Oh?

Was on my way home from a LONG day of meeting.

Holidays has just started but not so for Educators. Can check out today's ST for the article.

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Anyway it was a pleasant news.

Seems the receipt no from the session at the 4-faced buddha that we bought came out as Starter on Sunday. I hadnt checked yet cos Sunday was full of things to do, plus I was so tired.

I was on my way to my now default 'Toto' shop cos this morning, I tried to go there but couldnt make it due to long queue, plus bad weather, plus not enough time for me to buy and be on time for work... after all the travelling.

So after work, I travelled there again, claimed the prize, buy my usual, deposit, then went for a cheap dinner of 'Ma you Ji' Reached home and concussed on bed.

For me. the prize is just enough to pay for the Bangkok trip expense plus also recover my losses from 4D and Toto so far. A pleasant fact.

So FH, Candle and me owe the 4-faced buddha thanks. Have to go back soon enough to give thanks. Anyone interested in another short trip?

Ever felt as though it had never happened?

Its like this, you leave for a great but short vacation and comes back to work disorientated for the first day.

By the second day, it feels as though, you've never been anywhere. It feels as though you had never left at all.

Yar that's what I am currently feeling. I've just been back for 3days including today, and Thailand seems like a distant memory that happened a lifetime ago.
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The last 2 weeks for an Educator is ultra siong, cos of the frantic amount of admin work needed to churn out report books, preparing holiday assignments, marking of assignments and many more. Its quite siong that I feel so drained. Tom got to put in extra hours to clear the marking... bleah!

Yar just want to reward myself by chilling out after tom, more specifically on Friday evening. No more work at least until I wake up on Saturday morning... Ask me for more details ba.

Tom also is 5m draw, go try your luck for Toto?
Man income taxes just arrived. The amount I am paying can pay for another PSP... Bubu
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Started drinking a bit cos my Bro had his bdae yesterday and he opened his Jack Danial. Then mixed with Coke and I tried with Bitter lemon water.

Whiskey is more fragrant than the other liquors we tried. A particularly rich aftertaste, at least for me.

Then I just downed the Tiger Classic beer (only sold in Changi Airport), and it tastes very much like Tiger Draft.

Yep thats all for now.

Thailand trip, thoughts

It was a fun trip, fun being an understatement.

Cos its the first time in at least 5 years, where the whole uni gang is reunited to go out travelling on masse. With the perk of strong financial power.

Some thoughts of mine which I would like to record while they are still fresh.

1) Fruit theme
Fruits seem to be the main theme in our adventure in Bangkok.

It started with Mangoes that Tab got to buy for her prospective future mother-in-law. The whole episode from the buying and later to the packing and re-packing of the precious cargo is an epic in itself. Plus the lame jokes about WHERE exactly to put the precious cargo... includes in underwear and inside bras etc, the jokes about the squashing of the mangoes into all sorts of juices... An epic, truely.

Then there was the Watermelon, where the cooling drink often comes late when the person ordered it. Hence drawing lame jokes about it still being grown, harvested, planted, skinned... *shivers from lameness*

And last but not least, the Coconut, a cooling drink much welcomed after a long day out. We had such a great time drinking coconut and cracking coconut-related jokes after the massage, walking back to the hotel, laughing loudly in the streets. There's even a photo for it, albeit not in the 'pose' we joked about.

2) Fast Food
Surprisingly, our meals in Bangkok consisted mainly of fast food. The reason being that there wasnt anywhere else to go near the hotel around 10pm. The only location still open was the 24hr Mac. So its Mac for supper Day1, Mac for breakfast Day2.

Then there is the A&W. It has shut down in both Singapore and Malaysia as far as we know and we were pleasantly surprised to find it in Bangkok. Missing the root beer float, connie dog (which I dunno what its like) and curly fries.

The funny thing was, despite our plans to eat it on Day1, it was twarted by the heavy rain (which incidentally caused us to be trapped in the 2-storey shopping area and we ended up in Dunkin Doughnuts) Day2 plans to eat it for breakfast was twarted by Mac. Day2 supper twarted by a full day of shopping plus massage and which resulted in eating at another fast food place, Chester. Me and Ting ended up eating KFC thailand style. The crispy is delicious, well season and tasty, definitely nicer than Spore ones, which kinda tasteless.

Finally on Day3, we managed to plonk our asses in A&W and ate a feast of more fried chicken, chicken waffle burger, root beer floats and waffles. I was joking with Tab that for all those side-tracks, it has become a quest to eat at A&W. Even if when finally the food didnt taste that great, I will still force myself to 'enjoy' it. The waffle and rootbeer float are nice. Its just like that 'Mushroom Monster' quest which I am still somewhat embarking on at NYDC. It was so limited edition, cant even taste it, then taken off the menu, now returned to the menu again... >_>

3) Massage and PSP
Surprisingly the massage quite good though I only went for one round. Cos that morning, I had gone to the gym that morning and was having muscle aches. Not that I wanted to act hero or try to outdo FH (Tab's FH, NOT my FH okay) but the lightest weight they had was 6kg (2.5 weights x 2 plus weighted bar) instead of my usual 2kg... The massuer managed to hit the right spots, though I complained of pain initially. BUT sadly trying to sleep on the plane ride gave me a stiff neck. Oh well, if there is a next trip, will go massage everyday.

