Champions League-2nd

UEFA Champions League
240205


Aye, aye. It's another night of lacking precious sleep. *Yawn!*
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Barcelona 2 - Chelsea 1
Love this match to bits. Star-studded and full of drama. First and foremost, let me just say that Samuel Eto'o is simply suuuperb! He could have put in 2 into the net the first few minutes. Not to mention that finishing touch which eventually brought the winning goal.

Another person worth mentioning is ... surprise surprise - Juliano Belletti. Revered by the visiting (Chelsea) supporters in the 1st half - thanks to his own goal, he proved to be a bumbling villain just 10mins into the 2nd half. His clumsy attempt to pass a cross to his keeper(which can easily led to another OG) prompt Chelsea's Didier Drogba to rush in and come crashing into the keeper, both of them after the loose ball. Have gotten himself a foul previously in the match, this second yellow card sent him off the field. Facing a 10-man squad now, the Barca side picked up the pace and the effect was... WoW!

Last but not least is the new super-sub, the Argentinian Maximiliano Lopez. Barca's newest signing brought on the equaliser at the 67th min. And the Eto'o goal in less than 10mins later was assisted by, who else but Mr Super-Sub himself.
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AC Milan 1 - Man United 0
What was that ol' man thinking down at that snowy field? I wonder if things could have been different if Ruud Van Nistelrooy was brought in earlier, or even Saha. Sylvester could help out a lot better in defense alongside Rio Ferdinand.

I like the part where youngster Cristiano Ronaldo brought the ball all the way from his own half. Reminds me of Road-runner with a ball. Very very fast. Too bad Fortune kinda' bungle up his goal attempt.

Hernan Crespo deserve to score that goal. Seems like he's trying to prove his worth as the injured Andriy Shevchenko's replacement. After 2 failed attempts, one after another, he went for Clarence Seedorf's shot that went loose from Keeper Roy Carrol's hands. At such a close range, It's no wonder that's a goal. Too bad for Man U who had lost their momentum earlier on. Not surprisingly Milan had the chance at more goal attempts.

By the way, Saha's could-have-been-a-goal by first touch was pretty impressive. Like the wrestling term, "Power Up!" And kudos to Gabriel Heinze who is practically here, there & everywhere.
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Lyon 3 - Bremen 0
Inter Milan 1 - Porto 1
Err... I dun' follw up these 2 matches. Slept after the live telecast of the other 2 matches. Too exhausted, I guess. Tried to stay up for the match reviews but my eyes won't stay open. Sigh...

You Are 90% Psychic

You are so very psychic. But you already predicted that, didn't you? You have "the gift" - and you use it daily to connect with others. You're very tapped into the world around you... Just make sure to use your powers for good!

Are You Psychic?

The thing bout' me knowing.. Hee hee... A clairvoyant in the making? That would be nice...

Your Brain is 53.33% Female, 46.67% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

I love soccer, cars & racing too!
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Ok, ok...Enuff' of this blogthings!

UEFA Champions League
230205



The knockout round begins and so do my nights of lacking sleep. Sigh... All for the passion for the game. At least it's only 2wice a week.
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Bayern Munich 3 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal, my choice team from the English Premier League failed - again. By the time the 3rd goal from home team Bayern Munich was conceeded, I proceed to concentrate on the other game on another channel(Star Sports) permanently, thus missing the goal by Toure. What's a goal as compared to the 3 by their opponents? At a stage where every goal is VERY important, that single goal only caused a weeny dent.

Besides, almost everybody agreed that Arsenal is pretty unreliable/hopeless when it comes to the Champions League.

The absence of Sol Campbell & Ashley Cole was sorely felt as one can see the wavering defence of the gunners. If only Mr Aerophobia a.k.a Dennis Bergkamp was there, things could have been slightly different. Henry was so handicapped under the strong defence of B.Munich, despite the ominous presence of small-guy Freddie Ljungberg on the right flank. I never liked keeper Jens Lehmann cos' without strong defence, he's nothing and he proved it again this morning. If only he's half as good as the keepers playing in the other game on the other channel - Buffon from Juventus & Casillas from Real Madrid. They are the best from Serie A & La Liga respectively, no doubt bout' that.
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Real Madrid 1 - Juventus 0
Talking bout' the other game on the other channel, I simply enjoyed the match between Juventus & Real Madrid despite it being foul aplenty. Despite not liking Real, I have to admit they played a great game just now. I felt Juventus could have done better with more attack despite Pavel Nedved managing to get fit in time for this game. Too bad Striker David Trezeguet is nursing a bout of flu at home.

