World of Rinoa Summers

A New Year....

2012-01-10T21:59:00.000+08:00

It's the 2nd week into 2012 and I've been busy the past 1 week. Busy with a tender and Dinner & Dance preparations last Friday. It's over and I will post some photos up soon. I love the dressing this year though we ladies had to spend some money on our own pocket for the whole costume. I came up with the costume idea of Military Band for the theme Back to School. I had wanted to custom-made the uniforms instead. But all the companies I approached or called said our timeline is tight. I could have been wearing my own design. Eventually I got it from a costume shop what a UK Soldier wears. Too bad they did not have enough of the same costumes to cater to my headcount of 16 pax in my team. But we can't win Best Dressed despite we rented real musical equipments. I chose the flute.

Anyway, I hope 2012 is a good year for me. Work and my personal love life. I do hope God will have a plan for me to meet someone this year and hopefully the person will really be The One that the relationship can last. I don't hope for anyone right now. Just leave it to God and he will find a way for me. Even if I do meet someone unexpected now, I'll start off as friends first, get to know the person longer and keep my options open. I need God to show me a sign of whether the person that appears in my life is actually The One. Lots of things happened the past 1 year. Hopefully things will change this year...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2011-12-25T23:52:00.001+08:00

It's been sometime since I last blog. the week has passed and Christmas is finally here. I spent my whole saturday doing mani and pedi at my usual package place and then went home and get ready for the church candlelight service. I had to be in church earlier for the chorale rehearsal. After the service, I joined my sis and her friend to her house for a round of monopoly and Taboo. We headed for supper at McDonald's first before heading to my sis's house. It was raining and eventually, we reached my sis's house at around 12am. After we settled down, we started playing at around 1am and Chris wanted to play Monopoly. We agreed that when all four of us ended up in jail at least once, we'll end the game. Cheryl, Chris and myself went to jail practically almost 3 times, while my sister hasn't even gotten to jail once. We found out lots of character from playing this game. It was a game of honesty and integrity. Haha...we often have to keep mum when someone else landed on someone's property. Initially I had like the most cash and most property bought. I got second in total winnings while Cheryl had the least property, she had the most cash that was able to emerged as winner from the game and it was all thanks to her Queen Astrid Park and MRT station rentals.

We then moved on to a short round of Taboo at around 2am and Cheryl and Chris both were almost tired and dozing off while my sister and I seemed to be more energetic. We only managed to sleep at 3.30am after they sent Cheryl home while I get to stayover at their house overnight. Chris had to give up his side of the bed with my sis while he slept in the study room floor in a sleeping bag with Pork chop right beside him. We couldn't even wake up for church service today at 9am. But my sis and Chris went for the 11am Chinese service and they dropped me off in church and I got on with my parents to IMM for lunch and did some grocery shopping. We then headed home to get the food for the BBQ while I had a change of clothes before we drove to my grandparents' house. When we arrived there, I played with my cousin's daughter, Cheryl. It was the first time I get to see her since her birth. It's been almost a month so I carried her in my arms. It feels so good to carry a baby in my arms. I don't recall carrying any young baby. Maybe I did remember carrying my cousin, Kristin before when she was a baby and a kid. Cheryl's so chubby and adorable. She's like the centre of attention of everyone. She had the most number of presents too. I bought my first xmas gift to my niece though. I have niece and nephews from paternal side but I ain't close with them or don't even get or seldom get to see them, so that explains the lack of bonding.

I want to wish everyone a Blessed Merry Christmas and a happy New Year ahead! Though I know that 2011 hasn't and wasn't a good year for most people I know including myself, I believe 2012 should be a good year to look forward to.

Sunday School Christmas Party..I was the angel for the group and we got in 5th, so the kids get to choose the presents the fifth group...

My helper angel, Felicia....

Prep to head to church for Church Candlelight Service...

I'm the "Santarina"...I was the one distributing the gifts...

Cheryl has the most number of presents. Look the green top and bottom pants is what I got for my niece for her Xmas present from Baby Gap...

She's just so adorable and lovely sleeping in her own world...

Meaning of Love

2011-12-03T20:06:00.001+08:00

WHAT LOVE MEANS TO AGE 4 TO 8 YEAR OLD CHILDREN

Touching words from the mouths of babes.
What does 'Love' mean?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?'
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.

So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissie - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mummy loves me more than anybody

You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

When there is nothing left, that is when you find out that love is all you need.

What women want

2011-12-02T09:36:00.001+08:00

Find out the top 20 things a woman wants her man to do for her.

Contrary to popular stereotypes, women don't need expensive handbags or diamond rings from their loved one to be happy. Yes, we like material things but it's the small gestures and habits that create a more lasting and loving impression. MSN Life & Style has conducted a survey among girls in a relationship to ask them what their boyfriends or husbands should do to make them happier.

Find out the top 20 things that a guy should do for his girl in the next pages!

1. No secrets
Share your secrets with your girl. It shows her that you trust her and you're opening up to her. Whether it's an embarrassing one or your personal wishes, we won't judge you. In fact, we think it's sweet when a guy is brave enough to admit something that only his bestfriends know (or no one at all!).

2. Be her pillar of strength
Most modern women are independent and ambition-driven, but that doesn't mean we're strong 24/7. Be there when she's feeling down, make her believe in herself when her self-confidence hits rock bottom, and she'll do the same to you.

3. Surprise her
You don't need to buy a Louis Vuitton or Prada bag to make your woman happy. Little surprises out of the blue will gain you plus points and a 100-watt smile from her. Flowers are available all year round, not only on her birthday or anniversaries. If you know she loves cute things, get her a small stuffed toy, or if she likes a certain beauty brand, get her a perfume or body care products.

4. Spare time for her
Being young and ambitious, a lot of us just concentrate on work or parties all the time, and we tend to abandon our loved one. Regular meals together will strengthen your relationship - it's a private time for both of you to talk to each other without interruptions. Remember to keep your phone away from the table though, or else you'll be paying more attention to it than to your girl!

5. Respect
A lot of guys still have a 'macho' mentality and think that women are the weaker sex. That's where you're wrong. Don't belittle her ambitions or make fun of her when she makes a mistake. Take her seriously and respect her as an individual.

6. Love her, love her body
Stop nagging about how she should hit the gym and lose weight, stop making fun of her love handles. Comparisons with other 'hot' girls won't improve your relationship or her self-esteem either. You fell inlove with her for who she is, so why the need to change her looks?

7. Cook
Cook for her once in a while. We're not talking about a five-course meal, but simple things like pasta dinner (accompanied by a bottle of good wine), or a simple breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning.

8. PDA
Hold her hand in front of your mates, give her a kiss and don't be shy to hug her in public. Don't go overboard and do it non-stop though, we want sweet gestures, not sexual ones!

9. Tell her she's beautiful
Your other half should be the most beautiful girl in the world to you, and let her know that - often! A lot of guys constantly compliment other girls but not the one who's actually next to them!

10. Share your feelings
If you miss her, let her know. Tell her how you feel about her - the 'I love you's' should be expressed more often than just during your anniversary.

11. Stand up for her
If anyone says anything bad about your girl or makes fun of her, don't be a jerk and just agree or laugh along. You should have her back and stand up for her in such situations.

12. Bring her shopping
Again, we don't mean you should max out your credit cards by bringing us to expensive, high-end stores. Monthly or bi-monthly trips to high street stores like Topshop or Forever 21, or even stand-alone clothing boutiques have affordable dresses that we love!

13. Be responsible
Pay the bills on time, don't be late to dinner dates, and help your loved one out in household matters. Guys, it's not okay to make your woman wait hours for you or on you.

14. Be more adventurous...in bed
Most of the women we conducted the survey with exclaimed that their other halves are not making enough effort in bed. If you're doing the same thing over and over again, your woman will slowly feel sexually disconnected from you, so be more adventurous and try out some new positions - after all, sex is healthy for you!

15. Chivalry is not dead
Women woud like to believe that chivalry still exists among this generation of men. Be a gentleman and hold the door open for your lady, open your car door for her, or take her hand when crossing the street. This shows that you care for her wellbeing and comfort.

16. Attention
Be attentive to your woman's needs and emotions. If she has had a tough day at work, let her rest and don't expect her to still cook dinner for you while you just sit around and watch TV. If she looks unhappy, ask her what's the matter, talk to her, or give her a hug.

17. Hang out with her friends
Make the effort to get to know her friends and be nice to them. Some guys don't think it's important to hang out with his girl's friends, but see it as a way to get to know your girl better (friends can give an insight about her character as well!) and, it's always good to have her friends on your side!

18. Be honest
The truth can hurt, but it's always best to be honest. If you want to hang out with your friends, then tell her instead of doing it behind her back (a lot of guys will give the excuse of being busy with 'work' rather than admit he's with his friends!). Or if something's bothering you, then let your girl know. A relationship can only survive when there's no communication barrier between a couple.

19. Keep your promises
Women dislike guys who are 'All Talk, No Action'. If you promised to bring her out on a date, or even small things like calling her, make sure you do it. When you keep on forgetting, you're creating the impression that you're irresponsible and she can't depend on you to keep your word.

20. She should be a priority
A girl doesn't want to be an option, she wants to be a priority. A happy relationship exists when two people make each other a priority, equally. This means being considerate, having respect and making her an important aspect of your life.

Nobody's perfect but if you try to follow these 20 steps, you will definitely make your woman happy and your relationship stronger. Needless to say, it works both ways, so girls, make sure you treat your men well, too!

The end of year 2011

2011-12-01T20:50:00.001+08:00

It is coming to the end of the Year 2011 and I look back on the year. Lots of things happened this year. I started dating again in the 1st half of the year and though things din work out with one of them, I moved on and met another person which eventually getting into a relationship with him. But within half a year, the relationship also ended. I tried snorkelling and went on my first holiday with a dear friend to Bintan. Then I was promoted to Project Executive officially in November. Actually I didn't really achieved much though in between, I did experienced nice memories. My church pal got married this year. Went for my family trip to Australia for the first time. Managed to take the Safety Construction Course for Project Managers and passed it. Christmas is coming again and I feel as if I will be spending Xmas alone this year. My church friends don't seemed to be close with me this year much after my bday celebration. One of them is happily married, the other two are attached so they will have their own activites or friends outside. As for the other gal, she is single like me, but I guess might end up, she have her own plans too. I guess I'm left to spend with the older folks after candlelight service. I've come to realise why I don't have big group of close friends whom i can hang out with together so they will organise Xmas parties and all which I can join and know more people. Sometimes I do feel lonely and asked myself am I really that unfriendly? I never see myself having a partner or special person beside me celebrating special ocassions with me. Especially when I'm well-dressed on Xmas Eve.

Anyway, just few days ago, my best friend, Meiling was discussing with me on planning to go Phuket with me and two other guy friends whom i know initially. We had planned in february. But now plans has to be thrashed and they have to go ahead without me as they have planned to go in mid-January. It's actually the week before CNY and I thought air tickets will have increase prices. Anyway we were both excited as we get to travel on holiday by plane together. And they had asked another guy friend along this time who is a Christian. Too bad I doubt I'll be able to take leave in January as Jan has many holidays and I might have a project on hand which my boss will not let me take leave. I feel bad that I can't join her this time. She has been a good pal to me since primary school so we've known each other for 18 years and it's really not easy to keep in contact with a friend so long. I hope I'll have chance to travel with her by plane elsewhere. Though this time have 4 of us is new for me too. Cause I always travel with family and sometimes travelling with friends are so much better. I haven't tried travelling with my partner too, not sure when I'll have this chance though.

Busy Week

2011-11-26T01:13:00.001+08:00

Breezing past this week soon and I was so held up with work this whole week that I stayed back in office practically almost few days this week to finish up my SAF Overseas Operations exhibition project. I'm the only person who is in charge of contents and graphics and this exhibition holds the 90% of graphic panels. There were delays from client's side pending for approval then amendments and all and we need to finish by Tues for client's walkthrough and their opening is Wednesday. So that explains why I have been rushing for work and haven't got time to really surf Facebook in office this week. I need concentration to proof-read on text and all and between design-client and now designer-print installer. I need to go to Army Museum site tomorrow again and supervise the installation works alone. Sunday will have my colleague take over. I stayed in office on Tuesday till 11pm for a tender submission on Wednesday. Wednesday I missed chorale practice and stayed till 8pm to finish my work. Wah, never been so busy like that for some time now. I like this feeling and I like my job. Just don't like it if things screw up. I'm still working now at home. Checking for text errors from designer then waiting for files to finish upload so I can send to installer for print tomorrow. Sunday is my rest day as I have Caizheng's wedding dinner to attend to. Excited to meet up with all my sec sch friends at his wedding.

Life is Vulnerable

2011-11-20T23:54:00.001+08:00

I just watched finished A Little Bit of Heaven at home and I didn't expect the story to be so heart-warming and true. It really touched me. The story talks about this woman, Marley (Kate Hudson), who has a great career with great friends and a fun-loving person who then learns she has a terminal illness - colon cancer. And just when she starts to find out about her illness, she meets God (Whoopi Goldberg) in heaven, telling her that she is dying and she is given 3 wishes. She doesn't believe in whatever she heard and seen and casually mentions her 2 wishes. One is to fly and the second wish is to have 1 million dollars. The news is told by Dr. Goldstein (Gael García Bernal), a successful doctor with a hardened exterior, who is deeply impressed and affected by the way Marley accepts the news of her fate with humor and dignity. From there, Marley and Julian find themselves falling in love, and doing their best to make the most of the time they have left.

In the process when she knows her time will be up, she finds herself trying to distant herself away from her friends, family and the man who love her. God meets up with her and asked her about her last wish. That is to live and tell the people she love that she loves them and the man. She started to believe that the person she met was God when her wishes started to come true. I watched this movie and feel that life is really vulnerable. Sometimes life can be unfair, but God will always leave you with other things in life. Marley was about to die and she gets to experience once in her life what love is and how much her friends and family loves her. She has everything in life she can have when she's alive. I believe that every person will have its ups and downs. Friends and family are important and that it's good to at least love once in life.

If I was Marley, what will be the 3 wishes I will want when I know that I'll be dying now. I think I'll be equally scared but I think the 1st wish will be to be able to at least prolong my death to letting me find that love of my life who loves me even though I'm sick; second is to be able to have 1 million so that I'll be able to share with the people I love and wanna give to and the last if I really have to die, I will wish to take away as less pain on myself and on my family and friends to grief over me. Otherwise, it'd be wishing to be able to seek treatment and prolong my life for few more years at least. What will you wish for if God had given you 3 wishes too? I know as Christians, we are not supposed to wish for stuffs. Let's take this as a Food for Thought view.

8 things women like to hear

2011-11-18T09:20:00.001+08:00

Whether at a bar or at work, these words are sure to get a girl head over heels for you...

What you say to someone can make a big impression. And when it comes to the girls, make sure it's a good and genuine one. Do you sometimes find yourself struggling to find the right things to say to them? There are some phrases that women never get sick of hearing. Check out the ones that you could never go wrong with and we fill you in on why they will work wonders for you.

"You look awesome."
Every girl wants compliments now and then. Telling any girl she looks beautiful shows that you've been paying attention to her. It'll surely score you big brownie points, but be careful. Avoid saying something along the lines of "You look awesome/beautiful today." She'd think that you are implying she doesn't usually look as awesome as today.

"Let's go shopping."
Easiest way to make a girl happy? Suggest a shopping trip. Nothing sends a girl over the moon like a retail therapy. Many guys think shopping can be a terrifying experience and your willingness to join her demonstrates how important she is to you. Of course, we know you might feel bored and impatient. But it doesn't have to be that bleak, you'll just need extra patience. Nobody likes to be rushed.

"Your new earring looks nice on you."
...that's only when you're dead sure she's wearing the new one. Girls think that observant guys are very charming and attractive. So, remember these little details to show how much you appreciate her effort. Not only will you impress her big time, you'll be the stud in her eyes -- especially when she's gone to some trouble to look good, for you.

"How's your day today?"
For the girls, it's the thought that counts. No amount of lavish gifts can replace that. Asking her about her day assures that you're willing to lend her your pair of ears. And if she's gone through a rough day, acting as a confidant would greatly score you big flattery points too. That said, if you want to take things to the next level, be sure to also focus on what she has to say.

"You're right."
Everyone likes to be agreed on. And if you do, don't be afraid to tell that to her, straight-up. But if you don't, try giving her the benefit of the doubt. If you show how much you value her ideas and opinions, she'd more receptive and open to share her feelings in the future that she might treat you as her only confidant, which would put you on top of the suitor list and the benefits will come to you in spades.

"You are perfect just the way you are."
It's going to make every woman's heart melt, even your mother. Giving her an ego boost like that makes her feel cognizant about how much you openly and willingly accept her flaws. She'll be happy with herself more and that phrase will definitely make her day, month or even year.

"What do you feel/think about....?"
Getting her opinions on something makes her feel wanted and needed. You're assuring her that you're respecting her views. From that, your effort will definitely stick in her mind. She'd never want to write you off as the insensitive guy whom she wouldn't consider as a potential long-term partner.

"I trust you."
When a girl is at the lowest point of her life, telling her that you have her back will -- to your surprise -- brighten up her day. It's like you're giving her a glimpse of the security. And from that onwards, she'll definitely be more receptive towards your advances.

How To Know If Your Relationship Is Growing

2011-11-02T15:04:00.000+08:00

A interesting article to share from the Lunch Actually founder, Violet Lim, from a newsletter I subscribed to.

Often we learn about people who have dated for ten years. Though one or two cases of these long dating results in marriage, most of the cases result in heart break instead. Women are the most losers. But we also know that a number of men have also been at the receiving end of such fruitless relationship efforts.

Most people who hang out on this kind of relationship may or may not pick up the tell-tale signs. Many do but choose to ignore them. There are ways one could know if a relationship is growing, stunted or dying.

Here are ways to know if your relationship is growing:

Your partner seeks and honors your opinion on important issues - Dating partners are not obliged to bring their dates into their daily or important activities. However, in a growing relationship, partners are always considerate of the other person and the likely impact of their plans and actions on the relationship. They want know if what he or she is after jives with the other person. When your opinion is sort and received, it is usually taken seriously is a sign that your relationship is on the bounce.

He or she wants to be your only date - At this stage, courtship is around the corner. Though not really jealous, the partner starts to crowd others out. He or she happily introduces you to everybody around partly out of pride in you and partly because he or she wants people to know that both of you are occupied.

He or she lets you into daily routine - When your dating partner starts making sure that you are in his or her radar every day, when you know what he or she is about for the week or month, then you can be sure the relationship is evolving. The opposite of this is when you are not able to know when you can meet him or her at home or work or when your next date meeting is occurring. We can all remember when a date starts lying about his or her whereabouts.

Pays attention when you talk - When you discover that your partner pays attention when you talk, when you see that he or she is actively listening to you, when you begin to feel that you are having meaningful conversation and communication, then you can know that your relationship is growing. One of the ways to sustain this situation is to reciprocate the action.

Shows interest in knowing more about you - When your date starts asking questions about your childhood, your job, your parents, he or she want to get to know you well, feel your stress at work and your early childhood experiences, then you can feel the buildup of satisfaction. Your partner as a sign of his or her growing interest could ask whether you slept well, what time you woke up from sleep that morning. Being interested in these small details of your life are signs of growth of the relationship.

Multiple calls and text messages daily - When you start getting this from a date, it is a sign that you are on his or her mind. If there is any interesting thing happening in his or her life during the day, he or she wants you to be among the first people to know. He or she takes advantage of any developing news or events in the society or community to connect with you by letting you know these things. He or she uses every chance to connect with you when the relationship is important to him or her.

In Time

2011-10-30T17:15:00.000+08:00

Synopsis:

In the not-too-distant future, the ageing gene has been switched off at the age of 25. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives minute-to-minute, until a windfall of time gives him access to the world of the wealthy. He is accused of murder when he inherits a fortune of time from a dead upper class man, though too late to help his mother from dying. He ends up on the run from a corrupt police force known as 'time keepers'. There, he teams up with a beautiful young heiress (Amanda Seyfried) to destroy the corrupt system.

Reviews:

I've watched two of Justin Timberlake's movies and Bad Teacher was a flop. This was a good movie. The storyline and plot is interesting in a way that proves a point: not money can buy everything but time does. Everything is protrayed using time. Even a bank vault or lending shop is giving time on top of the interest rates for paying back in time. A gantry to enter an area can be worth 1-2 months of your time. Buying a cup of coffee takes off 2 hours of your time. We drink coffee to keep us awake for few hours, here in this movie, people are afraid to sleep as it takes away their time. this movie also proves that the rich people is staying in different areas have longer time means longer life span. I find the plot is interesting and different in a way. I had thought my dad would fall asleep in the cinema as I expected such storyline and plot isn't for him. Our initial choice was The Three Musketeers but eventually we chose this. The people in the story can look like they are 25 but they are actually already 105 years old for the upper class people. They go to casinos and gamble their time away. Of course, people dies when the time on your watch turns to '0' and there are 13 digits of '0' (0000 000 000 000) like that. Which means hundreds, days, hours to minutes and seconds. A must watch movie after Real Steel. Reviews ain't that bad for my point of view. At least four of us think it's good and not too bad.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10
Acting: 6.5/10 (Justin's expression was the same throughout but Amanda was good)
Direction: 7/10
Visuals: 7/10
Overall: 8.5/10

99 Facts About Guys

2011-10-14T09:15:00.001+08:00

** GIRLS PLEASE READ THIS **
HERE'S 99 FACTS ABOUT GUYS

( A GUY WHO IS SERIOU...SLY IN LOVE AND NOT JUST AN INFACTUATION )

1. Guys don’t actually look after good-looking girls. They prefer neat and presentable girls.

2. Guys hate flirts.

3. A guy can like you for a minute, and then forget you afterwards.

4. When a guy says he doesn’t understand you, it simply means you’re not thinking the way he is.

5. “Are you doing something?” or “Have you eaten already?” are the first usual questions a guy asks on the phone just to get out from stammering.

