+ kiasu? +

For those who think Singaporeans are the most 'kiasu' human beings in the world, please tune in to today's news. Various stores in the US were holding big sales and resulted in people rushing, pushing and shoving to get what was on discount.

So for those who still think our own people are 'ugly' because of the way we queue for good deals, open your eyes big and see. It's the same everywhere. Just to make a point, those who miss a good deal when they see one are bloody idiots.

Stop putting your own people down.

+ attitude +

Humans are a funny bunch. We behave in different ways in front of different people. And sometimes it's to an extent that it's laughable.

Take guys for example. Many tend to think they need to prove their masculinity in front of other men, so an F word or various vulgarities are somewhere in every sentence. It's as if the crude language is punctuation or the only way to tell the other guy that he's the tough one.
Put him in front of a pretty girl however, and he'll suddenly become someone who speaks very gently, like he wouldn't even kill an ant.

I don't really blame these people, but I'm starting to think this has something to do with the insecurity of certain people with themselves. They may not have a manual knob selector that switches when placed in front of certain people, the change in attitude feels natural. And this subconscious change of behaviour, I guess, is because that particular person doesn't feel secure with himself/herself in front of another party.

Well it happens to me too, though not to a very great extent. So, I have to sort out my insecurities and be comfortable and myself in front of everyone.

Of course, for those who purposely act like an absolute angel just to attract the other party first is frowned upon. Cos it's kinda cheap. Hahah.. And it's just a bigger disappointment when the true colours show.

+ car spotlight: renault megane +

Two generations of the Renault Megane have been launched, the first in 1996, and the second generation in 2002. Two charisterics have too been synonymous with the range also. One is a wide choice of body styles available, and the other, design. Each generation had a total of 6 body styles, namely 3 door hatchback (dubbed a coupe in gen 1), 5 door hatchback, saloon, wagon, convertible (which goes metal instead of fabric in gen 2) and MPV (in Scenic guise). And I loved both generations. Bar the saloons, all versions looked very stylish at the time of their launch.


The above is Gen 1 which ran from '96 to '02. Clockwise from top left, we have saloon, convertible, Scenic MPV, coupe, 5 dr hatch and wagon. Rewind back to 1996 and the coupe should be one of the coolest family cars on the roads.


Gen 2 which started production late in '02 has that huge butt in the hatchback versions which I totally adore. In fact, if I were to buy a car right now, the Megane 3 dr will definitely be on my shortlist among the Subaru Legacy GT, Mini Cooper S and BMW 530i. It's still the most stylish family car on the roads in my opinion. Clockwise from top left, 5dr hatch, 3dr hatch, wagon, Scenic, coupe-convertible and saloon.

+ carl's jr +

So I had my Carl's Jr experience v1.0 at Marina Square yesterday.


One big difference from the other fast food outlets is the self service drinks dispenser (ok, i know u can find this at Lido's KFC too), the also self service condiments bar (with chili, tomato and salsa sauces) and a tissue box with salt and pepper shaker on each table. Personally I like the idea, but you know our people. Alot tend to have a "since it's free, just take; doesnt matter if we're actually gonna eat it" kind of mentality, so they should be looking at a fair bit of wastage there.

The burgers are priced at the $6+ to $7+ level, and combos with a BK's regular sized drink and fries cost.. $9 and a little bit to $10.50. So you're looking at a 50% more expensive price than Mc's, KFC and Burger King.

Next, staff attitude. Good and polite enough. I got a cheerful 'sure!' upon request of a service staff to clear the table for me. Definitely miles better than KFC's lacklustre performance in this aspect.

Anyhow, I tried the Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

If you can't already tell from the picture, it IS a large burger. I reckon BK's burgers are roughly two-thirds the size of this. So it contains a charboiled beef patty, bacon, a couple of real onion onion rings (more on that in awhile)and BBQ sauce that's not BK-salty topped with sesame buns. Good stuff.
And why do i mention 'real onion onion rings'? Because a strip of onion is what you see when you sink your teeth through one. How long have we been tolerating 'onion rings' which contains more flour than anything else? This is the real thing. Fries are fine too, but not massively better than Mc's on a good day. And they should really tell the other fast food chains how chili sauce should taste like, it's not as sweet as the rest. I shall exclude Mc's garlic chili sauce out of this comparison because it's a different type of sauce.

