^.-

I was trying to draw a face with 'raised eyebrows'..wasn't tat successful..eh?

There're a few things over the past couple of weeks that made me raise my eyebrows..those i can share here, i will..

TV Progs - Well, i'm of the few who survives on free-to-air tv..it could be cos i dun really watch tv(or maybe tats why i dun watch tv) but anyway, what i happen to chance upon the other day really made me wonder the standard of tv programmes these days..

i switched on the ang moh channel..and for a while, i thought i was on the wrong channel..cos what i saw was some makan programme(every other prog is food-related these days)..nothing wrong with tat..wat made me really went 'huh?!' was that it was actually a local cheena prog dubbed in ang moh..oh my..this is such a lazy way of tv programming! It was shown on prime time too..8pm..oh c'mon..surely the tv station can do better than to dub some cheena prog and show it on ch angmoh? i dun think it was even tat popular on its original channel..

The other thing that made me raised my right eyebrow(yes, i can only do it with the right, not the left..dun ask why)was that, again, i accidentally came across this scene(nothing to do with our local tv station this time): it's a chinese period drama..about this couple lost in the wild(at least this is wat i gathered from the 2 mins i spent watching)..and they're at this god-forsaken place..it's cold..it's snowing..and it has 2 polar bears! The polar bears scene is obviously 'cut & paste' from some natgeo prog..oh my..

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In my job, I dun usually teach children below 7 yrs..it's rather different teaching 3 years old vs 13 years old vs 30 years old..and while i'm ok with kids, i dun see myself as kids-loving as some other people i know..

I just realised how much i 'lowered' my age limit when one of my students kept scratching his backside(seriously!)..i thought he needed the loo so i brought him up to his apt..one look and the mum said, 'must be fussing about his pampers again'..then proceeded to take off his shorts and remove his pampers..for a moment, i was like @.@..

Nuah & nuaher..

Tat's right..i feel myself getting nuah & nuaher..and for me to say this..means i'm really getting nuah..

I keep saying i wanna do this..i wanna da tat..most of the time, i get started on half of them..and of this half, half gets really done..

Just take my blog entries for eg..there's at least a handful entries which i've started..but yet to complete..

And i've not been exercising lately too..yes, i chase after students..but that's hardly 'real' exercise..my visible-only-to-myself abs are threatening to disappear too..

Aiyo..do something ZXL..do something..

Just some random notes..

Had a badminton game with wei the other day..nothing 'special' mah..since wei was once a school player and these days i play badminton quite regularly..despite these 2 facts and the fact that we've known each other half our lives..it was the FIRST time we're playing together..

Anyway..not bad pal, just a couple more sessions and i'm sure you'll regain some of your past 'form'..but first, how about getting a racket of your own?


Anyway..yes, i've completed my modules..just one more final essay to go before i receive my dip..

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Another thing contributing to my free time for the past month or so..it's been raining..it's not good for me..esp it tends to rain in the late afternoons when i usually teach..bad for my pockets..

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I guess it's one thing that's more random than me - the weather..

..Cont'd..

We were sitting down at home..having the dinner 'da baoed' earlier on..it was peng cai..never had peng cai in Sg before, so i can't compare..?

Halfway through the dinner..i 'discovered' something..it was the first time i'm meeting big fish in macau(big fish is of cos, fish's big sister), who was previously based in UK ..i've meet her many times..ok, maybe it's not tat many times(just as many times as i went over to UK, which is like 3 or 4 x)..but i've spent quite a bit of time with her..considering i was staying in her house for almost half a year..the last time i met her was when she came over to Sg last yr..but for me to 'see' her in macau..it's a first..

Overheard the weather forecast on tv..'today is the lowest temp in this year's winter so far and temp is set to drop even further over the next days'..great, every time i come over to macau, i experienced a new 'low'..how fantastic..and all i brought over was a couple of long sleeves and my beloved timberland 'lightweight' jacket(which never failed to amuse their entire family everytime - 'is that flimsy piece of cloth your winterwear? you gotta be kidding..you'll freeze!') Of cos, my sheepish nod will then activate the entire family to dig out a 'decent' winter jacket for me(it doesn't help that none of them are of similar build as me)..such hospitality..sigh..

I stepped out of the shower in my usual 'sleepwear'..and 3 heads turned to stare at me..middle fish couldn't take it anymore and burst out 'i haven't seen anyone in short sleeve in the longest time' @_@

Some messages before we continue with macau trip..

Just when i thought..wah..twink has really changed..no, she hasn't doubled in size(yet)..but her taste(in food lah) has taken a dramatic change..

From the time i knew her, pasta dishes have always been a nono on her menu..but the other day, while we were out searching for lunch, she told me she felt like eating pasta..and eat she did..finishing one whole serving(i used to 'sweep' her leftovers)

More shockingly, she revealed she recently has cravings for veg and even admitted to buying a salad bowl and finishing it all by herself..coming from someone who used to reject anything 'green' or 'white'..

Ya, so while food tastes may change, other things in her life remain constant..like the no of times she visits the loo..

