YSunday, June 24, 2007' 9:55 PM
My Country Garden
Highlights of the wk:
Last wk in fact, Chongqing steamboat with the gangster pals followed by swensen's topless 5!
Last wk in fact, Chongqing steamboat with the gangster pals followed by swensen's topless 5!
Cheer up my friend, this is only temporary!
And on Sat, vegetarian steamboat with the 4-1 absent = 3 gd frens!
It was really an eye opener seeing all types of flours in diff shapes and forms. you wouldnt believe the sausage was made from flour, it just looked too real..
Damn it, shlda took some photos! Thanks for having us over Laysh!
Labels: life
YSunday, June 03, 2007' 11:28 PM
My Country Garden
FOr the cartel gangsterS!To the Pro: Happy Liberation day, welcome to the life of a SMUGGER. ya'd better be lovin it! and THANKS for dinner!
To Kwok: Bon Voyage and have a swell time in Europe! you know you will! dont forget to have some of their hot chocolate when u're there, it is DELICIOUS!
We shall meet up again when our traveller is back from her journey to the west..
Labels: life
YTuesday, May 22, 2007' 9:07 PM
My Country Garden
The whole world is interning at suntec this summer i swear!
Walked into bysi today and did not manage to buy anything... yet again.. that means i havent bought any new clothes in a month, which is depressing to say the least. and i actually found some of the stuffs in bysi to be expensive?! think that is an indication of my very poor financial health.. will mr.paycheck pls arrive sooner?!
and mr. xy msned yesterday saying he saw me on mondo magic singapore.
.......
like wtf seriously? wasnt that one year ago???? will cheapofart AXN stop replaying that damned episode on tv?! it's not like we agreed to be caught on film as idiots gaping at 2 street magicians' cheap tricks. so not glam at all. this is not how i imagine myself to appear as on tv =(
Walked into bysi today and did not manage to buy anything... yet again.. that means i havent bought any new clothes in a month, which is depressing to say the least. and i actually found some of the stuffs in bysi to be expensive?! think that is an indication of my very poor financial health.. will mr.paycheck pls arrive sooner?!
and mr. xy msned yesterday saying he saw me on mondo magic singapore.
.......
like wtf seriously? wasnt that one year ago???? will cheapofart AXN stop replaying that damned episode on tv?! it's not like we agreed to be caught on film as idiots gaping at 2 street magicians' cheap tricks. so not glam at all. this is not how i imagine myself to appear as on tv =(
Labels: life
YSaturday, May 12, 2007' 12:06 PM
My Country Garden
My last 1 and 1/2 wks of internship has been moving at a very fast pace. It's not smthng one would realise on the job, but upon looking back, it's amazing how much grounds we've covered in such a short span of time. (actually maybe not THAT short, a typical day is from 8-7!)
Till date, we've done: country and industry analysis, all sorts of valuations for different types of companies, attended results briefing, and we've also attended interview with management so as to gain a better understanding of their company.
we're currently working on generating a full report on this particular company we've been assigned. it really is quite an exciting opportunity for us as our work will be eventually published as an analyst report.
next wk, i'll be sent to china to cover a soon-to-be-launched IPO in Sgp. It's not a big company of course, but it should provide some valuable learning experience. was reluctant to take it up intitally, cuz i feel unprepared for such an assignment at this early stage of the internship. (worse yet, i'll be the only one representing my company for the trip)
but since this would be my first time travelling alone, it is a good test to gauge my independence and corporate survival skills. Lets hope i can endure the cheena food (gosh, do i really have to eat those kinda food again....) and the bai jiu, if any is to be had at all (the cheena managers are reputed to be really HARDCORE drinkers).
hope to return (on my bday) with an interesting story to make a report. But for now, it's time to chew through some 200+ pages of prospectus... T_T
Have a great wkend all!
