Winter Holiday

I will be away for a holiday to Korea - the Land of kimchi's, negative temperatures (right now) and soapy melodramas about things like two girls who were childhood friends and then both fell for the same guy and then blah blah blah... resulting in a sad ending. This is supposed to make up for my grad trip since the economy forecast doesn't look so good. Plus winter is a rare experience, especially for us sunny, equatorial dwellers. Anyway, here's to wishing you all a

 MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year!

Dance

Hold your tears, put your worries behind

The time has come, to be with me, so you can feel

Show your smile, put your worries behind

Now take my hand, and feel my heart, so you can see

And I want to feel this way, if I haven't fell in love

Would you stay with me tonight?

So there are no more goodbyes

Can you ever understand?

And you're always on my heart

Put your arms around my soul, till I get to you

Dance now (hold your breath)

Don't you cry (don't you cry)

Take my hand, hold your breath, the night is young

Dance now (hold your breath)

Show your smile (show your smile)

Take my hand, hold your tears, the love is young

Hold your tears (hold your tears)

Put your worries behind 

Take my hand, and dance with me, so you can see

When it's time for us to part, don't cry for me my love

Our time together which we remember forever

When your dream has come to an end

I will be waiting for you, to be with me, so you can finally see

Clazziquai

Now that the exams are over, I can finally post this. A few nights ago, while randomly link-hopping on Wikipedia, I stumbled across a music group called Clazziquai. Little did I know that the simple event of clicking the link would cause me to sleep at 3am. After reading about them, I went to YouTube and all it took was a single video to cause me YouTube-ing and imeem-ing for more of their songs. I have a soft spot for good music - I go ga-ga when I find them. 

Clazziquai is a Korean music group which plays songs ranging from acid jazz, bossa nova, electronica and dance to pop. Their name is supposed to be a mix of Classic, Jazz and Groove (the 'quai' from Jamiroquai I suppose) and they comprise of 3 main members: DJ Clazzi, Alex and Horan. The latter two are the lead singers. Being a jazz-lover (especially when it's bossa nova) I easily got hooked onto their music. Their style of music fused with elements of electronica was a fresh change and the outstanding voices and clarity of the lead singers was also aurally pleasing. They also have a certain aura of class, which is evident from their music style and videos. I don't know how to describe it, so I'll show you one of their music videos instead. The song is titled 'Dance' and the video is really very beautiful. The music is simply... WOW.

If you liked that, here's another music video (actually more of a slideshow) to satiate your appetite. The song is titled 'Romeo N Juliet'.

If you really loved those two videos, be sure to check out more of their stylo-milo songs. As for me, this is a mai tu liao situation - I am getting all their albums.

mai tu liao situation [my-too-lee-ow]

-noun Hokkien

The overwhelming positive effect of an activity/product/event which causes it to be carried out/bought/participated as soon as possible, if not immediately, due to the resulting high level of desire or obvious beneficial effect. Also known as don't-waste-time situation, no-need-to-think-one situation.

Akiko - Águas de Março (Waters of March)

Here's one of my favourite bossa nova songs, Waters of March performed by Akiko featuring Corinne Drewery from Swing Out Sister.

Some interesting background, the song was composed by the father of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim (he is da man) and it symbolizes the monsoon month of March in Brazil, when it experiences the heaviest rainfall. If you listen carefully, the song has a constant descending melody which is supposed to depict rain falling down. The lyrics albeit very simple, have an artistic meaning as they actually reflect images of everyday life.

I thought this song would fit nicely since it's the monsoon season. If you listen to this song while its raining, it has this 'happy' effect which takes all the gloominess away and lifts up the mood. I'm serious, try it out one of these days.

May this song bring some much needed sunshine.

Enjoy~

Extraction!

Today, I extracted my pre-molar (that's the third tooth from the back) as part of my plan to get braces. I can happily say that the extraction was a totally painless experience. The post-extraction on the other hand, was not. Let's start from the beginning.

