Bittersweet Experience
State of Being: Happiness tinged with Sadness :(
It's official. 10 years of ICT has fly by so quickly and my NS obligation with 258SA has come to an end at last. Though I am glad that I have MRed together with the rest of the unit (FREEDOM!!!), I must admit that I am feeling a little sad at the same time... Ecstatic that there is no more IPPTs and out-field exercises anymore. But that would also mean no more bitching and reminiscing the "good old" days with my fellow comrades, whom I have bonded since my NS active days.
With the closing of this chapter in my life, I will always treasure the memories shared and the friendship made and I hereby sincerely wish the very best for all the men from 258SA!
With the closing of this chapter in my life, I will always treasure the memories shared and the friendship made and I hereby sincerely wish the very best for all the men from 258SA!
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Escapades
State of Being : Moscow, St Petersburg, Toronto & New York...
It has been a while since I last posted anything. Nowadays, I am more preoccupied with updating my Facebook account. In any case, here are some photos taken at my most recent travelling "escapades"! Enjoy...
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Back in Moscow on the 7th day...
State of Being : Blogging "live" from Swissotel Moscow Executive Lounge
After three wet and freezing days in St Petersburg, I was so looking forward at returning back to Moscow on day 7, where the sun will be shining brightly at temperature ranging between 23-26 degree celcius (i.e. the temperature when I first arrived in Moscow last Saturday).
But unfortunately, that was not the case as somehow the temperature must have changed over the past 4 days while I was away in St Petersburg. In fact, the wind was just as chilling in Moscow on day 7 as the temperature was in St Petersburg, only sans the rain. Luckily, we have already covered most of the attractions in Moscow over the previous weekend and had only left to explore the metros and the markets.
To make matter worse, not only were the weather in Moscow "unviting", we were stopped by the Moscow police for some routine check and had to pay them some "coffee money" to be let off. Thankfully on the advise of one of my colleagues, I had carried photostated copies of our passports rather than the actual ones, so that the police could not hold us random but alas they still asked that we pay them 2,000 rubles!!! just to get back those papers. I acted pitiful and surrended only 250 rubles in the end, claiming that we have already spent the rest and were leaving Russia the next day. Sigh, we have read so much about these corrupted police in the travel guide and online forum and were hoping that we would not run into them but still...
Having survived such an eventful day in Russia, I definitely hope that tomorrow will be a better day!!
p.s. I can't wait to go back to Singapore in two days time so as to bitch more about those cops and our close encounters with some pickpockets in St Petersburg (yes the nerve of those pickpockets!)
But unfortunately, that was not the case as somehow the temperature must have changed over the past 4 days while I was away in St Petersburg. In fact, the wind was just as chilling in Moscow on day 7 as the temperature was in St Petersburg, only sans the rain. Luckily, we have already covered most of the attractions in Moscow over the previous weekend and had only left to explore the metros and the markets.
To make matter worse, not only were the weather in Moscow "unviting", we were stopped by the Moscow police for some routine check and had to pay them some "coffee money" to be let off. Thankfully on the advise of one of my colleagues, I had carried photostated copies of our passports rather than the actual ones, so that the police could not hold us random but alas they still asked that we pay them 2,000 rubles!!! just to get back those papers. I acted pitiful and surrended only 250 rubles in the end, claiming that we have already spent the rest and were leaving Russia the next day. Sigh, we have read so much about these corrupted police in the travel guide and online forum and were hoping that we would not run into them but still...
Having survived such an eventful day in Russia, I definitely hope that tomorrow will be a better day!!
p.s. I can't wait to go back to Singapore in two days time so as to bitch more about those cops and our close encounters with some pickpockets in St Petersburg (yes the nerve of those pickpockets!)
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Angels & Demons
State of Being : Reminiscing 2008's Europe Trip...
It's a pity that I am not travelling to Rome this year for holiday, else I would have loved to try to spot the many statues and location sets for Dan Brown's film adaptation of his novel "Angels & Demons".
Alas, below are the only photos from my Europe trip last year which had been the location shots for some of the scenes from the movie... And no, we did not have any photos of the said statues that were shown in the movie. :(
Alas, below are the only photos from my Europe trip last year which had been the location shots for some of the scenes from the movie... And no, we did not have any photos of the said statues that were shown in the movie. :(
The Pantheon
St Peter's Square
Swiss Guards
St Peter's Basilica & St Peter's baldachin
Piazza del Popolo
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峇峇娘惹
State of Being : Peranakan Food Galore!!