6. Guys may be flirting around all day but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about.

7. When a guy really likes you, he’ll disregard all your bad characteristics.

8. Guys go crazy over a girl’s smile.

9. Guys will do anything just to get the girl’s attention.

10. Guys hate it when you talk about your ex-boyfriend.

11. When guys want to meet your parents. Let them.

12. Guys want to tell you many things but they can’t. And they sure have one habit to gain courage and spirit to tell you many things and it is drinking!

13. Guys cry!!!

14. Don’t provoke the guy to heat up. Believe me. He will.

15. Guys can never dream and hope too much.

16. Guys usually try hard to get the girl who has dumped them, and this makes it harder for them to accept their defeat.

17. When you touch a guy’s heart, there’s no turning back.

18. Giving a guy a hanging message like “You know what? Uh…never mind!” would make him jump to a conclusion that is far from what you are thinking.

19. Guys go crazy when girls touch their hands.

20. Guys are good flatterers when courting but they usually stammer when they talk to a girl they really like.

21. When a guy makes a prolonged “umm” or makes any excuses when you’re asking him to do you a favor, he’s actually saying that he doesn’t like you and he can’t lay down the card for you.

22. When a girl says “no”, a guy hears it as “try again tomorrow.”

23. You have to tell a guy what you really want before he gets the message clearly.

24. Guys hate nice boy!

25. Guys love their moms.

26. A guy would sacrifice his money for lunch just to get you a couple of roses.

27. A guy often thinks about the girl who likes him. But this doesn’t mean that the guy likes her.

28. You can never understand him unless you listen to him.

29. If a guy tells you he loves you once in a lifetime. He does.

30. Beware. Guys can make gossips scatter through half of the face of the earth faster than girls can.

31. Like Eve, girls are guys’ weaknesses.

32. Guys are very open about themselves.

33. Its good to test a guy first before you believe him. But don’t let him wait that long.

34. No guy is bad when he is courting

35. Guys hate it when their clothes get dirty. Even a small dot.

36. Guys really admire girls that they like even if they’re not that much pretty.

37. Your best friend, whom your boyfriend seeks help from about his problems with you may end up being admired by your boyfriend.

38. If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don’t need to give advice.

39. A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you.

40. A guy finds ways to keep you off from linking with someone else.

41. Guys love girls with brains more than girls in miniskirts.

42. Guys try to find the stuffed toy a girl wants but would unluckily get the wrong one.

43. Guys virtually brag about anything.

44. Guys cannot keep secrets that girls tell them.

45. Guys think too much.

46. Guys’ fantasies are unlimited.

47. Girls’ height doesn’t really matter to a guy but her weight does!

48. Guys tend to get serious with their relationship and become too possessive. So watch out girls!!!

49. When a girl makes the boy suffer during courtship, it would be hard for him to let go of that girl.

50. It’s not easy for a guy to let go of his girlfriend after they broke up especially when they’ve been together for 3 years or more.

51. You have to tell a guy what you really want before getting involved with that guy.

52. A guy has to experience rejection, because if he’s too-good-never-been-busted, never been in love and hurt, he won’t be matured and grow up.

53. When an unlikable circumstance comes, guys blame themselves a lot more than girls do. They could even hurt themselves physically.

54. Guys have strong passion to change but have weak will power.

55. Guys are tigers in their peer groups but become tamed pussycats with their girlfriends.

56. When a guy pretends to be calm, check if he’s sweating. You’ll probably see that he is nervous.

57. When a guy says he is going crazy about the girl. He really is.

58. When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he’s just actually saying, “Please come and listen to me”

59. Guys don’t really have final decisions.

60. When a guy loves you, bring out the best in him.

61. If a guy starts to talk seriously, listen to him.

62. If a guy has been kept shut or silent, say something.

63. Guys believe that there’s no such thing as love at first sight, but court the girls anyway and then realize at the end that he is wrong.

64. Guys like femininity not feebleness.

65. Guys don’t like girls who punch harder than they do.

66. A guy may instantly know if the girl likes him but can never be sure unless the girl tells him.

67. A guy would waste his time over video games and basketball, the way a girl would do over her romance novels and make-ups.

68. Guys love girls who can cook or bake.

69. Guys like girls who are like their moms. No kidding!
70. A guy has more problems than you can see with your naked eyes.

71. A guy’s friend knows everything about him. Use this to your advantage.

72. Don’t be a snob. Guys may easily give up on the first sign of rejection.

73. Don’t be biased. Try loving a guy without prejudice and you’ll be surprised.

74. Girls who bathe in their eau de perfumes do more repelling than attracting guys.

75. Guys are more talkative than girls are especially when the topic is about girls.

76. Guys don’t comprehend the statement “Get lost” too well.

77. Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions but still love them more.

78. When a guy gives a crooked or pretentious grin at your jokes, he finds them offending and he just tried to be polite.

79. Guys don’t care about how shiny their shoes are unlike girls.

80. Guys tend to generalize about girls but once they get to know them, they’ll realize they’re wrong.

81. Any guy can handle his problems all by his own. He’s just too stubborn to deal with it.

82. Guys find it so objectionable when a girl swears.

83. Guys’ weakest point is at the knee.

84. When a problem arises, a guy usually keeps himself cool but is already thinking of a way out.

85. When a guy is conscious of his looks, it shows he is not good at fixing things.

86. When a guy looks at you, either he’s amazed of you or he’s criticizing you.

87. When you catch him cheating on you and he asks for a second chance, give it to him. But when you catch him again and he asks for another chance, ignore him.

88. If a guy lets you go, he really loves you.

89. If you have a boyfriend, and your boy best friend always glances at you and it obviously shows that he is jealous whenever you’re with your boyfriend, all I can say is your boy best friend loves you more than your boyfriend does.

90. Guys learn from experience not from the romance books that girls read and take as their basis of experience.

91. You can tell if a guy is really hurt or in pain when he cries in front of you!

92. If a guy suddenly asks you for a date, ask him first why.

93. When a guy says he can’t sleep if he doesn’t hear your voice even just for one night, hang up. He also tells that to another girl. He only flatters you and sometimes makes fun of you.

94. You can truly say that a guy has good intentions if you see him praying sometimes.

95. Guys seek for advice not from a guy but from a girl.

96. Girls are allowed to touch boys’ things. Not their hair!

97. If a guy says you’re beautiful, that guy likes you.

98. Guys hate girls who overreact.

99. Guys love you more than you love them if they are serious in your relationships.

Meaningful

2011-10-04T13:33:00.000+08:00

‎45 THINGS A GIRL WANT, BUT WON'T ASK FOR:

1. Touch her waist.

2. Actually talk... to her.

3. Share secrets with her.

4. Give her your jacket.

5. Kiss her slowly.

Are you remembering this?

6. Hug her.

7. Hold her.

8. Laugh with her.

9. Invite her somewhere.

10. Hangout with her and your friends together.

KEEP READING ..

11. Smile with her.

12. Take pictures with her.

13. Pull her onto your lap.

14. When she says she loves you more, deny it. Fight back.

15. When her friends say “I love her more than you”, deny it. Fight back and hug her tight so she can’t get to her friends. It makes her feel loved.

Are you thinking of someone?

16. Always hug her and say I love you whenever you see her.

17. Kiss her unexpectedly.

18. Hug her from behind around the waist.

19. Tell her she’s beautiful.

20. Tell her the way you feel about her.

One last thing you need to do to show her you actually do mean it.

21. Open doors for her, walk her to her car - it makes her feel protected, plus it never hurts to act like a gentleman.

22. Tell her she’s your everything - only if you mean it.

23. If it seems like there is something wrong, ask her - if she denies something being wrong, it means SHE DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT - so just hug her.

24. Make her feel loved.

25. Kiss her in front of OTHER girls you know!

WE MIGHT DENY IT BUT WE ACTUALLY LIKE AND KINDA WANT YOU TO TICKLE US ..

26. Don’t lie to her.

27. DON’T cheat on her.

28. Take her ANYWHERE she wants.

29. Text message or call her in the morning and tell her have a good day at school, and how much you miss her.

30. Be there for her whenever she needs you, and even when she doesn’t need you, just be there so she’ll know that she can always count on you.

ARE YOU STILL READING THIS? YOU BETTER, BECAUSE IT’S IMPORTANT.

31. Hold her close when she’s cold so she can hold you too.

32. When you are alone hold her close and kiss her.

33. Kiss her on the cheek; (it will give her the hint that you want to kiss her).

34. While in the movies, put your arm around her and then she will automatically put her head on your shoulder, then lean in and tilt her chin up and kiss her lightly.

35. Don’t ever tell her to leave even jokingly or act like you’re mad. If she’s upset, comfort her.

REMEMBER ALL THESE THINGS WHEN YOU ARE WITH HER NEXT ..

36. When people diss her, stand up for her.

37. Look deep into her eyes and tell her you love her.

38. Lay down under the stars and put her head on your chest so she can listen to the steady beat of your heart, link your fingers together while you whisper to her as she rests her eyes and listens to you.

39. When walking next to each other grab her hand.

40. When you hug her, hold her in your arms as long as possible.

MAKE SURE SHE KNOWS SHES LOVED.

41. Call or text her at night to wish her sweet dreams.

42. Comfort her when she cries and wipe away her tears.

43. Take her for long walks at night.

44. Always remind her how much you love her.

45. Sit on top of her and tell her how much you love her and then bend down to her face and kiss her while you’re sitting on her.

You’ll never know when she needs just a little more love .. ♥!

Meaningful - Part 2

2011-09-28T14:09:00.000+08:00

Meaningful

2011-09-27T22:55:00.000+08:00

I came across this saying on a website.

"When a single negative thought creeps into our thinking, it's always best to flood it with ten positive thoughts. Sometimes though, we underestimate resilience of the negative thought and its ability to defend itself against the torrent of positive ones. The negative thought succeeds sometimes, albeit briefly, to continue dominating our thoughts. Believe that the negative thought dominating yours has a very short lifespan. Very soon, it will be a thing of the past."

10 things you can't change about men

2011-09-02T09:07:00.003+08:00

We see what you're up to. We know your game. Ladies, you've been rumbled.

You can try telling us 10 times a day that you love us just the way we are, but your behaviour (more commonly known as 'nagging') suggests otherwise. We blokes know that what you are actually trying to do is gradually mould us into the man you want us to be - perfect, obedient husband fodder.

Sadly, the blighted dreams of billions of men suggests that you will, ultimately, get your way. But not with everything - there are some things we are impervious to, some aspects of our lives you will never take away from us...

We will always lie to you (If it's white lies it's fine...)

Not big, nasty fibs of course (we would never admit to that), but little white lies that actually serve a purpose - namely making you feel better about yourself and keeping us out of trouble.

So when you ask us if your outfit looks good, if we remembered to pay the electricity bill or if we are looking forward to your parents coming to stay, then we will always, always answer in the affirmative. Why? Because the alternative is too painful to contemplate.

We will always sneak a look at other women (That is so true, but gals does it too!)

You might think you're the only girl your boyfriend looks at, but I guarantee he checks out at least 10 different females every single day.

One or two of them might even make him stop and think, 'I wonder what life with her would be like'. But don't let this worry you - in the end we always realise that it's a case of 'the grass is always greener', and that other girl would probably turn out to be dull as dishwater.

Despite our wandering eye, we never forget why we're with you in the first place.

We will always talk about you (Girls will also do that too, we need to find common topics too!)

Think your peccadilloes and idiosyncrasies stay between you and your boyfriend? Not a chance. No matter how often you do something embarrassing or, more likely, completely irrational, and then follow it with "please don't tell anyone about this", it will of course be the first thing we blab to our mates down the pub.

Sorry about that, but we need to check if it's normal. And have a good laugh at your expense, too...

We will never care about clothes as much as you do (Girls will also hope the guy will also do the same for the girl except perhaps when they are shopping together and he offers to pay...)

The vast majority of straight men don't really care about fashion. We like to look good, but shopping is so much easier for men, and as a result we spend less time worrying about what we're wearing.

If you want us to dress better, fine, feel free to buy us new clothes, just don't expect a huge amount of effort on our part.

We will never stop watching sport (I can also watch World Cup together too!)

Most men like sport, and while we understand that we'll be watching less of it if and when we move in together, do not, do not expect us to give it up altogether.

If it's not allowed on in the house, then we'll simply seek it elsewhere, usually in a pub. And don't complain about the World Cup when it takes over the TV schedules - it's only once every four years.

We will never want to talk about it (That is so true for most guys but I hope he's not one of them)

While women are much more grown up about talking about their feelings, for us it will always be torture. We understand the benefits of getting one's emotions out into the open, but that doesn't mean we have to like it, does it?

We will always resent you for taking so long to get ready (Lucky I don't take that long time to get ready. This only applies if they are staying together...)

As a man who has been in a long-term relationship and who grew up in a house full of females, I estimate I have spent around 98% of my life waiting by the front door for one of them to reach a place where they feel comfortable going outside.

In fact, I've become so finely attuned to how long it takes said girlfriend to get ready, that I can perfectly time when I should go for my shower (it's usually when she has just finished putting her make-up on).

Our attitude to sex will always be different to yours (This might be so true for every women's views!!!)

I hate to generalise, but most women think of sex in a different way to men. Whereas you value your body and need to feel close to someone before sleeping with them (this actually makes sense when you see it written down), we would take it pretty much any hour of the day, even if we didn't feel like it.

Why? Because we remember our teenage years when having sex with a girl was about as attainable as winning the lottery, and the thought of ever turning it down would have had us shaking our heads in despair.

We will never be as good at correspondence as you (This is so true, no wonder I wrote a few but yet I don't really get much back in return, lucky I understand men are always not expressive enough)

What is it with women and sending cards? Thank you, Sorry, Happy Birthday, Congratulations, We'd love to come but we think you're a div... the possibilities for sending a note are endless.

We'll be forever hopeless at it, and if I ever sent a card to a friend to say thanks for having us round to dinner, he'd think I'd gone mad. Which is why we'll leave it to you - don't pretend this doesn't make you happy.

We will never say you have put on weight (No wonder...this is so true!)

Though you wouldn't think twice about pointing a finger at our paunch and saying, "this has to go", not in a billion years would we ever, ever draw attention to cellulite on your thighs or even the slightest hint of a muffin top.

I've made this mistake in the past, and the resulting histrionics mean I will never do it again. We really do get blamed for everything, you know...

Top 10 lies that men tell women

2011-08-29T09:13:00.002+08:00

Well ladies, it's official - men really do tell more lies than women

A survey commissioned by the British Science Museum found that the average male tells around 1,092 lies a year - that's roughly three a day!

So just what are these porkies that we're being told? We reveal the top 10 lies that men tell women right here...

'I didn't have that much to drink'

According to the Science Museum's survey, this is the most popular lie that men tell women. Us ladies also use it on the lads, but not as frequently.

'Nothing's wrong, I'm fine'

Women aren't the only ones who lie about their feelings - men do it too! Saying 'nothing's wrong, I'm fine' is the second most likely lie to be told by the average male.

'I had no signal'

How many times have we heard this one, ladies? There seems to be a distinct lack of mobile phone signal in the UK, according to the men in our lives...

'It wasn't that expensive'

It's a well known fact that us ladies love to shop - but it seems that the boys are also up for a spot of retail therapy every now and then - and they are telling us porkies about their purchases, too!

'I'm on my way'

Is he really on his way? Probably not according to the study - lying about their whereabouts is the fifth most popular lie for men to tell their partners.

'I'm stuck in traffic'

The study found that the average male uses 'I'm stuck in traffic' as an excuse rather frequently - no wonder us ladies are always wondering what you're up to lads!

'No, your bum doesn't look big in that'

It's not what you wanted to hear, girls - when your other half tells you that your bum doesn't look big in that pair of tiny shorts - he may not be telling the truth!

'Sorry, I missed your call'

If your other half doesn't answer the phone, then it's quite possible that he is busy with something else but - according to the survey - he might just be ignoring your call. Saying 'sorry, I missed your call' is the eighth most popular lie that men tell women.

'You've lost weight'

Compliments from the men in our lives are always welcome - but not when they're fibs! The ninth most popular lie for men to tell women is 'you've lost weight'.

'It's what I've always wanted'

Both men and women are guilty of telling this lie - obviously neither sex wants to upset the other's feelings by saying that the gift they have just received isn't quite to their taste...

Kitchen Cures

2011-08-04T13:40:00.000+08:00

When we’re feeling sick, we look at the medicine cabinet to see what pills we can take. We should check out the pantry instead. Many everyday ingredients can treat different ailments and unlike drugs, they are inexpensive and with less side effects.

Honey
Honey is good for cuts and scrapes. It has three powerful components: sugar for absorbing moisture so bacteria can’t survive, hydrogen peroxide to disinfect and propolis to kill bacteria. Plus, the honey dries to form a natural bandage. Just spread thickly over the infected area.

Olive Oil
Olive oil is actually the basis of many skin moisturizers. For eczema, rub olive oil on the skin to keep it from drying out. Spicy dish “ Good for a stuffy nose or congestion, spicy dishes loosen the mucus by making the eyes and nose run.

Spicy dish
Good for a stuffy nose or congestion, spicy dishes loosen the mucus by making the eyes and nose run.

Garlic
Garlic is antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial and an antioxidant so it has many uses. Take garlic when you have a cold to fight the infection and boost the immune system. Mix together minced garlic, warm water and honey for taste. Leave the garlic in the mixture for a few minutes then swallow without chewing. Another way of taking it is by chewing raw garlic cloves with honey. Repeat every two to three hours. Garlic can also be used for athlete’s foot due to its antifungal nature. Simply rub a clove of raw garlic to the affected area.

Baking Soda
Baking soda is used to remove odor so it makes weird sense that you use it for body odor as well. Sprinkling baking soda on your armpits and feet will reduce the moisture you produce.

Chamomile Tea
Wrapping cold, wet tea bags in paper towels can help sooth itchy eyes from colds or hay fever. The tannic acid in tea reduces the itch. Chamomile tea can also be used for calluses. Soak your feet in a diluted chamomile tea bath to soften the hard skin.

Ginger
Ginger has anti-sickness properties so it can help in nausea. Pregnant women can also relieve morning sickness by taking ginger biscuits.

Turmeric
Turmeric is good for treating many skin ailments. It can be used to sooth acne, scrapes and sunburn. Mix several drops of water with ½ teaspoon of powdered turmeric to make a thin paste. Apply the mixture on the blemishes or sunburn and leave for an hour. Be sure to rinse after because turmeric stains.

Rice Water
Bangladeshis have been using rice water as a treatment for diarrhea forever. The proteins in the rice help stabilize the bowel and it’s tastier than any medicine.

Banana
Who knew that aside from being a yummy snack, bananas can be used for bug bites? All you have to do is eat the fruit and apply the banana peel fruit side down on the bite. Hold it there until the itching subsides.

Energy boosting foods

2011-07-29T11:47:00.001+08:00

Having a lack of energy is something that can affect us all and there are many things that can cause it. Making sure you eat the right foods and giving your body sufficient fuel can help you to regain your energy levels. Conquer that 3pm slump and give yourself an energy boost with these foods.

Make sure that you have breakfast to help you get through the morning and prevent you from eating too much of the wrong foods at lunch. Eating more during the day when you need energy, rather than in the evening, will assure your levels remain high. Scrambled egg whites, smoked salmon on a bagel is a substantial meal which will give ongoing energy.

For a quick boost of energy, aim for fruit, such as a banana. You’ll get your carbohydrates which your body needs to burn and is the fastest way to get energy. The potassium is bananas is an electrolyte which helps to prolong muscle function.

Berries or foods rich in antioxidants will the the body to eliminate and combat the toxins and chemicals in the body which cause fatigue. Try a handful of blueberries on yogurt as the magnesium in the yogurt are important for digestion and help to release energy.

Watermelon contains four minerals which help to combat low energy; potassium, vitamin C, iron and lycopene. Add it to salad or have it after a meal as a powerful addition to your energy boosting meal.

Beans and lentils are great for when your body needs energy. They contain carbohydrates, protein and fiber and releases glucose slowly, meaning your body has a sustained release of energy.

Having low levels of iron will cause fatigue and low energy as calls suffocate and can’t burn carbohydrates properly. A steak will help to increase your iron levels as the body easily absorbs the mineral from it.

For an afternoon snack which is healthy, have some hummus with vegetable sticks. Hummus contains protein and the vegetables provide carbohydrates and fibre. These will help to fill you up and give you energy. It’s great if your trying to lose weight.

Another healthy snack would be a handful of nuts as they contain magnesium which is needed by the body to turn sugar into energy. A lack of magnesium is known to drain energy reserves and cause fatigue.

For sustained energy go for a combination of foods, such as carbohydrates, protein and fats. They are all digested at different times and processed differently. Therefore you’ll have sustained energy release. A turkey sandwich on whole grain bread is ideal.

Water is essential for your body to function properly and without it, it won’t be able to create energy and it is needed for digestion and transporting nutrients. Being dehydrated can cause fatigue.

To give yourself a short-term energy kick and to keep you alert, have a cup of coffee. It helps to increase metabolism therefore speeding up digestion and ensuring those essential nutrients are used for energy. Only have a cup or two a day.

Joke of the Day

2011-07-29T10:53:00.001+08:00

Two elderly men are sitting on a bench outside a retirment home and one says, “Dude, I am 83 years old now and I’m just full of aches and pains. I know you’re about my age, so how do you feel?”

Replies: “I feel like a newborn baby!”

“Really? like a newborn baby?”
…
“Yup! no hair, no teeth, back on a stroller and I think I just wet my pants!”

*SMILE* TGiF !!!

Know Why Dogs Bark

2011-07-28T16:15:00.001+08:00

Photo: Thinkstock - Adapted from Yahoo! News -

Where there are dogs, there's barking—a sound that can communicate a wide range of emotional states, from happiness to anger. When your dog barks joyously as you enter the house after being away all day, his bark makes you smile. But when a dog barks incessantly for no reason that you can see, it's easy to feel bewildered, annoyed, and frustrated. For every bark, there's a reason—and the more you understand about this natural behavior, the better you can control it.

Here are a few general facts to help you understand why your dog might have a barking obsession.

