heritage - mum & dad

Lookie! I look like them both!

small & simple?

so much for wanting things small & simple.. pfft!

All hopes for that flew out the window.

I got one super-excited mum. A mum who will spend A LOT in her excitement. And A LOT of tat will come from my pockets.

I dare not find out whom she's inviting. My parents almost argued when my dad tried to stop her from inviting those far-flung ones.

I asked that I wear this number which I've worn only ONCE, years back.

She wants to tailor a whole new suit.

Fine. At least she lets me choose the colour.

The day she went shopping, she came back with TWO sets of cloth. GLITTERY cloth. She wants me to have a change of clothes. Goodness!

I'm baulking at the fact that I have to buy a ring, which I deem pretty unecessary but it seems that EVERYONE thinks it's the proper thing to do.

Fine.

At least my relative is willing to loan out what her daughter used previously, for the tray cloth. Haha!

And it seems that there are many who are more excited than I am. They have requested that I 'reserve' trays for them beacause they wanna contribute 'something'.

That's superb! So I wont have to think about what to give. Keep it coming! But there's a limit though. I don't want 'the other side' having to bring back 2 trays per person.

Oh, so who's providing the fruit basket? Anyone...? I've already got cupcakes, chocolates, pastry basket, confectionery and a mysterious something that Tini is wanting to give.

I only specify that they don't stray from the colour of the cloth used. Funny thing is, I'm not sure what colour it is. I just said green (favourite colour, ok??).

My aunt had not told me of the colour. Hope there's none of the contributors who got a tad over-zealous and already start with their preparations....

And my boss has been bombarding me with never-ending questions. So much so that I got scared.

She's making me doubt my decision. She's making me apprehensive. I hope I don't get panic attacks as the day comes near.

I know my mum will.

And I need to lose some weight. My cheeks are too chubby for photo-taking.

I'm so miserly, you say? Try going through this. After a (very) short notice.

miss swan

miss swan

tell me, just how many of you out there have watched her on you tube?

love her? or hate her?

i admit that she's sooo darn irritating.

... but funnY!


miss swan goes to a gay bar

also watch the one where she goes to starbucks. seeing a barrista will neva be the same again.

the red house

the red house

Oh just another something to add to the list called:

Stupids Things I Do / Things I Do that Scared My Parents So

So my bro has a bunch of collegues who live deep in Loyang, along Jalan Loyang Besar, 15 mins walk from Downtown East, Pasir Ris.

And those in the know, should be aware that it is also where The Red House is located.

It is a derelict, abandoned single-storey bungalow that is painted red (though by now the paint had faded to a less scarier shade of the above-mentioned colour).

This place is somewhat known for the 2 stone lions guarding the gate.




Anyway, I have been most curious about this place and finally that Friday, my bro's Aussie collegue finally relented and accept my bro's offer to drive him home.

He had given my bro a 'kuini', a variety of mango with the most sickeningly fragrant scent; not to mention uber-delicious flesh.

He had collected the fruit from within the compounds of The Red House.

As I passed the site that's engulfed in total darkness (it was past 10pm), I excitedly said to my bro," The gate is unlocked! Can I go in?"

And the sweet bro of mine replied, "After we drop James off, I'll park outside and let you go."And so he parked on THE OTHER SIDE of the road and I practically hopped off the car.

Yes, I went in alone.

So excited was I, that I went in empty-handed; no torchlight, not even my handphone (which can be pretty reliable to provide some desired brightness).

I went down the sloping, winding path, almost reaching the house when I made a smart move to put my hands in front of my face. Despite the lit apartments in the neighbouring lot, the darkness within the compounds of this place was so thick due to the overgrown and unkempt vegetation that I barely see my hands in front of me!

So I dejectedly walked back out to my bro. I gave the stone lions a second look. There's something about them.... It's their eyes...

Got in the car and he drove off. I bet he was relieved. Scaredy-cat! He didn't even get out of the car!

