Inner Thoughts & Struggle: Frisbee Newbie 😕

Caution: Unhappiness (& horrible grammar) ahead.

Feeling really very disappointed today (or rather every time I touch the disc). I’ve never been born or even built to be a frisbee player, much less be a team player amongst more experience frisbee ‘regulars’. Honestly, I wanted to just tear up after today’s training (which was shit I swear) ‘cos I was so bad. seriously. It’s like ambitious me trying to get into RV frisbee team all over again.

/lol jamos just walked in like a penguin & asked me what was I doing/

ANW the inferiority complex war within me was stronk. Almost everyone else with/without prior in-game experience were recognised and more importantly improving from the scarce amount of training time we had. Then there’s me with off-putting forehand throws & less-than-desirable defence (as I was center wall). In short, I felt that I’m always the unnecessary player being picked out to ‘fill the gaps’. (Then again, that could be because my 12-year long table tennis career(? lol) left little room for me to gain momentum in team sports)

Speaking of filling the gaps, I swear our wall was so feeble that crumbling was almost always the one and only option (tho it’s not up to me to say anything) and being center wall…guess the blame is on me. Altogether, it felt that if the ‘regulars’ were blunt, they could have criticized my throws so badly.

Yup I was proven, by myself, that I was the most undeserving player of the gold medal won during BMT games day. Just trying to keep my heads up, conceal emotions & do my best for the sake of the team. I promised that I was never going to touch a disc for competitive purposes after JC, but oh well, why did I even win the scissors paper stone to get into the BMT team? I wasn’t even worthy of that spot. Please make tomorrow the last day I’ll touch a disc with stress gushing through those veins of my bony hands.

Oh and another thing that contributed to the disappointment is that my mom decided not to come for the Family Day shit. Means I’ll be all alone while 90% of the entire world would be having a good time with their parents. It would be unthinkably awkz for me to tag along with any of my mates :/ And yea I can forget about taking ‘The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover wannabe photos. pfttt.

Shall cry myself to sleep now. #justkidding

#ThingsDoneB4Enlistment💂

Well, it’s almost the end of my short break before everything gets back to being very physically/mentally exhausting. But I’m glad that I’ve checked most of my mental to-do items that I’ve set out to achieve after the A levels are over, and that includes spending more time with my family and friends 🙂 I’m really thankful that He has blessed me with such wonderful company both at home and outside. And it’s like every friendship I have has been so long-lasting: 6-years table tennis buddies & 9-years+ primary school class kiddos. So glad to catch up with everybody! Anyway, here’s what I’ve done (some of which are really a few weeks ago but I didn’t have a post prior to this).

#01: Watched Tak3n with some of Exparia after work! 👓🎥
Movie!

#02: Selfie with the help of Val’s giganormous wall mirror📷 during Exparia’s gathering at Val’s resort.Val's House Gathering!

  #03: Do some sketching ✏️Alphα

#04: Have coffee☕️ & toast🍞 almost every single morning after a run @ Mei Ling Food Centre (their toast is especially crispy and if you’re lucky they’ll toast the brown bread not the white one which taste much better)Coffee & Toast!

#05: 6C’08 gathering! It has been like 9 years plus since we ever met in NYPS 😛

IMG_3392

#06: Resign from Job📝💸 It was truly and eye-opener thoughResign from Job :)

#07: Visit grandma at her home and Ah Ma & Grandpa at their respective ‘homes’ (feat. stone walls at the columbarium)👵👴👵

Visit Columbarium

#08: Have complementary Fish Manhattan @ The Star Vista for dinner🍴🍤The Manhattan Fish Market

#09: Treating Mr Tan to 煮炒 after most of us got our first pay!🍴💸
Treating Mr Tan!

#10: Eating Okra 💅 @ West Co’z Café (Our treat to Mr Tan!)Favorite Lady's Finger

#11: Gathering @ Mr Tan’s 🏡 (Everybody’s looking good! Yes, everybody, including yunda hehe😉)
Gathering @ Mr Tan's

#12: Celebrating B’dae together with my two other FEBabies 🎂 (you can call us Fab, Feb & Fap(?) okay no. #sorrynotsorry)  Anyway the day before I was just contemplating if Exparia should celebrate bmw birthday together after treating Mr Tan, then the thought of celebrating for each month crossed my mind (since someone said it before I think) but a bit paiseh to ask everyone to celebrate my birthday wth? ahaha Who knows…

