There's really a kid in all of us

I am really not lying!!! *points to title of entry*

It is true. Two friends of mine, Char and Jon, and I went to rediscover the kids in us by exploring...

SCIENCE CENTRE

Science Centre is in a plethora of colours because childhoods are always vibrant and colorful.

When was the last time I visited Science Centre? Most probably during my juvenile "Nerd Squad" days and that dates back to 10 years ago.

We paid 24 bucks per person to go into 1) Science Centre 2) Da Vinci Exhibition and 3) IMAX Movie at Omnitheatre. I wanted to further relive my childhood by visiting Snow City but the other two weren't too keen about putting on not-so-clean jackets and playing with dirty snow.

Science Centre itself
The only thing I remember about Science Centre is the electric chair exhibit. For the ignoramus, it is STILL there sitting comfortably at one corner. It costs a dollar now to sit and get electrified, and if I remember correctly, it was free during my juvenile days! How can?

The rest of the exhibits were so so and not really blogworthy. One thing is for sure: I am very "itchy hand". Every other thing also wanna touch, every button also wanna press. Lucky the head up there is dominant enough to override the head down there, if not...

My favourite exhibition of Science Centre has gotta be Mathematics and Genome. Because that's probably the two sections we went to. Why is that so, I shall explain later. In any case, exploring the Math section made me love Mathematics again. It made me recall those days when I loved it so much during the Geek days that doing it was fun and never a chore. I started hating it in Junior College. In university, I hate it even more because it's so difficult! How can people major in Math in university???

Genome had me go on a flashback to my Junior College Biology days. Wouldn't wanna relive those memorizing days. This was probably why I am not in Biological Sciences with my JC buddy. The Genome section was fun nonetheless! I re-learned biology concepts which I have clearly forgotten, and having said that, I maintain that I still remember some bio from JC okay. I particularly like the topic on Inheritance (even during JC when Bio was equivalent to HATE) because it is a proof of how some traits from your parents can be passed down to you easily and how some others can't. Most important of all, I learned that being lactose intolerant is actually normal.

More on that here: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Scientists-identify-lactose-intolerance-mutation

In ancient times, every single human was lactose intolerant. Many thousand years later, some idiot underwent a genetic mutation which caused him to be lactose tolerant. So those idiots of today who are lactose tolerant undergo this genetic mutation which means they're freaking MUTANTS!!!

Da Vinci Exhibition
So we only spent time in these 2 galleries because the first two hours was spent on DA VINCI EXHIBITION. The exhibition was awesome, and Da Vinci is a magnificent man. He was zai in the arts (painting, sculpture etc) and science (anatomy, civil and mechanical engineering etc) and is considered to be the archetype of the Renaissance. How impressive is that? I am particularly fascinated by his conceptualization of a military mechanical drum.



His other works which awe me to no end include the painting of Mona Lisa and The Vitruvian Man: Proportions of the Perfect Man. In the exhibition 25 secrets about the painting of Mona Lisa were revealed. They had a camera zoomed in to about 240 million pixels and extracted information about the painting never known before. The thing that made me appreciate Mona Lisa so much is that it is still mystifying as a painting even though these secrets have been revealed to the public. People look at it and still question why.

The Vitruvian Man is an artwork describing the perfect body proportions of Man. According to his works, the height of an ideal man is equal to his armspan. And I just measured my armspan and it IS equal to my height! Ideal or what? :D

The Exhibition is on till 16th June so I think people should really catch it when it's here. They have amazing replicas of the inventions of Da Vinci and super magnified versions of Mona Lisa hung on the walls.

IMAX movie: SEA MONSTERS
I think it's my first time in the Omnitheatre. Never been there as far as I can recall. I think it's huge. We had good seats, well being typical Singaporeans we rushed down to Omnitheatre 20 minutes before it commenced. I felt dizzy during the movie because mainly because of my contact lenses and partly because of the huge screen and the sharp movements.

It was a movie on prehistoric sea monsters which occupy the deepest seas of the Earth millions of years ago. It's quite amazing how people can actually learn so much about these creatures just from their fossils alone and make an entire movie out of them. One thing which made me laugh was a fossil of a huge fish which was found in the fossil of a bigger sea creature. That means the sea creature probably died right after eating the big fish and from eating it. So much for having a big appetite huh?

