Final Harry Potter book

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows (the 7th and last book of the Harry Potter series) will be released worldwide on 21st July 2007, according to Ms JK Rowling!! Woo Hoo!! Can't wait for it! :)

Hmm... maybe should start reading books 1 to 6 now, so that can continue with book 7 in July. Hehe! :p

Was hooked to the Harry Potter books after colleague TC lent me book 1 back in 2001 or 2002... can't remember ler. Prefer the books to the movies cos read the books first I guez, and also more details in the books.

My fave books so far are:
Book 1 - Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone
Book 3 - Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
Book 6 - Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Quite sad that it's the last book... But also can't wait to find out the ending.

5 more months...

S.H.E concert

First time going to a concert in 2007...
First time going to a concert by a pop group...
First time going to a concert where the singers are very much younger than me...

Oh 第一次我.......

Quite a fun concert last nite! These 3 小妹妹 very bubbly and 可爱, and their singing & dancing not bad too! And their 合音 very very nice!! Because there are 3 people to watch, the concert was more interesting. Plus their stage was a 三面台, so can see them all the time. Dun really like 四面台 cos it gets very boring when the singer is at the other 3 sides of the stage.

Special guests? 飞轮海 and surprise guest 孙燕姿.

Muz say that the audience was fantastic man! Everybody was screaming and jumping throughout the entire show! I bought the cheapest tix for the last few concerts I attended, and usually it's quite boring sitting at the back, cos everyone is shy and tame, so will feel paiseh to scream and jump around. But for this concert, the entire stadium was on their feet and waving their 银光棒 (err did i write the chinese words correctly?) all the time. Very good atmosphere!

Pity AM and me didn't manage to buy any 银光棒 cos we were late!! Caught in the huge traffic jam on the way to the stadium. Reasons for the jam?
1) sold out S.H.E concert
2) sold out Asean Football Championship semi-finals at the National Stadium (Singapore vs Malaysia, which Singapore won, by the way. Ole Ole Ole Ole..... Ole Ole!!)

Think there were about 60,000 people at Kallang last night. The jam after the concert was equally bad cos both events ended at about the same time. Left Kallang only after mid-night.

Anyway, was pretty deaf by the end of the concert cos they juz upgraded the sound system at the Indoor Stadium. Super loud!! But enjoyed the concert. Though can't beat the most fun concert I attended so far - Karen Mok's 好莫文蔚 Singapore concert in 2001. That was THE BEST!!

Babies & Hip Hop

Attended BL's baby's first month party last sunday at her condo, then MY's baby's first month party at CSC today. 2 first month parties in 2 weeks. So many babies!!

Met up with HS on bus 130 (she took bus from AMK, and I boarded near my house), and arrived at CSC at about 10:30am. Of coz got 'scolded' by MY for being late (We were supposed to reach there at 10am). Then helped with the decorations. JD & AGL were the creative directors. We pumped many balloons (manual pump hor) and put up banners and streamers. Muz say the place looked pretty good after we were done at abt 11:30am. Pity forgot to take photo :(

Stayed on at CSC after the baby party cos had Hip Hop class. Yes finally!! The class stopped for many many months. 20 over people signed up this time. Of cos our old kakis were all back, and instructor KR is still the same! Hopefully classes will not stop again. Looking forward to classes the next few weeks! :)

The Dark Side of Asian Cinema

Went for this talk by Hong Kong actor Francis Ng 吴镇宇 at the National Library today. Had to wake up rather early for a Saturday cos the talk started at 12pm. Anyways, managed to reach there at 11:55am, and there was a long queue waiting to go in. Luckily we had registered oredi. But had to sit at the back cos there were already many people in front.

Realised that Francis Ng is quite a chim guy. Was talking about very chim stuff about the movies. Guess it had to be chim since the topic of the talk was "Directing Asia Series: Insights to Asian Cinema. Crime: The Dark Side of Asian Cinema". But he said something which was simple yet profound... In order for something to be seen as good, there has to be a dark side to bring out the good. This applies to movies, people, food and everything. Makes a lot of sense... Had me thinking hard there for a while ;)

Some photos of the event:









The view from the POD (Level 16) of the National Library. Dunno wat POD stands for, but it's not usually opened to the public. So check out the view from up there:







By the way, it's my first visit to the National Library since it opened!! :)

Pillow Talk

Sigh... super long weekend over so fast..... back to work today...

