First day of school is a breeze. Probably because one class is cancelled and i avoided the scenario of attending 3 classes straight all on one day.
Shall be more hardworking this sem.
- Talk in class more.
- Revise more.
Archive for January, 2007
Good morning folks. Welcome back to school. It is the first day of school, and the diligent Chongky is back at 8.30am. It does not require much convincing when i say that i love school. I meant being in school. Minus the studying part.
This is entirely a new experience, sitting in class and watching, knowing that at the end of the day nothing that goes on in the class concerns me. In the tangible way. No grades. No constant worrying. No need for participation.
Was feeling pretty sick last night. Fell asleep around 10pm, and woke up at 12 to catch some tv before going back to school again. Couldn’t figure out why i’m not feeling well. Mrs Chongky isn’t feeling great too. Could it be the Swiss ship we saw at Vivocity at New Year’s Eve? It looks right out of those curse and pirate myths.
Nah lah. In reality, it is just a ship that is visiting Singapore and is quite popular with visitors at Vivocity.
I do not think it is the lei cha that i ate for breakfast that morning.
I have heard a lot about it. Tradition food fare and health benefits. Seen it being sold in Singapore and Malaysia. But this is the first time i am eating it. Not the great tasting kind. It’s bitter, but with vegetable and rice it tasted quite good. However try not to visit the level 3 food court at Vivocity. Food is overpriced. My breakfast costed me $4.80, while the chicken rice Min min and Qi qi ate costs $3.50. The famous fishball costs Auntie over $10… now that’s expensive.
Going forward, i skipped breakfast on New Year’s day, and lunch at Tata basement foodcourt seem to be harmless. I don’t think the waitresses in french maid uniform did anything to my food, and the sandwich and salad are pretty fresh, though pretty overpriced.
Then it must be dinner at Sizzler on New Year’s day then. When Sakae Sushi does not offer supper buffet on PH and eve of PH, and the buffet place at Suntec lobby is offering special festive menu that is priced up, Mrs Chongky and i hunted for other dinner options. We ended up at Sizzler. Though there is the special festive menu again, price does not differ too greatly from the usual menu and we are pretty satisfied.
The platter for two is good.
The clayfish is good for Mrs Chongky, though i don’t quite like it when i cannot taste the freshness of food. The streak is really good, but too small. The pork ribs are good too. Tender and soft. The grilled skewers are something that definitely can be better. The salmon and prawn was overcooked. The banana, bacon and sussage is badly burnt. The chicken is too tough (overcooked again). The entire platter is ok, and i don’t think even eating most of it because Mrs Chongky is busy stuffing herself with the salad buffet could possibly make me unwell.
Then it must be the salad buffet then.
Just check out what we took for the first round. The iced prawn is very fresh, and er, we ended up eating a lot of prawn. Of course the domesticated Mrs Chongky peeled the sheel. If i were to do it we would probably eat fewer prawns.
Sadly this is my first time at Sizzler. The food is good. The price is what you need to pay for good food. You should have been with us after dinner. Mrs Chongky is so full that she kept hidding her tummy and we were not carrying much belongings with us. It was damn hilarious watching the dumn act there.
Mrs Chongky commented that i am a camwhore. Hey that’s what camera phone is for. Otherwise might as well use your old Nokia with no camera. No need to keep buying new phone with new features.
It has been a couple of years since the $10 haircut in 10 minutes was brought into Singapore and now the EC House and QB House are gaining large following amount the working class in town and heartlanders alike.
I vaguely remembered that the first such establishment that was set up in this little red dot is the QB House. The QB (Quick Barber) House was founded in Japan and yada yada yada. You can read the history at the Economist website here.
On the other hand, EC House is an investment by several Hong Kong stars and i’m not too sure whether the it came from Hong Kong or it spread from here to Hong Kong. In any case, when QB House failed to gain popularity here for a while after they set foot on the island, EC House came up and now EC House is all around Singapore.
I could try to come up with a game structure around this incumbent and entrant game here to explain what happened and what could have been done but i shall save it for another time and another place.
I have been visiting EC House for about a year now, after finishing my NS in Sembawang and decided that cutting hair at Chong Pang is certainly out of the way. For $6 or $7, i could get a good haircut at a neighbour salon, but if i walk over it would take 25 minutes and busing over would take around 15-20 minutes, depending on waiting time.