Born to bark
Some dogs seem to bark around the clock. Many of today's more popular smaller breeds were originally used as watchdogs by farmers. Though their occupations have changed over time (from watchdog to family member), their instinctive dispositions in many cases have not. Therefore, many of these dogs are genetically predisposed to bark at the slightest sound or vibration.

What can you do? Try training your dog to bark on command. This may limit his daily outbursts. Completely ignore him when he barks at other times. Any attention to him, even a reprimand to stop barking, can reinforce the barking behavior.

I'm guarding you
What does a good guard dog do when he feels his territory is being threatened? He barks. And since he may perceive that someone innocently walking by is a threat, he does what nature programmed him to do.

What can you do? Try blocking his view of the street or property line. A more permanent solution will require diligent training while you are at home to ensure that he barks less during those times when you are away.

I'm bored, therefore I bark
Work and sporting dogs often bark due to sheer boredom. These dogs were bred to run around and work in the great outdoors. To make up for the lack of aerobic exercise, they choose to exercise their vocal chords.

What can you do? Try setting aside a couple of extra hours of daily playtime to help alleviate his boredom.

It's just nerves
If you adopted your dog from a shelter, it's possible that he may have a history of neglect and abuse. Through no fault of their own, these dogs were never given the opportunity to develop proper social skills early on. Thus, they bark a lot.

What can you do? Try being very patient. These dogs may take a bit longer to train, but with a lots of love and extra care, in time they can come around.

More tips
These quick home remedies may prove very helpful.

• Use a word that lets your dog know you are not impressed by his barking. Words like "Enough!" or "Quiet!" work well. Use them sparingly, because if you say them too often he'll think you're barking back.

• To help your dog feel less lonely, leave a radio playing in the background. There are even special DVDs that have been designed to help keep dogs company when they're left alone at home.

• Give your dog a special chew toy BUT only for those times when you're leaving the house. When you get back home, "Mr. Special Chew Toy" goes back into hiding.

• Try keeping your dog in the calmest or quietest parts of your home.

• Keep the window blinds or curtains closed. The less he can see of the outside world, the less likely he is to bark.

The shakey-shakey can experiment
Find a metal or plastic jar that you can seal securely. Fill it up with some pebbles, loose change, or whatever you can spare around the house that makes a good rattling sound. When your dog starts barking just give the can a good shake. The noise startles him and breaks his barking cycle. When he barks again, give it another quick shake. Each time he stops barking, offer him praise. In time, he'll catch on.

Coffee Consumption: Good or Bad?

2011-07-26T09:56:00.007+08:00

I read from todays Yahoo News that coffee helps fight against liver cancer. It was written by this person on Makansutra...

..Reflections on how coffee helps fight liver cancer

By KF Seetoh,
makansutra

I had to spend two sleepless nights before I could churn this story out. It was recently reported that three to four cups of coffee a day can help keep liver cancer at bay, or at least reduce it by 44 percent. I don't know how that percentage is calculated but I am taking no chances.

You see, I love coffee and my late father (bless his soul) passed on with some liver
complications over 30 years ago. So if hereditary genetics is anything to go by,
then those extra few cups I had over the weekend would certainly ease my mind
about inheriting things I don't want from the family's genetic treasure. So I
stayed up, entertained my heightened memory (coffee is known to have that
effect) and pondered about that finding on coffee and cirrhosis.

Firstly, I was celebrating what the Singapore Chinese Health Study research concluded -- that those few cups of intoxicating black wonder helps delay or hold back liver disease or cancer for Singapore Chinese folks only. The finding was published in the American Journal of Cancer and Causes. Too bad my Chinese pals in Johor Baru cannot benefit from this finding -- they are so near yet so far. I realised this from my two trips to the loo at 2am and 4.30am (the diuretic effects of coffee was a natural post celebration party).

I never felt so alive as my heart was racing and even skipped a few beats as I
revelled in that finding and uncovered even more (if the following Internet
"researcher's findings" and information can be trusted). It's not that I'm a
frequent fitness-gym lizard, darting around waiting to pounce on the tricep
machines and abs-hardeners, but some chemicals in that cuppa does help reduce
gym muscle pain.

A cup of it one hour before the gym routine helps reduce that strain pain by 48 percent. Do remember, two cups a day can aid that effect, but three or more can hasten the arrival of osteoporosis as it "steals" calcium from the body. I suppose the trick is to avoid exercise routines that may have an impact on bone density -- like spending more time and money talking to the hot fitness instructors and signing up for "tai-bo yoga" sessions which you will not attend. Meanwhile, somewhere at the back of my head, my concerns for my Malaysian friends surface again...

Meanwhile, somewhere at the back of my head, my concerns for my Malaysian friends surface again -I wondered about those Johoreans who have been living and working in Singapore for decades. Does it apply to them, or any well heeled foreign Chinese (those who can afford fine coffee daily) who have called Singapore home all these years. Then I spotted an exclusion clause in that finding that sadly, may apply to them. Having their coffee in those chi-chi coffee joints where they percolate the beans with paper coffee filters automatically disqualify them from the health benefit. The research says these percolators sieve away most of the two most important oils in that concoction that helps contain liver cancer - cafestol and kahweol. A kopitiam Ah-Ko sock-brewed version keeps them all at bay. So holding a foreign passport while sipping coffee at these fine chain coffee joints won’t help. I suggest, instead of asking what is the coffee of the day, try querying “what type of percolator you use ah.”. Then, another internet “fact” splashed cold water on my excitement- that too much cafestrol leads to an increase in cholesterol levels. Oh boy, my borderline fatty liver is not gonna like this.

It is also said that coffee puts women in the mood for sex, especially those who don’t drink too much of it but having high cholesterol, which can come with effects like low libido, is not going to do anyone any favours. Coffee contains caffeine, which makes sense to those who down pain killers with it as it increases the effectiveness. So for the happy hangover clubbers who down pain killers with coffee to rid the headache, it’s no longer a mystery why you are so thirsty in the morning when you drank so much the night before.

Finally, that article says drinking four cups of coffee a day “might lower the risk of diabetes.”. I suppose they mean kopi kosong (even one spoon of sugar each cup can actually help obtain, not contain diabetes). So the moral of today’s story is- I going back to my two cups a day just so I can catch up on my sleep and rest.

But yet I've read before another article that caffeine might actually affect a woman's fertility and reduce the chance of conceiving.

If you’re having difficulties getting pregnant, new research announced May 26 suggests that cutting back on caffeine might help.

Researchers from the University of Nevada School of Medicine in the US found that caffeine could impair fertility in women by relaxing the cells of the muscles in the fallopian tubes, which carry a woman's eggs from her ovaries to her womb.

"Caffeine inhibits the contractions of the muscles in the fallopian tube, so the egg stops getting transported," study researcher Sean Ward told health website MyHealthNewsDaily.

Ward and his team tested the effect of caffeine on mice, which he said are similar reproductively to humans. The study didn’t give specifics on how much caffeine may impact fertility, but the amount they tested in their research was about the equivalent to two cups of coffee for humans.

"This provides an intriguing explanation as to why women with high caffeine consumption often take longer to conceive than women who do not consume caffeine," stated Ward in a release.

Past research had also made the link between caffeine and fertility problems. A 1993 study found that drinking more than "moderate amounts" of caffeine can lower a woman's likelihood of conceiving by as much as 27 percent. How much caffeine was too much? Drinking more than two cups of coffee a day, or 200 milligrams of caffeine. Also in this same study, women who drank as little as one cup of coffee a day lowered their chances of getting pregnant by 10 percent.

If you’re trying to get pregnant and having trouble, talk to your doctor about your caffeine consumption and how it might be affecting you. Caffeine affects everybody in different ways, and therefore may affect people's fertility differently, Ward stated to MyHealthNewsDaily.

The study was published May 26 in the journal British Journal of Pharmacology. Access the paper here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01266.x/abstract

So is coffee consumption good or bad for our health? If it might have the pros and cons of it eventually, which will we choose? Though everyone might eventually die someday of another illness even if we manage to avoid contracting this. I guess we just lead a normal healthy lifestyle and have the right diet I guess even if we do or do not take coffee, we can still help our health in some way.

Excitement

2011-07-01T10:32:00.001+08:00

Alvin’s brother is coming back to Singapore from holland for 3 weeks and I’m excited like him. He’s gonna see his niece and nephew, Hannah and Joash after 2 years and I’m gonna meet them for the first time. Question is: I don’t know when will it be. They are already here in Singapore early this morning and has told Alvin to have dinner together. Unfortunately, his father went to Malacca yesterday with friends with his mother alone at home. So even if they had dinner, it’d be not complete without his father around. He had wanted to ask me along, but I feel that his family is meeting me the first time and his brother and family is just back, it’d be good if they don’t have me around. They might have lots of things to talk and catch up. And I would prefer if they mentioned first for an invite to ask me along instead of him bringing me along uninvited at their gatherings.

I love kids and would love to meet Joash and Hannah soon and can’t wait to see how they will react when they receive the presents Alvin and I have chose for them. For Hannah, I chose a baby doll that she can feed her with the juice bottle and banana bits and it’d just disappear when feeding and never run out of it. I don’t think my times have such technology before. I even suggested to Alvin to get her the change of clothes for outings and all which have a cute dress and hat. As for Joash, I had chose a toy remote car for him. For the type of model of car, Alvin decided to go for Lamborghini. I would just wanna know if they loved the toy. If they play with it often and don’t even out it down while they’re in Singapore will prove that they love the toy. He was afraid they might not recognise their Uncle cause they were still very young before they left. Hannah is 3 now and Joash should be 4 years old now according to Alvin if he remembered correctly. Looking at their photos, I think they’re so adorable. I’m also scared that they might be scared of strangers too. Even though I might be able to handle kids as I’m a K2 Sunday School teacher, if kids are afraid of strangers, I might lose my reputation for being able to handle kids and make kids like me easily…I will also hope they will easily warm up to me and play with me too. I tried with Kristen and Jairus before and they play and warm up to me easily.

Don’t know when I’ll have a chance to meet them, Alvin was thinking of bringing them to Universal Studios too then it’d be good that I can tag along too. Can’t wait for that to come…

Work

2011-06-23T14:19:00.000+08:00

I went out for a meeting today. I was meeting Mrs Lee at her house once again at 9.30am with my boss. She treated us with food everytime when we're there. This time, she had huge strawberries. I couldn't resist to pick up the strawberries to try and it's sweet. She had the sugar jar ready for us but it was sweet enough, you can't even taste a single tinge of sourness in it. Mrs Lee was saying she bought it cause her granddaughter loved strawberries a lot and even got her son to show us the photos of his children where they had the strawberries as illusion (the strawberry appeared bigger than the humans).

What is good is she took out her book she wrote, Singapore, Tourism & Me by Pamelia Lee and my boss says he didn't have this book. So she told her assistant to give us a book each and my boss suggested getting her to autographed it for us. Wow, the first time I had a free book by the author herself and even autographed it personally writing my name in it and thanking me for the project I did for her that is to be opened in 8 July at National Library Board. That was the reason why my boss didn't approve of my leave on 6 July.

Even though she is a influential client and lady that everyone knows and respect her (being MM Lee's sister-in-law), she doesn't have any airs and is a nice and friendly lady. She is a nice client and isn't too demanding. Even her other assistants helping her whom I met are also quite friendly and nice people.

There were 6 in total and I took 3 in pieces in the end....

She insisted that I take a photo of myself with the strawberry so my boss helped me took this photo in the presence of client...A bit awkward

Pamelia Lee's book, Singapore Tourism & Me, launched at her birthday in 2004 which is her retirement year too....

It says, "Shireen The NLB Exhibition is also your creation. Thank you. Aloha."

Art Science Museum @ Marina Bay Sands

2011-06-10T17:08:00.004+08:00

I met my client Mrs Lee at the Marina Bay Sands food court at 11am today with a male colleague. She was nice enough to offer to bring us to the Art Science Museum to look at the exhibition there. She gave my colleague and myself a card to dine at the food court there. We will need to return to her next week when we meet up. We proceeded to the Art Science Museum and the tickets cost $35. Good thing, my colleague had a vocational cab licence so he can enter free and bring in a person free. Mrs Lee can pay at a senior citizens price and OCBC cards have 20% discount. She paid my colleague cash as she doesn't have an OCBC credit card. Her ticket can entitled to a 2 hour complimentary parking but she nicely gave it to us instead. We were there more on like an excursion. Tang Cargo Shipwreck is one of her projects as STB has bought and kept lots of artifacts from Tang shipwreck. There are altogether 4 exhibitions in the museums. Tang Treasures is on the 1st level, Van Gogh Exhibition is the next exhibition (this is a good exhibition if you appreciate art), Dali Exhibition is on the 3rd level and Art Science Exhibition (a short and brief one) was beside the Dali Exhibition area.

After the Tang Treasures Exhibition, we will pass by their Museum Gift Shop, it seems there is a shop in every exhibition and they are selling the same things. Mrs Lee ended up buying two books of Belitung books and Tang Cargo Shipwreck at the shop and she spent $105. Every $100 spent will entitle to a free photoshoot to keep. She ask me to take the shot since I'm photogenic and look nice in photos. So I went to have my photo taken alone. I chose having the easel and pretend I'm an artist. And I can choose the background I want which are Van Gogh's paintings to be montaged into the background.

Van Gogh Exhibition is done by Pico and the exhibits are fantastic. This is what I call the Paintings Come Alive. The art pieces were all being projected on all the walls in the area depicting his works and story by ambience music. It's really impressive, you feel as if the paintings really come alive. The projection are life sized and on the four sides of walls and small walls are different paintings combined to tell the story.

Dali's exhibition is rather boring but also done by Pico. More abstract but his sculpture pieces are much more interesting. There's melted clock which reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. In fact there is a sculpture called Alice in Wonderland in his works. The second last area of Dali's exhibition catches visitor's eyes as there's the 93-degree angled furniture on the wall ceiling. In the last area, there are many clocks on the wall and the illusion mirrors that visitors will stop to take photos and laugh, even myself...

Art Science Exhibition is the most boring. It is a brief exhibition showing the science creation. There is this touchscreen interactive where visitors can create their own MBS creation. Choose a background, then add in the shape and/or objects then amend/edit the shape with different colour or add details in it, then it'd save and you can choose to send it out to a friend which includes yourself too.

My 1st creation...

My second creation...Alvin: this is what you see in underwater...hehe

Then my colleague and I went lunch at the Rasapura Markets aka Food Court using the card that Mrs Lee treat us to. It is really expensive food court. I ordered You Mian (homemade noodles) and it costs $4.95 after 10% discount. I ordered two fruit juices and it costs $5+ after 10% discount.

I'm an artist by the cafe in Paris, France...

Illusion mirrors...Wow I look slim and tall...

So short and fat

Some of the mirrors alternately are repeated I think, some have the same effects...

I don't think I wanna look fat like that...

My colleague and me....we look fat and have a big body and head

Dali Exhibition...a genius mind who always features time and clock in his art works...

Cool, furniture hanging on the wall

The Art Science Exhibition...Kong Ming Lantern...

Paper airplane...

The Food Court card in MBS. Entitled to 10% discount...

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-06T17:43:00.005+08:00

Synopsis:
"X-Men: First Class" charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, which parallels the history of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time.

Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants to stop Armageddon. Through the process, a rift begins, which initiates the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

Reviews:

My parents don't really like the movie cause they had a misunderstanding that this was like a continuation from X-Men epic. From this chapter is actually telling us the beginning of how X-Men started. My mum was telling me the characters are all completely different characters but this was actually supposed to feature the young days of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. It shows how Professor X ended up paralysed in a wheelchair. But how come Wolverine appeared here when he was supposed to look old by the time he was recruited into the academy. It shows that they did not managed to recruit Wolverine first time round. Maybe in Wolverine story might have tell then but won't he be older by the time he was recruited in X-Men 1 since Professor X was already older then? So perhaps they just wanted to make Hugh Jackman appear as guest star but I wasn't sure if he was supposed to appear in the story of how X-Men started. But I might need to watch X-Men once again to see if the characters like Beast and the others still appear again but older since this movie protrayed them to be younger days. I think if you're an X-Men or Marvel comics fan, you should not miss this too. It is not too bad but it still did not show or explained how Professor X loses his hair though they did briefly mention it at the end of the movie that if he were to become a Professor, he will have to lose his hair. But he does have a high hairline as the young Charles Xavier, maybe that's why.

Ratings:

Story: 7/10
Acting: 8/10 (Kevin Bacon's acting never fails me as being the bad guy as usual)
Direction: 8/10
Visuals: 7.5/10
Overall: 7/10

100 Love Facts

2011-06-02T10:54:00.004+08:00

1. Guys don’t actually look after good-looking girls. They prefer presentable and neat girls.

2. Guys hate flirts.

3. A guy can like you for a minute, then forget you afterwards.

4. When a guys says he doesn’t understand you, it simply means you’re not thinking the way he is.

5. “Are you doing something” or “Have you eaten already” are the first usual questions a guy asks on the phone just to get out from stammering.

6. Guys may be flirting around all day but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about.

7. When a guy really likes you, he’ll disregard all your bad characteristics.

8. Guys go gaga over a girl’s smile.

9. Guys will do any papansin thing to get the girl’s attention.

10. Guys hate it when you talk about your ex-boyfriend.

11. When guys want to meet your parents…let them.

12. Guys want to tell you many things but they can’t. And they sure have one habit to gain courage and spirit to tell you many things and it is – drinking.

13. Guys do cry!!!

14. Don’t provoke the guy to heat up… believe me… he will.

15. Guys can never dream and hope too much.

16. Guys usually try hard to get the girl who has dumped them, and this makes it harder for them to accept defeat.

17. When you touch a guys heart, there’s no turning back.

18. Giving a guy a hanging message like, “you know what… uhh… nevermind!” Would make him jump to conclusions that are far from what you are thinking.

19. Guys go crazy when girls touch their hands.

20. Guys are good flatterers when courting but they usually stammer when they talk to a girl they really like.

21. When a guy makes a prolonged ‘um…’ or makes any excuses when you’re asking him to do you a favor, he’s actually saying that he doesn’t like you and he can’t lay down the card for you.

22. When a girl says ‘no’, a guy hears it as “try again tomorrow.”

23. You have to tell a guy what you really want before he gets the message.

24. Guys hate gays!

25. Guys love their moms.

26. A guy would sacrifice his money for lunch just to get you a couple of roses.

27. A guy often thinks about a girl who likes him, but this doesn’t actually mean that the guy likes her.

28. You can never understand him unless you listen to him.

29. If a guy tells you he loves you once in a lifetime… he does.

30. BEWARE! Guys can make gossip scatter through half the face of the Earth gaster then girls can.

31. Girls are guys’ weaknesses.

32. Guys are very open about themselves.

33. It’s good to test a guy first before you believer him but don’t let him wait that long.

34. No guy is bad when he is courting.

35. Guys hate it when their clothes get dirty even a small dot.

36. Guys really admire girls that they like even if they’re not that much pretty.

37. Your bestfriend, whom your boyfriend seek help from about his problems with you may end up being admired by your boyfriend.

38. If a guy tells about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don’t need to give advice.

39. A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you.

40. A guy find ways to keep you off from linking with someone else.

41. Guys love girls with brains than girls in mini-skirts.

42. Guys try to find the stuffed toy a girl really wants but he would unluckily end up with the wrong one.

43. Guys virtually brag about anything.

44. Guys cannot keep secrets that girls tell them.

45. Guys think too much.

46. Guys’ fantasies are unlimited.

47. Girls’ height doesn’t really matter to a guy but her weight does.

48. Guys tend to get serious with their relationship that they become too possessive… so watch out girls!

49. When a girl makes the boy suffer during courtship, it would be hard for him to let go of that girl.

50. It’s not easy for a guy to let go of his girlfriend after they broke up especially if they have been together for three years or more.

51. A guy have to experience rejection because if he’s too good—never been busted, never been in love and hurt—he wont mature and grow up

52. You have to tell a guy what you really want before he gets the message clearly.

53. When an unpleasant circumstance comes, guys blame themselves a lot more than girls do. They could even hurt themselves physically.

54. Guys have strong passion to change but have wake will power.

55. Guys are tiger in their peer groups but become tamed pussycats with their girlfriends.

56. When a guy pretends to be calm, check if he’s sweating. You’ll probably see that he is nervous.

57. When a guy says he’s going crazy about the girl… he really is.

58. When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he’s just actually saying “please come and listen to me”.

59. Guys don’t really have final decisions.

60. When a guy loves you, bring out the best in him.

61. If a guy started to talk seriously, listen him.

62. If a guy has been kept shut or silent, say something.

63. Guys believe that there is no such thing as love at first sight, but they court the girls anyway.

64. Guys like femininity not feebleness.

65. Guys don’t like girls who punch harder than they do.

66. A guy may instantly know if the girl likes him but can never be sure unless the girl tells him.

67. A guy would waste his time over video games and basketball, the way a girl would do over her romance novels and make-ups.

68. Guys love girls who can cook.

69. Guys like girls who are like their moms… no kidding!

70. A guy has more problems than you can see with your naked eyes.

71. A guy’s friend knows everything about him. Use this to you advantage.

72. Don’t be a snob. Guys may easily give up on the first sign of rejections.

73. Don’t be biased. Try loving a guy without prejudices and you’ll be surprised.

74. Girls who bathe in their eau de perfumes do more repelling than attracting guys.

75. Guys are more talkative than girls are especially when the topic is about girls.

76. Guys don’t comprehend the expression “get lost!” Too well.

77. Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions but still love them all the more.

78. When a guy gives a crooked or pretentious grin at your jokes, he finds them offending and he just tried to be polite.

79. Guys don’t care about on how shiny their shoes unlike girls.

80. Guys tend to generalize about girls but once they get to know them, they’ll realize they’re wrong.

81. Any guy can handle his problems all by his own. He’s just too stubborn to deal with it.

82. Guys find it so objectionable when a girl swears.

83. Guys’ weakest point is at the knee.

84. When a problem arises, a guy usually keeps himself cool but is already thinking of a way out.

85. When a guy is conscious of his look, it shows he is not good at fixing things.

86. When a guy looks at you, either he’s amazed on you or he’s criticizing you.

87. When you catch him cheating on you and he asks for a second chance, give it to him but when you catch him cheating again and he asks for another chance, ignore him

88. If you have a boyfriend and your bestfriend is a boy, always glances at you and it obviously shows that he is jealous whenever you’re with your boyfriend, all I can say is that your bestfriend loves you more than your boyfriend does.