There it is, my very first Carl's Jr experience. A pretty good one, I'd say. The only fast food chain I patronised on a fairly regular basis (read: probably once in a mth or two) used to be Burger King. Now I'll add another to the list.

Score: 8/10

+ ben and jerry's! +

Wowee! Had Ben and Jerry's a couple of days ago.. Wonderful.. Heh.
Try Dublin Mudslide! It's wonderful. The staff is young, bubbly, polite, eat-kantang type (meaning fluent in english) and predominantly female. So lechers out there can go have a feast for both your tastebuds and eyes. Anyway, B&J's design reminds me of NYDC. No qualms with its graphics being colourful and loud. Even the serviettes and leaflets (both shown in the pictures) look different from everything else out there. Great ice cream, great service staff, great corporate design. Kudos to B&J's!









P.S. 'pint is pronounced like 'pine' with a T ending, not 'pin' with a T ending. i said pin-T over and over again and was corrected. now i'll pronounce it right for the rest of my life.

+ congratulations +

Congratulations to Gracia (my cousin) and KC again for becoming officially man and wife, I wish you guys many many blissful years ahead! The wedding dinner was held at Raffles Hotel Ballroom. Here are the pictures!


the exterior of Raffles Hotel done up for the holidays


and that's why we are all here!


nice centrepiece, blurry because i took it in 'twilight' mode (slow shutter w/o flash)


table setting befitting of a posh hotel


every guest had this i think salt n pepper shaker set. put them together and they'll be hugging


me, parents and uncle


cake cutting ceremony! again blurry due to twilight mode


the couple and my aunts and mom


those at our table, and family of the newly weds


and finally, me and irene ang! she was hired as the emcee of the dinner. a little star-struck. haha..

+ phone bought, picture time +

So I've gotten the phone.. E730. Poll over!
Time for pictures.

So in chronological order..


The Christmas lighting along Orchard and Marina area is already up by now, but this was taken 2 weeks ago at Ngee Ann City where they erect the giant Christmas tree again. Don't know how many years they've been putting up the tree now, but it's pretty nicely done up by now. It's about 4 storeys high. And yes you know this is coming.. All the Xmas decorations being put up means my birthday is coming! Woo hoo.. Well actually nothing to really get so excited about, it's just another day. It just happened to fall on a date that's easier to remember. Heh.


Me at the ATM, very common sight. Somehow the dollars can never stay in quite long in my account. It goes in, it goes out. Simple as that. Maybe my account isn't very hospitable to the dollars. Or maybe it's me.


Kinda freaky thing outside a shop that sells kids stuff (i think)in Suntec City. This weird thing is supposed to attract the kids to take a second look. Sure they made more than just the kids take a second look, cos it looks.. let's just say not universally cute. And it shakes too. Come take a look, it's pretty hideous.


Given to me after having dessert at TCC. The camera didn't manage to capture the glittery finish very well, but it's very nicely designed. It's supposed to be a TCC's membership card which one can sign up for with a minimum $88 purchase.



Courts show their marketing prowess and the amount of money they have by having a full 8-page ad campaign in today's Straits Times. The Xmas season is coming and retailers are pulling out all stops to grab whatever cash they can from consumers' pockets, apparently. I suppose this officially launches the end-of-year spree for all the other shops.


My cousin's wedding dinner on Tuesday gave me a perfect reason to buy something new and nice. Not bad eh? They're from Pedro, a men's shoes outlet (finally!) which is now open at Citylink Mall. Go check it out. Aldo style for two-thirds the price. Check it out!

+ poll! +

Ok, I need help! My mobile contract is up so it's time to get a new phone! I've narrowed my choices to these few models so I won't go into details of their functions. The thing is I'm undecided between the designs. So give me an opinion!


Panasonic VS6. $538 for 2 year plan currently.


Samsung E530C. $228-298 for 2 year plan.


Samsung E730C. $398 for 2 year plan.


Samsung E760. $598 for 2 year plan currently.

+ living life +

I've found something to make my life a little more.. productive and fulfilling. At least a large portion of my rotting away time has been taken away, and that is good. Rotting makes people stupid, and I think I've already fallen victim to it. But now with more things to occupy my time, I dun feel so dead, just dead tired.

Yes, better late than never, I wouldn't want to go back to bumming again. Time to build up some momentum for the real world, and earn a little extra pocket money while at it. If only my hunched back didnt give me a problem. Always feels sore after standing for too long.

Well, a price to pay for a bigger number in my bank account.