It started this morning at the National Dental Centre (NDC) . I first went to see my braces dentist to get some plastic 'doughnuts' slotted in between my teeth. According to my friend, they were supposed to make way for the braces which would come in later. Following that, it was time to see another dentist for the extraction.

After getting comfortable in my chair, the dentist once again analyzed the tooth and told me that in the event that it chipped during the extraction, he may have to carry out some minor surgery to remove the chipped portion. Since there were no two ways about it, I gave him the green light and added, "It's going to be totally painless right?" in which he jokingly replied, "Oh no, it's going to be very painful - I don't like to use anaesthetic." What a way to start it off. He then proceeded to get the menacing, all-metal syringe to administer the anaesthetic. From my point of view, he inserted it into the side of my mouth at an angle and then halfway through, shifted the syringe upright before going all the way through. Whoa. Freaky? Yes. Painful? No. He gave me another shot and shot some to my gums as well. It took about about 5 to 10 minutes for the anaesthetic to take full effect. 

It was finally time to perform the extraction so the dentist grabbed his ToothExtractor Pro5000 with built-in high-luminescence halogen light, GPS grid pinpointer, Class 3 laser dot targeter, Titanium alloy extractor arms and FM radio with soothing music. Ok, it was really just a large plier-like vice tool which he fixed around my tooth and started shaking it up and down and up and down and... My tooth seemed to be pretty dug in so he called for the nurse to grip my head and stop it from shaking. After about 5 or 10 mins of Yes and No head motions, the tooth finally popped out painlessly. The dentist, panting for a moment, passed me a mirror and introduced me to the wound and gave some instructions on its treatment before placing a gauze over it. He also pointed out that while most teeth (at the back) had two roots, mine apparently had three. Interesting. 

Da tooth with da third (chipped) root

The whole thing ended off with payment and collection of some painkillers, ulcer cream and an interdental toothbrush. I made my way to school to meet a friend and pass up an assignment and upon reaching the Yusof Ishak House (YIH), the effects of the anaesthetic made me totally oblivious to a stream of bloody saliva that was trickling down the side of my mouth. Luckily, I was on my way to the nearest toilet to change my blood-soaked gauze before being mistaken for some hungry vampire.  I happened to be bleeding quite a lot and was running out of gauze so my friend went to the University Health & Wellness Centre (UHWC) and managed to get me a fresh new pack. Thanks dude, you really prevented me from getting into a bloody mess. 

I decided to make my way back soon after and realized that the effects of the anaesthetic was wearing off and the pain was starting to kick in. Great, it comes now. I took a bus home but the throbbing pain combined with the go-stop motion and bus vibrations caused me to get off and grab a taxi instead. Besides, my gauze was starting to soak up again and I needed to change it quick. I got home and the throbbing pain was in full effect and my wound was still bleeding. It was very agonizing. I kept changing gauzes at 10 minute intervals, took a nap and finally managed to stop the bleeding another 3 hours later, just in time for dinner and some much needed painkillers.

The Little Gun that Could

I happened to be looking through my pics and noticed this particular one which brought back some memories:

This pic was taken many months ago when me and two other buddies went down to a LAN shop to have a game of Company of Heroes, a World War II strategy game. What makes this pic worth mentioning is that it shows an artillery gun (a M2A1 105mm Howitzer Artillery to be exact) manned by 3 crew members, located in the middle of a very open and barren plot of grassless land. Cute. But that's not all...

In the game, when your soldiers, tanks, artillery guns and other stuff take out enemy forces, they gain experience points. Upon reaching a certain amount of points, they gain a veterency level (i.e. 1 chevron stripe for the first level, 3 stripes for the maximum) meaning that they are now more 'experienced' and hence, for example, able to survive better, hit enemies more accurately or move faster. Although it isn't clear in the pic, there are actually 3 chevron stripes above the artillery gun meaning that it has obtained maximum veterency level. Or simply in Hokkien, si bei lao jiao.