Till date, we've done: country and industry analysis, all sorts of valuations for different types of companies, attended results briefing, and we've also attended interview with management so as to gain a better understanding of their company.
we're currently working on generating a full report on this particular company we've been assigned. it really is quite an exciting opportunity for us as our work will be eventually published as an analyst report.
next wk, i'll be sent to china to cover a soon-to-be-launched IPO in Sgp. It's not a big company of course, but it should provide some valuable learning experience. was reluctant to take it up intitally, cuz i feel unprepared for such an assignment at this early stage of the internship. (worse yet, i'll be the only one representing my company for the trip)
but since this would be my first time travelling alone, it is a good test to gauge my independence and corporate survival skills. Lets hope i can endure the cheena food (gosh, do i really have to eat those kinda food again....) and the bai jiu, if any is to be had at all (the cheena managers are reputed to be really HARDCORE drinkers).
hope to return (on my bday) with an interesting story to make a report. But for now, it's time to chew through some 200+ pages of prospectus... T_T
Have a great wkend all!
Labels: life
YSunday, May 06, 2007' 9:32 PM
My Country Garden
Cartel Gangster Outing aka belated bday outing for aloha-act-kawaii-elaine-who-was-miraculously-able-to-meet-us-over-wkend-cuz-her-bf-was-in-camp
Siao one.. we actually stayed like 4 hrs at cartel (duh!) stuffing our faces into free bread and asking qian bian wen da ti.. but tt was some hilarious shit and we all had fun didnt we! actually hor, following the menu revamp and removal of svc charge.. realised the portion for baked marcoroni actually became smaller! but it tasted better..
Pro and Elaine
Us gals
Elaine with her seafood combo - upon knowing we were giving her a belated bday treat, she kinda like went for the erm more expensive item on the menu
Siao one.. we actually stayed like 4 hrs at cartel (duh!) stuffing our faces into free bread and asking qian bian wen da ti.. but tt was some hilarious shit and we all had fun didnt we! actually hor, following the menu revamp and removal of svc charge.. realised the portion for baked marcoroni actually became smaller! but it tasted better..
Pro and ElaineUs gals
Elaine with her seafood combo - upon knowing we were giving her a belated bday treat, she kinda like went for the erm more expensive item on the menuKwok and i being spastic as usual, this time with cartel bread.
Pang pro finally enlightened with regards to the purpose of an eyelash curler
A short session of retail therapy ensued, and it was a fun-filled afternoon no doubt.. next meeting will be like on.. *AHEM AHEM AHEM*. RIGHT?!
*******
Phantom of the Opera
It was my 2nd time watching this opera, afterall, the phantom did come to town some 10yrs ago. (was in pri sch back den)
To be honest, the production this time wasnt all that fantastic. in fact, it kinda disappointed. for one, the arrangement of the music wasnt up to standard. i kinda expected more from "the phantom of the opera" because it was the centre piece of the musical. somehow, it just lacked GUSTO. it couldnt create the effect of 'the phantom is coming!!!' like it did in the previous production. my fave piece "point of no return" was executed in a rather weak fashion too. sigh..
the performance by the actor who played Raoul was rather unconvincing. Even if he really did love and care for Christine, it just wasnt coming through man.
The saving grace of the musical had to be the stage costumes and props. they looked magnificent and the whole chandelier crashing scene was just mind blowing. we couldnt figure how they managed to move the props around with such great precision.. was really quite amazing in that aspect.
also, the pieces "prima donna" and "masquerade" held up pretty well too...
jacky and i were wondering whats wrong with the music till we zoomed in on the orchestra and guess wad.. the conductor was a female, so that made her a conductress.. not sound too discriminating against my own gender, but somehow a conductress doesnt seem as impressive as a conductor. and yea, the orchestra for the night was just alright. not bad, but not fantastic either.
and finally, the phantom and christine. well, they had pretty good vocals and the phantom was probably better.. so thank gawd because operas can suck big time if the leading characters cant deliver their tunes as well as they shld..
the ending - one major gripe we had was how the phantom just disappeared ala david copperfield style and the show ended abruptly. that was just so odd.. thought maybe they could have at least tied it back to the opening where people were bidding for the remaining pieces of the opera house. at least it would been more fitting.
but overall, it was an okay production.. shld watch it lar, because this is prolly one of the more affordable musicals that will come to town. it is supposedly at the lower brow of those higher end operas.
