do people actually make such clothes and actually sell them for a profit?
or the image consultant just took a scissors ...... would a regular guy wear this?...
Monday, December 26, 2005
Winter Fashion
do people actually make such clothes and actually sell them for a profit?
or the image consultant just took a scissors ...... would a regular guy wear this?...
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Xmas eve present
zooming past 2005 and now we are finally at xmas! so fast! wonder how did time fly this year...?? this yr prob is the shortest year that i have experienced so far.....perhaps its mainly a working year....just work work work.....not such a personally fulfilling year like 2004.
was glad that big boss announced that half day will be given on fri....dunno why so hard to say out , must wait until 1pm to announce....anyway its a real thrill to hear that....immediately packed bags and zoom off! alamak...absolutely no mood to work since beg of the week. had a nice dinner at ritz carlton....first time dining there...no wonder there is so much hype about the place....the service is indeed excellent. the buffet dinner was also of excellent value. from sashimi to south indian to fat sea cucumbers/mushrooms to fluffy -on- the -spot souffles ...hmm...great
must aim to stay there one night! more service staff shld really learn from pple like them. simple eg....i asked where is ladies...instead of just pointing to toilet, the staff lead me all the way there! aiyo....its not really far but made the experience there memorable.
exchanged gifts with zhen qing gang.....and played simple baby photo game. i could guess all correct! i think i could be quite gifted in tracing pple's traits and looks....hehe heh....the babies were unrecognisable but one look at background of parents, cousins etc...can guess who. i gave a dead giveaway photo of mine with cheesy grin and my SPG-tan looking round face around age 6....some could still guess it was another person! weird...
one fren said she got 15mth AWS! everyone went green with envy...but hey...dun believe there is such free lunch in the world.
today .... walked around and saw big sign at Times , 20% off! happy...went in to browse and found...omg! on the cover of Newsweek!!!! - aniki !!!! wow...looks damm nice....a mature looking pic but definitely collectable and worth just glancing at for a smile...haha...grabbed it immediately....$7.50...ok no prob 20%.....walked around a little and saw fine print on discount poster....discount ONLY for members.
siow! i wonder how many members they had...cuz nobody rushing to pay.....sigh...i know how much mark up these book sellers get....dumb lah...i bet they could have made more sales if 20% is open to all! ponder for a while....now i have to pay $7.5 for a piece of paper which is aniki's face with the title Newsweek on top.....heck...pay lah. xmas eve.
the cashier was a malay lady with tudung....the moment i handed her the mag...i was shocked...she just exclaimed ..." omg!! (and started shaking her head and breathing heavily...haha) its aniki jin!...aiyooo...so handsome...etc....hey u got see his latest movie or not?".....
"yeah i saw", feeling happy that she felt the same way...."how ah"....
i said its ok, romantic story etc...worth just watching him .....the she went further "hey u remember his old movies? ...last time one?"
"yes, those 10 yrs ago one huh? army one lah...."
" ah...yah....remember nicky wu etc etc..."
haha this lady knows her chinese idol stuff! cute. need more pple like this around.
and she is malay. friendly....felt happy paying for the mag.
Love the quote from a reporter fr 8 Days: "The former Prada poster boy is tall, lanky (skinny, almost), and has a face put together by anime artistes and God on a VERY generous day."
agree totally.
she was also really funny to say that she was nervous before the interview cuz she really want him to like her. it was an unprofessional thing to say but she just couldnt help it. as long he doesnt hate her, thats good enough for her. haha
Sunday, November 13, 2005
design edge
attended the Design Edge expo last Thurs and was happy to discover a new group.
