fast approaching

The untouchable ages. The next round in life. One, that can be liberating or one that'll trap the darkness within.

Does wisdom comes with age?

Wisdom doesn't really come with age. It is the assumption that as you aged, you would've tried a lot of things. A whole load of 'em and learnt the good, the bad and the ugly of it. If one ages without doing a lot of stuffs, then one doesn't get any wiser. Thus, it is the experience and not the age.

Am wondering, whether is it too late to do alot of things?

濁り酒

Sayuri Hakutsuru Sake

Nigori 濁り酒 (cloudy) sake. Sweet. Similar to Korean rice wine makgeolli. But probably a tad higher in alcohol content. To think I could get almost drunk from this.. funny.

Thank You

Memories are made of these

friends

Esplanade 2013

Went around the Esplanade with my Samsung NX1000 the other day. Did the touristy thingy. Went to see the Merlion.

gearing up for F1

SG skyline

to see Merlion

Of course, customary shot of MBS.

MBS

Loads of tourists at the Merlion site.

seems like spewing waters onto the minions, i mean people

up close

Found a fountain, but strangely, couldn't find it the next day.

blue fountain

interesting

where?

A stranger asked for directions yesterday. We were at the hospital. I was on my way off work, and he wanted to get to the Ear Department. Hmm, thought I'd help him find his way since he doesn't sound like he could speak much English.

So looked up the directory, and didn't find any Ear Clinic. So off we went to the Customer Service area at Level 1 but unfortunately, it was off-work time hence, no one was around for us to enquire. Tried my luck at one of the clinics (where I saw some nurses still around but the door was locked since it has already been closed for half-hour). Then, they told us to get to A&E.

Oops, forgotten to ask the guy if he's in an emergency because he didn't look like he was. Anyway, to find the A&E area took us quite a while but in the end, found it.

Along the way, learnt that he's from Shandong (China), and has injured his ear a month ago, and recently he began to experience loss of hearing.

Conclusion...seems like after office hours, one needs to visit the A&E in order to get treatment at the hospital? Not too sure, but hope he got seen by a doctor after all.

was there

Was at JEM after lunch and wanted to shop abit when the alarm started to ring. Everyone seemed unfazed so continued walking around. It's like a fire-drill kind of scenario but everyone was just minding their own business. However, when the alarm rang non-stop for like 2-3 mins and this cycle repeated more than twice then something must be wrong. The PA system was hardly heard above the loud alarm but it was saying that the alarm has been activated and patrons are to remain calm and to wait for instructions.

To play safe, went back up to Level 2 to the exit that links to JE MRT. And, apparently that's a no-go as the steel shutters would automatically shut down once the alarm was activated. Hmm. Had to find another exit. Once outside, smoke can be seen and by then more people had evacuated themselves out of the mall.



Read CNA's article here:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/fire-reported-at-jem/780334.html

interview

So rusty in interviews...what kind of first impression was I giving? Seems like the jobs that I'm looking at currently, are all employers market. Just today, there were two other candidates (before and after my slot) that's vying for the same position. Probably more since interviews are still ongoing for the next two to three weeks.

Not sure where all these are going, but am trying to make a change. Wish me good luck.

getting tougher

as day passes by, things get tougher
friends get lesser
family gets older

and that feeling of knowing nothing
even people that you thought you knew
but in actual fact, knows nothing


is this what's life's about?

random thoughts

Just had a thought. When we use Google or any internet search engine, it functions as an aggregator of information, which means it returns related stuffs to our query. Imagine, if this can be taken a step further, where instead of just aggregating, it does further analysis and returns a result best suited to our needs/situation etc. Sounds like an oracle, right?

I would think, anything is possible since information are tracked and stored for future use. The basis of useful information, would be there must be a link, a relationship of some sort between those data.