Labels: life
YTuesday, May 01, 2007' 9:02 PM
My Country Garden
All stars gathering~
Loads of fun food and booze. Duh!
Kudos to WC for introducing the 'minimizer' game.. the guys ended up drinking so much, do they suck or suck? lolol kidding la! girls are just smarter that's all.. lol.
think my seat had gd fengshui cuz kept getting aces to undercut deb! hahahaha hilarious!! she was like, "fill it to the brim! to the brim!" but ended up downing 1/2 the glass herself >.< id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059577775763464322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0dhFjtr7BmbRqHvSCOjWxYSewQ5v9mBGNmMOKTOvsNMgLpcmvM_NVhbWsou7poL-5UpOcoouAGQvTyc_omFypB5Q4wHAcVq3z7N87mnvEZ76UjWu43xHrP2DFWblssU6y9oo/s400/collage1.jpg" border="0">
Loads of fun food and booze. Duh!
Kudos to WC for introducing the 'minimizer' game.. the guys ended up drinking so much, do they suck or suck? lolol kidding la! girls are just smarter that's all.. lol.
think my seat had gd fengshui cuz kept getting aces to undercut deb! hahahaha hilarious!! she was like, "fill it to the brim! to the brim!" but ended up downing 1/2 the glass herself >.< id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059577775763464322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0dhFjtr7BmbRqHvSCOjWxYSewQ5v9mBGNmMOKTOvsNMgLpcmvM_NVhbWsou7poL-5UpOcoouAGQvTyc_omFypB5Q4wHAcVq3z7N87mnvEZ76UjWu43xHrP2DFWblssU6y9oo/s400/collage1.jpg" border="0">
the aftermath - 4 jugs of magaritas and 1 jug of beer
*******
been packing away my stuffs into big boxes in view of the ongoing renovation.. which is really becoming such a chore with my perfectly french manicured nails.. decided that a manicure was necessary to portray the image of a neatly groomed intern on the first day of work.. which starts tmr.. but my nails have already suffered some blemishes.. bummerz =(
okay, lets move on, before this post gets too bimbotic.
packing stuffs is fun in a way because you start to fish out a lot of rotten stuffs from the shelves and cupboard which you forgot once existed.. like sistah's magazines for example, which were kept for over a year.. she had forgotten abt it entirely too! (as evident from last nite's reaction)
and then comes the nostalgic part when you start fishing out old letters and cards written to you by your frens.. twas these letters that kept frenships going strong these years.. also, it was through one of these letters that i was rudely reminded that ying and laysh formed the Genius Gang (omg, they actually trademarked the name!) in a feeble attempt to overthrow the almighty Team Wocket. Note the word FEEBLE.
Labels: life
YSunday, April 29, 2007' 9:27 PM
My Country Garden
Back from my cruise trip to Redang.. Wish i wasnt though, it was such a fanatastic trip~ the food, the skies, the sea, the BEACH! It is true that Redang's beach is very much like paradise.. or at least how i'd imagine paradise to be.. lol. almost lah.
Okay pls try to understand that most photos show only one person in it cuz there were only the two of us so if it isnt me taking pics for you den it is u for me.. it's hard getting random passerbys to photo us..
Our first photo! before boarding the ship
Checking out the ship
Food was a MAJOR part of the entire trip. We spent 8 hrs a day eating.. okay, that's exaggerated but we had like 7 meals a day (2x breakfast, 2x lunch, 2x dinner and 1x supper) which explains all the wt i'm putting on. there was a gd mix of western and chinese food though we were slightly preferred the latter.
but the best food we had on board was during the BBQ party, damn the steak was succulent! everything that night just tasted great. see 2nd pic in last row.