Anyways, was at J8 yesterday and Seiyu was having a sale on bedding stuff. Been thinking that my pillow is a little too flat lately, so decided to check out the pillows.

Spotted a big, fluffy and comfy looking pillow selling for only $9.60, and a feather filled firm pillow for $12. In the end decided to buy the fluffy comfy looking pillow cos it looks (yup, u guessed it) sooo comfy!

Went to bed pretty early last nite - cos had to work today, and also couldn't wait to try the comfy pillow. Ended up staring at the ceiling for half a nite... thinking about a meeting today, and also cos pillow was too high... 原来 I need flat pillow to sleep... Ended up using my old pillow instead. Now have to find some way to flatten my new pillow... zzz...

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! =)

Hmm... My new year resolution... to keep my desk at home and at office neat and tidy. Haha! Sounds simple right? But for those who have seen my desks..... you'll know it's an uphill task to clear them up first... Wish me luck!

Silver Lining

It's a rainy tuesday again. Been raining non-stop since early morning. Didn't feel like waking up and going to work again, but no choice cos no more leave :o

But hey, there's a silver lining in every rain cloud :) Received a Christmas card from someone special today. A cute card from Hong Kong's SPCA. So happy!! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Rain Rain Go Away...

Wow, it's been raining non-stop for 24 hours!! The rain was so heavy this morning that I decided to take the morning off - my wiper is a bit lousy... too dangerous to drive... plus it was very tempting to stay in bed :p

The rain was slowing down at about 11+am, and I was preparing to go to work. Just as I opened my door to leave, the thunderstorm got bigger again!! Man... anyway had to leave the house cos was almost late!! On the way to work, saw the HUGE flood at Thomson Road, near the nurseries and MediaCorp - could only see a brown river instead of the road, and many Police cars...

Hope the rain will stop soon!

New Toys

Was at SITEX 2006 at Expo last friday. Took half day afternoon leave and met up with WW & AM. Strangely it was not as crowded as the last IT fair (I think it was COMEX??). Anyways got myself 2 new toys!! Yeah! =)

First up, a PDA - Acer n311

Been thinking about buying a PDA for 2-3 months, ever since I accompanied WW to buy hers during the last IT fair. So finally bought it! Same price as hers ($499), and same freebies (1GB SD card, leather pouch, screen protector) but had an additional free cradle. Was actually comparing between the Acer and the HP iPAQ RX4000. Both have similar specs but finally decided on the Acer cos it had a larger screen.

Next toy, a DVD Recorder - LG RH1777S

With 80GB hard disk, selling for $459 + $50 Choice voucher. Was selling for $499 at Best outlets few days ago. Just fixed it up over the weekend. Can't wait to try it out! Think will record the Star Awards this coming weekend, and the Golden Horse awards, if Mediacorp decides to air it. I want to see the following performance on the tv screen!

Rebonding

Was on leave today and went to rebond my hair. It's been quite messy for some time now, since my last rebonding 1-2 yrs back. Thanks to my good fren MW, got to know of this auntie Xiuzhen who does rebonding at her home in Jurong. She charges only $60, and received many good reviews from the other girls on the web. So decided to try it out.

Appointment was for 10am, but as there was a big crowd, only got started at nearly 11am. Was waiting in her hall in the meantime, watching her son play Warcraft III. Firstly, some chemical to break the bonds in the hair. Half an hour later, was asked to wash my hair in the bathroom at the kitchen - sitting on a study chair, lying back on some towels wrapped in plastic bags as neck support, and having my hair washed in the basin.

After the washing, it's back to the room for drying. To speed up the drying, auntie Xiuzhen passes an extra hairdryer to me, and asked me to help in the drying. I dun really know how to use hairdryer cos I never dry my hair with the hairdryer at home. Auntie Xiuzhen must have thought I was weird!! Quite an experience though to have 2 hairdryers blowing at my hair. Can imagine how I look after that... very windswept!

Then came the ironing. Took about an hour. Followed by some more chemicals for another half hour, then wash and dry again (same 2 hairdryer process). Was done by about 2+pm. Was starving by then, but had great looking shiny hair!!


