every time i get back into office. It may be normal to have stuff piled up in my line of work. But I cant stand it!!! I want it gone!! I want the backlog cleared!!!! Aarrgghh...

I must find some ways to do things faster, analyse faster and more accurately, reply effectively. THINK FASTER!!!

Perhaps it's being busy at work that some of my weight just suddenly disappeared!! I have no idea how it left but i hope it stays away. haha..

My Short Term Targets:
To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011
Currently 106kg with 203 days left
Lost 3kg and used 7 days

A new Beginning....

2010-11-01T03:51:00.000+08:00

I have a huge backlog of movie which I should write a review about. But I think i'm going to skip them. From now on, i'll only review movies that are really bad or good and really compel me to do it. Instead i'll be trying to embark on a project on myself to lose weight. I'll also try to update my blog regularly to document this journey i'm embarking on. It's going to be pretty tough. It's going to take a lot of discipline. I'll do good with lots of encouragement along the way.

So i'm soliciting encouragements during this project of mine.

My Short Term Targets:

To Achieve 75kg by 30 May 2011

Currently 109kg with 210 days left

Lost 0kg and used 0 days

Busy Busy!!

2010-10-21T22:36:00.002+08:00

I'm so busy recently, i'm always so tired when i get back home. So many things I want to blog about yet no energy to do so. This weekend, i'll try to catch up as much as I can!!!

Movie Weekend!! Resident Evil - Afterlife (3D) & Grown Ups

2010-09-11T13:08:00.001+08:00

I've been waiting for Resident Evil - Afterlife ever since I watched the last installment. I was totally looking forward to an enormous clone war brought forth by the army of Alice clones. Especially if they release their super powers all at once!! The start of the movie was promising as at was like I expected, an army of Alices going up against the Umbrella Corp, somehow the clones are easier to kill compared to the original Alice. They got eliminated. Damn Sad!! Double Sad when Alice lost her powers too. :(

The rest of the movie were more or less typical Resident Evil action minus super powers. There's also a huge hint for a sequel, i hope it gets on screen soon before Milla Jovovich gets old for this. The 3D effects were, not bad but it's also a case of having 3D for the sake of having it only. They don't need to be there.
______________________

I've trying to catch Grown Ups for the past few weeks and for 1 reason or another I kept missing the chance to watch it. Well finally I caught it and I liked it alot! It's Adam Sandler style comedy at it's best. Really funny and apt jokes, although some are just lame and sick. It's really enjoyable and really relaxing movie to watch. And like always there's always a moral of the story included. This time it's simple enough. Just see the quotes below.

Stressed out Singaporeans out there!! Watch it!!

Spikefire ratings:

Resident Evil - Afterlife (3D)
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Grown Ups

Story & Plot: 8 out of 10

Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10

Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

Resident Evil - Afterlife
This movie is never about the lines.... hahaaa.

Grown Ups
Coach: Today's game, all of you played your best. Play exactly the way we wanted to and when the buzzer sounded, we were champions. Now, I want you all to live your life like how you played the game today. So when that final buzzer of life sounds.. you have no regrets.
________
Salma Hayek: How did you miss that last shot? You never miss that shot.
Adam Sandler: Sometimes Lennys have to learn to lose while others learn to win.
_______
watch the movie for the jokes.

Resident Evil Official Website

Grown ups Official Website

Pictures

4 Months In

2010-09-09T00:57:00.000+08:00

It's been 4 months since i started here. Daily processes are not much of a problem any more, but it seems most of the things i'm getting everyday falls outside the norm and there's also this void in knowledge i need to fill. I'd like to work with all the information and knowledge already present in my head. Yet sometimes I feel my head is filled up with so much information, it takes me forever to dig out the information i wanna use at critical moments. I think that makes me look kindda dum sometimes.

I personally feel there are flaws in the way some things works, most others have gotten used to it. But here's the question, do i get use to it? or should I shake things up a little?

How do you differentiate if you are over loaded or being slow in work?? Depends on output ya?? I think I'm producing output all the time, but somehow things are still piling up. I don't think i'm overloaded, but i do think i need more time.

But in a nutshell, I think I'm very tired!!

This weekend I'm going RELAX!!!!!!!

Drained

2010-08-18T03:26:00.000+08:00

Been so busy at work, have so little time to rest. So many things to do at home as well. Small things that need to be taken care of daily are just taking up so much time!!

I've watched a few movies since the last post and I still have no time to post about them. BUSY BUSY!!!

Inception

2010-07-19T04:44:00.000+08:00

Watched @ Eng Wah Suntec City

It's about dreams. It's actually like matrix. It's like a bridge that makes matrix seems much more realistic and possibly achievable. It's scary and yet so worth looking forward to. Paradox is apparent thru-out the movie. But it's a good show to watch. Make your brains think and think. Even though it's a movie that has a beginning and an end, somehow there's so many part of the movie which allows for speculation. So much areas left for imagination and interpretation.

Just think about it. Look at every detail of the movie from a different angle and you can find that the movie could have been telling a totally different story. I think that's what makes it magnificent!!! You know what's the best part? I only thought about this point NOW!!! almost 6hrs after watching the movie. How interesting is that!?

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

Cobb: What is the most resilient parasite in the world? An idea. Once an idea gets into your head, you can never get rid of it. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all rules.

