 Authors ♥ Luffs Male 08 February 1984 Photography Enthusiast ♥ Lingz Female 27 October 1984 His Creative Assistant   Wishlist MOST WANTED! Lose weight Travel Japan - Hokkaido China - 九寨沟 Thailand - Chiang Mai Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City Iceland Nepal Household Items Microwave Oven Study Chairs Camera / Camera Accessories AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED Gitzo Tripod & Ball Head Gadgets Cravings Dim Sum @ Swee Choon Tim Sum Steak / Chicken @ Hog's Breath Cafe Russian Cuisine @ Shashlik Restaurant Australian Food @ Mad Jack Cafe Breakfast @ Riders Cafe Seen & Heard 2009 Ip Man Ong Bak 2 The Pink Panther 2 Slumdog Millionaire Shinjuku Incident Fast & Furious 4 Angels & Demons Ice Age 3 UP Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2012 Paranormal Activity 2010 Sherlock Holmes Hachiko: A Dog's Story Dear John Ip Man 2 The Karate Kid SALT 2011 Kungfu Panda 2 Horrible Bosses Johnny English Sherlock Holmes : A Game Of Shadows 2012 The Amazing Spiderman Holidays Australia : Perth 14 - 22 March 2009 Taiwan : Taipei & Taichung 14 - 22 September 2009 Europe : Amsterdam, Paris, Switzerland, Italy & Greece 30 April - 20 May 2011 Cambodia : Siem Reap 07 - 13 December 2011 Japan : Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima & Osaka 26 March - 08 April 2012 Conversation Memories Meaningful ~ I Am Back! ♥ 18.10.10 - The Entourage ♥ ♥ 18.10.10 - The Thank You Speech ♥ ♥ 18.10.10 - The Special Performance ♥ ♥ 18.10.10 - The Banquet ♥ ♥ 18.10.10 - The Morning ♥ Congratulations, Linus & Hope! Five ♥ Languages Stay Away From Anger! History January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 October 2011 November 2011 April 2012 July 2012 Friends Flickr (kelvin_luffs) Anne Hwa Seng Jane Jason & Jia Qin Joanne Jocelin Juan Zee Kenix Maggie Jie Pie Ling Qiu Xian Rina Sam Shirley Shu Hui Yvonne Home Trends Apartment Therapy Design Ideas For Your House Home Rejuvenation Latest Trends In Home Appliances Simple Human Blogshops All Things Lovely Almost Famous Ascentee Dressabelle Green Poppies Hollyhoque Intoxiquett Kvetiny Le Flirtini Lily Pirates Loef Love Bonito Megagamie My Glamour Place Ohvola Omocha Land Pearlavish Room 290 Swivelle The Tinsel Rack The Velvet Dolls Thread Theory Others 
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Friday, January 30, 2009 @ 11:43 PM
Good Or Bad News? Luffs and I received an email from HDB this afternoon. The email reads :- Registration Number: 2172336C Your queue number is 03042. Your appointment to select a flat is scheduled on 18 Feb 2009 at 12:15pm. Click here to check the flats available for booking before coming for your appointment. You may also check from Teletext (CNA Pg 601). Please register at Reception Counter B, HDB Hub, with your Identity Card when you come for your appointment. Bring along the Identity Cards of all applicants / occupiers, original October 2008 payslip / income letter, marriage / birth certificate. After selecting a flat, HDB will grant you an Option to Purchase upon payment of the option fee ($1,000/- for 3-room flat or $2,000/- for 4-room and Bigger flat) in Cash, Cheque or through NETS. Please note that your purchase of a flat under the Half-Yearly Sale of 3-room Premium, 4-room and Bigger Flats is subject to your meeting the eligibility conditions under HDB's prevailing policies, rules and regulations. Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you have any queries, please email us at hdbsales@hdb.gov.sg or call our Sales/Resale Customer Service Line at 1800-8663066 during office hours, Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 5.00pm. --------------------------- I had mixed feelings when I saw the email because the units left in this half-yearly sale are only in Bukit Merah, Punggol and Sengkang. Bukit Merah is not one of the areas we are looking at. Punggol would have been our No. 1 choice, but only the low-level units are left. So we are only left with Sengkang: Coral Spring  Coral Spring is located along Sengkang West Avenue and it is near Maggie Jie's future home @ Fernvale Residence. Although we have not decided whether we will go for the selection, Luffs seems quite excited over the whole flat thingy. [Are you?] @ 11:24 AM
The Happier Happy Boy TGIF~ Hooray for the short week and I am so glad it's Friday today! Anyway, someone commented that Happy Boy doesn't seem very happy in the photo I posted in my previous entry (... he was too engrossed with CJ7!), so I got Luffs to send me the photo he took of Happy Boy on Chinese New Year Eve. Here you go! Presenting to you... Isaac a.k.a. Happy Boy  By the way, Isaac is Luffs' 2-year-old nephew! Isn't he cute? Wednesday, January 28, 2009 @ 11:48 PM