Febabies

YAY (very) early B’dae celebration! 🙂

#13: Last picture together before Lim Beh Tio Car Lock enlist. SIEN MAX. Lim Beh Tio Car Lock reunites!Enlisting in two more days time, don’t know what exactly to expect, just hope I don’t miss my family / friends too much & enjoy my stay at resort Pulau Tekong with new buddies?😊

🙌 well, at least I know He’ll be by my side throughout 😊

Spicy Thai Cuisine @ Nakhon Kitchen😛

I felt exceptionally connected to today’s sermon on Family idk why haha Anyway, after church, we headed to Nakhon Kitchen at Kovan for lunch. It was a treat after I got my first pay 😊

2015/01/img_3313.jpg
We reached at about 11.30am, half an hour earlier than the opening time of the small restaurant, so we decided to take a walk around Kovan City. Btw, my first impression of the restaurant was ruined because not only did they bush us off when we arrived, but also shut their roll-up metal doors in our faces. Check out my bros angry/disappointed faces ☝️Ahaha In the end, we ended up walking from one floral&landscape shop to another along the same stretch of road haha 2015/01/img_3285.jpg
I couldn’t resist to take photos of these beautiful flowers👇

2015/01/img_3288.jpg

This flower 👆 is commonly seen during Chinese New Year yet I’m clueless what it is called.2015/01/img_3287.jpg

Bee feeding of the nectar of these pretty flowers!2015/01/img_3289.jpg

Hibiscus🌺 👆
2015/01/img_3290.jpg

2015/01/img_3291.jpg

Omg I was quite fascinated by the whiteness of this orchid 👆. And in the end when we reached back at about 11.50am, there was a growing queue outside Nakhon Kitchen. just wow. We were meant to be the first customers?!?! ok but nvm at least we got a table 😅

2015/01/img_3295.jpgOk, now time for the #foodporn part of this post 😜

#1: Stir-fried Thai-Style Kang Kong
👍

Price: S$6

Review: The Thai version of kang kong was very different from the chinese style of cooking belachan kang kong (you can totally tell from the much more watery sauce in the following 2 images). I didn’t like the Belachan (i.e. Dish 2 below) as compared to the Thai-style one, I think it’s just a personal preference kinda thing honestly.
2015/01/img_3298.jpg

#2: Stir-fried Belachan Kang Kong

Price: S$6

Review: I felt that the Chinese style of cooking belachan kang kong was much more delicious compared to this. This dish is missing dried shrimp (or maybe they did put some, but added a smidgen of it), nonetheless still yummy 😛 (partly because I was starving before I came).2015/01/img_3300.jpg

#3: Clear Seafood Tom Yam Soup 👍

Price: S$6

Review: This harmless-looking soup packs a punch I swear. It’s much spicier than the thick-base tom yam shown below. Ingredients include fish, sotong, prawn and mushrooms. I feel that this is truly the authentic Thai Tom Yam Soup that everyone should try someday!2015/01/img_3299.jpg

#4: Phad Thai Tang Hoon

Price: S$6

Review: [PS for the unfocused picture] Fried 冬粉 (cellophane noodles) will usually turn out exceptionally dry and clumpy? but this wasn’t the case for Nakhon Kitchen’s Phad Thai 冬粉. This dish is served with spices and crushed peanuts(?) at one side as shown below, so it’s better to mix it if you have high spicy food tolerance threshold.

2015/01/img_3302.jpg

#5: Pineapple Fried Rice.

Price: S$6

Review: This dish is of average standard? Pineapple was scarcely seen except for just the few big pieces at the side. Can’t compare to the Indian version of it served at Raffles Marina Bistro. But the fact that plain fragrant rice was $1 (twice the average price of normal white rice served almost anywhere) made ordering pineapple fried rice almost a must.

Erm, we still ordered plain rice in the end because the pineapple fried rice & oriental fried rice didn’t come (in time) lol and the portion wasn’t enough for 5 big eaters like us. 2015/01/img_3303.jpg

#6: Pad Ga-prao Mu (Stir-fried minced pork with Holy Basil)👍👍
Price: S$6

Review: This is my favourite!! OMG it was so delicious I poured the sauce over the pineapple rice and finished up all the long beans, chilli & onion AHAHA (it’s quite oily though.. omg I just received a reminder that I’m enlisting on the 4th #justsaying #burningmyfatswithextrachilli)
oh we also did order the beef version of Pad Gao Prow but it wasn’t as delicious, partly the minced beef was rather tough…
2015/01/img_33011.jpg

#7: Chicken wrapped in Pandan Leaves (#insightfulname)👍

Price: S$6

Review: WHY DOES IT HAVE TO COME IN FOURS (nah it’s just that I’ve a family of 5). My bro ate one so there’s 3 left in the picture below (I should disclaimer: all pictures not snapped to scale lol) I liked the sweet chilli sauce that comes with this dish and the tender chicken after peeling away the pandan leaves.