Official Website

Pictures

Chloe

2010-07-13T06:06:00.000+08:00

Watched @ The Cathay

It started off at a straight forward movie where wife thinks husband is cheating on her. So she turns to a social escort to get her to test her husband out. Somehow the results turn out unexpected. Interesting twist to the story. Not a mainstream movie for sure. But i'll watch it just for Amanda Seyfried at least. :P

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Catherine Stewart: Did you find that waitress sexy?
David Stewart: Which one?
Catherine Stewart: The one you were flirting with.
David Stewart: Oh come on, I was being friendly.

Pictures

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2010-07-11T22:21:00.000+08:00

Watched @ GVmax

3rd installment of the twilight saga. The problem about these sagas and trilogies or what not. It makes watching the movie feel like watch an episode of a serial. It just feels wrong!! I want a start, build up, climax, and conclusions.. but when in comes like this. There's no end to look forward to, cos we know it doesnt end here and u have to look forward to the next episode. AARRGGGhhh!!! We are being led on!! oh well.... that's life...

anyway, the movie's not bad.. met the usual expectations. it's as it was before, jus like a another episode of the series. But I wanna add, I like ALICE more than bella! hahaa..

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie Swan: What's going on?
Jacob Black: [pause] I kissed Bella.
[pause]
Jacob Black: And she broke her hand.
[pause]
Jacob Black: Punching my face.
[pause]
Jacob Black: It was a complete misunderstanding.

Official Website

Pictures

Knight and Day

2010-07-11T19:41:00.001+08:00

Watched @ Cathay Downtown East

Comedic action thriller which will leave you very lost for the most of the movie. BUT!! this is not the kind of movie you watch for the story line. Watch it for the comedy, watch it to be disgusted how cool tom cruise can still act like. Oh not to mention the camera angles which have to be constantly adjusted to make him look like he's taller than Diaz. Put aside the vague plot and pointless twists, it's actually entertaining!! Muahahaa...

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

Milner: [from trailer] Some people are gonna come looking for you now.
June Havens: Why?
Milner: They'll tell you I'm mentally unstable and violent and dangerous and it will all sound very convincing.
June Havens: I'm already convinced.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June Havens: [from trailer] The pilots are dead!
Milner: Yeah, they've been shot.
June Havens: By who?
Milner: By me. No, actually, I shot the first pilot then he accidentally shot the second pilot. It's just one of those things.

Official Website

Pictures

Blending In

2010-06-21T04:57:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month since I last said something here about me. Work has been busy after the 1st 2 weeks. I think i'm working with a great bunch of people who are very experienced with their work and I'm learning loads from them everyday. I try as much as i could to ask and learn, listen and absorb, but I wonder how long I can last before I get sick of it. Well, at least for now I think i'm doing okay.

I'm still trying to get use to having less time to myself. With work taking up the bulk of time everyday, there's really not much time left to do my own stuff and also keep time to rest. This lack of rest might be slowly building up in me, as everyday i feel a little more tired than the previous.

So far I believe i still made the right choice to be a traffic engineer. I'm putting to use what i've learn in school. That is actually something i'm very happy about. Many people do not use the knowledge they acquired in uni and start everything anew with a different and unrelated job. I'm glad where I am and happy to be able to understand my job better than a usual civil engineer.

Karate Kid

2010-06-21T03:10:00.000+08:00

Watched @ The Cathay

Re-make of the old Karate Kid but with many twists. White kids becomes black, karate becomes kung fu, Japan becomes China. Well that just show how much world perception has changed. Japan used to be the up and coming nation with all the high tech stuff and super efficient economy, but my china is the new dragon, everything is about china.

There's quite a bit of chinese propaganda in the movie. The movies seems to put the country in a pretty good light. It's nice to know that US movies are trying to change the image of china being backward and old.

The action sequences in the show are pretty tight. Perhaps that's Jackie Chan's credit. His trade mark funny actions are still there but much less intensity. Age played a pretty big part, his character ages too.

This is a good movie to watch. Entertaining and Yu Rong Guang is always good at being the villian. haha.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Dre Parker: You don't know the rules?
Mr. Han: Simple. You hit him, don't let him hit you.

Official Website

Pictures

Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

2010-05-27T03:20:00.000+08:00

Watched @ Cathay Downtown East

This movie is adapted from a very popular video game. A classic video games makes it to the big screen once again. I loved the parkour like jumping actions thru-out the movie, those are exactly the type of actions players of the prince of persia games hopes to achieve. Super cool.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Backup Plan

2010-05-27T03:13:00.000+08:00

Watched @ GV Marina

Romantic comedy starring J Lo, it's been awhile since seeing her on the big screen. It's good entertainment. Plot is nice and catchy with good laughs thru out the show. highly recommended for a good time.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Iron Man 2

2010-05-27T03:05:00.000+08:00

Sequel to the 1st Ironman movie, not much link between the 2 other than the characters. Plot wise it's quite simple. But it's the high tech gizmos and gadgets that's most captivating. Just the suitcase size ironman suit? Super cool!!

Watch it for the action, nothing more could be asked abt the acting. it's not an arts film, it's action!!

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come.
[looks at Stark]
Ivan Vanko: All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you...

Tony Stark: I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a Phoenix metaphor been more personified! I'm not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a long chair, sipping on an ice tea, because I haven't come across anyone man enough to face me on my best day!

Official Website

Pictures

1st week over

2010-05-11T01:11:00.000+08:00

After one week of working life, i think i've found some sort of rhythm. It's not that scary as compared to the first day. I'm learning to absorb information with more relevance, able to make more sense out of them. But i'm still slightly cautious when taking in information, fearing that I might miss out something important or forget something really soon. I feel this is going to be a good experience.