Chinese New Year 2009 I am personally not a big fan of CNY and the only thing that I look forward to during this time is the public holidays we get to enjoy (although just 2 days). CNY is just a time of getting tired and growing fat with all the visiting and new year goodies. This is the first year we did not have Grandma with us during this festive season and CNY will never be the same without her. *sob* 27.01.09 (Tuesday) The second day started later for us with only 2-3 houses to visit on my stepdad’s side. I joined Luffs and his family at his 2nd Uncle’s place later in the afternoon. As usual, I was watching TV and munching on the new year goodies while the rest was gambling. The whole group of us then made our way to Luffs’ 1st Uncle’s house for dinner and of course more gambling! I forgot to take photos the whole day! Oh my~ ************************** 26.01.09 (Monday) The first day of CNY is usually spent visiting relatives on my mum’s side - The only difference this year is we did not have to go bai nian with Grandma. We went to a few houses and Luffs joined us half way. Below are some photos we took ourselves (that explains why the photos only show our big heads!) - OPPZ! Maggie Jie and I did not take photos with our parents this year~   The day ended with a dinner at Luffs’ house with his family and relatives. Happy Boy was there and I was watching CJ7 with him, his mummy and Luffs while the rest was gambling.  ************************** 25.01.09 (Sunday) Luffs came over to drive us to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery and Mount Vernon Columbarium and it was almost 1pm when we were done with these two places. Lunch was settled at Casuarina Curry Restaurant (a.k.a. The Prata Shop) - My family frequent that place a lot because it has long been known to serve the best prata in Singapore and Maggie Jie and I love their ikan bilis bee hoon goreng~ After that, the rest of the day was spent at home preparing for the steamboat reunion dinner. I bought Calmex (Mexico) abalone for our reunion dinner this year, but mum decided to use the ones my uncle gave instead - Calmex (Australia) and New Moon (Australia) abalone.  Steamboat reunion dinner always comes with shark’s fin soup prepared by mum! My mother prepares the best steamboat and shark’s fin soup! REALLY~ I am not kidding! Hahaha… Even my cousins also agreed! My uncle and his family joined us for this year’s reunion dinner. (Was too busy drinking the delicious shark's fin soup, so did not take any photo... Below is a photo of the uncooked shark's fin.)    We proceeded to Sinflora to buy CNY flowers after a hearty meal - It is a tradition for my uncle and his family to go there after their reunion dinner every year, but it was my first time there and I was amazed by the many types of flowers they sell. My camera was left at home, so I did not take any photos of the flowers. At about 12 midnight, Luffs and I drove to Johor Bahru to pump petrol and wash the car in preparation for the new year! It was the first time I see the Woodlands Checkpoint, the Causeway and the Malaysian CIQ Complex so empty. It took us only about 1 hour to finish everything and get home. ************************** 24.01.09 (Saturday) I finally got down to watching 10 Promises To My Dog after buying the DVD some months back. Although I am not a dog lover, I was interested to see how a puppy could help a 14-year-old girl cope with her mother's death.  The below 10 points are what the girl's mother told the girl when she wanted to keep the puppy as her pet. " If you want to keep her (the puppy), you must know the '10 promises'.  [1] Listen patiently to what I have to say. [2] Trust me - I am always on your side. [3] Play with me alot. [4] Don't forget that I have feelings too. [5] Let's never fight - Someday I'll win. [6] If I don't obey you, I have a good reason. [7] You have school and friends - I only have you. [8] Stay my best friend even when I'm old. [9] I'll only live for about 10 years, so let's make every moment count, every moment together. [10] Never forget our time together - When my time comes, please be by my side. These are the 10 promises. " This year, Mum invited our relatives over to our house for an early reunion dinner. We ordered buffet because there are simply too many of us to sit around the dining table for steamboat. Just realized I did not take any decent photos that evening other than those of the food.  Neo Garden Catering is the caterer we normally order from, but this time round we tried some other dishes recommended by Elaine. CNY Package C Seafood Yong Chow Fried Rice Pacific Clam with Beancurd Fish with Celery Curry Chicken Cereal Prawn Breaded Scallop & Sotong Yu Tiao Spring Roll & Crab Pincers Yan Paste with Gingko Nut   Mum also pre-ordered 100 pieces of fish otar (70 spicy and 30 non-spicy ones) from this shop at Jalan Kayu - Hiang Soon (Otar) Food Catering, so Luffs drove us there at about 4pm to collect our order. They sell very nice otar at 40 cents per piece.  On top of that, Mummy Doris made abacus seeds to add to the buffet spread! This is an auspicious Hakka dish made out of yam and is not easily available at the food centres in Singapore because it requires a lot of preparation. This dish got its name from the pieces of ring-like yam that look like the beads of an abacus. Other ingredients include minced pork and dried prawns and it is best eaten with freshly-pounded chilli.  Kelvin kor also brought salmon sashimi over - He bought the sashimi from Fassler Gourmet Singapore which sells with over 200 smoked and value added seafood products at cheaper rates. The sashimi got wiped out even before I could take any photo. Hahaha~ The collage below is done using the photos off their website.  Maggie Jie, Luffs and I helped mum clean up the place after everyone has left. Maggie Jie and Luffs scrubbed the corridor and the lift landing while I only help fetch pails of water from the toilet to outside the house (better than not helping I guess). ************************** That’s all folks! That was how I spent my long CNY weekend. Sorry for the long entry… YAWNZ! Monday, January 26, 2009 @ 12:00 AM