I can spend the 24 bucks on shopping but I am so glad I spent it at the Science Centre. This is the kind of weekend I've always wanted: meaningful experience with great company. Pics up on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506383321&ref=profile#/album.php?aid=112135&id=506113139&ref=mf

Enjoy!

A child in us

In the living room...

Bro: What is he (my nephew) watching? He looks so... animated.
Mom: Oh... the new Mermaid VCD!!! *with excitement* You know Mermaid married the prince and gave birth to a baby and the Mermaid King gave his grandchild a pendant... *proceeds to tell us a summary of the plot*
Me: -while ironing my clothes- Err, how do you even know the storyline???!!!
Mom: Oh... *turns a little red* I watch with the kids just now. But a bit only, oh yes I missed this part *continues watching with Bro*
Me: ?????????!!!

Moral of the story: No matter how old you are, there's always a child in you.

AI

I can't believe I am now partially on Kris Allen's side.

I like his rendition of Ain't No Sunshine and I agree with Cowell that he knocked Lambert off his socks in the first round. His next song was not Idol-Finale material while the last song, well he struggled with it.

Lambert didn't really do the last song justice too. So it's Lambert 1 - Allen 1 for me, and the last song is a draw. That said, I gotta say the song Kara wrote for Idol fits his voice better than Lambert's.

All in all, I still hope Lambert wins because pretty boys shouldn't be in idol singing competitions.

Work

A talk with my supervisor today made me realize that it's just one more month to go to the end of internship. I didn't even know it was this fast! Six months was such a good time to nua but things (good and bad) are finally coming to an end. In a month's time.

Now that we've decided to extend the internship to the end of June, we still have a month and 11 days left, as of today. Six months ago when I first started the internship felt like 2 weeks ago. Time and tide waits for no man, really.

Not the best company to be in, but forged many friendships and gained a helluva knowledge and skills. More on this on the Goodbye entry when I finally leave the company.

Today's AMR Hotel's Company Buffet was not worth SGD$42+++. I wouldn't recommend people to go there. I thought the buffet I had at Pam's 21st, which was prolly more expensive than this, was better. Even Seoul Garden has a wider selection of food.

And I didn't binge. Maybe a little. Just a little. And I'm amazed by my body's ability to get full easily during buffets and shit it out right after. My dinner consisted of a banana.

I am still full now.

I am RC siao

Imma proud owner of this restaurant!


Let's go in and take a look. *knock knock*


My restaurant is always this crowded!

And that's because I sell quality food at dirt cheap prices. My specialties are:


1) Gourmet Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil


2) Royal Tuna Steak with Vegetables


3) Royal Mango Pudding

I shall close the restaurant for a while to introduce to you my hardworking employees!

The ladies are all clad in red (auspicious colour) with bunny ears. Sorry when I think of bunnies, I think of The House Bunny.

The gentlemen wear vests and put on a red hat (again due to the auspiciousness of the colour) They gotta wear hats because we not only emphasize on the quality of food but its hygiene as well! You don't want my customers to come complaining to me about hairs in their food do you?

I wanted to get them gloves for hygiene purposes but it's not in the inventory! Should I request?

I just employed a supervisor to tend to the restaurant whenever I am not around. See the only female in black barmaid's dress? That's my assistant! She puts on a crown with a Star because she heads the restaurant during my absence. Erm no bunny ears for her because she's too old to be a House Bunny.

I am super RC siao.

Nightmare on PR Street

Taking shortcuts at night isn't always worth the convenience.

It was a peaceful walk through the park on a Sunday night. The moon was hidden underneath the seemingly neverending clouds but the dimly lit lights illuminated the pathways, chasing Darkness out to at least a kilometre away.

A mother of two was taking a stroll on the pebbled paths, guiding her kids with the basics of riding a bicycle. The shrill voices of her two kids were distinct even from where I was walking and as I headed towards the other end of the park, I could still hear the kids' enthusiastic voices.

It was a good 200 metres or so of walking when a couple sitting comfortably on a bench some 100 metres away came to vision. Thinking that all was fine and dandy, I quickened my pace with the alluring temptation of a good shower and an aircon full blast sleep.

All the while I was looking straight ahead but from the corner of my eyes I could tell they were staring at me like daggers piercing through the skin. Curiosity got the better of me, so I turned to look at what was going on.

What I saw was not the dagger stares of Angelina Jolie, but just stunned faces watching my every move. Immediately, my eyes captured a snapshot of what was going on, my brain processed the data sent over by the eyes and registered them in the memory. A brief analysis of the scene ensued.