It's amazing how many authenic Nyonya dishes I managed to sample and eat over my short trip in Malacca last weekend. With only 2 days, and effectively less than 36 hrs to visit the city attractions and get my hands on all the famous dishes (not just Peranankan food only) in Malacca, never had I eaten so much food in such a short period, and especially on a holiday!
Out of all the dishes eaten during that trip, I'll have to give my votes to the Chinchalok Omelette & the Durian Chendol. "Simply Sedap"!!! *slurp*
Out of all the dishes eaten during that trip, I'll have to give my votes to the Chinchalok Omelette & the Durian Chendol. "Simply Sedap"!!! *slurp*
Chinchalok Omelette
Durian Chendol
From top left (clockwise) - Ayam Ponteh, Udang Asam Lemak, Asam Udang, Chendol & Asam Laksa, Ayam Buah Keluak, Otak-Otak, Nyonya Chap Chye, Chicken Rice Ball
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Welcome Back Singa!
State of Being : Courtesy Begins with Me...
Remember Singa the Courtesy Lion whom we hold so dear during the 80s? Just when you thought that he's long forgotten and we can only relive its existence in our childhood memories, he's now back with a vengence!
Spotted outside the National Library and all over Singapore, this endearing mascot is "brought back to life" to guide us the way in becoming a more gracious & a more courteous nation. Long live Singa!!! :)
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4.5
State of Being : *sigh*
Yes, it's official now. The company has just instructed us to work 4.5 days per week starting in April. In simple equation terms, this would mean
Yes, it's official now. The company has just instructed us to work 4.5 days per week starting in April. In simple equation terms, this would mean
4.5 workday week
= 2 days complusory "leave" per month
= 2 days unpaid leave per month
= almost 10% cut in monthly $$$!!!
Well, I guess I still have to be thankful cos at least I still have a job...
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Ainol V6000 HDB
State of Being : Finally arrived at last!!!
Whenever there's an IT Fair, I'll be there and last weekend was no exception. I went to the IT Fair with the intention to get a portable media player that could support multi format videos and most importantly a video-out for me to watch the videos on my 32" TV screen. The iPod touch which I had, does not allow video-out and the troublesome thing is that I had to convert most of my videos (downloaded over the net) into mp4 format in order for me to carry and view them on the go. Thinking perhaps that Creative's zen x-fi could satisfy all my needs in a portable media player, I checked out the product as well. But alas, it too does have a video-out function. Desperate that there wasn't any media players in the market with the specifications I wanted, I loitered aimlessly amongst the many booths at the IT Fair.
Then something caught my eyes at one of the smaller booths on level 6. Even though it was a Chinese product, but it had all the specs I wanted and more - a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution display, 8GB of internal storage space, expanded microSD slot, support for RMVB, AVI and FLV video files and HD (720p) output. Due to the overwhelming response at the fair, I even had to place an order for the item. But my wait was finally over as I got my hands on my Ainol V6000HDB portable media on Friday. Hooray!!! I can finally watch my downloaded videos (with high definition option) on my 32" TV screen now!!!
Whenever there's an IT Fair, I'll be there and last weekend was no exception. I went to the IT Fair with the intention to get a portable media player that could support multi format videos and most importantly a video-out for me to watch the videos on my 32" TV screen. The iPod touch which I had, does not allow video-out and the troublesome thing is that I had to convert most of my videos (downloaded over the net) into mp4 format in order for me to carry and view them on the go. Thinking perhaps that Creative's zen x-fi could satisfy all my needs in a portable media player, I checked out the product as well. But alas, it too does have a video-out function. Desperate that there wasn't any media players in the market with the specifications I wanted, I loitered aimlessly amongst the many booths at the IT Fair.
Then something caught my eyes at one of the smaller booths on level 6. Even though it was a Chinese product, but it had all the specs I wanted and more - a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution display, 8GB of internal storage space, expanded microSD slot, support for RMVB, AVI and FLV video files and HD (720p) output. Due to the overwhelming response at the fair, I even had to place an order for the item. But my wait was finally over as I got my hands on my Ainol V6000HDB portable media on Friday. Hooray!!! I can finally watch my downloaded videos (with high definition option) on my 32" TV screen now!!!
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