Happy 牛 Year! 祝大家在新的一年里 快快乐乐 平平安安 幸福美满 万事如意 心想事成 牛气冲天  Saturday, January 24, 2009 @ 12:00 AM
CNY Is Just 2 Days Away! Things To Say When Lo Hei-ing (8 Days Issue No. 953/4 - Pg 40) Yu Sheng means raw fish, and also “abundance of wealth and long life.”  When the dish is placed on the table, greet guests by saying 恭喜发财 Gong Xi Fa Cai and 万事如意 Wan Shi Ru Yi, which means which means “Wishing all prosperity, and may all your wishes be fulfilled”. Add the raw fish to the platter, and say 年年有余 Nian Nian You Yu and 有余有生 You Yu You Sheng. This means “Wishing you all abundance in the new year”. Gesture towards the fish roe and say 大吉大利 Da Ji Da Li, which means “Wishing all lots of luck and good fortune”, before spreading it over. Point to the shredded carrot and white radish and say 鸿运当头 Hong Yun Dang Tou and 青春美丽 Qing Chun Mei Li. This wishes your guests eternal youth and beauty. Point to the lettuce and cabbage in the platter, and say 风生水起 Feng Sheng Shui Qi and 步步高升 Bu Bu Gao Sheng. This is for prosperity and promotion in business. Add the sesame seeds and peanuts, and say 金银满屋 Jin Yin Man Wu, which literally means gold and silver fill your house. Scatter the crunchy golden crackers and say 遍地黄金 Pian Di Huang Jin, which means that the floor will be filled with gold. Pour the oil and sauce in, circling them over the platter to increase wealth from all directions. Say 一本万利 Yi Ben Wan Li and 财源广进 Cai Yuan Guan Jin. Start tossing! ---------- Ernest Ng Service & Operations Manager @ Xi Yan Note: The ingredients in Yu Sheng differ from platter to platter. Friday, January 23, 2009 @ 6:10 AM
Singapore Budget 2009 Restoring Confidence in the Economy http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/ The annual Government Budget is prepared on a financial year (FY) basis. The FY for the Government runs from 1 April of one year to 31 March of the following year. For example, FY2009 is from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. The Budget serves two purposes :- (i) It serves as a record of the approved levels of expenditure and accountability in the usage of government funds; and (ii) It is also a plan of the estimated government revenue and expenditures for the FY.
(A) Economic Performance & Outlook - Global Crisis & Recession - Economic Situation & Prognosis for Singapore (B) Resilience Package - Keeping Jobs, Building for the Future - Resilience Package: Five components - Emerging Stronger Below is a summary of what I got from the newspaper :- Jobs $5.1 Billion - Up to $300 of workers' monthly wage paid by Government - 90% subsidy on retraining courses for PMETs under Spur - 50% more WIS Special Payment for low-income workers Family $2.6 Billion - 20% personal income tax rebate, capped at $2,000, for YA2009 - 40% property tax rebate for owner-occupied homes - Doubled GST Credits for households - Extra month of S&CC rebates for smaller flats - $10,000 more in Additional CPF Housing Grant Credit $5.8 Billion - Bridging loans of up to $5 million, Government takes on 80% of risk - Government to share risk for trade finance financing (for example, 75% for trade loans) Businesses $2.6 Billion - 1 percentage point cut to corporate tax from YA2010 - 40% tax rebate for industrial, commercial properties - 15% rental rebate from key state landlords - Deferred property tax on land approved for development - $200 million for Test-Bedding Fund, $400 million more for National Research Fund Home $4.4 Billion - $18 billion to $20 billion of infrastructure projects to go ahead - $1.3 billion of projects brought forward to this year - $4 billion to be invested in healthcare infrastructure Wednesday, January 21, 2009 @ 7:12 AM
Disappointment  The long-awaited balloting result for the November 2008 Build-To-Order Exercise that Luffs and I applied for is finally out... As my title has already suggested, only one word can describe my feelings now - DISAPPOINTED! The HDB letter reads : We refer to your application to buy a 4-room flat at Punggol Arcadia in the November 2008 Build-To-Order (BTO) Exercise. We have conducted the computer ballot and your queue position to select a flat is 1,270. As your queue number far exceeds the number of flats on offer, you are unlikely to be invited to select a flat. We will let you know the outcome as the selection exercise progresses. If you have any questions, you may call us at our Sales / Resale Customer Service line at 1800-8663066 on weekdays from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Our Customer Service Officers will be glad to help you. ----------- This is obviously a problem of demand over supply! There are only a total of 465 4-room units and my queue number is almost 3 times of that! Is this a sign to say that we should not be getting a flat now or are we merely not in luck? HELP! Monday, January 19, 2009 @ 11:30 PM