The lady looked old and wore a black, plunging neckline tank top with black skirt, coupled with dyed long hair - typical look of seducing whores. The guy looked like almost any other men you'd find on the streets - T-shirt and shorts. The stunned faces could only mean either of these two things: There's something wrong with me or there's something wrong with them.

Time froze for the next few seconds. Everything came to a standstill.

Well, everything... except the up and down motion of the lady's right hand.

That was some fierce stroking man.

HAH! Singapore????? Errrrr, yeah.

My head's throbbing and my dad is playing his karaoke set at this hour. I will not be surprised if the law enforcers come knocking on our door telling him to shut the karaoke set and go to sleep. It's nearing one in the morning!

I get a little agitated when a foreigner in Singapore says not-so-good stuff about my country. The snigger I get (HAH! Singapore? Errrr, Yeah.) from these people SCREAMS annoying. Especially those who have been staying here for a couple of years and think they know it all.

Let's start with the basics. Foreigners come to Singapore for purposes more than one. It's crystal clear that these people come to Singapore with a damn motive. Stepping stone to somewhere else, looking for greener pastures and striking it rich here and other what-have-yous. Whatever.

The bottom line is: It was their decision to come to Singapore and if they don't like it here, they jolly well get out of the country. We don't even need majority of them here. I am sure there are tons of other people waiting to take their place.

Oh... bonded by a working contract? Studying in the local university? Forced to stay here because of their parents' occupations? Well, too bad then. Jolly well bear with it and stop showing their dislike of Singapore openly to Singaporeans.

I say: Live with it. Live with the damn fact that they are in Singapore. They wouldn't be where they are now without my country. If their countries are so much better than Singapore, they wouldn't have come all the way here to seek opportunities anyway.

Reading

I get so absorbed into my book on the train these days that I find the train journey a little too short even when I live more than half an hour away from work. Instead of catching a shuteye, I read. Reading puts me in the story and at times I feel myself being part of it.

In the story I am reading now, this girl called Duffy Quinn was admitted to a quaint old community hospital for her high temperature. Things started happening strangely after one night she heard screeching sounds beside her bed. And these strange things slowly made sense when she understood why they were happening to her - Someone's after her life. And... I haven't finished reading it so I don't know who the murderer is.

I need new novels to read! Will someone buy me more?

Planning

I've got something I am really busy with and it's the itinerary for my holiday in July. If I stand by and do nothing, I'm afraid we will have NO PLACE to stay then and our last minute planning will screw up MY holiday.

But doing it really got me excited. I love to plan. But I would really hate to make major changes to the itinerary because I've already used up a lot of my time for research! I sacrificed my dinner today because I was so engrossed with planning the itinerary... My bad. Since I sacrificed my dinner, I guess I should slim down a little more by lunch?

STOP EATING FAT FOOD, KHAS!

String of updates

My lactose intolerance is getting a little uncontrollable now. I drank a cup of iced milo for dinner and I got dehydrated almost immediately. I don't usually complain about my condition because I know a fair bit of people having the same condition (so I'm not unusual) and most of the time it's not on the top of my To-Think-About list...

But today! I was on the toiletbowl and I actually questioned myself WHY ME?! I am not being emo, but I just felt it's annoying not to be able to enjoy dairy products as much as others when I have this condition. I do restrain myself from consuming too much just in case a major Hiroshima occurs. Remind me again, WHY ME?

On another totally different note, I brought Mom out for dinner on Friday for an early Mother's Day treat. I told her to bring Dad and suddenly I found myself on a table with a group of 7. But it was a nice dinner sans the 1.5 hours of waiting and the total neglect of our request for the tomyam to be void of chicken.

First, peak hour crowds left no tables in the restaurant vacant. What made that even worse was that they had a GRAND TOTAL of 2 servers/waiters/cashiers (yes all in one) and 2 cooks. That's it. Hence the waiting time. Second, my mom can't eat chicken, any type, chicken stock, chicken wings, boneless chicken, drumlets, chicks, etc and we reminded the waiter 2-3 times not to put ANY into the tomyam soup. No prizes for what happened next which got me freaking pissed.

I had such a happening weekend. I had the Mother's Day dinner on Friday night, went out with Mom and Dad on Saturday and had pizzas at home with the whole family on Saturday night. And I went out to the airport to fetch Miss Hoeng from the airport and stayed over till daybreak.

