Have you read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins? I did. It's the first of a trilogy. Can't imagine the story is for young adults, though. Its premise is kind of brutal. But, it's interesting because a girl, Katniss Everdeen is the heroine. She's no damsel in distress, but yet, still vulnerable. For goodness sake, she was supposed to be just 16!
The story was engaging, and one can't help but feel and root for Katniss. She's one lucky girl, because she survived. But, of course, there were people who helped her along the way. Her brief relationship with Rue, had me crying buckets.
Can't wait for the movie!
20 March, 2012
13 March, 2012
[snsd] time machine mv
New track from their 'The Boys' Japanese repackaged album. Everyone so pretty!
03 March, 2012
Hokkaido Tokachi Food Fair
Stumbled upon this fair at Serangoon Nex today. It's inside Shokutsu 10 at Level B1. They brought in some produce from Tokachi, a county in Hokkaido. Stuffs such as rhubarb jam, rhubarb cheese tart, edamame, grilled buttered potato, cheeses, chinmi and cakes. The things that sold out in a flash was Daisetsuzan from Ryugetsu. Managed to sample it and it was nicely soft and rich in cheese flavour with pudding texture. Tried the grilled buttered potato and that was nicely fragrant too. Yums.
Also caught their Mochi Tsuki (Japanese rice cake making demonstration).
Ok, my camera sucks at taking this type of picture where there's action.
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| crowd outside Shokutsu 10 |
Also caught their Mochi Tsuki (Japanese rice cake making demonstration).
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| up |
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| down |
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| another round |
Ok, my camera sucks at taking this type of picture where there's action.
red prawn
I like raw fish. Like sashimi. So Sushi Tei was having their 'Winter Hokkaido' promo, thought we'd try the sashimi moriawase 'Pippu' (4 kinds; nama hotate, salmon, mekajiki, and red prawn).
I think the biggest flaw of serving this sashimi is that it wasn't served on a bed of ice. The red prawns were huge! And, can you imagine having raw prawns of this size? Realized that ebi prawns are still acceptable as sashimi, and this huge red prawn eaten raw....well, it was kind of 'challenging'.
Nama hotate sashimi were pretty good. Nicely sweet.
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| sashimi moriawase 'Pippu' |
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| red prawn |
I think the biggest flaw of serving this sashimi is that it wasn't served on a bed of ice. The red prawns were huge! And, can you imagine having raw prawns of this size? Realized that ebi prawns are still acceptable as sashimi, and this huge red prawn eaten raw....well, it was kind of 'challenging'.
Nama hotate sashimi were pretty good. Nicely sweet.
25 February, 2012
troublesome Robertson
I think I've become quite familiar with Robertson Walk, Robertson Quay, The Quayside, Robertson Quay Hotel, Park Hotel, Riverside Residences, Gallery Hotel, Malted Milk, EM by the River, UE Square.
It was still bright when those pictures were taken. How hard can it be to find a place that I've been to twice? The only catch, was this time round, instead of travelling there by car and with friends, I was alone and went by bus.
Obviously prior to that, I've already looked at streetdirectory.com to find out where Robertson Walk and Robertson Quay. Duh.
Remembered the place that I wanted to go, is by the riverside. So walked along there, passed by numerous restaurants and came up till EM by the River. From there, it looked like EM is the last shop along that stretch. And still, didn't see the area that I was supposed to be at. I actually remembered how the place looks like but can't for the life of me recall how to get there. Talk about selective amnesia...geez.
So, off towards the opposite direction I went. If it's not at this end, then it should be by the other end since the place is by the riverside. Just walk along the river. Logical, yes?
Still early, not even near the appointed meeting time. At the other end of the riverside, it looked wrong. Nope. Not there as well. Sweat. So, texted my friend and because he drives, it was near impossible for him to give directions for travelling on foot. He said he passed by Gallery Hotel, and had to cross the road and after that just ask people nearby for further directions.
Tried to follow his way, walked towards Gallery Hotel, crossed the road and ended up near Mohd. Sultan road facing UE Square. Great. Accidentally, I've found the place that we wanted to go for our second round but not now. On hindsight, my friend was describing the path that he took after he parked. So the directions was relative to his perspective.When I followed his direction, it was from my perspective, so I ended up opposite of his intention. That was why, I ended up further away from destination. Total fail.
Next, ask people. Unfortunately, nobody could tell me exactly where is the place that I was looking for. The person at Robertson Quay Hotel advised, "Ma'am, our hotel is #15, so #86 is along that way." I looked at where he pointed and said that I've already walked past there. He looked sympathetic, but there was nothing else he could do.
