long time no see...

been so occupied with work, studies, ecas and other commitments that i've not blog for a very long time. next week's exams already but i still haven't finished studying yet...sigh...
will keep you guys updated!
anyway, Mad About English was great...

movie review: bad habits

synopsis:
One family has a whole set of diverse eating disorders--their faith, love and vanity are put to the test at the dinner table. Matilde is a nun convinced that faith can turn wine into water. Secretly, she begins fasting to prevent what she considers to be the second great flood. Elena is a thin, stylish woman ashamed of her daughter's weight. She is willing to do anything to make her daughter thin so she will look like a princess at her first communion. At the same time, Elenaâ's architect husband Gustavo cannot cope any more with his wife's gaunt figure during intimate moments. For an escape, he finds himself in the arms of a buxom female student.

my say:
the film starts off with a moody, eerie shot of what seems like a child dressed as a nun running towards a door, accompanied by loud thuds of footsteps resounding in water.
a horror movie? not quite so. this movie's really very thought provoking. it's very suitable for those who are in constant dieting, take things for granted and over demanding.
the acting of the actors were also brilliant.

movie review: the dark knight

synopsis:
With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante


my say:
i'm not a fan of super heroes action movies, but this one for sure i can say, i
really enjoyed it very very much. this movie's not about pure actions and
fantasy, in fact, there's not too much of it. it's more of the storyline that captures
me. although the heath ledger played the supporting actor role as joker,
i felt that he outshine christian bale by a measure. the story's always in a climax such
that you don't feel bored at all, and if u ever rush to the toilet in the middle of the show,
you're going to lose out on a lot. highly recommended!

standard chartered marathon, here i come!

finally under peer pressure, i signed up for the singapore standchart marathon,
together with 20 other AZ colleagues.
of course i didn't sign up for the full marathon, only 10km, but it's really
a big giant step for me already. for those friends who know me well,
i really HATE running. really cannot find pleasure or joy in it at all.
but it's a good thing i supposed, coz i really want that washboard abs
which i heard running helps a lot in building that... better start training
for it. hope i dun collapse on the 7th Dec.

movie review: red cliff

synopsis:
With a budget of US$80million, "Red Cliff" is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date. The movie is based on historical records of "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdom" rather than the novel, "Romance of the Three Kingdom". In the early third century, the land of Wu is invaded by the warlord Cao Cao and his soldiers. The ruler of Wu, Sun Quan (Chang Chen), calls on the rival warlord Liu Bei (You Yong) for help, but their two armies are still badly outnumbered. However, the strategists Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) and Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) see that Cao Cao's army is unused to battling on the sea. With 200,000 men, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang defeat Cao Cao's army at the Yangtze River.

my say:

this movie if full of bloody scenes, lots of blood. even though it's a battle film, i still do feel that there's a little bit way too much of violence and blood elements in this film. there's too much of it, such that i've grown used to it and had no reaction to those scenes at the later part of the film. nevertheless, the interesting storylines and goodlooking casts, did catch my attention and didn't put me to sleep. i have to commend on john woo's portray of the characters in the film. there's a lot of personalities and details in most of the characters. i still feel that the actor as guanyu didn't do a very good job, as his voice wasn't harsh and man enough for the character. in one particular scene, when zhang fei fought bare handed with the cao's troops, i feel that it was a little bit over done. althought the director's intention was to show zhangfei's manliness and courage, it was done in a too layman and direct manner i should say. the director had also cleverly added some funny moments when the audience can view a more cheerful sight in the warring time, well, some surprises here and there.