2015/01/img_3305.jpg

#8: Sitr-fried squid with Thai yellow curry powder

Price: S$10

Review: This was the most expensive dish we ordered yet I found it the worst #oops But I think (once again) it’s entirely based on personal preferences because my brothers actually enjoyed the thick curry (powder) sauce, while I didn’t like it at all. The squid itself was crunchy, I guess that’s the only decent part of the dish? 😛2015/01/img_3306.jpg

#9: Homemade Thai Fish Cake

Price: S$6

Review: I objected ordering this dish at first, but after I tried it, I felt thankful that we ordered it in the end hehe They totally nailed the spongy 口感 (omg first chinese words that came to my mind Im sorry) of the fish cake, and the sauce that comes with this dish just complements the fishcake. Awesome.2015/01/img_3307.jpg

#10: Cha-yen (Thai Ice Tea)

Price: S$ per cup

Review: I felt that the drinks here is a little over-priced, especially when almost half the cup is filled with nothing but ice. The ice tea was a little too sweet (so adding a bit of plain water that they’ve provided from the start did the trick), so overall not too bad #stillfearfulaboutNSthough2015/01/img_3308.jpg

#11: Red Ruby

Price: S$3

Review: I personally don’t like dessert because they’re always so sweet?? and Red Ruby was no exception. (I still like ice-cream though)2015/01/img_3310.jpg

There are a couple more dishes that I didn’t post because I was too busy eating HAHA So overall, we ordered 12 or more different dishes (not including drinks & plain rice ofc) and I foot the $92 bill. (I swear they are lazy to deal with coins that’s why the cost of their dishes are mostly all even numbers and their Thai “fragrant” steamed rice is $1…I can’t help but harp over it I’m sorry.)2015/01/img_3304.jpg

Here’s this wannabe’s ratings:

Food: 8/10 (The food was no doubt splendid. Totally felt like a glutton after today’s lunch.)

Service: 4.5/10 (Seriously? 😒 shutting your doors in our faces? and omg please plaster some smiles on your faces tyvm I wonder what happened to “Thailand — the land of thousand smiles”..perhaps that was misplaced along the 2hr flight to Singapore?)

Environment: 7/10 (More fans could do wonders especially so for customers (like yours truly) who are trying our best to down the tom yam soup and other authentically spicy Thai cuisines)

Okay put aside crude comments, I would nontheless recommend those who has a(n) eye tongue for spicy food to head down to Nakhon Kitchen for authentic Thai cuisine because it’s truly like dining in the land of thousand smiles😄😄😄 (except for the waiters)

YAY.

Life 😃

People, regardless where you are, what you’re doing, just watch this inspiring video and I guarantee you the next moment you’ll treasure life like there’s no tomorrow 😌

Life is not about winning the race; life is about finishing the race and how many people we can all help finish this race, how we can start being kinder to each other…and in the end, it may be you that needs help finishing the race.”

It has been a while since I’ve watch such insightful and touching video on Facebook. Love my mom so much I don’t wanna live the life of this guy I’m sorry 😞

Malaysia Boleh — Good Food 😋 Easy on your palate & pocket!

Today was a fairytale~ Ahaha okay minus the working part of today, yup, it was almost like a splendid day just for relaxation. Went for a morning run at Queenstown stadium on this bright and cheery Saturday morning before heading to Mei Ling Market for brunch (I should attempt a food review for breakfast/brunch @ Mei Ling someday!). 2015/01/img_3035.jpg After brunch I started work and it was boringgg ‘cos more than often nobody’s at the other end of the line, so throughout the 4-5hrs of calling, my ears are usually greeted with melodic serenades of the engaged ringtone (the duuuuuuuu-duuu-duuuuu ones & more). After making like about 45+ calls, my family & I headed to Malaysia for some grocery shopping and a nice dinner!2015/01/img_3044-0.jpg

Venue: Restaurant Chua Kee (or more commonly known as 蔡记海鲜)

Location: 1, Jalan Kacang Panjang, Gelang Patah 81100 (Johor, Malaysia) [it’s quite secluded though..]