Definitely worth the $60, and auntie Xiuzhen really did a great job!! Highly recommended!

Zouk!

Went to Zouk last sat nite with WW, AGL & J, together with some of AGL's frens. Haven't gone clubbing for long long time..... The music not very good tho, but by the time we reached the end of the list below, it sounded pretty ok... probably coz we were all high by then :p

Drinks:

1) 1 glass of vodka orange
2) sip of vodka lime
3) 1 glass of Tequila on the rocks
4) 1 Tequila shot
5) 2 Illusion shots
6) sip of lychee martini
7) sip of Tequila pop

Went for some very peppery Bak-kut-teh after that cos AGL was hungry. Quite a fun nite!! Felt quite happening cos haven't gone clubbing for ages! Hee hee..... a bit 'sua gu' hor? =)

Relaxing Weekend

This entry is a little late. Was at the chalet at Aranda Country Club during the last weekend of Oct with my aunts, uncles and cousins. The chalet is huge!!

Living room:

Dining Area + kitchen:


2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (with showers):



We booked the karaoke room at the club, and I was pleasantly surprised to find some very new songs there - Karen Mok's 如果没有你 and Stephanie Sun's 雨天. Cool! Of coz the aunts and uncles were singing oldies in mandarin & english, while us cousins were picking the latest songs. So was a pretty good mix!

Didn't miss going to the Wild Wild Wet theme park with my cousins of coz. Our chalet had a good view of it.



The most exciting ride was the Samsung Slide Up (slide down from a 4 storey high steep ramp). Almost feels as if you are flying on your way down the ramp!! All the other rides are comparatively very tame. Felt a little sea-sick on the Tsunami tho. Haha!

It was pretty tiring tho, cos we had to keep climbing up stairs for all the rides... So we were wondering why there were so many 公公 and 婆婆 around the theme park. And realised that senior citizens above 55 yrs old get free admission into the park. Not a bad idea to get our elders into water sports! The Shiok River should be quite suitable for most of them. Although we saw several elders at the Ular-Lah ride too! Never under-estimate our elders huh!

Goong!! Princess Hours!

Yes yes, I'm also hooked to the Korean show that everyone else is..... 宮 Goong!! My fren MM lent me the VCD. It's the..... I think........ only 2nd Korean (erm... Is Winter Sonata a korean drama??) show I've watched, and I love the show!! Fairy tale story about a young girl marrying a prince, and it's really funny, especially lead actress Yoon Eun Hye! Haha! And to think I always had the impression that Korean shows are soppy. Check out the shots:



And yes, I belong to the Lee Shin 信君 group. He's awkwardly cute in a way. And of coz was rooting for him to end up with Shin Chae-gyung. Main reason was coz the princess was hopelessly in love with him, and it helps that they look very cute together of coz! :)







Of coz the other prince Lee Yul is not bad too. Actually thought he was quite cute at first, but he got too 婆妈 after a while. And I seriously think he will look better without the necklace he keeps wearing in the show.


One strange point tho... The full name of the show is 宫 - 我的野蛮王妃 but the 太子妃 is not 野蛮 at all wor...

And I really love the teddy bears at the end of each episode. Soo cute!! :)

Amazing & Not Amazing

Amazing Race Asia starts tonight, BUT I CAN'T WATCH!! :( Dun have Starhub Cable. So sad..... Also couldn't watch Amazing Race 10... Why Mediacorp Channel 5 dun show?? It's the only reality TV show I watch leh... Boo hoo hoo! :(


6 November 2006

Was on leave after hectic event on Sunday, 5 Nov. Went to watch the movie The Departed with fren NN. Free tickets from colleague TCS! :)

When we were getting the tickets, the guy at the counter asked to see our ICs. So we asked him if the movie was RA, and he said, no, it's M18 (i.e. for above 18). 18?!! We look below 18!! Woo hoo!! =)

The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, is the Hollywood version of Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs (无间道), starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Was very impressed with Leonardo's acting!!

Quite an enjoyable movie, even though oredi knew the storyline from watching 无间道. But of coz most enjoyable part was when we were buying the tickets. Hee hee! :)

Feeling Grey...