Singapore Garden Festival

the long awaited singapore garden festival is finally here.
bought the tickets 2 months ago, and thanks to thiamchen,
we managed to enter at $6, 50% off the original price!
anyway, just as i was taking out my camera, something
shocking happened. my nikon died on me!!! again....
this time, my compact flash card couldn't be read.
i took out, insert again, and take out, and waited and insert
and blow, and meddle the slot, and insert again, (hey, hey, no naughty thoughts k...)
still no signs of survival... sob sob.... think i'll have to send to ER on monday.
below are taken using thiamchen' camera, only posted those
with faces lah...

my most favourite exhibition: seeking shangrila...


hey, they made this football table out of spades!!!


thiamchen posing with marilyn monroe...


oh yah, i had those doctor fishes eating away my dead skin
on my feet....eeewww.....

wow, i've really done a lot...

looking back, it's been 3 years since i've left NUS.
i realised that during the past 3 years, it's really been very fruitful
and fulfilling, coz i've done lots more which i didn't have the
chance to do when i was still schooling...
like....

- diving
- bungee jumping
- travelling overseas alone
- cable skiing
- dragon boating
- taking part in singing competition
- keel boat sailing
- mountain climbing (mt kk)
- white water rafting

and counting...

Gary Cao, Welcome To My World Asia Live Tour 2008

wow, gary really sounded exactly like the CD
when he sang live, nearly flawless, and pure listening pleasure.
but he can't dance! i was so amused when he tried to
do the tap dance and martial arts antics...
but it was rather disappointing as there was no encore at all
and was surprised when he sang the last song and nobody shouted encore!
and also, he didn't speak as much as i thought as he would when
he was interviewed on yes933.
oh well, perhaps i expected too much out of the $148 tix i bought...

Corporate Community Games dragon boat challenge

i would really like to shout out proudly: WE'VE DONE EXTREMELY WELL!!!
given only 4 training sessions, we didn't come out last even though we didn't win.
when we reached bedok reservoir, we were rather intimidated by our
competitors, so uniformed and all those buldging muscles!
but fear didn't engulf us for long, and we managed to 'recover' very fast.

from our timing of 2m45s in our first training, to 1m44s in my last training,
we've shown tremendous improvements.
and during the race, we did our personal best at 1m32s !!!
what a feat, despite all those pressure from the atmosphere of the competition ground.

all these are not possible without our sheer determination and great team spirit.
many thanks to roystern for his coaching.
and to eugene for his encouragements and patience during the
last stage of our training and during the race itself.

POA's finally over...

at last, it's over. i couldn't stay till the end coz i was
really feeling very sick and had to go back earlier after lunch to take
a really good rest. not only that, i still have got a
dragon boat race to go for tomolo, so better rest well and get better in time,
else history will repeat itself again.
yes, i vomitted during our dragon boat training yesterday. into kallang river...
i wasn't sea sick, just that i was already sick for the past week
and not getting any better, and the over-exertion made it even worse.
pardon me guys... i didn't mean to puke, keke...
can't wait for tomorrow to come and show the rest what we've got.
Go Team AstraZeneca!!! We Can Do It!!!

this is soooo funny....

down with cough and sore throat...

seems like the weather's really very bad recently,
so many people around me are sick.
i had a very bad cough since last week and the doctor
put me on a course of antibiotics.
however, i really feel that 5 days of klacid's really underdosing
as many of my doctors also said 7 days should be the minimum.
gotta get a week more supply of it to make sure i'm sufficiently
covered... hope will get better tomorrow!

movie review: hancock

Synopsis:
There are heroes... there are superheroes... and then there's Hancock. With great power comes great responsibility -- everyone knows that -- everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough -- as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn't the kind of man who cares what other people think -- until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey, and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock's greatest challenge yet -- and a task that may prove impossible as Ray's wife, Mary, insists that he's a lost cause.

my say:
i think the story's kinda refreshing and acting of will smith and charlize theron
were great. i really think theron's very attractive in certain scenes.
the ending was kinda abrupt i think and wasn't very well plotted.

blur don....

was supposed to catch a movie with don, and this is what happened:

1) we're supposed to meet at 3pm, but he was late and arrived only
at 3.20pm, and the show's supposed to start at 3.25pm

2) he called me and told me he's already at the ticketing booth,
but i couldn't see him. guessed what, he bought the tickets at
cathay orchard cineleisure, but i was at cathay at The Cathay!!!
i even called him to confirmed with him the night before
that it is at The Cathay or not and he said yes....

