a lot has happened since the last post..

New wife.. heheh
with that comes New Family..
New Beginnings…
I’ve found meself a New Job…

things are looking up yeah? ..

The wedding was a big whirlwind over two days.. The Solemnization was on Saturday 8th August 2009.. Diaz was also proudly a part of the festivities. She was handled by Dafi, Reets’ nephew, who took these pics..

Akad Nikah ... One shot One kill ah... Reets was a tad worried her Dad might fumble the words.

how worried?? take a look at that expression.. lol

finally all smiles ...

 After the Akad Nikah, the entourage returned to base.. and prepared for Bersanding. An outfit change later we made our way back to Reets’ place.

Arriving .. Round 2.. FIGHT!!

The King arrives to meet his Queen but her "Palace Guards" block the way

Paying off the guards.....

The hand maidens want part of the action too

Noooooo.. must pay money alsoooooooo!!

FINALLY .. a small fortune later..the Kings sits with his Queen

the part after this went by like a blur.. taking pictures with family and friends.. I could hardly remember who we took pictures WITH.. till much later when I went through to post process some 1000+ shots taken with Diaz.

 Much later and after another outfit change..

The Bride and Groom feeling very Bollywood

that’s prolly it for Day 1… and it’s late… gotta go sleep and get up bright and early tommorra.. will continue this.. soon

till next time

Yes it has .. so what has happened so far..

well.. I AM getting married exactly a month from today.. 

I avoided a court summons for my back taxes.. Luckily i went to IRAS to sort out undeclared income for 2007. Which resulted in a non-existent Notice of Assesment for 2008.. WHICH explains why I didn’t get any GST Credit Payouts this year.. so that’s settled.. for a mere nominal contribution of $75.00.. lucky me…

I got served .. yes.. no .. no more courts summons…. I got served notice.. that the company I have been working with for the past 8 years, will cease operations on 31st July.. *sigh*.. yeah I know.. bad timing innit..but what can I do.. ya? Had a few interviews already none bearing any fruit.. Yes I am anxious.. what with the wedding coming around..It could be a blessing in disguise.. Luckily this came around NOW.. i mean at least i have saved enough to cover wedding expenses ya know? If it had been earlier…. but after the wedding is another story ..*sigh*

moving on..

was bored last night.. needed to do something constructive.. so i recorded this..

yeah lah got bum notes and off key singing.. but hey.. had some fun too..

THE DATE approaches.. and I’m feeling the jitters .. really.. not the .. is it going to happen or not.. its like.. have I prepared everything.. or.. is the function going to go smoothly..*sigh*.. I AM excited.. really I am.. no joke..

BETULLLLLL..

you know , I had a crapload to write about.. and right now.. my mind just went BLANK..

let’s see what did I do on Friday.. oh.. yeah.. I packed some of my things I’d wanted to bring over to Reets’ place.. and I found a box of spare tires for my RC car.. took out half my wardrobe.. my Army uniform..  I looked at my old TV.. and I actually remembered saying to myself.. gonna miss all the good times with Al, playing xbox on this tv.. I mean our Xbox gaming sessions have been known to last like 24 hours at a go.. Lol.. So I put the XBOX away into the original box(yeah i still have it still looks new some more).. I packed the games into one of those IKEA carton boxes..with the dvd player.. the stuffed toys..(shut up)..some knick knacks and my sony photo printer..the guitar hero guitars (yeah got two of em) went back into their original boxes.. I’d wished I could’ve done this with Reets around, so I could like share the memories the good times. yeah I’m a sentimental fool.. But she had to be elsewhere.. I unplugged the minibar.. to melt down the frost, generally clean it out..

 by the time i was done.. I had one IKEA DIY  box of games and miscellaneous items.. plus the xbox and the two GH guitars (that’s 4 boxes altogether).. then i also had my Master Replica ForceFX Darth Vader light saber packed back into it’s box. (that’s 5).. one empty IKEA DIY box.. one box of spare RC tires.. and a pile of clothes on the floor..AND my army uniforms ( 4 sets).. 

on the living room floor..

fell asleep while cleaning the room..

Phone rings.. I wake up.. thinking it was still Friday night.. It was Reets…

It’s Saturday Morning..