Actually, after walking around and kept on going round and round and somehow always ended back up to the same place, I was quite ready to give up and just go home. Damn the drinks.
One last time, texted my friends and asked what can be seen from their side. At least, some landmark would be helpful. Can see Hotel Miramar from where they're seated? Fine. Near EM by the River? Fine.
One hour later from initial starting point, I was back up at EM. Decided to walk towards what seemed like a dead end, and found a path that looked like an underpass. Walked somemore, and voila, the place looks familiar. Yup, finally found it!
By this time, was grouchy, hungry and thirsty. Not to mention feeling quite dumb as well since I was already so near at the beginning but somehow ended up straying so far and wasted so much time and energy. Sorry my friends, didn't mean to look scary and lifeless. Just wanted to keep my mouth shut till everything subsides, lest I say something that I may regret later.
It was still bright when those pictures were taken. How hard can it be to find a place that I've been to twice? The only catch, was this time round, instead of travelling there by car and with friends, I was alone and went by bus.
Obviously prior to that, I've already looked at streetdirectory.com to find out where Robertson Walk and Robertson Quay. Duh.
Remembered the place that I wanted to go, is by the riverside. So walked along there, passed by numerous restaurants and came up till EM by the River. From there, it looked like EM is the last shop along that stretch. And still, didn't see the area that I was supposed to be at. I actually remembered how the place looks like but can't for the life of me recall how to get there. Talk about selective amnesia...geez.
So, off towards the opposite direction I went. If it's not at this end, then it should be by the other end since the place is by the riverside. Just walk along the river. Logical, yes?
Still early, not even near the appointed meeting time. At the other end of the riverside, it looked wrong. Nope. Not there as well. Sweat. So, texted my friend and because he drives, it was near impossible for him to give directions for travelling on foot. He said he passed by Gallery Hotel, and had to cross the road and after that just ask people nearby for further directions.
Tried to follow his way, walked towards Gallery Hotel, crossed the road and ended up near Mohd. Sultan road facing UE Square. Great. Accidentally, I've found the place that we wanted to go for our second round but not now. On hindsight, my friend was describing the path that he took after he parked. So the directions was relative to his perspective.When I followed his direction, it was from my perspective, so I ended up opposite of his intention. That was why, I ended up further away from destination. Total fail.
Next, ask people. Unfortunately, nobody could tell me exactly where is the place that I was looking for. The person at Robertson Quay Hotel advised, "Ma'am, our hotel is #15, so #86 is along that way." I looked at where he pointed and said that I've already walked past there. He looked sympathetic, but there was nothing else he could do.
Actually, after walking around and kept on going round and round and somehow always ended back up to the same place, I was quite ready to give up and just go home. Damn the drinks.
One last time, texted my friends and asked what can be seen from their side. At least, some landmark would be helpful. Can see Hotel Miramar from where they're seated? Fine. Near EM by the River? Fine.
One hour later from initial starting point, I was back up at EM. Decided to walk towards what seemed like a dead end, and found a path that looked like an underpass. Walked somemore, and voila, the place looks familiar. Yup, finally found it!
By this time, was grouchy, hungry and thirsty. Not to mention feeling quite dumb as well since I was already so near at the beginning but somehow ended up straying so far and wasted so much time and energy. Sorry my friends, didn't mean to look scary and lifeless. Just wanted to keep my mouth shut till everything subsides, lest I say something that I may regret later.
23 February, 2012
good stuff? take a closer look
Had lunch at Watami at The Central recently. Ordered a hamburger steak with cheese set lunch.
That's how most things are, aren't they? From afar, it looked kind of good. Enticing probably. But take a closer look, and we may find stuffs that we didn't expect to be there.
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| not bad looking, right? |
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| closer view also seems yummy |
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| but take a closer look, see the amount of oil? |
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| using paper towel to soak up the oil, just to illustrate how much oil was on the hotplate |
That's how most things are, aren't they? From afar, it looked kind of good. Enticing probably. But take a closer look, and we may find stuffs that we didn't expect to be there.
21 February, 2012
colder
The nights seem to have turned just a bit colder. Need to re-acquaint self with blanket. Hahaa!
Hope everyone out there enjoys the cooler weather too.
Hope everyone out there enjoys the cooler weather too.
13 February, 2012
makgeolli (막걸리)
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| found this bottle of makguli from Sol Mart Novena |
Quite like the taste of this rice wine. It's also known as nongju (농주/农酒) or farmer's liqour. I have such down-to-earth taste! (pun intended). Usually the Korean dramas also depicts the countryside residents (usually ahjummas/aunties, ahjusshis/uncles, halmeonis/grandmothers and harabeojis/grandfathers) drinking this!
