Another weekend

Another shaggadelic superb weekend...

My digicam is with my cousin so I had to rely on the humble VGA camera fone with an even 'humbler' picture quality. Well, better than nothing....

22072005-23072005
Tini's 'pit' at ECP (Area D, No. 41)
For something that is arranged on a whim, things sure went well. Thanks Tini & Odi, for the invite. The food is superb!

Seriously, Tini, when you're preparing the stingray and you keep saying, "Crap, crap," I find it pretty appaling that you'll say that about the food. Not nice, you know. However, upon tasting the fish, it suddenly dawned upon me that you meant, "CRAB, CRAB," (as in the crustacean).

Yep, that's how dee-licious the stingray is. Practically tasted like crab-meat. It must have helped, the fact that it's a full-moon night (where crabs are know to be at their meatiest).
Even my bro, who's particularly picky about any fish he ate almost gobbled up MY share of that dish. Geez!
Oh, and the sauce. My, my..... I relish it! Very, very spicy-yet addictive. You can have some liquid dribbling down your nose eating it but you can't help dipping the (fantabulous) fish WITH that incredibly RED sauce. Boy, it's THAT good.

And it was thoughtful of you to prepare that salad. Love it! You know I can't do w/o veggies in my food.... Thanks!

Oh, the 'shisha' session is a definite bonus. Check out my bro's 'Dragon's Breath'. Cool stuff!

23072005
Daytime~Movie + Shopping

Watched THE ISLAND with Shyba. I highly recommend that you watch the Digital version of a movie, esp. those action-packed ones (if available). Currently, the only theatre offering Digital movies in S'pore is @ Cathay Cineleisure.

The picture quality is better, the sound is better BUT the price is the same. If I offer you a VCD and a DVD (of the same movie) at the same price, which one will you take? The DVD, rite???

The shopping part, I shan't elaborate. Heart pain! It never fail to amaze me, how it takes a mere day to almost deplete the amount that took me a month to earn.... Geez!

23072005-24072005

Nightime~Supper + Pool

Made arrangements with Yan for a supper session. Bro came along with a collegue/friend (whom I personally considered as his 'prospective girlfriend'), Natalie. Ate at Mak's Place.

After which, bro sent Natalie home in Yan's car (before meeting us again) while I drove Yan to our next stop: West Coast Recreation Centre for pool. Dun' ask me why I had to go so far just to play that game. But the place is pretty cool. All the tables are those 12' Brunswick type. Impressive.

Head back home at almost 3am. Bro reminded me that I have to wake up at 6am later... Arrrgh!

24072005

Quiksilver Beach Volleyball Tournament @ Sentosa

That Sunday morning saw me wake up at the ealiest timing in months. I didn't even get up THAT early for Subuh prayers...

Brush teeth, wash face and drink the I-dunno-how-many-shots coffee my dad prepared. He's worried about me driving in my sleepy/zonked-out state. Well, he SHOULD be.

In case you're wondering, yes, I didn't bathe that morning. The plan is that my bro will fetch his friends and head into Sentosa, drop off and I shall drive myself back home and MAYBE continue with my sleep. See, what's the point in bathing?

I'm the sort who can't go back to sleep after waking up. Much less after being driven with a bunch of excited 'competitiors' who know NUTS bout' the game they're about to play. Therefore, I joined them at Siloso Beach.

That Caucasian fella in the leftmost photo, who wore the black boardshorts

- is the S'pore/Asia Quiksilver big boss.

~Click >>HERE<< for more fotos~

All's well until it started to rain - pretty heavily. The games were halted. That's when I decided to head back home cos' my dad's been bugging me, saying that we've gotta' head to Jurong for my niece's surprise b'dae celebration.

So I WADDLED in the rain, cos' my flips-flops-being flip-flops, are flimsy and slippery; with a towel wrapped around my head, the large Quiksilver goodie-bag on my shoulder and a large beach-ball under my arm.

How do you think I look, then????

Come to think of it, I deserve that 'shower' cos' it's already noon and I haven't EVEN bathe. Haha!

I'm so darn thick-skinned to admit this. Geez!

24072005

Syafiqah's Birthday

She celebrated her birthday with a big-bang the day before. With the fireworks to boot. with thousands of other students who were there at the NDP preview.