Everyone knows that a cross from David Beckham brings a 50% chance of bringing it to a goal and it happened again. This time not from the attack but a good head from defender Iván Helguera. I call that lucky but... go figure.

Until now, I am still amazed by the speed and energy of Mr-self-proclaimed-to-be-handsome, Roberto Carlos. No wonder his leg muscles are bulging here, there & everywhere.
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Liverpool 3 - Bayer Leverkusen 1
I bet Liverpool's fans were worried, knowing that Steven Gerrard & new-boy Fernando Morientes were not playing but I guess those anxiety are unecessary, ain't it? It sure doesn't help there's no live telecast for this match in their homeground.

However the great form of Luis Garcia, Milan Baros, John Arne Riise, Dietmar Hamann & Igor Bišcan, Gerrard's replacement in midfield made up for that. They had 3 goals to prove it.

Despite that, I think coach Rafael Benitez couldn't be happy with the last-minute goal during injury time by Brazilian striker França from the German side.
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PSV Eindhoven 1 - AS Monaco 0
PSV scored the winning goal very early. Under 10mins, in fact. That's all. I dun' follow up this game all that much.
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BTW, did anybody see the pattern on the scoreboard? 3-1,1-0,3-1,1-0. Bet many fellas' are rushing to buy numbers. It's Wed, rite. Hee... Not that I care, anyway.

What does this mean?
Your nerdiness is: Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.

Heh.

And no - I don't despise nerds!

Hey peeps, check this out...

When Lawyers meet Doctors (in the court, no less)
Taken from this article: Things people actually said in court.
There's more where this came from but I'm just so blown away by the snide answers given by doctors who are obiviously not amused with lawyers asking stooopid questions using court English.

Q: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
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Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
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Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I wasdoing an autopsy.
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Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive,nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Courtesy of: www.dataste.com

ANugerah Planet Musik

Anugerah Planet Musik
180205

My 3rd time to to the awards show. Quite a surprise, eh?

...For someone whose idea of listening to Ria 89.7fm is the 1/2hr during which I drive my mum to work.
...Whose idea of regional music is the occasional stumbling into Mtv Ampuh every Sun on Suria channel.
...Whose recognition of Indonesian artistes are only from the gossip shows I watch on the various Indonesian channels. Needless to say, I know more about their personal lives than the talents they posses.
Heh.
It's nice to see them in person. Knowing that they really exist. Goodness knows if the gossips bout' them are true but it's nice to finally see them as the talented people they really are. All the while, I was like, "Oh, so this so and so is actually a singer. Hmm..."

My idea of the show this year? I dunno, lah. I think last year is way better. Location-wise, the guest-list, the rapport among the hosts. I think the problem lies with the "repeat-mode syndrome". When success of previous years prompt organisers to imply the same methods. Hello, we radical people tire of things easily, you know.

Suntec is not a good place to start with. It's incovenient to go all the way up to the hall. And the crowd from this show plus the common crowd from the shopping mall make the whole scenario very..erm..messy. Besides, the show seems pretty kelam-kabut because I had this strong feeling some of the artistes ran off to do some shopping in between their performances/appearances.

So how? Serik tak, bikin APM kat Suntec City?

Here's my idea of the event highlights...

Pak Haji Anang & isteri, Bu Hajah Kris. Apa? Tak macam? No comment.

Aznil & Sarah. 2 of the very the kecohrable hosts.

Peter Pan. Cute name? Some gals will insist that the front-man, Ariel is cuter. C'mon lah. That guy just got married. His wifey giving birth soon. Eat your hearts out, ladies.

Once from Dewa.

Ahmad Dhani, also from Dewa. Their performance roxxxxx!!!! Hai... minah rock tak abis-abis.

