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26 October, 2013

Universal Studios Singapore (USS)

Finally visited USS with my colleagues.

the most photographed
how about this angle?
ticket to enter

Ok. USS didn't feel as happy as Disneyland Tokyo. Not sure why, but a generic atmosphere. The hot and humid weather in Singapore could be a contributing factor.

backlighting seems to overexpose the picture
not sure if they make freshly popped popcorns here or not, but there wasn't any popcorn smells wafting from it

The place felt a little small. But that's expected. Visited Madagascar as our first stop. The boat ride was really, really mild. For kids.

i like to move it move it!

The costumed character for King Julien was really hardworking. Totally worthed to take picture with!


to a far, far away land
parking needs

Watched Shrek 4D, but I think the seats on my section was spoilt. The announcement said the seats in the middle were stationary, so we moved to the sides. All the other sections had seats that moved, but ours didn't. But if ours was supposed to be stationary, then why did it moved once? *scratch head*

And the local guy (staff) who did the introduction before the movie, has a very very Singlish accent. Not sure if it's on purpose, but somehow, the magic seemed lost in translation. The far, far away land...just didn't seem far at all!

But, after the shop, everyone had to exit to the gift shop. Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother were there, so took pictures with them. And, whatdoyaknow... Prince Charming, was actually very very chatty. Hahaha! Was wearing a black polo tee with a row of hearts as a design. He asked, "I see you have many hearts, my dear." At first, I didn't realise that he was talking to me. I was looking at the photographer, but he wasn't. So, I answered. Then, he said, "Any for me, my dear?" Hahaa! This guy. Faints. I said, "Sure, one for you.... and another for fairy godmother." Fairy Godmother didn't seem too pleased as he was prolonging the photoshoot. =P

still chatting? Godmother, might zap you to obscurity with her wand!

haha, all look at the camera now, my dears~


Got a souvenir. Gingerbread man, err.. souvenir.

choose the design and crank hard
$2 gingerbread man metal

Didn't see any scantily abs of the guys on stilts at The Mummy place. But my other colleagues did though.

ancient world
are these like 2+ storeys high?

Actually went inside but too chicken to take the ride. The posters stated "High speed-roller coaster." I was out of there as soon as I saw that!

It was high noon and was very thirsty. Lunch was at Mel's Drive In (near the entrance) as it is halal-certified.

Mel's Drive In
all about cars
mascot for Mel's?

Burger sets (with fries only) starts at $11+. Drinks starts from $3.80+. Kiddie sets seemed good, with a Transformer box. Use Mastercard to enjoy 10% discount.

double beef burger, fries and apple juice

beef and more beef


After lunch, went for some kiddie ride, at.. Sesame Street!

elmo!
this was how the ride felt like~

Then, saw Oscar the Grouch on the streets.

kids loving it
The handler was shouting a warning at the man who just walked off after hitting/pushed the costumed staff

eery part of town
majestic
sculptured walls

Glad to report that the restrooms were clean.

looking for relief?

Sesame Street gang of Elmo, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, were there at New York City stage area for their performance.

vibrant colours
longer queue for Elmo and Cookie Monster

We were at Monster Rock, but the show was cancelled due to technical issues. We'd queued for 15-20 minutes only to be told that the show would be further delayed.

show cancelled, folks
seats for the weary feet

Caught a glimpse of b-boy performance.

make some noise~
yo~

My colleague loves Elmo, so she bought some stuffs.

rainbow~
bring me home

Went for the Transformers ride, and it was good! Pretty exciting but I was sad after that. Not because I missed the excitement, but previous person spilled some slushie onto the seat and it happened to be the one that I sat on. Bad luck, or what? Ended up with a patch of dark stain on my jeans at the butt area. Walked around looking as though I had just pooped in my pants. Gosh. Yup, it was sticky too. Glad it wasn't puke though. Was it? Well, it didn't smell like it...still...gross...

face painting, anyone?
hi Betty

Bumped into Frankenstein. And he scared one unsuspecting visitor.

before she shrieked


Overall, it was nice to visit. We took photos with the different costumed characters like 4 or 5 times.

byebye USS


24 October, 2013

happy halloween

it just gets funnier and funnier

13 October, 2013

2013 Girls' Generation World Tour "Girls & Peace" in Singapore

Highlight of the month.

ticket to see 9 beautiful girls

we are ready
let's go soshi!

Started around 6+. Crowd was hyped up and excited, and that in turn made the girls energetic and playful.

my SGD$181 view

Hyoyeon and maknae Seohyun were the most endearing because they made the effort to go to each and every corner of the stage to wave at the crowds. They took care to wave to the bodies in the mosh pits, on the second level and us, usually the forgotten ones, at the balcony level.

Seohyun was always hugging her unnies, while Sunny, was forever sexy. Sooyoung, at some point in time, went crazy and she was really funny! Jessica, after 'Oh' wanted to beat up Yuri. The crowd went wild for Taeyeon, Tiffany and Yoona.

Papparazzi was definitely better with black gloves instead of pink. The girls were like dolls inside those boxes.

Pink ocean was beautiful, and the girls appreciated the banners and all. Fan chants drowned out everything!

pink ocean

Sound system could be better though. At some point, some of the girls' microphone was either not transmitting sound or sometimes loud, sometimes soft.

And what's up with all those pyrotechnics? Gave us heart-attack. A little too excessive at times. Think they had pyro for at least 4 to 5 times. Gosh...

Ended pretty early, about 10 minutes before 9pm. The girls said they're going to have chili crabs after the concert. Haha.

it's over, see you again, SNSD and sones



10 October, 2013

kaseifu no mita 家政婦のミタ

Interesting show.
kaseifu no mita

Kaseifu no Mita (Housekeeper Mita) is the predecessor to this Korean drama, "The Suspicious Housekeeper" 수상한 가정부.

Japanese version has Nanako Matsushima (GTO), while the Korean version stars Choi Ji Woo, yes.. Winter Sonata.

credit to owner

All the child actors and actresses were good. Lead actress for both shows were great as well. Had completed the Japanese version, while Korean version is still on-going.

05 October, 2013

returns (or not)

Bought a Manulife Signature Retirement 55 (CPF) at $15K in 2005. Now that its into the 9th year, the projected returns then, at the 10th year is a guaranteed surrender value of $10,877 and non-guaranteed of $7,265. Received an update letter yesterday and it stated the surrender value of $15,862 with an interest rate of 3%. If its left alone in CPF at 2.5% interest, then by now that amount should've worth more than $18,750.

Guess I'll treat this portion as a 'ring-fenced' amount for old age. The $30K odd amount at the age of 56 can then go into the CPF min. sum whatever value it was supposed to be at that era.

This was really a hedge bet. Against what? I don't really know. Probably will work if CPF interest rate falls below 2.5%. Will that happen? Unlikely, I guess. Hence, then it was hoping for the investment returns of more than 3%. Will that happen? Erm...can't really tell since what the company is investing in, is not known. Or rather, I didn't bother.