89. If a guy lets you go, he really loves you.

90. Guys learn from experience not from the romance books that girls read and take as their basis of experience.

91. You can tell if a guy is really hurt or in pain… when he cries in front of you.

92. If a guy suddenly asks you for a date, ask him why.

93. When a guy says he can’t sleep if he doesn’t hear your voice even for just one night, hang up. He also tells that to another girl. He only flatters you and sometimes makes fun of you.

94. You can truly say that a guy has a good intention if you see him praying sometimes.

95. Guys seek for advice not from a guy but from a girl.

96. Girls are allowed to touch boys’ things… not their hair!

97. If someone says you’re beautiful, that guy likes you.

98. Guys hate girls who over-react.

99. Guys love you more then you love them if they are serious in your relationship.

100. REMINDER: Test a guy first if he’s really the one. Some are just pretending to be one.

Wedding

2011-05-30T12:41:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I woke up at 5.30am as I agreed to be one of the sisters of a colleague. I knew both the bride and groom. The groom, Ron is my colleague from same dept; his wife, Wywy aka Mooiying is my colleague from another dept but both depts are placed next to each other. They met from the company so we know the couple personally. Alvin offered to meet and drive me to Orchid Country Club and picked up another sister along the way who is also my colleague, Bernice. He did not slept the whole night cause he participated in Sundown marathon on Sat night and reached home at 4am. Then he surprised me in making egg mayo sandwiches for breakfast for me. He borrowed his buddy's car and drove me. Then he says he will come and pick me up at night by cab after my dinner.

There were 13 brothers and around 9 sisters with one of them being the photographer during the Gate Crashing Party. Ron's sister and cousin were one of them. It was fun seeing so many brothers for once in my life and getting whacked by the ladies...

I gave to Alvin in the end since I don't fancy chocolates...

The wedding favor...

Bernice and me at the groom, Ron's house in Yishun

Brocolli with Squid and Scallops

The 1st dish of the 9-course dinner...Fruit Salad with Yam on Lobster plate

The babes: Dorothy, Me, Bernice and Farhana

The stage

Dorothy, Bernice and me...

The wedding car (Mini Cooper) with balloons that caught every passerbys' attention to turn their heads to look at the car...

My colleague and I were the bride's sisters for the day...

The pretty bride...

Me with Contractor on extreme left and my ex-colleague beside me on left and ex-designer on right...

My boss's daughter, Kaley...So cute

Glutinous Rice

Spinach with Abalone and Mushrooms

Sharing a toast with all with three cheers of Yum Seng...

Steamed Fish...

Sharing their joy with others...

The newly weds pouring champagne...

What does your doodle say about you?

2011-05-25T15:14:00.001+08:00

Those sketches you've penned during a meeting could unlock a lot about what's on your mind.

You don't have to be an artist to doodle. More often than not, they are the result of boredom, but can also tell you what's really on your mind.

Find out here what yours says about you and even what where you've drawn them mean. Remember, the doodles never lie.

Hearts

Hearts say you're in love or thinking about love

Not hard to guess the message here: you've got love on your mind and you've fallen hard.

Your name

Your name says you're always thinking about yourself

Doodling your name is symbolic of a worry you have with yourself. This could take the form of being overly egoistic about yourself, or on the other hand, having low-self esteem or self-image problems.

Cubes

Cubes indicate a love of structure

Cubes indicate a love for order and structure and the three-dimensional nature of your doodle indicates that you're thinking about things from all angles. If, however, you're drawing stacked cubes, it could be the result of stress.

(Did you know: Cubes are the most popular doodles in the world?)

Arrows

Arrows show ambition and drive

Arrows are generally a masculine doodle, and denote drive and strong ambition. Drawn dark and emphasised, they indicate a strong will to get going, and drawn accurately and precisely, show a need to move things along, especially if the arrow is pointing upward.

Scrawls

Scribbles and scrawls show a sense of aimlessness

If you're randomly scribbling, you're probably feeling aimless and lost. The same can be said for someone who's drawing random, abstract shapes.

Stick men

Stick figures are a direct reflection of your current state of mind

You are the stick person. Drawing one with no hands says you're not able to do what you really want to do. Drawing one with no feet says you're feeling trapped. And, look at the expressions you've drawn on their faces - are you looking at that (wo)man in the mirror?

Flowers

Flowers indicate a gentle nature

Flowers indicate someone who is gentle, probably a nature lover, and probably innocent and child-like. If you're doodling flowers your mind is in a happy place and you really should enjoy it.

Circles, Triangles and Squares

Geometric shapes are the result of an organised mind

Circles, triangles and squares the most basic of shapes and usually drawn when you've got your business in order and feel on top of the situation. Squares can something say that you're only thinking of things from one side, and triangles can show a sense of purpose.

Stars, Suns and Mazes

Stars show ambition while mazes denotes a sense of uncertainty

Suns: You're in a very good mood today; usually drawn by someone who's with a cheery disposition.

Star: These are generally indicative of ambition and a desire to promote yourself. Small stars denote optimism while assymetrical ones stem from an excess of energy.

Mazes: Are you feeling lost and unsure of where to turn? Your mind is in a state of disorganisation.

Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe doodles tell people you're in it to win it

Tic Tac Toe (noughts and crosses) doodles come from the fighter in you. You're very competitive and you're ready to win.

Faces

Faces are a tell tale sign of how you feel about the person you're with

Some analysts says that a sketch of a beautiful face by a woman could indicate her personal desire to look as such. But, as a rule of thumb, if you're drawing a pretty face, you're sociable and happy to be around the person in your present company. If the face is ugly, you probably want to leave this person as soon as possible.

Eyes: You could be stifling an artistic talent. They could also be the result of wanting to feel desired. But, if you've drawn staring eyes or eyes through the a keyhole, it's because you feel like you're being watched.

Lips: You have a sense of frustrated desire.

Brick walls

Brick walls are indicative of an obstacle

Brick walls, just like the real structure, are the result of an obstacle in your life - you feel limited and restricted. It could also be because of some unresolved guilt. Remember though, brick walls can be scaled with a ladder.

What does placement on the page say?

Where you doodle has been doodled could also tell you a thing or two.

Centre: This shows a need for open spaces, but also disregard for everyone else.

Top: Usually reserved for important headlines, you don't see anything worth noting.

Bottom: You're a practical person, but drawing here indicates some sadness and doubt.

Left: Prime doodling spot, it usually denote nostalgia and apprehension about the future.

Right: You have a strong need to communicate inner feelings.

5 Signs He's Not Really Into You

2011-05-24T09:32:00.000+08:00

How to tell if he's wasting your time.

There's a guy you totally fancy and whom you've been seeing for sometime. Yet there's something about him you can't put your finger on: He's kinda too busy with work, a tad too passive about your relationship, and not acting as besotted as he should be.

Or maybe he really isn't. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but better to know if he's wasting your time sooner rather than later. Here are five red flags that could confirm your doubts.

1. He's not trying to see you
Either he's the busiest guy on the planet or his sorry-I-got-to-work-on-weekends excuse is just that -- an excuse. How do you know for sure? Does he find time for his mates yet somehow not have time to meet up with you or talk on the phone? If the answer is yes, something is amiss. When it's always you who's doing the running, it's a clear indication that he's not all that committed to the relationship. "If a guy is into you, he will find time to make a call and catch up," says Lexi Proud, who is a dating expert for Arrange Me a Date.

2. You've not met his friends
It's not a good sign if he hasn't introduced you to his friends and family, especially after you have dated for some time. Just how long is too long to wait? Proud suggests asking questions if you've not met any of his friends by the three-month mark and if you've not met his family by six months. "If a guy is into you, generally they want you to meet their friends. After all, they should be proud to have you on their arm!"

3. He only sees you for sex
This is so painfully obvious that it's going to sound blunt. If this guy is only meeting up with you for a hook-up, he's only into your body, not you as a person. Get out, pronto.

4. He often lets you down
Does he frequently cancel plans you've made together because "something else" has cropped up? Be wary, especially if there's no reason for it, and if it's happening on a persistent basis -- it's a sure sign your relationship just isn't up there on his list of priorities.

5. He leaves you in doubt
Here's the simple universal truth about men: If a guy wants you, you'll know it. He won't leave you wondering about his behavior -- he'll call you, he'll ask you out, he'll want to be with you whenever he can. If all you get are lukewarm reactions from the guy, he's just not that into you. Period.

Sitting is killing you

2011-05-24T09:29:00.000+08:00

Though our great shift towards computer-based work has done great things for productivity, it has, unfortunately, done terrible things for our health. From increased risk of heart disease and obesity in the long term, to sharply hampered cholesterol maintenance in the short term, the negative health effects of sitting are starting to weigh heavily against the benefits. As we can see, something has to change.

2011 Show Luo's Encore World Live Tour is awesome

2011-05-16T08:46:00.001+08:00

I went to watch Show Luo's concert on Saturday. The second I paid to watch a concert and it was good. The only regret my friend and I had was not getting the most expensive tickets to watch him at a closer view. The seats I got was far away. Even further than the times I watch JJ Lin for free and Fish Leong's concert. My friend regretted not listening to me and get the most expensive tickets and she tell herself if Show were to come back again next round, she will pay the highest amount to watch his concert. Haha...The concert was a sold-out. And the organiser had to release more seats to sell to people but the view was being blocked by the stage setting.

More than 10,000 concert-goers turned up for Taiwanese singer Show Luo's 2011 Show Encore World Live Tour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The singer broke the record of having the biggest turnout at the stadium in its entire history.

Decked in a futuristic neon green and silver costume, Show descended from above and opened the concert with three fast numbers -- '独一无二Only U', '舞法舞天' and '精舞门'. LED panels and lasers used during the show provided a visually aesthetic performance.

Show proved he is the 'Asia's Dance King' that night. He was rarely out of breath and hit all the right notes as he danced.

He then greeted his fans and taught them a simple hand sign to accompany his next song 'Touch My Heart' and I regretted not bringing that night neon light that some people had brought along too that came along with his latest album. But I followed and did the signals along with Bernice. Show got so high that he went down the stage during '败给你' and began interacting with them.

Fans swarmed towards Show as he shook their hands. A couple of lucky girls were awarded with a picture of Show, when he used their cameras to take a photo. Show even snapped a picture with another fan with his arm around her shoulders.

The host of entertainment programme 100% Entertainment showed off his hosting skills and reprise the character as 'Dancing Queen' and taught us how to do the hand actions dance of Twinkle. Show might not have any guests at this concert, but there was not a dull moment.

When the singer disappeared for a costume change, the video montage on the screens recounted Show's dramas -- from Outsider II in 2004 to Hi! My Sweetheart in 2009.

Appearing again in a red, sequinned suit, Show shared a touching moment with his fans as he spoke about his roles in various idol dramas before performing the songs from the dramas, including '灰色空间', '爱转角', '幸福不灭' and '爱不单行'.

The stage was then transformed into a disco, reminiscent of those in the late 70s and 80s, complete with a vintage incandescent bulb sign as Show performed '呛司呛司', '蝴蝶秀' and '狐狸精'.

Show made a small mistake during '我不会唱歌' as he stuck out his tongue adorably and apologised a loud "对不起" to the crowd. He then changed the last part of the lyrics to his mistake.

Water For Elephants

2011-05-15T23:55:00.004+08:00

Synopsis:
Based upon the novel of the same name, "Water For Elephants" revolves around the life of young Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) who was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob (Hal Holbrook), now 90, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie when he left his studies after his parents were killed in an accident. It was there that he met Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the beautiful equestrian star married to August (Christoph Waltz), the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, and untrained able elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate travelling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Reviews:
I loved this movie. It's very touching though a little violent when you see the animal being tortured like that but it's realistic in a way as I believe that was how circus trainers do to the circus animals in order to train them for performance. I almost couldn't bear to see when the elephant gets whipped. I did not watch Twilight but I heard Robert Pattinson looks so much better here than he was a vampire in Twilight. Would definitely recommend others to watch this first than the other movies. The Lost Bladesman was a great disappointment so watching this is so much worth it. The romance between the vet and the boss's wife is so heartwarming and natural. The elephant in this movie does remind me of Dumbo though....

Ratings:
Story: 9/10
Acting: 10/10
Direction: 8/10
Visuals: 7/10
Overall: 10/10

Are Your Dating Standards Too High?

2011-05-05T13:35:00.000+08:00

Find out what's keeping you single.

I found this on Shoppinglifestyle.com article and thought it is a meaningful and logical article so I wanna share with you singles out there...

When your friends joke that you're too picky, you tell them you have high standards but you're waiting for the right man. It's not your fault that your perfect partner isn't out there. But sometimes you can't help but wonder if you are setting your sights a tad too high. Are you waiting for Mr. Right to show up -- or Mr. Perfect?

Are you too picky?
Everyone has a list of criteria for selecting a prospective partner, be it personality, physical attractiveness, intelligence or social standing. But there's a big difference between having high requirements and having impossible, sky-high expectations.

"Being choosy about who you date is fine, but being picky to a fault is unreasonable," says Alison Blackman Dunham, author of The Everything Dating Book. Unrealistic expectations often arise when people get too closely focused on their dating checklist and don't allow for compromise. And the most unfortunate part? Women who set sky-high standards often let someone special get away because they're holding out for "someone better".

Common traits of happily married women
So what are the standards of other women like? Rhonda Findling, psychotherapist and author of The Dating Cure, has noted through her psychotherapy practice that women who are happily partnered share certain traits: They're less picky about superficial qualities, but are more demanding about his character traits, which include dependability, emotional availability, consistency and supportiveness. They're also very hopeful that they will meet and connect with a man.

But most importantly, perhaps, is that they are willing to make compromises. "For example, she may be willing to accept a man who earns less money than she does or is not as handsome as she hoped," says Findling.

Compromise without lowering your standards
Some may think that compromising means 'settling', but it isn't about accepting someone who is obviously a deal-breaker. It's about staying true to what's important to you, while keeping an open mind about the less important criteria. You'll open up more options without lowering your standards.

Pin-point your priorities
To do that, you have to first identify what matters to you, and what is flexible. The following exercise will help you pin-point your priorities:

Write down the list of characteristics that you consider the most important in selecting a prospective mate, as well as the things you really can't accept in a partner. Be totally honest with yourself and be as specific as you want. If you feel having a degree is key, go ahead and list it down. If religion is important, jot that down. If not wanting children is a deal-breaker, indicate it.

After you have listed as many traits as possible, think about which of these qualities are most important to you. Then go back and circle the top six assets (the things your perfect partner must have) and top six liabilities (the things that you cannot accept in a partner), says Blackman Dunham.

This priority checklist will help you have a clearer picture of what you truly want in a potential partner. You might find that, for instance, not wanting kids is a no-go for you, but his only-average looks is really no biggie. Once you have a clear idea of what's truly important to you, you can tear down the barriers that prevent you from seeing all the options.

Bintan Trip 26 – 28 April 2011

2011-04-29T09:10:00.000+08:00

So lazy to talk about it. Think most of my photos are uploaded on Facebook. I have uploaded the full album on Photobucket but dunno why, the photos I uploaded are not upright for those Portrait shots…I had thought I had rotated it before I uploaded. Dunno what happened, so I’m just too lazy to upload it one by one…

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150236118786203.366643.652816202&l=ded7f345e1

Short Getaway in Bintan

2011-04-27T13:47:00.000+08:00

My friend, Meiling is resting in the room and I'm sitting in the corner of the room typing out the entry.

Unfortunately, there isn't Internet connection available. This is the 2nd day of our trip and I went snorkeling in the morning. Sitting on a fast ski boat, we went out to the area where snorkeling can be done there. It was my first time snorkeling and it was really not easy the first time. I had to tell myself to breathe through the snorkel and not my nose. I drank and took in some sea water from my nose and mouth. And using the flippers are so difficult. I had to grip on to Meiling who had to drag and pull me along. Really made her so exhausted.

Yesterday, we just got a taxi to take us to Pasar Oleh Oleh. It was nothing much there but we tried our massage there. It was SG$50 for a 2 hr session of massage and body scrub. We finished at 8pm then went for our dinner around the area. When we returned back to our room, it was around 9.30pm.

We had wanted to take the 1pm coach to Nirvana Resort where there is this Seafood Steamboat Buffet for SG$18 nett per pax and Meiling says there are more things to see and do over there. Now we changed the time of pick up to 3pm where we will have the dinner there and walk around before returning back here for the fireflies tour at 7pm. Whoa, I had never seen fireflies in my life. Though someone had once promised to bring me out on an exercise date where he will like to bring me to MacRitchie Reservoir at night for trekking and we will be able to see fireflies. But he is too busy and has clean forgotten about that date he mentioned.

Tomorrow we will be heading back to Singapore and indeed Bintan has nothing much there and I probably won't go back there again. But I will not mind trying snorkelling again but I doubt I'll be able to have the courage to take up diving. I can't even handle the snorkel masks and breathe properly. I probably need more time and more snorkeling sessions to overcome how to handle the flippers, snorkel and masks.

Source Code

2011-04-24T22:39:00.006+08:00

Synopsis:
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack. Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is a smart action-thriller directed by Duncan Jones (Moon) also starring Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Due Date), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed), and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace, Syriana).

Reviews:

Interesting ending of the storyline where Jake turns the history around but it's actually quite predictable towards the end. In the beginning it was a little boring, as the same scenes keep repeating and I believe my parents didn't liked such storyline and plot where scenes keep jumping back again to one scene to the another where in this case is the same scene again. Finally there was a parallell world, created by the moment his life was terminated. It give a perspective what are stored in our mind and remain until the very last moment. The way Jake built up experience from every moment show a theory that the world of the mind are limitless. The film has a good blend of keeping you in suspense right at the beginning. drifting between real and virtual world. it is a good story line with a love twist at the end.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10
Acting: 8/10
Direction: 7/10
Visuals: 7/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Work & Holiday

2011-04-13T21:58:00.000+08:00

This week is a busy week for me. A colleague's on leave so another colleague and myself are covering her projects for her during her absence but it was nothing much. She will be back on Monday. On top of my own projects, I have to handle small roles in her project. But still manageable. Supposed to have a flight on Friday morning 9am but now it has been postponed due to clearance. Taking a propeller plane ride from SYFC pilot who is taking 6 of us up in the air. Doing a project for them so we get to try and fly in their plane. My next coming experience will be a skydiving simulation in iFly Singapore@Siloso Beach, Sentosa next Thursday. My first flight experience. It is not opened to public yet but Pico is doing the interior for them so we get to try and fly for free... Looking forward to my Bintan trip with Meiling. First time going on a holiday with a friend at last...For so many years of travelling for holidays, this is the first time I'm going with a friend. I'll be going from 26-28 April and I don't know how to get ferry tickets to Bintan yet. I'll be staying in Bintan Lagoon Resort and trying out snorkelling. Going to go for massage too and spend quality girls' time together with Meiling. Known her since Primary 5 and the only time we get to go holiday together. Gonna be trying lots of my first time. Massage, snorkelling and holidaying with a friend alone...

An Unexpected Greeting

2011-04-06T19:04:00.000+08:00

I was about to leave for meeting outside and preparing some material samples to show client when I receive an incoming message on MSN from an unexpected person. My ex bf, Andre text me on MSN and asked how was I and I said still the same. And we started having normal conversations online. It's been such a long time we had normal conversations. I asked him how he is with his gf he said he's moved into her house and planning to get married next year. That sure is fast. I asked him how was his dad and sister and glad they are okay. I asked how he met his gf and he says they met at friends wedding in Oct and did not know that she liked him since and they started dating only last month and they are already living together. Wow that sure is fast. That was the wedding he attended during Hari Raya even though he was sick that day. Anyway I told him I hoped for the best of them both and congratulate him in advance. I told him happy that at least he found someone so hopefully his relationship will work this time...I was able to chat normally with him shows that I have really gotten over him. Just hope he'll really treat the girl well this time...

Now I just have to get over another person and treat him as a friend completely...

Same Phase in Life

2011-04-03T19:46:00.004+08:00

I'm back to the same phase of my life and I have got to learn to let go of things. Let go of certain feelings attached to a person and that is never my ex. Someone has previously taken a place in my heart yet now I still have to let him go. Back to being friends will never have that same feelings back again. Perhaps it might few years time but the question is when and how. If we're not even having that chance now to know each other better, when is that going to take place? I am more open to knowing more people still but until I can completely not compare others with this person that I know, then I can completely let go and let my feelings to others. To me, he seemed to be perfect person I ever met, but yet once again, I am disappointed when things haven't even worked out. I do want to treat him as a friend but yet in parts of me, I treat him as an important friend that I will want to see something happen so I often keep him in my prayers. I know he's been busy and havent' been able to even meet up with his friends or family. I'm not hoping that he'll remember this friend he have said he'll want to keep in contact and continue seeing, I have learnt not to expect things from him. I have to pray to God to ask God to help me be a stronger person and grow up being a better person. Perhaps our personalities does really not match and we're just not meant to be with each other by God so I am trying to seek some answers slowly from God.

I guess I'm back to getting myself to start a new life once again and start knowing people though I know it won't be easy again to meet someone that can touch my heart. I will still keep looking for that person and pray for that person to appear in my life and try putting things behind of me....

Should The Guy Pay For The First Date?

2011-03-29T09:21:00.003+08:00

Why attractive women are less likely to go Dutch.

Do you expect your date to pay for the dinner? Are you for or against going Dutch? Who knew there's quite a bit of psychology at work here: Attractive women are less likely to offer to split the bill on a first date, according to a new British study published in the journalEvolutionary Psychology. Researchers at St Andrews University showed over 400 men and women pictures of a hypothetical "date" and asked who should pay for the dinner date. They could choose between paying for the entire meal, splitting the bill or letting their date pick up the tab. The results revealed that attractive women were less likely to want to contribute towards the costs. Why? Women think a guy should pay, perhaps as a way of making him invest in their future. "They quite literally bring more to the table, so they expect the other person to pick up the tab or expect to pay for the bill," says researcher Michael Stirrat. There's one exception: If a woman is uninterested in the guy, she is more likely to insist on paying or going Dutch to avoid giving him any wrong ideas. It's a different strategy for men, though. Guys who enjoy the date will offer to pay for the meal -- it's his way of saying he's interested and would like to see the woman again. Overall, 45 percent of women said they would expect their date to foot the bill, compared to just 30 percent of the men.

