manpower christmas dinner

1. addy and sam (the sales director)
2. iain (the asia pac director) and addy
he like damn buei song to give me the prize hor?
3. asean and korea manpower group!

3m - mini-movie marathon

nightatthemuseum
@goldenvillagemarina
with.chrisandkenneth
feeling.cute

though it is just another typical ben stiller movie, it fits into the holiday mood perfectly..lots of laugh-out-loud and feel good moments..features owen wilson and robin williams as well..nice! :)

deathnote2:thelastname
@goldenvillagemarina
with.chris,kenneth and alex
feeling.contented

i was curious how death note would end in the movie having known the actual ending for the manga..and i'm glad to say that while part 2 strays a little from the original storyline, the overall plot still holds together well..also despite having a different ending, the show still provides a satisfactory closure..

---

thanks for the tie jinxy..really lovely choice of colour babe! :)

have yourself a merry little christmas

christmas eve
lunch with jessica, yili, hongli and yuqian at waraku japanese restaurant in marina square..the third time i've been to the restaurant..while i don't claim to be a jap food expert, the food there is pretty nice (much tastier than sakae sushi..yeah lots of people will say "duh!"..duh!) and at an affordable price as well..after lunch we had our christmas gift exchange! i got a handphone strap, a handphone holder, a moo-moo bottle and a box of maltesers..not a bad return though the choice of purple for the handphone strap amused jess and myself highly! :P


after lunch we went for a few rounds of pool before calling it a day at 5pm..on our way back, yili's handphone got pinched, which kind of took the shine off an otherwise quite fine day out..

christmas day - midnight mass at the church of the holy trinity
really lovely! (aside from the fact that i had my brother stoning beside me throughout the service!)..it's first time in years that i've enjoyed the christmas midnight mass..i think it helped that Father John Bosco was presiding over the mass..he just has that charisma and presence to attract and then hold on to your attention..for the homily, he spoke of gifts; how one gives and receives, how we are all gifts from God and how we can be gifts to God..as a bonus, he sang "have yourself a merry little christmas" at the end of his homily, as a gift to all in attendance..while it was not exactly (in his own words) "singapore idol" material, i am sure his sincerity touched more than a few hearts this morning..it certainly warmed my heart..suddenly all my loneliness and fears just disappeared..and christmas is alive again..

have yourself a merry little christmas
let your heart be light
from now on, our troubles will be out of sight

have yourself a merry little christmas
make the yuletide gay
from now on, our troubles will be miles away

here we are, as in olden days
happy golden days of yore
faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more

through the years, we all will be together
if the fates allow
hang a shining star above the highest bough
and have yourself a merry little christmas now

thank you, God..
thank you, Jesus..
and thank you, Father John Bosco..

merry christmas to one and all!
may all your christmas dreams and wishes come true!

ju hua tai

curseofthegoldenflower
@goldenvillageplazasingapura
with.chrisandkenneth
feeling.groggified

was eagerly anticipating this because i saw (saw..not read!) on the straits times that it was given 4.5 stars out of 5..and i said to myself "should be good..not that many chinese shows surpass the 3 stars barrier!"..oh how wrong i was..the plot was senseless at times and just plain ridiculous at other times..but if you can look past the point of it all, the visuals were really quite a sight to behold..thankfully chow yun fatt and gong li's respective portrayal of the emperor and empress at least saved the show some credit..maybe it's the story and maybe it's the middle of the night but i just couldn't bring myself to appreciate this..

ikea and courts

went to the new ikea in tampines (finally!) today with gabriel..it is as they say "HUGE"! my mission was to buy a computer table for my mum (as well as any other cute stuff that can be used as cheap christmas presents :P)..the place was packed for a weekday..lots of aunties and kids..but interestingly, there were no queues at the cashiers! what we soon realise is despite it's gi-normous physique, the range of products is basically the same as the other ikea in alexandra road..well ok the walkways are wider and the cafe is bigger but for someone looking for a computer table, i wasn't too impressed with what i had to choose from..i ended up buying a very basic one for my mum and a cd case for myself..hey it's ikea, you can't leave without buying anything! and if you were wondering what happened to my infamous obsession with ikea batteries..well, i got my colleague to buy two packs for me the previous week already! :P