I sent him to work early Sunday morning. I remember his colleague had said that when he went there to collect some mangoes the morning before, he saw an uncle walking out with TWO bagfuls of the mangoes, leaving him with none of the good ones. Disappointed, he went to work empty-handed.

Bored, I told my bro of my desire to go back in there. He told me, "Good! Then you can bring back the mangoes for me!"

So after dropping him off at Downtown East, I drove up to The Red House again. The neighbourhood was kinda' quiet. Nobody has woken up yet, I guess.

The gate remain unlocked so I ventured in and looked forward to peeking into the house. Somehow I got distracted by the mangoes on the ground. I felt like a kid again, I went deeper and deeper, looking for the fruits. I ended up walking out with four nice ones (the rest are either rotting or ruptured due to a bad fall).

As I put in the mangoes, I looked back at the house. It doesn't seem that creepy in the day. I almost went back in until I saw this road sweeper nearby. I was a tad embarrassed, knowing that he's seen me trespassing into the grounds of that derelict house. Besides, I dun feel like leaving my car out there with the engine running. So I drove off.

If the strong scent of one 'kuini' is bad enough to drive me crazy, what more four??! So I drove back with the windows down.

As I excitedly told my parents about how I got them mangoes, they were like, "Why didn't tell us? We could have come along!"

That was in the morning. When my relatives knew of my exploits later in the day, these black sheep told me of the various implications of having a girl walk in alone into the grounds of a house that is known to be haunted.

My mum got so creeped out that she reprimanded me and warned me not to go back there.

Gah!

Man, I hate these wet blankets! I have yet to see what's inside the house! And I dun feel like going against my mum's words...

premonition

a premonition on an impending death

I have these 3 neighbours.

Neighbour A is a masseuse who lives on the 9th floor right below me.

Neighbour B is a family of 4 who live 2 doors aways from Neighbour A on the same level.

Neighbour C is a lady who is now bedridden after her condition deteriorate due to a major stroke. She lives on the 8th floor.

My parents are close to both this couple who has 2 teenage sons, that is Neighbour B.

When Neighbour A came by my house for Hari Raya, she mentioned in passing that recently, she's been 'smelling' this scent, a certain scent which she said, is assimilated with death.

Yes, it sounds bizarre but my mum had said that a masseuse like her is 'blessed' with the gift of 'knowing'.

She claimed to have smelt the 'scent' in right from the lift lobby area. Our block is the old kind so the lift stops at the 9th storey. All of us use that lift lobby.

She had suspected that Neighbour C's condition have deteriorated so badly that it 'might not be long now'.

Yesterday, the husband in the Neighbour B household passed away.

Apparently, he fell off his bike and the impact of hitting his head on the kerb proved fatal.

Is that saying that Neighbour A had indeed sensed the 'scent of death'? But she was mistaken as to who the scent belong to?

We can never really know fate. Even though it's said that signs on one's impending death appears 40days before it actually happen.

I dun really wish to have her gift. It's freaky.

Al-Fatihah buat rohnya. Semoga dicucuri rahmat oleh Allah s.w.t.

stress-busting

stress-busting

It'll be interesting to know that THIS ain't one of my stress-busters.


It's the CAUSE of my stress.

My boss's wife returned from Vietnam with a bunch of these lilies in hand and sought to arrange some into the vase.

Nice to see? Try being stuck in the office with these within 2 metres from you. I'm surprised if the scent doesn't get to you.

... And give you a headache.

Now that I'm alone, just so tempted to put it on the balcony outside.

But no, I ain't getting any nearer to those.


Nothing like a weeny bit of indulgence to get me going while I do a bit of over-timing (yes, I know it's a monday).

Raid the pantry and satiate myself with some crisp cereals (cranberry-almond crunch), oreos and milo in a very deep ceramic bowl that is utterly mismatched with the stiff plastic spoon I used to eat.


But it's nice. Ahh.. Comfort food.

Work is getting to be a real nice solace, if you ask me.

....Or try the easy way out.

Simple.

View pics of gorgeous guys.

You know like.....

Takeshi Kaneshiro...?




