License? What license?

Okay I think this has got to be one of the most lameass of jokes I could possibly crack.

We were at the kopithiam eating breakfast on sunday morning, and the TV was showing trailers of James Bond's newest movie: Casino Royale.

The conversation goes like this:

Doong: Eh, how come Daniu never drive here huh? He got license one or not?

Chink Egg: Yeah, let's ask him...

*Daniu comes in with his food and sits down*

Chink Egg: Eh Daniu you got license or not?

Daniu: Huh? What license??

Me: Simi license? License to kill lah! *hums James bond music while gesturing my hands pointed like a gun to shoot at Daniu*

The whole table erupts in laughter. Sometimes, I can be such a total idiot. I laughed so hard while at the same time admiring the ingenuity of my very creative mind. =P

Eat my shorts!

Let's start a fcuk-the-engineers campaign, shall we?

On another note, this is a happy day, lets not spoil it! =D

Can't let it out

I've had a few close shaves.

But none has come closer... until today...

Fortunately, I came out of it none the worse.

But the worst thing is I couldn't tell her about it.

Writing about it, at least gave me an outlet to let it out.

I feel much better now.

A lesson learnt, and I'm always a student of the roads.

Greetings from Starbucks@Gentings

Hiho peeps, this is da' man bloggin' all da' way up here from gentings highland.

Why the hell am I in Malaysia anyways? Cos da' man's gotta be attending ma' cousin's wedding in KL. And he's only 24! OMFG! Try getting married in Singapore at the age of 24 and I can assure you of mounting debts you need to clear until your hair turns grey. Unless your dad's Khoo Teck Puat and he left you a slice of his fortunes of cos. =D

I was supposed to start clearing my leave from wednesday but due to something that cropped up I had to cancel my leave for that day to come back to work. Might as well, cos' I would have been very bothered by that niggling feeling of leaving something half done and going on leave. Or maybe I've slowly become a closet workaholic?! The truth is, I switched on my business handphone 24/7 and even brought along my laptop in case I need to do some work from my computer. Shucks. This isn't good. When you're on leave, you're supposed to cut off all contact from work and just relax. If not, don't take leave at all lah. It's to help you recharge, not keep on continuing draining your energy!

Today's the 2nd last day I'll be spending with my relatives. This wedding could not have come at a better time to mend the bridges and reacquaint myself with them. It has been helluva many years since I last saw some of them. Most of my cousins have already grown up so fast I did not even have time to blink my eyes. The sad part is, we've grown distant from each other. No, correction. I was never close to them in the first place, which is quite sad considering the very fact that we're cousins. Being the only relative that resides in Singapore poses a huge obstacle. The problem's not just me alone. My family aren't that close to them as much as we wanted to. The distance and communication played a huge part, not to mention our way of life are very much different also.

In Ipoh where most of my mum's relatives (i.e my uncles and aunties) still live in the same village, maybe just a few units or roads down from each other, their lifestyle are pretty much rural kampung style - not in the derogatory sense, but there's a gulf between us city dwellers in Singapore. Everyone has this wish to improve their lives - sending their kids to school, get good grades, go to university and get a good job so that they can support the parents in old age. In Singapore, the thinking is similar - but we demand more from our kids and we desire more materialistic needs. There is practically no room for failure.

But in Ipoh, they're more forgiving - as long they can get a decent job and carry out their filial duties, it is more than enough. Having said that, this comparison cannot be considered fair. Urban city life and rural life is just so different. While urban dwellers want to have the simplicity and serenity of rural lifestyles, rural dwellers want to possess the material wealth and glamour associated with living in cities. We can never come to an equal ground.

I had also requested to visit my grandma's grave in Ipoh. I feel I should at least pay her a long overdue visit. She passed away in '92 when I was still in primary school. My memories were of her lavishing her grandchildren in Singapore with toys and gifts whenever she dropped by to visit us in Singapore. I think maybe she loved us more than she loved some of her grandchildren back in Ipoh. Spending a few quiet minutes in front of her is the very least I could do, and I hope she's smiling down on us from heaven, giving her blessings in whatever we do.

There's also my auntie (my mum's younger sister) in KL whom I wanted to pay a visit. When she passed away suddenly 2 years ago due to some complication in the disease she was already carrying, I had wanted to rush over to pay my last respects but my mum told me it wasn't needed.