Angry? Say a prayer

2011-03-28T16:54:00.001+08:00

I read from Yahoo! News regarding this article... Washington, March 22 (IANS) Praying may be the best antidote to anger, especially after someone has left you fuming. A series of studies showed that people who were provoked by insulting comments felt less anger and aggression soon after they prayed for someone who has offended them. The benefits of prayer probably occur because the act changed the way people think about a negative situation, said Brad Bushman, study co-author and professor of communication and psychology, Ohio State University. 'People often turn to prayer when they're feeling negative emotions, including anger,' he said, the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reports. Results showed prayer helped calm people regardless of their religious affiliation, or how often they attended church services or prayed in daily life, according to an Ohio statement. Bushman said these are the first experimental studies to examine the effects of prayer on anger and aggression. He conducted the research with Ryan Bremner of the University of Michigan and Sander Koole of VU University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. -Indo-Asian News Service I have been constantly praying and ask God to bless for that person to appear in my life. I try to take a closer walk with God. My prayers were always praying for others too. Praying for good health for family and friends I care about, including bless them to have time management so they can have some time to spend with friends and family. Due to work, he's been busy flying around and been tired out so much that he's neglecting his friends and family gatherings. I have learn to pray and care for others and not just for myself or own benefit. I need to improve on that and I'm making myself available to be able to talk to God twice a day.

World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles

2011-03-25T23:14:00.004+08:00

Synopsis:

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces.

As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before.

Reviews:

Massive epic battle scenes, none of the movies came close to being decent since Black Hawk Down until the release of World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles. Marvel at the CGI used as aliens swept Los Angeles in a world of flame. For the whole 116 mins, there was not a room for boredom as fighting actions came by thick and fast. Comparison between War of the Worlds, this has better plot and storyline and cause the girl in War of the Worlds was super irritating due to the constant screaming, this movie has to win hands down to that. It kept me excited and hands closed all the way with cold sweat chasing the fighting scenes all the way. There has never one time without boring lines between the movie. It's like WW3 except the enemies were aliens. A good movie to spend your money with as you watch the USA marines battle the hostile alien invaders.

Ratings:
Story: 7/10
Acting: 8/10 (Aaron Eckhart's acting here is good and Michelle Rodriguez has always acted in such epic kind of movies; impressed with Ne-Yo's acting too, he's an R&B singer btw!)
Direction: 6/10 (Really shaky scenes at beginning and certain fighting scenes)
Visuals: 10/10
Overall: 8.5/10

1st Day - CSCPM

2011-03-22T19:03:00.000+08:00

Managed to survived the first day of the CSCPM course. The trainer basically just read whatever is written in the notes given to us which are from powerpoint slides. It was boring especially after lunch and everyone was like almost falling asleep after lunch. There were only 8 of us in the class and two were absent second half of the day due to work. But at the end of the lesson, the trainer went through with us and gave us tips on what to study that will be tested...so we just need to understand and memorise. There are 60 MCQ and 2 structured questions to answer out of 5 questions given. The passing mark has to be 70% and above as this is for Project Managers level. I'm not even a Project Manager but yet I'm attending this course. Anyway, managed to survived first day. Second day will be longer till 7pm. The whole course is 30 hours of lesson plus 2 hours exam. So each day 9 hrs has to be covered. Tomorrow will be a long day...

Quick Updates

2011-03-21T14:07:00.000+08:00

This coming week will be a busy week for me as I will be away on course for 4 days so I will not be in office. My Safety Management Course for Project Managers will commence tomorrow and the exam will be on Friday at 1pm-3pm. Hopefully I'll revise through and have time to study. I still got chorale practice on Thursday and Friday there's still lecture from 9am-12noon. A lot of memorising to do is what I heard from other colleagues who have taken the course. Sat is my brother's birthday and he's going to treat a big seafood dinner @ ECP for my two aunties, my grandparents and my family...Wow, so generous. I gotta prepare ang bao for him. Or maybe I buy a present for him that he'll love it...(a CD) Haha...

Yest I was having dinner with my family at our neighbourhood nearby and we passed by this confectionery shop to get some bread for breakfast and my sis asked me to see how a hamburger cake looks like.

Anyone fancy a cheeseburger cake? From far, it really looks like a huge cheeseburger, but once you look closely, the bread on top actually looks like a read bread but you'll be surprised at how much cream are used. The whole exterior cake forming the cheeseburger design is made of cream...different coloured cream...Talk about a creamy cheeseburger cake...My sis was joking we should get this cake for my brother's birthday and place a 'M' logo there to represent McDonald's cause he love to eat McDonald's...haha. Maybe Carl's Junior in the States might have this size...

30 Things That Will Make A Girl Smile

2011-03-18T09:16:00.002+08:00

30 Things That Will Make A Girl Smile:

1. Don't hug her friends or your friends that are girls because she'll feel left out.
2. Hold her hand at any moment...even if it's just for a second.
3. Hug her from behind.
4. Leave her voice messages to wake up.
5. Wrestle with her.
6. Don't go hang out with your ex when she's not with you, you might not realize how badly it hurts her.
7. If you're talking to another girl, when you're done talking, walk over and hug her and kiss her....let her know she's yours and they aren't.
8. Write her notes or call her just to say "hi"..and not just at night after you've already been out with other girls.
9. Introduce her to your friends...as your girlfriend.
10. Play with her hair.
11. Pick her up.
12. Get upset if another guy touches her and she doesn't like it.
13. Make her laugh, if you can make her laugh, you can make her do anything.
14. Let her fall asleep in your arms.
15. If she's mad at you, kiss her.
16. If you care about her, then tell her.
17. Every guy should give their girl 3 things: a stuffed animal(she'll hug it every time she goes to sleep), jewelry (she'll treasure it forever), and one of your t-shirts (she'll most likely wear it to bed).
18. Treat her the SAME around your friends as you do when you're alone.
19. Look her in the eyes and smile.
20. Hang out with her on weekends.
21. Kiss her in the rain.
22. If you're listening to music, let her listen too.
23. Remember her birthday and get her something, even if it's simple and inexpensive, it came from YOU. it means all the world to HER. it's the thought that counts.
24. When she gives you a present on your birthday, or just whenever, take it and tell her you love it, even if you don't (it'll make her happy.)
25. Girl don't necessarily have to have hour-long conversations every night, but it's nice for them to hear your voice even for a quick hello.
26. Give her what she wants.
27. Recognize the small things...they usually mean the most.
28. Tell her she's beautiful, she needs to know her striving is working.
29. Hang out with her whenever you are free and you SHOULD be free to hang with your girlfriend all the time
30. If you care about her...SHOW it!

It's A Beautiful Day!

2011-03-15T13:42:00.005+08:00

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?
What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.
The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind.
Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

If you appreciate this message, please share.
You may touch someone's heart today and forever.

What men wants

2011-03-15T09:24:00.000+08:00

Share this article from xinmsn.com...
What men are looking for in a woman

A lot of women assume they know what it is men want from a relationship, but invariably they get it wrong. They say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and like women, men have needs and expectations when it comes to finding love, so here are some tips to help women when it comes to figuring out what men want from a relationship.

Fun

Men look for women that are fun, with a sense of humor whom they can have a laugh with. Being able to share hobbies and things you both enjoy will help to bring you closer together as a couple. It shows that you have a playful side and being able to laugh at yourself shows your down to Earth and don’t take things too seriously.

Trust

It goes without saying that men and women want trust from a relationship and without it a relationship is doomed. Trust is something that is built over time and a man is likely to work a lot harder at a relationship when they know that that trust is there.

A homemaker

Despite many women feeling that men have issues with commitment, men actually want to build a home with their partner. They want someone who can provide a loving and caring environment for their children to grow up in.

Companionship

Men are looking for someone to be their companion and friend who they can tell their deepest feeling or fears to, and respect them. They want a woman who is able to give their opinion and be strong enough to admit that they may be wrong sometimes.

A listener

Just like women, men want someone who is there for them when they need to grumble about work or complain about things. Men are looking for a woman who will be understanding and truly listen to them and who is supportive.

Someone self sufficient

By this we mean they want someone who is confident and secure in themselves, who doesn’t need to be attached to their partner 24/7. While their lives are joined together in a relationship, still retain their independence, friends and individuality.

Communicator

Men are looking for someone they can talk to rather than someone who shouts screams and cries when it comes to arguments. Being able to discuss problems rather than argue with one another is key.

Intimacy

Both men and women look for someone they are sexually attracted to whom they can be intimate with. Sex helps a couple to bond and is important to the relationship and men wants a woman who actually enjoys having sex with them.

A meaningful quote

2011-03-09T13:39:00.000+08:00

"Simplest things in life are often neglected and forgotten, until the day you started counting, you realised how much you missed...and I miss you badly."

A surprise message...

2011-03-07T19:38:00.000+08:00

I was about to go out to a meeting at 3.45pm today when I received a incoming message on msn from a person unexpectedly. Andre actually text me to ask me if I want to go back to him. I didn’t answer his question and he was expecting an answer from me. I told him I thought he would have already found a gf le. Cuz my fren told me she thought she saw him with a girl. Just when I least unexpected and forgotten about my past relationship, he messages me. Yet I do not know what his intentions are in asking me that question in the 1st place. Does he really find it hard to let me go or he just don’t want to lose me? Anyway no point thinking since I never want to get back with him…

Birthday Celebration - Part 3

2011-03-02T19:40:00.001+08:00

Luckily I took half day today cause I came home at 3am in the morning and I'm having a hangover now. I had fun yesterday. Meiling brought her friend along and he asked another guy friend along. They had a surprise for me. They brought me to Wild Rocket at Hangout @ Mount Emily for dinner. Their service was good I gotta say and they had a bday surprise dessert for me. It was awkward for me to chat with the other guy, Vincent. Alan was a funny guy though and he makes us less awkward. I took vincent's car when we headed to another place. We went to a ktv pub called Star where Meiling and Alan frequent. The staff there were nice and friendly. The customers who patronize there are probably regulars. We can sing and I drank couple of drinks there till I had headache. We played bluff game using dice and pair up with Vincent so whoever loses, both has to drink (I merely took sips). But I drank one and a half glass of Vodka Lime / Ribena then I felt headache so I requested for iced water. The staff were nice, they knew it was my bday, they got me a small cake on the house and we shared with every customer there. My first experience in such things but it was nice experiencing it once in a while. I can't take liquor well so I never really hang out so much. But nice to hang out with friends once in a while and Meiling wants to introduce her friends to me saying they're nice people. Indeed they are nice. They know I can't drink a lot they won't make me drink and will help me drink.

Birthday Celebration - Part 2

2011-03-01T11:01:00.002+08:00

I had a nice dinner gathering with my church pals, Kailin, Rachel and Mabel. It was a gals outing. They surprised me with a huge bunch of flowers (3 hot pink gerberas) for my birthday. We went to LENAS at Bugis for dinner. Nice to catch up with them after so long. I feel bad that I haven't been able to meet them after so long, it's like I should get back to meeting them more often. We talked about everything, about our upcoming trips, one of them getting married soon this year. The youngest in my groupie and yet getting married before us. There is still one more youngest but she joined our groupie much later. We're all happy for her though that she's found her happiness. We grew up knowing each other as my aunt and her mum were sch classmates so when we were very young, we used to hang out often for parties and all. Cause my aunt weren't married, so she often brought my sister and myself to join her classmates' gatherings when they brought their kids along. So that was how I knew her. Then I went to Sunday School and she was in my class cause she was 2 years my junior.

We were talking about our aims and goals in life and I didn't know what to answer them. I don't have a goal in life...Perhaps yes looking forward to meeting that someone whom I can share my future with but that is like not a goal cause it is something that we have to work towards to. I gotta think about that now...Perhaps I'm a simple-minded person like my mum. My sis is like my dad I guess. Like simple goals to them like lose 5 kgs by the end of the month and losing another 6 kgs by the next month can be a goal for one of my gal frens.

We hang out till 9pm at the restaurant and took some photos. Will upload once I have them...I have a dinner appt tonight but not sure if there will be photos to take and stories to blog about. We hang out till 9pm at the restaurant and took some photos. Will upload once I have them...I have a dinner appt tonight but not sure if there will be photos to take and stories to blog about. ~~There may or may not be a Birthday Celebration - Part 3 to start an entry about...~~

Mabel and me...

Kailin and Rachel

Our appetizer...

Look at how tiny the pizza is?

Desserts are chocolate ice-cream and strawberry pancakes...

Our group shot...

Birthday Wishes...

2011-03-01T00:37:00.001+08:00

I have received few messages on MSN earlier to wish me a Happy Birthday and from my parents, who gave me my ang bao. Then at 12 midnight, besides bday wishes on Facebook on my Wall posts, I received sms from my cousin, Kristin. Then at 12:08am I received an incoming call from a overseas number (which was actually a local handphone number) and I answered it, a birthday song was sung to me over the phone immediately and it was from the person that I wished to hear the most. A friend who is overseas now but still made an effort to stay awake to wish me a Happy Birthday whilst being overseas. It really brightens my day tomorrow having to work still on my birthday. But I chose not to take leave cause even if I taken leave, I don't have anyone to specially celebrate with me while I'm on leave besides my mum. And I have my project to finish, I got my HDB client to meet up tomorrow after the Time capsule sealing ceremony today. Then i can look forward to having dinner with my long-time best friend whom I know since primary school, Meiling, to celebrate my birthday with me...

Birthday Celebration - Part 1

2011-02-27T17:49:00.006+08:00

My first birthday celebration was with my family today. We went to Tao's Dining at Pomo. My parents hasn't been there so i thought bringing there to try for once is good. It's $19.80++ per pax for a 6-course lunch. Plus you tell the staff it's your birthday they'll give you a special dessert, chocolate cake with ice-cream and a birthday candle lighted up. And they will sing happy birthday for you. Haha...My dad requested for it but they didn't even asked if it was really my birthday. I still have two more days before I turn 28...

The manager presented me with the surprise bday dessert and got my family to sing Happy Birthday song together...

Tomorrow will be my dinner with my gfs from church. I know them since we were all so young. We decided for Bugis since two of them are working in Bugis and my office was quite near there. But we have no idea of where to eat yet though...Probably Fish & Co or the other one which is also under MOF label.

Tuesday which is my actual day of my birthday, will be celebrating with my long-time pal, Meiling. She had suggested meeting me on Monday, but I already have appointment so I suggested Tuesday. She never forgets my birthday...So this year, my birthday celebrations will be all with gfs. Next gf that might be celebrating with me is my lao-po, Mingli, which she hasn't asked me out yet. Hehe...Of course, I would hope to celebrate with him (some will know who I'm referring to) personally even if its belated. But it seems like he might not have that thought in mind to throw me a celebration at least. I think he should be back on 5th or 6th March though. I thought that this year my birthday would have someone special would celebrate with me but he isn't around at this period. March is a time where there are exhibitions around in Asia...I'm not attached yet btw. We are still friends and not sure when and how long it will take for me to actually be considered to go further than friends, whether that possibility will still come or not, only God knows...

Birthday?

2011-02-21T11:59:00.000+08:00

My birthday is just next week and I don't even feel the mood to celebrate at all. I don't have dates or friends asking me out yet. I usually celebrate with my family on Sundays so it'd still mean nothing so my birthday on a weekday will mean nothing anyway. Last birthday, my birthday was on a Monday and though I dressed nicely and all, I went home on my actual day and my mum was just cooking like any normal day. Except she asked me what I felt like eating, and I said spaghetti. I guess as you grow older, birthdays mean nothing to you if you're single and don't have anyone special in your life. Actually I do have or I did thought that I have, but guess I'm still not that important at all to make his life different yet...Turning 28 soon will just mean that I'm closer to the Big 30 but I'm still single and not attached. At 28, my sister was already happily married. So celebrating or not means nothing to me...

Someone tells me that birthday this year for a change and a start, I should buy a birthday cake for my mum and tell her how much I love her and it's her birthday. I should thank her for giving birth to me so it should be her birthday. I think she'll find it weird if I did that. She'll say I'm wasting money and all.

Mixed feelings...

2011-02-14T10:05:00.004+08:00

I'm having mixed feelings now. He wished me a Happy Valentine's Day but I can't make myself to feel happy at all. I guess I should treat this day as a normal day as I used to every year...

Black Swan

2011-02-12T16:42:00.004+08:00

Synopsis:
"Black Swan" follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition.

When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well.

Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Reviews:
Full points for the ballet techniques and moves. The dancers can really keep turning non-stop on their toes. However, dealing with pressure induced psychological hallucination, it can get really scary what the human mind can lead a person to do, ultimately destroying the person itself. I think fundamentally, the movie is trying to tell us to relax since we are already living in a pressure cooker society. The movie can be really deep at times. A highly recommended movie to watch if you think you are mature enough to stomach the contents. I think everyone knows what Swan Lake is but this movie has made us see the story behind each casting and how pressure and perfection can turn a person to desperation and to the dark side.

Would definitely recommend people to watch this movie. It is never boring and you'll feel it's scary at times. I overheard some teens behind me saying not scary enough. In the first place, who says this movie is a horror or thriller. It is rated M18, it should more of drama and suspense but they should have made it R21 and remove the censoring portion cause there were sexual references and lesbian content.

Ratings:

Story: 9/10
Acting: 10/10
Direction: 7/10 (In the beginning some parts of the camera were shaky)
Visuals: 8/10
Overall: 5/5 stars

Something to share....

2011-02-10T09:30:00.000+08:00

If U're in a relationship, married or none, read this. U'll know why at the end.

MARRIAGE

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage.

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

A CHRIST-CENTERED MARRIAGE IS A MARRIAGE THAT IS SURE TO LAST A LIFETIME.

So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Matthew 19:6.

By Stephanie Halmilton

Ladies ought to know this!! - This is quite true...

2011-02-09T10:54:00.000+08:00

Something interesting and very factual which I copied from a forwarded email posted at a forum by someone on ShoppingLifestyle.com

This is very cute! And even written by a guy! You might agree with it, but when it actually happens 99% of girls don't realize it 'til it is too late and that guy who did it is so frustrated that he has moved on to someone who will take notice.

From a guys point of view:

We don't care if you talk to other guys. We don't care if you're friends with other guys. But when you're sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room and you jump up and tackle him without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off. It doesn't help if you sit there and talk to him for ten minutes without even acknowledging the fact that we're still there.

We don't care if a guy calls you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned. Nothing is that important at 2 a.m. that it can't wait till he morning.

Also, when we tell you you're pretty/beautiful/gorgeous/cute/ stunning, we freaking mean it. Don't tell us we're wrong.We'll stop trying to convince you.

The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence.

Yeah, you can quote me.

Don't be mad when we hold the door open.

Take Advantage of the mood im in.

LET US PAY FOR YOU! DON'T 'FEEL BAD' We enjoy doing it. It's expected. Smile and say 'thank you.'

Kiss us when no one's watching. If you kiss us when you know somebody's looking, we'll be more impressed.

You don't have to get dressed up for us. If we're going out with you in the first place, you don't have to feel the need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of makeup you own. We like you for WHO you are and not WHAT you are. Honestly, i think a girl looks more beautiful when she's just in her pj's. Or my t-shirt and boxers, not all dolled up.

Don't take everything we say seriously. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing. See the beauty in it. Don't get angry easily.

Stop using magazines/media as your bible. Don't talk about how hott Morris Chesnutt, Brad Pitt, or Jesse McCartney is in front of us. It's boring, and we don't care. You have girlfriends for that.

Whatever happened to the word 'handsome'/'beautiful'. I'd be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with 'Hey handsome!' instead of 'Hey baby/ stud/ cutie/ sexy' or whatever else you can think of. On the other hand im not sayin i wouldn't like it either.

Girls: I cannot stress this enough: IF YOU AREN'T BEING TREATED RIGHT BY A GUY, DON'T WAIT FOR HIM TO CHANGE.> DITCH HIS SORRY DISGRACE-TO-THE-MALE-POPULATION ASS, AND FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL TREAT YOU WITH UTTER RESPECT Someone who will honor your morals. Someone who will make you smile when you're at your lowest. Someone who will care for you even when you make mistakes. Someone who will love you, no matter how bad you make them feel. Someone who will stop what theyre doing just to look you in the eyes....and say 'i love you' ..........AND ACTUALLY MEAN IT!

*****Give the nice guys a chance*****

Holdin Hands-
Girls : If you want to hold his hand, gently bump into it a couple of times.
Guys : Grab it if it happens more than once.

Cuddling-
Girls : When you want to cuddle with him, tell him you're cold.
Guys : Automatically move closer to her.

Movies-
Girls : During a movie, if he puts his arm around you, tilt your head on his shoulder
Guys : Lift her chin up and kiss her.

Loving each other-
Guys : When she tells you she loves you, look deep into her eyes, give her a peck on the lips, and tell her you love her too... And mean it.

Laying below the stars-
Girls : When you're both laying under the stars, put your head on his chest and close your eyes as you listen to his steady heart beat
Guys : Whisper in her ear and link your hands with hers. Now make a wish about something you would like to happen Between you and your crush....

guys: no grabbing!!!

Guys repost this if you agree.

Girls repost this if you think it's cute.

Every Guy who isn't a jerk will agree with this, so we hope that all the girls that read this will repost this.

No Strings Attached

2011-02-09T09:07:00.003+08:00

Synopsis:
In this comedy, Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are life-long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly "no strings attached." "No strings" means no jealousy, no expectations, no fighting, no flowers, no baby voices. It means they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, in whatever public place they want, as long as they don't fall in love. The question becomes- who's going to fall first? And can their friendship survive?