Talked with Reets for a while.. she was at work.. It was 9-ish.. i stumbled out of my room in my towel.. and saw the car key’s on the table.  She drove to work in the Chery SUV.. and left me the Mazda.. in my mom’s world it prolly means move what you gotta move and get the mess out of my living room.. so I thought .. why not surprise Reets at work.. showered abit and after a brief exchange with reets on MSN.. i left my laptop running and MSN running.. went out to watch a little tv and kinda wait for the time to meet Sharyl for breakfast. My phone rings again.. it’s Mom.. there was a network problem at our office and I had to come in for a while to take a look at it.. AWWW on my day OFF!!!.. yeah so cancelled the breakfast with Sharyl.. and went to solve things at work.. and drove straight to pick up Reets. Should say she was pleasantly surprise to find me waiting at the driveway..We had lunch .. came back to my place.. and yeah started loading the stuff and folding my clothes.. Remember the IKEA box.. yeah one box couldn’t hold all of the clothes on the floor..so Dad comes to the rescue with a bag.. OFF to Reets’ place for fun filled afternoon of PAINTING!.. hahah.. by the time we were done painting and moving stuff it was almost 8.. and still had the minibar to bring over.. haha another quick trip.. and all was over at midnight.. yeah midnight.. watched MILK with Reets and by the time I was home it was close to 3.. and i couldn’t sleep.. surfed abit.. watched Lakeview Terrace.. and soon enough i dozed off at 6..

Sunday

Jarred awake at 8.. Had some KJ-ing to do at a cousins wedding.. was on site at 10..

karaoke..karoke.. talk.. relative asks when it’s MY turn..I tell them.. they go ARE YOU SERIOUS..? more karaoke

repeat till suicidal

we were all done and wrapped up by 6 in the evening…

BANG!…

Mazda gets into a minor accident.. Mom was driving.. Taxi sideswipes the rear end on the driver’s side.. dents the wheel well… cracks the bumper.. mom was pretty shaken..but we got home ok.. decided on a mutual settlement with the Taxi Driver who admits he was at fault.. he was a very nice chap.. not pushy.. he asked nicely if we could settle mutually without getting authorities involved.. because apparently he just came out of another incident he was still paying for .. he even showed the paper work.. oklah give him benefit of doubt..

Met reets at 10-ish… around Simpang Bedok.. sat down for a bit and a little chit chat.. sent her home..stopped by for aquickie bite at mcdonalds AMK.. chit chat some more.. I got home at almost 12.. and Dad (who’d just got back from work) decides to inspect the car.. and i trudged along.. sleepy .. tired.. with dad back to the car for his once over..

By the time he was done it was close to 3 .. and i was throbbing.. everywhere throbbing.. so.. tired.. so so tired..

took panadol before i go to sleep, hoping it’s painkiller properties would prevent an aching body the next morning. It usually works…. but this time round .. it didn’t.. throbbing.. aching body… *sigh&

Till next time

they’re ready… well some of em…forgive the quality… I just snapped them with the camera phone..

till next time..

ok another “multi-post”..

The end of an ERA
SBY1755T.. for almost 10 yrs, this Mitsubishi Spacewagon (also known as the Chariot/Expo in other countries) has served us faithfully. It’s not without problems, don’t get me wrong. I remember there was once.. the alternator blew..in Kuantan… on a public holiday morning… we were on our way to terengganu then. 1755 was the car that took over the helms of our old Mistubish Lancer. The same Lancer we won the Singapore Discovery Rally so it had big shoes to fill. My dad bought the Mitsubishi Spacewagon (2nd Generation) at a time where 7 seater MPV’s were rare on Singapore streets. It was prolly one of the first 7-seaters on the road.
This car could take a beating and still keep on ticking. another memory was how we fit the whole Atrika dance troupe (8 girls plus choreographer AND costumes) in the car for a show. When the Mazda 3 came along a few years back 1755 was relegated to being a backup/rental vehicle although it still performed on our regular trips up north to Malaysia. In recent times it was also used as a cargo vehicle for my work (we removed the last row of seats. I bid adieu to this faithfull servant. As it reaches the end of it’s second COE term (dad bought it as a second owner), it was just good sense to release it at a time when it still had some value. Whether it would be scrapped or sold offshore to Batam is unknown. It has now been replaced by an affordable OPC Chery
Tiggo.. a nice cute small suv in the same vein as the RAV4.. 1755.. will be missed..