My Aoi is a good source of relief of boredom. Went from playing DJ game to playing puzzle, then to mind games. Distracted Quetzal from her studying. PSP, good for boring journeys to and from work (like moi), and on long journey.

4)Money money
Yep money no enough, or more like baht no enough
This trip spent $500 on shopping and food, $180 accomodation, $160 on alcohol, $260 tix... >_< But its more like its quite worthwhile, cos overall its a relaxing trip, nothing too overly touristy about it, not waking up bloody early to visit all the tourist sites. Its a bit more free and easy.

The clothes for my sisters I intend to just give it to them FOC. Then the alcohol are mostly presents... 2 sherry for my dad (bdae, father day), 1 Jack Danial for my bro (bdae), 1 martell was my mom's order, though she paid. The rest are mine, A Port (never drink b4), an Absolute Pear Vodka (never drink b4) and beer (brands,never drink b4). See the pattern? Buying those never drink b4 types... curious I guess?

BUT ITS TOO HOT TO DRINK! The weather in Bangkok was more cooling than Spore. Came back to sweltering heat that made me feel absolutely exhausted especially on Tuesday. Didnt feel like in the mood to drink any alcohol. The next day, I woke up, not knowing where I was. It took me a while to realize that it was a tuesday, that I had to work, that I was almost late for work cos I had forgotten I had to start earlier on tue. Guess my soul was still somewhere in Bangkok living it up.

Searching for Cai Shen

Yar, exactly as what the title meant.
Yesterday I was walking around looking for Cai Shen.


My tools?

A compass.



Location?

Toto outlets near my area.


The reason?

Well its kinda of a long story.
U see it started with the story of seeing the sinseh.
He knows some astrology plus feng shui (acurrate or not, I dunno)

Well to cut the long story short,
This year supposedly good for those in the year of the Monkey.
For me, supposedly have good luck in money, or Cai Shen.
He is in a particular direction.
So preferably I go buy my own Toto and 4D instead of asking my mom.
Also go to that shop facing that particular direction, and do so on a sunny day (so Cai Shen can see me, the poor saru begging for money...)


So I did that.

Bought a compass and yesterday on my way out.

I set off earlier so I could go 'survey' the toto outlets in my area.

Think I found one, that is convenient for me to go, and more importantly in that direction and from now until the end of the year, I will be frequenting there. See if luck will improve.

Also need to do something to improve the fengshui of my bed. Apparently Lucky coins not enough. Oh well, I am still working on it.

If I disappear one day, you all know why.
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Even before I make money, already spending lots of money.

My watch strap broke. Its not the normal watch strap type cos the watch is mounted on it. So for the past few days, I am watchless.

Seriously put off by that particular design. Had to fix the watch twice. Now the strap broke.

So today, on my way home, I missed my bus. Its a sign, I went to the nearby CityChain. Bought an Everlast watch.

Nope its not a dual face one. Its a normal watch face type.

Didnt want to get a similar model. I just sent my watch for strap repairs. Ie they have to send the watch to their centre just to re-strap it.

*Note to self, dun buy anymore watches with special straps...

The watch's on offer, 50%, about $85 after discount. Hmm

(Played with my mom's phone and took this pic, a bit blurry but nvm)



This be my watch. Since now I dun wear my watch 24/7, so even if the strap is leather, its okay. Just hope I wont be so chor lor and scratch the screen.

Happy Mom, Unhappy Dad

Yar today we kinda pissed Dad off with our comments about him making some mess with his steam pot cooking. (His current craze is hotpot, vegetables and chicken) K, his face was so black.

We had to go out to see the sinseh, for my ankle (which wasnt remotely painful, even feel normal, but just in case) I managed to go to the gym around 9.30am. Didnt do much leg stuff, just more of arms and stomach.

After seeing the sinseh, we headed to Vivo. I had given my mom a $200 buck on friday. My other sister wanted to pay for a phone. My mom wanted Chinese SMS plus camera, so that leaves basic phones out. In the end, my mom got a sliding phone, Nokia 5300, the music mp3 phone. It has a pretty good camera and a 256mb SD card. A bit exp for $238 without contract. My sister paid $100. The rest came from my pocket money for her for the month. So she dun need to pay, in fact I gave her the remaining pocket money abt $50. Yar also bought a screen guard and soft rubber casing for it. My mom now has a better phone than I do. Oh well, I dun even take my own picture much, have my own mp3 player, have PSP. Dun think I want a phone with mp3 function.