Reunion Dinner @ Chin Lee Restaurant Luffs came to pick me up after work and we went to meet his parents and brother for an early CNY reunion dinner @ Chin Lee Restaurant. Our reservation was at 7pm but Luffs and I got there at 6.30pm and waited for their staff to clear the table before we got seated. The sign at the entrance of the restaurant :  It was a bustling Chinese restaurant in the midst of a quiet neighbourhood (Blk 115 Bedok North Road #01-285) since CNY is round the corner and the whole restaurant was filled with families having reunion dinners! The ambience was noisy but nice because you can sense the HAPPY mood in everyone - Lo hei-ing, toasting and all! The air conditioned interior was simply and nicely done up like any traditional Chinese restaurant and Luffs said he was impressed with their toilet! Hahaha… (”,) Luffs and I were so hungry that we finished the two plates of peanuts even before the rest came. As usual we camwhored at our table when waiting for the dinner to start~ Alamak! Just realised we did not take any group photo!  Luffs & Lingz  The peanuts we finished!  Dinner started soon after Luffs’ parents and brother arrived… Mummy Doris has already pre-ordered 8 dishes (including dessert) when she made the reservation but we added coffee pork ribs because many online reviews recommended that dish. Below is a collage of what we ate… YUMMI! Click on the picture below for a larger view :  Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of the food served and the service rendered by the staff. I would definitely recommend Chin Lee Restaurant to anyone looking for Teochew food, but just remember to make your reservations! Chin Lee Restaurant Blk 115 Bedok North Road #01-285 Singapore 460115 6444 5554 / 6449 5454 Sunday, January 18, 2009 @ 12:00 AM
Happy 29th Monthsary! ♥ It is the 18th of the month again - The first 18th of 2009! 18 January 2009 marks our 29th month together and I shall dedicate this post to my LOVE…  LOVE is ... Luffs + Lingz = Forever ... 18 August 2006. ... being in love with you. ... the faith that kept us binding for the last 29 months and counting. ... accepting me for who I am. ... never giving up on us. ... forgiving my mistakes. ... tolerating my shitty mood swings. ... cheering me up on a bad day. ... the tele-conversations we have every night. ... feeling anxious over me when I am ill. ... wrapping your arms around this crybaby. ... spending long hours at SGH with me because I wanted to be with Grandma. ... being my pillar of support when Grandma passed away on 24 February 2008. ... telepathy. ... contentment as long as you are by my side. ... driving / riding to my place just to see me. ... treating my family like your own. ... making me feel comfortable during your family gatherings. ... chasing the cats away even before I see them. ... carrying your tripod for you when you go for your photo shoots. ... falling asleep on your shoulder when you are driving. ... allowing me to be your speed limiter when you ride. ... listening to my complaints about 怪老头. ... the pledge of love and faith we took on 18 August 2008. ... including me into your future plans. ... announcing to your friends that I am your wife. ... telling me how badly you desire to have Little Luffs and Little Lingz. ... growing old together. Saturday, January 17, 2009 @ 11:29 PM
Merlion Park 18 January: Finally uploaded the photos I took at Merlion Park! Typical tourist shot~  Luffs trying to imitate the merlion! Took me a few shots to get this :  I love this picture!  A photo of Luffs and Lingz~ I love this too! Luffs edited the photo to remove my red eye.  I camwhored while Luffs was setting up his tripod. Look at my blood-shot eye... ARGHHHHH!  ************************** 16.01.09 (Friday) Luffs and I spent 2 hours at Merlion Park after my work so that he can capture some dusk shots! It has always been something that he wanted to do and we finally got down to doing it today. Below is one of the photos Luffs took. We camwhored for awhile while waiting for the sun to set, but I have yet to upload the photos. So, till then...  It was about 8pm when we left for our dinner at Nihon Mura (Revenue House). It has been a long time since we had Japanese food because both of us have decided to keep away from food that is high carbohydrate - like rice and potato. But I had craving for salmon sushi, so Luffs agreed to bring me there. (",) The outlet manager did not allow us to take photos, so no food pictures to post here. SOB! Luffs and I felt so sleepy after dinner and we both agreed that it is the rice from the sushi(s) that is making us so tired! Research has shown that eating food high in carbohydrates, especially four hours before bedtime, could make us sleep quicker. (That explained why I fell asleep in the car when on our way home!) Higher carbohydrates can raise two brain chemicals involved in sleep, tryptophan and serotonin levels, making people sleepier. http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=18421 Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 2:57 PM
Are Humans Creative Creatures? I was and am forever contemplating whether I am or I am not a creative person. Everytime when I yearn to do something that requires creativity, it usually fails. Now, that leaves me to the next question, are humans born with creativity or must it really be cultivated. Unfortunately whenever I try to let those creative juices flow, I reap in only meagre thoughts - May it be creativity in photography, where to have dinner, the nitty gritties and what nots, I seriously find myself lacking in this area. Was it because I'm not exposed enough to the interesting nature, shapes, lights, colours, of our world, that's why I lack creativity? Thinking back, perhaps it is due to my laziness and lacklustre nature in the past that caused the clogging of those juices, hence no creativity! Not everything's a dismay for me. Soon after I began my interest