She came over to my place the other day..and the first & last thing she did was to go to the loo..and we're talking about a timeframe of 45 mins..?! This 'peeing' routine was later 'reinforced' when we were out for dinner, she had to pee before we went into a restaurant and immediately after we left the restaurant..and again before we embarked on our journey home..

Well i guess some things change..some things don't..

My trip..

I was still thinking if i should blog about my macau trip afterall..since it's not exactly a terribly exciting place and most people would have been 'bored' by my macau trip(s)..

But of cos, my good ole buddy wei sent me a 'gentle reminder' on my promised entry..so here goes..


I started planning for this trip, like really early..i started hunting for air tics back in Nov..tat's a good 3 months before intended travel date..to me, tat's almost like half a lifetime..but then again, maybe that's a good thing, because i read this article somewhere that says the 'anticipation high' of a holiday in fact, outweighs the actual 'holiday high'..(this is in line with pooh's theory - see blog header). So this effectively means i got to enjoy the 'anticipation high' for close to 3 months..good deal right?


Even before i flew off, i had my adrenalin flowing quite a bit liao..no thanks to pandan cake..yes, that green fluffy cake that we hardly pay any attention to it..my hosts had requested for some food from Sg and pandan cake tops that list(yes, it's really a very-much-requested-for food among foreigners)


When i reached the airport, i went to look for my 'all-in-one' Bengawan Solo..alas, the outlet in T1 is undergoing reno! my pandan cake? my kueh lapis?


Stay calm..i told myself..check the directory..heaved a sigh of relief when i realised there's another BS at T3..without tat, i cheonged off to T3..but alas, i had neglected one detail..i was flying off on the 3rd day of CNY(which was still a PH)..imagine my horror when the sales asst told me, there's no pandan cake available cos the bakers were still on holiday..?!! How how? Boh bian..i decided to buy every other item that has the slightest hint of 'pandan' flavour..ondeh ondeh, some green kueh, more green kueh...hoping to make up for this 'loss'..


I was flying budget and had intended to grab some food before boarding..but this hunt for pandan cake left me with little precious time for a meal(okok, i reached the ariport a bit later than expected but i had travelled half the island before coming k)..and i only managed to gobble down half a bowl of mee rebus before dashing off to my gate, leaving a no-doubt-by-now-very-amused someone behind to enjoy her mee siam and teh peng..on her own..


3.5 hours later, i arrived..stepped out of the airport and immediately regretted not bringing my power jacket..it was a lowly 10 degrees..and i was still in my 'Sg clothes'..(damn the stupid weather forecast at changi..17 - 19 degrees?!)


Mobile rang..'oi, we're going to pick up dinner before coming to fetch u, u wait a bit ok?'..this was my welcome to macau *.*

Me & Macau

Of cos, half the world would have known by now that i'd just came back from macau..i realise there're some misconceptions about me going to macau, so let me set the record straight..

I do not ALWAYS go to macau. And i certainly do not go every year. In fact when i checked my passport, the last time i went was in 2005. That's a good 5 years ago..i know of many frens who make trips to Thailand, Hong Kong, US, etc on a much more regular basis..

I do NOT travel to hong kong and make day trips to macau. I do the reverse; i go to macau and then, make day trips to hong kong, and only occasionally too. Effectively, i spend much much more time in macau than hong kong(a fact that baffles some people)

I do NOT go to the casinos in macau..ok, this is no longer true..since i made an 'exception' this year and stepped into a casino in macau for the first time..though this is somewhat a 'push' rather than a 'pull' factor. Afterall, Singapore has its own casino now..and i grew curious about how does a casino actually look like..BUT with a casino in which i will most likely lose $$(with the $100 entrance levy)..so no thank you, i had my fill of casinos this time round..spending one whole day hopping between some 10 casinos(oh, and i WON $$ too..haha)

I do NOT have a fantastic grasp of Cantonese. Yes, of cos i speak enough Cantonese to get by..but mostly i have 'translators' with me or i will simply speak english. It can be rather amusing to see how we communicate - i speak english, she speaks cantonese(another fact that baffles people)..we communicate on 'parallel and yet, identical' planes. We went for a documentary film at the macau science centre and at the end of the 45mins, all i knew was that the Russians and the Americans were the first 2 countries that sent space missions to the moon..all other technical details were simply 'lost in translation' . Conversational cantonese ok lah, proper technical cantonese..you might as well be speaking russian to me..

Another case in point: i had gone and made a pair of glasses over there and when i tried on my new glasses, i felt a bit giddy(this happens when the power/degree is not quite right)..fish's conclusion: i must have given the wrong answers when the optician went through the standard questions with me..hmm..which is highly likely since i answered 'ok' to most of his questions, whether or not i understood what he's asking..and even if i did, i was too lazy to formulate my replies in cantonese..@_@

There are many things i can blog about my trip..but i think i shall save it for the next entry..it's been a really good trip..with lotsa discoveries..well..i won't be saying 'i can't wait to go back again' ..afterall, good things come to those who can wait..