.... No?













Or .....

.... Dennis Joseph O'Neil??

a.k.a

Dennis Oh.













Dennis Oh-so-beautiful.




*drools*











Yes, CT & bAyYa is back!

Back to her normal self that is.

I'm ok now

I'm ok now

....Really! To all who gave words of advice (you know who you are!), THANK YOU. I appreciate the concern.

I followed your advice and resolved to finally talk a bit about this matter with my parents.

What better way than over a good meal, rite?

After the small discussion did I feel soo much better. I finally have a more open mind. There's no turning back but at least it makes my path ahead look... well, more passable.

I can see their enthused faces. All of them. The tilt in their voice, the bright eyes. Yet nobody looked at me in the face with regards to the matter.

I'm to be kept in the dark, don't I?

The wagon-of-enthusiasm seem to be going at a break-neck speed and yet many around me has managed jumped onto it while I was struggling to catch up.

I will get onto it... eventually.

Pray that I will. I'd better.

halloween costumes?

Ideas for halloween costumes

Courtesy of POPSEOUL!

"....Still not sure what you want to be for Halloween this year? Don’t worry, POPSEOUL! has the perfect solution for you. You can represent your favorite Hallyu star with a little bit of courage and creativity..."

Dancing Queen Chae Yeon

Things to get:
beaded curtains
flashy lingerie
hot tanned bod

Instructions:
First put on your lingerie and make sure that they are in tightly in place because nothing else will cover you up.

Then carefully wrap around the beaded curtain on your neck and let it fall, as if your body was a wall and voila, you are Chae Yeon.

But before you walk out the door, get used to the beads bouncing on your body whenever you move.





Bada, The Official Ajumma (auntie)

Things to get:
cheap perm
clothes banned from the 80s
desire to become an ajumma

Instructions:
Find the most runned-down salon near your neighborhood and ask for their cheapest perm.

Then start your Halloween costume scavenger hunt in your mom’s closet and look for the loudest and the ugliest outfit.

Wear it and pretend that you are all that.

Now you are Bada.






Eun Chan - from Coffee Prince

If you want your Gong Yoo fantasy to come true, then why not dress up as Eun Chan (the tomboy chracter) and hope for Han Kyul (Gong Yoo's character in the drama) to walk by while you are out trick or treating.

Things to get:
over-worn and over-sized t-shirts
outdated sneakers and ugly jeans
duct tape
tomboyish attitude and some Taekwondo kicks

Instructions:
First, duct tape your valuable assets to flatten them like a boy’s (if you are already flat, then congratulations you can skip the tape), and then put on the rest of the clothes.

That was easy, now here’s the hard part.

Practice speaking in Eun Chan’s annoying voice, blowing your hair whenever you are pissed and sitting down with your legs wide apart. Once you have Eun Chan’s signature moves down, you are set to go out and look for Han Kyul.

. . . . . . . . . . .

There's more at the actual site. Look out for the one about Park Jin Young (JYP). That's the most hilarious.

Ok, yeah. I'm bored. So there.

sg wannabe timeless

more mega korean movie drama music videos


SG WannaBe's first MV, Timeless.

Okay..... Not to be mistaken with the other mega MV by Jang Ri In feat. Xiah Junsu, the song also (coincidentally) called Timeless.

There are 2 parts to this MV (not surprisingly), with each being almost 10mins long. And 2 different songs, actually.

The song, Timeless MV emphasize more on the guy's part, the other song called Jug Eur Man Keum Sa Rang Haess Eo Yo (I Loved You To Death) is the girl's version.

Those soft-at-heart, get the tissues ready. Don't say I didn't remind you...

Do pinch yourself every now and then to remind thyself that this is merely a MUSIC VIDEO.

Seduction? check. Drama? check. Car chases? check. Explosions? check. Gun-fight? check. A twist in the end? check.

All in under 10 mins. Nary a dialogue. Song playing in the background . . .

*pinched self* This is just an MV... This is just an MV...