in capturing still images, I thought to myself that hey, photography is a good way of telling a story without physically having to say it (kinda like photojournalist) and it is an excellent way of expressing oneself through the kind of pictures I take. Because of the above reasons, I shall continue creating interesting pictures, details that have possibly missed an eye of the leyman, so one may pause to see that really, the world isn't just a dull revolving planet where everyone live to work, but a planet that encapsulates aplenty of interesting possibilities, shapes, colours, etc. Well, there isn't any real purpose of writing this post, its just that such thoughts leave me to wonder, how Mark Yu (Young Pianist) and Susan Polgar (Chess Grandmaster) were able to possess such talents. Do we humans have such innate talent that is yet to be discovered? Same goes for creativity. Can creativity be cultivated or is it innate? Thanks for reading my post. Let your thoughts run and think about it. I'm sure everyone of us have why(s) and how(s) that need answers. Think! Below is a picture I took. Believe me, nothing is too dull in our world. Cheers!  Tuesday, January 13, 2009 @ 7:38 PM
Luffs' Virgin Post Hello all! This is definitely my virgin post in both mine and Lingz' blog (Hurray!). Well, I don't really have a lot to tell you guys but perhaps I'll just share my most recent occurrences since 01/01/09. 06/01/09. I've always wanted to wake up to catch the sunrise but somehow, I would always be too lazy to pull my big bum off my bed. Well, I finally done it. Damn, it was hard but still I managed to drag myself out of bed at 5.30am, shower and got all prepared to head out to take my first ever sunrise (the sun was supposed to rise at 7.10am that day). Kor Kor Nick was there to accompany me as he was quite interested in the pictures that I took. As we waited and waited by the water-breaker, my first sunrise looked gleem as there was simply just too cloudy. 7am, there was still no sign of a rising sun but the day seems slightly brighter, and at that moment, I felt that well, my first sunrise isn't gonna be what I had expected. 7.10am, brighter but yet, I don't see no sun, disappointment soon sat in. As I was just about to pack up and leave the location about 7.20am, the sun (what I woke up early for) rose at such speed that I scrambled to mount my camera back on my tripod. From then on, my snapping frenzy commenced. It was definitely well worth the effort. Below is the moment captured that very morning.  08/01/09. After taking my exams on 13/12/08, I practically live in jitters all the time as I was afraid that I wouldn't make it for this exam AGAIN! But on this very day, I thought to myself, "haiya, just go into the student portal and have a look". Though it took like about 3-5secs to load into that particular page, I was like crossing my fingers, closed my eyes, kept on repeating "PASS, PASS, PASS, PASS, PASS", afterwhich, I slowly peeked open my eyes and saw (63 / Credit) - I was like WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!! I can finally graduate!!! WOOHOOO!!! And the first person to hear this news from me was none other then my lovely wife Lingz. (Thank you dear for your support all these while!). After 2 years plus of running this rat race, I've finally reached the finishing line. It's a real awesome feeling. 10/01/09. Just a query, what do you call your most loved person? For me, on this very day, I gave my wife this callout name ( 贝 / Bei Baby) and she replied by calling me ( 陈 / Chen Baby). By giving each other calling names, it's really definitely one way to keep a relationship interesting (in my perspective). I love you my 贝 Baby! ************************** Guess that's about all I have to say now. As for what I'm be doing nowadays, other than job search, I virtually spend my time exploring the corners of Singapore, trying to capture things that are uniquely Singapore. On top of that, I also spend some time in the afternoons or night catching HKG Dramas on cable TV. (Haha!) That's all about what I do lately. To sign off, I'll say that photography is a hobby that is able to bring you to places you've never thought about going and to see things you'd never imagine you'd see. Photography brings a sight of creativeness into every little things we see and touch and it definitely bridges any forms of cultural or social gaps. That's all for me. Will try to post again soon. Thanks all for reading! Cheers! @ 1:07 PM
Lunch @ Barnacles & Ong Bak 2 12.01.09 (Monday) - Ong Bak 2 - Having watched both Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, I thought I shouldn’t miss Ong Bak 2 also - Plus Luffs was interested too, so we went to watch that last night! Unlike Ip Man, I felt that Ong Bak 2 was a waste of time and money. Beyond the casting of its lead character, this film has nothing whatsoever to do with the original Ong Bak - The movie picked up very slowly and spent significant time developing the back story of Tien (starring Tony Jaa). I would say that the action parts were quite entertaining but anyone who is interested in watching this movie should just wait to buy its DVD or VCD. Below is taken from the Golden Village website :-  Director: Tony Jaa Genre: Action / Adventure Language: Thai In this film, Tony Jaa returns to his trademark style of ultimate fighting in several dangerous scenes: including the fight on the