They are from HK and they are called - Pixel Toy. Quite a cheesy sounding name i thot but their music did impress me.
basically its just 2 persons, a guy using his lap top and an electric guitar and a female vocalist. both are young but their music is really creative and they sound great LIVE! many interesting electronic sounds and arrangements....gives u a nice surreal feeling. the lead singer got a nice sweet sounding vocal too. overall they are rather cool. their songs are both in cantonese and mandarin. check out their stuff:
www.pixeltoy.org
the expo was really quite small but boast rather big names from the latest design scene. toy creators, street and urban design houses ....from all over the world. hope future expos will expand to a bigger scale. there were lots of design students from HK and Thailand...i noticed they could all dress well. and dress cool for that matter. esp the gals....apparently many of these design gals can groom themselves really well, they had excellent make up technique like those u see on magazines and they wear nice clothes and accessories. but then again maybe they are rich or not they wouldnt fly over...haha
i also saw a spore community of cool people that day, not really a lot but at least some that u see that are more alternative and different from the masses. think as long the govt continue to promote design and such art events, spore has quite a bright future ahead for the arts.
already we have creative people like Zing and Leslie Kee who made it big overseas. hope more can follow.
They are from HK and they are called - Pixel Toy. Quite a cheesy sounding name i thot but their music did impress me.
basically its just 2 persons, a guy using his lap top and an electric guitar and a female vocalist. both are young but their music is really creative and they sound great LIVE! many interesting electronic sounds and arrangements....gives u a nice surreal feeling. the lead singer got a nice sweet sounding vocal too. overall they are rather cool. their songs are both in cantonese and mandarin. check out their stuff:
www.pixeltoy.org
the expo was really quite small but boast rather big names from the latest design scene. toy creators, street and urban design houses ....from all over the world. hope future expos will expand to a bigger scale. there were lots of design students from HK and Thailand...i noticed they could all dress well. and dress cool for that matter. esp the gals....apparently many of these design gals can groom themselves really well, they had excellent make up technique like those u see on magazines and they wear nice clothes and accessories. but then again maybe they are rich or not they wouldnt fly over...haha
i also saw a spore community of cool people that day, not really a lot but at least some that u see that are more alternative and different from the masses. think as long the govt continue to promote design and such art events, spore has quite a bright future ahead for the arts.
already we have creative people like Zing and Leslie Kee who made it big overseas. hope more can follow.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Formula
Hooray! another public holiday today....!! this week is the "take 3 days Get 9 days off" week in spore. 2 public holidays fall on tues and thurs. so being singaporeans, lots of pple have prob been planning their holiday plans for this "value week" since march? haha...actually only 2 person in my office are making use of this special week for holidays and leave. yeah, it does sounds likea good deal but u know taking leave in a popular time frame is sort of different from taking leave on a normal working season. its like, everywhere will be crowded, lots of pple taking leave at the same time, going on popular tours etc and it "feels" everything is in a rush. just like weekends, its offday but somehow i dun feel relaxed as say, taking a day off during a weekday to stay at home or just go around spore. that is turly bliss as everything is more quiet, even my home...everyone is out, shopping malls are less crowded, east coast is more serene....can cycle without bumping into those grrr...in-line skaters!
on the tues PH, had a yummy dim sum lunch at west mall Mayim resturant. fren got a $111 voucher so we ate until nearly burst. but the food is really not bad. the q for the resturant was madness. at 2.30pm, the q was still like 10 + persons. frankly there isnt much good and consistent mid range cantonese restaurants in spore. always crystal jade lah. hope this mayim can expand.
i also prob is poorer financially as i hate to shop during sales or when there are lots of pple. sure u can geta good buy paying less but the chaos and rush of it all make the whole shopping experience terrible!! it is a true luxury to shop at your own pace and discover many beautiful things to buy. feels exciting.
the best time to shop gotta be change of season for clothes and collection...thats were new inspiration and fresh stuff comes along. got a friend, who is really good at going thru sales at metro, mango etc tec...she is married with 2 kids so she feels she got the o-ba-san traits already (only 32 though) , cutting coupons for discounts ...but i think she saves a lot and still manage to get some reasonably trendy clothes.
i think i can seldom do that, cuz no patience and hate q-ing for fitting roooms, cashier. but maybe when u need to save $$, this will naturally come in.
