My Trip Down South

I was in Singapore over the weekend, and the highlight of the trip was The Phantom of the Opera, held in the Esplanade Theatre. It was really worth the trip as it was a really good play. The lighting, sound and choreography was just excellent. In one word PERFECT!

Me @ The Esplanade Theatre for Phantom of The Opera

Well, what else I did there? I went shopping of course. I didn't go the new VivoCity though, only manage Orchard Road and Suntec City areas. Oh yea, I was in Bugis too on the first night for steamboat, where I met up with my friend Vivienne, who I have not met in 4 or 5 years. Viv, if you're reading this, it's been great to finally meet you up again!

Vivienne & I @ Bugis

Then there were chilling out nights in Clarke Quay by the river side and also Chjimes the next night.

Me @ Clarke Quay (this shot was actually focusing on the girl behind)

Me @ Chjimes (do I look stoned??)

Beautiful Chjimes

I came back on Sunday noon, pretty tired as I didn't get much sleep during the whole ordeal, but pretty much satisfied and happy with the weekend. =)

The Chinese Procession

Ok, finally! Here are some of the photos which I took during my trip out station about 2 weeks back where I witnessed a chinese procession that took place. Like I said, its held only once every 10 years or so (don't ask me why..another person says its being held for the first time..so I really don't know). Well, the procession was sort of like a parade, where chinese monks, priests, and followers from different chinese associations unite. They go around from house to house where alters were setup (as a sign of offering) and they blessed the owners and the house itself. Some of the monks/priests were sort of in a trance when they went from house to house. There was even a few that appeared drunk, carrying a bottle of Guinness stout in his hand (not sure was it an act or were they really drunk). There were even floats that drove by the houses that were decorated with lights and holy objects. Everyone was praying as each float passed by.

These are some of the pictures:



*Click here to view more pictures

Well, it was really an experience that night. I am yet to find out what the official name of this procession is. Anyone out there knows??

Secondhand Seranade

Secondhand Serenade is invading the hearts, minds and airwaves of the world. This album was actually recommended by my sister. Before this, I haven't even heard of the group. I must say, they have some really good tunes most of them accoustic and they're lyrics are typically related to relationships and love issues.

Here are the track listings:

1. Half Alive
2. Broken
3. Vulnerable
4. Your Call
5. Maybe
6. It's Not Over
7. I Hate This Song
8. Awake
9. Take Me With You
10. Let It Roll
11. The Last Song Ever
12. End

"This acoustic album is loved by almost everyone who listens to these songs of love, deception and desire. They are sweet and meaningful, which I find intriguing and addicting. I know the words to every song. Even people who like other kinds of music will love and appreciate Secondhand Serenade. Songs like Awake, Broken, Your Call, and Vulnerable all connect to people's inner feelings and make them think of their own love life and loved ones. Even the names of the songs relate to the human emotions we use to describe our feelings. The soothing music in only adds to the appeal of this album. " - Judy Crystoff (Northridge, CA)

Overall it's a nice album if you want something easy and simple to listen to.

My Rating: 4/5

Sounds Similiar To: John Mayer, Fall Out Boy

Note: Ok, I know promised some pics of the chinese procession in my previous post. I will get it up as soon as I download it off my camera, together with some pictures from Singapore. Yes, I'm getting lazy these days, so sue me! =P

Updates and More..

It's now 8:45pm and I'm still here in the office! I decided to take a break and update this blog in case some of you thought I was dead or something. I've been really busy for the past week with work and other personal stuff until I have been neglecting this blog. It has been a week of ups and downs I must say, and as such, I'm really looking forward to my holiday in Singapore next week. For those who are wondering, yes I will be in Singapore next weekend for Phantom of the Opera. To my friends in Lion City, I'm coming down to party! And for some reason (some of you already know why...), I'm really happy right now and really looking forward to the trip.

More updates:
I was out of town last weekend and witnessed a chinese procession that apparently only takes place once every 10 years and I was fortunate enough to have witnessed it. I will update you with some pictures of the procession I took in my next post (I don't even have time to download the pictures off my camera!).

Oh, and if you noticed on the right side of this page, I have included a link to my resume (it's the little blue button that says "LinkedIn Profile"). So if you want to know what I do for a living, view that!

Ok, that's about all the updates for now. So people...I'M NOT DEAD YET!

Phone Evolution

Do you remember your first mobile phone? Well I certainly do. I had my first mobile phone when I was in my college days. Boy how technology has advance. Can you believe my first phone was so ancient it didn't have caller ID and the "phone book" only stores 9 numbers without knowing the name of the person!? As time goes on, I kept upgrading my phone. Here are list of phones that I use to own over a period of 8 years in ascending order:

1 . Motorola MicroTAC

This was my very first phone. Like I said, it can only store up to 9 numbers on the phone memory, and it does not have a SIM card! Worse still, the numbers are stored from 1-9 (accesible via the keypad..how cool!) and you must memorize each phone number location as they don't have a phone book function which tells you who the numbers belong to.

Best feature: Heavy enough to kill a dog and to be use as a weapon!




2. Alcatel One Touch Club

My second phone, which is also my first digital phone (yay!). My dad got this phone for me and my brother in a promo where you get 2 phones at a cheaper price! It is with this phone when I first got my Maxis number. I was so amazed then that this phone can change ringtones and it has Caller ID!

Best feature: Changeable covers (wow!)



3. Siemens C35

My third phone and my first phone that I actually bought with my own savings. I actually got conned buying this phone (I was naive back then), as I got it at a really cheap price. But guess why is that? Because the damn warranty is only valid in Germany! I found out the hard way when I took it back to be repaired within a year. This is when I first found out about "underwater" phones! Oh well, hard way to learn eh?

Best feature: Small and lightweight. It has animation and screensaver (woooooo!)




4. Siemens SL45

My second Siemens phone. During this time, a lot of people are in awe with this phone, as it has a lot of cool features (back then). It was one of the first phones in the market to be able to play MP3 and have a removable memory card slot. I still have this phone at home and it still works! It also my first phone to be able to play midi ringtones.


Best feature: MP3 Player and memory card slot




5. Nokia 6100

My very first color phone. It has a 4k color screen, GPRS, and my first phone to play polyphonic ringtones, and to have a wallpaper function. It also allows you to install Java games. I sold this phone to a friend and got an upgraded version.

Best feature: Color screen & GPRS (nothing much to shout about but a real upgrade from the previous phone.)






6. Nokia 6230

An upgrade of my Nokia 6100. It has 65k color screen, a radio function, and also plays MP3s as ringtones. It's also my first phone to have a camera! This phone also have a memory card slot which allows you to store data. It's also my first phone to have Bluetooth technology. Sold this phone to a friend.

Best feature: Bluetooth, MP3 ringtones and camera






7. O2 XPhone II

My first Smartphone! It rides one Windows Mobile. It has 65k color screen. It has a camera. It has Bluetooth. It plays MP3s. It has a memory card slot. It operates exactly like Windows, but with limited features (it has MSN Messenger, Winzip, notepad and able to view Adobe PDF docs - cool eh?). It is also able to sync with Microsoft Outlook. This phone made heads turned, as it was cool (and still is!). I'm still having this phone and it's still working. It's now my official backup phone.

Best feature: Windows Mobile (need I say more?)




8. Nokia N80

My current phone. The "ultimate" phone (for now). It has 3G and Wi-Fi capabilities, a 3 Megapixel camera (with flash), 256k color screen, hot-swappable memory card slot, Media Player, able to open Microsoft Office applications, opens PDF and Zip files...what more do you need??

Best Feature: All of the above