I slept for a grand total of 2 hours, dragged myself out of bed and got ready for Sentosa. Palawan Beach was surprisingly empty on Mother's Day morning. In the evening, I rushed to Woodlands to meet my WAT friends for our pathetic WAT gathering.

Pathetic does not mean not good okay. This is when the cliche would say "It's the company that matters". All the important people turned up this time and that was all that mattered. I thoroughly enjoyed the gathering. And sorry Betty your finger became blue-black after the Heart Attack game. My bad, I think?

Oh yes Miss Maggie from Taiwan, we've planned an itinerary for you! Please be excited to visit Singapore. But don't keep your hopes up too high.

And I miss my cat. My brother gave it away on Mother's Day because he didn't want to take care of it anymore. We had it since I was in Junior College. I cried. I can't believe I cried at Sentosa. I surprise myself all the time.

No Doubt

Watched AI just now. No doubt is back! I love No Doubt. They've been around since I was freaking 11. And they never change. Gwen is still the same. You can say I grew up with them. Listened to their songs. And liked them.

And they're going on tour, starting this weekend. Touring the US and Canada. They should have a World Tour, I think they still have many fans around the world. They will go everywhere and be supported like 13 years ago. They should make it a World Tour and tour the world with their awesome music. Maybe except Mexico. I think they need masks on if they perform there.

I would go and see them perform if it were last year. Damn! Speaking of which, I still remember the good ol' WAT Days. I remember watching American Idol Final Showdown and its results show live on TV in New York. I was glued to the TV on both days. It was a memorable experience leh, though not a big deal. A few million Americans probably did the same thing those 2 days. But you know the I-watched-Idol-live-in-US-when-I-was-there! feeling?

It puts a smile to my face whenever I think about happy days like that even though I was more an Archie fan than Cook's.

Goodbye

Not everyday is full of sunshine. Not everyday can one dance with Grace, sing with Joy and walk with Faith. Not everyday is filled with sweet-smelling roses amidst lush greeneries and rainbows displaying its myriad of magnificent colours across valleys enclosed by mountains rising in perfect grandeur on both sides.

And that is why this is Life.

And today I didn't dance with Grace, I didn't smell anything fragrant and I don't see no rainbows. Today,I tasted the bitterness of losing someone special. Someone whom I hold dear to.

You.

My heart breaks into a million pieces when I realize you're gone for good. Cos I find it really hard to believe you're no longer in my midst. No longer by my side.

One of the best times I've had living in this world was having you enter my life. I immediately sensed the attraction the first time I saw you. I smiled at you first. Even though you didn't reciprocate, I somehow knew you were perfect for me and I wanted to make you mine. The day we officially got together was one which I remember vividly - it was full of love, bliss and satisfaction.

As my beloved, your chirpiness never failed to brighten up my lousy mornings. Your mesmerizing gazes at me never failed to make me realize how important you are in my life. Your tender touches gave me warmth, security and confidence.

Now everything's gone. What's left are just mere memories of you and I. Memories which would make me miss you so, so much. I am now alone. What am I going to do without YOU?






*background voices: "KAOBEI LAH! KAOBEI so much for a drowned phone. Old one spoilt, get a new one lah! OLD ONE DON'T GO NEW ONE WON'T COME!"

Ok lor. You sponsort me W902 can?

*hears footsteps running away*

Cheehong.

Money come, money go

A visit to Chinatown for cheap toiletries cost me 5% of my salary which I just drew out today. And it wasn't really much of a spree - I only got < 10 items from the store! That said, I guess now I do not need to worry about toiletries for at least a month or two.

Unfortunately, within the next few hours after that, the amount dropped again by half. Bills, holiday plans, debts, online shopping purchases, transport, miscellaneous stuff etc.

Oh My God. I can really spend. At this rate, I think I can never save up for W902. Any kind souls willing to donate to Khas' I-Want-A-W902-For-My-Birthday Fund?

Facebook

And I thought I was the only one.

Reflections

I went to Geylang Serai market for lunch today. My parents, who frequent the wet market, remarked that the general outlook of the food centre is much better now than before the Rojak incident occurred. My Dad told me the floors would have never reached the state they are now if not for the Rojak incident.