backs of tens of elephants and the fight with ancient weapons so fast, you can’t blink. The grand and gorgeous sets created are also expected to awe every audience. The film tells the story of betrayal, revenge and the rebirth of a legend. It starts with the assassinations of Lord Sehadecho, the King’s loyal advisor and his wife, Lady Plai, by the treacherous Lord Rajasena, in front of Tien, the couples only son. Tien managed to escape, with deep anger and vengeance in mind. Soon, Tien meets Chernang, the leader of the Garuda Wing militia, who raised Tien as his godson. Tien grows up studying not only martial arts, but also of explosives, magic spells and other guerilla strategies. Tien then sets out to seek revenge for his parents, only to be caught and severely tortured. Fortunately, Tien was saved by Sage Bua, a Khon instructor whom he used to stay with when he was young. Sage Bua teaches Tien how to control his body and the power of a serene mind. Through the dharma puzzle hidden within Sage Buas teaching of Khon, an ancient Thai art, Tien finally discovers himself, as if he has been reborn. With his newfound spirit, Tien combines his martial arts skills with the art of Khon, creating a new fighting technique so elegant but powerful like no one has seen before. ************************** 11.01.09 (Sunday) - Company Lunch @ Barnacles Restaurant & Bar -  Boss was nice - He invited our husbands / wives / partners / kids along for our company lunch, so Luffs accompanied me to Barnacles Restaurant & Bar @ Rasa Sentosa Resort last Sunday. [Thank you, Luffs!] Barnacles Restaurant & Bar is a contemporary and stylish lifestyle venue serving both Western dishes and Chinese specialties and offers a panoramic view of the South China Sea. We had a Sunday Garden Party by the Sea! The weather was hot that day, but the sea breeze and the gentle lapping of the waves gave us all a more relaxed mood. Moreover, there were quite a big range of greenie salads, succulent seafood, tender grilled meats and not forgetting the yummilicious desserts! [Sorry... I just realized that I did not take any photos when I was there, so I went to Google for some.] Anyway, I just went to check out their website! Their Sunday lunch buffet is priced at S$65++ for adults and S$15++ for children aged 7 - 11 years old. Oh my~ Did I eat $65 worth of food? Hahaha… Two rounds of sashimi, two rounds of Alsaka Crab Leg, some chicken, a bowl of Sze Chuan soup… Luffs and I had an enjoyable time talking to Boss, Dev and a few others. We left Barnacles at about 3.30pm and took a slow drive around Sentosa before heading to Bedok for a bike photo shoot which Luffs helped organise and to tabao dinner home. Friday, January 9, 2009 @ 4:22 PM
I ♥ Our Peaceful Singapore I thank God for our peaceful Singapore! Overall Peace Index (2008) Rank: 29 Score: 1,673 Refer to the link below to see Singapore's ranking in the Global Peace Index 2008. Link: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/singapore/2008/ ************************** OIL PSU Officers' Strike Enters Third Day New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI)  A large number of petrol pumps across the country went dry as the indefinite strike by oil PSU executives entered the third day today, with possibility of a major fuel supply crisis looming large.About two-third of the 425 petrol pumps in the national capital did not open because of lack of stocks, while 60 per cent outlets in Mumbai hung 'No Stock' signs boards. Mumbai also ran out of compressed natural gas (CNG) that runs some two lakh buses, taxis and autos but Delhi had enough CNG and piped natural gas stocks to last 7 to 10 days. While Hindustan Petroleum pumps across the country were operating normally, Bharat Petroleum senior management officials were ensuring that there were dispatches of petrol and diesel to the company's outlets. However, Indian Oil, the nation's largest retailer, had almost nil dispatches of products. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora late yesterday evening drove to Noida on the outskirts of the national capital, to meet the striking Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) leaders but the talks to resolve the imbroglio failed. OSOA kept harping on Government conceding on its demand for higher increase in their wages than those approved in November but Deora said he did not have powers to approve anything that would also have ramifications on other PSUs. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already appointed a committee of ministers headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram to look into their demands within 30 days. At the airports, absence of officers led to delay in refuelling of airplanes and some flight were delayed. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Chairman R S Sharma failed to convince his company officials to resume gas production from the country's largest field in Western Offshore, affecting power generation and fertilizer production. Crude oil production from Mumbai offshore was almost half at 1,80,000 barrels and four key refineries of Indian Oil operated at 25 to 30 per cent of their capacity. Source: Press Trust of India Monday, January 5, 2009 @ 11:06 PM
Sisters Looking at Jie Jie's latest blog entry reminds me that I wanted to post our photo too... The one we took yesterday~ We were wearing the same top, just different colours!