Anyway, I didn't manage to get a parking lot at IMM so my mum hurriedly bought 2 small cakes from POLAR. 2 cakes because there are too many kids for a single cake. Of all flavours, one of of them had to be Coffee. Very funny, mum. Since when do kids eat coffee-flavoured cakes?

The (belated) birthday girl cut the coffee cake and the kids consumed it. Cakes are cakes after all, albeit the coffee flavour. The chocolate mousse cake? My auntie had jokingly kept the cake, saying that it's not meant for kids...

Later on,I saw THAT cake being cut.

Something seemed fishy, though.....

Erk..! How come it's my aunt who's cutting the cake??! So she wasn't joking after all, when she said that the cake is meant for adults only. Sheesh..!

Anyway, played around with the latest addition to the big, big family...

Muhammad Khairullah, the youngest in the brood of 5 brothers & 1 sister. Yes, he's No. 7.

fotos

Fotos

Just realised that I've accumulated quite an amount of fotos in my camera-fone over the past few days... Tot' of just publishing them here. Just for the heck of it.

17072005 ~ West Coast Park

Went to West Cost Food Centre for dinner last Sat. My mum ordered Ikan Bakar & Kangkong Belachan. Somehow, the morning after, I was rudely awakened by my mum.

"I forgot to pay for the Ikan Bakar yesterday...!"

So off we go, that noon, only to realise that the stall will open only at 3pm. My mum wanted to visit West Coast Park. All I'll say is that I introduced her to this 'mini-merry-go-round' thingy and she got hooked. SO hooked that she never stopped playing it, despite being the ONLY adult playing alone (the other adults were with their kids).

I was surprised nobody played it at first. I used to work for the company that construct ALL the equipment at that park so I know that this German-made toy has a different approach to playing it. Kids who saw us, with the ruckus we made on those toys, eventually followed suit. The rest, I say - IS history. Well, except for my mum. She was STILL playing it as my dad & I walked to the car. Tsk tsk.

Lookin' Shady...

Bought this new big-ass shades sometime back and I made some peeps wear it to see how it look on others. Nice...?

Segar!

My parents recently went goo-goo gaa-gaa over this newly opened Segar Restaurant at Bedok Central. The food's ok but I seriously believe that my parents are just crazy bout' the 10% discount it currently offers...

O2 XDA Mini

Currently crazy bout' this baby. But I gotta' bust my budget to purchase this.

Nayyy...

Too much of a sacrifice.

19072005 ~ Cat In The Flower Pot

2 days ago, there's this cat that's seemingly stuck behind a pipe at the staircase landing. Very pitiful. I mewed at it (yes, I DO mew at cats) and it mewed back. I may have spoken something to it but I sure as hell dun' understand the language.

But it's not stuck, really.

Cos' that night, I heard some mewing noise outside my door and mistook it for that of the big-fat casanova of a cat who's determined to woo my neighbour's Persian beauty. The next morning, I have a cat in my mum's flower-pot (betel-leaves, actually). And it stayed there the whole day.

It's gone now. Cos' it made too much noise while I'm away sending my mum and my dad shooed it away. So saaaaad...

Walimatul Urus

Nadia's Walimatul Urus
10072005

After a mere 4hrs sleep since the J.B supper thingy, I would have gladly skipped this wedding invite should it had been one of those distant relatives that invite us. Thing is, it's my good friend's big day and I'll never forgive myself should I not attend.

Went with my parents, Shyba and her mum + little cousin. I heard the kompangs as I arrived. She's here! I would have gladly alighted there if I had not been the one driving.



Dah kata 'RAJA SEHARI'... The 'king of her heart' and the 'queen of his heart'. The couple looked really looked good together. Sigh... So sweet.

Met several ol' mates there. It's funny, to finally see them in person after looking them up on their blogs or frienster.

Oh, BTW Nadia. I personally think that your wedding cakes look GORGEOUS!

j.b supper

J.B Supper
09072005-10072005

Yes, it's that dreaded 'S'-letter word again. And I wonder why I've put on weight... Tsk...

This time, we head for J.B. It's Yan's turn to treat us. Hajar, Yan and myself have made plans for each of us to give one another a treat during our pay-period, considering that the 3 of us got our pay-cheques at different times of the month.