The Rojak incident serves as a warning to the stallholders as well as a reminder to all of us. Stallholders gotta keep food hygiene and safety the highest priority when manning their stalls. No amount of regret, money or grievances can bring back lives lost due to their negligence. For all of us, this unfortunate episode brings out one important truth often overlooked and/or taken for granted - the fragility of life. A lot of us seem to forget that we do not have the fortune of cats (who have nine lives, or so they say). We're not battery operated; once the human battery runs out, it's gone.

On another totally random note, I was at Tampines searching for Indo KTV VCDs for my own mini concert at home when this family of four walked into the shop and asked for some new songs by a certain artiste. The girl, obviously the daughter in the family, wore a purple dress with golden sandals. *step glamour* While I continued my search, I couldn't help but listen to their convos with the store owner.

It turned out that the girl just got into the second round of Anugerah 2009 and was looking for songs to sing. It was quite a *rolls-my-eyes* moment for me especially when it was the girl who declared she got in.

She needs a freaking reality check.

Tampines One versus Iluma

Over the weekend, I went to explore two megamalls which opened its doors to the public not too long ago. Believe me when I say that it was my virgin experience to Tampines One last Friday. I mean, despite being just an MRT stop away or a direct 15 minute bus ride away from where I live, I have not been to the place at all. I have been such a mountain tortoise.

I've heard about the hype about Uniqlo and Japanese Gourmet Town (a Jap version of Marche) and even Topman/Topshop in suburban Tampines (The suburban mats/minahs should be rejoicing now) and I've heard about the crazy crowds... What? You need to queue to get into Uniqlo? And it's not even a sale!!! So I told myself to go only when I think the crowds have died down.

To defend myself further, I was actually very busy with school, work, school and work. Since 28 April marked the end of the exams, I made up my mind to visit the megamall on Labour Day.

Wrong move.

The crowds have died down a little, I didn't need to queue up to get into Uniqlo and I could walk freely without stopping for stupid people, but there were still lots of people around. I think it's mainly because it was a damn holiday.

What I like about Tampines One:
Different shops from TM and CS. Apart from Uniqlo and Topshop, Messy, my ultra favourite shop from Bugis Junction, has gone suburban too. I also particularly like Sol Mart, a shop which sells traditional Korean foodstuff like Kimchi and Korean candies and crackers. One of the other stores which caught my eye is a sneakers store called 101 Station.

What I DON'T LIKE about Tampines One:
The price. Period.

VERDICT? Other than Messy which seems more affordable than the rest of the store population in Tamp One, I'm going back to Tampines Mall baybeh!

Yesterday, I also got the chance to explore Iluma in Bugis which opened about a month ago. It's a 10 storey megamall located just beside Bugis Village and opposite Bugis Junction.

For a 10-storey MEGAmall which is located in a shopping district, I'd say it is quite a flop in comparison to the suburban Tampines One. True, it is ginormous in size but it seems that Bugis Junction was still attracting like 80% of the crowds for there was not a lot of people in the MEGAmall even on a Saturday. Plus, after one month of opening its doors, most of the stores were still under renovation. The whole place literally smelled of construction works. And I also felt the mall was a tad too dim for shopping.

The funny thing was the doors to the mall and in the mall were the SUPER heavy kind, one which requires a great deal of strength to PUSH and PULL, and I think they fail to realise by now that 85% of their target shoppers are females.

What I like about Iluma:
The mega escalator from the first floor to the fourth. FilmGarde Cinemas. The bigass corridors and the many, many seats outside the stores. The viewing space outside the Arcade. The toilets.

What I DON'T like about Iluma:
Too big and too little shops. And the bane of all things: They don't even have a website. I expect a MEGAmall website to come up as the first few links when I search for it.

VERDICT? I'm better off shopping at White Sands or Downtown East.

May Day

I slept from 7 PM last night to 8 AM this morning. One of the pleasures in life is to be able to sleep like that.

The decision to go to work yesterday was one which was truly regrettable. I was feeling so sick (fluish, headache, muscle aches) the entire day that it showed in my eyes. Someone commented my eyes looked dead.

Moreover, if I had taken the day off, I wouldn't have miss yesterday's episode of Bombastis which featured IC2 on RCTI. So regretful! I knew I was sick in the morning, yet I still went because I somehow knew that the pay would come in! And it did.

I must NOT spend so much next month because:

1) I am saving up for my TW Trip
2) Maggie is coming to Singapore (May 25)
3) I am finally going to buy Fred Perry from London
4) I have to give treats to 4 special people, one of them is my Omma

And now I'm spending my moolah on River Island. = =

Why do I not have a money dispensing machine?