after ikea, we went over to the also newly opened courts megastore..i tell you, that place is a market! the design of the store itself was quite a mess..we entered at the first level only to realise that you couldn't go upstairs unless you made a big round back to the main entrance..even then, you have got to start all the way at the third level and make your way down! ok, that was probably a marketing ploy..but the ground floor..products strewn all over the floor, a salesman on the microphone shouting out bargain products, loud music and all the uncles and aunties removing items out of boxes and then simply chucking them aside..like a bladdy wet market! not surprisingly, gabriel and i found an empty dopod box with the handset amiss! i mean, who will suspect when almost everyone (and i mean literally everyone!) is just taking products out of their boxes to inspect..i am sure there are many more empty boxes lying around without their items in them..

two megastores side by side but such a contrast in image..courts with its packed, narrow spaces and haphazard arrangements just oozes of shoddiness..on the other hand, ikea with its wide aisles and tidily organised furnitures reflects class and simplicity..i'm probably biased..afterall, it's ikea, you just don't leave without buying anything!

1st

attended my 1st manpower company dinner this evening at my secret garden near bugis..tucked away in a small compound behind nanyang academy of fine arts, it has a really lovely intimate ambience..the service was reasonable enough without being really great..the food though is a disappointment; i had lobster bisque, portabello mushroom, grilled chicken and tiramisu..most of which were just ordinary..

despite that, i still had quite a night! seeing my colleagues after four days away from office was great..how i've missed them! but the icing on the cake must be that i took the 1st prize in the lucky draw! haha..300 buckeroos taka vouchers! my first lucky draw win EVER and it's the 1st prize! woah woah woah! but ar..can i ask..what exactly can you buy at takashimaya??? :|

for now it's back to reality and reality is that i have to take a test in camp tomorrow morning..brrrr!

ten

i like the number 10. 10 as in perfect 10 (not the radio station). 10 as in teddy sheringham (former tottenham hotspur player). 10 as in a nice round number. 10 tonight is the number of christmas cards i have written. 10 is the number of poems i've penned for the cards - unique to each card. i'd like to send more christmas cards out but for now i'll just leave it at that. 10.

---

your words slapped me across the face - in a good sense. i needed that wake up call. thank you.

it constantly amazes me the impact that my words can sometimes have on others..like ginny (my superior-to-be) aptly put it, the best counsellors find it the hardest to accept advice..i can't agree more..

which reminds me..something i have not mentioned here before..
there is someone i'd like to thank (she knows who she is)..
thank you for being there for me in that middle of the night..even if it was only to listen to me cry..i am very very grateful..

2days.2movies

jamesbondcasinoroyale
@plazasingapura
withkennethandjingxian
feelingnotsogood
the action sequences were cool enough but the plot (what plot?!) was too complicated and the ending was a letdown..left me with a "huh?" feeling at the end..apparently, i wasn't the only one..

happyfeet
@toapayoh
withnooneelse
feelingnotsogood
not really spectacular animation and not a very well put together storyline..had a few nice scenes but main saving grace for me were the five amigos..they were irritatingly funny! the little penguins were really adorable though! wished i could take them home! :P

---

christmas cards lying in my room..really need to start on them..soon!

it's all about the $$$

i am so bladdy broke..this is the outcome of..

1) too many cds - approx. $300
2) a new nokia n73 - $300
3) a new asus notebook - $2000
4) pending - holiday in january (but no kakis..sianz..) - ???
5) pending - muse concert in singapore!! (should i?) - $85

and i haven't even started buying presents yet! oh noooo..how la how?

---

just the other day, a sudden thought, i imagined you with permed hair and i imagined you saying "oh my god!" and it made me laugh..you still amuse me miss ning..

just don't tell me you really permed your hair!!!

grown-up christmas list

do you remember me?
i sat upon your knee
i wrote to you with childhood fantasies
well i'm all grown up now
can you still help somehow
i'm not a child but my heart still can dream

so here's my lifelong wish
my grown-up christmas list
not for myself but for a world in need

no more lives torn apart
that wars will never start
and time will heal all hearts
every man would have a friend
that right will always win
and love will never end
this is my grown-up christmas list...
- michael buble

shwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettt..it's so lovely isn't it?

hai..