Everything.

It seems that it’s really hard to think about food and food and more food when you are suffering from a state of erratic stomach behaviour. Although it’s reaching a stage of recovery, I still can’t help but think about health before pleasure.

To me, food is like a blessing from heaven. Well, as the old will tell you :” Don’t waste your food” or maybe other things like “You know those people in Africa can’t even get to eat what you have right now on your plate” or “Kids in third world countries are suffering because they can’t eat and you are wasting your food here”. It makes enough sense that you are wasting your food, but when you were young, “THIRD WORLD” is something so foreign for you. Even Ninja Turtles and Barbie Dolls sound local.

And this coming 9th of July will be 7 years for my girl and I. I didn’t expect myself to reach this far either. Elated, but worried definitely. If you think that I’m rather creative in this 7 years of our relationship, then I beg to differ. I’m ultimately the most boring boyfriend. Haha. But nonetheless, I talk emo with my girl, which is why, I guess, makes her love me, and so do I.

Now the verdict : Where to celebrate a good anniversary? With limited cash on hand, and jobless, I dreamt once that I would be having my anniversary dinner at Yew Tee Food Court. Not a very quiet place but rather decent in ambience. Ok I’m joking. Suggestions anybody?

P.S. To my girl – Please don’t just read. Give me suggestions! You are part of this as well ok. HAHA!

Pic of the Day: Love lies in the hand of yours. =)

*bad quality taken from the Iphone.

Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Not even christmas yet, I thought that maybe catching this show would liven up my day. I guess…

The plot – Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) is the most awkward and insecure manager of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium – the strangest, most fantastic and most wonderful toy store in the world. Although her life is full of joy and charm, she has acquired nothing but several beginnings, a few middles and absolutely no ends. But when Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman), a self-proclaimed toy impresario, wonder aficionado and avid shoe-wearer, the 243-year-old eccentric who owns the store, bequeaths the store to her, a dark and ominous change begins to take over the once remarkable Emporium. The once lively, happy and colourful store begins to gray as if it knows of his imminent parting. It takes only “magic” to start a brand new beginning.

To me, the movie is such a colourful one. And with toys, toys and more toys, it just doesn’t fail to brighten your day. Dustin Hoffman did a great job on the role of Mr Magorium, although his role was short lived. But ever since then, I thought that the movie was rather joyful to watch.

The movie encompasses so much, from the strangest toys to the confusing phrases of humour, and with a touch of magic, everything in the toy shop impresses. Natalie Portman didn’t make much of an impact here, making her role rather unconvincing for someone that believes so much in magic. But Jason Bateman did better than her.

But what I felt that was done really well apart from the shortcomings of the movie was how they did a very light take on the death of Mr Magorium. The movie started off as not the beginning of him, and not that present of him, but the end of him, which was hard because given the fact that after he dies, it wouldn’t be called Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium right?

In all, do watch this show as a kid that misses so much in your own life instead of an adult that is so packed up with the future. Don’t be mature and sensible, for it’s a wonderful childhood-reliving movie. Made me smile actually. =)

Ratings – 3 and a half out of 5 stars

Upbeat and Deadbeat.

Yes, first time in history that I go out so early in the morning and came back almost to midnight. How tiring is that. And with my girl joining the fun, we had the best dinner at the cheapest price possible. What a feat.

Ok. For this gathering, it’s meant to be a gathering in commemoration of 3 things. Firstly, it’s the last time, perhaps really the last time, that we are having cook-outs at David’s place. And how things would have gone so well when we can ALL actually sit down and feast on the food together in a round table. What a fantastic dinner it is. It’s the gathering that counts, including the food.

We will miss the left hand mouse. We will miss the toilet light that doesn’t really want to work unless David presses it. We will miss the Palladine in your house. Zainal can miss Betsy for all he wants.

Secondly, we really have to give a hand to our wonderful cook, Suban. He’s been putting the effort to buy the items, marinate them and then cook them all in a day. Couldn’t help but help him in the kitchen. At least slicing some prawn heads were of much productivity. With my girl and David helping out as well, he manage to finish up the cooking and join us altogether for the first time in cook out history to sit down at the dining table and dine.