spore is of course never as updated as HK in terms of trends as there isnt much of a demand for fashion and a little high end clothes here. lets face it, to look up to date , you really need to invest. there is nothing like a copy of a DKNY belt and the real thing. its just different and everyone have the eyes to see it. even the ah -sohs in any market. one look at someone who invest, they will know its "hou liao" (good stuff"). the material, colours, finsihings all are different.
and good clothes does give u some confidence.
anyway, the whole culture doesnt really exist that much here, so most feel its ok to dress down sometimes....haha. but i feel we must also try to put some effort when we can, esp when we can afford it. dun always have to buy value for money things. what is value anyway.
saw the full Madonna MV of Hung Up on tv today. dancing along to it ! hee hee...cool stuff, disco era of the 80s. her music somehow just makes u move naturally...dunno why. would like to meet her someday but i think she doesnt have a good impression of spore ....since expression is sort of supressed in certain ways. oh well, maybe one day i will visit London and bump into her somewhere. she is just prob everything that i am not!! haha.
also heard some samples of the latest Jay Choy album "Nov's chopin" yest. aiyoo....sounds kinda boring. he attempts many ballads but his singing is terrible. jsut cant feel anything romantic or moving. the musical arrangements are good though. but i think he shld stick to rapping or some hop hop stuff.....until he polish his singing. i am sure he can sing better than that but maybe he just want his trademark mumble there. have a feeling this album will bomb. haha...but with the kids out there having not much good choices nowadays ...prob there will still be a profits for jay. still think his first album is the best. it was something very innovative and simple but classic. until today, pple long for songs from his first album. the follow ups were ok, some good tracks here and there but definitely formulamatic (..er spelling looks funny).... but what to do, jay cant work alone for his own interest, have to please record companies and maybe some big time advertisers too.
same for movies too, attended a talk by HK director Chen Ke Xing at the national library. he is the director for wonderful films like "Tian Mi Mi" (Comrades: Almost a Love Story) and "Jin zhi Yu Ye" (He's a Woman, She's a Man) and now coming out with 'Perhaps Love' starring china to actress Zhou Xun and Aniki, jacky cheung and this korean actor from jewel in the palace (dunno name but sure hot now lah). he admited that the glory days of HK movies are over (80s to mid 90s) ...the cause could be many reasons...bad script, acting, actors etc etc...and now he as a director also gotta keep up with the times. with china opening up, many director have to consider movies with elements that can cater to the china audiences too. something they can relate to. thats why many collaborations now with china producers for drams serials and movies. afterall, the market is like 1 billion or more. u cannot ignore it....although the buy fakes DVDs or see from computers but they still are watching yr movie. he said SEA is still quite supportive of HK films but the mkt is small.
from china, hopefully, more returns and this can be used to do more good films.
he said not many pple associate much with HK movies now as upcoming movie markets like Korea and Thailand...are simply not keen to watch hk movies with a hk cast.
that's why over the years he have moved to work with mainland china, thai and korean movie pple.
i think the downfall of HK movie industry is simply....many movies are simply crappy with some funny script. not to put the youngers down but their acting cant be compared with the more serious actors of the past. many of them focus a lot on their image and packaging that anything else is sometime overtaken. as for actors elsewhere, they take their craft seriously....maybe HK moves too fast...one movie can be made in er..a month?
but anyway, he he still proud to say that HK movie industry is not also truly over as after all he is a HK director! haha....just that his movies doesnt have much HK elements in it. he does love HK a lot and is always promoting HK (as he didnt get to spend too much time in HK during his youth)....and is very proud of Golden Chicken.
it was a did extremely well in HK, making box office record but still the movie lost money. it was too hk culture based.