Jug Eur Man Keum Sa Rang Haess Eo Yo (I Loved You To Death).

By the way, the police woman in the MV is Kim Yun Jin, the actress in the famed American TV Series "Lost"... and the guy is Kim Nam Jin.

There's a 3rd vid, actually. It's edited to have both parts combined. By the time I'm done watching that one, I got so numb.

There's only so much drama that I can accept in MVs.

this. is. too. much.

selfish ingrates!

selfish ingrates!

I read this article in POPSEOUL. It got me fuming mad.

" ... Sexy singer Mina’s father passed away yesterday, but her management company kept this sad news from her, for they are worried that her performance in the states might be compromised. I can’t believe that her managers personally asked her family not to share the news about her father’s death. I would be appalled if I were her and would refuse to work with them in the future. What do you think? Did Mina’s management do the right thing?

...Mina came back to Korea yesterday and found out about her father’s death when she turned on her cell-phone and read text messages offering condolences. What a horrible way to find out about your father’s death! Mina couldn’t stop sobbing upon hearing the news because she was especially close to her dad....

RIP Mina’s father and my condolences to the family... "

I don't know what the heck her reaction to what the management did was.

But I was hoping that she stormed into their office, turned the interiors upside-down/inside-out and proceed to tear her contract (if there's any) in their faces.

She shouldn't care what their explanations were cos' all these screamed of their intentions being S-E-L-F-I-S-H !

Talk about being cruel.

Maybe they even threatened her family into zipping up. I mean, if I'm her family I'll go ahead and inform her anyway.

A death in the family is a good excuse as any to drop all plans and fly back home.



I really hope the management company gets the boot. They deserve it.

langsir raya

Langsir Baru Dirumahku

Hari Raya pasang langsir baru,
warnanya, fuh! jingga menyala.
Disangkanya untuk menyambut menantu,
dan bukan untuk Hari Raya.

Apakan tidak disangkanya begitu
berbunga emas, berlabuci juga.
Tetamu yang duduk didepan situ,
'berfeeling' macam pengantin baru!

Rupa ada, qualiti pun ada,
Berkain organza, berbunga molek.
Langsir yang kelass jangan disia-sia,
boleh kita 'recycle' balik!

Dikira semuanya ada 4 helai,
lebarnya cukup, panjangnya berjela.
Rasanya memanglah cukup muai,
dibikin baju untuk kami sekeluarga!

Kalau nak 'idea' yang boleh dijamin,
boleh kita simpan untuk sesuatu istimewa.
Barang siapa yang nak bajet pelamin,
boleh 'negotiate' harga untuk disewa!

slamat hari raya 07

Slamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2007




Sorry, lah. Raya dah 3 hari baru nak buat ucapan.

Itu 'mood' rayer lambat sikit nak sampai....

2 hari berayer sakan barulah dapat terima hakikat, bahawa inilah hari raya.




Thank goodness my bro existed during the 1st 2 days (a rarity!) so most of the driving duties were handed to him.

Because, with my close relatives located ALL over Singapore, it's quite a challenge driving with ma heels.

But then again, I always go barefoot under such circumstances aniwae.



Ok, another one:

Slamat Hari Rayer. Maaf Zahir & Baten, yer!

korean drama ost

My fave Korean dramas OST

Ok. I love the story. And I love the music in the story.

These will link you to my MUSIC page in my multiply.

My Girl

My Lovely Samsoon

Mawang/The Devil

Capital Scandal/Scandal In Old Seoul

I Am Sam/ I am Teacher

Enjoy!

too much korean

when your family watched too much korean schtuffs...

Ok, with KBS (StarHub ch.100) as our staple channel daily (yes, including the weekend); it comes as no surprise, doesn't it?

Signs showing your family watched too much korean dramas:
- When a resounding cry of, "Om-ma (mum)!" in a crowded supermarket had my mum quickly looking for me.

- When I abruptly said, "Chakam-man (wait)!" as my dad is walking away, he stopped, looked back and waited.

- When I playfully mumbled the word, "Abu-ji (dad)," my dad turns. I like the sound of that word.