Fetched bro and then Hajar, followed by Yan. Due to some delays and hiccups, we eventually set-off for J.B at 0130hrs. Geez, and I assured my bro that we'll be back by 3... (he gotta' work the next day).

Changed some currency before heading for Danga Bay. The amusement area's car park was darn full. Can you believe it? At that hour?! The foodplace where Yan always head to was closing so we went to Singgah Selalu instead. Darn packed! Luckily there's an empty parking lot. Not surprising, the place is teeming with Singaporeans. Yan met several of his mates there (he called J.B his 2nd home, what).



I kinda' like that place. Nice ambience, despite the majority of Singaporean faces. The food's good, the song is ok (it was raggae songs all the way). The TV showed sports (got soccer!). And got cute, cute guys awso... Heh.

If the dinner was fun, then post dinner was fantastic! Powerkedemak! Hajar & I got really trigger-happy. The thing about us, we got no qualms bout' making silly faces and thru'out the 'photo-session', we have curious eyes on us. I saw one guy laughing at us. Some even shake their heads. Apa tak, kita ketawa macam orang gila. Macam tak betul!

We head to this obsecure Shell station cos' Yan said the petrol there is of 'better quality' (I dunno there's any difference). When we passed the station on the other side of the road, we saw a WHOLE FLEET of gorgeous cars parked there. I assume the whole bunch is topping-up petrol. I had wanted to alight there and then cos' the U-turn point is further down but my bro just drove on. I grumbled and said something like, "Later all of them drive off, then you know.."

Upon reaching the station, I had my camera out, armed and ready. Guess what?! The station is E-M-P-T-Y. There are NO cars (at least the nice2x ones) there. Nein. Null. Zilch. Zero. I blew my top. Ngamuk sakan!

Worse, the station does not accept cards from foreign banks at that hour and the cashier never told me earlier. Desperate, we exchanged S$10 for RM20 with this ah-beng. Pissed-off, man!

But, I definitely 'tak serik' heading to J.B at the wee hours of morning. The roads are empty and jams are almost impossible. There's definitely a 'next time' for this.
Just take extra caution not to offend someone or tempt someone to create trouble for you.

Dad called hours later. Told him, "We're under the block." He assumed that we had been lazing under the block for some time, after coming back from J.B. Truth is, we just entered the parking lot. Heh. Time check: 0615 hrs. Dah Subuh, pun.

Nadia's nikah

Nadia's Nikah.
09052005

One of my close secondary school frens, Nadia was taken got hitched that Saturday afternoon. Not going to miss it for the world.

I remembered last time, while we're still in sec sch, the both of us always while our time away talking bout' our eventual wedding in years to come. Meeting the man of your life and knowing that he's THE ONE. Planning for the wedding. The colour theme, the location, the beautiful dresses....

Then there's the mini 'slumber party' at my home where the bunch of us feasted on instant noodle, snacks and ice-cream while watching 'Dil Tu Pagal Hai'. After which we had a 'make-over' session where Nadia and Rufeah were dolled-up and pretended to pose as bashful brides. I still had the fotos but I won't publish them. Very embarassing, ok?

And now, she's REALLY married. All those quiet discussions... It's now for real. Will it cross her mind then, that some 10 years down the road, her BIG day will come? That she'll be the first amongst us to wed? Sigh.... Growing up. I can never get used to THAT.



She look sooo beautiful. That's the first time I saw her with full make-up (not that she's not beautiful naturally). Watching the Akad Nikah ceremony, it struck a chord deep within me that my fren is someone's wife, now. Some mixed feelings followed. It's like I've not spent as much time with her as I used to. I missed those days.

Anyway, Nadia and Imtiaz, my heartfelt congratulations to the both of you. May you evolve in wedded bliss forever. May you overcome any obstacles that come you way and may you be blessed with all the happiness that a couple deserve. May the both of you forever be blessed by the grace of ALLAH s.w.t. Insya-Allah.
Amin.

PS: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to witness an Akad Nikah done in English. Refreshing!