Opening Hours: This I’m not too sure, but it’s open during lunch time & for dinner!)

So we’ve been coming here quite frequently, regardless if it’s for nice seafood Birthday dinners or just to statisfy our I-feel-like-eating-delicious-food craving haha. Here are some (not all) of the dishes we ordered! We went as a family of five #justsaying so the price may vary according to your pax! Dish 1: 东坡肉 Price: RM15 (~S$5.69) Honestly, I didn’t support the decision to order this dish as I didn’t like how fatty 东坡肉 was in China the previous time I ate this. But after I had a taste of the meat, I kinda felt a lil thankful that we still ordered nonetheless BECAUSE the meat was just so tender with a ‘lil fatty portion that goes with the meat (IDK HOW TO PUT IT ACROSS). This dish comes with 梅菜 (just like the famous ones in China) and shredded carrots with pieces of leek, what I liked. 2015/01/img_3055.jpg Dish 2: 苏东仔 (deep-fried baby squid) Price: RM12 (~S$4.55) This tasted like the usual fried baby squid in any restaurant, just that they fried it with bits of pineapples! Nonetheless very appetizing and cheap!  2015/01/img_3053.jpg Dish 3: 四大天王 (idk why the name, but it’s basically Okra + long beans + Eggplant + stink beans / petai) Price: RM15 (~S$5.69) This is one of my family’s all time favourite dish because hey where can you find another replica of this dish! Anyway, besides its rarity (sounds like I’m talking Pokémon) and authenticity, this dish has my favourite LADY’S FINGERS!! But altogether the combination of the 4 types of vegetables (to be scientifically correct, 3 fruits + 1 seed lol) is sooo delicious! FYI This dish is fried with ikan bilis (heads up for the ikan bilis lovers out there)2015/01/img_3054.jpg Dish 4: _ _ 豆腐 (something-something-toufu ‘cos I can’t read the waitress’ handwriting) Show them this beautiful pic and they’ll recognise immediately (I guess) Price: RM15 (~S$5.69) This is a good dish especially after you’ve ordered all the fried / deep-fried dishes, because the gravy’s starchy / watery texture keeps ur palate moist(?) I guess AHAHA omg I fail at doing food reviews ‘cos I feel it in my brain but can’t express it in words #reasonswhyIhavepictures BUT TOUFU LOVERS you’ve gotta try this handmade fried toufu with the unique gravy (that I can’t describe).2015/01/img_3052.jpg Dish 5: 凤梨虾球 Price: RM40 (~S$15.20) OMG this dish was a hawt favourite, I only got to eat 2 pieces of prawns meh + finish up all the pineapples and veggies. This dish is something like the sweet & sour (OMG I typed sweat&sour at first gosh no) pork that Singaporeans usually order from 煮炒 stalls but now it’s prawns in replace of pork. Their prawns are fresh & are peeled (you have no idea how grateful I am for the restaurants that have already peeled prawns #lazy) + marinated well with the sweat and sour sauce YAY enjoyed my 2 pieces of 虾球 very much LOL2015/01/img_3050.jpg

Oh oh those food bloggers always have that ratings thingamajig right hahaha okay so here’s this wannabe’s rating:

Food: 8.5/10

Service: 7.5/10 (Waiting time was reasonable; waitresses/waiters are nice & quick on their feet, figuratively & literally)

Environment: 6/10 (I NEED to include this environment thingy ‘cos I really hate breathing in second-hand smoke when I enjoy my meals. Restaurant Chua Kee is open air and you really do need to find some strategic location if you’re as sensitive to 2nd-hand smoke as me)

If you’re a avid seafood lover or just someone who wants to exploit the ringgit while SGD is still pretty strong, you’ll have to patronize this restaurant in Gelang Patah!

I think I’ll try to post pics with short(er) descriptions next time ‘cos I’m not that cogent with words!

Long Bus Rides Brew Deep Thoughts… 🚎

First I’ve to admit that I have a pretty serious love-hate relationship with my job as a surveyor. The enticing “flexi-work-hours” thingy that the employment agency sugarcoated my currently job wasn’t as flexi as I thought it would be, in office it was 8 to 5 but after I started working from home, it became 9 to 1130pm??? And worst of all I signed (or rather I’m ignorant that I signed) for 3 to 4.5 hours of nonstop walking 🚶🚶🚶🚶 because transport cost is already ‘included’ in my meagre salary.