Next time it will be outdoor BBQ. Special style.

Last but not least, the forgotten man. Zainal. He’s going NS, and no one actually bothers about it. At least there’s suppose to be a toast or something. Hmmm. But nonetheless, he’s lameness has caused a stir in the dining table. Maybe because of all the laughing and Xueli having tummy aches from that, that’s why it totally slipped off our minds. Till next time Zainal, good luck in Pulau Tekong. =)

And I left my Bailey’s at David’s place because I do not want to become Barney after drinking it. In exchange, I got the Ruffles Cheese and Sour Cream snack. Worth it. At least I won’t turn Cheesy after eating this.

A post to dedicate THE friendship. 28/06/08.

5 days.

Yes, the ordeal is almost finally over. Almost.

After 5 days of enfeeblement, I could hardly taste the sweetness of food. Kinda like a hungry ghost being mobbed of it’s taste buds. Or does it have it? Hmmm.

And yes, tomorrow’s the last day that I will spend time with my friend Adam, who is leaving for Perth in like a few days time. He will be back la, just that no one to club with because Lianjin also leaving for Nottingham. Actually, it seems that everyone’s leaving. Including Suban.

Feels kinda sad to see friends that leave Singapore to pursue their future and education elsewhere, but as a friend, I believe we should support them in their decision because it’s no doubt the best way to escape this place. Society stress, only-money environment, one day we will all fall prey into the hands of a robber, or robbers.

Back to the sickness thingy. This saturday is the cook out as well, and it’s surprising that my girl is willing to join us. It’s a good thing for me though. (I’m cheekily laughing away in my silent bedroom.) But nonetheless, I’m looking forward to Saturday. Will bring my camera and tripod because we will all do a Lobby shot. Trust me, it’s a good place to take photos. =)

Pic of the Day: Smile Marcus. Smile. =D

Singapore Soccer… and the 2010 dream.

It’s a been cheesy to talk about Singapore’s soccer history last time. From the times of Quah Kim Song to the times of Fandi Ahmad. Who would ever thought that their greatness could have led us to the World Cup?

Like ice in the desert, we all dream as if the sky is reachable by our hands. But as we see our current Singapore squad losing it’s hope of reaching the World Cup 2010, we couldn’t help but wonder why Singapore would end up in such a state whereby we are depending on foreign talents to secure our dream? Isn’t it the same as the British Colonial ruling us like the past? Do we still need a guide back to sports?

Let’s drag ourselves back to the 90’s, where I was sitting in my uncle’s living room sofa, with the rest of my relatives, watching the final between Singapore and Pahang of the Malaysian cup. The Singapore Team, sporting the likes of Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad, Lim Tong Hai, Steven Tan, Malek Awab, David Lee, Rafi Ali,  and many other names to go with, are good enough to scare the wits of the opponents. And as our skeptical minds telling us that “kelong” was always the case in matches, we couldn’t help but pray.

From Left : Nazri Nasir, Abbas Saad, Lim Tong Hai. Remember them?

And Singapore beat Pahang hands down to a 4 – 0 win. Convincingly.

And that was the end of the golden era. News came along that Fandi Ahmad was given a trial at FC Groningen and managed to feature in a few of their matches. He became an idol over there, scoring the 2nd goal in the 89th minute against Inter Milan in the European Championship, beating them 2 – 0 in October 19, 1983.

Fandi – when he was younger.

During the 1983-84 season, Fandi scored 10 times in 29 games. While in his second season at the club, Fandi made 15 appearances, scoring 2 goals. Fandi made a big impact on the Groningen fans, in 1999 he was voted one of the best 25 players ever to play for FC Groningen, earning him a place in the club’s Hall of Fame. In 2003, he was named in the club’s best eleven of the twentieth century.