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| closer view of the bottle |
Usually there's a clearer looking top part whereas the rest of the bottle looks cloudy. It's an unfiltered beverage hence the cloudy part. Just need to shake it abit before consumption.
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| doesn't the off-white colour makes it look abit like diluted condensed milk? |
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| closer view and you can see the bubbles |
When first drunk, you'll be hit by the bubbly/fizzy sensation and then very quickly, the sweet taste settles in. Take note that its sweet because it contains aspartame (artificial sweetener). To me, its far more tastier than soju (소주), a distilled version of the rice wine.
Soju is perhaps closer in taste to sake/vodka. Tried soju aeons ago when bro brought back a bottle from his Korea trip. Think we threw away the bottle after leaving it for some months. Only managed to take probably two to three shots (both of us combined!) out of that small little bottle. It was quite strong and clean tasting (almost like water but with alcohol!) but not yummy. Didn't like.
Makgeolli can be mixed with some orange juice or yuzu juice for a fruity flavoured drink.
Here's a link to makgeolli wiki if you're interested to know more.
09 February, 2012
new words...at least to me
Some of the newer words that I often see but didn't really find out about its meaning till lately. For example, "troll" or "trolling". Discussion forums posting seem to like using this word alot. Sometimes, one sees this image :
So, what exactly does trolling means? According to wiki, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory messages in online community with the intent to make the discussions go off course or to provoke responses. Read more about it here.
Sounds like malicious or mischievious intent, yes? Probably a troll gets their kick when there is a response evoked. Have also seen sentences when trolling simply means X is being cheeky and said certain things with such a straight face that Y believes and in return responds dramatically.
Trolling is subjective. Some thinks its legitimate, some feels its a spam. If so, perhaps ignoring it is the best method to deal with such a scenario.
Next, "internet meme" is also such a curious phrase. Apparently the word 'meme' earliest usage was in 1976. Wow. It simply describes a concept that spreads via internet. Or other words, something that has gone viral. An early example, would be the "Ally McBeal's Dancing Baby". Do you remember it? If yes, then you are as old as me! *gasps*
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| trollface |
So, what exactly does trolling means? According to wiki, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory messages in online community with the intent to make the discussions go off course or to provoke responses. Read more about it here.
Sounds like malicious or mischievious intent, yes? Probably a troll gets their kick when there is a response evoked. Have also seen sentences when trolling simply means X is being cheeky and said certain things with such a straight face that Y believes and in return responds dramatically.
Trolling is subjective. Some thinks its legitimate, some feels its a spam. If so, perhaps ignoring it is the best method to deal with such a scenario.
Next, "internet meme" is also such a curious phrase. Apparently the word 'meme' earliest usage was in 1976. Wow. It simply describes a concept that spreads via internet. Or other words, something that has gone viral. An early example, would be the "Ally McBeal's Dancing Baby". Do you remember it? If yes, then you are as old as me! *gasps*
02 February, 2012
29 January, 2012
around the house in 8 days
First lunar new year at the new house. 'New' because we haven't been staying there, and 'new' because it's actually already more than 5 years old.
Some pictures outside of the house.
It's new year, so gotta have some new year decor.
Oooh, this year we didn't have steamboat for reunion dinner. Had '鱼生' but with jellyfish instead of raw fish slices. Got nice dishes like fish maw braised with prime ribs, stir fried leek with leftover roasted pork, blue tailed prawns with sauce and deep fried grouper with sweet and sour sauce.
Hope everyone had a good time during the holidays! Happy Dragon Year everyone!
Some pictures outside of the house.
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| bamboo that kept on growing and growing... |
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| and it grew and grew till it touched the sky... |
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| lotus and probably small fishes inside there |
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| flower |
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| mulberries, silkworms eats mulberry leaves.. but didn't see any worms though |
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| creepy crawlies to shade the house, but probably will overgrow and takeover the house in a few years time! |
It's new year, so gotta have some new year decor.
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| banner to welcome the new year.. hahaa |
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| new year plant that needs ice cubes to cool it down |
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| these are permanent fixtures.. regardless of season, it'll be there |
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| some colours to brighten the house |
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| smiley fortune cat |
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| putting up the decorations, that's my sis, brother and mom. Me? I worked behind the scenes |
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| time for reunion dinner |
Oooh, this year we didn't have steamboat for reunion dinner. Had '鱼生' but with jellyfish instead of raw fish slices. Got nice dishes like fish maw braised with prime ribs, stir fried leek with leftover roasted pork, blue tailed prawns with sauce and deep fried grouper with sweet and sour sauce.
