Blogging during lunch time (and no...not through office network.)

Well, I haven't blogged for quite some time (so you guys keep reminding me) and although I've tried to do so over the past month, I guess I stumbled onto a "writer's block", just ran out of things to say...

Well, my maternal grandmother passed away on 18th Feb am and was cremated on 22nd Feb. Recalling what transpired on the 18th when I received the news: I was having my annual check up at the clinic. The good news is that the results indicate that I'm in the pink of health, the bad news is.....well we know what the bad news is...

Words probably can't exactly describe how I felt when I received the sms. But let me try - I guess its all right to say that I was mostly stunned and then for a while the whole world suddenly felt a little different. Like I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I know it sounds a little dramatic but that was certainly how it felt to me. Honestly, I wasn't overwhelmed with sadness at that time, the first thing that popped in my head was the welfare for my mum and auntie (ee). Ee is very close to grandma...I'm close to Ee....go figure......

I guess I wasn't thinking so clear at that time.....I admit that for a split second, I did not feel like flying home. It isn't a matter about being heartless or emotionless, its more like.....I don't take death very well. But like I said, I wasn't thinking very clearly.

Well, thanks to my colleagues..who were really supportive and could tell that I was a little "ku-ku" by then, they managed to get me onto the first flight out of Taiwan. That meant I had 30 mins to leave the clinic, throw my luggage together and head for the airport. At the airport, my bro called me and told me that he was going to fly home from London. On hindsight, I think he made the right decision, I'm kinda proud of my kiddo brother.....as you can tell, albeit all the idiotic things he says and does sometimes,....he is really a reliable sort of guy.

Ok, the funeral went by in a blur. It felt surreal, there were moments when you feel okay and then moments when you feel so sad. But we were all so busy and I guess that takes the pain away a little. In fact, I think reality only sorta sank in on the day when I flew back to Taipei.

Sitting on the plane and staring out in the blue blue sky, I recalled the times that I spent with grandma when I was young. We've always had communication breakdown due to language barrier. I don't speak our dialect too well and alot of communciation was via sign-language. But I remember that whenever I stayed at her place, she would make me breakfast before school. The memories feel like they were from yesterday and sometimes I can still hear her voice in my head nagging at me. She's always been naggy....its almost like a family joke....but definitely yah, to me, she was the naggy grandma who would always be there.

I guess the reason why I'm blogging this now is perhaps I finally feel it is okay to talk about it. I guess there will be one thing that will always bug me and that's because I feel like such a failure sometimes that I never managed to pick up the dialect. Having only one surviving grandparent sorta makes it feel like no matter what I do now is already too late...but in a way...its not too late too right?

Anyway you know what...I'm just going to have to try much harder. As Winston Churchill says:" Never give up!"

Oscar the Grouch...shoes

Special shout out to BP. Guess what I saw my cousin wearing the other day. I thought I would snap a picture for you. I know that you would appreciate it. Goes to show that I DO read your blog. Haha..........

Happy Valentines Day

This is my first week back to Taipei and naturally I've been extremely busy with work and other stuff. But all's well so though I'm feeling extremely tired by the weekend, I've got plenty of stuff to feel great about so....its cool. :)

Since its Valentine's day today, I'll like to share a version of "I Will" by Paul McCarney which I really enjoy. Great song and lovely shot of the audiences gave me a really warm feeling after I watched it. Hope you enjoy it too!

I'm off to do housework..and oh yeah... Happy Valentine's Day to one and all....

My Baby Nieces

Vera - Complete the sentence for sweets without getting distracted. Challenge!



Nadya - First CNY. Clearly Amusing! Chuckling away.

Awake at 5.30am....... Reviews

Woke up at 5.30am this morning and decided that I would not waste time sleeping my vacation away. No Kidding, I took a good 30 mins before I was thinking straight.

When all the sleeping bugs were out of my system, I decided that a good way to start my day would be to take out my Nintendo DS-Lite and start playing Star Wars Espisode III - Revenge of the Sith. Frankly, the game has been sitting in my drawer for almost a year now and I just could not find the time or energy to remove the wrapping. No better time than at 6am in the morning on my week long CNY holiday, right?

To be honest, I was a little surprised by the graphics. It reminded me so much of the 2-D games I used to play as a kid. A little shoddy but anyhow the game was quite simple and in its simplicity, I found that I quite enjoyed it.

*in a very wreary drawn out voice* The games nowadays can be so complicated. Tsk tsk. (Who am I kidding, eh?? Hehe)

Had an hour of slash, slash and slashing some more before I decided it was enough slashing and then a little bored by this time, decided to drive home a little earlier than planned. On the drive home, I saw a couple of school children heading to school. Awwww...........HAHAHAHHAHAH :)

Well, since I'm in a really boh-liao mood this morning, I'm going to do a couple more reviews... Hmm...how about a movie review!!! Its been some time I did that and since the lack of sleep is making me feel a little bitchier than normal.....Yay yay yay!

