Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Got this from one of the guys.. lol...
Used my friend's camera to take this... The white and black ones at the sides is mine... but I do have the one in the centre too... just didn't bring that one.. lol..
On a happier note, a few of us went for dinner after that, and ended up at the Popeyes at the Singapore Flyer... My first time there, but I still didn't see what the hype surrounding the attraction was for... Engineering-wise, yes, it's quite a feat.. but for the view... I beg to differ... I can get a better view from my room window or from any of the hotels around the marina area... Lol... The Popeyes there is probably the biggest... and yet, it was packed too... Probably cos we went there around 8pm... dinner time... then we just sat at the Gelato shop outside, near the F1 track, talking cars and crap... and having Gelato... Their Red Bull Gelato is actually quite nice!! Lol... More like Red Bull sorbet though.. but I like it!! Haha...
Tried taking some night shots of the flyer with my puny camera phone... and well.. without a tripod, I can just say that I tried my best eh... lol...
Those 2 shots were taken by vanq... He's an amazing photographer... He's got his own site at Vanq.net..
My dad's got another 3 tickets to the Flyer... No idea whether I should go... he wants to have dinner there, but I didn't see many nice places to eat there... Hrm... Oh well... we'll just see how...
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 11:30 PM
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Actually, I didn't really see her first.. saw a slim long haired girl in the reflection of those shiny doors at the last corner of the tunnel, tot she might look quite nice in real life, then I realised, that she kinds walked like Kareen.. and it turned out to be her!! You can imagine how shocked she was to see someone just burst out from that monotonous crowd of people heading to the NEL, and making a beeline straight for her like some insane person... Lol...
So in the end, we stood at that corner for like 15 mins, catching up and such... realised she's gotten so thin.. lol... I think I could literally put my arm around her waist and touch mine.. lol... Decided to take a picture before leaving.. and voila!
See!! I look good in that shot.. and that was such an impromptu shot... Later on, when I met Callie for the movie, we went for lunch first at White Dog Cafe, which had quite a pretty good lunch set for only $10.80++.. albeit their slow service, but I guess its understandable since it was lunch time... Took another picture with her and... well... you can see the difference just a change in angles does for me...
I tell you seriously, I only look good in such a small angle that its hard to find that sweet spot when it comes to taking pics... I can't really do full frontal shots, but for side shots, the angle for me to look good is so small, that its like threading a needle with the Nutty Professor... and it doesn't help that reservist made me put on weight.. cos of all their feeding.. lol...
I usually eat like 2 medium meals when I'm at home, cos I usually wake up late and I don't feel that hungry.. but during reservist, it was breakfast, lunch, dinner, canteen break and supper (sometimes!) for 5 days!! Ugh...
Tot I could start my runs again after I got out... but I've been so busy with meetups, revamping the site and the PC show that I hardly had time to go... Here's a bit of my schedule for last week...
Sun: Meet Xu Zi for a spot of bag shopping
Mon: Put in orders for a client's computer / Bday dinner for Larry
Tues: Collect orders for computer + assemble it / Meet Jasmine for dinner
Wed: Lunch / Kung Fu Panda with Callie
Thurs: PC show with Larry in the morning / Meet Jasmine AND Callie to pass them things / Incredible Hulk movie at night with Larry and another friend
Fri: PC show with Callie in the morning / Go Woodlands to check a client's PC (reached home at midnight)
Sat: Lunch/shopping/dinner with Jasmine and Xu Zi / Drinks with Nic at Chomp Chomp
Sun: See Callie off at the airport in the afternoon / Meet Larry at bugis for dinner
Totally packed to the brim... Tues to Fri were the most busiest days... Imagine waking up early, to make calls, and rearrange the items cos some out of stock, some the distrib got wrongly... Weiming and I basically had to cab from Ang Mo Kio, to Macpherson and finally to SLS to get all the parts, then rush back to my place, assemble it, let him test it and install the software while I left home for dinner.. then came back home, bought food for him, packed up the PC and passed it to him to bring to Melbourne... Its no wonder why we work well together, he comes up with ideas, and I see how to make it work.. lol..
Thurs was another crazy day... Met Larry at 10 plus, we went down to Suntec for Macs breakfast, then queued outside the doors to the PC show at 11.30.. doors opened at 12.. and this was the scene while waiting...