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| setting up the table for reunion dinner |
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| before cooking |
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| cooked prawns |
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| yummy sweet and sour fish (my fav) |
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| leek with roasted pork (dad's fav) |
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| fish maw and prime ribs with mushrooms |
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| DIY yu sheng |
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| after tossing |
Hope everyone had a good time during the holidays! Happy Dragon Year everyone!
23 January, 2012
wishes
Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Year of the Dragon~
May all the good things come our way. Work hard, and play more. Enjoy!
Gong Hei Fatt Choi!
May all the good things come our way. Work hard, and play more. Enjoy!
Gong Hei Fatt Choi!
16 January, 2012
yummy
Ate something yummy recently, at Starbucks. Usually, it's just a cup of Caramel Macchiato. But yesterday, had this thing called Salted Caramel Chocolate Panna something. Hahaha, can't remember the exact name!
But here's a pic:
The crust was crumbly and dry, the dark brown top part tasted like soft brownies bits and the not so appetising light brown sauce was the salted caramel part (which I still think it tasted like creamy toffee), and the yellow part tasted like egg tart...
Definitely sweet, but nice!
But here's a pic:
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| Salted Caramel Chocolate Panna something |
Definitely sweet, but nice!
14 January, 2012
in conversation
Yesterday there was a bit of a jam on the road, so that started the conversation between the taxi uncle and myself. And for some reason, he was talking about keeping pets and that's how he 'cultivates' love. Somehow that lead to Buddhism, 5-elements and Nirvana.
Taxi uncle: When we go to sleep, we'll enter our astral body. This astral body is very 'fine' like an atom. When we die, we'll take over this astral body. There are other bodies but no one practices those...
Me: Ooh, so this astral body also must 'practice'?
Taxi uncle: No need. Automatic.
Me: Like that, what's the difference? Die also astral body, sleep also astral body..
Taxi uncle: When we sleep and become the astral body, there is no conscience. But when we die, the astral body will have conscience and we'll be able to see beyond the realm of humans...(or smthg like tht la...)
Then he talks about how the human mind is burdened by both positive and negative thoughts of our wants and needs etc and because of that, it is difficult (or almost impossible) to achieve Nirvana.
Me: So what's a Nirvana? Is it like enlightenment?
Taxi uncle: No.. enlightenment is when you understand a teaching. Nirvana is when your mind is pure. When there is no more negative thoughts that pulls you back down to earth.
Me: If like that, go and sleep can already mah.. when we sleep and we are not conscious so there will be no thoughts to bring us back to earth
Taxi uncle: (Laughs) Nirvana has many stages (5 stages), I think nobody can achieve.
Then don't know what I said, and we talked for some minutes more after I've reached my destination and paid the fare. Then I said byebye 'coz don't want to hold him up any longer.
Taxi uncle: You are deep. Seldom I talked to people like you. You seem to know something.
Hahaha! I grinned and said goodnight.
Taxi uncle: When we go to sleep, we'll enter our astral body. This astral body is very 'fine' like an atom. When we die, we'll take over this astral body. There are other bodies but no one practices those...
Me: Ooh, so this astral body also must 'practice'?
Taxi uncle: No need. Automatic.
Me: Like that, what's the difference? Die also astral body, sleep also astral body..
Taxi uncle: When we sleep and become the astral body, there is no conscience. But when we die, the astral body will have conscience and we'll be able to see beyond the realm of humans...(or smthg like tht la...)
Then he talks about how the human mind is burdened by both positive and negative thoughts of our wants and needs etc and because of that, it is difficult (or almost impossible) to achieve Nirvana.
Me: So what's a Nirvana? Is it like enlightenment?
Taxi uncle: No.. enlightenment is when you understand a teaching. Nirvana is when your mind is pure. When there is no more negative thoughts that pulls you back down to earth.
Me: If like that, go and sleep can already mah.. when we sleep and we are not conscious so there will be no thoughts to bring us back to earth
Taxi uncle: (Laughs) Nirvana has many stages (5 stages), I think nobody can achieve.
Then don't know what I said, and we talked for some minutes more after I've reached my destination and paid the fare. Then I said byebye 'coz don't want to hold him up any longer.
Taxi uncle: You are deep. Seldom I talked to people like you. You seem to know something.
Hahaha! I grinned and said goodnight.