Ok!! I watched the Punisher: War Zone last night. First and foremost, if you like gory stuff i.e. blown out brains and the works, this movie is for you. If you are looking for a movie that has got good story development, dialogue or acting, *alarm flashing * stay AWAY or you'll be eaten alive.

Okay fine, maybe it was the mood that I was in last night (aka cynical and irritated) or the show was really not up to expectation (you decide) but anyway I found myself rolling my eyes within the first 15 mins of the show. It was all I could do to stay put in my seat instead of walking out of the cinema.

The Punisher movie is a cross between Kill Bill (for the gore), Dick Tracy (for the dialogue), and erm.....Bat man (for the presentation). Put them all together, I clearly did not enjoy it but neither was I in the mood for a LOVE story or a local production obviously trying to cash in on the Chinese New Year. Baaahhh!!

Bang bang! Despite the "not so bad" reviews I see on the internet for the Punisher: War Zone, this movie gets 2 out of 5 popcorns from me.

Mr Tomato head wishes everyone a Happy Niu Year!

Happy 牛 Year! Hope you have an ox-picious year....
Corny, right?? I know....but I think its so funny in such an idiotic way....For some strange reason, everyone just got so creative this year....I have alot more where that came from :-)

Anyway, I know I haven't blogged in quite a while so I decided to upload "Mr Tomato" head photo. Despite my luggages in the Taiwan airport, I found it so amusing to stop and pull out my handy Sanyo camera to take "Mr Tomato" head. He was sitting so quietly in the corner, fiddling with his computer.......

Update: A kind soul has advised that I have mistaken Mr Persimmon's head as a tomato. Please kindly change the name as you deem fit. :-)

静止 by 杨乃文

寂寞围绕着电视
垂死坚持在两点半消失
多希望有人来陪我度过末日
空虚敲打着意志
彷佛这时间已静止
我怀疑人们的生活有所掩饰
嗯垂死坚持
嗯全部消失
嗯已静止
冲动在瞬间消失梦被稀释
不停转动着手指
我幻想美丽的生活
何时开始时光不经意流逝
像颗在耗费的电池
我感到有点失落无法抑制
嗯垂死坚持
嗯已静止

Synopsis of a great way to start the new year

I had a great start into the new year and hope every day would be as special as the past few days.

For starters, on New Year's eve, I was invited to join a wedding by one of my Taiwan colleagues. It was a special day for the happy couple and I was honoured to attend it to extend my best wishes. After a crowded ride on the MRT train back home, I then wandered on the busy streets of Taipei where everyone were smiling and just having a great time. Oh yes, I also had an unexpected call from a friend whom we had met in Hokkaido but had not spoken to in quite some time. It was great to know that everything was going well for her as we made plans to meet up before she head to London. The fireworks at 101, though not as spectacular as the year before, was in my mind, fantastic to usher in the new year.

On New Year's day, I spent the day packing the house and felt awfully great that I had finished all the task that I set myself out to do that day. Despite the hard work, there was great weather (sunshine despite the low temperature) and with good music, I found myself singing and dancing as I set on the chores that I had not done for months. At 10pm, everything was nicely sorted out and I had the self satisfaction of knowing that I had finally set procrastination aside and had done what needed to be done - everything cleaned and organized.

January 2nd - Cycling trip along the East Coast of Taiwan. A couple of colleagues picked me and took me on a hour drive to Fu Long Train Station where we had a wonderful time cycling and basking in the beautiful scenery. Working on the videos which I hope will be posted up soon.

January 3rd - Messed around with my NAS and did well with learning more than a few things in the wonderful world of computer before heading down to Steve's place to work on his wife's computer. I joined them for dinner (charcoal grilled steak - fantastic) and watched a couple of serials of Monk as we waited for the computer to defragment. Mission accomplished and returned home after 6 hours to relax on the coach and mess around with the NAS some more.

January 4th - Slept in late. Chilling out and resting for the first day of work 2009 tomorrow. Am thinking of calling my friend out for a movie and a nice dinner. Or maybe not. :)

Great way to start the new year........

Wishing one and all...A great year in 2009!

Wow! Made it through another year and now we find ourselves in 2009. How time flies....

You know...its funny how some days seem to go by in a blur but then again, there are those special moments that you remember as clearly as events that happened yesterday.

Flashback to 1995 - I'm back in my bedroom and in the townhouse that I grew up in. Lying in bed, I am both stressed out by the O-level papers that I had to take the next morning but also extremely excited after the "pep talk session" that my mum had just given me as she tried to calm my nerves.

We talked about getting enough rest, doing well and all the exciting opportunities that the future would hold for me. We talked about university, about an overseas education and a chance to explore the world. As I drifted off to sleep, I tried to imagine where I would be 10 years from then.

