Rainy rainy

Always raining... cold cold weather.

Anyway, some updates. Glad that Livejournal is still accessible despite the Taiwan earthquake. Blogger's very slow though... all Google related pages are almost inaccessible... for Singnet users probably.

Ok, shall start from last Sunday ba. Supposed to be in church in the morning for a combined service, during which I will receive my certificate for graduating from my supposedly 9-month Discipleship course. We took about 1.5 years though. Was absent from the event because I was down with a slight sorethroat and fever and going out early in the morning would probably make it worse. Rested till the afternoon and headed down to church for the candlelight service. Tried turkey meat for the first time in my life. Just a few shredded pieces from the after-service buffet. A little dry and tough, but still edible.

Church lunch on Christmas day itself at Paya Lebar... I think it's 千禧楼 at Tanjong Katong Complex or something. An 8-course Chinese lunch consisting of the cold platter, shark's fin crab meat soup, roast chicken, steamed fish, cereal prawns, mushroom and vegetable mix, noodles and red bean soup for dessert. Quite a sumptuous meal I would say.

Went over to a friend's place after that (despite the sorethroat) and went down to The Cathay to catch Night at the Museum. A totally hilarious show... very very entertaining =] I didn't expect it to be so entertaining, so it was a good decision to go watch it. Then it was a late dinner at Billy Bombers... I ate the Christmas set with turkey and ham while my friend had the seafood set. Quite nice I would say... especially the complimentary drink. Nice green concoction. Anyway, the turkey was really tough... it was as if I was eating steak... well-done. A short walk down Orchard Road to 感染圣诞节的气氛 before heading home via the MRT.

Tuesday was spent sleeping at home... so was Wednesday and Thursday, except that I had to give 3-hour long tuition sessions in the late evening. Well, to make up for the missed session last week. Still not recovering from my sorethroat despite the amount of sleep I am getting. Still a little feverish ba. I think I should start sleeping early soon... to prepare for the semester ahead. It's going to be a busy semester, with a 10-week practicum coming up in late February.

Merry Christmas!

A very merry Christmas to all =]

My very own snowflake. Heh. Made it using Photoshop. Looks more like a spiderweb though :P

Results

Just discovered that the results are out, after looking at a few people's blogs.

Eh, rather disappointed. Got a C+ for a module. C+... so unexpected. Zz

Ah well, I enjoyed myself during the semester. That's good though. Ha

Sim Lim Square

Was at Sim Lim Square today for less than an hour, but I spent a total of... SGD264. That's quite a lot. Anyway, got myself an external harddisk drive... Ovation EZEE 350 3.5" 250GB as well as a toner cartridge for my Fuji Xerox 3116. Now I can back up all my stuff easily and have decent printouts :P The old toner finishing le I think... giving very faded and patchy printouts.

Nothing much for the past week, except for the fact that I kept oversleeping and missing my tuitions with my cousins :/ Will have to makeup one session next week. Oh... I'm playing month 2x experience for Maple Story from 10pm to 2am every night. Well, I don't play regimentally, but I'll normally play for around three out of the four hours. Am at level 99 now... 10% more to level 100. Good thing that Maple Story is no longer laggy =] Why the eagerness to play? Well, I won't have much time to when school starts...

Been working on the church website as well. Version 2... based on PHP and mySQL with an admin panel, so that I won't have to spend all my time editing pages and all. Spent a few hours just to code the javascript menu last night. Rusty le... code until head going to explode liao. Almost gave up. Anyway, would want to spend time on the myFLASHbox.sg site... add some improvements to it. It's been a year or more since I did anything substantial on it. I want to revamp my personal website as well... hmmm...

Ducking?!

And I've always though I'm more of a tortoise kind of person. Ha.

You Are A: Duckling!

The cutest of the cute, these baby ducks are often spotted in the spring following closely behind their mother. As a duckling you will grow up quickly, becoming one of the adult ducks seen commonly in ponds and streams. Playful and timid, charming and vulnerable, ducklings are nature's very definition of innocence.