Day 1 in Kingdom of Sg Roads

2010-05-04T06:58:00.000+08:00

First day jitters are still hanging around even though i think i had a pretty decent first day. 1st half of the day was some not-so-useful induction program, which i struggled to stay awake for.

When I reported to my department i realise many were on leave due to mayday off-in-lieu. That included my supervisor which left me kindda like a headless fly, but the good thing was i was among a bunch of friendly and funny people. Especially my buddy, total joker. Totally made me less stressed up, much more relax.

It was tough surviving the first day when there was basically nothing for me to do except to clean up my table & cubicle. Tough to act busy when there's really nothing for me to act on. All that was cos my manager not around to boss me around, hope it will be better on my 2nd day when he's back.

Gimme work!! :P

But as my buddy would say, enjoy your holiday while u can.... hahaha...

Butterflies

2010-05-03T05:50:00.000+08:00

i'll be starting my 1st real job in a few hours. I'm feeling so so so nervous, excited, anxious, frightened, terrified... so many different feelings of horror all in my chest now.. I feel like pressure on my chest is so strong, it's constricting me to death, yet at the same time I feel like my lungs and other internal organs are going to expand and blow up! worst still, I feel so much gas in my stomach, I've been burping out gas for the past hour or so. That must be the work of the butterflies in my stomach, and perhaps the work of the butterflies in their stomachs too!!

I'm really looking forward to a new stability in my life, one with a good regular income so that I can start looking at plans for the future. Yet i'm afraid that the requirements and expectations to fulfill at such a position is beyond my capabilities. Suddenly i've lost confidence in all i've learnt in uni. Seriously, what Have I learnt in uni? I would be at lost if you asked me that qn.

Breathe!!

One Step at a time!!

Eventually, you walk out of the fog and see the world in a clearer picture....

Breathe!!

Ip Man 2

2010-05-03T05:39:00.000+08:00

Watched @ GV Marina Sq

Usually I don't watch chinese movies at the cinema, cos they are always out in stores or online within a few weeks. But this is an outing movie with friends so i watched. I have to say, i'm not disappointed with what I was watching.

I think the greatest credit has to go to the script and the director, they manage to make a movie about a man who was known to be unassuming, and made him into a cult hero. Impressive. Perhaps even more credit had to go to the guy who played the villain in the movie, he really managed to make everyone in the cinema hate him so much, that everyone cheered with the supporters in the movie when he was finally beaten. That is a great reaction indicating a great movie.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
洪震南：为了生活，我可以忍。但侮辱中华武术，我不能忍！
————————————————————————————
梁：师父，如果真的有10个人带上家伙来打你，怎么办？
叶问：跑！

Official Website

Pictures

Bounty Hunter

2010-05-03T05:03:00.000+08:00

Watched @ The Cathay

Another Gerard Butler movie that comes of the assembly line. His movie are coming out so fast, there's hardly time to forget his previous one. The problem with this one is that it totally reminds me of the ugly truth, not totally the same, but there's essence of the previous show in it. That is a bad thing.

The other bad thing is that the plot is quite filled with loopholes. the opening and finale are just lousy. Not plots that are well thought off, just plots that are trying to give gerard butler a movie, so that they can squeeze as much $$ as they can out of him while he is still the popular man. disappointing. Notice how far he has fallen in movie standard ever since 300? tsk tsk tsk

There nothing much to say abt jennifer aniston, she is in her typical role. boring cos it's the same her, but than again, that's the her I wanna see. :P

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 4 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Nicole Hurley: Life is making mistakes.
Milo Boyd: And death is wishing you had made more.

Official Website

Pictures

Date Night

2010-04-22T00:33:00.000+08:00

Watched @ GV Vivo

Hilarious comedy, the plot is NOT out of this world, just a series of unfortunate events. Nothing very memorable, but being memorable is not the point for comedies. The laugh is all that counts, and laughs I've really had quite a few.

I think Steve Carrell has been typecast, his roles are more or less the same, goofy, underachieving guy who whacks out a good thing or two at the end of the movie. Tina Fey, i think it's the first time i've ever seen her a a lead. She's been around for ages and got famous for mimicking Sarah Palin. Great performance by the leading duo, good chemistry. They really did take my on a good comedic ride.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Bangkok Aftermath

2010-04-19T03:55:00.060+08:00

Back from bangkok for more than 2 weeks already, but have yet to post anything about it yet. Finally I've found some time to do it. Been pretty much occupied with this new game called three kingdoms, kindda regret starting it, cos it's really time consuming. WTH!! there are so many players who seem to be online 24/7, crazy!!

Anyway abt Bangkok, my trip there was pretty much disrupted by the red shirt protesters, cos they were right smack congregating at the place where I wanna shop!! I seriously have a very strong urge to just use "weapons of mass destruction" on them. But then again, there were too many of them, seriously scary, now that i'm looking back at it.

First day that we were there, the congregation were only beginning to gather, so it did not felt that tense yet, just seriously traffic jams. We checked into our hotel, wanted to start shopping when we realised the shopping centres were forces to close, only then we sense the situation is tensing. Best part was we even tried to go check out central world, which was actually a bad idea, cos the headquarters is pretty much just outside the place and density of red shirts were much higher there. The atmosphere was so dense, it was almost suffocating. Both of us basically freaked out when they start chanting and yelling their slogans, we just had to act calm and move as far as quickly as we could. Oh yah, turning back was no longer an option.