By the time we returned, my Dad's face seemed not so black. I am clamming up my mouth, dun want to cause unhappiness... Oh well, so fast the weekend is over.

Something to look forward to, Thailand trip coming... Already got alchohol orders plus now clothing orders from my sisters and mom >_< and I havent even borrowed a large enough travel bag yet.

Some updates

1) Power of the Lucky Coins?

With the aid of Candle, whose been frequenting Aussino. I have NOW completed the Lucky Coin set (but havent changed my bedsheets yet). Have the bedsheet, pillow cover, bolster cover, comforter, on top of my quilt cover. Will from tom onwards be literally be sleeping on many many coins. Hope it brings me wealth and lots of it. Had a dream yesterday it seemed, and went to buy 4D. See if it comes true?

2) Ouch...

Again, like Candle, I sprained my left ankle and it also happened yesterday. Was on my way to work walking on a narrow path. Then someone walked past, I was looking at my sms, I just shifted a bit and my left ankle went off the pathway to the uneven ground beside it and got twisted. It was kinda a bad twist but I was rushing. Just massaged it a bit and rushed to work. By the end of the day, it was aching slightly. So far not swollen. Just got discomfort and dull pain when walking... Yar already booked a slot this sunday to see the sinseh about it.

3) Need a sound-proof room that is not facing the sun...

Last night after midnight, I couldnt go to sleep. One of the contributing reason was my Dad. He's retired and so dun need to lead a normal morning to night routine. So often he ends up watching some documentaries about China in the middle of the night when everyone whose working is trying to sleep. Thats not too problematic. He's getting old in age and hearing not so good, put to quite a loud volume. There were times I was in the kitchen toilet and could still hear clearly what he was watching.

Last night was no exception. I closed the room's door. Put pillow and bolster to cover both ears, yet could hear the Chinese commentary clearly. My mom already told him nicely to turn the volume down a bit but he either didnt hear or what. By the time I decided to get up from bed and go out to say something. I was feeling very irritated. Just told him (in a not-so-nice-way, I am guilty) that it is so loud I could hear it despite the measures and told him to turn down the volume. With that went back to the room. Initally the volume got louder. Dunno whether he is testing it to see if it was really that loud or purposely... I was lying in bed feeling DAMN angry and wishing that I could sleep in a sound-proof room just to get a good night's sleep. Then after a while the volume lowered until I cant hear the words clearly with the bolster over my ears. Then I managed to go to sleep.

I am not cursing my Dad with anything. Its just that certain habits of his like watching some documentaries/news loudly in the middle of the night is not condusive to sleep. I am not the only one complaining though I am the hardest hit. My sisters and mom have told him at times to lower the volume. Just wish the TV will kaboom and there'll be peace for a short while. Man I really want a sound-proof room where the only thing I can hear is my own breathe. Then can really rest in peace? Signz

4) Limping down Orchard Road...

Met up with Candle on friday nite cos need something to do to chill out. Tab n Quetzal busy. So both of us met up around Centrepoint to look at Aussino again. A new branch there... We ate and just walked around the Aussino, then a few shops. Then came out of Centrepoint, couldnt decide where to go. A suggestion was Fish & Co for the drinks. The nearest one was opp Parkway but I didnt want to go there cos its a dead end. As in, once there, nothing to look, to see, to do. So we headed up towards Orchard. Both of us limping. (Candle sprained her right ankle some time back)

We walked undecidedly on until midway, she suggested walking to the Fish and Co in orchard. That one got alcoholic drinks. We continued limping for half an hour until we arrived. Ordered sides and drinks. They ran out of certain alcohol by then so quite a few items were not available. In the end, we ordered Tequila sunrise, Citrus Fantasy and Lime Magirita. K, I am the drunked one with the two drinks. Who can resist for their low prices still?

Anyway the Lime Magirita quite power though its at $10+. Both my drinks cost about $17, still cheaper than outside 2 drinks. We munched chips and sauteed vegetables. After the two drinks, I must admit, I was feeling very very relaxed. Its good to stay away from strong alcohol, so once a while, can still feel the kick. Not drunk, not exactly high but just more relaxed, wont/cant even think about work when I tried. Good. Mind-numbing. After that we set off for home.

Of course by now, the effects are wearing off, after the long bus ride home. Thankfully my dad is keeping the tv volume low. I am going to sleep soon, after I've sent an email.

Drabbles

After two rounds of karaoking with my sisters, I noted a few stuff.

First I really dun know that many chinese songs, those few that I know was cos I heard them from my sisters. Given PartyWorld is mainly catering to Chinese songs, they really have many many new C-songs.