Thumbs up to those who thot of golden chicken too as its very relective of golden era of HK seen thru the eyes of a happy-go-lucky prostitute.
esp in part 2, where jacky cheung plays a enthusiatic hawker in a nite market selling cheap watches in the 80s...i was really transported back to that era! the excitement i had when i first visited HK in 1984 walking thru the busy streets and ladies mkt... the city is just full of life!...i remeber my dad bought one of those hello kitty digital watches for me at ladies mkt...it was cheap, nice and NOT available in Spore!! and looks er..real. haha...god i was happy.
i still rate hk as my #1 holiday place...nothing can replace the special vibe in HK. u just cant explain it. after 1997, a lot of ups and downs for the place and pple were not partying as much as before but until now...no city is quite like it.
on the tues PH, had a yummy dim sum lunch at west mall Mayim resturant. fren got a $111 voucher so we ate until nearly burst. but the food is really not bad. the q for the resturant was madness. at 2.30pm, the q was still like 10 + persons. frankly there isnt much good and consistent mid range cantonese restaurants in spore. always crystal jade lah. hope this mayim can expand.
i also prob is poorer financially as i hate to shop during sales or when there are lots of pple. sure u can geta good buy paying less but the chaos and rush of it all make the whole shopping experience terrible!! it is a true luxury to shop at your own pace and discover many beautiful things to buy. feels exciting.
the best time to shop gotta be change of season for clothes and collection...thats were new inspiration and fresh stuff comes along. got a friend, who is really good at going thru sales at metro, mango etc tec...she is married with 2 kids so she feels she got the o-ba-san traits already (only 32 though) , cutting coupons for discounts ...but i think she saves a lot and still manage to get some reasonably trendy clothes.
i think i can seldom do that, cuz no patience and hate q-ing for fitting roooms, cashier. but maybe when u need to save $$, this will naturally come in.
spore is of course never as updated as HK in terms of trends as there isnt much of a demand for fashion and a little high end clothes here. lets face it, to look up to date , you really need to invest. there is nothing like a copy of a DKNY belt and the real thing. its just different and everyone have the eyes to see it. even the ah -sohs in any market. one look at someone who invest, they will know its "hou liao" (good stuff"). the material, colours, finsihings all are different.
and good clothes does give u some confidence.
anyway, the whole culture doesnt really exist that much here, so most feel its ok to dress down sometimes....haha. but i feel we must also try to put some effort when we can, esp when we can afford it. dun always have to buy value for money things. what is value anyway.
saw the full Madonna MV of Hung Up on tv today. dancing along to it ! hee hee...cool stuff, disco era of the 80s. her music somehow just makes u move naturally...dunno why. would like to meet her someday but i think she doesnt have a good impression of spore ....since expression is sort of supressed in certain ways. oh well, maybe one day i will visit London and bump into her somewhere. she is just prob everything that i am not!! haha.
also heard some samples of the latest Jay Choy album "Nov's chopin" yest. aiyoo....sounds kinda boring. he attempts many ballads but his singing is terrible. jsut cant feel anything romantic or moving. the musical arrangements are good though. but i think he shld stick to rapping or some hop hop stuff.....until he polish his singing. i am sure he can sing better than that but maybe he just want his trademark mumble there. have a feeling this album will bomb. haha...but with the kids out there having not much good choices nowadays ...prob there will still be a profits for jay. still think his first album is the best. it was something very innovative and simple but classic. until today, pple long for songs from his first album. the follow ups were ok, some good tracks here and there but definitely formulamatic (..er spelling looks funny).... but what to do, jay cant work alone for his own interest, have to please record companies and maybe some big time advertisers too.
same for movies too, attended a talk by HK director Chen Ke Xing at the national library. he is the director for wonderful films like "Tian Mi Mi" (Comrades: Almost a Love Story) and "Jin zhi Yu Ye" (He's a Woman, She's a Man) and now coming out with 'Perhaps Love' starring china to actress Zhou Xun and Aniki, jacky cheung and this korean actor from jewel in the palace (dunno name but sure hot now lah). he admited that the glory days of HK movies are over (80s to mid 90s) ...the cause could be many reasons...bad script, acting, actors etc etc...and now he as a director also gotta keep up with the times. with china opening up, many director have to consider movies with elements that can cater to the china audiences too. something they can relate to. thats why many collaborations now with china producers for drams serials and movies. afterall, the market is like 1 billion or more. u cannot ignore it....although the buy fakes DVDs or see from computers but they still are watching yr movie. he said SEA is still quite supportive of HK films but the mkt is small.