Saving grace of the day was that the Spa was still quite a distance away from the mess and it remains open. It was actually quite crowded there. Tourists mostly, I sense that most of them had no where better to go then there. We reached the Spa abt 4plus, and there was no vacancy till 6pm, we were just contented to stay there. Anywhere away from the reds is better. Suan Lum night market was our plan for that night, luckily that too remained open, few days later the Spa and Suan Lum area would have been messy too. I even managed to catch the Man U vs Chelsea game there.

Bulk of second day was spent at Chatuchak, good thing this place is really far from the tourist central. It's business as usual, as it nothing is happening at all. bought some stuff, walked alot, ate alot, pretty much accomplished all the required tasked at Chatuchak, but on a much longer time frame. Brought dear to this bear shirt shop, sells cool bear shirts, i seriously did not know how I was walking in that market. If you have been there you would know how complicated that place was. And yet I somehow found the place like a homing missile with GPS guidance, i just thought of the place and walked turned when I felt like turning and "TADAH"!!

We managed to squeeze some time to visit platinum and do some shopping there, it was OPEN!! or so we thought. As we shopped for a while and was thinking if we could get dinner at the japanese restaurant, all the stalls began frantically clearing and packing and within minutes most of the stalls have they shutters down and the operators are moving out of the building, we took that as our que to leave as well.

We found a nice cosy restaurant near our hotel for dinner. it's a western restaurant, but we ordered thai food. not bad, and best of all it offers free wifi!! :P and more Spa to end off the day, traditional thai massage, not as acrobatic as we thought. We were served by 2 aunties were who talking non-stop among themselves, quite hilarious cos they talk as if we couldnt understand a single word they say. True, we could not understand a single word, but I could roughly tell they were talking abt US!!

Final day, we decided to venture around our hotel, pratunam area, and it had to be done early. The red shirts are not that active early in the morning, so we had to move early, cos judging from the trends in the past few days, most stall would close once the protestors gather in large numbers and start holding up traffic. We even manage to catch lunch at the japanese restaurant at platinum, that's was before things started looking rowdy all over again. thankfully we were headed to the airport soon after.

This trip gave me a new view of thailand, the one that's in political turmoil for many decades. And judging from the sights that we see in bangkok. This is no where near the end, even if this episode ends, the political situation is no where near being stable. it's too volatile. Some people are just too politically sensitive and totally not viewing the government objectively. It's like "if the government is not red it sucks"!! And yet on the other hand, you can also see people, who can go on with their day to day matters like nothing ever happened. I believe that is usually the case for the majority, they dun really care who's in power, as long as they are able to survive. Yet the minority that's voicing our their complains and whatsoever, thinks they are the majority and everyone wants to be like them. They need to learn that just because no one is saying "yes this government is good" doesnt mean that everyone thinks "this government sucks". Things are still going to get ugly.

I wonder when will be the next time thailand would be safe to visit once again.

Clash of the Titans (non-3D)

2010-04-15T03:21:00.001+08:00

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

So much hype had been brewing around this movie, I personally feel it has not delivered much. At least it has not done enough to out-do it's predecessor. I've watched the old classic, monochrome version before when i was a kid, and i briefly remembered the movie to captivate me much more than this version did. Oh!! I remembered the owl, though I have no recollection of it's usage. I only remembered it used to move.

Acting wise in this movie, it's hard to judge, liam neeson as zeus, feels alittle feeble. And sam worthington as perseus, felt like terminator 4 all over again. well, I think the biggest problem lies in the plot. This is supposed to be an epic movie, but after watching it, it felt like a summary.

It's like the whole original story was summarized into under 2hrs so that we could watch it in 1 showing. actually, I would be happier if they made it into a 4hr long epic movie. Much like the "10 commandments" sort of way. The whole grandeur of the movie would be lifted. Unlike this haphazardly compiled version.

Also the fact that it was converted to 3D as a sales gimmick is really desperate. They are so desperate to ride the 3D wave phenomenon, that they totally flopped in it. Well that was the comments i had gathered, so i watched the non-3D version instead. Indeed there are several scenes in the movies that would do well with 3D effects. But the effects are just the same when you do it in post-production instead of pre-production.

What could have been a hell of a ride became just a walk in the park.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 6 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Bangkok Here I come... AGAIN!!

2010-04-03T06:22:00.000+08:00

In a few hrs, i'll be flying off to bangkok again. I believe it's my third time in the past 12 mths. This is a last min trip, dear and I decided to take cos i might be starting work soon and we both have no idea when our next free period will be. So this might be a good opportunity to bring her to bangkok and go to the places I went the last time with silie & russel. This will be a tightly packed weekend, many places to cover in this short period of time. I intend to be photo whoring this time around, I realised i have been taking very few pictures in my past few overseas trips.

Oh yah, in the past 2 days I ate stuff I really like once again! I'm treating my stomach really well recently.

Thurs nite went to eat Korean food at Manna (Telok Ayer). I been there a few times and the food there hasnt disappoint. Really yummy bbq meats, the real korean style. How do I know it's real? cos most of the customers and the employees are korean, oh and the boss too!! However it's not cheap, quite ex actually. Therefore it's a place I would come only when i'm feeling rich or i'm eating with my family.