View on the deck with absolutely NO LAND in sight. it was a breathtaking sight, and with the wind blowing in your hair... it was intoxicating
On the deck at night, the wind was so strong i had difficulty walking forward..
andden the next day... time for redang!
Laguna resort - finally.. at a beach where the waters were CLEAR..
actually, we went snorkelling at another beach prior to visting the laguna resort. we were swimming among the fishes and corals. somehow, i discovered a phobia i didnt know i had before.. phobia of fishes! totally freaked out went we swam into a large school of fish.. started kicking frantically at them to keep them away. dear me. and cuz we couldnt talk under water, at times jky couldnt tell if i was making 'noises' because i was excited or because i was afraid of the fish.. haha.
anyhow. fishes still look better from behind the glass!
nice waters
the last sunset we saw on board the ship... somehow the picture doesnt seem to capture the actual beauty of it.. but couldnt be bothered to take more pics cuz the BBQ party was ongoing and like mans.. wth would ya give up precious time with good food..
a very kawaii little girl spotted on board!
the skies, as captured throughout the entire trip...
on the last day we went to the jacuzzi to chill before checking out.. loved the warm water..
the last picture on board.. sadz..
so now i'm back to my shithole called home.. it's shit these days cuz we're undergoing some major renovation and the house is in a complete mess.. GAH. wad a stark contrast to the lovely holiday i just had.
will be starting internship soon.. kinda dreading it because it is gonna be an extremely competitive environment whereby all the interns will be fighting it out to impress the head..
ugh. lets hope i'll survive the 3 months unscath. =(
anyhow.. all stars meeting tmr for dinner and drinks! can't wait to catch up with everybody!
Labels: life
YSunday, April 15, 2007' 11:15 PM
My Country Garden
Obviously, depressing news come first.
Corp reporting was more screwed up than expected.. it HAD to be our last paper, and it left a very very bad taste in our mouths after that. Like deb says, you juz got hit by a car but you dunno how you died.
To me, a screwed up exam used to be one which you screwed up enough to not be able to get a B+, but knowing that you'll be able to pass at the very least. After corp reporting though, a thorough review of such a definition is in order.
Screwed up for KTA's paper simply means: wtf just happened?! and honestly, there is no telling whether you'll pass for sure. hmmm well yea maybe, if KTA was kind enough to moderate the entire cohort upwards by say... 40%??
The 3 hrs + 15mins (he extended the duration by 15mins at the very last moment, after seeing how so many of us couldnt finish the paper) was completely hellish.. you see numbers swimming around but you dunno where they came from or where they should go. your consolidated balance SHIT just wouldnt balance. it is SHIT all rite, and you decide to skip the whole damn question altogether.
enough balance shit though.
joke of the day:
SMU student to NTU / NUS student: What? you mean to tell me after i finish my exams, go for holiday and come back and you're still not done with exams?!?!
haha.. okay, enough suanning.. now for the post exam celebrations!
Cheesecake cafe at siglap - they have the best cheesecakes on the island.. like seriously. In the pic are american cheesecake, oreo cheesecake and tiramisu. however, it is very inconvenient to get there if you do not drive..
cheesecakes werent satisfying enough for supper.. so we headed down to brewerkz for the buffalo wings. danny was there too, how time flies, hadnt realize it's been 2 yrs since he graduated?!
Pacific coffee at vivocity.. it has alfresco seating at the back that overlooks sentosa.. great view and great coffee.. no wonder kwok likes that place so much.. all the best for exams babe! know whats the perrrrfect plan to chill after ur exams?? shop all the boutiques downstairs andden head up to chill at PCC when our legs are tired.. kekeke
move over mango (their clothes aint that great this season) and make way for river island! damn.. they DO have some really nice dresses.. seriously liked this very much, but it costs like $105, decided to forgo it in the end so that i can buy two zara dresses for $120...