Kris, Melly & Siti. Their performance is very the Power! Melly's duet with Kris, when performing the song 'Cinta' is suuuuperb!

As you can see, the pics are courtesy of AnakMelayu.com, so go there to see more pics.

When The Cats Are Away, The Mice Come Out To Play...

Heard of this???
Well.... Cats = My boss & his wifey ~ Mice = My collegue & myself

Heh...

No lah, we very kwai-kwai, ok. The baddest thing we did so far is coming a weeny late and a weeny longer lunch. That's all. Really!
Too little work for such a long period (they coming back mid next week) and I try to spread whatever work we have. The time in between is spent, erm... surfing the net. That's why I'm blogging now.
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Last week, it didn't rain. I only watered the plant in the office balcony garden 2wice. I forgot, lah. Can't help it. So many plans. On Mon, my mum woke me up with her 'horror-of-horrors' voice, "You haven't watered the plant for the past 5 days! I bet they're withered by now. Kesian, tau!"

Ooops.

I actually intend to water the plants that very day cos' I tot' I'll be working. Forgot that that Monday is not an auspicious day to re-open the office a.k.a work starts the day after. Darn! Still have to go to office?!

When I came at 1+ (after the Grammys), the sun was high in the sky and the weather scorching hot & this is what greet me. . .


A dying tree! Aghast! I have never seen leaves so yellow! Whoopsie! Mampos, kalau bini boss aku tahu!
I actually left the water running in the pot for a whole 5mins. Biar dia kenyang! Most of the plants were practically shrivelled. Too dry, you see. You should see all the dead/dried leaves. I actually amassed a whole bagful of them. Oh dear me! Poor plants!
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Ok, ok. Enuff bout' the plants. How about something eerie? Yes, eerie.

I know most ppl have been frequenting the Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI) webbie, rite? They were very much into these 'orbs' thingy, which was often found at creepy places like empty houses, graveyards etc. Basically places known to be infested with those 'out-of-the-world' fellas.

Last week my family had a chalet @ East Coast. We scraped thru' the booking system & managed a room at the conermost area of the resort. Room U01. Very the hujung, in fact it's the last room, right beside the 'famed' pond with the big Beringin Tree (the ones with those twines like tarzan used in the jungle). Very private corner, in fact, very quiet.

Anyway my bro went trigger-happy and snapped shots randomly of the area that night. Look what we found....

I discovered this big orb right above my dad who was sleeping at the parapet outside the chalet (in the compound). What the??!


My crazy bro took a pic of this tree right in front of our chalet. When we viewed the captured pic on the camera screen... Erk! There were so many orbs up in that tree! We looked up. Nothing. (that we can see with our naked eyes, anyway). Hmm... Creepy.

You think this is pic too blur? Need more justification? Look below, then.


I adjusted the pic such that the orbs can be clearly seen. See? A lot, rite! Then did you notice the slightly hazy background in the tree, where the orbs, are? Spooky....

Spooky or not, I still hung around beneath that tree after the bowling session with my cousins. Still can cycle out to the pond & see this ah-pek feed the cats in the wee hours of the morning... Alone, some more. Cheh!

Marina - The Quest For The (Sick) Merlion

140205
The weather is just sooooo hot!
Fortunately for me, my boss and his wifey kinda' followed the Chinse custom (despite being self-proclaimed atheists) of picking an auspicious date to officialy re-open the office after the Lunar New Year.

That means... I have the opportunity to catch the Grammys live! Yes, Live! While others are painfully trying to keep up with a recorded version of the show at this hour, I can use this chance to update my entries & change my skin. Heh, it looks kinda pathetic, I know. Forgive me - it's my first time. Should I have another set of free time, I shall make another (and hopefully, better) attempt.

Meanwhile, this is what went through last weekend...
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Marina - The Quest For The Hong Bao & The (Sick) Merlion
120205


We met up in the late afternoon, after a quick lunch. One of my cousins came with his newly-pregnant wifey (congrats!!). Meanwhile, we hung around at the bay while waiting for my other cousin & her family to arrive. Sempat makan ice-cream. Murah jugak, kat sana. Only $2 for the supreme Cornetto.