Till today, I still felt bad over it. All along I've been looking for a chance to do that. Even though I come to KL quite frequently, I find it uncomfortable broaching this topic for fear of upsetting my cousin who I feared still haven't really gotten over her shock death. But I found the courage to do so through my mum, but I also felt at the same time it would be quite inauspicious to go praying to the deceased and at the same time, to celebrate the wedding of this particular cousin.

In the end, we didn't go due to some religious beliefs that prevented any of us to visit her on any other days except qing ming. This auntie of mine was like most of relatives in Ipoh, unassuming and very hospitable. She was particularly generous and won't pull the stops in going out of her way to make us feel at home. Like my grandma, she left an impression in me and I had to reciprocate that kindness.

Tomorrow's gonna be the wedding ceremony for my cousin, and its almost 3am here with me and my trusty laptop in Starbucks@Gentings. I shall call it a day for now. Will be back in Singapore monday morning darling, and I miss you lots! =P

Damai Pri Sch - The Reunion

So the day has finally come. It was to be the day of the reunion... for the folks that used to study in Damai Primary School at Bedok Reservoir Road. Me, being the organizer for this event, had to do a bit of homework and preparation work to make sure everything went smoothly.

Initially, I had managed to get about 10 people who's confirmed attending. But in the end, only a grand total of 7 turned up. 3 had flown me aeroplane, but its OK. I believe more people will try to make it the next time round. Maybe they really had something on, I hope. =D

We met at city hall MRT control station, then proceed to have dinner at Marche Suntec - the only place I could think of to accomodate the expected crowd of 10 people. LOL. Did I tell you how much I hated the food at Marche? It was decent at best, but the concept and layout of the restaurant makes for an ideal gathering place. So I had to settle for them, unless I can find an alternative or somebody has a suggestion on a nice cosy place big enough to accomodate a bigger turnout next time.

Anyway most important thing is not the food, but about the catching up of yester years. Like how much everybody has changed in terms of looks or personality, schools they went to after PSLE before finally ending up with the company they're working for now. Of course we also progress beyond the usual boring questions and brought back memories of the things we used to do in primary school, and incidents that made us laugh. From teachers to 'outstanding' individuals, we didn't hold back on the stories each of us had to tell, and it was an encouraging sign that everyone had more things in common than I thought previously. Thus, it didn't turn out that awkwardly.

We also recalled all the names that we could think of, and wrote them down on a notebook, along with details on how this particular person could be reached for the next gathering. We are expecting a better turnout and this inaugural meeting is just a stepping stone for bigger things to come.

Lastly, a parting shot for the peeps who turned up!

The rose among the thorns...

From left: Sherwin, Junzhong, James (Malau), Jingyu, Zhennan, Jianhe, ME!

I know it looks damn pathetic for a "reunion" - but trust me, its gonna get better... and BIGGER!

Bike road trip JB Sat 7th OCT '06

Freakin' shagged, been riding from 7:30am in the morning till I reached home at about 10:30pm. More than 12 hours man!!!

For this trip, we covered JB in Malaysia. All the way up to Batu Pahat, while visiting Pulai and Pontian, riding along the western coast of Malaysia.

First stop at the Pulai waterfall, I already kenna accident. Bakero! Can't blame me, first time go touring... somemore is ride up the hills and when I had to stop on a slope, I made the mistake of turning my handlebar. Combined with the laws of gravity, my bike toppled on her left and luckily, it didn't crush my legs. Only God knows how my legs were saved. I escaped with a few grazes on my ankle and some impact I think, cos' my legs were feeling abit weird. Damn, what a noob I am... I will learn from this mistake!

Waterfall!

Thanks to Lawrence and gang, who quickly rushed to my aid. They helped me push my bike up, and managed to start my bike after a while because of the spilled petrol. My bike was also lucky to escape with a few scratches despite hitting the tarmac. Just some on the left side mirror, handle bar balancer and of cos', the crash bar, which prevented some major damage to the engine. But being the perfectionist that I am, I will definitely wanna have them replaced or at least touched-up.

Then we had lunch at a coffee shop in Pontian (?). Food was not bad, and it was like dirt cheap. Regret I never ate more, cos later have to eat the sucky A&W in JB for dinner. After eating at A&W's, I finally understand why they don't have any more outlets in Singapore. LMAO!!! In anycase, it was because I'm sooo hungry that's why I gobbled them all up.

Next up, was a looong ride to Batu Pahat, where we decided to drop by the damn lok cok Wet World. There wasn't a single soul there except for the keepers of the place. We bought some drinks to replenish ourselves, took a short rest before deciding on our next course of action.