okay, this is seriously the best recommendation i've got to offer you so far.. Robataya Yoyogi at robertson quay.. it's a japanese grill restaurant that serves superb food at super affordable prices.. we had the set dinner (available during wkdays lunchtime and sunday night only) and as you can see, the set jacky and i ordered consisted of sashimi, tofu, jap fishcake, grilled beef, gohan, yasai miso soup and macha icecream.. (i actually ate the vegetables that came in the soup so that's very telling okie..) anyhow, the entire set costs only 15.50.. damn worth it rite? i think mom's planning to go there again VERY SOON.. :D
Corp reporting was more screwed up than expected.. it HAD to be our last paper, and it left a very very bad taste in our mouths after that. Like deb says, you juz got hit by a car but you dunno how you died.
To me, a screwed up exam used to be one which you screwed up enough to not be able to get a B+, but knowing that you'll be able to pass at the very least. After corp reporting though, a thorough review of such a definition is in order.
Screwed up for KTA's paper simply means: wtf just happened?! and honestly, there is no telling whether you'll pass for sure. hmmm well yea maybe, if KTA was kind enough to moderate the entire cohort upwards by say... 40%??
The 3 hrs + 15mins (he extended the duration by 15mins at the very last moment, after seeing how so many of us couldnt finish the paper) was completely hellish.. you see numbers swimming around but you dunno where they came from or where they should go. your consolidated balance SHIT just wouldnt balance. it is SHIT all rite, and you decide to skip the whole damn question altogether.
enough balance shit though.
joke of the day:
SMU student to NTU / NUS student: What? you mean to tell me after i finish my exams, go for holiday and come back and you're still not done with exams?!?!
haha.. okay, enough suanning.. now for the post exam celebrations!
Cheesecake cafe at siglap - they have the best cheesecakes on the island.. like seriously. In the pic are american cheesecake, oreo cheesecake and tiramisu. however, it is very inconvenient to get there if you do not drive..
cheesecakes werent satisfying enough for supper.. so we headed down to brewerkz for the buffalo wings. danny was there too, how time flies, hadnt realize it's been 2 yrs since he graduated?!
Pacific coffee at vivocity.. it has alfresco seating at the back that overlooks sentosa.. great view and great coffee.. no wonder kwok likes that place so much.. all the best for exams babe! know whats the perrrrfect plan to chill after ur exams?? shop all the boutiques downstairs andden head up to chill at PCC when our legs are tired.. kekeke
move over mango (their clothes aint that great this season) and make way for river island! damn.. they DO have some really nice dresses.. seriously liked this very much, but it costs like $105, decided to forgo it in the end so that i can buy two zara dresses for $120...
okay, this is seriously the best recommendation i've got to offer you so far.. Robataya Yoyogi at robertson quay.. it's a japanese grill restaurant that serves superb food at super affordable prices.. we had the set dinner (available during wkdays lunchtime and sunday night only) and as you can see, the set jacky and i ordered consisted of sashimi, tofu, jap fishcake, grilled beef, gohan, yasai miso soup and macha icecream.. (i actually ate the vegetables that came in the soup so that's very telling okie..) anyhow, the entire set costs only 15.50.. damn worth it rite? i think mom's planning to go there again VERY SOON.. :D
But for now, am really looking forward to the redang cruise next week..
Labels: life
YTuesday, April 10, 2007' 11:40 PM
My Country Garden
Some pretty upsetting news
HANOI, Vietnam - A fugitive mouse delayed the departure of a Japan-bound airliner for more than four hours Sunday as technicians hunted down the potential threat, airline officials said.
A passenger spotted the white mouse running on the floor of the plane on an initial leg of the Vietnam Airlines flight, prompting a hunt by about a dozen technicians worried that it could chew through a vital wire.
The mouse was found in a food storage area and the Boeing 777 was cleared for takeoff, said Tran Tien Dung, head of the airline's air safety department.
"This is the first time we experienced something like this," airline spokesman Nguyen Chan said.
Chan said Vietnamese aviation authorities suspect that a passenger brought the mouse on board in hand luggage.