Yahoooo!!!..
I lost all of 17kg in the past 2 months.. i went from 155 to 144 to 137…and still losing an average of 2-3 kg a week.. My target.. to hit or go below 100 by August.. do-able .. yes? The first few months did not reap any obvious results..but recently it began to show. A few have asked .. what did i do..well.. I changed my eating habits..I drink almost no canned/soda drinks..at home at least i only drink plain water.. and i guess when i go into full swing i will begin to lose more.. I hope i have the discipline to maintain these new habits..

The Fugitive
Thank God he has been recaptured…

that’s all for now i guesss.

Till Next Time…

I’ve never been able to figure out Woodlands estate.. never,.. everytime I go in there.. I get lost.. and end up circling Woodlands Interchange and Causeway Point… So yesterday I’d thought I pick Reets up from her Bhangrarobics class.. It happens to be in Woodlands.. near Admiralty MRT station.. Yes I did do some research (apparently not enough) on the location. So here’s the story..

It being a fairly crowded affair at Woodlands near the Causeway every night, I approached Woodlands from the BKE into Woodlands Avenue 3. This i remember fairly well as I’d been there before for a friendly soccer match with C.U.F.C. so as I turn into Avenue 3, I see Marsiling Mrt and I knew I was on the right track. All I need to do now is follow the line to Woodlands Mrt and turn into Avenue 5 and from the Avenue 2 slip road head towards Avenue 7. It sounds simpler than it actually is.. so I turn right into Avenue 5, and look for the left slip road into Avenue 2. Got it .. GREAT!.. now Avenue 7 … where is Avenue 7.. from there it became an all too familiar ritual of going round in circles around Woodlands Interchange annd Causeway Point (Avenue 5 and Avenue 2!!!!)..

Three revolutions and 10 minutes later, I managed to somehow , with Hiro Nakamura-esk powers, transport myself to Avenue 7 with Admiralty MRT coming into view. ahhhh… ok.. as I approach the traffic intersection I see the sign.. ADMIRAL GARDENS COMMUNITY CLUB.. yep yep.. I’m there.. so I follow the sign and turn right… except.. NO COMMUNITY CLUB..   !&!$%*$!^^#^$#$!&@!#!@@@@

I drive around abit pushing my luck hoping to find the CC.. but no luck.. as I turned into Woodlands Ring Road from Drive 6. I see ANOTHER sign ADMIRAL GARDENS COMMUNITY CLUB.. so i guess i must be close.. i CIRCLED Woodlands Ring Road TWICE.. and nothing came remotely close to a CC except for brightly lit area with Basketball and street soccer courts.. so i ASSUME that was the CC, cuz it had this building next to it.. I turned into the Carpark next to it and when i got out of the car, the driver of the vehicle that was coming out of the carpark as I was driving in runs a CHAIN ACROSS THE CARPARK ENTRANCE.. and i was .. WTF??!!

I look at a sign almost obscured by a tree.. NO ENTRY EXCEPT AUTHORIZED VEHICLES..

damn i’m screwed..

so I walk to the building next door.. 

WOODLANDS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE CENTER..

………!!!!!!!

this is a slap the forehead moment if there ever was one.. *PLIAK!*

Swearing to myself I walk to the front of the building, towards the reception, and there was a line of at least 8 people in the reception area.. so me being the fidgety prick that I am begin pacing outside. It didn’t occur to me that the place was probably monitored by CCTV, and a chap pacing back and forth would constitute as suspicious behaviour. Out of nowhere this police officer sauntered by very casually asks me what I am doing there. I looked at him, this very friendly mid forties malay officer, smiling at me with his wrist resting on his sidearm. I smiled back.. and I thought why the hell not..

So I said,” Boleh tanya soalan bodoh tak?”  (can i ask you a dumb question)

Officer says,” Boleh.. kerja kita memang untuk jawab soalan bodoh..tapi soalan jangan bodoh sangat sampai bodoh bodohkan orang”. (Sure.. It’s our job to answer dumb questions. But not too dumb/smart alecky to make me look like a fool)

so i told him the story about getting lost and somehow ending up in a restricted carpark. He tried his best to contain his laughter and he puts his arm around me. and says,” nie nak kena saman nie…”(I have to write you a ticket for this)

My reply,” Saman pon saman lah bang, I just need to get out of the carpark” (I don’t care about the ticket *sic*, I Just need to get out of the carpark”

He laughs heartily and pats me on my shoulder.. He asks me to point out my car and proceeds to unlock the chain across the carpark entrance. I made no hesitation in running for my car to drive out. As I drove out he tapped my window and said, ” Next time be carefull bila nak masuk carpak. Baca betul betul the sign” (next time be careful. Read the signs properly).