Although Fandi was offered a place again at Ajax Amsterdam, he chose to return to Asia in 1986. (He has since said that he regretted not further plying his trade in Europe. Nottingham Forest made an informal enquiry about his availability in the late-1990s, but decided he was too old.) If he had stayed on, not only will he create history as the first Singaporean to play in Europe, he will also be able to pave way to Singaporeans for the future of soccer. But that wasn’t meant to be.

And if only the government could do more than just enough to allow us to develop into professionals. The fields that we have were either state property or whatever, thus, not allowing us to play or train to improve. With all these factors piling up, how are we ever gonna make it?

Given the current squad, they do possess the identity and citizenship of a Singaporean, but does that make a foreign player a true-born Singaporean? I guess not. Not that I’m disallowing foreigners in Singapore, but at least we should have a stand of maybe half of the team being home-grown. I have to admit that the Malays and Indians and technically better in Soccer, but at least give us Chinese a chance to prove our worth right? The last person I saw playing in the team was who – Goh Tat Chuan?

So what can be done?

Seeing the growth of indoor soccer fields like Fico Sports Hub and the Cage, it seems that the government is trying to do something to encourage people to take up sports. But still doesn’t advance from there because it takes one’s will to try. And you gotta PAY to PLAY. So who wants that? Play also must pay, train also must play. If you want to play for free, try any grasspatch out there. And if you are fussy, then pay to play on a better one. That’s what the government will tell you.

I would say that the government should set up training schools with state of the art training facilities for a specific sport that Singapore would wish to excel, in this case, soccer. Training locally might help a little, but with the FAS making extra effort to promote Singapore overseas, sending players to train at the clubs’ academy, or encouraging clubs to set up their training academies here.  But what is important is that we need the government to support the funding of the project. This might not be an immediate impact, but I can guarantee that in long term, we might go far.

We do not have to play like this anymore.

As long as we can nurture our Singaporeans to the best footballing greats, we can make it to the World Cup. We just need the support from the government thats all. =)

Down with a Sickness

Still feeling feeble, I was down with fever after an indigestion from a buffet dinner. Feel so weak now, I didn’t even sleep last night thanks to a “perspiration therapy” recommended by my brother. And for that, I changed 7 shirts, 2 underwears, and had diarrhea 3 times throughout the timing from 11pm to 7am. How sick is that.

From there, my father told me that in the future, you don’t have to eat till you are full. Just eat like 70% of the food and you will be full eventually. Which kinda makes sense because we have drinks and stuff to go with the dish. I just had lunch, and like i only ate half of the portion my mum cooked for me. Can’t swallow down much.

And I realise that no one knew that I had a tagboard. Haha. Except for Fengyun and Bertrand.

At this moment of truth, I have no mood for anything. I don’t feel like eating, I don’t feel like standing up, neither do I feel like going to sleep. Argh. I HATE BEING SICK. So uncomfortable. Some more having a diarrhea adds up more misery. It’s like, I have shitted countless times that my asshole burns.

I will blog when I’m better.

A Sign.

One night, while sitting on the cold cold floor watching the Euro 2008 highlights, I happen to switch channels to Channel 8. I do not know what made me wanna jump channels, but it just seems that something told me to do so.

On Channel 8, they were airing an episode of La Femme at 9 o clock. Coincidentally, in the show, there was a conflict between an actor and an actress talking about marriage. He was like telling her :” You told me to wait, I waited, you told me to let you think about it, I let you think about it. Now you are dragging the decision, so what are you waiting for?”

After that emotional conversation, he went on to say :” Since you can’t make a decision, we shall temporary break up. Then we will try to live without each other for a moment and see how things go. ” After that, he left the house and she started crying.

This whole scene, from the moment I changed the channel to it till the moment they went into advertisements, I seem to visualise something that I might foresee in the future. It might end up Deja Vu for me in the future, I do not know, but what made me press that button on the remote control is telling me a sign.