Friday morning, after going to Bright Hill to pay respects to my grandma, we went to Toa Payoh's Fortunate Restaurant for dim sum. I've been hearing abt the place for years, but never had the chance to try it. It's really crowded, huge queue outside when we arrived but the queue clear up quite fast, so it was good. Service was very prompt. Service is hongkong style, where all the food comes in aluminium steamer trolleys and you will pick out what you wanna eat from there. It's good, well most of it. I really recommend the "xia jiao" (prawn dumplings) and egg tarts. I would come back just for these 2 items, but the rest were quite good too. Oh there's peking duck too, but we din manage to try it, cos they served it when we were done with dessert. Really full and satisfied.

And now it's time to head to BKK for another round of enjoyment... :)

I got it!

2010-03-30T01:24:00.000+08:00

I've gotten the answer I wanted. I've been accepted. I'm going to be a traffic engineer. I've not been given the salary I wanted, but that's expected and i'm glad it's within my expectation of how much they are willing to offer.

Aftermath of Interview part 2

2010-03-28T05:31:00.000+08:00

Ever since my 2nd interview on friday, i've been having pretty good food for dinner. Hog's breath on friday and Senki earlier today!! I enjoyed a lot!!

I've been stressing about the interview for the past week, and it's been getting on my nerves every now and then. Good thing my mum has not bug me about it much. That's a relieve. The bigger relieve is that it's over, and I think I did not screw up too badly. I was told to wait for answer which will come by the end of the coming week. *fingers crossed*

Hog's breath on friday evening was heavenly!! Ordered a mega 400gm prime rib to share with dear companied with a finger food platter. It's the best steak I've had in ages. It really hit the spot (as the saying goes, even though I have no idea where the spot is. it's one of those places where you will know when it happens!!)

Senki, japanese food buffet, loads of salmon and swordfish sashimi. Did not overfill myself, stopped after 1 huge round of everything I wanted and 3 round of sashimi. It's not easy to tell yourself to stop during a buffet. Buffet goers will know what I mean, especially asians. We always wanna get the best value of what we paid for.

The best part, after all that food, I'm not feeling too guilty about it, cos it's about time to go for a long walk!! 3 time in the past 7 days.. not bad I would say....

Xin Wang HK Cafe

2010-03-23T05:05:00.002+08:00

simple fare done well is always something that fits my palate well.At Xin Wang, they serve the usual overpriced "cha chan ting" food, but the plus point here is that the food is done well. Even though there's the occasional microwaved stuff like the "bo luo bao", there's a lot of good stuff here. For the past year or so i've been going to this cafe quite often and yesterday I found a gem on the menu!! Yes, a gem.

Special Pork Rib Beehoon, it's basically the taste of the canned pork ribs infused into beehoon. When done well, it can be the most appetising beehoon you have ever eaten. The version I had yesterday was really well done, every strand of beehoon was filled with the fragrant & fatty taste of canned pork ribs. Sinful, I know. Yummy, you will know after first taste.

Disaster movie day, Category 7: End of the World versus Haeundae

2010-03-23T03:44:00.000+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

I dun mean to be lazy and have 1 post for 2 movies, but cos I watched these 2 disaster movies one after the other. I cant help myself but to compare them, and the result is rather shocking. Here's the background to the 2 movies and my views on them.

Category 7, a 4hr mini-series originally aired on CBS in 2005. it's a very detailed and well thought thru plot which follows directly after Category 6, another mini series in 2004. It's basically about these killer tornadoes that are blowing out of proportion due to global warming and intense heat output of the metropolitans of the world. The pace of the movie is good, even though I watched 4 hrs straight, it's actually gripping enough to keep me in my seat and watch on.

Haeundae, a 2008 disaster film from korea. The basic plot revolves around the possibility of a mega tsunami hitting korea from the coastal town of Haeundae. Although the movie is only 2hrs long, I was really quite irritated by it, mainly by the vagueness of its genre. It's supposed to be a disaster movie, yet i is loaded with pointless drama and korea slapstick comedy!! 2 hrs of the movie, only the last 20mins consisted of the tsunami and its impact. I'm disappointed, really disappointed. Special effects in this movie is rather laughable as well, they did a tremendous job making the impact and onset of the disaster feel very heavy, very devastating. But yet somehow, buildings, bridges, people, survive the impact. Oh, and the director seems to like to kill off the characters in twisted ways!! Survive one turmoil only to get killed at the next turn. Too much korean comedy here. I'm just glad I fought off the urge to watch this movie when it was in the theatres here last year. Phew...

Spikefire ratings: (Category 7)
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Spikefire ratings: (Haeundae)
Story & Plot: 5 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10

Pictures

The Lovely Bones

2010-03-22T01:55:00.000+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

This movie revolves around the death of 14 yr old gal, little susie. shot in first person view where she views life unfolding after her death. it's nicely shot in a way we follow little susie on a journey of self-realisation, even though it's after death; to see how her family reacts, how her killer reacts.

it's an interesting story to follow.

the main character susie is a relatively new actress, but she had put in a good performance. She's also supported by great actors around her.

But this is not a movie to watch if you are tired. it's kindda slow, so if you dun have the energy, you'll probably fall asleep.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6.5 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7.5 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Interview #1 - part 2

2010-03-20T03:02:00.000+08:00

I have the 2nd interview. It's next friday, in a way i'm glad to get it, and yet i'm totally nervous wreck having to face it. Arggh!