Me,” by the way bang, where IS Admiral Garden Community Club”

He points across the road, to a block of flats, and a small little sign at the void deck.. GODDAMNIT.. i must have passed by that block . Certainly unless you know it’s there, you won’t be looking for it. He smiled and waved me off.. and I drove off thankfull that

1. I did not get a ticket

2. he didn’t call the whole reception to laugh at my dumb wrong turn. althought there were some off duty officers chatting nearby that were wondering who the hell i was.

I guess they didn’t stop me cuz I was wearing this white polo-T that looked like the white Police Polos.. They must’ve thought i was a police officer as well.. I mean who would have the AUDACITY to turn into a restricted Police carpark…

Me .. i guess..

Till Next Time…

I’m starting this not knowing how long this post will be, so bear with me if it does end up long-ish..

Saturday was our “third first date”. So we retraced our steps as best we could of our first date, and had dinner at The Esplanade around 5-ish. We dropped by Reets’ primary schoolmates’ reunion and left around 9-ish. Of course I had to watch the Man United - Sunderland match.. and since me and Reets hasn’t been out to the movies in a while, Reets had the presence of mind to bring a few dvd’s so we could sort of  catch up on lost movie time.. 3 out of the 4 movies just happened to be inspired by books.

Twilight... Poster vs Original Book Cover

Twilight – Stephanie Meyer
Ok. This book was an awesome read.. then again I’m a sucker for vampire shit. I discovered that this was a book when the trailers started showing and i did some research about the movie. I read the series almost straight away. The premise of the story is a typical mortal/vampire love story.. not new but the difference here is these vamps are not the types that turn to dust during the day..
The movie does stay relatively close to the book plotwise. Apart from a few minor additions and some superficial aesthetic changes, yeah, it was a good one.. I can’t discuss this one further cuz Reets hasn’t finished reading the book, and the DVD couldn’t read like halfway through the movie..bummer..so she didn’t get to watch the movie to the end either.. double bummer.. I am waiting to see how the producers of Twilight the movie are going to follow this up with the other 3 books.. New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I’ve also read about the companion book to Twilight, Midnight Sun that tells the whole story of Twilight in the eyes of Edward Cullen instead of Bella.

Marley and Me – Poster vs Original Book Cover

Marley and Me – John Grogan
This is definitely a feel good movie. Me likey. And the ending, well it’s kinda sad but inevitable. Also inevitable would be comparisons to the book… which I will not make.. cuz I’ve never read the book.. hehehe.. The dog was cute.. too cute to hate.. I must say Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson has good on screen chemistry yes? NOOOOOOO… Owen Wilson could just be any character in his last 5 movies…and Jenn?, well Jenn is Jenn. Put her in a coffee shop, change the name to rachel.. but kinda older and more matured.. that’s that… The pull factor here is the dog and the misadventures and the sweet sweet moments.. the dog made the show.. hell it IS about him anyway right? watch the movie straight up.. do not expect powerful performances.. just enjoy the feelgood story.

Slumdog Millionaire vs Q & A

Slumdog Millionaire (inspired by Q & A – Vikas Swarup)
The IT movie of the present.. Everyone was talking about it during the Oscars.. Prolly half of Singapore already watched it.. but not me..even my FUTURE IN-LAWS had already watched it. And forgive my ignorance but I just found out today , that it was inspired by a book. I can’t say it was based on a book because the plotline has very little similarity. But now that I’ve seen the movie.. I want to read the book. Ok for the unitiated, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man (Jamal) from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and exceeds people’s expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials. The story is told in a narrative as he explains to the police how he knew the answers for the questions. Flasbacks include how he and his brother (Salim) left the slums..and his love for Lakita a childhood friend also from the slums. I’ve yet to read the book, but I have been informed that in the book Jamal is not Jamal.. and him and Salim are not brothers.. and Lakita was not a childhood friend.. and the differences go on and on.. Nevertheless I totally enjoyed Slumdog and it’s the kind of movie i think, that the old and the young could appreciate.. It deserves all the accolades it has received..

and so that was my weekend.. how was yours..