- When I queued at a counter and my brother is at another further down, he came over when I cried, "Oppa (elder brother)!"

- When my parents nod their heads, acknowledging my gratitude when I said, "Ko-mawo (thanks)."

- When my mum chuckled as I said, 'Bi-anata (sorry)" when I bumped into someone on the streets.

- When we hymn to the same Korean trot song.

- When I said, "Ai-goo, ai-goo (oh boy, oh boy)". And my parents ask what's wrong.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My dad loves the Korean trot (similar to America's country music and M'sia lagu Asli). He also loves their ballads (he's convinced Koreans have great voices). I love their music too. The songlist in my mp3 can vouch for that.

My mum and I love the dramas and variety shows. And the ladies fashion (we're still reeling from shock at the mens' fashion).

I love the men. My bro love the women.

And we all LOVE Korean food!
--------------------------------------------------------

spring cleaning etc.

If there's something I'd admit to, is that spring cleaning happens only anually. Cos' I'm allergic to dust. That and the fact that I have to throw away things.

Somewhere down the bloodline, someone is like the 'karung-guni' - the malay term for someone who has a penchant for collecting old stuff; for both practical and sentimental reasons.

I inherit that trait.

I seriously have an issue with throwing things away. I'd rather stash them away than feel the loss; knowing that I can never see that item again.

But this year I was more... how do I put it..? Driven?? I throw away things that I had stashed away thru' the past spring-cleanings. Without batting an eyelid.

*breathes hard* Wow. I alone gathered 3 trash-bags full of junk (yes, i admit they are).

And the saddest part was to discard all the stuff from my poly days. My sketches and design proposals for the bungalow project in year 1, the condo project in year 2 and the commercial hub in year 3...

My sweat, blood and tears eventually beacame JUNK. And I kept them for 5 years. *sobs*

After all that cleaning, all my parents and I wanna do was to wash up and eat out. Fetched my bro and head to Bedok Corner.


My mum gave Gemelli the thumbs up. Even my bro who was never the pasta-fan volunteered to finish up her Chicken & Mushroom Penne in Cream Sauce.

I had the Marinara. FYI, since this stall used the authentic Italian names of the dishes, they dun even know what ma-ree-na-rah is. I found out later the actual Italian name is something else.

I love the hefty amount of clams and the thick rings of calamari and juicy prawns in that dish.

All remarked about the generous servings. They totally dig the thin pizza crust laden with that thick, thick layer of cheese.

And I saw that most of the tables around us had their own plate of pizza.


And with the hot weather that day, I tot' going there would help satiate my craving for cheng tng. After all the cheng tng there was the famous one, rite?

The queue was very long when I got there (naturally!). So I thought I'd wait till the queueing subside or until I've finished my meal. True enough, there was no longer a queue by the time I'm done. So I gleefully pulled my brother along.

I got there only to see the the hawkers cleaning up their stall. Literally.

NO WONDER there's no more queue! No more cheng tng! Pfft!

After that it's back to my family's favourite pastime. Sleep by the beach after dinner.

Lay down the mats, throw down the pillows and enjoy the breeze. Oooh, this is getting to be a habit.

I remember after my birthday dinner treat, my WHOLE family actually dozed off by the beach! I woke up the the flustered voice of my mum waking us up and hour later, saying that ALL of us had slept for almost an hour there. Whoa!

My mum will sometimes do what she does best. Count the flights that are landing. That Saturday night, the amount of flights that came in were freaky!

There were definitely more than 1 flights in a minute! And the planes were like queueing in the airspace, waiting for their turn to land at Changi airport. The period when we can't see any planes was brief. Cos' soon after, the all familiar twinkling lights came to view.

Man, that's quite an entry. Ok dah. Tired already.

people in need

people in need ad campaign

Found these at OUTNEXT .

Some people have mixed feelings about this ad campaign. What say you..?