Caught the season 2 finale of Grey's Anatomy on Channel 5 last nite. Can't wait for the next season!! Big questions are..... What will happen to Izzy?? Can she continue to be a doctor? And who will Meredith choose?? And what will happen to Dr Burke?

Dunno how long to wait for Season 3 to be shown on TV...... will have to resist going to the website to read the synopsis of the new season!!

忍忍忍.....

Random Thoughts..... Firemen

Wonder what do firemen do when they go to the fire station everyday? I mean, you dun hear of many fires in Singapore do you? And there are quite a few fire stations scattered around our little island, so probably each station is only activated once in a while? So, what do firemen do everyday then? Clean the fire engines? Practice sliding down the pole? Try out their driving skills on Daytona?

Juz wondered about this when I went past a fire station the other day..... any fireman out there to enlighten me? :)

Karen "Butterfly" Mok

Cool pic of Ms Mok! =)

New books over old books

The new Bishan library opened about a month ago. Was looking forward to it since they started construction! Visited it the 2nd day it opened and it was sooo crowded!! Realised why when I saw the books. All brand new! And managed to get books from some of the more popular authors. Even saw Da Vince Code! But had already read that book. When I went back to the library a week later and subsequent weeks, couldn't find any books from the popular authors anymore.

Happened to be at Ang Mo Kio today and decided to drop by the library to return a book. I used to borrow books from the AMK library before the Bishan branch opened, and it was pretty difficult to find books from popular authors as well. But hey, the shelves were packed full of books today, and managed to find several books from popular authors!! Guess everyone has abandoned the old books for the newer books at Bishan. So 没良心rite? I shall borrow books from AMK now since everyone is fighting for the new books at Bishan :)

Btw, HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY to those who are still young at heart!! =)

An Eventful Week

Sunday 24 September 2006
Went to catch the movie The Devil Wears Prada. Yes yes, a bit late..... but better late than never :)
It was BRILLIANT! Sarcastically funny, and the lead actresses (Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep) were great. Highly recommended.


Tuesday 26 September 2006
One of the contractors at work passed away suddenly of heart attack :( He was one of the contractors I've become more familiar with since I got posted to my new area of work. Pretty nice and fun guy who likes to converse to me in Teochew. Life is really unexpected... he was just 47 yrs old. I saw him around the day before, and the next thing I know, the ambulance was here, and he was sent to the hospital where doctors tried to resuscitate him for half an hour. Cause of death was heart attack. Couldn't concentrate on work in the afternoon. Went to his funeral wake on wednesday afternoon.


Wednesday 27 September 2006
Went to catch preview of 宝贝计划 (Rob-B-Hood) as colleague had free tix. Grew out of Jackie Chan movies many years ago, but this new movie of his is HILARIOUS!! Of course I think a big part of why the movie is so enjoyable is due to 帅哥 古天乐 and the extremely adorable baby :) Helped to cheer me up after the shocking event on tuesday.


Thursday 28 september 2006
Won free tix to the Nokia Starlight Cinema, so decided to go for the Ladies night screening of Just Like Heaven. Thought it would be very noisy with the cars moving around the Padang, but it was a surprisingly quiet. Quite a fun outing under the haze (unfortunately unable to see any stars through the haze). Only complaint is 屁股痛 after sitting through the movie on the ground! Best to bring your own mat and maybe a cushion...

Check out the freebies from the event!

Karaoke!!

Karaoke!! Finally.. haven't sang for long long time! A few of us colleagues booked our office's karaoke lounge last night. Had quite a relaxing day yesterday - meeting in the morning, on course in the afternoon and then went directly to the karaoke lounge.

The lounge recently re-opened after being closed for renovation. Heard from some colleagues that they had upgraded the system to something equivalent to KBox, so was all set to check out the new songs. Unfortunately..... the newest song from 莫文蔚 is from her Karen More album in 2000, and latest 孙燕姿 song is from The Moment album... So we decided to go retro and choose some old songs. Ufortunately..... they only had 4 songs from 小虎队 and dun even have the famous 红蜻蜓 song.....

But still, it was a pretty fun gathering, and realised that many of my colleagues can sing super well!! Defintely can go take part in 绝对Superstar!!