When I took this pic, it dawned on me that while we were all struggling to push our forces north to the enemy's base - coupled with the numerous tank and vehicle losses, infantry squads getting annihilited and the constant tug-of-war battle for that damn hill in the middle of the map - my friend's sole artillery gun was firing away all the time, helping the war effort either by clearing some road or pounding a concentration of enemy troops or shelling a defensive position. And it did it so well that it ended up earning 3 stripes. All by itself.

Lifesaving at Da Beach

Today, as part of a Beach Introduction Course by the NUS Lifeguard Corps, I was at Sentosa for an eye-opening, sun-scorching, action-packed day. To those who aren't aware, there are two areas of lifesaving - the tame side in the pool, and the wild side at DA BEACH! 

Pool lifesaving involves skills and techniques which include simple line throws, rescue and recovery of different types of victims in the pool, various types of tows (which sometimes involve manikins which are orange-coloured humanoid deadweights that simulate victims), first aid treatment and Emergency Air Resuscitation and its brother, Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. All this is done in pool conditions, meaning that as long as the swim team isn't in the neighbouring lanes creating an aquatic ruckus, you'll almost always get calm waters. 

Beach - or Surf - lifesaving on the other hand, has its own share of skills and techniques of which many are, simply put, fun. They include activities such as board racing, beach flags (a.k.a. dog and bone in the sand), beach sprints and rescue techniques involving fins, torpedo rescue tubes and the above-mentioned boards. The major difference from pool lifesaving? The Sun, Sea and Sand. While pool conditions are mostly 'calm', sea conditions are not. Waves, current, seaweed, poor underwater visibility, the salty sea, the blistering sun and that shark following you provide for a different experience. I was kidding about the shark. Not being able to see underwater will mean that you'll have to take a peek in front once in a while to prevent yourself from ending up at that other island across the sea. Wearing fins in the pool will make you a Michael Phelps but in the sea, you'll need them to aid you against the waves and current which are there to hinder and drain you out. Also, the occasional cold undercurrents provide cooling respite when swimming under those sunny warm conditions.

Other than being a real eye-opener,  the Beach Introduction Course, as mentioned by my seniors, showed that lifesaving wasn't just limited to the pool. Our coach, Mr Sim, also added, "I don't want you all to know how to rescue in the pool and then on the beach, you tell me you don't know how to rescue..." The real deal is really out there in the deep blue sea (watch The Guardian and you'll know what I mean). Today was a great day, and the beginning of possible future trainings at Sentosa. I just need to remember one thing: IF YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A GEISHA, YOU HAVEN'T PUT ON ENOUGH SUNBLOCK.

Joe Hisaishi - Tunnel of Wind and A Chinese Tall Story

Here are two concert videos featuring one of my favourite composers, Joe Hisaishi, the guy responsible for the music from animations such as My Neighbour Totoro and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. Really beautiful music. Enjoy. (Joe is the pianist in both videos)

Tunnel of Wind

A Chinese Tall Story

F1

Over the past 3 days, me and some friends helped out at the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Our job: Ice Boys. Our mission: Deliver ice to the various vendors around the Marina Bay Circuit Park. With ice packs weighing 18kg each and vendors asking for 30 (or more) packs at once plus my fingers getting frosted numb now and then, I wouldn't say it was a very cool job (pardon the pun). But on the bright side, it also gave us a chance to experience the world's first Formula 1 night race up close. 

The first day was the most shit. Rain + Mud + Ice Packs x 100 (at least) = I should not have taken this job. The Formula BMW, Aston Martin and Porsche Carrera practice sessions in the afternoon however, helped to bring back some job motivation. It was interesting to note how different each car sounded - the Aston Martin having a low sounding pitch and crude engine roar, the Porsche Carrera having a higher sounding pitch with a more refined roar compared to the Aston Martin, and finally the Formula BMW having a higher sounding pitch and deafening roar. It was only until the Formula 1 practice session later that night that I realized the vast aural difference. Compared to the above cars, the Formula 1 cars had an even higher sounding pitch infused with pure raw power. And when I say raw, I mean raw (like sashimi). As they raced along the track, they screamed like banshees and I revelled at how awesome they sounded as their engine roars crescendoed as they passed by. EEEEEEEEEYEEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! 