So the EC House at Citilink is a convenient choice. It does a good job too, and it’s now more in the way. Recently, i tried the QB House at Millania Walk. Huh where’s that? It’s the shopping mall sandwiched between Suntec and Marina Sq. Having read about the development of QB House and later the EC House on the local newspaper and then the competition between the two, i have my own set of opinion now after trying out the service on both sides.
EC House - plenty outlets around. Sometimes i pop by the Suntec one because hidden in one corner not near the building closer to Citilink, it is usually empty. Same for Funan outlet which is near school. However, i suspect that the hygience policy is unfortunately, not uphold by the staff on several visits. They did not give the comb to the customer after the haircut, and merely put it back into the equipment box after the haircut. When the next customer (usually it’s yours truly) sit on the chair, they take out the comb from the box and start cutting all over again. I do not need superman’s eyesight to see that there is only one comb inside the box.
The sucker airwasher whatever you call that tube that is used to remove the loose hair is not exactly effective, and the hairstylist do not really try to remove all the loose hair on the head and on the clothes. I have my share of tough time making myself decent all again for the next few hours i would be spending outside.
QB House - on the other hand, QB House provides great service. I have been there twice, and the hairstylist do give me the comb. When i chose not to accept the comb, the hairstylist dispose it in front of me. Down side is there isn’t much of a choice in terms of venue as i only go to the one and only one i know.
I have already made up my mind where to go to for future haircut.
Hey boys and girls,
Check out the marketing video for Gravical 07, compiled by Jason. Dex and Jason spent a lot of effort working on the marketing stuff, so you SMUggers spread the words ’round. Gravical, the SMU first inter-faculty climbing competition is the event to watch.
All happening on 19 Jan 2007 (Fri).
By the way, i’m just a small fry on the organising comm. Pulled all the strings i have from SAFRA and Contiki for the sponsorship part. Thank you Gerry and Jean for coming in to sponsor this event. The goodie bag we have put together is a good deal by the way. It’s definitely worth more than the registration fees. So show your support for this event, so next year we can make it even better.
New Year’s Day is way way overrated. There are so few cars in town that finding a parking lot is as easy as finding the gents in a shopping complex. So it’s gotta be either people are too sploshed from intense countdown parties last night, or people have escaped from the Island for a short holiday over the timely long weekend.
On contrary, New Year’s Even is much more happening. At least this time i can play a better part of a chef by dealing with the frying pan and the martini. Ain’t anything proud, but at least i stepped up.
Frying cheese tofu is not easy feat, mind you. Each piece costs slightly over 20 cents and if i am good, i shall sell 3 of them for $1.20.
Mrs Chongky calls these window fries. I’m not too sure whether this is a name she decides to call these fries, or are these the correct name the fries go by. In any case, they taste great.
Well, the fries and the tofu have to give way to the fish fillet. Mrs Chongky likes them, and they just remains me of primary school. My school canteen used to sell these, and i can’t remember the exact amount of the large portion of my pocket money that goes to the fish fillet auntie.
The domesticated Mrs Chongky is probably a slightly better cook than i am. But i is overly obsessed with my own work that i forgot to take photo of that busy lovely woman cooking and stealing food and drinks.
Some, like Times, like to conclude a year at the end of the year.
Others, like to conclude a year right after that year.
People
Family of the Year: The Chongky Family
It’s so easy to take people for granted. I watched “Silk” last night, and it sorta woke me up. My mum love me a lot all these years. She still insists on doing things for me, as if i am that little 5 years old boy. My dad too, has worked hard all these while. Not the most wonderful person, but he is willing to work hard for the family.
My brother is the best brother. I remember very clearly how i used to be very mean to him in primary school. Imagine how hurt he must have felt then. All alone in the new school and the only person you are closest to kept asking you to stay away from him in school. I injuried his finger when i asked him to help me with a trouble i created at home. I didn’t treat his injury properly and yes, i did it the wrong way. Ends up i created a perm bump on his skinny finger.
Shit. The me who used to think that having a younger brother following you is so uncool now thinks that that should be the coolest thing on Earth. Why didn’t i realise that in primary 3?
Gentleman of the Year: Chongky
It could only be the real gentleman who wore a bow tie (t-shirt) and a velvet covered helmet to read a horse.
Lady of the Year: Mrs Chongky
It must be the lady with the classy English lady hat.
Yup, the one who also likes foodball.
with chocolate football (or soccer in American context) during World Cup 06 period
Couple of the Year: Mr and Mrs Chongky
Isn’t it kinda obvious who i am going to announce?
From the sun-baked us in early 2005 to the…
… slightly less sun-baked us on our first trip together to KL and visits to Q Bar at Westin…
It’s still gotta be US!