Till Next Time..

ok let’s see..

Zaffy and Baby Rahsyan’s Birthday Bash..
March 7..T’was a costume/fancy dress thingi.. I went as Darth Vader..

Darth Me... Darth mini me.. and Ehan as an awesome Darth Maul

Fairy Godmother Reets with Birthday Boy Drool on her dress..

We left the party early for ANOTHER birthday celebration at Sakura West Coast..Mum’s Birthday dinner . with the rest of the C.U.F.C families..(believe it or not i have not come around to up load them pics)

The Broken Toe
Somewhere Mid-March (I think around 10th – 12th).. I broke my toe..yeah .. Toe had an unfortunate meeting with a door..you should see the door balls.. anyways.. I didn’t think anything was wrong till after two days it was still swollen and black and blue. Went to A&E Changi.. waited like forever (4 hours from start to end to be exact..) had X-rays taken and confirmed broken toe and Sub-Ungal Hematoma (bleeding under nail).. the blood putting pressure on the broken toe is what’s causing so much discomfort.

Treatment? This thing called TREPHINING.. Sounds wonderful.. ever wonder what it is. I did while waiting outside the Nurse Treatment station.. So the nurse explains to me as she takes out an burner.. you know one of them alcohol wick old school burners.. yeah that one.. and starts looking for a lighter..She sheepishly looks at me and asks if i smoke.. So i lent her my lighter and she lights the burner. She then takes out a paperclip, straightens it out, and starts heating it.. while swabbing my toenail to clean a bit. She then proceeds to POKE THROUGH MY TOENAIL with the red hot end of paper clip. You could smell the burning nail as the paper clip burns through (not drill through..blunt end ok) my nail..Happy Happy Joy Joy thoughts ran through my head as I try to stay still. The pain was not from the hot paperclip.. but the pressure applied on my throbbing broken toe.. Nurse had to repeat three times before the paperclip went through the nail and then PFFFFFTT!!! blood spurts through the hole. And the relief , I tell you..as the blood flowed out the pressure under the nail eases and along with it the pain slowly dissappears.. As days went by the nail turned black (eew).. and this morning it’s just hanging by a little bit of flesh at the deep base of the nail.. waiting to drop… which is irritating cuz.. you know.. it gets snagged when i want to put on my pants.. it gets snagged when i want to put on footwear.. so little thing but it hurts like a bitch..couldn’t take it no more so i kinda pulled out the nail..

Driving Test
31st March.. my driving test..bright and early at 0725 hrs at the Driving Center.. had my warmups and shite.. the Tester.. was not a friendly chap.. He calls out my name and I reply.. also gave him a friend “Good Morning” , me being the total all round nice guy that I am. And he didn’t even look at me. I remember thinking.. this is gonna be one long morning. When we got to the car.. I was adjusting my pants (yes do not laugh it was beginning to slip), Tester goes, ” So .. What are you waiting for .. get in the car la”.. right then and there if he had said anything else i would have lost it and introduce him to my now healing broken toe. Long story short he was rude throughout the whole thing. I mean , fair enough you have to be impartial and serious.. but there is a thin line between being serious.. and just outwardly rude. When he skipped the U-Turn part of the course, I thought.. finishlaa.. sure fail already. We drove back to the Driving Center and went up to Chief Tester’s room.. and he set me down.. Nag .. nag.. nag.. nag.. nag.. nag.. nag… nag,,.
Congratulations You passed.. Time check 0900hrs..

???!!!!!!
woooooo.. then commences the WAIT for the 10 minute safety video show (starts at 0930hrs that’s already 2 hours plus running since i got to the center.). And after the safety video thing I had to submit my photo and particulars to the Traffic Police counter.. took a number.. waited 2 hours…I finally left Ubi Driving Center at 1200 hrs.. But at least when I drive now.. it’s LEGAL.. hehehe.

and of course i leave you with some pics i took at Seletar Reservoir.

Sunset.. we were late...

No Entry... Do NOT walk into the light..

no idea why i took this picture.. or why I am posting it.. it just calls to me ..