You'd think that a lot of ppl would have to work on a Thurs... but NOOO... its like everyone took leave to come... We went in at 12.10, left at 1.30pm... hands all full with things... Recession?? What's that? It's the GSS now man!! Lol... Seriously... This is what Larry got...
1) Chinese translation software and writing pad - $180
2) Samsung digital camera with 3x2GB SD cards, mini tripod and other goodies - $199 (WTH!!)
3) LG laptop - $1599
4) PS3 game - $34.90
And this is what I got...
1) ipod leather casings, 2 for $20 (Original price: $52 EACH) They were gone on the first day!! Should have bought more dammit!
2) Brother 3-in-1 network printer - $228 (Original price: $318!!) Now I can print, scan and copy from anywhere in my home! Whee!!
Goodbye old printer, it's going to replace my father's EVEN older printer
Hello new printer!! Say HELLO to network printing!!
And that's not including what I spent in the days before and after that too...
Got this at Topman when I went shopping with Xu Zi... $43
And then I got this on Thurs after Callie got her awesome camera at the PC show...
That set me back $129... but its totally worth it... It's a Braun... thats why.. lol... I was getting sick of my wallets splitting apart and tearing after less than a year of usage.. tot I'd try getting something more well made... so after trying Pierre Cardin, Renoma and Picard, I settled for Braun.. lol...
And then there's also the shirt I got at the Heeren for $65... quite funky shirt.. I'll post up a pic when I actually get to wear it again.. lol... I like the design and Callie agreed with the design too.. hehe... Oh, and there's also the new G shock I got since my old one I used for reservist was literally disintegrating in front of my eyes... that old one lasted ard 6 years.. so not too bad too... that only cost me $82...
Think I really got hit by the GSS bug... lol... Lemme just make a list...
Topman belt - $43
Brother printer - $228
Shirt from Heeren - $65
Braun wallet - $129
G shock - $82
Total - $547
Phew... luckily I had extra cash cos of reservist and marksman... lol...
Guess there's nothing much for me to get now... except... that new fragrance by CK... CK's Euphoria Intense for Men... I'm using Euphoria now.. but it fades quite fast... Intense smells slightly better...
Oh... and of course... my PS3!! Lol...
Oh dear oh dear... cannot... must control... lol..
And then of course, I went to send Callie off to HK on Sun... Quite sad to see one of the best friends I could ever have leave SG indefinitely... and although she'll still be back once in a while... it never is quite the same... and somehow, everything seemed to agree with me.. cos while I was leaving the airport... I plugged into my ipod again... and the first song it was playing, was Queen's You're My Best Friend... How poignant~
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 12:42 AM
Monday, June 09, 2008
It was actually quite fun meeting up with the NS guys again... Seeing what they're up to, what they've been doing... and as always... Uncle Agony when there is a need.. Lol... We've all gone through shit before... and it seems that everyime we go for reservist, we'll have someone who's gone through another bad relationship and needs to vent things out... And as usual, we'll be there to listen and talk crap just to take the edge off... I went through it last year... and this year someone else had to vent... But as NS buddies, we'll always be ard to listen and give advice...
What I appreciate about them, is that they're not scared... Not scared to be honest with you... Not scared to tell you that a certain method might not work... And coming from someone who appreciates honesty in people, I truly welcome it... If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have realised how else to improve my work and my site... and make sure that my business will be a success... I might not agree with what some of them have said about it, that it doesn't seem to have much difference with whats in the market and all.. But somehow, I still believe that it can be done... I know it won't be easy, and I know there are probably many obstacles to overcome... but I will still take them one step at a time... and walk this path I've chosen... But at the same time, I will keep in mind what they've told me... so that I will be aware of what might go wrong and what could be done to resolve it..
These are friends I will truly trust for their judgement and advice, since when you're out in the jungle, you've only got them to rely on... and even though sometimes I might not really click with them on some issues, I know that they can be trusted to help...
Guess I'm in kind of a pensive mood again, I've got 3 friends going overseas within a week... two who will be coming back within a month... but one who probably won't be coming back for the next two or three years... and that's really, quite the saddest part of all, cos she's the kind of friend who's always been there for me... I've enjoyed her company so much since the time I got to really know her... She's been my movie buddy, my shopping buddy, coffee buddy, and even the voice of reason to keep me grounded... A great friend like that is truly hard to come by...