My other cousin came after maghrib with her family, complete with the baby pram. Good also lah. That will mean that the seats have kinda' cooled off by the time we took the rides. Had a bad experience once, where we took an open-air ride in the middle of the day and practically burnt our bums on the scorching-hot-black seats. Serik!


My poor little nephew has yet to see the 'sick' merlion i.e. where it practically let out a loadful of water from its insides - to puke. Last time he came it was in the day and thats it. The merlion just stood there - healthy.
It was worth the walk. The merlion was there in all its glory, surrounded by bright & colourful lighting and spouting the sea-water recycled from around it. All of us got trigger-happy. Waaaaah! Macam jakun, gitu.


Pardon this blurred pic. T'was taken by a kind fellow who happened to have shaky hands. I like the background, though.


After all that walk, my cousin complained of hunger. Unlike us, she didn't manage to take a quick bite before coming there. Alahai, keshian. The Satay Club under the bridge was closed, due to CNY. Next choice? Lau Pa Sat. Kinda' far but who's to complain?
The teh tarik, power! Buy it at the lone stall with the mamak.

Once again, I'd like to thank my sweet bro who bothered coming to Lau Pa sat to fetch me and my cousins + my nieces and send them back all the way to Jurong.
You're the greatest (and only) bro!

click >>here<< for pics

Costa Sands East Coast Chalet - The Quest For The Night Owl
090205-110205


As soon as we check-in, the mak2xs get to work. Out with the rolling-pin, dough, inti, deep fryer and a tub of yummy sambal. In less than an hour, we were served with piping-hot roti boyan ~ made there and then, on the chalet verandah. Very efficient.


Towards the evening, the men get to work. Prepare the bbq pit, set up the fire and get the grill going. Charred wings, anyone?


Few minutes before the stroke of midnight, the kids were still not sleeping and the abg2x & kakak2x had nothing to do. What are the activities one can do late into the night?
Bowling??!
We actually brought the whole brood. Should see the way the little kids bowl. Klakar maut! I think it's not them who carried the ball but vice-versa. It doesn't help that they choose the ball according to the colour and not the weight.
Played 1 game with the kids, send them back to sleep (it's already 1+) and came back to play a further 2 games with the elder cousins. We left when they're almost closing, I guess.

My pathetic idea of sleeping must have started at the time when the cock starts to crow (if there still is). Heck, I can even tell you the dew that Thursday morning fell at 0426hrs. Very chilly, I'd say.
Before that, I spend my time cycling around East Coast. I swear it doesn't cross my mind that it's not safe to cycle around alone in that hour. I'm just so dead bored and unsleepy.

Sometime in the late morning that Thursday, our next door neighbour were already leaving. What surprised us was that they actually had to leave early & still had 1 more night on their booking. They entrusted us with the key and asked that we check-out for them the day after. We were free to use that room till then. Woo hoo!!!

If this had happened the night before, then we wouldn't have to sleep all mashed against one another like some canned sardines. But who am I to complain? After all my relatives left that evening, my own family of 4 was left with the luxury of 2 whole rooms to ourselves that night! Sweet dreams are made of this.....

That Thursday afternoon was spent at the beach. It was still scorching hot but we braved the heat anyway. We drew a line at taking a dip in the sea cos' the tide was too low and all that residue on the shore line was a big turn-off.


Before my relatives left for home, we decided to have dinner together somewhere. After a foiled plan A, we rested on the idea of going to Simpang Bedok for dinner. My family had a great experience the previous time we were there but I guess it's not the same that night. Dahlah parking susah nak dapat, the service & food was darn disappointing.

We went our separate ways after thanking one another for the wonderful time. The kids were fretting about having to attend school the next day. Hah ha! Apa mau skolah?!

Meanwhile, my family enjoyed the quiet night with 2 whole rooms to ourselves. My dad & my bro in one room and my mum & myself in the other adjoining room. Shiok, man!

click >>here<< for fotos

Boy time sure flies.. I can't complain, saying, "Where has the past week gone?!"
Cos' looking back, I can see that there's a lot that I've done and I've got these strained muscles & sore limbs to prove it.