Everyone wants to be understood, it is a good feeling. Spouses complaints about how the other party is not showing the kind of understanding that he/she would like to have. Imagine if you feel the entire digital world has a pretty good understanding of you, your likings and preferrences. Imagine you can ask the entire world anything that you want and instead of having to sieve out the responses from everybody else, something out there is able to do that for you and gives you its opinion.

Imagine, your learning journey being tracked and analysed and gives you feedback on the whether the skills acquisition is adequate, or whether the personality suits the intended path and gives you feedback on adjustment required.

Imagine if you're governing a country, and the country management dashboard is able to show population skillset categories in health, military, education, finance, general care management etc. Happiness level of each population area, reasons for their happiness/unhappiness etc.

The ideal world, in digital form. Would we be here, to see it?

camera, and food trail

Had a very fun and tiring afternoon on Saturday. Went on a food trail at Bugis+. Organised by Omy Singapore. Keke, we ate from morning 11am till about 5pm. Non-stop. Faints. Took my new Samsung NX1000 for a test drive too. The battery didn't last very long. Had to change to second battery halfway through (probably 100+ shots). And, seems like I kept leaving the camera 'on' when I thought I had switched it to 'off'. Strange. Otherwise, quite nice to use. The dial was on 'P' or 'Smart' mode only. But kinda missed my macro shots though...

As for my fellow bloggers, everyone's pretty young. Around late teens to early 20s. Probably just three or four that are above 30 years of age. Female bloggers outnumbered the guys by a wide margin.

One such young new acquaintance, called me "Mom." -_-'

I guess if I'd given birth at around 19 or 20 years old, she could be that age to be my daughter. Hahaha! She's quite guai also la. Waited for me at the end of our food trail, so that she could say byebye. Was pleasantly surprised!

dinner with an old friend, interrupted

Had dinner with an ex-housemate of mine at Beauty World Centre. Think that shop changed owners, 'coz the lady manning the counter is now a different person, plus the same food didn't look the same as previous time.

dinner for two

mussels radish soup

seafood pancake, with small shrimps and abit of squid

cucumber and mushroom

tasted like cooked turnip

tau kwa, always 3 pieces only

anchovies, super salty

kimchi

unsalted steamed eggs

nice light beer

Unfortunately, we were suddenly asked to leave by the kid who works there. She came to our table and interrupted our conversation by saying, "Will it ok with you if you take your leave now?" Hahaha! Didn't catch her request in the beginning, so she repeated it and frankly speaking, we were stunned. I think this is the first time (and hopefully the last) we met this kind of situation. But lucky for her, we were just probably 5-10 minutes away from finishing our dinner. If only she'd phrase it like this, "I'm very sorry to interrupt, but are you almost done with dinner? I hope you can help me out. There are customers waiting outside for quite a while now. Hope you don't mind but we'll need your table for the next customers." Same meaning, but a softer approach.

Of course, after being told to leave, we also didn't want to linger. By the time we finished payment, the next couple was standing to that uncleared table already. They must be very hungry. Actually, there are tables outside, but I guess no one wants to eat outside that day.

My friend was quite affected. But it's ok I guess. Business is business. Every pair of customers would probably spend an average of $50 there. So, if one night the table could churn 4 pairs of customers, then they can earn $200 for that 3-4 hours. Hmm..looking this in perspective, that's not alot of money also.

My friend had vowed never to dine there again, while I'd be wary of bringing any friends there too. Haha.

hello there, little fellow

samsung nx1000

After all those extensive research on Panasonic, Canon and Nikon...this is what I ended up with. Guess life is a lot like that. Expect the unexpected.

Hopefully with this, I can do more with photography and take decent human pictures too. Not just food! Wanted black but no stock at that outlet. I think it'll turn greyish soon. =P

Happy 1st of March everyone. Have fun and take care, where ever you are.

interesting experience

Now I know how fainting feels like.

First few signs of trouble. That nauseous woozy feeling, when you know something is not quite right.
Then, the hearing senses diminished. Everything sound more muffled and muted, and less loud. The senses had dulled down a few notches.