Just last month I was looking through a list of movies that would be coming out.. and I realised that my usual movie buddy wouldn't be around anymore... and with that realisation, came a tinge of sadness... a very good friend won't be that easy to contact anymore... Friends are easy to make, but good friends are harder... Very good friends should all the more be treasured...
And I truly do treasure my very good friends, cos they are few and far between... One of my best friends is now in Australia indefinitely, and now another one will soon be half a world away... Sure, there will always be msn, and emails and such... but I'm the kind of person who prefers the human element... its something mere electronic forms of communication will never be able to replace... that simple human touch, the emotional support you get from another person, to be able to feel that coming from them, not just by looking at pixels on a screen, but to be able to talk with them, joke with them, give them a hug when you want to, a pat on the back when you share something hilarious...
That can never be replaced, and thats y it is something I truly treasure with my friends... I know you've got to go, and I want you to go too... just that it seems so fast... but on the other hand, I know it'll be a great experience for you... and you're all set to embark on this great new adventure... so please, anytime you're back in SG, remember to look me up... We'll still keep in contact... I give you my word... I hardly go back on my word... =)
So please.. go and have fun... and experience all that life has to offer... =)
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 1:18 AM
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Met Nicole for drinks at bugis, had steamboat dinner with Grace, met Xu zi and Jasmine for dinner at Dhoby Ghaut, watched Speed Racer with Callie, AND on Mon, Vesak Day, I had a mini movie marathon at my place, with Jig and Shiqin... Haven't seen those 2 in a long time.. lol... So yeah.. pretty busy week... haha...
And it's not over yet... Had a night photoshoot for my diecast models with my friends last night, might be going out on Sat for another movie, AND catching the Monaco F1 Grand Prix at Shiqin's place on Sun.. lol... Plus, on top of all that, I've been adding site pages like crazy, editing them, adding links, pictures... EVERYTHING... nearly going cross-eyed looking at all the HTML coding... and my wrist has a spot that's hardened cos I've been using the mouse too much... lol..
In fact, I just finished another product page and tidying up all the other pages.. all 40+ of them... so now I'm just gonna let my pictures do the talking.. hehe...
That's the Green Apple Katsuki drink, basically green apple juice with lime, and a preserved sour plum... SUPER SOUR... hence Xu zi's twisted up face.. lol..
That's Warm Chocolate Cake... so sinful...
Especially when paired with this... Chocolate Indulgence... lol... That was a damn sinful dessert.. haha... I initially had a picture of Jasmine 'enjoying' the desserts, but it's too... hrm.. well... if it was put here, I'd have to put an R21 rating.. lol...
And then 2 days later, I had this... Coffee Bean's Flourless Chocolate Cake... SO sinful.. I couldn't finish it cos I was having Belgium chocolate latte too.. ahaha.. Packed it home for my sis and she polished it off...
See.. that's whats inside... Even Callie agreed that it was Goooooood~~...
Oh and btw... One of the most annoying things anyone can do while placing an order, is to be unsure about what to order, and then decide not to order anything at all.. The person queueing in front of me did that and seriously pissed me off.. Keep asking about the items on the menu, totally unsure of what to get, then when the orders are keyed in, decided to just cancel all the orders... Sheesh... It was only cos of that chocolate cake that I even went to queue.. It was calling to me.. 'Eat me, eat me!!' lol...
That dessert was after we watched Speed Racer.. Speed Racer was an... ok movie... It could probably be considered to be the first live-action anime movie.. haha... But some parts were seriously too draggy... I was zoning out after the first hour and Callie was just trying to survive it... lol... The colours were blinding, acting was over the top... and Rain was... well... his fighting was more like dancing... and when he goes 'Whoo', you'd swear it was from one of his songs... The racing was unbelievable, if I could drift like that, I'd probably be the Drift GOD.. lol...
The movie marathon on Mon was great too... We all watched crappy youtube videos, great movie trailers, and then, basically just stoned in front of the tv watching Shaun of the Dead and Aeon Flux.. lol... then we just caught up over drinks at the coffeeshop downstairs.. hehe... Great guys to spend a holiday with man... Esp since Jig only comes back like once a year... Haha...
Can't wait for the Monaco Grand Prix man!! Lol...
