Slumdog millionaire

I caught Slumdog Millionaire last night. To be honest, if not for the Oscar best picture, I probably wouldnt watch it. Two reasons...its a movie about indian...which I am really not a fan...and secondly, its directed by Danny Boyle...the director of the ultra crappy 28 days later. Anyway, after beating the films that I have watched at the Oscars for best picture, I was interested to find out if its really that good. This is the first time I watched 4 out of 5 oscar nominated films. Milk was good because of Sean Penn. He totally deserve the best actor award. The Reader was good because of the ever so fantastic Kate Winslet. I am so glad she finally won the oscar. But the movie was a little too slow and heavy. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a nice fantasy film but a little too long at 3 hours. So I went in thinking, how did a low budget independent film about Indians beat all the big boys, and I came out surprised that its actually a really engaging movie. For the first time, there were no ridiculous song and dance segments during the movie - only at the end..Although I enjoyed the movie, it made me so not want to visit India. LOL. I never thought of visiting there in the first place but after watching this...its like NEVER!! The conditions of the slums featured in the movie was appalling. Those kids were so pitiful and so badly abused you cant help feel sorry for them. So, at the end, I could see why the oscar picked this movie as their best picture. Its a beautiful love story and a amazing tale of a boy who went from slumdog to a millionaire overnight but all he ever wanted is love. If you havent watched it, go catch it now before its too late. Its not a typical Bollywood movie, cos its directed by a British, but its a really entertaining show.

Penang

Went to Penang on thursday for an inspection trip. It was really short trip, I flew there in the morning and came back in the evening. Didnt have much time to go sightseeing but I did manage to cross from Penang island to the mainland...not on the penang bridge but on the ferry.

On the vehicle ferry to mainland. Its really cool and to my surprise it is quite a nice way to get across instead of using the Penang bridge which I heard is always jammed up in the morning.

A similar ferry passing by in the other direction.

Penang island

The Penang bridge at the left side....very blur due to the morning fog.

From this view, it reminds me of Hongkong victoria harbour though not as beautiful.

After crossing to the mainland, I went straight to work. Then after lunch, I did abit of shopping but not at Georgetown. Its a pity I didnt get to go there...oh well. After that, went straight back to the airport to wait for my flight. Everytime I visit parts of Malaysia, I always feel that these places seemed stuck in time. The buildings, the people...they seemed so 70s...living such simple kampung/small town life. I wonder if its a good thing sometimes...not living in a city ...but enjoy life at a much slower pace...hmm

OSCAR 2009!!

The nominations for this year oscar are out!! Woohoo, the Dark Knight got 8 nominations and expectedly one of them goes to Heath Ledger. I really hope he will win the oscar eventually...his performance as the Joker was one of the most shocking and memorable last year. The rest of the 7 nominations are in the technical categories and not as expected, it was denied the Best picture and best director nomination. Well, its afterall a commercial flick...a comic book adaption.

I am quite excited about this year award..not just becos of heath ledger nomination, but becos 3 of my favorites actresses are nominated in the best actress category - Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie. Any of the three getting the Oscar will be great but I really hope Kate Winslet wins it this year. Reason? She havent won for so long already!! Sadly, Leonardo Dicaprio didnt get a nomination this year for Revolutionary Road. I thought it would be perfect if both of them can get a nomination for that film.

I am waiting for a few films to be out in Singapore. Revolutionary Road is one of them, Milk, The Reader and lastly, the most nominated film this year - The curious case of benjamin button. The concept is great, guy ages backwards. Love to see how they pull that off..and there's Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. Cool!

Happy New Year!! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Wish all my friends out there, a happy and prosperous year of the ox! I know this year is not exactly a bullish year...everyday we hear of people getting retrenched, companies closing down, people getting paycut...but I hope we will get out of this recession or depression soon. Hopefully with our government 20.5 billion resilience package, we can see the light in this time of darkness soon. Anyway, Chinese New Year is coming in a few hours...enjoy the holiday and best wishes to you all. Gong Xi Fa Cai...Huat ah!

Brazilian model who lost hands and feet dies

Came across this piece of sad and shocking news a few days back. A 20 year old Brazilian model, Mariana Bridi, had her hands and her feet amputated in order to save life. She was initially diagnosed with kidney stones but it turned out that she was infected by a bacteria known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be drug resistant. The bacteria spread in her veins from head to toe and doctors had no choice but to amputate her hands and feet to save her. I was shocked by the damage the bacteria can do to one's body and felt really sad for her that she lost her limbs. Today, the worst happened. She lost the fight and died. I am not sure if this might be the best outcome for her...I cant imagine how she can live on ..without her limbs. Life is so unpredictable...you can have anything now and then lose everything so quickly. I guess we should treasure whatever we have now as we duno when they will be gone.