Sisters are special From young ones to old God gave me a sister More precious than gold @ 1:27 PM
I Have Been Tagged ~ Lingz has been tagged by Anne! ************************** Directions Once you've been tagged, you have to write a note with 20 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them.  1: I am happily ROM-ed with Luffs! We are still in the midst of deciding when our customary will be~2: I love to travel, but cannot afford to go anywhere far at the moment… Maybe more JB trips to compensate for that? 3: I would love to visit Switzerland for honeymoon! 4: I am happy when I can make my friends happy… (”,) 5: I think it would be nice if Luffs and I can get a job overseas so that we can experience life outside Singapore (maybe for 1-2 years). 6: I am a neat freak - I have to keep my documents / books / magazines straight and clean + I am always packing Luffs' car! 7: I scream at the sight of cockroaches and lizards! 8: I would like to pick up photography and Photoshop but I do not have the patience to learn. You can call me lazy! =( 9: I always make sure my gate / door is locked from inside while watching Crime Watch on TV. 10: I prefer to sleep with the lights on. (-_-)Zzz 11: I am always yawning no matter how long I sleep... Don't ask me why, but my mum calls me a drug addict everytime she sees me yawn. 12: I always fall asleep in movies… WASTE MONEY! 13: I enjoy shopping for shoes and bags~ I need a bigger shoes cabinet! 14: I can never buy clothes online… *SOB* 15: I love to eat, but I ‘torture’ myself by eating a green apple for lunch everyday at work. This has been going on for almost 4 years now! 16: I am so in love with the fishie soup at Amoy Street Food Centre - I want to have it everyday. 17: I love to surf the net / check my email / chat on eBuddy using my mobile phone when showering. 18: I am a good listener but not so good with words. 19: I am an extrovert but can be quite shy and quiet at times. 20: I took me more than 1 hour to think of what 20 things to write here… Haha! ************************** I am tagging... Jane Jia Qin Joanne Jocelin Kenix Luffs Maggie Jie Pei Ling Qiu Xian Zaryl Sunday, January 4, 2009 @ 10:16 PM
♥ Apply Our Hearts Unto Wisdom ♥  Picture from http://eaf.net/pantinghart/?p=602So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. - Psalm 90:12 (KJV) ************************** I went for 2009's first CEP session today and the poem below was on the back page of the booklet given to us... New Year O, year by year we well may be Deep exercised in soul to see Just what is chaff and what is wheat, As valued at the Judgement seat! Look down into the deep dark pit, Whence we were digged - O think of it! Look back - We only render praise For grace attending all our ways. Look out upon the fields so white - The gladsome harvest just in sight! Look up - The objects of God's love Are fed with manna from above. Look on - For glory is in view, And Jesus waits to welcome you! But do not ever look within, Upon the wretched source of sin. How bright the coming days would be, If only souls from self were free, And had the mind and heart absorbed With Christ alone - Their Glorious Lord! (E.J.C.) Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 11:49 PM
New Year's Eve & New Year 01.01.09 (Thursday) First Movie For 2009! Luffs and I caught Ip Man after hearing many good reviews about the movie. It was indeed a movie worth watching - On top of all the kung fu scenes, there were pretty funny jokes throughout the movie. So, all in all, it was a well made production.  Ip Man (葉問) is a 2008 Hong Kong martial arts biopic that is based on the life story of Ip Man, the grand master of the Wing Chun style of kung fu and sifu (master) of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. Wing Chun, which has a history of 200 years, was founded by Yim Wing Chun, took root in the hands of Leung Chun, and prospered with Ip Man. This movie is the first important record of the master's life and focuses on events surrounding him that took place in Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Japanese occupation of China. Foshan was very famous as the center of excellence of Chinese martial arts. Ip Man's persistent devotion to Wing Chun is a classic example of the love and respect shown to wushu and the freedom and spirit it represents. Ip Man is a concept, a spirit, a way of thinking - and it exemplifies a new peak in Hong Kong's wushu movies.  ************************** 31.12.08 (Wednesday) Countdown To 2009! Luffs and I went to the Esplanade for this year’s countdown and fireworks, together with the company of 2 other photography enthusiasts - Bernard and Benjamin. We managed to get there by 7.30pm before they closed Esplanade Drive at 8pm! The 3 musketeers set up their tripods after Luffs found a good spot for us. I seriously do not know what we did to kill time but somehow time just flew by and it was fireworks time! Below are some of the photos taken by Luffs… He was not very satisfied with the photos because of the smoke produced by the fireworks!   @ 9:39 AM