But more importantly this job is pretty satisfying, in a way, because it (truthfully) paints a realistic portrait of not just the humble, caring 😇 side of Singaporeans but also the ugly 👺 (and even menace) of our once thought-to-be bed of roses orchids. I interview many different types of Singaporeans, of different races, varied/contrasting backgrounds, spanning across the entire social hierarchy / corporate ladder. Some who are desperate to find any job, some who are exasperated and quit searching for job, some who are just too lazy and expect the government to spoon feed them / pamper them with unemployment benefits. There are others who do well in the corporate arena and are very open to flaunt their achievements; while some of these highflyers are so stuck up and arrogant. And of course there are those wannabes who preach as though they are highflyers, but honestly, all they need is a simple reality check. So every individual that I visit is a new encounter despite being guided by the identical questionnaire. The anticipation every time I’m waiting at the doorstep of a unit is sometimes so overwhelming, especially if I let my imagination run wild 👿 But thankfully, more than often, someone approachable will answer the door 😌

Sometimes phone calling experience exaggerates the callousness of Singaporeans, but hey, when I go for face-face talks, it’s like ten times better Haha I’m not expecting any kind of hospitality but their tone tells it all.

And after working and interacting with grown-ups, besides realising that I need a job with some form of human interaction, I feel very much more independent. No longer shackled to the will of my parents (but not like I’ll become more rebellious 😒). Anyway, I still am deciding when & where to treat my family 👪, since I got my first pay (which isn’t a lot #justsaying so don’t rob me 💸), thinking of going some secluded place with few people but with delicious, affordable food for dinner! I was thinking going for some Thai food @ Thai Tantric or Joe’s Kitchen that’s near Queenstown 👑!

Gonna update here👇if I ever go there:

Thai Tantric: Orchard Towers, 400 Orchard Road #03-23 S238875 (Operating hours: Mon to Sun from 11am to 3pm and 6pm to 3am(wuttt??? but okay))
Review: (pending)

OMG OMG 😱 latest update, there’s this Thai restaurant at Hougang that looks even better! 😋 okay I’m gonna note down the venue 👇:

Nakhon Kitchen
136 Bedok North Avenue 3 #01-166
Singapore 460136
Tel: +65 6245 5548
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm

212 Hougang Street 21 #01-341
Singapore 530212
Tel: +65 6286 8785
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm

Review: [credits to Quah & her gang for insta-ing multiple pictures of their delicious dinner? HAHA]

(pending)

[UPDATE 25/01]: refer to the blog post dated 25/01 for the review and tantalizing images of genuine Thai cuisine.

Anyway beside the family treat that I’m planning, I’m also very keen to get a ukulele of my own 🎸 (idc, that decitfully looks like a uke since ukes come in all shape and sizes) Ever since my bro brought back a soprano uke (because of some school IDP) I’ve been the one benefiting hehe😅 playing it all day at home when I’m tired of work. Trying to learn the entire Riptide by Vance Joy 😍 He’s such a joy to listen to!

Currently (like a few hours ago lol) enjoying the rather long journey on 🚍198 from West Coast Highway to Queenstown haha solitary moments on cosy buses are so satisfying after a long day’s of walking 😌😌

(Note to self, I could actually go to Nakhon Kitchen then go get the ukulele which is at Simei)

First Day of 2015 😀

So I guess it’s still Christmas 🎄 in my heart, on the 5th day of my Christmas my bras went with me…to Starbucks @ Rochester and drink coffee with mee~

So we finally met up after 3(?) failed attempts at organising a day out together (YAY) Met Beh for lunch at some hawker centre which luckily had vegetarian food, then we scurried to Buona MRT to meet Lim WHO OVERSLEPT 😴 (but partly ‘cos I forgot to give him a morning noon call, me fault 🙈🙉🙊) before heading towards Starbucks @ Rochester Park.

Am very very thankful for the cooling weather (only a slight drizzle 💧) today, if not I’d be perspiring all over and feeling sleepy. Going to Starbucks just made things better with their sweet peppermint mocha and comfy sofa (#Rhymes). And I had my 2013 Starbucks gift card (a 2013 X’mas present LOL) so I didn’t pay a cent for this sweet treat! And Mingwei (that Sbuck fanatic) had a card to spare YC so that he could get a free drink after registering for an account. Had fun screwing around with YC salutation & monthly income: he’s (a wannabe) Dr. Lim with an annual income of $100,000 (no wonder we took 15+ minutes to register hehe). Anyway his wannabe salutation & income matches where he came from, or rather where his T-shirt came from… Here’s a picture of my Peppermint Mocha (looks ordinary, but tastes extraordinary)…

Peppermint Mocha!