Reviews:
I watched the sneak previews yesterday from winning the tickets. I joined two of this same contest of different questions asked and I won the one with the harder question asked. Anyway, I loved the movie. This is my first time watching Ashton Kutcher in a serious movie other than Dude, Where's My Car. I should say both Ashton and Natalie looks good in this movie. Both displayed their charm well in this movie. The movie is rated M18 because of sexual references and drugs shown in the movie but nonetheless, it is easy to understand of how two friends came about together to become sex partners and indeed, my answer to the question asked was correct. Would you agree to such condition and I said no cause there is bound to have one party expecting more out of such a relationship, as friends with such actions will never become platonic as there is one side surely to have feelings for the other and I was true. Maybe that's how I won the contest.

I would recommend people to watch this movie. But guys bringing female friends there to watch shouldn't treat this movie as ill intentions or girls shouldn't think that the guy friend would also expect that. Movies are afterall entertainment for people so we should just watch it with a open mind for entertainment purpose and not with special intentions. My next movie to watch will be Just Go With It as it should be more light hearted comedy with Adam Sandler in it, it never goes wrong watching his movies.

Ratings:
Story: 8/10
Acting: 8/10
Direction: 6/10
Visuals: 7/10
Overall: 5/5 stars

CNY 2011

2011-02-08T14:50:00.002+08:00

Day 1:
I went to grandparents’ house at 1pm on 1st day of CNY after my sis and bro-in-law came over to our house for CNY visiting. I finally opened my bottle of Ice Wine from 3 years ago. Two of my uncle’s family were already there and we took family photos one round after another since my dad brought along his professional camera.

The cousins who are still single…

All in pink for that day…

All the female cousins from maternal side…

Cousin Felicia with grandma

Two sisters, Angie and Ting with Grandma

Me with Mum

Cousin, Jerome and Perpetua with Grandma

Two sisters, Felicia and Kristin with Grandma

We started our rounds of Blackjack games. I joined the smaller games bets of 50cents to a dollar but my bets were always 50cents without fail. I’m unsure how much have I won but I believe I did won some when I finally stopped the game.

I went to another place for gathering and visiting and only went home at around 11pm.

Day 2:
I woke up at 4.40am and starting getting ready to depart for KL trip. It’s been so long since we started setting off so early. I only slept at 1am previous night and not I gotta wake up before 5am. Anyway, I’m able to sleep in the car during the journey so its fine for me. We ordered McDonald’s breakfast and ate in the car. My sister and bro-in-law joined us for this trip this time round. We reached KL around 10am and stayed a while at my grandma’s house in Kuchai Lama before heading for lunch nearby and went to 1-Utama for shopping. Then we went for dinner at this authentic Thai Restaurant. I have already prepared myself and had some toast bread before dinner cause knowing Thai food will be spicy. In the end, I ate quite a few dishes. After dinner, we proceeded to my auntie’s house for gathering. Imagine how a Singapore expat home looks like and that’s how my aunt’s house looks like in KL area.

We headed back to another’s auntie’s house in 1-Utama area where I’m staying in with my family at their 3-storey mansionette. Their pet schnauzer, Cosmo is so cute. I ended up sleeping on the floor together with my parents in the guest room while my sis and bro-in-law took the work studio room and slept on the floor too.

Day 3:
We had fried tom yum bee hoon for breakfast and at 12noon, we headed out to the restaurant that we have booked for lunch to celebrate my granny’s birthday. It was a usual place that we always go to for her birthday and this time we had a private function room with two tables all ours. There’s movie programme on Astro to entertain us too. The lou hei was good, the best so far eaten…The food there are really not bad this time. After lunch, it was already 2.30pm and we decided to head down to Mid Valley since we have some time before 5pm. We had wanted to leave for SG after lunch but my auntie persuaded us to go back together same time as her family so as to have company when we stop for toilet breaks along the highway. So we waited for her to finish her visiting of her relative then it started to rain heavily at 5+ which makes us delayed and stuck at Kuchai Lama for half an hour. After the rain slightly subsided, we headed out for SG and along the way there was jam. We left at 6.20pm and finally reached home around 11pm. Good thing, the custom at Tuas did not have jam as all counters were mostly opened that night. So it was jam along the way from Melaka to Yong Peng.

Aunty Elaine’s pet dog, Cosmo from KL. She’s a schnauzer…So cute and well behaved but she urines like a male dog after sterilised. She looks for lampposts and seats where male dogs will usually piss at…

Me with Cosmo

At Aunty Elaine’s house…

All cousins gathered to take photo with Granny…These are from my paternal side in KL…

My dad’s sisters…

My mum with my dad's sisters from KL...

The appetizer dish….

The CNY decor at Mid Valley…The Gardens Mall

Did Zouk opened a cafe & bar in KL?

The Gardens Mall linkway to Megamall…

Importing of Blog

2011-02-01T12:28:00.002+08:00

I am going to have an alternate blog at http://summers83.wordpress.com.

All my past entries have been transferred there too. The layout is less complicated though. I may consider closing this blog if necessary. Feel free to visit the other blog. My reason for changing blogsite? Well, Wordpress has more security and privacy for each entry and much userfriendly. I may not post as much entries here as before now. I'll see how it goes...

2011-01-13T16:02:00.003+08:00

China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320843&id=652816202&l=6932c9135a
China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 2
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China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=320867&id=652816202&l=08f4e59e90
China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 4
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China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 5
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China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 6
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China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 7
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=321255&id=652816202&l=7473bcdd26
China Trip 25 Dec 2010 - 1 Jan 2011_Day 8
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=321385&id=652816202&l=cef8fc1ea1

Some experiences gained through this trip was flight delays. Yeap I experienced flight delays twice and on day of departure from Changi to Pudong Airport, they delayed the flight to Dalian for 4 hours. We sat and airport for 4 hours doing nothing but sit around and walk or take photos. Then on day of leaving from Harbin Airport to Pudong transit, our flight had to last minute delay for an hour plus. So in the end, our transit flight was around 30 mins before our next flight to Singapore. We sat and ate their local instant cup noodles.

Second experience gained was of course getting to experience, see and feel snowflakes for once in our lives. The flakes are really those shapes we see in cartoons, they even have different shapes like stars. We get to experience heavier snowing in Harbin morning and we were so excited like kids.

Third experience was having to relieve myself in unexpected situations twice. Once was a toilet area built with no proper cubicles and a main door in it. Just an area space and pick your spot in there. It was separated from Male and Female. So at least I had my own family members helping to guard off from outside like door while we took turns relieving ourselves. We were like laughing all the way while doing it. And our second time was while we are on our way to Harbin on a 6 hours long bus ride journey. I was sick that day, down with flu and yet didn't dare to drink much water as there was only one toilet stop along the way and after that, the only time stopped was petrol kiosk and driver had to pump fuel. Our tour guide went to check the toilet and say there isn't any toilet there so she suggested and taught us how to use the umbrella while relieving ourselves. So we took turns and went and found a corner behind the petrol kiosk office. We can't even be bothered if there were camera looking thru. Did I mentioned it was also snowing at that time and around -20 degree celsius? We had to relieve ourselves in the cold...What an experience! That is the reason why I refused to go to China even every year, my parents and brother will go at least once to China to different places. I chose to stay in Singapore instead thinking of the toilet conditions...If they are planning for one again end of this year to Zhang Jia Jie (the place featured in Avatar), I wont tag along...

Disappointed and disheartened

2011-01-13T15:55:00.001+08:00

After attending the AGM on Monday evening, I was happily out on a dinner date. Then the next day, when I reached home, I received an sms from my colleague asking if I'm ok and I asked her if she got the right person. And she thought I knew the news. I kept probing her what news have she heard and I not know. I was jokingly asked her if I was being fired. She kept saying tomorrow before team meeting on Wed morning I might know. And I said, is it I'm not being promoted le? I just merely said it, I din expect that it was true. I checked my email and the Promotion List was sent to the whole company and subsidiaries and indeed my name wasn't in it. I immediately felt that pang of disappointment with the company. My boss few weeks ago even told me that most likely I'm gonna get promoted and pay raise too. Then because he has mentioned that to me makes me now disappointed and disheartened easily now. I even had tears rolling down due to frustration and disappointment at the same time that as promised by my immediate boss during my appraisal, it can get rejected like that. I was then being consoled by my that same colleague, my boss again to have faith in him and two friends who gave me lots of moral support and consolation. I got over it fast because of a person. I dunno how long I'll have the motivation to stay on this company. I'm gonna get my envelope either today or tomorrow as my immediate is still busy to pass it to me, think he might talk to me about it that's why. The management did mentioned those staff did have a pay revision but I shall not expect too much. It might be just a pay increment than a pay revision...

I can't believe my first post in 2011 is actually about sad things in my life...I'm so lazy to upload photos of my trip. I shall upload the direct links in next entry from Facebook page...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2010-12-12T20:46:00.004+08:00

Think this could be my last entry here for 2010. Awaiting for a brand new year of 2011. Many things are going to happen for the remaining 12 days more to Christmas. I will be working and busy packing bit by bit of my luggage to my holiday on 25 Dec. Excited but yet feel a little lazy that I have to pack all the winter clothings there. Can't wait to see the new stuffs I ordered online which will be arriving perhaps tomorrow or Tuesday. A new bag and a jacket to wear for my trip. Hehe...

I will take this holiday as a break for me to end 2010 and welcome a brand new year. Many things happened in 2010. Most are happy things and events though last month wasn't a good month for me but I got over it. And I shall move on and look towards the future of what is to come. I pray and ask God to bless me and help my faith to grow. I believe I will be able to find a better person that will make my whole 2011 year better than the year before.

Went for the briefing about the trip and learn of what is to come. I will be going to this place called Heilongjiang province which Harbin is the biggest city in there. Each destination we travel is around 5-6 hours drive which the toilets along the expressway will be expected to have lots of people using it. Thus, the guide ask us to be mentally prepared that the toilet isn't that clean. And the shops there especially during winter season closes around 6-7pm thus by 8pm there won't be people walking in the cold streets. We are going to bring games over there to play and good thing we are going in a big group, so at least we have each other's company for games through the night back at the rooms. I have to bring lots of entertainment to entertain myself too like my iPod, DS Lite, iPod Nano. The plane doesn't have entertainment too so I have to bring my own movie to watch on my small iPod screen. Guess this could be the last entry for 2010? Who knows, I might have a chance to log in during Xmas Eve at the airport. We'll see...

Reminiscing the Past...

2010-12-01T20:54:00.002+08:00

The other time, I had a dream. The dream was everyone in my family and relatives planned a surprise wedding proposal and wedding for me and I saw the groom was Andre. I woke up the next morning when my alarm rang and suddenly I recalled the past. I miss the man who said those nice things asking me to be his girlfriend in Tanjong Rhu. How the words still rings in my head. That was the time I saw him being really serious with me. I miss the man who patiently taught me to cycle and felt heartpain for me when I fell on the ground. I miss the man who suddenly appear at my doorstep at night, travelling all the way from Tampines then and rang me and asked me "If I want desserts open the door now". I miss the man that isn't afraid to show publi displays of affection for me in public areas and I especially miss the man that is never afraid and constantly able to express his love to me by saying "I love you so much". I miss this man that made me fell in love with him. But I know now that he will never be that Andre Lee I used to know 4 months back. After those 4 months was the time he started to change. All those things that I mentioned were things that he did that touched me and I felt so sincere from him. I think even though he says that he never wanted to break up with me and asked me to give him time to make it up to me were just saying it for the sake of saying. He will never feel what it means by losing me. I think he will never feel indifferent without having me in his life at all. I just have to let go of him. I won't be pinning what he will do to win me back. It's been almost a month since I last initiated it, and if he really want me back, he wouldn't have not taken any action. If I had meant something to him, he would have tried to do something about it. He says he'll try to change and be like the past but I believe that no one can change him. When the love feeling is lost, it's lost forever. I just cannot keep thinking that he will come look for me and change for me. If it weren't for his character like that or treating me like this, I guess he is perfect to me in my eyes. I can't stop comparing other guys with him though I know their characters will be so much better than him and will treat me better than him. I just hope that 2011 will be a better year for me and I just hope that I can go for my holiday now so I can getaway from all this.

Something to share...

2010-11-25T10:51:00.002+08:00

6 Steps To Great Couple Communication

You're bound to disagree with your significant other from time to time, whether it's about chores, finances or just what movie to see. Fortunately, you can be angry with your honey without worrying that you're on the road to splitsville.

The key is to communicate in a way that deepens your love and connection, says Patricia Gibberman, a licensed clinical social worker in Fairfax, Va. How you speak to your partner -- especially during arguments -- says a lot about the strength of your marriage. In his studies, Dr. John Gottman, a marriage expert with a doctorate in psychology, found that those who talk respectfully and with love are happier and stay wed longer than those who attack each other's character or treat each other with contempt.

"Happily married couples behave like good friends, because they handle their conflicts in gentle and positive ways," says Gibberman, a certified Gottman-method couples therapist, who teaches clients to communicate more effectively.

Try this six-step plan to help you tune up your couple talk -- and stay closer than ever:

1. Become an active listener

"Many people don't listen to what their partners are saying during a disagreement, because they're too busy thinking about how to rebut them," says Gibberman. Before you begin, agree to take turns: One of you gets to speak while the other listens without interrupting. After each of you has spoken, show that you understand the other's feelings: "It makes sense to me that you think we're not saving enough money, and you're upset."

2. Complain without blame

Want your guy to stop leaving the TV remote between the sofa cushions? Ask nicely, using "I" statements: "I get frustrated having to search for the remote, so I'd like you to put it back in the end table drawer when you're done." Avoid critical "you" statements, like this one: "You always leave things all over the place!"

3. Own up to your part

Take responsibility for your contribution to the problem, hard as it may be: "I should have talked to you about the price of the sofa before buying it. Let's figure out ways we can cut back until the sofa is paid off." Denying it ("I didn't spend too much") or counterattacking ("Well, you spent a fortune on the flat-screen TV") will just lead to hurt feelings and flaring tempers.

4. Forget the past

When you're in the middle of a disagreement, stay on topic. Dredging up old conflicts ("This is just like the time you ...") could overwhelm and upset your partner -- not to mention put him on the defensive. Plus, adds Gibberman, skipping from one subject to another makes it hard to reach a resolution.

5. Take a time-out

"When a discussion isn't going well, many couples tend to keep barreling through, which makes things worse, not better," says Gibberman. The next time one of you gets emotional mid-conflict, put the discussion on hold -- whether it's for 15 minutes or five days -- until you're calm and thinking clearly.

6. Show gratitude

Every day, look for opportunities to acknowledge the things your significant other does right, instead of nitpicking about his flaws. Saying things like "Those lamb chops were delicious -- thanks for making dinner tonight" will go a long way toward strengthening the friendship in your marriage. And that, in turn, will make it easier to manage conflicts.

Memories...

2010-11-11T09:22:00.003+08:00

I'm not looking forward to Christmas this year. At first I was excited cause I can get to celebrate Xmas with "someone" this year. But after I found out my departure date to my holiday is on Xmas Day itself plus he will be overseas till end Dec, my hopes were dashed. But this year definitely will not be a good Christmas for me as I am again left to celebrate Xmas without that someone beside me even if he were still be in Singapore. I just initiated to break up last Sat and it's not because I do not love him anymore. It's just that he doesn't give me the feeling that he loves me anymore. He's been constantly pushing away or finding excuses to meet me on Deepavali holiday. Even after he has promised to go watch movie and fulfil my wish of going with him to see i Light at Marina Bay which was ending last Sunday, he told me he is having fever the night before. I was looking forward to finally go out with him on date after so long. Since 15-Aug till today, we haven't been going out town. I was utterly disappointed at him finding excuses again. He hasn't apologised or text me the whole Friday to say he was still not well to go out with me. He doesn't even spare of thought of my feelings. I guess this is the only time I can say farewell to this relationship. This isn't the first time he's given me such excuses. If he really loves me or am serious with me, no matter what, whether he is sick or not, he will want to see his gf badly. But yet, I am not getting that from him. Before he went UK, he can travel all the way to Jurong at nite on a weekday to surprise me at my door to say he missed me so he came all the way, but after his mum passed away, things changed. I just text him on Sat to ask if he was going to church as mentioned by himself on Thursday, he said "See how 1st, I am still not well". I said I will go to his house to see him on Sunday after church, he says no need, he need to rest, he is stressed. I said I have things to discuss with him. I wanted to meet him face-to-face and talk about us and perhaps may end up me breaking up with him too eventually. He asked me discuss what and I said, meet then you'll know. And he just text me, "In that case, I do not want to see you." I sms and say, "Ok fine. Let's break up." And I haven't heard from him since. I do not know whether he accepted my suggestion or was he once again giving ourselves some time to cool down and think about it so he's not replying anything. No matter what I text him to ask him for an answer or whether he accepted it with silence means consent to my suggestion or he just wants time for himself before he decides but yet there is no reply. I just can't think that he will not want to know the reason of my decision like that.

Anyway, I told myself to give a week before I officially pronounce that we're through. Saturday my status on Sat will change back to single but I haven't told my family yet. Intend to break the news to them on Sat / Sunday. I will have to bear all the questioning and answering from friends and family. Just to see if he eventually will reply to me or not. But on Tuesday I sort of knew that no matter I give one week or 1 month, he may not reply me period. I just hope he can deal with this more like adults instead of ending it this way. That really shows that he doesn't care about me anything so I shouldn't hope that he will still contact me even after some time. Do not ask me why I did that decision or not. I just believe that he is probably not serious in me anymore and that I definitely should move on and find someone better. I am strong dun worry. I haven't shed a tear yet and it's not that I don't love him. It's just that I do not have an answer from me whether he accepts the breakup or not but I definitely have to move on since I am not getting any reply from him. It's sad that my relationship is short but yet I learn a lot from this relationship. How to love someone and the happy times and sad times of being in love. At least I have experienced being in love though it's painful at times but there are happy moments too...

Back to Normal

2010-10-19T09:23:00.000+08:00

After a week long of argument and misunderstanding, my bf and I are okay now. We hasn't talked much about the problem but I was just thinking of the wrong thing and wronged him. So at least the misunderstanding and everything is cleared. I'm glad that he have never thought of giving up this relationship, he was just trying to give me time to cool off and not mention about it. He actually text me on Wednesday asking where I was and all but I was on leave and out the whole day with my mum and sister celebrating my mum's birthday. But we hasn't meet up or talked over the phone except last night. He finally called me and we chatted a while. We're meeting up for dinner today. Hopefully he can give me some answers not on the issues but things I need reassurance on. He told me yesterday that his Nigeria trip is postponed till 2nd Dec and will be shorter - 2 weeks. Hopefully he comes back on 16th to be able to attend my Xmas celebration with my family on 18th Dec for a time of BBQ and presents opening.

I went for the CSI Exhibition Official Launch at Science Centre yesterday and some celebrities were there. Dai Yang Tian, Alern Tern, Priscilla Chan (she's pretty), Jade Seah and Ben Yeo and the newbie Star Search guy (forgot his name but he acted as a baddie in his first Ch 8 drama). Good thing I got my sis and brother-in-law and cousin and her bf along otherwise I will be alone for the exhibition. Everyone seemed to be very well-dressed. My cousin seemed to enjoy the exhibition the most. I knew she'll like it cause she's studying Chemical Engineering. But it was an experience though the case we got was not interesting and fun compared to the other two cases.

Is this gonna be the end of a Happy Ending?

2010-10-12T09:24:00.001+08:00

It's the fourth day since he last spoke or text me like normal. He's been ignoring my calls, sms-es, MSN. He immediately logs off MSN when I left him messages online. His recent text to me was one reply like "I dun feel like talking" or "I have no mood to talk" was his last message to me yesterday. He ignores me completely and gives me the silent treatment. But our past quarrels, the silent treatment he gave me has never lasted more than a day. I did asked him if this was his intention of wanting me to give up and break up with him. I just needed an answer from him a Yes or No but there was no reply. I do not know what is his thinking now and whether he still wants to carry on this relationship with me. He shuts me off completely and sentence me to life imprisonment without a trial. I just wanted to talk with him but he just don't have the mood. My last text to him was me letting him be alone for few days and when he's had the mood to talk, then text me. I don't know how long it'd take him to contact me. But I probably use the time till before he flys off to Nigeria, if he doesn't contact me till then, I'll just have to accept the fact of silent breakup. But I hate this scenario as the reason of breakup is really unknown to me and unreasonable and irresponsible. But what else can I do, I'll just have to keep from my family in the meantime that he's busy for me if they asked why I haven't been meeting him lately. I will have to tell them the truth once I have come to a decision. I do hope he will not delay this for too long and be fair to me. I do not wish the worst scenario to happen. I would rather he meet with me and talk it with me. I seriously do not know what he's thinking right now, whether he wants to end this relationship or not. I just have to give him time. I'm sad that all my relationships never lasted for more than a year. I always fall for guys that have lots of friends and have girls that can easily attracted by their looks. I do love him and I do not know how long I will take to love another person again.

Rantings...

2010-09-20T20:07:00.001+08:00

I would say my relationship lately has not been very smooth sailing. We had disagreements and misunderstandings but we eventually patched it up rather quickly. Most of the disagreements was his time spent with me was little. It is as little as we only get to meet like once a week. He always ends up working then got very tired the day itself or lasted the next day where he don't even feel like going out of the house. Otherwise he will be busy doing his mum's stuffs. I can't believe much things there are to do for a Chinese afterdeath process. It's gonna last for the next 100 days I think. He already has so little time spent for himself due to work is draining all his time, energy and strength; yet he is not making the effort to meet me. I don't care where we go or what we do as long as I get to meet him and spend time with him, even staying at home renting DVDs to watch is fine. But we're not even doing that yet though we mentioned many times. We even mentioned cooking instead of going out to eat. He doesn't have the proper cooking utensils at home so the only best way is to do it at my house. But my parents or at least my dad is always at home. Besides, he haven't even stepped into my house ever since he came back from UK in July. At first, my parents felt that he shouldn't enter our house so quickly just after his mum passsed away. He had thought this was an obstacle but it's been more than a month now, they don't mind by now. But I haven't met him in a week now. The last time I met him was last Tuesday and we went for dinner and movie. He was so grudgy towards the end of the movie cause it was late by the time he get back. I am trying not to complain so much now after last Sunday's quarrel. I just have to bear with all this. Even my sis says that he chooses to work. He was working on Sunday yesterday and I'm still waiting for him to initiate meeting up with me sometime soon. He works every weekend now except last Sat where he was badly ill and I didn't even get to see him. I need to seek his permission in order to visit him at his house at least which I didn't even say he must fetch me back. He falls ill easily these days all because he works too much. We haven't even spoke on the phone for two days as he's been working during the weekends where he just sleeps all the way till the next morning when he reaches home at 6pm or before. I wanted to say sarcastically (using sms-es) that I thought my bf was dead in his house but I didn't say in the end. I am trying to be understanding towards his work and job that he will want me to have a good life in future but if we're not even spending time together now, what will our future be like? This is supposed to be our sweet honeymoon dating period but I can't even remember how much time we actually spend together. I mark on my dairy how many times we meet in a month and i think 3-4 times a month only. That is how bad it is. Sometimes I wonder if he really does need a gf or all he needs is just his work and think of his future plans. I want to care for him but he is not giving me this chance. Anyone who is reading my blog, just read it and keep it in your heart. Don't tell anyone about this as I'm just trying to pour out all these thoughts and feelings to someone. don't even bring it up and mention to me that you have read it.