Now in 2009, an incredible 14 years has gone by and if I could turn back the clock, I would have gone back and told myself....that in these 14 years, I would have screwed up in some things, done well in others and well, at the end of the day, things would be all right and I didn't have to worry so much. :)

As there are special days....I find that there are also special years. 2008 is an extremely special year to me and my gut feel tells me that the days of 2008 would never blur into the background as some years may seem to have.

The things that have happened to me personally, to my family and to the world around us have definitely impressed themselves very deeply into me. In fact, I believe that the experiences that I've had in the past year has shaped/changed me in extremely profound ways. The people that I've met and for all the good times and the bad, I give my thanks to 2008.

As we look forward to 2009 and as we strive to do better in the new year and make the best out of the "gloomy forecast" that lies ahead, I believe that, despite all the wisdom and knowledge we have gathered in the past years, some of us remain apprehensive about what the future has in store for us.

Nonetheless, I wish for myself and all the people around me the satisfaction that one day in the future, we would look back to today as clearly as it had happened yesterday and tell ourselves that despite the good and bad patches ahead of us, we would come through and everything would just turn out all right.

Wishing one and all:

A great year in 2009!

Depressing news around the world..particularly in Asia

I am really depressed after reading the newspaper today. Pages after pages of bad news covering the gory details of the violence and unrest happening in Mumbai, Thailand and Nigeria.

In particular, the tragedy that has unfolded in Mumbai and has resulted with the Indian commandos storming to recover the places that were under attack by the Islamic militants. With a body count of 195 persons (out of which 26 are foreigners) and 295 wounded, this attack has been termed as India's 911. Recent reports has it that the perpertrators had gone through extensive training and planning to exact maximum damage. It's simply unconceivable how people can do this to one another?

I'm truly horrified by the detailed accounts from the survivors and sad tales of the people who had perished in this tragedy. This terrorist attack has claimed the life of a Singaporean - Lo Hwei Yen and although I am not personally acquainted with her, would like to extend my condolences to the grieving family.

In sorrow, I reflect on wise words left behind by Mahatma Gandhi:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS"

I'm sure that, like many others, I will not sleep well tonight.

Sanyo Xacti CG 9 ..My very first camcorder

As some of my friends probably know, my Panasonic camera "konked" out on me during my trip to Hokkaido and thus I've recently been on a camera/camcorder hunt.

So on my second day back in Singapore, I headed straight down to Sim Lim Square to get my camera. I had done quite a bit of research on the internet and had ended up totally confused with the barrage of information online and wanted to get some help from the "experts". (It turned out that I knew a lot more about cameras than some of them did!!)

After a little deliberation, I finally settled for the Sanyo Xacti CG9. Its very much an entry-level camcorder (and my very FIRST!) and although there were several alternatives that provided much better pictures, I chose the Sanyo Xacti CG9 for its size, weight, acceptable image quality and affordable price. After a day of fooling around with it, I must say that I am not disappointed with my purchase so far.

My latest toy - Sanyo Xacti CG9

Some specifications for the CG9 (which are particularly informative when choosing a digital camera) as follows:

1. Effective Pixel Count: Approx. 9.1 megapixels
2. Image Sensor: CMOS sensor, 1/2.33 inch, 9.12 megapixels (total)
3. Recording Media SD memory card, SDHC memory card (up to 32 GB), Internal memory (approx. 40 MB)
4. Recording File Format: Still (JPEG - DCF, DPOF, Exif Ver. 2.2 standard), Movie (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (ISO standard), Audio -48 kHz, 16 bit, 2 ch, AAC-compression (stereo)
5. Lens: f = 6.8 - 34.0 mm (Equivalent to 38 - 190 mm on a 35 mm camera); Optical 5.0x inner zoom lens; F: 3.5 (Wide) - 3.7 (Tele); AF: 8 groups, 11 lenses, built-in ND filter
6. Photo Range: Standard - 10 cm (Wide)/80 cm (Tele) to infinity; Super Macro - 1 cm to 80 cm (Wide)
7. Shutter Speed: Still - 1/2 - 1/1500 sec. (Flash: 1/30 - 1/1500 sec,; Lamp mode: Max. 2 sec.) , Sequential - 1/15 - 1/1500 sec. (No flash), Movie - 1/30 - 1/10000 sec.
8. Digital Zoom: Shooting - Max. 12x; Playback - Max. 62.5x ([12M] mode; varies with resolution)
9. Focus: Auto (Still: 9-point AF/Spot AF; Movie: Continuous area AF); Manual (16 steps)
   

I'm still trying to get used to the Xacti. (I set the ISO settings to its maximum and notice that the videos turned out too bright so now I've got to set the ISO settings back) but anyway, here is a picture of my dog taken with my Xacti.