We managed to talk about all issues from Exparia, friends, family, future, religion, death…and after death? 👻 Oh well it’s amazing how we can skip and skimp from one topic to another, and eventually end up on the first topic that we started off with LOL Deep conversations never fail to excite me 😉 haha
/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/2b6/59072510/files/2015/01/img_2825.jpg

Oh I realised that my social circle is super small LOL besides Exparia & a few of my primary school buddies, I have no close friends anymore! Everyone just came & go like dust in the wind, even 2014 just flew by like that. Nonetheless, I’m super grateful / thankful for my two bros👆 Still remember we started hanging out in 2013 ‘cos we needed nice outfits (& YC was the one with cool sense of fashion) and we had a common interest of playing pool…and that’s how Lim Beh Tio Car Lock came about LOL (still very fascinated how I thought of our group name lalalalala) okaiiiii need go sleep ‘cos there is work tomorrow and my first pay will be creditedddddd YAY????? 😌😌ladadedadeee we like to partieeeee!~

(Random but) In short, I hope it’ll be a better year ahead in 2015 😊 and Army will be more merciful on the 3 of us 😅

Christmas with Family & Best Friends 🎄

IMG_2799

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air”

My Christmas (or should I call it pre-Christmas warm up) actually started early this year, on the 11th, with the study group “Despo Chiongsters” (now renamed Chiong Simi Chiong LOL) at USS & TEM Singapore. Can tell Rachel was damn excited to sit the Mummy ride since we stepped into USS loll and well, we did take that ride 4 times (?) till we’re all exhausted not so much from the ride per se, but from all the unnecessary screaming and wailing throughout the ride. And kudos to Ching for breaking her lifetime record of 3 roller coaster rides ‘YAY’ AHAHA 😝

Processed with VSCOcam with hb2 preset

We went to TEM because it rained (despite much prayers), and God nonetheless blessed us with more beautiful pictures and funnnn in the Trick Eye Museum. We did stupid things and amount of sh*t given = 0 💁 Picture paints a thousand words so….

Familyyyy YAY

IMG_2602IMG_2577

 ^Height disparity muchhhh?? Only person with accurate height depicted here is Rachel LOL kiddingz 😉

IMG_2562

Ready for take off!

IMG_2563

Riding a baby. wow.Pity that gymnast that I overwhelmed.

IMG_2533

I don’t look like I’m in a comfortable position to save anybody, too bad Clinty. I’m sorry.

IMG_2601     ^Biatches be like..Processed with VSCOcam with g3 preset

…and the everybody’s-profile-picture picture. I’M AN ANGEL WITH A Bicycle? IMG_2597

Who’s gonna save the world(?) tonighttttt~

After the entire day of much fun, laughter, (peace?) and joy, we took the monorail (suggested by Rachel as usual) back to Vivocity for dinner at the Food Court ‘cos I was too broke that day (as usual too). Nonetheless, we are creative people and entertained ourselves with Heads Up Charades haha

18/12/2014 (Thurs): X’mas Potluck with Exparia @ YC’s Condo

IMG_2670

On the first day of my X’mas, my true loves made for me…sausage, gingerbread, jelly and lots of curry!

To me at least, it was a super successful potluck (just that my veggie no business, but I know that it’s nice teehee)!  We began the potluck officially after celebrating Boon Ki’s 18th B’day (which is supposed to be tomorrow?), followed by playing Heads Up Charades to ‘assist’ our food clearance LOL After our hearty lunch, which effectively immobilized all of us, we kicked off the Secret Santa gift exchange game!

[PS: I was quite glad that my mortal(?) was someone of the OPPOSITE gender and would likely be more appreciative of handmade gifts hehe]

I was Santa for Zi Jun YAY!