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MacRitchie Reservoir - The Quest for The Tree-Top Hike
060205


The bunch of us in the hiking/trekking trip. 3 adults + 2 teens + 8 kids. I sure felt like a school teacher on an excursion trip.


We start on what will soon be a 4hr long trek.


We walked around 5km/2hrs to come to this - The Tree-Top Walk a.k.a the suspension bridge 25m above the ground; that puts you on the same level as the top of the surrounding foliage, hence the name.


And for all that, we were rewarded with this. Sigh... What a magnificent sight - in Singapore, no less.

And the best part? Not one of the kids, I repeat, not ONE of the kids kicked a fuss throughout the whole trip, despite the super-hot weather & very long + tiring journey. They were such a great sport.

That's what make me wanna bring my cousins, nephews & nieces on such adventure trips. First it was overnight camping @ East Coast, then it's this trekking trip.

Next stop?

Hmm... Maybe Bt. Timah or a full-day Sentosa trip or maybe even Pulau Ubin. I love making these kids happy.... *Muacks!*

To see the pics, go >>>here<<<

Aaargh! IE actually closed down on my thousand over typed words!!!!!!!!!!

If not for the music of Muse playing in the background, I would have bashed the monitor right into the wall behind it (wah, got that violent, meh??)!!! I pity the monitor sometimes. The CPU give the problems, they suffer the aftermath of the user's fury. Sheesh!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sigh...

As of now, I would have been bungy jumping at Phuket.

My Tiger air flight would have departed from Changi airport at aroung 0730 just now. I would have reached Phuket at 0830.

As we would have missed the morning ferry to Phi Phi Island by then, we planned to checked out the Jungle Bungy site at Kathu to fill in the time till' the next batch of ferries scheduled at ard 1330-1430. I would have jumped off with my collegue watching at the cafe below. If I'm willing to part with more $$ (despite having just arrived), I would have jumped another. We would watch others jump to pass the time.

We would have taken the ferry to Phi Phi. We might have reached there at ard 1530-1630(depending on what ferry we took). Then we would have checked into P P Charlie Resort. Would have recuperated awhile in our bungalow before washing up and setting off to the Loh Dalum shopping area. We already set our sight on Princess Resort Dive Centre(which is at the neighbouring resort) but we would wanna survey the other dive shops(for better packages) before having dinner. We would have an early night.

We would have gone diving the next day. Dive at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang & Shark Point. Imagine what we would have seen underwater. 2 dives - that would have taken the whole day.

The next day would have been spent canoeing and snorkelling. Goodness knows, where we would and could have gone, how far and what we would have seen. Must be tiring. Maybe could have made our way to the famous Maya Beach again. I can't get enough of that place.

The next morning, after breakfast, we would have started packing. The ferry to Phuket leave at ard noon. Meaning that we would be able to check in at Baan Laimai Resort at Patong by 1400-1500hrs. After washing up we will survey the Patong shopping district, maybe made our way to Phuket Town and do some shopping.

We would have spent the next day beach-hopping. We'll venture to Bang Tao, Karon, Kata, Surin, Nai Yang etc. That night we will go to Fantasea. We missed that the last time we came to Phuket due to a very tight budget & schedule.

The next day would have been spent on Patong Beach. Parasailing, riding the banana boat, waverunner, sun bathing and even hair braiding. Heck, I actually grow long hair for that very purpose!

We would have gotten back to our resort all tanned, tired but happy. We will go for a good ol' massage that night to untangle our knotted muscles after all that activities. Darn, I forgot the name of the hotel the shop is in..
Then we would start packing, then for our flight back to S'pore would have been in the morning.

After breakfast, we would have hopped onto the taxi (baggage & all) to the airport. We would have reached Singapore at ard 1000-1100hrs, Friday. Home Sweet Home.

Yah, rite.

Notice that my entry was peppered with 'would have's. Yes, that was a holiday trip that was not meant to be.

The flight tickets were booked & already paid for(no refund). We kept checking the room availabilty of P P Charlie & Baan Laimai Resorts, making sure there's still a room for us during this period. We would have booked those rooms immediately, when we got our pay that December.