from china, hopefully, more returns and this can be used to do more good films.
he said not many pple associate much with HK movies now as upcoming movie markets like Korea and Thailand...are simply not keen to watch hk movies with a hk cast.
that's why over the years he have moved to work with mainland china, thai and korean movie pple.
i think the downfall of HK movie industry is simply....many movies are simply crappy with some funny script. not to put the youngers down but their acting cant be compared with the more serious actors of the past. many of them focus a lot on their image and packaging that anything else is sometime overtaken. as for actors elsewhere, they take their craft seriously....maybe HK moves too fast...one movie can be made in er..a month?
but anyway, he he still proud to say that HK movie industry is not also truly over as after all he is a HK director! haha....just that his movies doesnt have much HK elements in it. he does love HK a lot and is always promoting HK (as he didnt get to spend too much time in HK during his youth)....and is very proud of Golden Chicken.
it was a did extremely well in HK, making box office record but still the movie lost money. it was too hk culture based.
Thumbs up to those who thot of golden chicken too as its very relective of golden era of HK seen thru the eyes of a happy-go-lucky prostitute.
esp in part 2, where jacky cheung plays a enthusiatic hawker in a nite market selling cheap watches in the 80s...i was really transported back to that era! the excitement i had when i first visited HK in 1984 walking thru the busy streets and ladies mkt... the city is just full of life!...i remeber my dad bought one of those hello kitty digital watches for me at ladies mkt...it was cheap, nice and NOT available in Spore!! and looks er..real. haha...god i was happy.
i still rate hk as my #1 holiday place...nothing can replace the special vibe in HK. u just cant explain it. after 1997, a lot of ups and downs for the place and pple were not partying as much as before but until now...no city is quite like it.
Monday, September 05, 2005
why french food is $$$
ah...French food! paris yah....all that refine stuff...now i know why french food is seldom cheap.....cause french cooking is really quite feaking detailed! finally attended a french cooking class last weekend. thot "hey great...next time i can cook something authentic..." but woah....its a lot of work just for a simple 3 course meal! and the ingredients used must be fresh and all created from scratch. quite a lot of work.
thats why the food taste fine.
the chef that taught us used things like fresh vanilla pod and also made his own hollandise sauce (spelling).....u know to make that sauce, you need to reduce white wine vinegar, whisk the mixture over warm water etc ..... over all i can imagine being dead tired after all the preparation and steps. no wonder the chef said he hardly eat at the restaurant cuz after work, its straight to home and sleep!
but the work was worth it esp when pple marvel at the beauty and taste of the food. french cusine is very small in portion but rather rich so, you will be full but not really fat. haha....
and now i know why Olio stopped serving that delicious exclusive french butter with their bread, cause that piece of butter easily cost S$1 a piece! so i guess cost buay tahan liao, have to use Anchor butter. apparently French butter taste nice cause of higher fat content...but i think there is more to that.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Ah-Sa and Ah-Gil
being national day, there are lots of activities and fireworks.....and free concerts. yes, in the world of mando pop nowadyas, free concerts are a common thing for promotions. so bad in tw, that if its a paying concert, nobody be willing to pay a cent to watch a quality show!....
anyway, luckily in spore, its not like that, pple are willing to part with $200 to see some big scale live entertainement, just that dont expect them to get excited of express themseves at the concert ...haha.
one of the free concerts will feature TWINS.....a very popular 2 girl group from HK.
when i first know of them in 2002 during a trip to HK, i thot they were just commercial crap....but its 2005 now and they are still surviving very well. they cant really sing for nuts but the record company has managed to market them so well, that many people find them cute and nice to look at. they are always smiling, wearing nice clothes and posing in pleasing way.
sometimes the x factor is really quite unexplainable. ah sa is not particularly pretty but u wouldnt get sick of her looks. she is so call the cute one. Ah Gil is the pretty one but a bit more reserve sometimes and quieter. but with her beauty she can get away with any sloppy clothes and still look good. just like sammi cheng.