At the same time, the sight became grayed. Wondering like where has all the technicolor gone to? Then, it's also like there were many tiny black dots superimposed on everything that you see. Like a tv set gone cuckoo.

Then, everything of the above will seem to come at you, together at the same time. Now, the slightest sound begins to irritate and you'd wish the world to just be quiet. Resisted at first, trying to blink a few times to keep the head clear. But it was hard, and was already breaking out in cold sweat. Then, the eyelids started to feel real heavy, and was thinking that maybe, if I'd just close my eyes and rest abit, then I'll feel better.

Well, it really felt better after I closed my eyes for a while. But the next thing I knew, I was squatting on the floor. Wondering why and how did my bag landed near somewhere else's feet? Was baffled for a few seconds, at the look of concern that a lady near me was giving. She wanted to help me pick up my bag, but I was faster than her. Hahaa!

Lucky for me, I was travelling with a friend. My friend said I was out for about 20 seconds thereabouts. To me, it felt just a short while, like maybe less than 5 seconds, from the moment the eyes were closed to the next moment where I realised I was on the floor.

Pretty interesting experience. Am glad I didn't squash anyone or hit myself or something. Am getting too old for these kind of stuffs!

pour qui

clouds, reflected

It is as though
One day I woke up
Only to realize
That there is nothing
I am nothing

No extraordinary talent to talk about
No career to speak of
No skill that I can depend on
Nothing

Has the world expanded
Or has mine shrunk?

Everyone is moving, full of vigour
I am still, static

Change! Everyone say
Change, I know

Do something, do anything
Just do

Optimism, Confidence
Somewhere along the way
I've lost them

abit here, abit there

It's always raining. In the evenings, mostly. Is it causing you any inconvenience? For me, it doesn't really matter, as long as I have the umbrella. Though a bit worn, and quite dented, the umbrella was still sheltering me the best it could. But yesterday, it went beyond its limit and was rendered useless. Sigh.

wet pavements, bright lights, dark night

Was at Plaza Singapura recently, and that was the first time in many years since I last set foot to that place. It has indeed changed, somewhat...There's this odd shaped thingie that looked like a shell of some sort that looked as though it could shelter about 20 peeps in it...somewhat reminiscence of ION but not quite.

huge Christmas tree at Plaza Singapura

Met up with IRC friends two days ago. Haven't seen them for like, for a year plus. IRC, what? Hahaha, for those of you who's not from my era, IRC means Internet Relay Chat. It was a huge thing for us students at that time, but... that was ages ago.

We ate at Pastamania Plaza Sing, and that was a crampy small place. Ordered a seafood zuppa. And out of the many types of pasta, I chose penne for this. But no matter what, it couldn't save that dish!

am pretty sure I could cook better than this...

Also met up with ex-colleagues Flo and Gina recently. Glad to know both are well, and been busy. Though age had certainly caught up with us in certain aspects, such as hearing (a little) and memory.

you know it's Christmas

sampling Christmas drink

chicken apricot sandwich

polar bear at Orchard Central

i am awkward

Went for a food tasting session today and was quite surprised to be seated together with a table full of Japanese natives. Hmmm. Awkward starts. They were conversing amongst themselves in Japanese and I was just sitting right at the end of the table, minding my own business. Sweat. Thinks the entire table was either Japanese media people or people from F&B or regular customers of the restaurant. More sweat...

Then, after like 10 minutes or so, one Japanese lady at the start of the table then noticed there's this person sitting right at the end of the table that no one seems to know about. So, she sort of like asked something in Japanese and I guessed she was probably asking me to introduce myself. All heads were turned towards my direction and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Sorry, I'm not Japanese." Then I smiled...awkwardly.... *facepalm* The table was completely stunned into silence. Then I think she told the guy sitting beside me that she thought I was with him, and then he shook his head.