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 9:38 PM
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
But.. some days are nice.. like when I went for the Formula Drift Competition 2 sundays ago.. 4 of us went, my sis and I and her two friends... Wasn't as interesting as I thought, it was the US Formula Drift, I tot it was the Japan D1.. lol... Now THOSE guys know how to drift.. And the damn hot weather made it so unbearable... Luckily we took the grandstand seats.. which had a shelter... cos when your seats are on plain tarmac, there had better be some shelter... I got a tan just walking from the bus drop off point, to the seats, which were all the way in at the Changi Exhibition Centre... Damn ulu place sia...
The shuttle bus ticket... $5!! Luckily its for a round trip... Taxis had an $8 surcharge just to get there!! Crazy man!!
One of the few permanent buildings there..
They had a break in between the preliminaries and the semis, so we went to check out the booths there... Saw a few nice cars.. like these...
Like this.. the new Nissan Skyline GTR... It beat a Porsche 911 around the Nurburgring by 2 seconds!! And apparently, the newer V-spec version bettered its time by 13 seconds!! Supercar performance, with a price tag of about S$330k.. a bargain compared to Ferraris and Lamborghinis...
A Ford GT... Ford's only supercar... Too bad its only left-hand drive, which means it can't really be driven here... Rumour has it that someone in SG actually owns one, but its not registered and just kept by a car collector, its stored at the dealer...
Semis were quite predictable... Either the Jap racer in the Apexi Rx-7 or the Mad New Zealander, Mad Mike, in another Rx-7 would win... surprisingly, another driver in an AE86 came in 2nd, the Jap was 1st, Mad Mike was 3rd... But... all were just as crazy... lol...
We left after the semis... cos it was too hot and just not very entertaining... Ended up going to Sentosa.. Cafe Del Mar to be exact.. lol... Haven't been there since they opened last year.. lol... Ran into Weikun's gf while walking there.. and I figured he and Daniel were playing frisbee... coincidentally, right next to CDM... So I joined them for a bout... 45 mins worth of a good workout.. lol... Getting rusty though... They're so much better!! Argh... Gotta start practicing... Daniel did another crazy throw... looked like some reverse backhand throw or something... Nearly dislocated my shoulder trying it.. lol... We even made friends with this hyper Jack Russell who had a penchant for chasing after the yellow frisbee we had... and not the white.. haha.. After they left, I went back to chill at the pool... till night came... Haha... so nice to just relax and chill with a cocktail in hand... I should really do this more often.. lol...
That's my hairy legs chilling by the pool.. lol... I don't really recommend the pool for swimming.. you don't know what else has dropped in there.. or who else has done what.. haha..
Nice pool side tables for having meals... didn't go there though.. I wanted the sun!! Lol...
That's the DJ's console right at the top... Quite a job hazard to climb up there... Haha..
The place looks so funky with the lights on at night... Haha..
Left CDM for dinner at Blooie's... this quaint pub near Siglap... Has fantastic bbq chicken wings.. and drinks are quite good too... at least you could taste the alcohol... drinks at CDM were watered down... probably to keep people from falling into the pool.. haha...
I wish every sunday could be like that man... its so nice to just chill and do nothing... No worries, no need to think about work, about orders to make, people to call, paperwork to finish, html to edit... Many people think working at home is great... but in actuality, it's quite tiring too... I may not need to wake up till 9 or 10am.. but once I do.. its already time to work... sometimes I HAVE to wake up at 9.. just because somethings needed to be done by 12.. like orders to put in, or parcels to send... or even gym I need to attend.. heh...
And most people can switch off once they reach home from work, end at 7pm, or 9pm, just come home and relax... for me, its hard... I'll end up at home around 7 to 10pm if I go out earlier... and then its back to work again... invoices to print, pages to edit, systems to assemble... Sometimes I'm only done by 2am... and then, I sleep and the next day starts again... Heh..
Somehow it's tiring, and yet... still fulfilling... cos somehow, you know you're doing this for a goal, the end point, and no matter how far away that is, you know that doing this is gonna bring you one step nearer to it... I used to think that I'd get a car in 5 years... but now, my short term goal is to get a commercial van for me to do deliveries, then an office space... THEN a car.. so its not really one big step towards the car, but many small steps to that little goal... But that's just my personal goal... my professional goal is something totally different... and will really take some time to achieve.. But I always remind myself that it can be done, and I see that others have gotten closer to that goal and I know that I can too...