I even think that what difference will it make when I get so upset about not spending my first Xmas with him this year and he acts so nonchalant about it. I haven't even brought up the issue on inviting him over for early Xmas celebration with my family. I'll be at the airport during Xmas waiting to depart for Haerbin for our annual post-Xmas end of the year family holiday. I don't even know whether he will come to see me off then. I'll be gone to Msia for few days with my family as usual during CNY too where next year I am supposed to be not alone this time. But it seems that I don't have a choice of saying I don't want to go. To him, I guess life still goes on for him and he probably enjoys the time I am not around. No point thinking about it now. I'll just see how it goes and his reaction and all. I just hope that he won't be hoping one week before Xmas at least so he will be able to not feel tired and join my family for Xmas BBQ as this year, I finally get to bring a companion after so many years...In fact, I never brought any bfs home before so I hope he'll be the first and last...

Rantings...

2010-08-27T09:55:00.003+08:00

When was the last time I get to meet him on a Saturday and spend together our Saturday? Let me try to recall, the last time was the time he just returned to SG from UK which was 17th July till today. Since then he has been working on Saturdays all the way. This week wasn't different either. We only get to meet up either once or twice a week. We are both staying quite far at both ends of Singapore - almost! I do not mind meeting him after his work on Saturday but his work in shipyard is draining all her energy away. He gets so tired that even talking on the phone is tiring for him. He was complaining and telling me that how he wished he can just go overseas at one time and then see money coming in when he's back rather than staying in SG. He had to go Tuas everyday to Keppel Shipyard as there is a project there that needs to rush and meet the dateline for programming. He had to climb up this huge ship and tall ladder and walk up under the hot sun in his heavy orange broiler suit, safety boots and helmet. His work is currently draining all his time and energy from spending time with me. Sometimes I wish he stays near west side so he wont have to travel such a long way to work and home. If he stays near me, at least we can get to meet up once in a while rather than once or twice a week which is usually Fridays or Sundays. Today could be a good time to meet, but he has made appointment to meet his poly friend who is going to get married next month and his best friend whom I met before. So we treasure every time we can spend together. This Sunday I have to leave him alone at 3pm to join my family a high-tea buffet at Goodwood Park Hotel...For now, I just hope that he will be able to spend time with me for next month's public holiday though he's still thinking of attending his poly friend's wedding dinner or not. As his mum just passed away recently so he felt it may not be nice though he's not superstitious. My church YA group is having a BBQ in church and invited me along with him. I'm thinking of going either with him or without (if he's gonna attend the wedding dinner anyway). Sometimes I wonder what is the level of importance I place in his heart...

My deepest condolences...

2010-08-03T21:56:00.004+08:00

I was with Andre earlier at 5.30pm at his house. I went to his house to visit him after my meeting at Sentosa as he fell from his bike yesterday while thinking of his mum. He was not concentrating when he ran over several big tree branches while making a turn. His right knee was scratched and his two palms had to be bandaged. I wasn't able to see or talk to him yesterday cause he says he cannot hold the phone properly and he had to get his flatmate to help him with the dressing. I was angry and upset and so worried for him yesterday cause he did not explain it to me clearly how badly injured he was and refused to call and chat with me. I even offered to take half day leave today to accompany him to the doctor to change his dressing and he said he didn't wanted to waste my leave so I was mad at him and refused to talk to him then. Here I am trying to show to him I am very worried for him and trying to show my concern, and he is telling me how he hoped the friend at home now is me and being not appreciative. That's why I was angry with him.

Anyway I met up with him and he apologised to me for yesterday. At 6pm, his dad came home and received a phone call from his daughter in hospital saying Andre's mum is dying, there's no heartbeat. We rushed down to SGH. I told Andre to just park in SGH and I'll walk out to MRT station myself. I wished I can be there to accompany him but I guessed I gave his family and him time for themselves with her will be better. While on the way to hospital, Andre turned around and said to me, "At least she's not in pain now." I got so emotional which I did not expected, my tears just fell and rolled down my cheeks and I think he didn't know that I was tearing. I felt for him as he seemed not sad from his looks but I just felt his heart is somehow sad in a way. He text me at 6+ saying his mum passed away and at least he was able to see her breathed her last. He is still at the hospital with his mum's body still lying inside the room in the allocated area. I told my parents about everything and they contributed some condolences money to me to hand it to him at the funeral. He just told me that he will let me know when is the best time to go there pay my respects as his relatives will be there and he did not want me to see / meet them at all. He has his qualms and reasons for doing it. I just have to listen as this isn't the right time to make him upset. We were supposed to go out cycling on national Day and then see fireworks at night but I guess at this time, that won't happen. I just have to give him time to get over his mum's death. At least in a way, his sister's and his worry for finances are gone and he have less worry especially with a job like that, he will tend to worry if he has to often fly overseas for work. I just hope that his dad's relationship with him will be better and he can perhaps move back home again. I do not know how to console him, but I hope to be there for him when he needs me. But he says at this time for his mum's funeral, he need not have me there as he will be seeing lots of people which he doesn't wants to meet and me to meet. He will need some time to be alone these few days I guess. It is good that his mum has accepted Christ few years ago, but his dad and sis had some argument on what kind of funeral service they should take up (sister is Christian, same as Andre, his dad merely follows his wife to church but she was a Buddhist before) so eventually they are going for Buddhist service. Andre did not want to have a part in this argument but I thought it should be of what his mum's wish and belief is - Christian. But I do not want to say too much so if he isn't gonna voice out to them, what can I say...

Although I did not get to know his mum well, I have visited her at the hospital twice which the recent visit on Sunday, she may not even know that I was there. She was so weak both times so she cannot even hear or speak. It's a pity that I did not have a chance to be formally introduced to her or get to know her better when she was more sober.

Dreams...

2010-07-30T20:44:00.000+08:00

I have lots of things I will wanna do and go to after I have a boyfriend and this was what I have been thinking of for the past 5 years of my single life. Now that I have a boyfriend and he is back from UK which I thought all his time should be for me, but I guess I was wrong. Besides the times when he had to work on weekends, his time left was for sleep and then now his mum. Everytime once his mum is sick and hospitalised, he will be there in hospital with her, worrying for her and feel very stressed at his mum's condition and how his family is taking it. So when that happens these days now, his mind will be all for his mum and don't even have time for me at all. Last weekend, he was working on Saturday and Sunday, he wasn't feeling well so he missed church. And because we were staying so far ends of Singapore, I couldn't even go and see how he was and he went to the hospital to visit his mum. I did not see him for exactly a week now except yesterday which he just came over to church to pick me up and drive me home and then he left after seeing me at my doorstep. I was even willing to drop by the hospital after work to visit his mum but my main intention was to accompany him and see him as probably our only time spent together can be anywhere including hospital but he did not want me there as the thought that he needed to ride me back, he felt tired and sick of it as he always needed to ride all the way back to Tampines. He told me distance is a problem to him as he will rather have me stay with him so he can at least see me everyday or drive me to the same place he is at but we both know this is impossible for my parents to agree on that. I even told him that it is okay for me that I go home myself so he need not send me home everytime but he don't feel safe letting me go home alone. I told him we can just meet up halfway everytime then like straight in town and he says probably that might work. I do think it is troublesome but if I really do want to see him, what is this hassle? Whereas for him, he finds it a hassle now. To think he even work in Jurong East for 6 months previously and yet he finds it a hassle to fetch or pick up his gf who lives in Jurong. I want to meet him I can't cause he can't meet me for some reasons like he feels tired so he needs to rest or his mum is hospitalised but when he wants to meet me, I have to be free for him? Well, it takes two hands to clap. I'm usually the one who always arranges to meet. Before he went to UK, these problems have never occur. And even whilst him being away, long-distance have never been a problem for us as we still manage to see and chat with each other over Skype Video Call. I don't see this as us quarrelling but this is really just his side of disagreement. He was even supposed to treat my family to dinner to bond with my family next Sunday, but it seems like his mum has affected him mentally, physically and financially which I think the meal should not be carried on. He never reads my Facebook or blog lately anyway compared to the times before he went to UK. I am just trying to voice out my comments here as no one really reads my blog lately though I'm used to update it more frequently now after I'm in this relationship. I still hope that he will have a chance to read it...

Angie & Xiang’s Wedding 18-July-10

2010-07-21T15:14:00.002+08:00

Sunday I woke up at 6am to get ready to head down my cousin’s house at Tampines for the gatecrashing party. 18th July is the day where my cousin is holding her traditional official wedding after the 3 years of wedding solemnization. We are supposed to join in the gatecrashing party at 8+. My aunt came to pick us all up (cousins and my sister). When we reached the bride’s house, she was already doing on her make-up and we heard what her sister (bridesmaid who is also my cousin) is going to do for the gatecrashing party later. There will be apples with wasabi, “mocktail drink”, special drink and other obstacle courses.

The two bridesmaids…On the left is the bride’s sister and the other is the groom’s sister…

The bride who is my maternal cousin, Angie…

Putting on shimmer and jewellery…

The youngest brother and sister of the bride…

The brother went to join forces with the groom as brothers for the gatecrashing party…

While waiting for the arrival of the groom, we went on to take turns to take photos with the bride.

The cousins of the bride…There are two pairs of sisters here…

The aunts of the bride…

Parents putting on the veil for their daughter…

The happy bride, Angie…

The gatecrashing party begins…

The groom was made to wear a super huge heart-shaped glasses and to hand us the red packet…

and was made to put on red lipstick…

The last obstacle was to write a contract for a pardon for one mistake Angie does with no time limit and no extended warranty and sealed with a lipstick mark…

Then the groom entered the house after giving a reasonable amount of red packet and finished the 8 obstacle courses. Then the bride left with the groom to her mother-in-law’s house in Pasir Ris. We had our early lunch buffet while waiting for them to come back for the tea ceremony. We ended up logging on Skype to chat on video with my aunt from Melbourne. She was so happy that she can witness the tea ceremony with her family even though she’s not in Singapore. It will be a livefeed event. We will switch on the video cam on Skype for her kids to witness traditional Chinese wedding. The bride and groom returned at around 11.30am for the tea ceremony. I will not upload the photos there…Those who want to see can go to my Facebook here to view the full album photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=243146&id=652816202&l=549861d7df

My family with the bride and groom…

We headed home and after shower, I merely took a 15 mins nap before I got ready to change to my dinner dress and headed to Jurong Point for my free makeover session at Citibella at 3pm. Everyone looked at me when I walked along Jurong Point in this outfit. The makeup artist in the end gave me this Avril Lavigne make up and decided to leave my hair as it is cause she didn’t know what to do with my hair as it’s too soft to tie up or short to perm it. I headed home after the makeover since its still early. We reached M Hotel at 6.35pm and we went up to the bridal suite room and it’s huge and nice.

My sister on the left and cousin on the right…My sister was dressed like those Hollywood gala premiere night. She says she will still keep this dress and wear it for my wedding day. Even my boyfriend thinks she looks good that night. Of course I look good too…Hehe

My whole family…

We are all dressed in black cause the theme is black or red so there are bird cages around in the décor too…

My mum and two aunties…

My sister and bro-in-law…

I was waiting for Andre to come and he’s late. A lot of people have already gone inside the ballroom and my sister, bro-in-law, receptionists and myself with a few guests who just arrived were still outside the area…

Andre and me…we looked good together…Too bad he was late, otherwise I would have taken more photos with him…

The stage setup…

The bride and groom parades in with the wedding anthem…

The two VIP tables had such décor and the two tables were the only tables which had waiters serving each plate per pax…

The champagne pouring…

And then we all say Yum Seng…

After the table toast, the bride and groom came over to each table and took a group photo together…

We were all not looking at the camera as we were all looking at the official photographer. These photos were taken by my dad…

Back in SG

2010-07-16T10:06:00.001+08:00

Andre came to pick me up yesterday after my chorale practice in church and he was chatting with my bro-in-law who was also waiting to pick my sister up. We went home and my mum chatted with Andre while I was changing in the room. He got me a red LongChamp handbag from Paris.

See it can be packed and folded in this way. When he presented me the bag, I had thought this was the size of the bag he got me and I was thinking, what can I put in this small bag. Then he opened it and it was the first photo on top. He says the bigger bag is not as nice and tend to sag down if lots are things are inside the bag so he thought the smaller one is cuter. And he threw away the paperbag. I told him how come he helped friend buy LV bags the paperbag is kept but mine not. Anyway he says the paperbag isn't nice (just white with the words there). So I forget it since he also have to threw away some old clothes due to oversized baggage....

Now that he's back, we will need to spend time together. Mum was asking me yesterday if I'll be eating today, and I told her "Of course now, I've been eating at home everyday for 5 weeks. Now that he's back, of course not." My mum was smiling when I said that, guess she already knew my answer and she's just trying to ask to see my reaction. We'll be going to the Night Festival 2010 tonight...

Angry, Frustrated and Disappointed

2010-07-14T21:33:00.003+08:00

Andre is back but I was expecting him to come find me after he's settled his things with boss as he promised before but in the end, his boss called some colleagues over to his house and invited him to stay on for dinner. So he decided to go home and wash all his clothes and wont be coming to my house today. I'm disappointed that I couldn't see him today and I'll be having choir practice in church so he says he'll come pick me up from church after my practice tomorrow. Besides happy to know that he is back but disappointed that I can't get to see him today, I am angry and frustrated that all my C: data are wiped out completely. I had really reformatted it but I thought I had stopped it immediately after realising it is actually formatting, all my data are already gone. All my music are all in it from the time I got this new computer till today so that is the thing I am upset about. i have to look and redownload the songs again. My photos are also gone. Fortunately, I did not delete the photos from my memory card yet so Andre's photos with me are still retrievable. My only hope now is the old hard disk I transferred previously from my old computer is lost. My dad has forgotten where he placed it. I have more songs in there previously, my photos, documents, apps, etc. So I just hope my dad is able to find the two hard disks in his office tomorrow. My computer is now at my dad's frd's computer clinic and he installed back the Windows 7 for me. I can't imagine I have to redownload MSN and iTunes and retrieve all my old emails (provided I can get back my old hard disk back 1st then my data will be in it). I've had that old PC since poly days so a lot of important things are in there. Hopefully, now that Andre is back, he will be able to cheer me up...This situation is worst than having my iPhone data swiped out previously. My MSN past history conversations with Andre are gone which is worst than iPhone messages...MSN messages conversations are more important cause that is how we knew eacch other previously....Sigh...

Mixed feelings...

2010-07-12T21:19:00.003+08:00

I am excited that Andre is coming back from UK on Wednesday evening but yet I am worried about my computer. My computer hanged last night after I installed a paid game online so I had to shut off the system by force and then I faced problems entering Windows 7. I just hope that I need not reformat my hard disk as I just bought this PC like less than 4 months and my dad's friend said he may be able to get back my bootmgr file as it says it's missing that is why it doesn't allow me to start up the Windows 7. So I need to spend money to let the my dad's friend help me service the computer. The HP Technical Support team line was busy. I was on hold for 15 mins then I decided to just let my dad's friend help me. I do not want to have my hard disk being corrupted or crashed that I have to reformat it. My old computer files were already been transferred to this new computer and I have already downloaded quite a lot of apps, music, photos in the new computer so I hope this computer wont disappoint me so fast in less than 2 years.

Andre is in Paris now so I'm looking forward to his return on Wednesday. I do not know what time he'll be coming over to my house after he's back at his boss's house. But I definitely will be waiting for him at home. We will need some time together after not catching up for some time. At least he'll be resting on Thursday from major jetlag but I'll be in chorale practice so don't know if I'll be able to meet up with him. If he's able to pick me up from church or meet me for dinner is also fine. I miss him a lot especially when we did not talk or see each other online. He managed to come online on Thursday to tell me he's going Paris on Friday and he'll be having dinner with his colleagues. That's why his friends weren't around in the inn. I miss him a lot....

Missing someone...

2010-07-04T19:57:00.004+08:00

It's been 5 days since I last managed to speak with Andre on Skype. The last conversation was on 29th June and I only managed to speak with him on ebuddy a while on Thursday night. His two friends came over to join him in Poole on 30th June so he's been really busy bringing them around. He only log on a while on Thursday to tell me his friends were using his laptop so he's using ebuddy on his phone to chat a while with me. Just to inform me that he's been busy since his friends came over cause they wanted to go to many places. Some places which he haven't been to either. He's in London over the weekend so I did not managed to speak to him at all. His guy friend always bunk in with him so it's really inconvenient for him to log on to chat with me nesides he always gotta go back after work to bring them out for dinner.

It's good that he finally don't feel bored or lonely over there now that his friends are there to keep him company but it seems like he is the one keeping them company. But now that he don't feel lonely or bored there, it's my turn to feel lonely here in Singapore. Especially the past two days when I don't have plans with friends but just to stay at home. Weekends used to be days where I always look forward to staying at home just to chat with him longer online almost half the day but the past two days of weekend have been miserable for me. I used to easily entertain myself with watching shows and all even now I still do but I feel a tinge of it's like going back to my old life of singlehood when he's away and I dun get to see or chat with him. I start to know and feel what missing someone is all about. This is the beginning of him going away, there may be more trips to come but I just don't like the feeling of losing contact with him even when he's away. It seems like he's enjoying himself over there and forgotten about this gf here in Singapore waiting for him. Maybe while he's enjoying his time in London or Paris, he don't miss me at all. I guess I will not get a chance to talk to him again online until he returns back on 14th July. By the time he comes to me on that night, it may be around 9+ to 10pm cause he doesn't want me at the airport cause his boss is picking him up. How I wish he can be like the other boyfriends who wish that their girlfriends will just go to airport to pick them up be it a surprise or something. But I know if I ever did that, he may not be happy that I didn't listened to him. I will respect his decision anyway since that is what he wants. But for me, if I were to go away for holiday or for work, I will want my boyfriend to come see me off, at least it shows that he cares and misses me.

Dinner@My Secret Garden

2010-06-22T20:43:00.004+08:00

My Secret Garden
Address: 161 Middle Road, Sculpture Square Singapore 188978
Price Range: $20-$50 per pax
Type of Food: Western with nice ambience

There's a 1-For-1 promotion at My Secret Garden which I went there with my bestie, Mingli last two Saturdays ago while my dear is away. Went there in 2007 to throw my sister's Hen's Night Party celebration and at that time, another table was also having their Hen's Night Party just next to us. The Beef Tenderloin and Roasted Rack of Lamb is a Must-try. Just to share some photos we took at My Secret Garden on that night...

The exterior courtyard of the restaurant...

A lot of wedding solemnisation and ceremonies are held at this place...

Sparkling Wine with Lychee....Very strong alcohol taste actually...

That's the Lychee Martini and Roasted Rack of Lamb

Beef Tenderloin...

Read this here:
My Secret Garden is pleased to extend our offer of a 1-for-1 dining deal for this Month of June 2010. This is a great time to try out our signature items like Roasted Rack of Lamb, Wild Alaskan Black Cod, Beef Tenderloin and many others, terms and conditions applies.

The followings are My Secret Garden's operating hours :-
Mondays – Fridays : Lunch 12pm - 2.30pm
Mondays – Saturdays : Dinner 6pm onwards
Saturdays : Close for Lunch
Sundays : Close whole day

All you have a do is :
- Call 6334-8334 & quote "Secret Promo" for reservations, subject to confirmation
- To redeem this "Secret Promo"offer, please hand a printed copy of the image below w your name/email address/mobile tel
- This offer is good for up to 6 persons per reservation & redemption
- This offer ends Sat June 26th.

For more information log on to our website at http://www.mysg.com.sg/

Reviews:
Beef Tenderloin - 4/5 stars (Tender meat but too little)
Roasted Rack of Lamb - 4/5 stars (3 pieces of lamb rack but for those who appreciates eating the fats)
Drinks - 5/5 stars (there's more alcohol in it than the syrup blended in it, so definitely worth the money)

2nd week...

2010-06-17T21:55:00.003+08:00

It's almost coming to the end of the 2nd week since he left for UK. There is still 3 more weeks and 5 more days to go. I managed to chat with him online every night without fail. I got myself a 5MP webcam during the PC show on Sunday for $28 from Prolink. The camera has been quite good and useful so far. And we have been chatting online on weekdays daily around 12am onwards till around 1am or before usually. I'm still waiting for him to send me more photos he took but he kept insisting to show me when he's back cause he says he's lazy to upload all.

I liked this photo of him so far out of the 3 photos he sent me with him pose in it...Maybe he looks better in side profile...Haha

Anyway, putting him aside, I also have been busy at work this whole week. Besides, preparing the Operations Manual for recent completed HDB Gallery which is to be submitted next Tuesday, There is another new project coming in Sentosa. Actually it's two projects concurrently, one is the Sentosa Visitor Centre and the other which I just attended two days of long 3 hours meeting is iFly Singapore at Siloso Beach. Hopefully, when this project ends, we will get to try out this world largest simulator skydiving experience. I'm gonna be busy at Sentosa assisting / coordinating in these two projects.