Now, those resorts are no more. Along with some of their staff and guest. The waves come and take away everything. Everything.

Dun' get me wrong. I am grateful for this opprtunity to bond with my family & friend during this week-long leave, instead of flying away. Yep, both my collegue & myself decided to stay put - for now.

I hope that the tourism industry in Phuket can be revived abck to it's former bustling, popular state. Things can never be the same, I know. Look at Bali. Life is slowly crawling back to its almost normal self.

To know what happen to P P Charlie, click here.
The announcement they made on their main page - heart wrenching. See the before & after pictures they put up.

Went into kampungdusun's blog and he was apparently talking bout' this upcoming movie, SIN CITY (not yet shown in the U.S. so goodness knows when it's screening here).

Wonder what the fuss is all about. Checked the cast. Va va voom! I've hardly seen such a star-studded movie (I'll be lying if I said I've NEVER seen one. I just am unable to name any).

Let's see..... Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson (Alexander, MIB II) , Josh Hartnett, Benicio Del Toro, Jaime King (White Chicks) & even Alexis Bledel (of Gilmore Girls fame). I even saw that Jap-fusion babe from 2 Fast 2 Furious (Ludacris's on-screen gal).

There's more, definitely but I think my memory cells just burnt out.

Eh, wait! Quentin Tarantino is part-directing this movie?! Oh, gimme ten reasons not to watch this comic-flick!

It's not common for me to gripe around but... Has the weather been terribly hot or what?!

The pain in my head says it all.... Horri-gible!

It starts with this slight throbbing on the left side. I made a turn for the worst when a double-decker bus practically screeched in front of me. Ugh! The noise! The pain!

Imagine a drumbeat playing in constant motion. Dub Dub Dub... Then the player decides to play faster and faster. Somehow with the screech of the bus, the player goes at full force - In Your Ears. Aiyoh!

By the time I reached home, I have this big, fat headache sitting in my head, ready to metamorphize itself into a full-blown migraine. Worse, I felt really really flushed like I'm having a fever. Everything I touch takes in my warmth. In the shower, I felt the floor beneath my feet heating up.

Somehow, when I checked my temperature, it was a mere 36.8 deg/c. Not that I am some hypochondriac but when your internal system starts messing up, there is a cause for worry, isn't there?

Maybe it's due to the fact that last week, my work schedule was super-hectic. Deadlines after deadlines and yet, this week has taken a slooowwww start.

Adapt, baby. Adapt!

Stumbled into a blog(while struggling to keep awake in the office)where that certain someone did this really interesting quiz, that kinda' make you delve deep into yourself....

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Reason why I'm supposedly compatible with the Newborn Soul & Traveler soul is because I have part of their characters in myself too.

An eye-opener, you say?

Definitely.

Aidil Adha this year was pretty simple. It has always been simple. Spritually, it should be more significant but somehow Aidil Fitri is more exuberantly celebrated. Tsk tsk.

My bro gotta work. Darn him! So our family was a mere 3-man squad. My vocation? What else? Off with the pointy-heels! It's bare-footed driving the whole day. Sheesh!

1st Stop: My nenek's @ Clementi.

2nd Stop: My Atok's @ Bedok

3rd Stop: My aunts' @ Jurong


Here, I would like to thank those involved in that surprise bash for... well, ermm... the surprise. I was actually sitting in front of the cake the whole time! Thank goodness my curiousity never get the better of me to peek inside the box or the plan wouldn't have worked, eh?

To think that I did wonder why there were so many kids at that moment out of a sudden. From my little cousins to my nephews & nieces. My elder cousin was struggling to take a video on my cam and that gave this ever jovial uncle of mine the opportunity to make the kids sing "Allah Selamatkan Kamu" (inst. of the usual b'dae song, they deem this one more appropriate because of the nature of the Holy Day) kind of like, erm, 4 times???

It was so cute! The kids were eyeing the ultra-chocolatey M&Ms-topped cake and are willing to do anything. Kesian pulak. I sure felt like one helluva' kindergarten teacher. Aghast!

Another cute thing. As soon as they had their cake - Poof! All disappeared. Like they had actually gotten what they came for.