 Where was my Japanese 101 when I needed it?! Argh! Hahaa, actually I should've said "はじめまして、わたしわLeeです。どぞよろしく。"

Anyway, eventually found out that the person that was sitting beside me, is Chef Nobu of KUMO, specializing in kaiseki ryori. Quite friendly, and conversant in English. Keke.

Here's a picture of what we ate:

special tsukemen

Had another pleasant surprise today. Was at the MRT, and about to alight when two boys passed by and one said, "I like your bag." Then he repeated it again and pointed to my bag because I didn't know he meant my bag the first time round. Hahaaa! That's the black tote bag from Punk Star that I always carry around. Thanks guys, for liking the bag. =)

alice in wonderland

Just watched Alice in Wonderland on tv, not a while ago. Wonderful fun, it was. And quite mad. Yes, quite mad.

One can find Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in most of Tim Burton's movies. Brilliant. Anne Hathaway as white queen was flighty and flimsy, while 'Professor Snape's voice can be heard as Absolem, the blue caterpillar.

Liked this dialogue from the movie, where the (Mad) Hatter said, "Have I gone mad?" Then, Alice placed the back of her palm against his forehead for a while, and said, "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." And then, they smiled. Endearing.

Quite liked Dormouse too. Spunky!

After the show, was wondering. Hmm.. what could be the moral of the story behind "Alice in Wonderland"? Come on, I mean, all children's tales would've a moral behind the story, doesn't it?

Googled and found out apparently, Lewis Carroll (or Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass", had said it himself that these two books "do not teach anything at all".

So there we have it. Just nonsensical fun.

boutique

The doors looked intimidating. For one who normally looks at stuffs from supermarkets, Uniqlo, Metro.. the experience of walking into a higher end boutique, was.. well, quite nerve-racking.

Nerve-racking? Exaggerating much? Aren't all consumers the same? Well, probably its the packaging. If someone looked like a million dollars, the doors would've automatically open. If one looks like a hobo, then guessed those same doors would've remained tightly shut...

Hahaa. So there I stood, in my usual tee-shirt and jeans. Peering outside the black door, with an uncle watching it. Walked right up to it, and made eye contact. The uncle opened the door slightly (enough for him to peer out but not enough for anyone else to enter) and with a look that says, "Ok, stop right there. What do you want".

So, I state my cause and throws in a couple of keyword with regards to the merchandise, and voila, the uncle deemed it valid, and opens the door. Whew. Then, the door man (or bouncer?) beckoned a younger chap to attend to this 'customer'.

So, tried to ask some general questions and the young chap was nicely patient enough to explain things. Was quite obvious that I know nuts about this brand, but yet, he was kind enough to provide some information. There were just two large jersey bags on display but the rest were at the lower level. (I was thinking, wow.. like a secret chamber somewhere for exclusitivity?). He was wearing a glove when handling the display bag, so I just had to ask, "Can I touch the bag?" Can see one of his eyebrow raised in question. Maybe no one asks? I don't know. So very gingerly, I touched the bag. Probably leather would feel nicer.

All in all, it was a nice informative trip. Maybe I should work on my exit. It does seem kind of hurried.

nothing new

Watching too much TV shortens your life-span. Yadda-yadda-yadda. Yup, saw the report recently. But a search on the internet revealed that this piece of information is not new...

Here's one that's dated August 2011. And this one, dated July 2012. And this, the latest dated October 2012 which says that every hour of TV could shorten life-span by 22 minutes.

no wonder...

Scenario: Crowded lift, post lunch time. Me at one corner, and my bosses at the other corner while in between were other people that we don't know.

Finally, lift was empty except for us from my company.

CFO (female): Hehehe...

Boss (male): Yeah, he's quite tall la...
Me: (looking blur)
CFO to me: Did you see that guy?
Me: Which guy?
Boss to me: There.. the tall one that was in here just now
Me: Huh? Never noticed...
Both of them to each other: She didn't see him la..
Me (out loud): No wonder I'm still single...never noticed..
Both of them: Hahahaha...