Grandstands at the Start/Finish Point

The second day was mostly the same except that it turned out to be a really hot sunny day. That's when I started being thankful for carrying ice packs. There were qualifying races for the various categories throughout the day but the highlight was the Formula 1 qualifying race which would determine the starting line-up on the race day. The qualifying race wasn't so much of a race - each driver was racing to clock the fastest time to secure the top spots in the starting line-up. There were a number of engine stalls, spins and skids (especially at Turn 7) which brought 'wow's' and 'oh's' from the crowd and spectators flocking to snap photos of the stunned vehicle and its driver. It was quite a satisfying night but little did I know that the following race day would provide even more 'wow's' and 'oh's'...

Spectators gather near Turn 14 at the Esplanade

Race day. Da big day. This was it. Massive crowds. Double the ice required as compared to the previous two days. The day was occupied with the races for the various categories and finally when it was time for the Formula 1 race, me and my friends hurriedly finished our ice deliveries to catch the action. I didn't mention it earlier on, but with all the buildings in the CBD lighted up, it was really a picturesque backdrop complementing such a grand event. I had never seen City Hall bathed in light and looking so regal. The race soon started and the non-stop roars of the F1 cars as they raced by one after another really hyped up the atmosphere. Things were constantly being hyped up throughout the two-hour race with events such as Piquet's early spin-and-crash, Massa's fuel tube blunder at the pit stop, crashes at Turn 13 and Raikkonen's fateful skid-and-crash at Turn 10. Hamilton made some daring moves and was pretty constant while Alonso was just brilliant. 

After the race, I concluded that all the mental-cursing, ice-lugging, sun-burning and finger-numbing was really worth it. I seriously enjoyed the race that night. Hey, we got 4 more years right?

P.S. I know the photos really suck. I didn't have my camera on hand throughout the 3 days so I had to use my crappy 2.0 megapixel handphone camera (which also sucks at night shots so no night shot pics). Pity.

The Force Unleashed

For those of you who don’t know, I am a Star Wars fan and quite a gamer (those who know me will know that I can get quite hardcore at times). So when The Force Unleashed was released 3 days ago, I finally grabbed a copy after months of waiting. Non-gamers, this post may bore you so feel free to pass Go and Collect $200. Uh... forget about that last part.

The Force Unleashed is a 3rd-person Action game which takes place in between the events of Episode III and IV. You play as Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and are tasked to mop up the Jedi leftovers of Order 66. For those of you who don’t understand a thing I just said, here is the layman-nutshell version: In Star Wars: Episode III, a bad guy called the Emperor has plans to rule the galaxy. In order to do this, he must first remove the Jedi, a group of peace-keeping good guys. He achieves this by passing a decree called Order 66 which involves a Jedi holocaust. Another bad guy called Darth Vader dispatches his secret apprentice, Starkiller, to seek out and kill the remaining Jedi who managed to escape Order 66. With the Jedi out of the way, the Emperor establishes the Galactic Empire, an evil totalitarian faction, and eventually rules most of the galaxy with an iron fist. These turn of events give rise to another faction – the Rebel Alliance (i.e. the good guys) – who oppose the Galactic Empire and aim to bring an end to the tyranny, which brings us to Star Wars: Episode IV, where war between the two factions is already taking place. The game’s story is pretty straightforward for the beginning, but takes a twist towards the end and ultimately, it serves as a fitting filler between the two episodes.

What is thy bidding, my Master?

As the name implies, The Force Unleashed allows you to harness and unleash the power of the Force, except that it’s magnified 10 times, on Steroids, Stimulants and Red Bull. When they said ‘unleashed’, they weren’t joking. If you’ve watched the Star Wars movies, you may have seen Obi-Wan or any of the other Jedi using the Force to lift and push objects or foes away. In The Force Unleashed, you don’t just push things away – you push them as if they were hit by a giant invisible punching glove going at hypersonic speed. An ability called Force Push in the game allows you to pick up any objects lying around (e.g. rocks, giant boulders, steel frames, wall panels or even trees) and use them as ammo to throw at your foes. A giant boulder flying at you is not very nice. No ammo? No problem. Force Push also allows you to pick up enemy soldiers (e.g. Stormtroopers) and fling them towards their squad mates. Talk about teamwork.