I can't thank my aunt enough, the aspiring confectioner that she is. Despite being an amateur, her breads, bun & cakes are irresistable! Power!

Let the snapshots do the talking.... Aidil Adha '05 pics

HERE'S WISHING ALL MUSLIMS, SALAM AIDIL ADHA or SELAMAT HARI RAYA HAJI

And for myself... Happy Birthday!

Those who know me as a Libran (whatever!), before you wanna label me a blardee liar, let me justify this. That specific date in September, is my birthdate according to the Masehi calendar. However, a certain number of years ago, exactly on Aidil Adha a.k.a 10 Zulhijjah, my mum was rushed to KK Hospital. Gettit?

Yep, I was born on Hari Raya Haji itself. So my family traditionally celebrate my birthday according to the Muslim/Hijrah calendar. It's fun to celebrate 2 birthdays in a year. Though it's generally low-key, I still feel honoured to know that I was born on such a holy day (not holiday!).

Heh.

Trivia: My mum told my dad to name me, Siti Nur Adha. My dad, either he had hearing problems or that he had ideas of his own, named me something else. Gasak, lah. Just that whenever I went to Indonesia, selalu kena tegur, whenever they check my passport. Nama symbolic sangat....

This is one movie where I would like to give a perfect 10

This movie will make a tear-jerker out of you. Trust me. I swear the guys in that theatre were dabbing their eyes that day (no wonder most of them came alone...)

The story is peppered with contradictions that are so well-pieced that it didn't come off as confusing at all.

The actors were so darn good it felt like I'm watching a documentary of Ramon Sampedro's life on big screen. In fact, I heared that this movie is Belen Rueda's film debut! Amazing!

And the cinematography...Wow!

It was simply breathtaking. In fact, great cinematographies are what draw me to foreign/art films in the first place and this movie is no exception.

You will be absorbed into the immense beauty of the rugged Spanish countryside of Coruna. I was blown-away! Gorgeous scenery complimented with this really melodic tune in the background.... I half-wished that I'm watching this in the Omni-Theatre instead.

All the way to the end, I was wondering; "Who the heck is the director? He's awesome!"
Checked the credits: Alejandro Amenabar. Now, where have I heard of that name. Suspiciously familiar.....
Outside, I saw this on the promotional poster:"From the director of The Others.."
Aaaahh...Sohhhh. That explains it. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Hey, wait. He's only 32!

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I would also like to thank Roxywahine, a fellow blogger for recommending me to her sis, Valarina who in turn informed me bout' the MPH warehouse sale last weekend.

The books are super-dooper-dirt cheap! $5/= per book?! I almost broke my back browsing through them books on the floor!

Lord of the Rings also $5/=! The 3 series @ $10/+???!


I think I got the only copy of Chuck Palahniuk's Diary: A Novel (finally finished reading his collection of novels!). And also Lorenzo Carcaterra's Street Boys. Both of which I've reserved 3x respectively@ the NLB but never bothered to pick up. Only managed to pile up the service charges.


And the newer one by Andrew Neidermann.

Oh, did I mention that Dan Brown's Angels & Demons is super-awesome??!

Hope it's not too late for this...

Happy 23rd Birthday, Tini !!!



12012005

Wishing you the bestest of wishes. May our friendship last..16 years & still going strong!!!

Hey, wanna see something interesting....?



That's the bloom of a tumeric plant. Back in the kampung days, it's hard to spot the flower of this plant because of it's camouflaging nature. What's the big deal, you asked? Do you how rare it is to see a blooming tumeric plant?

It's kinda' rare so a visiting relating was amazed to see the bloom in a potted plant. She said that back in the kampung, when someone's tumeric plant actually blooms, ppls will come digging around or under the plant, looking for hidden gems. Absurd? Hey, there's no smoke w/o fire. Something must have made them believe such myth.

My dad actually dared me to sit beside the bloom overnight, asking me to see for myself the 'visiting guardian' of the rare bloom. Maybe he's joking but I've heard ppl telling something bout' the bloom having a 'guardian'.

Maybe I should peep thru the hole in my door to see what's outside. Wait ah....

... Eh, nothing leh. And it's already 1+ am. Shucks...!