3rd day being apart

2010-06-08T09:16:00.004+08:00

We managed to chat online on MSN on Sunday almost the whole late afternoon till past midnight and he managed to send me some photos he took in Poole the 1st day he reached UK. Then I found out that he's actually reaching Singapore on 14th July and not 13th July. He made a mistake about the date of arrival as he's only returning to UK from Paris on 13th JUly so he will take the late flight in UK on 13th then reach SG on 14th July evening time.

I couldn't really sleep well last night, think I missed him. Though I received his call at 7.45pm SG time but I was surprised he'll call me but we only managed to chat for around 3 mins. I only managed to sleep past 1am last night. While I lie on bed at 1am, I switched on eBuddy on my iPhone to see if he has happened to left any messages on MSN but I saw him online but on Away status. It was 4pm there when he left me the message but he's out if he's on Away status. I left my eBuddy online till late 1am thinking he may come back to his room anytime and saw my message. But it kept disrupting my sleep to check my phone time to time so I switched it off. Think the next time we'll be able to chat online same time will have to be during the weekends. If he's on course, he cant log on MSN. So I can only wait till weekends. I just hope he could make the effort to drop me an email at the end of the day daily otherwise few days once just to let me know how he's doing there and interesting things happened.

Away for 5 weeks...

2010-06-05T23:05:00.003+08:00

He's just called me while he's on the plane. I'm not gonna see him for 5 weeks from now. Dunno how I will survive through this 5 weeks but I just have to remember him from looking through our photos we have took for the past 1 month. I'm gonna miss him a lot and this is only the beginning. There will be more to come. Today is the first time he's given me a call for so many times but our conversations were short. We used to have long conversations like more than an hour plus in our beginning stage and I missed that a lot. Now I can't even hear his voice for 5 weeks. I wont feel sad cause this is the beginning as there will be more of such trips to come but hopefully it may not be that long. Hopefully, June will quickly pass as July will be a more busy period for me. Think during work, if I got nothin to do, that's where I'll miss him a lot cause he used to be able to chat on MSN online with me but now we're 7 hours apart. It's hard for us to meet up same time online and actually chat. We can only see random messages left on MSN when he's online or when I am and I hope to see more emails with photos of how he's doing over there. I will also try to update my blog more often so he will be able to read and know how I'm doing over here...

We just celebrated our 1st month anniversary yesterday but we did not managed to spend much time outside and thus we did not manage to take any photos yesterday. I gave him our 1st month anniversary gift to him - a wallet. So for now, I'll just upload the two photos we had took from Sunday after watching movie at The Cathay to make up as the 1st month anniversary photos...

Prince of Persia

2010-05-30T21:26:00.004+08:00

Synopsis:
From the team that brought the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy to the big screen, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia and based on the video game of the same name. A rogue Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

Reviews:

I did not play the game but for sure usually people prefers the actual game instead of the live-action adaptation. It usually has bad critics but for this movie, I would say it's good. The action scenes were exciting and breathtaking. Reviews on Yahoo based on one reviewer had negative comments for it but GV has good reviews for it. Sometimes, reviews can't be trusted and should watch it for once. If you have time to choose between Sex and the City 2 and Prince of Persia, I would say go for this as Sex and the City 2 is more for people who go after the series previously and wants to understand ladies more, but if you want to keep your eyes glued to the screen, Prince of Persia will be the choice. The story was not too bad too, keeps you guessing who the real murderer was just to eye for the throne. The costume and make up was great. Especially seeing all the cast (male / female characters had eye liner on their upper and lower eye lids). But Yahoo! Movies did mentioned that Prince of Persia movie is not an exact replica to the storyline and scenes as the game so try not to misunderstand and relate the two together, just to realise some may be disappointed. Overall, I think this movie is better than Robin Hood.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 (The beginning does remind me of Aladdin)
Acting: 9/10
Direction: 8/10
Visuals: 9/10
Overall: 5/5 stars

Our First Disagreement...

2010-05-26T19:01:00.004+08:00

Today I had our first disagreement over MSN in office. And because of what I said, he was affected by it. I'm afraid that our relationship will change or turn sour because of this. I really felt terrible having disagreements and this fear has never happened before. Especially when the disagreement is done over a msn messenger, u can't even tell the tone but he did say he's badly affected by what I said. I had thought we had came to a mutual understanding n goal in life but I guess maybe the idea of him going away soon is somehow affecting him in thinking to spend more time with me. I really do love him but he juz dun felt it from me. (Excuse my SMS method of typing short form cuz I'm typing this in the train ride home). I do not know what I can do to salvage this distance now. His messages seemed a little diff now after our conversation. I really feel terrible abt this. Although he say it'd b like normal n won't talk abt this again but I know it has affected our relationship somehow. Everything will have to see whether we'll b talking over the phone tonight as usual n still meet up tmr as said on Monday night. And he's actually planning to celebrate our 1st month anniversary earlier this Saturday instead of 4th June. So I just hope we'll be back to normal. I am scared of losing him actually...Not sure if he feels the same, I always dun have this confidence in myself and I was so moody on Sunday. Cause he went to meet his frd late at night on Sat and ended up sleeping not more than 5 hrs so he had a bad headache on Sunday. I did told him the truth that I felt so moody and upset with him and all on Sunday and he understood me and we had a long chat once again. On Monday, he surprised me at my doorstep at 8.45pm and brought me out for drinks. I was happy to see him cause we did not really talked much previous 2 days ago so he appeared at my doorstep I was elated and glad that he wanted to see me that much, he travelled all the way from Tampines here. How I wish that can happen again...I really want us to work out well enough that we can plan our future together, but perhaps today I have spoilt the relationship. I just pray that God will help me overcome this and let me get past this hurdle for today and get our relationship back to normal. I'm sorry if I have hurt him or affected him badly but it has affected me too knowing that I have made him disappointed and upset about me...

Cycling Experience

2010-05-17T22:04:00.004+08:00

Today I specially took leave cause Andre was also on leave so we decided to go East Coast Park today and he will teach me how to cycle. After so many years, i've always wanted to learn and have someone who is able to teach me patiently how to cycle. And I finally mastered it today, hopefully I'll be able to maintain that skill too next time as Practice Makes Perfect.

Andre was very patient in teaching me to cycle. Initially it was hard for me to learn, and few times in the beginning I told him I wanted to just give up and let's change and get the two-seater bike to cycle. But he told me not to give up yet as he will treat this as an achievement too to teach me to cycle it by today if possible. After 1 hour of coaching, I finally got the gist and momentum of it and as he lets go, I started to cycle on my own in front and I think I did heard him asking me to stop but I still carried on and when I realised I was about to fall on the right and couldn't control, I tried to brake but it was too far right, it hit the kerb and the bicycle fell sideways on the sand ground. Andre ran towards me and helped me up, he immediately sweep away the sand from my legs and hands and went to McDonald's to wash up. He said he felt so guilty cause he didn't hold on to my bike and he feel pain seeing me fall eventually. I assured him i was alright and it wasnt his fault. I didn't listened to him and stopped in time so I fell then i'll learn. We rested in McDonald's a while before we carried on and I tried learning how to move on on the bike by myself. And I finally mastered it...Then we changed for a two-seater and cycled all the way to Bedok Jetty which is on the far end of ECP.

At Bedok Jetty, while resting, we saw a lot of this jellyfish swimming near the surface of the water...

View from back of Bedok Jetty from where I am...

This photo was taken yesterday, after our lunch at Mos Burger...

Dear, I think you are really patient with me seeing how much I wanted to give up learning cycling but you still encouraged me not to give up. Thanks for teaching me so patiently today and never give me up. Dun say that you're not a patient person I think you are to me. Seeing you being so anxious over my fall and blaming on yourself, I'm really touched. Next time, I'll go ECP with you again and if I cant master roller blading next time, I cycle and you blade...I enjoy doing or learning things with you. I also mentioned before, I dun mind exchanging interests with my bf as long as we both enjoy doing, I believe this is the time spent together. So even if you used to do your fave interests with your friends, I do not mind being and joining your group of friends as long as you want me to participate together and know them better but not soccer (that's guys game)...

A Change in Life...(Part 2)

2010-05-11T22:04:00.001+08:00

Yes he finally said to me how much he wanted me to be his gf and perhaps with the thought of moving to next step of life in future. I was touched at what he said to me last week at this day around this time, we were already holding hands coming back to my doorstep. I can still vividly remember what he said to me. It was really quite romantic in the car hearing him say those sweet things. Truthful words that I believe he took a lot of courage to say it. I dun even know what was the thing that attracted me to him but guess the constant chatting on MSN everyday made me know more about him day by day even when we haven't officially met up. After constant chatting, I realised we have a few common things in our life and how we look at life, even our habits and all are similar. So after meeting up few times till this day when we got together, I realised and starting to believe that my prayers have finally came true. I believe both of us could be brought together by God. Whatever prayer I did prayed and asked God to bless me with came true. I just hope that my instinct wasnt wrong and that he really was someone brought to me from God. A lot of people saw us thinks we really look alike and look compatible. There will be lots of challenge coming ahead of us I believe and one of it will be his new job he took which will make him travel frequently. He's flying off to UK next month on 5th june (which will be 1 day after our 1 mth anniversary) and I know I'll miss him a lot by then. I may have by then already fall in love with him just that he will not know yet. I just hope that my family and all especially my sister will actually approve him as my boyfriend. Though I dun really bother at what she said as long as I'm happy with him, but I still hope for everyone's blessing for me. He will be gone for 5 weeks so he wont be around for our 2nd month. I believe this is a test for both of us. God is testing us to see how much we really love each other and whether being apart this long can make our relationship still stay. I hope he will stay in Singapore as much as he could before he flys off to Brazil. I dunno how long that trip will be, 2 months, 6 months? I just know that this kind of fear and feeling never happened to my past relationship with Luther before. Maybe cause that time I was still merely a moment of infatuation. I'm treasuring every moment I can spend with him now for this 1 month. Though he doesn't want me to see him off on 5 June, I think that bidding farewell sight will be hard for both of us. I dunno how I'll react to seeing someone off and it's someone that I might have love by that time...He just says a lot of such times will usually come so might as well not get use to such times from the start. I am already prepared and ready to show/introduce him to my friends and family. I can proudly tell people that this is my bf but maybe he will only formally bring me to introduce to his friends/family probably after he returns but I can wait for that to come. I just want my family and all to at least acknowledge him as my bf so that they can entrust me to him like how they like and trusted Chris. And every time I chat with him or go out with him after a date I do take down that special date or meaningful things that happened to us on my iphone Calender. Started after we met up but I backtrack entries even way before we met up...

This photo was taken on Friday at West Coast Park. He came to pick me up from church after my YA Bible Study. This may be the only time he is doing this for me cause he wont be around next month to pick me up...Sometimes i wish he doesn't stay that far like my bro-in-law previously then he need not travel all the way from Tampines at times to Jurong to pick me up by bike at times then change to car at Redhill. I'm worried he is tired or will get headache easily.

Taken in Bugis Junction, we must take more photos now so he can bring them over and look at it when he's in UK. A lot of pple saw this photo say we both look alike...Do we?

I think he looks better in real person but still, to me I think he looks good so there will still be more photos to come for this one month...

A change in Life...(Part 1)

2010-05-04T08:42:00.006+08:00

Something big is going to happen in my life which I have not experienced it since 2006. I believe this will be a change in my life. I may not be alone or have to keep finding people to spend my bday with or Public Holidays are always spent with family (parents). My life has been blank for 4 years now. And not sure if my life is gonna change tonight or on Sat. But it should have happened earlier last Sat. I just hope that I can spend more time with him before he leave for UK for more than 1 month for work...I believe a lot of pple like my family, relatives and friends are waiting for me to at least know that I can proudly bring home someone to introduce to them at last...

Shutter Island

2010-04-19T21:21:00.005+08:00

Synopsis:
From Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, "Shutter Island" is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island's fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane. But when he enters the island's hospital, he discovers that the people there are performing experiments that are in direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

Reviews:

The plot wise I would say is really unexpected twist of events. No one will have suspected the ending is not what you have thought it will be.

Based on the bestselling novel of David Lehane, "Shutter Island" takes you on a journey to the world of the insane - the criminally insane, to be exact. At certain scenes in the middle, it really creeps you out. Like it's of a little horror kind of effect. To send shivers up to your spine. It did for me, my heart was beating really fast when that scene (the girl within the corpse suddenly opened her eyes and got up talking to DiCapro) showed up.

This psychological mystery thriller has certain elements that will remind you of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", especially the scene with Emily Mortimer covered in blood with dead children on her feet. Beautifully horrifying, one might say. The cinematography plays a big part in making this otherwise dark thriller into an ominous yet stunning film that you can enjoy.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave an interesting performance that - while at times makes you wonder if you even remembered what accent he has in real life, has shown that he is and will always be an A-lister in Hollywood. On the other hand, you can't criticise Mark Ruffalo's acting as much since his role as Chuck Aule is no more than your average supporting cast, even if the character has more significance by the end of the film. And Ben Kingsley as always, has a presence in him. You can just put him in the corner next to a dustbin, and he will still command the scene.

This movie will definitely keep you think out of the box and guess how the ending is. I would say this month hasn't had really nice decent movies right till this coming new releases. So if you have time for one movie this week, can consider watching Shutter Island. Some may not like the ending but overall for me, I quite enjoyed the movie. Somehow different plot and storyline to Leonardo's usual movies and genre.

Ratings:

Story: 8/10
Acting: 9/10
Direction: 7/10
Visuals: 7/10
Overall: 4/5 stars

Busy week ahead...

2010-04-11T23:14:00.002+08:00

I predict this week will be a busy week for me. On the 15th finally, HDB Gallery is gona open officially. On 16th April, I believe it will be officially opened to public. Don't forget to check out the newspapers, it should have a wide coverage on the event itself. And I'm taking charge of the event. From catering food for the Tea Reception to sourcing of emcee choices to getting the design of the launch gambit and backdrop ready, I oversee it mostly by myself. I had to do the admin programme rundown that day as most of the people in my team are not experienced in events management. I am not either but fortunately I did lent some of my services to few events in the company itself, especially last year's Asian Youth Games Opening Dinner was hosted by Pico so I was involved in getting the event done. I assigned roles to each member who is gonna help out that day at HDB Hub. I was the Programme Manager. I need to cue the emcee when to say, timing to say, etc. and ensure the whole programme runs smoothly. HDB will usually go directly to me for requests or problems for the event.

Well, tomorrow onwards, the stage, backdrop and launch gambit will have to be set up at the HDB Hub. What's more, my face in the end had to pose for a shot at the very last minute and it is right at the door entrance only shown when the gallery is closed after opening hours. But may not be able to notice much. So tomorrow I've got like walkthrough with internal team, HDB's director's. 13th April will be the full dress rehearsal and with the sound team and emcee coming down to walkthrough with the CEO which will also be one of the guests to launch the gambit together with the Guest of Honour. Well, after 15th ends, this will be the end of my project. It has lasted me this project for more than a year and 1 month exactly by then. Really dragging too long...Please do drop by and see this HDB Gallery if you happen to have lunch at HDB Hub during office hours. I'll post photos of the gallery when it's officially open and will then introduce more of this gallery / exhibits. This is my first project and not sure if this is my last project ever in Pico. Well do visit it cause my hard work and endless late nights are spent on this project from last year. 14th April is the only day for me to be back in office and just wait for the big opening day on 15th April...

Turning 27

2010-02-22T20:08:00.003+08:00

I can't believe time really flies so fast and I'm turning 27 in exactly 1 week's time. Sometimes at this stage, when you get past 25, you just felt that having your bithday too early than your other friends of your age may not be a good thing. I left with 3 more years then before I turn 30 and I'm still single and unattached. What is happening to me? Sometimes I feel that perhaps being a Christian is part of a obstacle to me in looking for a relationship. There are a lot of criteria present in Christians that we must marry Christian and even my close friends are all attached now. My non-Christian friends just think I'm being too fussy and high standards when looking for a bf. This was what kept me single for so many years. But the church I come from is a traditional church and the circle of friends I have around my age group are the few whom I grew up together in Sunday School. The rest of them are really Youths or family with children. My friends just think that I'm being choosy and they feel it's hard to actually introduce guys to me maybe because they are either non-Christians or they smoke. I do not know once I reached this age of being 27, should I lower my standards of going for guys who are sincere and as long as they are willing to change or convert it is fine with me. But if I have started a relationship with the person when I was younger, it may be possible. From the start, I have never lower my standards of such but recently, I really thought hard of it. Workplace is a good start, but working in such a environment with staff of so many people and more newbies coming in are getting younger and younger, how will I have a chance of getting to know people. I have been in this company for more than 3 years and seriously I have thought of changing a environment. A small company sometimes could be better. Even if I can lower my standards to know a non-christian / smoker as my bf, I can never get past my family. Perhaps, I was being brainwashed as a Christian since young and my sister is so influential. I do want to grow up but if I dun even have a chance to know more people and that someone who I can spend my life with, I will never know what true love is.

I dun even feel like asking people out this year to celebrate my birthday. Perhaps just hang out with my family and Mingli who is supposed to plan something for me. I'll just wait and see if friends will actually remember my bday and ask me out and at least make me feel that being 27 is not that bad and give me a memorable birthday.

The Gardens

2010-02-15T22:53:00.005+08:00

The Gardens

Venue: 1-Utama (New Wing) LG Level@Msia, KL

Reviews:

I came upon this restaurant in 1-Utama in Petaling Jaya area. The exterior of the restaurant really caught my eye. The decor was filled with fig vine plants. We decided to enter this restaurant and have our late lunch there. The Gardens is the name of the restaurant. I would say the restaurant decor and concept is really nice. Really fits the Garden theme. If a wedding were to be held here will be nice. But as for the food, I wouldn't say it's that nice. The waiters there are all Indians and the restaurant is patronised by mostly youngsters having tea break or lunch there.

After you enter the restaurant, you'll see this huge classic piano greeting you into the restaurant...

The cashier near the entrance and the friendly indian staff greeting each customer. All the staff there were Indians...

They had all these display items fitted for garden decoration and they are for sale...

The whole restaurant including the aisle leading to the entrance (you gotta walk along this aisle and you can find some seats and tables at the side too) had the whole area decorated to fit the whole theme of the restaurant and they were filled with this fig vines with butterflies and flowers on this vine hanging down from the ceiling wall...

My parents chatting with his KL friend...

My mum...

It's so nicely decorated that it can be made as a wedding venue and the bride and groom can make a grand wedding entrance thru this door...

What is nice is their menu...the photos in it looked so tempting and delicious and the design of the menu and layout fits to the whole concept of the theme of Garden idea.

I had initially wanted to order the fruit flavoured tea as the photos in the menu all looked like they have real slices of fruits in the drink (which reminds me of the drinks at Tao's Dining) but they said all the tea were out of stock today. Too bad, I had to go with Iced Honey Lemon...

Cream of Mushroom Soup...I'll give this a 4.5 star rating. (Out of 5 stars)

Chicken Sandwich...Someone ordered this at my table so I just shot the dish

Pineapple Fried Rice....A 2.5 stars (It was cold and the taste is bland, perhaps no lard inside that's why. Anyway it wasn't me who ordered this.)

I had wanted Spaghetti Vongole (which consists of clams in pesto sauce and bacon bits) but they say they ran out of sauce for today so I changed my order to this Aglio Olio (prawns in aglio olio sauce) without chilli flakes. Unfortunately it came with chilli flakes in it, so we requested to change it without chilli. I took this shot with chilli flakes in it...The aglio olio already looks a little watery than the usual aglio olio which was supposed to be dry and just cooked with olive oil. Taste without the chilli was okay I would say. But the colour of the watery substance turned from orange to yellow. Then I realised the yellow liquid like is actually cooking oil. They prob ably cooked it in normal oil instead of olive oil so it was super oily. They seemed to have poured lots of oil in it to cook leaving the excess oil in this look. I diddn't finish the whole plate cause the spaghetti was just too greasy. New York New York taste far better. Rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars

The drinks came and here my iced Honey Lemon beside my iced water...It was too sweet. I had to pour some water into the drink in the end...Rating: 3.5 stars (Could have been better if it weren't too sweet)

Last but not least, finally my dad's order of Nasi Lemak came and he said the rice is cold but the chicken rendang is nice. He will give it a 3.5 stars overall.

If you want to have a place to drink during CNY, it's definitely opened that is provided if you are in KL-Petaling Jaya. For food, perhaps try going for their western food and sandwiches and that is surely to be safe cause I see many other youngsters order these two types...

Ratings:
Restaurant: *****
Food: *** (Try going for western food like sandwiches or fish and chips kind, thumbs up for their soup though, it's the wild mushroom cream soup)
Beverage: **** (Try going for their flavoured fruit tea, maybe it's better or their coffee)
Price: ***** (It's pretty reasonable in ringgit but if you convert it in SGD, it's so much cheaper. You can consider it as dollar-to-dollar. E.g. RM 11.90 = S$5+ whereas in New York New York or a normal cheap western restaurant, a pasta will cost S$12.90 here in SG)

Rantings

2010-01-26T10:23:00.000+08:00

Now that the HDB project is coming to an end, I will be awaiting for my next project that I'll be doing. However, ever since last Wednesday, the boss has spoken to me about putting me to assist Olivia in another project now, I haven't heard from him after that as to when I'll be starting on that project. The project has already started with meeting the client and having presentation and discussion and they have yet to talk to me about it to bringing me in and then introducing to the project team and client. After having the HDB experience in doing content, I believe I'll be able to assist well in the Content Manager and even guide her along as she's still new and she's practically involved in the other 3-4 projects.

Everyday, I come to office, I do not really have anything to do. So surfing net and acting busy and as if I got work to do is like a daily chore for me since last Thursday till now. I dun feel like speaking to anyone to ask them when will I get involved in the next project. Though HDB's official handover and opening is in late March I will then have to finish the operation manuals and hand to the client a complete neat set. That will be a challenge for me as I have to consolidate a huge pile and write some of the explanation in them. I just hope that I can start off early which I have already started.

Yes just got news that I will be starting on a new project soon. We have yet to get that project but most likely will. Hopefully, we'll get it though then I'll be able to work with the same Project Manager again...