Need a push?

One thing worth mentioning is the game's physics engine, which allows objects being thrown to  really fly like rigid bodies and act accordingly to the surroundings (objects fall to the ground after hitting a wall, or roll down slopes). Like objects, enemies also exhibit similar behaviour to the surroundings, especially when they are being flung across a room like ragdolls. To illustrate this, let me introduce you to another ability called Maelstrom. When activated, any nearby foes and/or objects will start to levitate and float around Starkiller, who gathers power before emitting an invisible shockwave explosion which causes everyone and everything to be forcefully flung outwards at breakneck speed. Ouch.

Maelstrom - the calm before the storm

Besides Force Push and Maelstrom, there are other abilities which range from nifty-looking Lightsaber combos to sizzling Force Lightning attacks. With the large variety of abilities, raw power on hand, plus the fun and de-stressing factor (one of my favourite antics involves using Force Push to fling enemies off Cloud City, a floating city in the clouds), I’ve been really enjoying myself. There are certain points in the game where I just went, "Wow." after seeing moves which I didn't think possible. It's also funny to be flaunting your Force powers here and there while a hapless Stormtrooper standing nearby says in a resigned (Singlish: sian) voice, "How the hell are we supposed to defend against that?". Other than that, there are some certain issues and gripes in the game which I thought could have been done better, but hey, nothing’s perfect right? 

Andre Rieu - Waltz 2 from Jazz Suite No. 2

Here is one of my favourite waltzes - Waltz 2 from Shostakovich's Jazz Suite No. 2, performed by violinist, Andre Rieu and his fellow musicians.

Boy, I bet everybody's really enjoying themselves in the video. I hope you do too.



FOR MOTHER RUSSIA!

What a night...

Those of you who have played any of the Grand Theft Auto series of games should be familiar with the term 'Wasted', which appears when you die in the game. That was exactly what happened to me on August 29, 2008 - except for the dying part. What was initially supposed to be a mini pre-birthday gathering at Jazz@Southbridge eventually turned out to be DrunkFest 2008.

Jazz@Southbridge is this established jazz joint situated at Boat Quay just next to Elgin Bridge. With a live band playing everything jazz from mainstream to bossa nova, plus a nice cosy atmosphere, it has been my favourite haunt for some years now and I thought it'd be the perfect place to have the above-mentioned gathering to celebrate my upcoming 24th birthday. The gathering started out well with some light beer and finger food, the usual banter and an unexpected mini celebration courtesy of the band, for which I'd like to thank Alemay, Eddie, Bruno and the drummer (didn't catch his name). And did I mention the great music they played that night? Wave by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Awesome.

Everything was going real well... then the Flaming Lamborghini appeared. I thought, "What the heck, it's my birthday." I conquered it and started to feel my engine revving up. Ok, no problem man. On with the gathering and chit-chat and live music and hmm, what do we have here... WHAT THE. 5 x Tequila shots. WHO THE. Oh man. By then, I was feeling a bit high from the Lamborghini and also infused with some bravado so I gulped down the 5 shots almost consecutively. A few minutes later, I was almost at the gates of La-La Land. I was now really high but could still converse although my do-you-know-what-the-hell-is-happening senses were at like 25% efficiency. The gathering carried on and with my impaired senses, I eventually lost track of time - and didn't notice the Waterfall. At this point of time, I was already flying into La-La Land. Even while typing this sentence, I can only vaguely remember downing that Waterfall. I don't even know what it tasted like. Everything after that was just a barf- I mean, blur.

The next thing I remember was waking up at 5:30AM on my bed. My throat was like the Sahara and I kept trying - and failing - to piece up the missing void in my memory. I somehow managed to get up, walk to the kitchen, and grab a glass of water. And barf. I then made my way to the toilet, brushed my teeth (I took 2 tries to put the toothpaste onto my toothbrush) and took a nice hot shower before KO'ing on the bed.