IMG_2806

Feel so relieved that Zi Jun liked the handmade jar/cup ‘cos the night before I was seriously considering if my cup, of face value equivalent to two jars (it still does satisfy the $10+ prerequisite for this gift exchange tho), was too cheapskate a gift. My original idea was to simply get a Starbucks do-it-yourself tumbler and redesign the removable ‘wallpaper’, but Sbux ran out of those tumblers (oh well) so I quickly ran to Typo (and I was their last customer) to get some jars and see what could I make out of them. THANKFULLY I managed to exhaust my creative juices to squeeze out the idea of the pseudo Starbucks tumbler cup idea hehe J By then it was already 12mn… so guess what time I slept LOL (I was so sleepy that I wrote my fat name on the gift for the following day’s Secret Santa)

X'mas Potluck 2014

Following the gift exchange, we went back to Yan Chen’s home (though he claims that the entire Cashew Heights is his ‘castle’) to rest before we sprint off for block catching (which was totally not a good idea T.T) If not for Val’s sexy souvenir – a flora tee from Thailand (below), I would be drenched in my only polo tee.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

After catching, and changing out from the stenchy tee, what’s left of Exparia went for Zhu Chao at Clementi. The price was reasonable though the food was of average standard only? Nonetheless what was more ‘entertaining’ was some H2 Religion lecture by our dear Prof. Luah Haha (while Zi Jun con’t to get drunk) we srsly look like some group of religious leaders having a conference (below) at some coffee shop (#thatcontrast).

IMG_2684

Check out how Zi Jun’s still staying strong after a few shots(considered?) while Yunda & Clinty are about to kong off LOL 🍻🍻🍺

After dinner, the remains of the remains of Exparia went to hobo at Clementi Indoor Sports Hall and had some velly serious HTH talk (so serious until all of us felt sleepy, or was it ‘cos of the lightings..) And found out a lot of interesting facts(?) of each other, or rather each other’s parents oops LOL

IMG_2688

That concluded day 1 of my X’mas celebration!

22/12/2014 (Mon): Badminton with my precious @ YTCC

IMG_2740

On the second day of my X’mas, my true loves played with me…two games of badminton, one game of Citadel, all..at Yew Tee!

Playing anything with Exparia is guaranteed to brighten up my day after all of the office boredom especially sweating out after Badminton with Exparia J YAY! and AHAHA Haoyi was such a lucky person to have me as doubles partner twice LOL kidding.

After exercise, the remaining guys went for Bak Kut Teh @ Westgate (at like 9.30pm)! And yes, cheapo/nice-guy me decided to save 油条left over at the previous table…by eating them lol JUDGE WHAT JUDGE. I don’t usually go around salvaging people’s leftovers but in that moment I really felt that it was a blatant waste of food because the two baskets of 油条 was not even touched at all!IMG_2738

Christmas is the season for giving, but that’s not how you give me 油条 TYVM (Message to those wasteful Singaporeans)

And and and we concluded that the song 《豆浆油条》should be officially renamed to 《肉骨茶油条》’cos 油条 tastes unbelievably good with Bak Kut Teh (#discoveryofthenight)

IMG_2745

Oh and my supervisor gave me Toblerones for Christmas (because I was a good employee LOL just kidding) YAY more chocolates!

24/12/2014 (Wed): X’mas Eve K.BBQ with (part of) Exparia

On the third day of my X’mas, my true loves (which decreased in numbers unfortunately) eat with me…three types of meat 🐮🐷🐔, fried two bowls of fried rice and had one ice-cream scooping competition!

IMG_2760

LOL the 6 of us had soooooo much fun cooking food for each other and playing with food (like some kid) and irritating the boss/waitress there oops (this waitress had to change our disgusting black stove and take photo for us under the hot sun, while the boss came over to indirectly check if we are okay LOL) I bet he came over to check if his stove was okay lol. And one setback compared to previous K.BBQ I had was that the heater(?) was so close to my thigh that my left thigh was overcooked by the time we finished BBQ-ing.

IMG_2766

Is it my destiny to become a ice-cream man (‘cos check ^ this out!) Oh and presenting to you the fried rice by the guys team…

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

Overall, lunch was simply splendid, so much so that dinner subsequently was blend Haha And that concluded my 3rd day of Christmas with Exparia after a short song-singing session at my home! 🎤🎸

25/12/2014 (Thurs): X’mas Pool 🎱 & Christmas Service

On the fourth day of my X’mas, my true true loves (aka family) had lunch with me…four tables for four, three families, then two bros came to play pool and one Christmas service with Kai’s familyyyyy! 🙌

IMG_2790

My true true loves! ^

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

Some (erm just two) presents 🎁🎁 from relatives! ^ I really love the Aztec design of the present wrapper on the left!