The Rebound

2010-03-20T02:43:00.000+08:00

Watched @ PPStream

A love story about a woman with 2 children who just got divorced and a younger man who just got jilted. It's a simple and straight forward love story. No huge bad guys in this story, it's all sweet and inspiring for the most of it.

Simply nice and entertaining.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Pictures

Interview #1

2010-03-16T10:55:00.000+08:00

Just came back from my first interview. Butterflies are flying in the butterflies in my stomach!! The interview proceedings was informal, so I felt less anxious compared to the initial butterflies in butterflies in butterflies. Even though less anxious, I think I still did badly, I wasnt able to answer simple questions like "what have you done so far?" or "what was your favourite project?". I really hope they do call me back for a 2nd interview. I think I would like the job very much....

Hello Samsung Ultra-Touch!!

2010-03-13T13:06:00.000+08:00

This is my my new phone, I like it!!!

Life aint the same without a working phone

2010-03-12T20:59:00.000+08:00

Ever since my phone went cuckoo, i've been using my handphone with the earpiece. Without the earpiece, I could not hear anything. So basically I've been walking around today with a earpiece in my ear all the time, and with newpaper while waiting for dear. I feel so much like some uncle!! But that aint the main issue, the lost of sound from the speakers is so bad, that I would not know the phone is ringing unless I happen to stare at the screen of the phone. This totally keeps me on a nerve-wrecking stage all the time. Cos i'm concern that calls would be coming in to ask me to go for interview and such, and i might miss it.

The cool thing today, I got a call to go for an interview next week, I think it's fate that i happened to look at the phone screen when it rang. phew...

Oh yah, I wanted to get a Samsung UltraTouch, but somehow that phone is totally not availbale at and Singtel, M1, Starhub shop that I scourge thru yesterday. That sucks!! Spent most of the day look for it, IT show, Suntec, Funan, Vivo... even geylang.. NONE!! End of the day, it seems fate is making fun of me, cos in the end I found the phone on singtelshop.com. It's coming tml!!!

Bye Bye L760

2010-03-11T01:31:00.000+08:00

Have been using my current phone for a long time, have always been pondering when to get a new phone. But that decision has been made for me today. My phone is spoilt!! No sound from it suddenly, it seems that the connection to the speaker is somehow broken. Sms still works and conversations can still be made if I used the headset.

But that's only temporary, the solution will be IT SHOW!! yeah!! hahaa...

Being Human

2010-03-11T01:28:00.001+08:00

Watched @ GV Marina

The plot is simple, employee (Mark Lee) of a slimming company got fired. He got angry and wants to take revenge, he did so by setting up his own slimming centre and went to ridiculous lengths to outdo his former employers. And while he was doing his deeds, he often is face with his inner conscious, who magnifest himself as NoNo, rationale of the inner conscious looking different from the person? Ugly thoughts make the inner conscious look ugly.

Slapstick comedy, funny spurts here and there, overall it's still acceptable. The biggest no no lies in the ending, lame lame lame!!! this is wat happens when people run out of ideas. Oh the camera effects, very amateurish!!!

So watch it if you enjoy Jack Neo's comedic sense, but you can also watch it if you wanna see who his mistress. The character's Mark Lee's sister-in-law.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 5 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10

Pictures

Daybreakers

2010-03-10T00:43:00.002+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

This is not the usual vampire story, vampires are immortals, but killable. They are still afraid of daylight and still feeds on human blood. The story begins in the future where most of the world's population are vampires and are facing a shortage of human blood to feed the vampires. Although the producers are the same ones as Matrix, I think the plot is kindda poor in that sense or maybe vampires are just not as smart as i thought.

Humans are captured and bleed dry for their blood, and when dried, they dispose the human. HOW DUMB IS THAT!!?? Even the Matrix from that long ago has the common sense to keep the humans alive for the extended shelf life. And the vampires in this movie simply used humans like disposables, dumb vamps!! It's probably cos the script was written so so long ago, perhaps way before the matrix and perhaps way before they heard of cloning.

Those are the worst loopholes that have left me utterly disappointed with the plot, otherwise it could have been a much better movie. oh yah, i think the producers also tried very hard to stereotype their vampires, in this movie, they are weak, they just dun age, but they can be killed quite easily.

However, I do like the twist in the vampire legends, vampires can turn back into humans, and man can return a plague of their own back onto the vampires. I liked that part.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Pandorum

2010-03-09T08:40:00.001+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

2 crew of a ship wakes up from deep sleep to find themselves more or less isolated on a spaceship which mission they cant remember due to extended period in deep sleep. It's another "end of the world and we are the one survivors" story, this mission was to send them to a distant planet which is much like earth and supposedly able to support life.

Pandorum is actually a mental disorder which is described in the movie as something you get while being in space and isolation for too long. But the whole screwed up ship started off with 1 guy getting pandorum and started acting like god.

It's not a bad movie, except for the question about howdoes the guy who saves the rest of the passengers wake up?? If the crazy guy could control the ship that well, why let this guy wake up?? hmmm... let's just leave it to fate for movie's sake... Oh I like the happy ending, bad guys die, good and innocent people live on...

However it would probably be better to watch it under better conditions which I had. Blu-ray would be nice...

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Up in The Air

2010-03-09T08:29:00.004+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

The story is basically about Ryan (George Clooney), a guy that flies about more than staying put; a guy who flies about just to fire people the company management are too chicken to. To me it's an interesting plot to begin with, hell I never knew you can have a job out of firing someone. Anyway, it's an interesting plot, Ryan is a loner, who is trying to deceive himself that he is alright being alone, and he even sidelines by going around teaching people how it is alright to be alone.