Support from friends and family has been really encouraging... From 2 order 2 months ago, to 5 last month... in essence, sales has increased 250%... 2 to 5 isn't much... but percentage wise, it's a lot.. Not to mention the cost of products has increased even more... so that's been very encouraging too... Luckily I have free incoming... so if friends need my help or advice, they just call me... Hell, I even passed my contact info to the taxi driver who was driving me back from SLS... Lol...
I know what I want to do is possible... all I need is just to make the small steps that counts towards that goal... and I have my friends to count on for their help... from their willingness to let me try things out with them, to their orders, and even the use of their car.. lol... I'm truly grateful to friends like these... I won't forget you guys... =)
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 12:00 AM
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Working from home is totally different to working in a commercial building or whatnot... When you work outside of home, at least sometimes, you have the choice of not having to work WHEN you're home... but when you're working at home... EVERYTHING can be work for you... But then again... I did choose this path to walk on... so I'm not really complaining... I just have to keep at it... I know that sooner or later, things will start to pay off for me... and once they do, that's just gonna be the stepping stone to even greater things... so all I have to do is curb that impatience that crops up sometimes, just look ahead and move forward...
It's 3.20am... and I'm writing this cos I couldn't sleep... Been in a pensive mood again these few days... And not cos my darling computer (yes, that's the darling I'm referring to on my facebook.. lol...) got hit by a virus and I spent nearly 3 days repairing the damage... but rather... another kind of repair has been going on... one that's taken much longer, and will probably continue on for some time... It's this repairing that's made me pensive/reflective...
Sometimes, I do feel like I'm deliberately distancing myself... but at other times, I kinda feel that I actually can start to open up, only to catch myself doing it and trying to close up again... Guess its probably cos I don't like to get things wrong more than once... I know people say its good to learn from your mistakes, and I do subscribe to that too, just that... I find it pointless and a waste of time if you don't learn from your mistake the first time and continue to do the wrong thing, that will only invite more trouble...
I am learning from things that I did wrong, and sometimes, I may not have been the one who made that error, but the outcome wasn't what I really expected... And because of that, some small minute part of me, feels that if there was another opportunity, it should be taken to really do my best this time... Thats not to say that previous time wasn't my best, but maybe its just the choices I made... I did what I could have then, but the next time, it WILL be different, maybe better even...
I guess what's making me pensive is that I'm not sure if I'll ever encounter those so-called opportunities again... and it kinda irritates me that I might have wasted that opportunity... You know the saying, curiousity killed the cat, but then again, I'm not a cat, so I might not die...
I do admit though... I am not the person I once was when I started writing on this blog so long ago... and I do hope that I've become a better person after all these years... Sometimes I hear my inner self berating me, "You silly dunce, of course you've become better, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"...
Well... I can probably say that I've found the path I want to walk on, I may not have found all the people I can share this path with, but I know I'll find them eventually... I will not deviate from this path that I've envisioned, this is the biggest risk I've ever decided to take, and right now, there is no turning back... I will travel it till I reach my goals...
Heh... if only the other things in life were as easy as that eh.. Heh... Somehow I think choosing the path you want to take is the easiest thing one can do...
In the end, it all boils down to choice again... The word that I'm so familiar with, and that I carry with me all the time... Choice... Small word, but very powerful indeed...
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 3:02 AM
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Got this in my email a week back...
"Congratulations on winning a limited edition 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro Scale Model Pack from General Motors!"
Kinda surprised actually.. cos the contest was just for you to write something about your favourite Chevrolet... And well... I actually haven't driven any of them yet!! Lol...
So basically.. I just smoked my way through... I just wrote... "My favourite Chevrolet is the Camaro, because it is a great combination of modern design and asthetics, with all the fun of a 1970s muscle car"
Lol.. Can't believe it got chosen as one of the 10 winners.. lol...
I wasn't expecting the cars to be the usual 1/18 scale that I collect... but at least 1/43... funny thing is... the box puts them as 1/64, but it looks more like 1/43s.. haha..
Here's the pics anyway... Enjoy!
That's all!! Gotta go for dinner with the NS guys and it just starts raining.. wth...
you have just Slacked with Chris @ 3:48 PM