You were almost a: Frog or a Lamb
You are least like a: Puppy or a MonkeyWhat Cute Animal Are You?

myFLASHbox.sg

As usual, I've just surfing around... and was checking on my myFLASHbox.sg website.

Looking at this page, I surprise even myself as to how much I have done on the website over the past few years (well, not really the past few years, but more like a few intensive weeks now and then). At times, I would rather fiddle with webbie stuff than do my school work. Not as much now though. If my sponsor were to stop sponsoring me, I wouldn't mind actually... because I have already fulfilled my dream.

On a side note... when will the rain stop? It's been raining and drizzling, drizzling and raining.

Happy Feet

It was tuition on Friday afternoon (because I overslept and couldn't make it for tuition in the morning), then over to Bugis Junction to meet a friend before heading over to Plaza Singapura for dinner and movie. Dinner was at the food court... introduced my friend to the tasty BBQ chicken store, which a friend from my university days introduced to me a few years ago.

Finally got to watch Happy Feet, after a few weeks of waiting. Had initially wanted to watch it about two weeks ago, but the tickets were already sold out when my friend and I got to The Cathay. This time round, I booked the tickets online and was able to choose rather good seats. Well, there weren't many people watching it, since it was already in the cinemas for a few weeks le.

I watched it at Plaza Singapura this time round. The storyline was good and the animation was interesting. I quite liked the idea of having "happy feet". The singing was good too. Will regret if I missed it. Ha.

Science Centre, Omnimax and Settlers Cafe

Wednesday was a pretty long and taxing day. The day's activities began with one of my cousins coming over to my place in the morning before we headed over to Jurong East MRT Station to meet my other cousins. We played about an hour of Maple Story, then left my place.

It was about 10.30am when we reached the Singapore Science Centre, at about the same time as my second aunt and her family. Entrance to the Science Centre was paid by her husband, so I saved a bit of money =P It was quite expensive, since we were not just viewing the normal exhibits but also the I-Future exhibits as well.

The first stop was the eco-garden, which was rather interesting, at least for me. We missed the Tesla coil demonstration because I forgot about it. We were too engrossed in looking at the I-Future stuff. A little disappointed with the I-Future exhibits though... some of the exhibits were not ready and others were faulty. It's only the third day of the exhibition lo... and so many problems le. Tsk

Meet a friend from NIE when I was there. Such coincidence... she brought the kids that her mom babysits there. Anyway, lunch was at MacDonalds.

After lunch, we spent some time looking at the Deep Sea exhibits at the Omni Theatre. Quite interesting. Open Season was enjoyable as well, except for the fact that the screen was a liitle too close and big. It's very taxing to the eyes. I really enjoyed the animation... I think the bunnies and the porcupine were cute =] The storyline was quite ok too.

My aunt's family and I went separate ways after the show, since I was treating my cousins to dinner. We initially intended to head over to Sushi Tei at Holland Village for dinner, but due to the horribly heavy rain, I decided to bring them to Settlers Cafe instead, since it was nearer to Buona Vista MRT Station.

The four of us had a really enjoyable time there... four set dinners entitled us to two free hours of games. Our first game was a card snatching game... I cannot remember the title le. The cards were scattered all over the table and we took turns flipping one card over at a time. When we get three of a kind, everyone can snatch for those cards. If two persons snatch on one same card, the person who shouts "ugly ugly ugly" gets it. Quite fun. Ha. We played other games as well, including Clay Mania, which involves using plasticine to make objects for the players to guess... Taboo, which involves getting players to guess a word without mentioning the accompanying keywords on the card... a Packrat game, which works somewhat like Uno and a Monkey game, which again I have no idea what the name of the game was.