With Tini

With Tini
08072005-09072005

The previous weekend had been very hectic. So much so I felt so drained of energy that I only managed to upload pics as of yesterday. *phew!*

Planned to have dinner with Tini that Friday. However, it's only on that day itself that it crossed my mind - my boss is going for in-camp training a.k.a re-service the whole of next week. The last time this happened, I have to stay late for briefings and other what-nots. Geez!

Anticipating to leave the office early, I had arranged to meet Tini at almost 7pm @ Eunos mrt. However, knowing my bumbling boss and his muddlehead last-minute decisions, I left the office only at 730pm. Poor, poor Tini waited like, 1 WHOLE hour at that place. Really owed her one, man!

Dinner was fun and we had it al-fresco. We ordered food that eventually occupied the WHOLE table. Both hungry, liao.



Tini and her fiance Odi, had wanted to bring me to their fav. haunt that I've always heard about. Yishun Dam (I think it's actually called Seletar Dam). That place is always teeming with beautiful cars. She sure know me well....

Went back home and took some picnic mats. Was told to bring a small pillow(???). Fetched her fiance and his cousin, Maman. Went to Shell and bought a tub of Ben & Jerry's + some snacks + coffee. Odi actually brought some bread and SAMBAL TUMIS TELOR REBUS. Can you believe that?! Cute betol! Dah malam2x buta, masih nak picnic??!

That place is a DROOL-FEST! When I came, there's a WHOLE row of SKYLINEs to drool at. We parked across from them. Happie, man! The guys noticed my (over)enthusiasm and that's when I got the label, 'CAR-FREAK'.



The funny thing is I dun dare to take fotos of these cars openly, so both Tini and I either crawled, hide and lay down flat in our attempt to sneak some pics. Odi, amused, simply took my camera, stood up and snapped the pics. Nothing happen, what. Geez! Felt so dumb.



The guys actually laid down on the mat and pillows (now I know what it's for) and talk-cock and shooed us away. Drove Tini one round at that bridge and check out the other cars and bikes. Had an EVOLUTION VIII paked in front of me and another one across from me. What a haven!

Went home after a few hours. Time check: 0330hrs
Thank you, Tini & Odi. Next stop, The GAP, perhaps??

buffet

B.U.F.F.E.T *burps*
05072005

Now... This IS realli sooopper-doooper overdue, but heck, I need to update MYself with the going-ons in MY life, somehow....


Dinner Buffet

That same day that my parents AND my bosses bought me breakfast AND lunch is also the same day that my family is having a (belated) celebratory dinner at Sakura Int'l BUFFET Rest'n.

My parents just came back from yet another trip to JB (in 3 days) with my brother helming the wheel.

The food there? Not bad. Quite a variety. If you watched the commercial on TV, what you see is what you get. And I sure got what I wanted....


THISSS!!! s-a-s-h-i-m-i.. I LIKE!!!!

In fact, I had soooo much raw fish on my plate that neighbouring diners were amazed that all that is for my own (lepaskan geram!). Oh, there's SUSHI and UNAGI and CHAWAMOSHI. You guessed it right. I'm a huge fan of Japanese cuisine. Did I mention TEMPURA?
Needless to say, I've had enough fish and actually abstained from anything fishy the WHOLE week.

There's also teppanyaki, claypot, hot plate (give them your peg, this they'll serve), Chinese food (read: dim sums), seafood & salads (read: oysters, lobster salad), fritters (read: tempura and breaded stuff), the grilled food corner (read: unagi, pizza), desserts & beverages (brewed coffee, tubs of ice-creams and cakes).


This is how my bro is when he's super-dooper full. W-A-C-K-Y. Pics taken at the children playing section in the rest'n.

Good tip: Gobble down the oysters before you eat anything else. Helps prevent the much dreaded stomachache later on.

jb trip

Yet another J.B trip
03072005

Yeah, yeah. So passe...


Hopped around Komtar (good food!), City Square (a must!), Angsana (more cool stuff), Taman Perling (got a small Giant) & Gelang Patah rest area (more great food).

Wouldn't be able to get around if not for my cousin Yan, who deem J.B as his '2nd hometown'. That same guy who said that, "he slept thru' 3/4 of his working hours" got into my car looking like a zombie. Of all nights to have lotsa' cases on hand, it HAS to be that night before our trip (he's part of a certain uniform group)... Serves him right. Boast some more!