Twinkle at the car porch

(it was actually quite dark outside as it was going to rain)

Here is another picture taken in the garden.
Note: It was very interesting for me to note that the Sanyo Xacti's face recoginition software could immediately identify and zoom in on Obama's picture on the book cover. Nice!!!)

Love Song - 方大同

Okay...cannot resist. Another very nice song by 方大同.

方大同- 爱爱爱

I really like this song by 方大同。Saw him on one of the shows in Taiwan and I must say I'm totally impressed. So talented and extremely cool!!

HBO's favourite movie - The Holiday ....as for me...I'm going home for the weekend.

HBO's favourite movie has got to be "The Holiday". (Note that I spell favourite with the "u" :-) )

I must have watched that movie for the god-zillion time. Okay, a little exaggeration there, but many many times...let's say 7 times. That's ALOT of times considering that my favourite movies are:
1) Fiddler on the Roof - Uncountable (watched it every afternoon for almost a year)
2) The King and I - Uncountable
3) Singing in the Rain - Uncountable
4) Dead Poet's Society - Watched it 15 times
5) V for Vendetta - 5 times
6) Wisdom of Crocodiles - 5 times.

So I would say that The Holiday (2006) is an unlikely favourite but yup...thanks to HBO, its up there on the list. (Not that I blame them, I find that I don't change the channel when its screening even though I've watched it so many times!)

Its such a feel good show! The part that really makes me tear each time has got to be the friendship between Kate Winslet and Eli Wallach's character (Eli plays Arthur Abbot - a 90 year old legendary script writer). I really love the dialogue and mix between the English and American accent too! Nice....

Okay, I'm also in a good mood. I'm really excited that I will be going home for the weekend. Its en route to my next destination: Jakarta but it sure is nice to be able to pop by home for the weekend. Hopefully, I get to buy the camera that I've been wanting for quite some time.
(My Panasonic's screen just died on me).

Travis - Sing

Nice song....Sing Sing Sing



P/s: If you ever watch the MTV for this song - picture Travis having dinner at this classy aristocratic place which eventually ends up as a food fight party!! - well, even though I think its total rubbish (because I simply could not figure out what they were trying to say in that video). But....they sure seemed to have alot of fun! And I guess you don't need to have any reasons to have lotsa fun :D

It Never Rains in California - Albert Hammond 1973

Classic......This song grows on ya....

Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect I'm out of bread
I'm under loved I'm under fed
I wanna go home ................

Obama Fever...Funny!!!

He can Dance!!!

Too Pink? Blog List Widget is Cool

I'm starting to like my new blog user interface.

I know its a little too black and a little too pink. :D But the matt effect of the buildings are starting to grow on me. FUNKY!! (For another version of funky, check out my brother's mohawk hair, poor mum....having a fit) :D

In particular, I think the Blog List Widget is EXTREMELY cool. Now, I don't need to click on each blog link to check for any new entries, the blog list updates automatically.

NICE......

Obama....Obama....And I'm not talking about the Japan city called Obama

Never have I seen the world so hyped up during the election of another country. (myself included). But I was really overjoyed when I heard that Obama had been elected over John McCain. In fact, there was a party held at the Brass Monkey pub (Taipei) which I was so attempted to go to - any excuse to PARRTTTYYY. Haha.

In my mind, it was extremely symbolic and as indicated in several of my earlier posts, I definitely feel that Obama possessed greater qualities and traits that would be expected of a president of one of the most powerful countries of the world. In this case, I would say that the better tag-team won! (I know quite a few people who voted AGAINST hockey mum). Obama also brings about the promise for a more stable world due to his aptitude of being much more culturally sensitive. Needless to say, like many others, I find the ethnocentric view (and starting to suspect war loving characteristics) of certain Americans really annoying. "If you are NOT with us, you are against us"

The American election this time round has also created alot of debate outside of America. People are starting to question the politics of their own country. I found it oddly interesting and slightly depressing when I realized that the excitement I feel for my own country's election paled in comparison. Why? I guess I'm tired of the bully tactics.

I found that I'm not alone....
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/11/awaiting-singapores-moment-of-change/#comment-30472

Very cool article.

http://singaporecitizen.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/the-contrast-between-singapore-and-americas-politicians

I respect John McCain alot more after I heard his speech. Almost brought a tear to my eye. Such class.....

America Votes 2008 and my blog gets a new look

Watching "America Votes 2008" on CNN while chatting with a couple of friends online.

So exciting!

Anyway, while glued to the TV, I decided to give my blog a new face. I've been wanting to "customize" it for the longest time, trying to make it more "ME" but just never got around to doing it. So I finally decided to switch one free blog template for another.....Cheating....Hehe.

I really hope Obama wins. Love his attitude and focus. Hope and Change.

P/s: He kinda reminds me of the president of USA on 24. (I know it doesn't count but he does.) Haha.