Secondly I listen alot to radio nowadays cos I have to spend more than an hour to and fro from work everyday. So I know a fair bit of new english songs. Problem is, PartyWorld dun exactly stock up many new English songs, songs by bands etc. Hence limited again.

Thirdly, even after 4.5years of Jap, I still cant read fast enuff for fast songs. Slower songs still can, provided I know the song beforehand. Yay, can sing 'I for you' by Luna Sea and a few other slow songs. Nice or not, is another question. Even those J-artistes that I like, also dun have that many songs. A few, even those may not be the songs I liked. Oh well, I better go and listen to those Jap cds that I have, so can go there and sing faster Jap songs.
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A fellow BT like moi was commenting to me that she felt rather drained though she was still relatively 'new' like moi. Welcome to the club... Sometimes you are so drained, you just dun want to give anymore. Like is empty inside and nothing more to give. Guess I wasnt the only one feeling this way.

Sometimes it just like a resource-building game. You have to deploy your limited resources to achieve whatever targets. Yet if one couldnt deploy properly, spread too thin, face defeat across the board. Plus if deploy more in one area, means likewise less in one area. Cos supply is limited! Cannot expect full returns across everything just because deploy for everything. Not sure if this perception is put into teacher's training or mgt training. It would help though, especially with mgt planning of such issues that would have a huge impact on teachers workload besides academic and subsequently on the personal job satisfaction levels, fatique levels, work-life balance levels and more. Perhaps more needs to be done than just raising a bit of the pay and performance bonus.
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Other stuffs,

Got more games but like no time to play everything leh...

Btw, I introd my sister to Patapon and she was hooked. She pia for one day (play from 5pm til 11pm) and about reached my current stage... Yar she has those Kibapons too (horse-riding patapon) Then she stopped. Guess waiting for the next weekend to continue playing.

Nothing else much happening in my life. Leading a dull life as one would put it. Cant wait for the Thailand trip to spice it up. Am getting alcohol orders from my family. Anyone not using the alcohol quota, (candle, I am booking your alcohol quota)anyone dun need, can gimme gimme. Need to buy 1 wine, 2-3 spirits (If DOM is counted as a spirit, err anyone knows?)

Weekend went by in a flash

Yar the onset of monday blues. Given Sunday is almost over.

Saturday was spent nuahing a bit at home until 1pm where my sisters, mom and I went to see the sinseh. By the time we finished, it was 5pm. Ate and then took a cab home and it was near 6.30pm.

Remembered searching online for games guides and stuff. Went next door to get my comics. Then continue being online. And the day is over.

Sunday I went for gym near 11am, finished 12pm, ate and went home near 1pm. (havent checked my weight cos I am regaining my appetite plus the weekend gluttony thingy, but at least my arms are not as flabby. Still need to work on those triceps, still soft) Was nuahing at home, watching cable tv and even intending to catch up on my sleep. Cos this morning there was a bloody community thingy which was set on the stage facing my room. No prize for guessing. I woke up rather early.

My sister had gone out and she called back. Asking my other sister and I whether we wanted to go out to play? The idea was to go for Karaoke. We went to Partyworld at Orchard. Sang from 4-8pm then headed for dinner. Surprisingly saw Tab and her dragonfly. K I didnt see her. She came up to my back while I was queueing up at SoupSpoon and poked me. But they didnt end up eating there cos it was still crowded. Finally my sisters got to eat the soup that I often mentioned to them. The button cheese mushroom is very tasty today. Then we hung a bit around the Jason marketplace to buy a few items before hopping on a cab. By the time we reached, it was near 9.30pm++

Went online a bit to find the psp guide cos I was fighting this boss and got a bit stuck. Completed the game. Managed to change, brush teeth, wash face. Before I realized its already quite late now. (by Educator standard)

Now loading into my thumbdrive cos some people (hem hem) keep forgetting to pass me drive, yet see my Aoi, keep saying this is fun, that is fun. kk, I load into my thumbdrive. Just remember to return my thumbdrive to me.

Patapon, a damn cute PSP game

Its a nice game based on hitting the buttons according to the beat.

For those who like music games, its a very cute game.


Also an ego-booster. You are the GOD of the Patapons.
You lead them with your drum beat.
You hit the drums, they follow the order to move, attack, defend, even summon rain.

Brings a smile to your faces.



After every battle, they dance to the fire like those tribes people



Just when you think they cant get cuter still, as you play, you unlock more mini-games (also music-based)



I like the rain-dance tune.
Don*DonDon*DonDon

Phew after playing several hours of the game, I have upgraded my units using the resources (so its a bit RPG in that aspect) Its quite addicting, I let my FFtactics lag behind...

Yar the downside, have the beat-tunes stuck in my head...

Pon Pon Pon
Pon Pon Pon
Pon Pon PonPon...

Highly recommended for those who like music-games, or like cute games, dun need to think too much.