The irony? It was HIM who insist that we fetch him, since him family is not going for this trip. *doosh!*

The trip involves Suzie, Effy and myself scrambling in and out of shops, from City Sq. to Angsana. Took a break at Starbux that has this GIANT donut that cost a mere RM3++. Shared it with 5 ppl.

Ended the day with grocery shopping @ Taman Perling's Giant and a 'pit stop' at Gelang Patah's rest area. Esp. being Sun, it has this 'mini pasar lambak'. And the food there is pretty nice. Halfway thru' our dinner, we heard something that sounds like thunder approaching. But thunder DUN approach. It just comes...
So what's this sound...???



These are what caused that loud ROAR. These babies... From R1s, Hayabusas, Sraads, Blackbirds, Ninjas etc.... Oooooh.. I LIKE!!!!

Obviously, I 'muka seposen' ngan Yan, come close to these bikes which they must have painstakingly arranged. Seeing these bikes makes me determined... DETERMINED to drop by Sepang for the MotorGP this October. I WILL drag my dad along. Sick and tired of having both of us screaming at the TV... It's time we see it for REAL, man!

PS: I was told that all these bikers just came back from Sepang after some 'leisure racing' session. Cool, huh?

The world works in funny ways...

The world works in funny ways...

When I'm free (and bored), NO one asked me out :: When I have loads of plans, EVERYONE (from my parents, cousins and old pals) asked if I'm free...

When I wanna catch a movie, all the shows are CRAPPY :: When I'm broke and busy, all the GREAT shows come to town.

When I'm BROKE or is simply in no mood to shop or that my stuff are all randy-dandy, the whole of S'pore is having a sale :: When I feel like INDULGING in retail therapy, or that my clothes became tight, or the soles of my shoes & slippers came off, there is NOT A SINGLE sale at all.

When I dun need the other watches, all FUNCTION well :: When my favourite watch 'DIED', all the other watches 'DIED' along with it
~Until now, I'm surviving on my regular watch and this one with a really cracked glass surface. The other 5 have 'dead' batteries.

When I gave up on the idea of going out for lunch cos' it's too darn hot, I get my mum to buy me something for me to bring to work. She also bought breakfast :: My bosses came to office that morning and happily gave me breakfast AND lunch. *great*
~And the best thing? My family is celebrating my parents' anniversary at a BUFFET rest'n later...

And the best part....

When I'm early, my bosses came LATE :: When I'm (very) late, they're darn EARLY....!

PS: I'm contemplating throwing away either 1/2 of what they bought for me or 1/2 of what my mum bought for me. Which 'un???? My collegue is not even here to help me finish these up...
Where's that green tea when I need it??! *burps*

IOC

Not Just ANY little-red-dot. We'll be RED-HOT!

Watched the news and realised Singapore itself is becoming a pretty little hotspot on the world news. Finally, it's more than just that "little-red-dot" on the map.

It feels too good to be true. The likes of royalties, super-entrpreneurs, political & sports superstars... All celebrities in one way or other. They're coming down to support their home-cities or cities of their choice to host the Olympics.

In OUR little Singapore??? Awwww!

Hey, we may just see the likes of Queen Sophia(a royalty, duh!), Raul Gonzales (soccer hero) from Spain, Mr Michael Bloomberg (the mayor), Mrs Hilary Clinton (whoa! no intro needed, here), Mr Muhammad Ali (knock yourself out if u dunno this 'un) and believe it or not, Mr Ian Thorpe (the Aussie swimming 'Thorpedo') supporting New York.

For London, we see the likes of Mr Tony Blair (the PM, la dey), Mr David Beckham (dun' even bother asking, cos' I believe he's the most popular here) and his missus, Victoria (frankly, I think she's here for fear he'll get into another set of scandal hanky-panky like the last time). Then Mr Jacques Chirac, the French PM himself will support Paris's bid and I apologise cos' the names of the Russian delegates are too complicated for me to recall....

There're other names, I know. Just that I am NOT reporting the news here so there's no need to be perfect specific. But it's cool, huh? Having all this big, BIG names coming down here... Heh.