Dung said the airline will caution passengers and increase baggage checks to make sure that no live animals are brought on board.
The mouse was killed, Dung said.
***
READ THE LAST SENTENCE AGAINF*ck you babarians! You DO NOT kill mice understand?! Mice are sacred! UGH.
Labels: life
YSunday, April 08, 2007' 7:00 PM
My Country Garden
Randomness
Happy Easter to all! It's a joyous occasion to rejoice!
Esp if you've been abstaining from meat for the entire period of Lent (which lasted 40 days).. A self-proclaimed carnivore has been seriously deprived. And that is why... we decided to have a big MEAT feast when Easter arrives! Had this warped idea of wanting to sink my teeth into a piece of meat at 12 midnight! And decided to do the cooking myself since both parents are holidaying in Guangzhou (damn, i wanna be there too.. eff the exams! miss the shopping + eating there.. mom says they did alot of shopping for us, hope it's true!)
So anyway, this is me, sinking my teeth into a piece of steak at 12 midnight. Don't worry, it aint as barbaric as it sounds!
My chicken fillet prepared with my own recipe! I think it is the thigh meat, had to remove the bones before marinating.. and that is such a chore. But i think the chicken was better than the steak.. the skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy..
The steak! Marinated with Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce.. a pity it wasnt as gd as the chicken because it was well-done.. steak tastes better medium-well...
And the left-over pizzas from Mo's class party.. But i do think my cooking beats the pizza! haha oops. Maybe i shld get jacky to do a testimonial for me.. muahahaha.
Happy Easter to all! It's a joyous occasion to rejoice!
Esp if you've been abstaining from meat for the entire period of Lent (which lasted 40 days).. A self-proclaimed carnivore has been seriously deprived. And that is why... we decided to have a big MEAT feast when Easter arrives! Had this warped idea of wanting to sink my teeth into a piece of meat at 12 midnight! And decided to do the cooking myself since both parents are holidaying in Guangzhou (damn, i wanna be there too.. eff the exams! miss the shopping + eating there.. mom says they did alot of shopping for us, hope it's true!)
So anyway, this is me, sinking my teeth into a piece of steak at 12 midnight. Don't worry, it aint as barbaric as it sounds!
My chicken fillet prepared with my own recipe! I think it is the thigh meat, had to remove the bones before marinating.. and that is such a chore. But i think the chicken was better than the steak.. the skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy..
The steak! Marinated with Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce.. a pity it wasnt as gd as the chicken because it was well-done.. steak tastes better medium-well...
And the left-over pizzas from Mo's class party.. But i do think my cooking beats the pizza! haha oops. Maybe i shld get jacky to do a testimonial for me.. muahahaha.
And allow me to introduce you this... the miracle medicine for all those pseudo-muggers (ppl who study only 1 wk b4 the exams, i.e, ppl like me) out there.. becuz we're not used to all those late night muggings, and we tend to fall asleep while rushing through 13 wks worth of readings.. this is exactly what we need! liquid warheads! it is super sour.. i recommend only two drops per consumption.. >.< [okay, well.. credit goes to Mo... ]
*******
Attended the wedding of an ex-colleague yesterday.. guess what! she actually managed to invite the head of commod to her wedding.. power sia.. but thanks to my short-term memory, i forgot what his name was..
the one question that ressonated in our heads for the rest of the day: do angmohs give angbaos at local weddings?
looking back, i think the ppl whom i worked with during my previous internship were really a nice bunch.. they're the kind of ppl you can click with..
YThursday, April 05, 2007' 10:53 PM
My Country Garden
4th april is such a cursed day.
it was the day i heard the sound of death (or so Uncle W. puts it).. and before i could do any damage control.. the system hanged. that was the last i saw of my OS.. and all the documents (and pictures! and music files!) stored in it.
So i gave CIT (our sch's IT help desk) a call
Guy: Hello, S**M*U.
Me: Hi, is this the CIT?
Guy: Hm, sort of..