Facing reality, I know that both of us hardly met up with each other throughout the weekend, reason being that her house is like almost the south and I’m at north-west of this island. Sometimes she might have school, sometimes she might have things going on with friends. Same for me, except that education is way beyond the question.

But like everyone mentions, can a long distance relationship really last? I feel that my relationship now exist in a “Singapore-to-Alaska” type of distance. Well, I have sorted out the possibilities of meeting up now and then, but it draws me to another attention – if we meet up with each other too often, both parties will be bored of each other, just by company. And also, if we meet up too little, both parties will bicker for too little meet ups. Verdict? We are completely different personalities. In other words, personality clash.

I do admit that she’s totally a complete difference to the type of girl that I’m looking for but I chose this path because I’m willing to nurture a relationship between the both of us. She’s perfect for me I would say. And as time goes by, my advancement is coming to a standstill. I have not put in much effort to improve this relationship, and yes, it’s hard to do so, given our differences not only in personality but also in life schedules.

So what if it’s almost 7 years into it? Can this last till the day we both die or end up in the scene above? I do not want to comment. Because I just want assurance. Perhaps maybe I’m just not cut out to be a good boyfriend.

Pic of the Day: I’m Dead.

Drillbit Taylor

Another one of these shows. But just to curb boredom, I caught this show at home.

The plot – Ryan (Troy Gentile), Wade (Nate Hartley), and Emmitt (David Dorfman) attend their first day at high school and they’re pumped until they meet Filkins (Alex Frost), a school bully who comes off like a little Hannibal Lecter. Before they become completely engulfed in Filkins’ reign of terror, they seek out some sort of protection by placing an ad in a Soldier of Fortune magazine. Their best response – and the cheapest – comes from Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), a down-on-his-luck soldier of fortune who lives a homeless existence on the beach.

For Owen Wilson to be in a mediocre movie to Superbad isn’t really that fantastic though, although the cast of the kids in this show are as funny as hell. The plot was just as normal as any other kids show, but it still packs some humour in those kids. It’s like Superbad crossing swords with Drake and Josh (which Josh is really acting as a bully in this show.).

This movie just undermine’s Owen Wilson’s talent, which he did much better in Wedding Crashers. The whole movie seems to be just on the surface, therefore explaining the weak personality of each of the actors in the movie. I love the point where it brings you memories of school, when there’s bullies around, how you start school and stuff like that.

In all, a normal movie that might not even make it big. And yes, like me, if you are bored at home facing the computer with nothing urgent to do, then you will consider.

Ratings - 3 out of 5 stars.

Awake

Completed this show in 2 days. Wondering and still wondering, until I was left pondering. Read on.

The plot – For the young man who has everything – money, a beautiful new wife (Jessica Alba) and a lucrative career, what banking heir Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) needs most of all is a life-saving heart transplant. Having found a donor, his joy turns to sheer terror when he finds himself in a situation few dare to imagine – he is left completely alert during surgery. In this thriller based on a frightening medical phenomenon, things ultimately turn sinister when malpractice starts to look an awful lot like murder.

A suspense thriller, this movie was made for minds to ponder. And yes, I did. Twist and turns in the plot made this show all the more exciting yet curious. Hayden Christensen did a good job in portraying pain and agony while Jessica Alba’s woeful acting – which helps in this show – still continues to be woeful on the good side. But since she’s pretty to look at, who would care about her acting?

The overprotective mother of Hayden Christensen was just as good as any other veteran actor/actress. And just when friendship overwhelms kinship, the story starts to go twisty, which I like.

I was kinda amazed at how the suspense thriller was made, as if it’s like an artistic movie to begin with. Apart from the operation table, the rest of the scenes are very well took. In all, a good thriller that revolves around the minds of the audience, with incredible twist that will leave you surprisingly amazed. Looks can just be that deceiving.

Ratings - 3 and a half out of 5 stars

Get Smart

LOL.

The plot – In this all-new action comedy, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of America’s spy agency, CONTROL, is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his eager analyst Smart, who has always dreamt of working alongside superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unravelling KAOS’ master plan, they discover a nefarious scheme to cash in with their network of terror. With little field experience and even less time, can they save the day?