The wacky duo
and party goers
Kids of the Year: The Kids
These kids can be so so irritating by shouting and fighting non-stop. But they can be so adorable too. Just look at them when they eat. So cute… *melts
They are naughty, but they hardly refuse when you ask them to do something for you. That pretty much makes up for everything negative. I hope the twins will come back to Singapore soon though. Otherwise Mrs Chongky is going to miss Minmin very very very much. Being more fair, i will miss everyone.
How else can i not miss the silly kids who must arrange their toothbrushes as if they had learnt post-grad geometry.
Supper People of the Year: Lian and Friends
After countless visits to Bedok 85, Thomson prata, and the likes, who else can it be?
At Lian’s birthday celebration in… where else but school
Performance Team of the Year: JJSalsaRengue
Many people would not know this. After all the auditions of DanceFloor, the producers invited a group of us from the team to join the competition. We went through the meet-the-producers-session aka screening and interviews and stuff, but due to problems with time commitment to the show and preparation, the group of us decided to stop our journey before we go onto our first round of top 60 competitions. Nevertheless, it is still flattering just to be invited.
The wonderful people celebrating Gaik Leng’s and my birthday at one of the training sessions for SISF.
Chill-out Uni-mates of the Year: Acrojunkies
Yeah man.
And in december we still managed to get on Moses’ kick ass roof top garden for our gathering. Try beating that.
Clinic-mates of the Year: Canoe Polo Clinic
It’s amazing how dumb i was to burn the afternoon on the day before my Game Theory mid term to faciliate the clinic. And it’s even more amazing that this bunch of SMU people who respond to the clinic advert so promptly within 2 weeks that i gather a decent number of attendees. I did not regret going for the clinic. I have fun, and i know all these fun people that i otherwise might not have known.
Coursemates of the Year: ITC intake in Oct 2006
Coming from different background, we still managed to enjoy ourselves and helping each other over the 3 days, isn’t it?
Food
Activity of the Year: Eating
Nothing else is better. We eat everywhere. Even on holiday.
Eatery of the Year: Sakae Sushi
It’s not exactly Hans. Though i personally like it.
I wanted to say it’s Cafe Cartel, where i had lunch there for 4 years on the last internship week.
Even till today, a few years after i was first introduced to Cartel, the one and only striking impression i have is not the food.
But the free flow of bread.
But then as much as WE like to eat at Cafe Cartel,
The pig in action
Mrs Chongky, who confesses repeatedly on the New Year’s Eve that her
hobbithobby is to eat, when quizzed about her favourite food, is surprisingly calm when faced with the yummilicious food.but 4 times a week is sufficient to turn me off for the remainder of the year.
Then again, when eating only twice at Yuki Yaki is enough to turn me away from steamboat / bbq buffet for the entire year,
it is no wonder that 4 times at Cafe Cartel is ENOUGH.
On comparison, Mrs Chongky and i have been going to Sakae Sushi for all sort of buffet, student lunch buffet, student dinner buffet, student dinner teppanyaki buffet, the supper bufet, and we must have gone to Sakae Sushi in 2006 more than the combined visits that each of us personally have before 2006!
Foreigh Eatery of the Year: Lai Chin Yuen at Regent KL
This is seriously a close fight. Nandos came in close.
But eventually chicken feet (Mrs Chongky eats them while i prefer not to) wins.
The dim sum is superb. You need to try them yourselves to decide. But take my words for it. This place is damn good. It tops my own favourite dim sum place in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Food Item of the Year: Swedish Meatballs, Ikea
The Ikano canteen style food has certainly won Mrs Chongky over. She had a strong craving for meatball from before exams till after and she had looked forward to eating at Ikea all that while.
Just check out the scheming look. I thought the initial plan was to share the food, ends up she’s more keen on the meatballs.
At Tampines Ikea
Drink of the Year: Coca-cola
After being indifferent between the various colas, Coca-cola finally won me over this year. A lot goes to Mrs Chongky, who only swears by Coke Light, and that limited the choice of soda i have.
Tea of the Year: Bubble Tea
Just check out the greedy look.
Blue coral ice blended and passionfruit milk shake, the return of the bubble tea
Dessert of the Year: Ice-cream
Baskin Robbins…
…japanese ice-cream…
the cold confectionary always win Mrs Chongky over. I follow her.
Places
Holiday Destination of the Year: KL
Just in 2006 alone, Mrs Chongky and i went to KL thrice in the summers and once in sem 1 week 8.