Me: ?? Er okay. I've got a problem with my notebook.. the hard disk crashed..
Guy: Notebook model?
Me: X31
Guy: Describe the problem?
Me: Was working on a document when the hard disk starting making a lot of noise. I tried to back up my stuffs using an external disk drive but before i could do that the system hang. when i restarted my com they prompted that operating system was not found. i extracted the hard disk and connected to my desktop, but it could not be read.
Guy: Okay. I've got bad news for you..
Me: ya?
Guy: your hard disk is dead. (he had to pause for that dramatic effect) all your data is gone. (pause again) but the good news is, if it is under warranty you can come and replace it
Me: how can i do a data recovery?
Guy: You can do it at the professionals.. But it will cost you a bomb.
Yea, tell me about it, my exams are in one week's time. how fucked up can this get! but this is LIFE! things ALWAYS happen at the wrong time. but gotta move on and make do with my handicap.
anyhow this incident has increased my distrust and dislike for technology more than ever. gonna get a few more external hard disks and back up every damn shit fr now on.
it was the day i heard the sound of death (or so Uncle W. puts it).. and before i could do any damage control.. the system hanged. that was the last i saw of my OS.. and all the documents (and pictures! and music files!) stored in it.
So i gave CIT (our sch's IT help desk) a call
Guy: Hello, S**M*U.
Me: Hi, is this the CIT?
Guy: Hm, sort of..
Me: ?? Er okay. I've got a problem with my notebook.. the hard disk crashed..
Guy: Notebook model?
Me: X31
Guy: Describe the problem?
Me: Was working on a document when the hard disk starting making a lot of noise. I tried to back up my stuffs using an external disk drive but before i could do that the system hang. when i restarted my com they prompted that operating system was not found. i extracted the hard disk and connected to my desktop, but it could not be read.
Guy: Okay. I've got bad news for you..
Me: ya?
Guy: your hard disk is dead. (he had to pause for that dramatic effect) all your data is gone. (pause again) but the good news is, if it is under warranty you can come and replace it
Me: how can i do a data recovery?
Guy: You can do it at the professionals.. But it will cost you a bomb.
Yea, tell me about it, my exams are in one week's time. how fucked up can this get! but this is LIFE! things ALWAYS happen at the wrong time. but gotta move on and make do with my handicap.
anyhow this incident has increased my distrust and dislike for technology more than ever. gonna get a few more external hard disks and back up every damn shit fr now on.
Labels: life
YSunday, April 01, 2007' 4:20 PM
My Country Garden
Singapore Fashion Festival 2007! Topshop UNIQUE fashion show @ taka. Tickets went at $10 each.
Us! Before the fashion show.. Despite having bought tickets, we still needed to queue to get in! You shld have seen how fashionably other people were dressed.
At the fashion show! Well, the models looked a bit glum. The fashion wasnt all too great.. (or perhaps we had high expectations) And the models didnt wear bras! According to Kwok, this is the industry practice.. Cuz the models arent supposed to be wearing any stuffs fr other brands except the one they were modelling for.. I still maintain that clothes look prettier if you wear it with undergarment.. Anyway, most of the models were prolly size 0.. And yep, they had legs that went on forever... and the size of which were prolly that of our arms.. sobz. But we had pretty gd seats yea!
The fashion industry insiders... The guy in yellow looks vaguely familiar. think he's a celebrity make up artist or something.. not too sure though. the sunglasses were like... redundant? cuz the place was already dim as it is.. just to add to the 'dao' factor bah. We saw denise keller too.. Kwok thinks her features looked harsher in real life than in ads..
After the fashion show, we had to queue (yes, again) to get into topshop for their preview party. but it was all worth it, because each ticket came with a $10 voucher, and there was a 20% discount on regular items as well.. On top of which they served some finger food and drinks. But the highlight was prolly the free polaroids we get to take.. and the goodie bag! each goodie bag had a men's belt from topman, and a scarf from topshop.. not too bad for $10 eh!