The riders taking time out

We also visited some hotspring in JB. Nothing much to shout about that place. Looks pretty run-down and is patronised by few people, mostly from nearby kampungs I think. Along the way, we witnessed the aftermath of a deadly car collision. Shattered glass everywhere along with keropoks that were meant for the festive season; the car was crushed beyond recognition and the lorry lying in the drain was only slightly damaged. Most sickening sight, I reckon.

The guys enjoying the hotspring...

By this time, we had covered almost 300km worth of road. The journey home via the North South highway was pretty smooth once we turned out from the busy towns. For the first time, I'm able to whack my bike to its max capacity... well, close to it anyways. I went up to 175km/h on my speedo, almost clearing the meter. The roar of the engine and the onrushing windblast made the ride almost orgasmic, save for the loud noise generated inside the helmet. Which is a lucky thing I wore my full face nolan, cos' I suppose it helped buffers the noise by a good measure.

I finally reached home at about 10:30pm. At this time I was almost half dead; my legs were aching, my hands trembling from clutching in/throttling and my head was throbbing from wearing the helmet for so bleedy long. But it was fun nevertheless. I'm already looking forward to the next trip.

Till the next time!

Road trip on my bikey!!!

Wooo~

In almost about 5 hr's time, I will get up to shit in the morning, and then its off to across the causeway to JB on ma spankin' cool bike! Waahh, first virgin trip up north... damn excited man! Will be joining like-minded enthusiasts exploring different places in JB, I just hope the weather will be good tomorrow man! That's all I'm asking!

I will bring my trusty lumix along, shall post some interesting pictures for all to see!

さようなら！

Today marks a new beginning for me, under my new boss, who's a nice guy also... blessed I am. But I won't forget my previous boss who personally handpicked me from among the score of candidates vying for this elusive position of mine. Of all people, he had to pick a greenhorn, me - a total freshie who has no prior experience and qualification to take up this post. I could have never hoped for a better job than this. One that allows me a large degree of freedom and the opportunity to travel around. In other words, my dream job man. And I have a great boss who's willing to teach me the ropes, and fool around when its time to let your hair down. He's almost like a friend to me, but I still respect him cos' he's my boss afterall. So when I first heard he was going to be posted back to Japan, I was sad naturally.

And it culminated to an end last saturday. But before that, we had one bomb of a dinner at Pan Pacific hotel for 2 table-fuls of us, including the logistics and technical members - solely organized by me of course. I had chosen the restaurant because he can see the downtown area and city lights for the last time, at least for now. Hehe. On saturday, after I sent my bike for her regular maintenance (damn the rain!), I went to pick up both my bosses, old and new for dinner. After which, we proceed to drive down ECP en route to Changi airport. How he must have had mixed feelings when driving down memory lane, this very familiar route he used to take while going on frequent business trips...

So when it was time for him to board the plane, the few of us (I was the only local) who bothered to come to send him off bade farewell for the last time. We exchanged friendly banter and wished him all the best to his career in Japan. For me, I gave him a firm shake of his hands and told him I will see him in Japan soon and asked him to remember to take care of me when he becomes ぶちょう (department head). With a laugh of course... not that easy in corporate Japan yeah? And his words to me was to show him I could raise my game to another level and in his words "show me your power". LOL.

As he trudges his weary frame through the immigrations, I could tell that those were with heavy steps that he took to leave paradise that is Singapore back to the drudgery of routine life in busy Tokyo downtown. One can only imagine how he is feeling at that point in time.

Soon after clearing the immigrations, he turned back to look at us for one last time. With a wave of his hands, and an almost expressionless face that is associated with all Kyushuu Japanese guys (strong and silent type according to him), he said goodbye... almost alien to me considering the fact that he's always had that funny rubbery look on his face.

Real men don't shed tears, I managed to bottle up my feelings well but I could feel that lump in my throat for having lost a good boss whom I could talk to with almost about anything.

Thank you for everything.

ほんとうにありがとうございました、堀さん！

Something is missing...

Life is good... but something is missing...

The more you look for it, the more it distances itself from you...

And then it found you.

You suddenly long for it, and you have this feeling of emptiness that cannot be patched up.

Your world has turned topsy curvy, so has your life.

Now you have something to look forward to, and it keeps you going.

To a goal, to a dream...

The question is, will it materialize?

Believe.