Every Day Is A Precious Gift Reflections and New Year’s resolutions are the 2 things most people think of when a new year starts. New Year’s resolutions, for me, are often unfulfilled so I won’t bother making mine this year. However, 2008 was quite an eventful year for me with both happy and sad memories which are worth looking back at…  Bad start to 2008 - Grandma was diagnosed with leukemia in Dec 2007. I started my new post at LDC as a Trading Assistant. Luffs and I watched our first musical at Esplanade Theatre on 04 Jan! February 2008 All of us celebrated Luffs’ birthday (buffet dinner) on the 2nd day of CNY! Luffs started his first full-time job with SCB on 11 Feb. Luffs and I had our Valentine’s Day dinner at Tao’s Restaurant on 14 Feb. Grandma Phua Gek Kee passed away peacefully at home on 24 Feb. March 2008 - April 2008 Quiet period of the year - No key events that I can think of. May 2008 6 of us went to Shanghai together on 17 May. Luffs proposed on 20 May when we were at Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge! June 2008 - July 2008 Luffs and I had a busy time during this period - ROM preparation! Luffs and I celebrated our monthsary at My Secret Garden on 18 Jul. August 2008 Luffs injured his left middle finger during a soccer match on 02 Aug. Luffs and I took our vows on 18 Aug at Grand Copthrone Waterfront Hotel. Luffs and I watched fireworks on the Marina Bay Floating Gallery (22 Aug). My eldest uncle passed away on 25 Aug. I was finally a graduate on 28 Aug - HOORAY! Luffs underwent his finger operation on 29 Aug (Surgeon: Uncle Yi-Jia). September 2008 I started giving Mathematics tuition to a Secondary 2 girl. Grandpa Joseph Tan was called home to be with the Lord on 06 Sep. 27 Sep - Luffs posted his first photo on his Flickr. October 2008 Luffs and I applied for HDB’s half-yearly sale of 4-room and bigger flats. Luffs and I went for our first Canon PhotoMarathon on 18 Oct. I finally made up my mind to leave LDC - Last day at LDC was on 25 Oct. Luffs bought me my first LV bag as my birthday prezzie on 27 Oct. Luffs and I went to Bintan (28 - 30 Oct) for a short getaway. Luffs left his job at SCB on 31 Oct. Luffs bought his first DSLR camera - Nikon D300. November 2008 I started with my current company on 03 Nov. Luffs and I got a lousy number for the half-yearly sale! Luffs and I applied for HDB’s Nov 08 BTO project - Punggol Arcadia. December 2008 A group of us went on a 2D1N trip to Batam (06 & 07 Dec). Luffs took his last exam with Murdoch University on 13 Dec. 16 Dec - Malaysia’s new CIQ complex in operations = TERRIBLE JAM! Little Xinyi went for her eye surgery on 29 Dec. Countdown to 2009 was spent at Esplanade with Luffs, Bernard and Ben. Thursday, January 1, 2009 @ 11:25 AM
First Day Of 2009, First Post! It has always been an enjoyment for me when I read blogs of my friends and have been inspired by them to start one on my own. I have been contemplating on getting down and really start blogging for months but I hesitated because I am HTML illiterate! Today, being the first day of 2009, I have decided to stop procrastinating and start a blog for myself and Luffs. It would be interesting to write down the happenings in our lives so that we can look back and smile at them as we recall those memories over time. Blogging is also a good way to help us keep our friends updated on whatever that is happening in our lives! I had a tough time deciding the name for our blog (Luffs and I agreed on this one) and which one to use - LiveJournal or WordPress or Blogger. Even though I personally prefer WordPress, I somehow came to a conclusion that I should use Blogger since most of my friends are using Blogger and I can consult them if I need help. Oh well! Now that I've finally come to really doing it, please be patient with me as I try to master the art of blogging! Anyway, it's 2009! So... Happy New Year, everybody! |