Then we had dinner @ modesto. hot topic for the night is...... job search yet again.. [gd luck for monday!!] still do not feel the sense of urgency they were getting. graduating one sem later makes a hell lot of difference huh? poor Deb was missing fr the pics as she had to go back to sch for lesson on a FRIDAY NITE.. the life of a smoo-sian.. one word - SUCKS.
our dinner! the pizza was free anyway.. hoho. freak, am becoming the typical s'porean who likes everything that's FOC. but 'twas a gd meal..
What i did with the topshop voucher. new sunglass! and erm, a new top. Oh yea, that's the scarf from the goodie bag!
*******
Hope you guys had fun too at the show! Lets go for another next yr.. keke..
At the very least, we had SOME LIFE during wk13. we're not that loserish yea! That said, it's back to churning report. gah.
Goodbye LIFE! See you again in two weeks!
Labels: life
YSunday, March 25, 2007' 9:07 PM
My Country Garden
Top 10 signs that Week 13 (Hell week) is here again:
1. You start eating nutella by the spoons out of the jar
2. You finish half a can of Pringles in a single seating while churning out reports
3. Your long overdue mid-term test is two days away but you havent done a shit abt it
4. You dread logging into your email account because you know there's something in there that requires your action
5. Sleeping is equivalent to hibernation mode
6. You forget to watch Ugly Betty (i've got much to say abt this show, but that will come later!)
7. You forget to watch Desperate Housewives
8. You have charkwayteow, hokkien mee, fried carrot cake, orh lua and stingray for dinner more frequently. other times you crave for double portion tonkutsu ramen..
9. Exams are two weeks away but all you can think about are the trips and concerts that will follow and whether you'll land an internship this summer
10. You cant find anything else better to blog abt other than week 13!
Labels: life
YSaturday, March 24, 2007' 12:55 AM
My Country Garden
BEHOLD
My first Country Garden series.. Enjoy!
(p/s: i'm starting to like my samsung camera)
It's time to put some meaning to a name.
Country-garden is not a blog address conjured out of thin air.
It represents a dream.
The dream of owning a beautiful garden in the country side.
A dream inspired by, yes, an air freshener which i used to have in my toilet.
The spray can had a thomas kinkade-like picture on it, one that depicted a cosy cottage in the country side, and it was accompanied by the most beautiful garden one can ever hope to have! imagine sun beams gently carassing the flowers... and the grass swaying gently with the wind.. it was just. so. beautiful...
the scent of the air freshener was almost addictive.. (it smelled better than toilet anyway) and the name of the scent was... you guessed it - country garden
though country garden may be just a name of an air freshener, the name seemed to stick throughout the years, somehow.
obviously, my rather lame description does much injustice to the actual pic or the scent itself. you've got to see it for urself to feel inspired, but unfortunately, glade has since changed the design of the spray can.
nevertheless, if i've inspired you to want to rush out to the nearest supermarket to grab a country garden air freshener.. you may want to check out this site..
Labels: life
YMonday, March 19, 2007' 10:30 AM
My Country Garden
It's time to check out the picture quality of Samsung.
Overall, here are the major gripes i have with the camera:
1) Absence of OIS
2) Night shots with flash (subjects over exposed, background under exposed)
3) Exposure is adjusted in units of -/+ 0.5 stop, instead of 1/3
4) Lack of full manual control
Picasa does a lousy cropping of the pics, so here's one of the actual ones:
i think the colors come out quite nicely for day shots. it isnt quite as saturated as fuji's, but pleasant enough for the eye. good for travel photos!
Outing with the 6-2=4 gd frens! We were supposed to go on a grad trip together, but for some reason or another, everyone's making their own plans (cuz we all grad at diff times) so that plan fell through..
We found a new place for ramen at robertson quay. it's really good, and we like this better than miharu. the tonkutsu ramen had like.. a super powerful soup base.. and the noodle texture is just very different. the seafood curry rice was gd too..
Labels: life