[At 12mn, Tabletonix released our X’mas singles “MeeSohToh” and “Last Christmas” (This year’s Xmas could potentially be the last for anyone who listened to our recordings #justsaying)]

Lunch at JCC was not too bad as I had stir fried lady’s finger which had always been my love! And feeling the love from grandma…can feel how much she wants to be there for me in everything I do L be it volunteering to sponsor my driving lessons, sponsor my university education, go to Tekong to see me off…love my grandparents loads.

After all my relatives left, Yan Chen & Kai came for pool! Three people is the ideal number of people for pool I realized. This time round luck was not on anybody’s side, or rather the absence of luck was quite eminent throughout the 9 games or so 😛

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

My new lockscreen wallpaper ^

After Yan Chen left for work (unfortunately), Kai and I went to play table tennis (our long lost sport LOL)  and I lost in 三盘两胜LOL and guess who wants to join Uni table tennis team meh.

Christmas service at Kai’s church was a new experience (or rather a relive of church service at my previous church when I was still in kindergarten). The entire service (including the sermon) was spoken in mandarin; currently the only time I use that close-to-foreign language is at work when I’m communicating with Chinese-speaking respondents. But Christians there are friendly people (like when were we not friendly? J) and Kai’s parents were even nicer omg haha They treated me to some $6.10 海鲜何粉 at the scam money seafood place (according to Kai) 😱😱

Oh oh and singing classic Christmas carols in mandarin was super nostalgic, ‘cos I only did that with my grandpa 10+years back at a Methodist church near Beauty World. Singing with Kai made it even more memorable LOLOLL J #NoSarcasmAtAll

That concluded the first four (nonconsecutive) days of MY lovely Christmas spent with Exparia! Looking forward to completing the remaining 8 days of Christmas with this precious bunch! What we need to achieve: guitar tutorials/more song-singing sessions, group cycling @ ECP, stay-over/late night party for New Year’s Eve (?), Teo Heng, Malaysia trip (?), more badminton sessions! HAHA (why am I such an optimist when I’m likely to be the one who can’t go for most of the activities L )

ANYWAY I really hope that I’ll gain some trust from my parents this Christmas since I’ve been working and will be stuck in Tekong from Feb 2015 onwards. AND I’m really crossing my fingers on this one:  that I’ll make some true friends in Army (quite excited yet afraid of the unknown LOL). How should I be feeling? :/

[On the side note, YAY for a happy blogpost after being such a peevish kid in the past few posts, hope this super long post will drown away all the unhappiness previously]

©Jeryl

A happy picture taken at Queenstown library ^ (don’t judge my interpretation of happy)

28/12/2014 (Sunday): Last Sunday of 2014 @ Church!

©Jeryl

What is Christmas without the beautiful red leaves of Poinsettias! 😍

“The Magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence”

First Job 😐

Today’s the first day I start making actual calls (after yesterday’s training) as a field surveyor, can’t say much ‘cos most of the content is confidential. But I got a feeling that this is going to be a tough job manz…😨 I know I shouldn’t be whining about the 6-days work week since it has already been stated in black & white, but just thinking about how much social life I have to forgo is just dreadful. And worst of all, I’ve no ‘understanding parents’ to confide in (and ironically guess who forced me to take on a job at the start…), because “starting always need to 吃苦 and it’s only for 1.5 months” 😑 But I can’t just swallow the fact that I’ll have to work my ass off before enlisting (ie ‘working’ to protect the nation)??? I mean what kind of break is this? I barely have time to go jogging🏃/ exercise with friends (more than just Saturday jogs with family)? And hello, who says I’ll be all extravagance when I have my leisure time? 😪 Spending time with good friends cycling 🚴, spending a night or two at someone’s house 🏨, outing with Exparia 💙, home jamming sessions 🎤🎸… I doubt I’ll spend more 💵 than when I go to work on average?

Since I’m some greenhorn at work, I have no previous work environment to compare to, but so far my mundane two days of work is not very encouraging. I really do hope that that’s just a temp ‘ice’ that I’ll have to break/ let it melt away eventually 😅 Hmm though I’ve a pretty friendly & experienced(?) neighbor 😊, friendly fellow colleague who 刚巧 does biological research work in Perth (and I’m quite into research too) and nice supervisor (who sounded approachable haha); gonna put that to test tmrw when I ask him for a day-off to go out with Exparia 😅🙏

Nevertheless, I’m still looking forward every day to learning new skills from colleagues/sup/surveyees when I wake up for work, and yes, I need to stay that way 😬

So, first job, mixed feelings 😶 | Really hope I can take a day off on the 18th 🙏 at most I cover with OT (love Exparia THAT much)