I woke up again later at about 10:30AM and realized I was in a total shit condition. I was totally WASTED. So this is what a hangover feels like.

I made my way to the toilet and saw toothpaste sprawled all over the sink. Oooh... so that's why I took 2 tries... Anyway, the rest of the day was just rest, recovery, more barfing and the shocking revelation of the night before (after finding out about it from my friends) which I shall not go into detail haha...

What a night. What a celebration. What a hangover.

Friends, thanks for coming down to celebrate. I really hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did! (post-Waterfall period not counted)

Thanks a lot for the presents too; the chocs, B-Wing and running gear are all AWESOME!

Music

Can you imagine what life would be like without music? Yeah, it'd be pretty quiet. And boring. Personally, I feel music is very much a part of our lives. It is necessary. It may even be in some way responsible for giving us 'life'. And I really thank God for creating music.

They say music is the universal language and I agree. Music has this power to transcend beyond the borders of gender, race, nationality or however you want to differentiate the people of the world. It conveys feelings, thoughts and emotions, for example, by inspiring us, cheering us up or making us feel happy - or sad. It is solace for the soul. It sets the mood, whether it be the pride and pomp of a National Anthem being played during an Olympic Medal Ceremony, the laid-back tropical tunes of Bossa Nova on a lazy afternoon, or the mega-uber-bass-killing Trance beats at a club. We all understand it and it bonds people together.

Scientifically, music is the product of varying frequencies of sound at different timings brought together to create a combination of melody, rhythm and harmony. This combination is picked up by our ears and transmitted to our brain where it is eventually interpreted as music. These varying frequencies of sound are more appropriately known to us as the notes used in music (A to G). For example, middle C has a frequency of 250Hz.

When I was in Primary 5, my mum, after seeing me efficiently using my time to play and laze around, decided to enrol me at Yamaha Music School in the electone course. For those of you who don't know what an electone is, it's a modernised version of the organ. Details aside and fast-forwarding to the future, I've never regretted taking that course (or more like I've never regretted mum signing me up for the course). Thanks mum! Being able to play the electone has given me another avenue to connect to music. It is a medium which allows me to musically convey my innermost feelings, my reflections on life, or my joy, sadness or whatever mood I'm in. Ok, that's a bit farfetched - I'm not really at a level where I can play and sweep people off their feet or make them start crying; only true musicians can do that. But frankly, playing music on my electone does give me joy and it helps me to de-stress. It is the practical side of enjoying music as compared to the aural side. Recently, I've also picked up the violin and that is one hard instrument to learn! I'm enjoying that lots but the usual screechings do not always ensure the joy haha...

I'm pretty sure most of us listen to music, no matter what the genre is. Whatever it is, just remember that it's that companion that rallies everybody together at a rock concert, or brings in the mood during Christmas, or keeps you company during those late nights.

Fine

The First Day of the Last Year

Today is the first day of my last academic year - or rather, my final year. After a 3 month hiatus, school has finally begun - again. As I was walking to my lecture class this morning I was thinking, "Jeez, it's been 2 years already?". Time sure does fly.

I made some mental notes of the sights and sounds of the day: Students sardined in the Internal Shuttle Buses? Check. Just-what-the-f***-is-going-on Lectures? Check. How-the-hell-am-I-supposed-to-do-this-shit Tutorials? Check. Mile-long Subway queues? Check. The foreboding feeling that you are soon going to dive into (and probably drown) a pool of work of benthic magnitude? Check.

Ah... the smell of a new semester.

Aside from the usuals, there was something new as well - double-decker 151's! Wow, who would've thought we'd see double-decker buses plying the hilly roads of NUS. It seems that to alleviate the rush-hour problems of the 151 service in school, SBS Transit had kindly allocated double-decker buses to the service. This was actually a subject of some mindless banter I had with my friend some time back in which we joked about how the buses would negotiate the steep slopes and roundabouts of the campus. In fact, while walking down Kent Ridge Crescent today, I happened to see one of those double-decker buses making its way uphill and I watched it trudge up with no problem at all. I'd like to see that thing on full load.