Back from New Delhi, India

Didn't have the time to put up some pics from India... well, here they are...

Typical traffic condition in Delhi. Jammed packed with cars and people weaving in and out of traffic when it comes to a stop. Even if there was a pedestrian crossing I couldn't tell at all!

Bikes, bikes and lotsa bikes!!! all below 200cc ones... sianzzz...

Busy downtown in Delhi. People, people and more people! Its a population crisis in India! And the cars! Bo cheng hu!!! What lane markings?? Bo lane markings lah, ka ki kia lah, mai kia si li eh dai ji!

My room at Shangri-La hotel. Hotels in India are the most expensive in the world. Prices range from US$150 to US$400 (!?) per night. Crazy money man, but if you compare to a similar hotel elsewhere in the world, the standard in India is definitely better.

The people's eyebrow (O_o)

OMFG... I can't believe I did it. I finally got my bushy eyebrows trimmed! The metrosexual side of me took over when malau called and jio-ed me to go do it. Actually, we had been talking abt it for quite some time, but when he suddenly called me one saturday afternoon. I just had to do it. Mai tu liao!!! Muahahaha!!!

Curious stares greeted me and malau when we entered this famous beauty saloon in bishan. Seated on the sofas were aunties dressed like they just returned from the wet market, and I could almost imagine them sniggling at us faggoty boys who looks every bit out of place there. We couldn't look at them straight in the face and our faces blushed with embarassment. How we wish there was a hole to swallow us up then. From the faintest of all sound, I could hear whispers... you know the type where auntie #A leans over to auntie #B, covers her mouth and whisper nasty words behind you? Damn irritating can! Don't know what they are saying! Tamade! Maybe they might be picturing us in tutus dancing ballet and laughing for all we know!!!

I nearly wanted to turn to that auntie and scream: "FAT B!TCH!!! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE FOR?? IF ITS FOR SLIMMING, THEN FORGET ABOUT IT YOU LARD BUCKET!!! THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE THAT LORRY-SIZE TYRE OF YOURS IS TO EAT LESS OF THAT OIL LADEN CHAR KWAY TIAO FOR BREAKFAST!!!"

Ok, I made that one up. I won't dare to be so mean cos' I sucha nice guy. =D

Fastforward...

The whole process was quite fast. Apart from the pain during the plucking, it was alright even though I was worried how I would turn out. "我做SALES是靠我这张脸赚口饭吃的LEH...", that I told the beautician who was attending to me. She reply in an equally humourous manner: "我保证你拔了眉毛后前途无量啊!"

Someone kill me please.

Anyways I'm happy now. I don't look like 一眉道长 anymore. Now my eyebrow's shaped like Takeshi Kaneshiro's. Damn yandao loh! ROFL!

India Episode II: Revenge of the tandoori chicken

Okay, an announcement to make... *tap tap microphone*

Me is going to India again from 4th Sept to 7th Sept for business trip. Finally ah, nong time neh' go there liao. Must see how market there is doing. Also to walk walk see see abit lah. Must have time to relax-tsu right? For this period, yeah sorry no lunch appointments for you guys. Limpeh si wey popular one, you know lah. So paiseh hah. Got time one larh. Ok, I was joking there.

So hor, if got daiji can call wa eh handphone. But take note time difference in India, New Delhi hor... don't call me when limpeh di kun hor. Wake up limpeh I damn pek chek and TL one lor. Hehehe...

Anyways, its been a good weekend past. Soccer was good too. So it has come to sunday night again, sian half... but since I'm going to India and won't be back till thurs. This week should pass by pretty fast.

Full of crap

Wah liew, I think I never lao sai so jialat before in my entire lifetime. Somemore damn watery one. I'm like LS-ing 3 to 4 times a day, and I think its a bit too much for my liking, even though I quite enjoy my daily morning shit before I head to work. BUT, this is a different ball game altogether. LOL.

If this carries on, I think I have to be extra cautious about letting out that occasional fart or maybe trying to suppress that irritable sneeze. ROFL. Man, would that be nice? Like crapping your pants and soiling your undies, and just about every last dignity a human being could have? Sheesh.

I had better pop more of those po chai yi pills, they will be my stop gap solution for now... hehehe... I wanna have a good game tomorrow and score lotsa goooaallllsss!!!!

Last but not least, happy birthday to you auntie Mag! Congrats on turning a year older but continue to spew out all those crappy stuffs we all love to hear from you! Btw, today you wear blue for the first time look so feminine worrzzz! HAHAHA... don't always wear black lah ok?