This movie, like Total Football, is like Total Humour. Everything that comes out from Steve Carrell’s mouth is nothing but sarcasm. Anything that comes out from the mouth’s of others is nothing but reactions to Steve Carrell’s sarcasm. It’s just as funny as anything that goes. His actions, his vocals, his expression… everything just makes me laugh really.

The plot was action pack, especially almost till the end. The acting for all is good, a bit weird for Anne Hathaway though, but nonetheless is really laughter as the best medicine for the day. If you think you laughed real hard on Kung Fu Panda, you will laugh even harder on Get Smart. Very entertainingly funny and action-packed.

Ratings - 4 and a half out of 5 stars

Remember me how you remember me.

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don’t speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want – good or bad. Comment and I’ll:
1. Tell you why I friended you. (You can comment even if you’re not my friend on WordPress)
2. Associate you with something – random, a song, a colour, a photo, etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I’ve always wanted to ask.
6. In return, you must post this in your LJ. or not.

Elizabeth : The Golden Age

Manage to finish this show in 2 days. Not that I have a slow film head, but just that I take my time to watch a show that mostly has historical events to further understand it. And yes, it’s not a remake but a sequel.

The plot – It is the late 16th century, and Queen Elizabeth rules England. With the changing religious and political tides, she finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II, with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance her royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Sir Walter Raleigh.

How I love Cate Blanchett’s acting. So excellent in every point of view, her angst, her jealousy, her glee, all portrayed to the point that you can really feel how she felt. Her expression of thoughts has been a wonderful tool in her career, and she does put it to good use as the 52 year old Queen, whom far looks younger than the usual.

The costumes and props and whatever medieval are stunning and gorgeous, especially the Queen’s outfits, which bore either distinctive or bright colours. Make-ups for the Queen was well done though. Maybe that’s why the Queen doesn’t look 52 years of age.

According to history, The Queen has no romantic designs for Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), and also that Walter Raleigh alone did not participate in the defence of England against the Spanish Armada, a fleet of ships that were considered as one of the best Naval Force ever.

The plot was cool, if you put yourself into medieval times. And do not expect war scenes as the movie is destined to stick to the Queen’s life and power over England. But what I do love is how the director portrays the calmness of Queen Mary of Scot when she was about to be beheaded. And also the scene whereby the Queen had to make a decision that would threaten her kingdom till she broke down in tears.

In all, I feel that the movie was well shot by the director, picking every role correctly, and more so for the best actress I have ever witness. If you are a impatient person, then I recommend you not to watch this movie. But if you can immense yourself into the beauty of things, then this might be good for you.

Ratings - 4 out of 5 stars

Kung Fu Panda

LOL. There I go again with that accent. Really.

The plot – The lazy and irreverent panda, Po, must somehow become a kungfu master in order to save the Valley of Peace from a villainous snow leopard, Tai Lung. Set in the legendary world of ancient China, this is the story of Po, our unlikely hero, who enters the rigid world of kungfu and turns it upside down. Po ultimately becomes a hero by learning that if he believes in himself, he can do anything.

It’s like one of the most refreshing cartoons that I have watched this year. This star-studded cast of voices is one movie not to be missed. The plot’s alright, with Po having much say to his useless self but eventually, I feel there’s a little photocopy of Kung Fu Hustle inside.

Dreamworks never fails to entertain, and could only get better, like they did in this movie. A very colourful movie to begin with, I still love the slow-mos. Like they kinda integrated the slow-mos a lot into this movie, making a humourous scene even more hysterical. The kids in the cinema just couldn’t stop laughing.

A little disappointed that people like Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogan etc didn’t get much voice-time, but overall, it’s a movie definitely enjoyable for families and friends, and a definite new to the comedy line. Good stuff.

Ratings - 4 out of 5 stars.

Jargons and it’s Fluents.

Had an interesting conversation with my brother and sister while catching the live match between Sweden and Spain in the UEFA European Championship 2008.