The Monkey game was interesting though... it's a card game. There are a few types of cards... red and green monkey cards with numbers one to four, alligator cards with numbers one to four, wild alligator cards, fresh banana and rotten banana cards. What happens is that each player will get a stack of cards placed face down in front of him/her. Then everyone counts to three and flips his/her top card down on the table in front. The aim is to snatch for pairs of cards. Red and green monkey cards with the same number form a pair and the player has to say "Go bananas" before slapping on the two stacks of cards. Alligator cards and monkey cards with the same number form a pair and the player has to say "Gotcha gator" before slapping on the two stacks of cards. The fresh and rotten bananas for a pair of cards and the player has to say "Splat" and the two stacks of cards with the bananas will be removed from play.

It was home sweet home after that... a really fun-filled and enjoyable day for me =]

Lot 1 Sistic

Went over to Lot1 on Tuesday... had to collect tickets for Open Season, which I'll be bringing my cousins to watch on Wednesday at the Omnimax theatre. My first time booking tickets using the Sistic website. The collection was easy... except for the fact that I was queuing behind two females who were choosing seats for dunno what concert and they really took their own sweet time to do it. A total of eight tickets... one for me, three for my cousins whom I tutor, and four for my second aunt's family.

It was a late lunch at Sakae Sushi... opted for the afternoon buffet, which allows one to eat freely from 3pm to 6pm, last order being at 5.30pm. It was a really filling lunch-cum-dinner. Not too expensive also, considering that I ate quite a bit and paid student price for it =P

Trip to Genting

Day 1
Stayed over at my friend's place the night before because we (a total of three of us) will be boarding the coach at Bukit Panjang Plaza, which is near his place. Anyway, woke up at about 5.30am on Saturday morning, washed up, had bread for breakfast and went downstairs to wait for the coach. The coach was supposed fetch us at 6.15am, but it wasn't until 6.45am that it arrived. Well, not too bad, considering that the seats were spacious and everyone had their own mini-tv at their seats, with multiple channels to choose from. Throughout the seven hours of travelling, I managed to watch a bit of "The Maid" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", finished watching "Shrek 2" (there was this part similar to American Idol which I didn't watch before), watched a bit of "The Incredibles" as well. There were other shows which I didn't watch since they were being showed in different channels at the same time... "The Gladiator" was one of those shows.

My first trip to Genting... was rather amused when we were travelling to the top of Genting in the coach. I could see clouds outside and the whole place was erm... in the clouds. I think we reached just slightly after lunch time... a seven-hour journey. We checked into Resort Hotel, one of the better hotels there I suppose, then went to look for food. Lunch was at this eatery which was actually a restaurant. Food in Genting is expensive... even a hotdog costs RM4. Fastfood is cheap though.

Some time was spent walking around... then it was to the casino. My first time entering a casino. My first impression was that it was really really smokey. Cannot imagine how those people can smoke while they gamble. Totally unhealthy. Well, since I'm new to the games, my friends patiently taught me how to play some of them. I picked up some knowledge of a few games, such as this game which my friends term as "Player Banker" and also "Roulette". I spent most of my time at the Jackpot machines though. Well, my conclusion is that people will generally lose money when they play at the Jackpot machines, unless they hit the grand jackpot.

Dinner was at the casino restaurant. Free dinner because my friend used his Genting Points earned from playing at the casino over the years to exchange for some set dinners. Western food... very filling, since the servings were quite generous. Each set meal costs about RM30. It was back to the hotel room for a rest before heading over to the casino again. Quite interesting to explore the different Jackpot machines in there. Ha. Anyway, managed to earn some money on the first day, which wasn't too bad.

Day 2
Slept till about 11am in the morning and the first thing was to head over to the Genting Themepark. We had our lunch at Marrybrown before entering the themepark though. My first time at a themepark as well =] My first impression was that it feels just like Roller Coaster Tycoon, a game which I play. Even the rides were familiar to me, just that I haven't encoutered them in real life. The whole afternoon was spent at the themepark, but we only managed to have a go at two rides because it began to rain in the later part of the afternoon.