Anyway, I'll see how the semester unfurls. I've got a FYP on hand, an interesting module on music, an Accounting module and some Engineering electives, plus I really need to up my grades (yes, they are pretty sucky). As me and my friend always used to say, "Next semester, I'm gonna work harder."

Yeah, right.

And I'm not being sarcastic.

Goodbye Cartel, Hello New York

It seems that every time I go to Cafe Cartel, the food always tastes worse than my last visit. This evening's dinner with mum was no exception.

Tonight's order consisted of Baked Chicken & Mushroom Macaroni for me, and Fish & Prawn Combo for mum. The macaroni had a choice of tomato or cream sauce and I forgot to specify tomato sauce. I only realized this much later on but refrained from bringing it up assuming that the default sauce was tomato and also because it'd be troublesome to change at such late notice. In the meantime, mum went to get some of the free flow bread. Back then, Cafe Cartel used to sell their bread as well as offer it free flow. Mum, who loved the bread for its crispy exterior and fluffy interior, would occasionally buy home a loaf or two. Heck, even I loved the bread. Tonight's bread however was far from its former glory. Now, I'm just gonna assume that we happened to get an old batch of bread or something and leave it at that.

Our food soon arrived and mum's Fish & Prawn Combo was looking pretty good with a large battered fish, salad side, some cross-cut fries and about 5 or 6 breaded prawns. Unfortunately for me, the default sauce for my macaroni turned out to be cream. Yay. Ok, so I thought I'd give it a try. I mean, how bad could cream sauce get right? Wrong. It turns out that it was pretty bad. The sauce had this milky-cheesy-buttery taste which was not very palatable in my opinion. They weren't very generous with the mozarella cheese either. I requested for some Tobasco sauce to try to save my taste buds some torture but to no avail. Thoughts aside, I braved through the cream sauce to eventually finish most of my macaroni. How that happened, only God knows.

Mum couldn't finish her Combo so she asked if I wanted some. I accepted, hoping that it would do some justice to the macaroni I just had. Upon closer inspection, the Fish & Prawn Combo didn't really look 'pretty good' anymore. The battered fish and breaded prawns were glistening with oil and after eating a bit of it, I just got sick with all the oil and friedness (that was the same reason mum passed the Combo to me haha). The mayonnaise from the salad and the sour cream that came with the Combo also did nothing to help me forget about that nasty encounter with the cream sauce and at that point I was pretty much sure my dinner was over.

On the way home, the greasy concoction of cream sauce, oil and fried stuff in my stomach left me feeling sick and with a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I decided to get a beer from a nearby 7-Eleven in hopes of preventing any potential messy situation and it worked quite well in killing the aftertaste and numbing the stomach.

I guess my Cafe Cartel'ing days are over. Maybe it was just a case of bad bread and bad sauce (the oil and friedness I've encountered before). Maybe, but one thing's for sure - Cafe Cartel now wasn't like Cafe Cartel then. Next time I'm heading for New York, New York.

Cheers

I love crappy, utterly nonsensical, exaggerated humour. I really do. Especially when the humour is in the face of seriousness (a la Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots). Here's a fine example of one, a Cheers beer commercial.



And after you've watched that one, check out the parodied version by Phoenix Wrong.



Cheers!

And so it begins...

I have started. Yep, I've got a blog site now, something which I told myself some time back that I wouldn't get because I would rather keep everything up in my head. Well, I finally brought myself to start one because... I dunno... Maybe it'd be good to keep a small log of my life. Maybe it'd help me remember some stuff. Maybe it'd help me keep my English from getting rusty. Maybe it'd make me write another Maybe statement.

I guess I just feel like penning some stuff down. Life is interesting so what better way to record it? Plus, I'd to like see how long this thing manages to go on. Till the next post, Valedico~