Natalie (Anna Kendrick), the understudy to Ryan, trying to learn the real meaning of firing someone while she tries to organise the whole process into some clockwork procedure. Ryan has a theory that firing someone is not just "firing" someone, it encompasses much more, and it's something very personal and have to be handled with care. Ain't that an irony with his "it's alright to be alone" attitude, once again, it's interesting.

A-list actors provided A-list acting, it's very believable at the end of the day. That's what makes movies good.
Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Ryan Bingham: [on getting through airport security] Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em.

Natalie Keener: That's racist.
Ryan Bingham: I'm like my mother, I stereotype. It's faster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex Goran: What a weasly prick.
Natalie Keener: Yeah, but what does that make me? Someone who falls for a prick.
Alex Goran: We all fall for the prick. Pricks are spontaneous, they're unpredictable and they're fun. And then we're surprised when they turn out to be pricks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Bingham: You know why kids love athletes?
Bob: Because they screw lingerie models.
Ryan Bingham: No, that's why we love athletes. Kids love them because they follow their dreams.
Official Website

Picture

Job Application Bombardment

2010-03-08T18:45:00.000+08:00

It's now exactly 2 months since my job application for LTA & Surbana. They probably found someone else, cos the job vacancies are no longer there. So I have embarked on a bombardment journey today. Here are the list of jobs I've applied for!! hehe..

Urban Planner (Development Control)
Urban Planner (Physical Planning)
Engineers Programme Planning (Civil)
Engineering Officers (Civil) Marina Coastal Expressway (I just realise this is a diploma position, I wonder if they will love me for applying.. haha..)
Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness
Cadet Pilot
Assistant Manager, Airline Development
Manager, Corporate Strategy
Manager, Airport Operations

I wonder who would be the first to accept/reject me... :P

Invictus

2010-03-05T15:02:00.002+08:00

Watched @ Funshion

Based on a true historical event, and how tru is it that great stories arise from the toughest of times. The story revolves around Nelson Mandela, the first elected president of South Africa after the fall of apartheid, and how he used rugby to unite his racially torned nation.

Acting is great, no questions. Matt Damon & Morgan Freeman put it a hell of a show for me. Despite Morgan Freeman looking much taller than Nelson Mandela, he really did a wonderful portrayal of the man. They have to work the expression and accent, it's one thing to act a character, it's another to totally mimick and be the character.

The story plot is not entirely true, cause I just found out that the Invictus poem was never used in truth. Nelson Mandela gave the Springboks captain a passage from Theodore Roosevelt to inspire him instead of the Invictus poem depicted by the movie. But that's just detail, I can overlook that, I can live with the Invictus.

This movie is very strong emotionally, it's a great era, great feelings. One can only wonder what the 2 men felt during those days. Just for interest sake, this is the Invictus poem

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

And the passage that Nelson Mandela gave to the Springboks Captain, I find it just as inspiring.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 9 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman):
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul.
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brenda Mazibuko (President's Aide): You're risking your political capital, you're risking your position in the party, you're risking your future as our leader.
Nelson Mandela: The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nelson Mandela: I was thinking about a little wager.
New Zealand PM: How about, all your gold for all our sheep?
Nelson Mandela: I was thinking about a case of wine.

Official Website

Pictures

Dear John

2010-03-03T03:07:00.001+08:00

Watched @ GV Marina

A long story about a lightning fast love at first sight between 2 individuals. The story begins pre-Sept11, and when all seems to be flowing towards a happy ending, fate steps in and brings them Sept11. But that's not the end, fate seems to like to visit this ill-fated couple more than others.

The good thing about such romance flicks, it's not difficult to act it well, you just need to have experience in love, and nowadays, who doesnt?? especially people who looked like them!!

However, it's still a touching story, and I liked the final seemingly happy ending.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

John Tyree: Our story has 3 parts a beginning, a middle and an end and although this is the way all stories unfold I still cant believe ours didnt go on forever.

Official Website

Pictures

Wolfman

2010-03-03T02:52:00.001+08:00

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 6

A gory werewolf movie, the plot is quite flat, perhaps cos I knew from the start of the movie that Anthony Hopkin's character is the villian in this movie. I suppose that was the supposed twist in the show, but nope, that did not happen for me.

The love story weaved within the movie between Lawrence & Gwen, well, is weak too!! Can anyone see why it would happen? NOPE!! not me!!

The worst part of the plot was the origin of werewolf's lycanthropy is from the hidden mountains of india!!?? WTH!?? oh well...

Just watch it for good acting and good action sequences and gory scenes... IGNORE THE PLOT!!

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 3 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:

Colonel Montford: [Sir John shoots a statue next to Colonel Montford causing him to fall off his horse] Damn you Talbot!
Sir John Talbot: I'm sorry Colonel. I meant to shoot you. You see I'm not as good a shot as I used to be.

Official Website

Gut Wrenching

2010-02-19T16:20:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I finally understood the feeling behind the phrase "gut wrenching". My stomach felt as if it was being twisted about from the inside, SUPER PAINFUL!!!

BUT amazingly, I still managed to survive the day and got home safely at the end of everything. I feel better today, but perhaps that's cos I had nothing except water and "Po Chai" pills the whole day.

Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief

2010-02-17T17:50:00.000+08:00

Watched @ GVMax

The movie is an adaptation from a series of storybooks of the same name written by Rick Riordan. The acting in the movie says, teen pop movie from start to the end, but i'm happy to accept that sort of entertainment.

The storyline is interesting though, the whole premises of the story is based on ancient greek mythology, which somehow manages to exist in this modern world. Modern parallels are cleverly used to depict places and characters in ancient mythology.

This movie is direct by the same guy who direct the 1st 2 installments of Harry Potter.

Watch this if you are interested in teen fantasy and greek mythology.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Chiron: [from trailer] Use this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon.

Percy Jackson: This is a pen.
Chiron: Only use it in times of severe distress.
Percy Jackson: This is a *pen*.

Official Website

Pictures

72 Tenants

2010-02-17T17:07:00.000+08:00

Watched @ FilmGarde Kallang Leisure Park

It's a slapstick comedy for the Chinese New Year season. It has a HUGE cast consisting of almost all the leading stars in HK's TVB station. THe comedy effects are quite powerful, but it could have been much better if we could watch it in the original cantonese version.

Acting is quite good considering it's mainly for the comedic effects.

On the whole, it's good family entertainment for the holiday season.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Little Big Soldier

2010-02-17T16:57:00.001+08:00

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

This is Jackie Chan's production, and the result is simply a typical Jackie Chan production. In his type of productions, the storyline doesnt matter, and pointless twists often occur.Comedy is quite effective in the show and the acting required is quite limited, hence focus lands on the action sequences. The action this time is not bad but could have been more.

So my recommendations for this movie is simple, lower expectations and you'll just enjoy the little things in the show.
Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
挺好的。(this is selected simply for the number of times it was used!!!)

Pictures

Hello Singapore!! Hello end of RT!!

2010-02-10T21:20:00.000+08:00

Back in Singapore last night, super tired, slept till noon today. We went to BKK with one check in luggage of 15kg, came back with two 15kg and one 20kg, huge buys!! But i'm not the main culprit, haha!! Definitely not the biggest spender either. I just wanna bring dear to BKK together!! Asap!!

Final session of RT just now, I have finally completed the whole course!! Failed the finally IPPT and kindda did worst den before, but no matter, I'll have more time to train, I will!!

I got my first aid certification and it comes in a tiny little card!! looks unreliable if you ask me. hahaa..

From now to CNY, it's housekeeping time!! ANd also time to cycle down to TJC everyday.

Sawadee 2010 pt2

2010-02-09T01:45:00.000+08:00

Dinner at Fuji Japanese restaurant yesterday was quite good, cheap as well. Oh the wasabi is the freshly grated type, so quality is apparent here and also gives a greater kick compared to the usualy powdered one we are used to back in singapore. & of us ate quite a lot but total was not over 5K baht!! oh, mum and keli had lunch at crystal jade which cost just as much for just the 2 of them!!!!

Spa yesterday was quite an experience, scary too. The place was nice and classy, I did mine in a private room, the masseuse was quite good, and almost every part of the body was taken care of, but i was more in need of a foot massage than full body back then. The Spa is healthland Spa located at Sathorn Road, it's quite a popular place so most tazi drivers actually roughly know where it is, and it's quite easy to recognise, just look out for a big golden bungalow.

Spent the bulk of the day so far at Platinum Mall, Fashion apparels wholesale shopping centre, it's really near our hotel and we really spent alot of time there. And after that long duration, I'm not done with it yet, there are still spots I have not covered!! bought several tshirts from there for yanli mostly and 1 for myself. I learnt this time that platinum not only has lots of choices for fashion, it's also full of food choices.

Dinner today was at this german beer place recommended by Russel, the food there was not bad, the pork knuckles was really crispy. However, the best part of the place is that it has somehting like a cabaret show going on, a few singers, LOADs of props, cameras, lightings, the whole nine yards. The customers there are also very spontaneous to the performance, many of them are dancing wildly around their tables as the night wore on.

It's the last night in BKK already, I would say so far the purchasing has been fruitful. Good trip so far...

Sawadee 2010

2010-02-07T19:11:00.000+08:00

It's my 2nd day in BKK, and I just got back from Chatuchak, the place is still huge, HOT, crowded, Hot, exciting and last but not least HOT! I bought only a few tshirts there, but those are nice tshirts which I had not seen anywhere else so far. So I'm happy with that simple buy.

Yesterday was a hectic day too, set off for here early in the morning and got to the hotel almost noon. bulk of yesterday was spent visiting the tailors for my shirts and suits and pants, thereafter it's shopping, while the rest went to the thai massage at Wat Pho, we stayed shopping at the aircon'd centres.

Den it was to chinatown to get "dog shit"!! Bought loads of them for my house for this cny. Yesterday's dinner was at a rather dodgy chinese seafood restaurant to chinatown, the food was actually good, if not for it's dodgy surroundings and numerous sightings of "xiao qiangs", i would actually visit the place again.

Finale of the night was visiting Suan Lum night market, din not managed to buy anything exciting there except for some small souvenirs. Keli and I did manage to do a 15min fish spa. Those fishes are SUPER hungry for my dead skin!! I seemed to be a good source of it... :P

It's time to leave and head for dinner, followed by Sky Bar, followed by SPA!!

RT Mania pt2

2010-02-03T21:20:00.000+08:00

IPPT session today, totally burnt out after the first shuttle run station........ result.. fail...