Me - 1986 to 2005

1986................. 1992................... 1997 ...............2005
Recently my friend sent me a photo of myself during my jc time...thats 1997. 12 years ago..gosh!! And I managed to dig out even older photos of myself and I realised i changed quite a bit...lol

Looking back...moving forward....

Today is the first day of 2009...the start of a year which everyone has already labelled as gloomy and troubled. Well, it may truely be a troubled year...depending on what my boss tells me later this month. lol. Things are not looking good and bonus and increment are definitely not going to be as good as 2008. Hence...no more unneccessary spending in 2009....which I did alot in 2008. Bought lots of stuff last year...from clothings to accessories to ...I dont know what.

If not for the onset of recession, 2008 could have been a great year. I been to a few new places..Tokyo, New Orleans and Perak, made some really good frens...Juztin, Paul, Gabriel and Robin...passed my Basic and Final Theory...though I am not really keen to go for the practical lessons...lol.

Moving forward...I hope 2009 will not be as bad as everyone made it out to be. I am not going to set new resolutions as I know I seldom fulfill them. Just feel that I should do things that are more meaningful....and stop wasting precious time. 28 turning 29 already, getting old and life is short....especially after hearing about Chew Chor Meng's illness....you feel helpless and uncertain about what is going to happen to you a few days or a few years down the road. Hopefully, by the end of 2009, when I look back at the things I did, I can proudly say I have done things that are fruitful and enriching.

With that...I wish everyone a Happy New Year..All the bests for 2009! Despite the bad times...lets hope for good health for us and for our frens and family.

Cute cat

Saw this adorable cat taking her afternoon nap at the void deck.....damn cute....look at her fur....like carpet...lol

Juzteen's Cafe

Finally after many months of preparation, Juztin and Paul finally opened their cafe at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 Blk 548 #01-2012. The place is named Juzteen's Cafe...a combi of Juztin name and their target audience - teens. This is my Christmas gift to them....and I drew it...hehe. I thought it looks kinda good. lol

The main dining area....

The cozy corner...
Their menu board...lol. Nice and simple. I took those beautiful pictures!! lol.

Come try their food, its cheap and good. Take bus 88 from Ang Mo Kio and alight at the fourth bus-stop.

Marina Barrage Revisited

Cant believe this is the third time I am going to the Marina Barrage. At least this time round I get to see the night view and enjoy the sea breeze. If only I have a car...I can drive here at night and relax.

This time I brought Juztin, Paul and Brandon there. They havent been there and they wanted to take a look. Good thing Brandon drives if not we wont be able to go there at such a late hour.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Merry Christmas to everyone or anyone who reads my blog! Its been a long time since I put up something. Luckily today is half day and I get to be home at 4pm...going out to watch Australia later. Had the usual company buffet lunch and gift exchange. I got a cute massager from Tony...lol. Thanks! Sadly one of my colleague got a terrible gift.. I think its not even worth $1. So terrible. Anyway, enjoy your holidays people!

Been a while...

Its been awhile since I updated this blog...Had a 12 days vacation...in Singapore. lol Had to clear my leave anyway. Been hanging out with Juztin and Paul while they prepare for the opening of their cafe and then got a bad cold ...since last wed till now. Seen the doctor twice n still coughing like crazy. Leaving it like this for now...update more soon.

Sharon's birthday!

Friday was Sharon's birthday..so we had a mini celebration for her. Had our dinner at Maggie Thai Restaurant at Liang Seah Street. Juztin introduced me to this place and it seems like I have been eating there ever since. Think its the fifth time I was there. But the food is really good and affordable. I was afraid that they wouldnt like it cos its not a very posh place but luckily they did. Its been a while since I met Sharon, Ying and Patrick...all my ex colleagues. All went on to greener pastures...lol. Listening to their stories about their new jobs and new endeavours makes me kinda envious. haha. After dinner, we walked a few shops down to Ah Chew Desserts to have part 2 of our celebration.

The birthday girl with her teenie weenie birthday cake. So sorry couldnt get you a bigger one...We thought only 4 of us...plus after our dinner...a bigger cake would kill us.

Ying, Sharon and me.

The three of us plus Patrick. We kept switching position and took so many photos, those people queuing were staring at us...seriously the desserts are not that nice lor...duno why there are so many people queuing. lol. Nevertheless it was nice catching up and we had fun.

Meet up again soon!

New Clothes....again!

I cant believe I actually went window shopping after work today and end up spending 200 bucks on clothes. argh..what is happening to me...Anyway since I bought it, went back home and took a few photos to see how i look in them..hehe.

Peizhen's wedding

Its Peizhen's big day last saturday...Her wedding dinner was held at Sheraton Towers...quite a classy place. How time flies, during the wedding I found out most of our secondary school frens are either married or getting married...some even got kids already! We knew each other when we were 15 - 16 and now its like 12 years already. It was great catching up with Geraldyn, Mengtat, Weihan, Shweeyee, Daching and Xiao Juan ...going to have an official class reunion soon..yeah!

Class photo with bride and groom.