Andrea : Ya lor, I don’t like it when they always put the l-o-l at the back of every sentence they type. (She’s talking to a friend on the phone.)

Alex : Yea. My friend went:” Haha. LOL (say it as LORL.)”

Then my sister and I started bursting out in laughter, still trying to absorb that corny jargon that doesn’t even exist in the dicitionaries of Cambridge or Oxford.

Andrea : Yea, then got that ROFL also.

Me : That will be said as ROFL (say it as ro-fo-ll.)

Alex : Oh, then I heard my friend said that before, just that he added a m-a-o at the back, to make it Roll On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off.

Me : Then how to say?

Alex : ROFLMAO (say it as ro-fo-ll-mao).

Then all of us, like a bunch of kids that never grew up, started laughing hysterically that even the hyena couldn’t stand us. Well, how we all love these kind of lame jokes.

Thinking about these words makes me wonder who ever started all these funny languages. We don’t classify them as languages that fall under the Javascript of C++ coding. Neither is it HTML. So what is it? Internet Jargons? Or are they just short cuts to keep our lazy life in track? I don’t know. Ask God.

The proper usage of these words can perhaps only be used while chatting on your daily log-ins to MSN, Yahoo, Skype etc. I mean, you don’t go out and say :” Haha! Thats Funny. LOL.” or “Oh my, that’s hilarious! ROFLMAO!.“

Well, there are others that we can mention, as in, mention in the chat screen. For example:

- btw : By The Way
- omg : Oh My God
- tmr/tml : Tomorrow/Tomolo. Equivalent meaning, different spelling.
- cya : See Ya
- tc : Take Care
- bb: Bye Bye
- kk: Ok. Short term to Ok
- nvm : Never Mind
- oic : Oh, I See

I do not deny that I use them while chatting with friends, cousins, whoever. But to say them out as a word just doesn’t go along. The above is already hard to speak, easy to understand. More like short terms rather than jargons. Hmmm. We are actually observing the young generation extending a language that features more expressiveness and evolution. Right.

Thinking about LOL, how many people are actually laughing out loud when they type and send LOL to their receivers on MSN? Food for thought huh.

Pic of the Day: LOL. =D

A post to Remember.

Why? For a few reasons particularly. Just at this point of June where everything that I wanna talk about falls perfectly into the empty slots of the jigsaw puzzle. And what are the missing pieces that you might want to know?

Number 1 – my blog has reached an amount of 10,000 hits and has surpassed that amount last night in the wee hours I guess. But nonetheless I’m happy that people still read what I’m typing. I do not know if it’s the content that excites people or is it just a random routine to click on my link in your blog. But I would want to thank those who have been regulars here and be regular in the future again!. I have no names here, but you know who you are when you visit my blog regularly. =)

Number 2 - It’s your dad’s day. Every fatherly figure in the world deserves mentioning. Without them, there will be no us. And it’s a bit true that although your mum is the one that pampers you by doing the laundry and helping you with your shitty homework sometimes, but your dad is out there earning the big bucks. What’s more, IF you mum’s a housewife, then where she gets her money from? You’re right, YOUR DAD.

He will carry you on.

Perhaps your dad should be given a good treat in life, because you know that hard money don’t come easy in a hectic life in Singapore. Mums can be the great ones, but why can’t dads be the greatest? So take your time off your work or with you friends. Spend some precious time with your dad, because you will never know, he might leave the world the next thing you know it.

Number 3 – Friday the 13th. This superstition about the unlucky 13th has aroused some suspicion from my point of view. Apparently because it’s my lucky number. Actually, anything unlucky is lucky for me somehow. But what the heck, i spent my time giving out flyers for an Anti-Virus program. Sounds lucky to me.


Did Jason had a part to play?

But what’s with the unluckiness of the number 13? After all the paranoid about being in an accident or getting whacked up by some unknown moron, Friday the 13th is just another day that we see as a timeframe of life just passed us. Don’t you think so?