The short journey by bus and the strong Sg currency definitely make this sunny city the top destination.
Climbing Venue of the Year: Camp 5
Nothing beats rock climbing. Especially the feeling right after a day at Camp5, you return to Regent Hotel and lay out all your gears to dry the sweat on them while you wash up.
Funiture Shopping Venue of the Year: Ikea
It must be Ikea. On Christmas eve in a matter of just 1.5 hour, Mrs Chongky and i bought over 100 bucks worth of misc stuff to spice up our rooms. And best of all, it carries the bed that i am eyeing.
And er, it sells meatball.
Thing
Toy of the Year: Hard Gay Pirate Toy
I wish for it on my blog after seeing it on Youtube, and my brother got this for me. How sweet right. Blood is thicker than everything else man.
Watch of the Year: Given by brother again
This watch was actually given as my birthday present in 2005, but it still remains the top choice in 2006.
Pet of the Year
It must be Porker…
the singing pig (who sings “My Girl” while dancing)
Others
Hairstyle of the Year: Current Hairstyle
Of course it cannot be cool GI cut.
It should be “high slope at the side, the rest layered, and mohawk at the back“.
Expression of the Year: Bloated
Need elaboration?
Picture of the Year Taken by Camera Phone: At Vivo City
Facing Sentosa when the sky is cloudy.
Fountain of the Year: Cool design at Vivo City
Disclaimer: The list is only compiled based on Chongky’s personal preference, and only represent his own stand. Any biasness in the compilation of this list is inevitable.
2006 came, and passed just like that. I can’t even remember much about what happened over the entire year.
Only briefly recalled that i:
- Completed 2 normal semester and 1 summer semester setting my lovely mummy back by $6.6 k
- Finished 1 10-weeks internship at IBM
- Started canoe polo but didn’t manage to do much, and passed it on to someone whom i believe can do better than what i did
- Chalked out another bagful of event organisation experience with SMUX.
- Completed the first marathon of my mind in a moment of stupidity that started the injury.
- Came in second when there are three teams in the category (thankfully it’s not third) from my first adventure race, which continued the injury.
- Got my first TAship after discounting that fact that LTM is just another half credit course.
- Taught many batches of beginners salseros.
- Went for ITC with SMF, gaining valuable friendships - people who share my passion for outdoors.
- Performed at the first ever SISF which is going to be an annual event.
- Officially left the performance team that i have been with 2 years.
I guess these are the main events that happened over the last year. Need to qualify these are events only list, before Mrs Chongky throws a BF when she doesn’t see herself listed above anywhere.
These events formed an important part of memories from my lifetime. Mixed emotions over these events. My thinking has changed since 2006 started. I used to believe that no matter what happened, i am still going to be very involved in outdoors after graduation. My career definitely has to be outdoors geared. My dinnertime tv channel has to be A1. Other than the latter point, the rest no longer stand. I don’t believe in basing my career in outdoors anymore. There is no money there. Can’t live a life of luxury from dreams and passion, can i?
Career takes the top priority over almost everything else. I quited the performance team so that i can avoid that overwhelming feeling of deep guilt when i burn training time with studies matters. Everything that i want to do in 2007 has one way or another to do with studies. More TAship, more RAship, Magna Cum Laude kind of GPA and the list goes on.
What happened to kayaking, salsa, dancing in general, the first trek that i have been looking for, canoe polo, the soccer referee practical part of assessment that i left pending after physical assessment and so on?
2006 is a year of dramatic change. No doubt about that. Everything that i have done before 2006 pays off in 2006. Even my Dance: East and West module in school i also managed an A+ with my paper on dance. It’s definitely not the participation or the screwed up performance that helped, like some course mates would think. This gave me a passing thought of again, go persue that dancing passion instead.
How much can passion last me? A lifetime? Of what? A lifetime of just getting by that will make me part of the average or below average Singaporeans that are likely to be labelled with more intelligent word than “useless” by the elitist?
2006 is the year i bow down to reality. No more dreams. No more fooling around. I have made the drastic decisions. I am going to make it big.
My masters. Then a good career. It is all going to start right now. This current moment i am living and breathing in.
This is the start of the new year. So i chose a reflective entry over another badass critical option. This reflective entry, of course, will not make my unmentioned resolution clear. I’m afraid the curious ones would have to read in-between the lines from this and past entrys. My friend, if you have read till this sentence of the usually heavy and somehow self-centered personal entry, i wish you a Happy New Year and a blessed 2007 to come. May our friendship continue to grow.