HANDBAG €32
Food for a week €4












SUNGLASSES €24
Access to water €8











AFTERSHAVE €35
Basics for a new home €6.50












PINT OF BEER €4.50
50 liters of fresh water €1.50


Hope the actual messsage gets driven thru...

2 of my teams lost

2 of my teams lost. Geez!

I slept darn early last night (2030 actually, and that's because I took some medication) to wake up at 0300, only to see 2 of my teams lose.

And one of them is the reigning champion. Like wtf??!

AC Milan lost to Celtic, of ALL teams!

But then again Milan had their defense all over the friggin field except near the back, which is just so freaking frustrating. And the 1st goal was kinda an own goal! Grrr......

And Dida, stop being such sour grapes. Everyone can see that the BOY who ran across the pitch only gave you a small slap - not even a smack, near you nape. You don't have to pretend that it hurts like hell and is bruising your cheek.

You with the ice-pack being stretchered away? That doesn't cover the fact you conceded 2 goals.

And why does my Valencia have to bear the brunt of Chelsea's attempt of making a freaking comeback?!

I'm not being sour here but that was a handball on Joe Cole before that goal.

And I wasn't the only one to agree that it's been Valencia's game from the start. Just that Chelsea goal met the back of the net.

Grrr... *breathe in, breathe out*

. . . . . . . .

Ok, dah. Frustration over. Time to go back to work.

Oh yeah. Rafa? You screwed up AGAIN!

find Korean songs

need help funding Korean songs?

I know just how frustrating it is when you can't find the song that you want. Especially when u dun use things like Limewire, BearShare, Area etc. or even Torrent (seriously, I don't!).

Just drop me a line here in multiply or just email me at flakeridge@yahoo.com

Tell me the song title & singer. If it's an OST, tell me the drama title. Or movie, even.

I'll try my very best to find them.

Problem is, I dun speak nor read Korean and some songs come in their original Korean scripts so I may make some mistakes initially. Don't mind me.

barking up the wrong tree

barking up the wrong tree

Do you have stories that when recalled, make you smile that little smile? And people around you looked at you funny because you looked weird while doing that?

I can't help smirking everytime I recalled this story recounted by a friend of mine.

Let's call him Guy A. He is... well... just NOT into girls (I'm sure you get what I mean). Guy A dined out one day, with his... erm... 'darling', Guy B.

And where they dined, they were served by this girl who obviously gave Guy A 'the look'. You know - going all bashful, secret peeks, little giggles.

And Guy B, amused by the attention that 'his darling' got from her, cheekily took the opportunity to call her over to their table a couple of times, just to make menial enquiries. Asking her about the food & beverages in the menu, the membership card etc.

You wouldn't have suspected that 2 guys having a meal together to be a couple, rite?

Anyway, less than a week later, Guy A brought his gal-pal, Girl B to that same restaurant for dinner. Only at the restaurant, did he quietly point out Girl A to Girl B and recounted what happened previously.

Aghast, Girl B exclaimed "Man, I should really stay away from you."

And true enough, Girl A actually kept her distance. And the one time Guy A called her over, she was all awkwardness. Girl B felt almost sympathetic, knowing that Girl A had thought of her to be Guy A's girlfren.

"I really should stay away, you know. People are having the wrong idea." Girl B said, eyebrow raised.

Guy A was grinning, "Yeah, I think right now she's heart-broken because of you."

"You're not helping much, here..."

"Oh well, not that I'm interested anyway. It's just too bad she's barking up the wrong tree."

Sheesh.

do I look like Wenger?

Believe it or not, that's the very 1st question I asked my parents when I don this sports jacket.

...Why the heck do I want to look like him anyway?

I mean, he looks like he has this eternal frown on him, utterly shrivelled wrinkled... In other words, frail.




















And here's yet another something that I truly want but don't need. Something that I wont have much opportunity to wear, given Singapore's weather.

Thank you, Dad, Mum & Bro for the present. At least my constant hints in the Nike shop(s) didn't go to waste. *grins*

And bro, THAT jacket is waiting for me, man! The only one left and in MY size?? We're sooo fated for each other.