3) worst of all, he bought the ticket for 3.25am. you're not mistaken.... AM!!!
*faint* luckily he managed to change the timing to 3.40pm
and got a fairly comfortable centre seat...

i had to rush all the way from The Cathay to Orchard Cineleisure...
what a shag move for watching a movie...

wake up don!!!

if you don't want anyone to see your monitor

complimentary from mdm lay...
i even suspect that that's her! or well, the geek?

why chinese shouldn't have christian names...

Caller: Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan (anyone) ?

Operator: Yes you can speak to me.

Caller: No, I want to speak to Annie Wan (anyone) !

Operator: You are speaking to someone! Who is this?

Caller: I'm Sam Wan(Somone). And I need to speak to Annie Wan (anyone)! It's urgent.

Operator: I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone. But what's this urgent matter about?

Caller: Well... Just tell my sister Annie Wan (anyone) that our brother Noel Wan (no one) has involved in an accident. Noel Wan (no one) got injured and now Noel Wan (no one) is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery wan (everyone) is on his way to the hospital.

Operator: Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital, then the accident isn't an urgent matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!

Caller: You are so rude. Who are you?

Operator: I'm Saw Lee (Sorry).

Caller: Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!

wakakaka!!!!

kiwi from dr tan yoke khim

dr tan gave michelle & myself this pack of kiwi fruit
when we left her clinic... orhhh....how nice of her...

GO Team AstraZeneca, GO!

we clocked our new record: 2'12'' ! for 300m of dragon boating during our training yesterday.
that was a tremendous improvement from 2'45'' from last sat.
wow, i really cannot believe it despite the fact that this is only our 3rd training.
we're working very hard to clock lesser than 2 min, and I'm definitely sure we can do it!

movie review: get smart

synopsis:

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?

my say:
once again, i can confidently say that steve carwell did not disappoint the audience in this movie. his humour and antics are really very spontaneous and you can really laugh from the bottom of your heart. unlike Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English, Max's really a very smart agent. although he did made some blunders here and there, his analytical skills were superb though. a very good watch i would say

another tiring wedding day, not mine of course...

i've had another tiring day of friend's wedding after khaifong's.
morning: brother for wee meng. fortunately, it's not as early as khaifong's 5am.
chauffer for the brothers to shuen yann's house and
then to their solemnisation at the church.
i can say the service's really very very loong...

and then at around 1 plus, i rushed off to chin siew's church wedding.
it's surprisingly much shorter than wee meng's.
when back home after that for a short rest.

then at 6.30pm, set off from home to wee meng and shuen yann's wedding dinner.
as usual, ended at around 10 plus.

one FULL day of wedding meals.... burrrp....

khaifong & yingxue's wedding

here's a summary of what we did during khaifong and yingxue's wedding..

we arrived at khaifong's place at 4.30am, waiting for the auspicious hour.
at around 5.15am, we left the house and set off to park royal hotel.
the handsome bridegroom upon arrival


alright brothers, let's get ready to fetch the bride!


and the torture begins...


doing yoga...

morning exercises' good for health...

drinking soy bean milk out of a baby's milk bottle...

luckily's not that taxing.

yep, that's my wife's lipstick mark...

alright, shall have you blinded folded and guess which one's ur bride...

hey hey, don't anyhow touch!

yep, you got it!

yingxue's parents

as the auspicious hour's slightly delayed, we've to drive at top

speed to rush back to khaifong's house for the traditional procession

the lovely couple...

khaifong's parents, brother and sister-in-law

brothers and sisters unite

forced to kiss? nah....

we went to NTU for outdoor photo shooting...

gosh, i actually blocked eugene's face! *evil grin*

full of envy...

let's pose and....

the crazy bunch actually pushed us to the ground!

oh yah, i was the one who caught the bouquet...

solemnisation at park royal...

presenting the emcees for the day..... steven and huifang!

hope we didn't do a bad job...

end of lunch....