Mayhem in Manila

Just came back from my first business trip to Manila. Damn, it was one helluva experience, gastronomically-wise, that is.

I was greeted by J and C at the airport, and proceed to hop onto his Honda CRV to visit potential customers in lovely Philippines. J cuts a funny character; warm and approachable and it wasn't long before we engaged in some less serious banter that wasn't work related. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to share with you guys, besides the hospitality of the Filippino people in general. It was THE food, people! Fear Factor style!!!

I ate food I never imagined I would ever even touch in my entire lifetime. But I did. And I'm so darn proud of myself.

First up, the locals call it "Baloot". It is actually boiled eggs, duck eggs to be precise... but with the freakin' foetus inside!!! OMFGWTFBBQ!!! J laughed wryly before he asked C to go get the baloots from a roadside stall. 4 eggs for like 10 pesos (S$0.30). I gulped in helplessness before C got back into the car with the eggs in hand.

J showed me how to eat it: Find the hollow tip of the egg, crack it, peel off the shell and there you have it - foetus, egg yolk, and the soup! Holy mother of Jesus Christ Virgin Mary, save me please!!! You're supposed to drink the "soup" or "chup" as we hokkiens call it. Damn did I hesitate for a good 5 minutes before I slurped that shit and lap it up to prove I'm not a wussy!!!

Hey, it wasn't that bad lah, taste like half boiled egg leh... Then, you have to peel off some more shell to reveal the *gasp* foetus!!! Wah liew, sick man!!!! poor little duckie cramped into the egg, fully developed features and get this: with FEATHERS loh!!!! Wah piang eh, I nearly wanna puke. I looked up at J in utter bewilderment, half expecting him to say: "Aww Kenny, I was only joking... you don't really have to eat this... Here, let me help you!" YEAH RIGHT, DREAM ON! And how the locals eat this stuff is that after downing the "chup", they slurped and swallowed the damn foetus into your mouth in one shot!!! Then they eat the egg yolk with blood veins running across them!!!

But hor, limpeh me didn't chicken out, go other country must try their "delicacy" mah. Cannot always eat chicken and pork, damn boring and sian one leh! Actually, I also don't know when my taste buds suddenly become so adventurous... HAHAHAHA... partly is because I don't wanna lau kwee lah. Scarly say all Singaporeans are humji! TMD! *angry* But I only drink finish the "chup" and eat a little bit of the blood vein yolk and the poor duckie head. SICK!!!

Second is the pig blood loh. Nabeh, J order quite a few local dishes during dinner and then without telling me what it is, I try them all and I kenna tricked!!! And hor, the funny part is, he ask me choose which dish I like best, and I chose the pig blood cooked with pork cubes!!! Cos' I really thought it tasted not bad, even though it looked nasty with its black color sauce!!! WTF!!! I'm damn stupid can!!? Now I bought one packet come back Singapore, got people come my house I can cook for them! Damn easy! Pour out the pig blood, heat it and stir fry with some meat and VOILA! Serves at least 2! Who wanna try???

Last one... finally, escargot, or should I say snails??! J told me it tasted really good, and lumped a few shells on my plate for me. Armed with a toothpick, and plenty of hesitation, I dig out the nasty little shit inside the shell and plug it into my mouth, at the same time consoling myself nothing can be worse than the sick foetus shit I ate. Dang! Machiam like SAI loh! I really mean it, taste like shit can?!! I'm sooo never gonna put another of this shit into my mouth again!!!!

*Puuiii puuuiiiii puuuiiiiiii!!!*

Bold'Or Honda CB400 Showpiece

Peeps, I'm pleased to showcase my lovely bike... the Honda CB400 Bold'Or! I spent half a day polish, and also give her a mini makeover, just for this photoshoot. Hahaha... but more to come in future eh... hehe...

Side profile... my bike plate no. haven't huat in 4D yet... -_-"

Look at the cool new golden wings on the tank bra! It set me back by $50 just for that... *heart song but pocket pain*

MUGEN SPORTS... Yeah, damn beng I know... those decals you can only find on zhnged ah beng cars but I was merely trying to copy, or rather modify the Mugen concept model of the bold'Or!!!

DAMN CHIO LAH!!! Those killer LED lights!!! WoOtZzz!!!

I think I just need a few more MUGEN decals in the right places... and the look is complete!!!

Okie, thats all for now folks!