If I am not working, I would have camped at C.I.A (Changi International Airport, NOT Central Intelligence Agency...DUH!) like some groupie just to catch a glimpse of all these ppl whom I only get to see on the google-box. Never mind the fact that some are going to go thru' the VIP zone, anyway. Geez!

I personally believe P.A.R.I.S will get to host the coveted event. Even though they dun chip in any of their soccer superstars like the likes of a certain Mr Henry or Mr Zidane to support their bid.

Seriously, if Thierry Henry did come down, I'll DEFINITELY take a few days leave and camp-out at C.I.A. For Sure.

another one?

Yet another meet-up
30062005


Yan & Hajar and one of their workbooks

They gonna meet up and exchange datas on their workbooks and I tag along (do I sound like a lampost, here?). Ayy, they called me to come along, okay??

Went to MacCafe East Coast. Initially tot' of just getting in Yan's car but after balancing out the level of convenience and mere logic, I settled on bringing my car along. Need to send my mum later, you see...

They are STILL at the same place when I came back like almost an hour later, deep in conversation. I had expected them to get some fresh air by the beach or smth. Cheh!

We did juz that, later. Maybe there's something bout' us meeting up and beaches. I'm not surprised if we hit Pasir Ris, Sembawang, Sentosa, West Coast or Labrador Park, next.

It was almost 0030hrs. Tot' it's time to head home. Somehow the night seemed young. We head to MUSTAFA for some late nite shopping. Yan need to purchase some black hair spray and I think I need a new slipper. The sole of the 'un I'm wearing came off. Tying a rubber band DO work wonders.

In the end, we went home without purchasing anything. And Yan, with that blonde highlights on his hair, will just have to stay in his office the day after cos' the black hairspray was out-of-stock (uniform group, mah!)

happy anniversary

Happy Wedding Anniversary, Mum & Dad!
29062205

Since 1978 ~ 27 years and still going strong....

Alhamdulillah....

Insya-Allah, berkekalan hingga ke syurga nanti.

Amin.

check these out!

Current Favs.

Watched the movie on Tuesday. I almost dozed lag off in some parts, if not for some really cool music playing in the background. Seriously, the m0vie is ONLY suitable for those who are in love, so these ppl can feel that funny tingling sensation of that lovey-dovey feeling as they watch it.

I tell ya, the soundtrack is waaaay better than the movie itself. Check it out. *click on the pic*

Just got the email newsletter from Nokia Asia Pacific. Very chio, huh? Yar, yar... I noe some will argue the fact that it look so much like that Siemens model and inspired from Samsung's slide-up.

Somehow, being someone who swore by Nokia's user-friendliness and convenience of sharing common files amongst other plentiful Nokia users, this phone model would be an apt choice. *click on the pic* to see its features.


Now THIS is Mushroom Swiss. What I wanna gush about is the (supposedly) new Mushroom Whopper. I love the Mushroom Swiss (MS) but I love my veggies, too.

Eating at BK will incur my dilemma between the MS and Whopper Jr. The Whopper usually win hands down (cos' a balanced meal is very important, ok?) but I end up yearning for the scrumptious mushrooms as I nibble on my veggies....

So does merging the 2 help? A LOT, I tell ya'. A LOT!!! If only it's available in the 'Junior' version.... Whopper is very BIG, ok..?

e-retardS

e-retardS
Originally uploaded by crush-ice.

Yet another meet-up
27062005 & 28062005

Met up again with Hajar. It seemed that my cousin Yan; either can't think of a better day to meet up or he's juz plain excited. It's MONDAY, for goodness sake! And Ms. CT Hajar juz had her 1st day at the new school...

GET THIS:
Mondays-No stock intake in markets=not much food in hawker ctrs=close early.
Changi=The only stalls open(eventually) are the 2 Nasi Lemak stalls. Sheesh!

Hit the beach (at 1am, imagine!) and just yak, yak, yak. That's when we discovered that the last time we got really acquainted with Hajar is like...almost a decade ago!

My dad will nag at me for this but all of us played the swings during that wee hour before hitting home...
*gonna knock moi head for sure..*
Not good to play swing-swing at nite, y'noe. At Changi somemore...

...Somehow, after that meet-up, I had a very goood feeling we will be meeting up rather often later. Hmmm....