10 January, 2012
cool stuffs
This site (http://pixlr.com) is good, as per mentioned in our weekly popular mag. Don't have photo editor? Never mind, they have it! http://pixlr.com/editor/
Wanna do some cool effects? Just go right on to http://pixlr.com/o-matic/
Here is a sample of the effects:
Awesome right! I know! Muahahaa! Free app somemore. *grinz*
Wanna pass time and like to play "Cut the Rope?" Now, can play it online! http://www.cuttherope.ie/
Wanna do some cool effects? Just go right on to http://pixlr.com/o-matic/
Here is a sample of the effects:
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| original pic |
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| after applying effects |
Awesome right! I know! Muahahaa! Free app somemore. *grinz*
Wanna pass time and like to play "Cut the Rope?" Now, can play it online! http://www.cuttherope.ie/
07 January, 2012
bread
New bakery in Lot 1 (basement). Lots of yummy looking breads on display, so bought 2 to try.
Bought the cranberry cream cheese and charcoal red bean bun. Current promotion is buy 3 breads and get 30cents off. Probably worth it if each bread is costing like $1 or less. Anyway, better than no promotion at all!
The breads were still warm after purchase. Probably just baked. The charcoal bread was consumed a day after purchased. Heated it up in toaster oven and it was still good. Probably not as fluffy as fresh, but tasted quite alright. The red bean was a tad too sweet though.
The cranberry cream cheese bun looked so huge when it was displayed in the shop. But soon after I got home, the bread has shrunken a bit. The dough for this was a tad too soft but has generous amount of cream cheese filling!
Overall, get the cream cheese cranberry for value and the charcoal red bean for novelty. Both breads are at $1.50 each.
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| new bakery in Lot 1 |
Bought the cranberry cream cheese and charcoal red bean bun. Current promotion is buy 3 breads and get 30cents off. Probably worth it if each bread is costing like $1 or less. Anyway, better than no promotion at all!
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| charcoal red bean bun |
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| whole red bean |
The breads were still warm after purchase. Probably just baked. The charcoal bread was consumed a day after purchased. Heated it up in toaster oven and it was still good. Probably not as fluffy as fresh, but tasted quite alright. The red bean was a tad too sweet though.
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| cranberry cream cheese |
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| oozing with cream cheese, i like! |
The cranberry cream cheese bun looked so huge when it was displayed in the shop. But soon after I got home, the bread has shrunken a bit. The dough for this was a tad too soft but has generous amount of cream cheese filling!
Overall, get the cream cheese cranberry for value and the charcoal red bean for novelty. Both breads are at $1.50 each.
05 January, 2012
no idea
Had two vivid dreams this morning. Reminded myself to remember it, but now, nothing emerges. The fact was, I did not even realised when was the 615am alarm switched off. By the time I was awake, it was already 640am. Hmm.
In the evening, was supposed to alight at CCK station. Still aware of surroundings when the train was at Bukit Batok, then Bukit Gombak, but somehow, ended up alighting at Yew Tee. Had no recollection of passing CCK station... None at all.
Memory lapse? Day-dreaming? Dazed? Or the beginning of something that I should take note off?
In the evening, was supposed to alight at CCK station. Still aware of surroundings when the train was at Bukit Batok, then Bukit Gombak, but somehow, ended up alighting at Yew Tee. Had no recollection of passing CCK station... None at all.
Memory lapse? Day-dreaming? Dazed? Or the beginning of something that I should take note off?
31 December, 2011
2011
Thank you for an eventful year. A year wrought with natural disasters and man-made ones. The world is getting crankier, and so am I. Too many things internalized, makes one craz(ier)y.
Still, there are many things to be thankful for. We are still alive despite the many disasters. Family and friends went through the year with minimal health issues. Travelled to Brunei, Macau, Hong Kong and Vietnam and experienced new culture, people and scenaries. Doing enjoyable stuffs with friends like eating, drinking, and discovering new places. Actively blogging. Discovering K-pop and specifically Girls' Generation (and also securing that ticket to the concert, daebak!)
To family and friends, "Thank you" for being you. Happy New Year, and may 2012 brings you joy and happiness.
Still, there are many things to be thankful for. We are still alive despite the many disasters. Family and friends went through the year with minimal health issues. Travelled to Brunei, Macau, Hong Kong and Vietnam and experienced new culture, people and scenaries. Doing enjoyable stuffs with friends like eating, drinking, and discovering new places. Actively blogging. Discovering K-pop and specifically Girls' Generation (and also securing that ticket to the concert, daebak!)
To family and friends, "Thank you" for being you. Happy New Year, and may 2012 brings you joy and happiness.
29 December, 2011
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