Walked around the First World Shopping Centre and I managed to buy some cute stuff. We had complimentary tickets for the Genting Skyway, a cable car system, travelling a total distance of 3.4km. It ferries people from the top of Genting Highlands to the base, where there is a small shopping centre. Didn't buy anything there... we just walked around a little before taking the Skyway back to the top of the hill.

Managed to eat Baskin Robbins ice-cream on the way back to the hotel =] I've been wanting to eat it since we arrived, but didn't really have the chance to. It wasn't cheap, but it's definitely cheaper than if I were to have it in Singapore. Went back to our hotel room before heading over to the casino again.

No luck this time round though. I suffered a loss, small one though, since I'm not much of a gambling person. Play for fun only. One of my friend lost quite a bit though... few hundred Ringgits.

Day 3
Woke up at about 11am or so, washed up, packed our bags and left the hotel. Interestingly, there was no need to check out the room. Just have to leave the place when we are done staying there. Anyway, had lunch at one of the food courts. Not cheap... well, most of the food there aren't cheap. Even chicken rice costs more than in Singapore, compared to the normal food court prices.

Boarded the 1.30pm bus back to Singapore and stopped at a few places on our way back. I bought some titbits back... not much though. Watched Home Alone 2 on the way back. This time round, it was a not-so-good bus, with a main tv in the front and middle of the bus.

It was rather late by the time we got back to Singapore... and I stayed over at my friend's place before going back the next day, since I am having my holidays =]

Pepper Lunch

Tried "Pepper Lunch" for the first time today. Not bad le... need to stir the rice to cook it with the seasoning =] I had the salmon pepper rice set. Saw Kym Ng and 周崇庆 there as well. They were queuing behind me when I was placing the order, so I didn't realise it until I went back to my seat and my friend pointed them out to me. Ha. Anyway, it was a good lunch =]

Oh... my POSB Everyday credit card arrived early this week. Tried using it yesterday afternoon for lunch, at Jack's Place. I like the blue of the card. Ha. Hmmm... lazy to apply for the StanChart and UOB ones, but I think I'll do it before I head to Genting this weekend ba. Apply for fun... the StanChart one looks rather nice :P

Went to give tuition after lunch... took a short nap at my cousin's place. Had some trouble trying to explain the trigo supplementary angle thingy to him. Will try again next week. Need to think of a good and straightforward way to explain. It's now half-way through the second week of my holidays... how time flies.

Dreams of epic proportions

I slept quite a bit today. Only slept at 5am or so, but was really tired, so I only woke up at about 5.45pm. That's more than 12 hours of sleep! Indulgence!

Anyway, had two really long dreams during my sleep. Both not very nice one I think, especially the first one. I guess it has very much got to do with what I'm experiencing in real life. Why can't I live my life doing whatever I want? Why must there be family restrictions which do not make sense to me? I think I'm feeling oppressed with respect to those issues... which was why I was totally rebellious in my dream, ignoring the respect that I'm supposed to have for my elders. Really cannot stand it le. Sian. Ah well. The dream was a release of my frustrations ba. Ha.

The second dream was on teaching... I always dream about this school (my primary school compound actually) where things will happen in there. I guess I am rather attached to the memories of my primary school days. Anyway, don't really remember the details of the dream. It wasn't too bad I think, really cannot remember le. So much for dreaming an epic dream... totally a waste of time. Ha.

My first week of my holidays is over... now on to the second.

Performancing, a Firefox add-on

What's performancing?

Performancing is actually a Firefox add-on that allows the user to blog to a wide variety of blogs, both free and self-hosted ones. It has an easy-to-use WYSIWYG interface and is really convenient. One can either view it in WYSIWYG, HTML, or in live preview, all with the click of the mouse.

To make use of Performancing, just download and install the add-on, then add your blog, then you can blog away, using the blogging interface of the software. For more information, go to Performancing.com.

Well, getting back to life... things have been going well for me. I'm basically just spending my time working on a website. I think it's about 50% done. I want to revamp the myFLASHbox website as well... though that will take even more time. Still thinking if I should make an Christmas cards this year.