these 2 girls work almost non-stop for 3-4 yrs and are seen almost everyday on the media be it for movies, music, concerts, ads, events etc. and still give you their brighest smile!
there is something about these HK girls that make them look cool. unlike tw female stars, the HK girls can wear as tom boyish as they like, something that covers all their assets and still look like a STAR! tw stars always have to look cute or sexy or the boys wouldnt like them. they just dun have that "qi zhi" (charisma?)
if a tw girl singer comes out wearing a baggy t shirt, cargo pants and sneakers i think that star will not sell.
but hk its different, with nice make up and cool looking hair....everyone can look like a million dollars. for example, there is an ad by mariam yeung on tv showing her skate boarding for a chinese medicine ....she wears a boyish shirt , loose pants with bright purple/red longish sassy hair...and she looks great or cool at least. twins have worn some pretty mis match stuff but still forgivable.
thats the thing about HK, they work very hard and the harder they work, the more energy level they have. the city always has a buzz or vibe around it. a very cosmo place. i have to agree on that, sometimes the more work i have, the more energy i get. and u dun feel like stopping.
but a totally relaxed day would make me even more sleepy.
i guess the marketing people behind twins are prob quite brilliant too....from a typical girl group that i think nothing off to their concert tonight that i am curious to watch! hmmm....power of the media and commercial people nowadays.
anyway, luckily in spore, its not like that, pple are willing to part with $200 to see some big scale live entertainement, just that dont expect them to get excited of express themseves at the concert ...haha.
one of the free concerts will feature TWINS.....a very popular 2 girl group from HK.
when i first know of them in 2002 during a trip to HK, i thot they were just commercial crap....but its 2005 now and they are still surviving very well. they cant really sing for nuts but the record company has managed to market them so well, that many people find them cute and nice to look at. they are always smiling, wearing nice clothes and posing in pleasing way.
sometimes the x factor is really quite unexplainable. ah sa is not particularly pretty but u wouldnt get sick of her looks. she is so call the cute one. Ah Gil is the pretty one but a bit more reserve sometimes and quieter. but with her beauty she can get away with any sloppy clothes and still look good. just like sammi cheng.
these 2 girls work almost non-stop for 3-4 yrs and are seen almost everyday on the media be it for movies, music, concerts, ads, events etc. and still give you their brighest smile!
there is something about these HK girls that make them look cool. unlike tw female stars, the HK girls can wear as tom boyish as they like, something that covers all their assets and still look like a STAR! tw stars always have to look cute or sexy or the boys wouldnt like them. they just dun have that "qi zhi" (charisma?)
if a tw girl singer comes out wearing a baggy t shirt, cargo pants and sneakers i think that star will not sell.
but hk its different, with nice make up and cool looking hair....everyone can look like a million dollars. for example, there is an ad by mariam yeung on tv showing her skate boarding for a chinese medicine ....she wears a boyish shirt , loose pants with bright purple/red longish sassy hair...and she looks great or cool at least. twins have worn some pretty mis match stuff but still forgivable.
thats the thing about HK, they work very hard and the harder they work, the more energy level they have. the city always has a buzz or vibe around it. a very cosmo place. i have to agree on that, sometimes the more work i have, the more energy i get. and u dun feel like stopping.
but a totally relaxed day would make me even more sleepy.
i guess the marketing people behind twins are prob quite brilliant too....from a typical girl group that i think nothing off to their concert tonight that i am curious to watch! hmmm....power of the media and commercial people nowadays.
Its Aug 9 again!
Its Aug 9 again.....the birthday of the country that i was born, bred (is there such a word? haha) and raised. haha. but do i feel any patriotism? well, not really..just enjoy the day off from work. but come to think of it, spore's success today is not easy to come by. but prob most of us take that for granted. there are pros and cons living in this somewhat plastic country.
i went to bintan 3 weeks back, on the ferry back to spore, there was an awful irritating immigration video warning pple about what to declare, what kinda of tax on cigarettes, liquor...and of course death for drugs. its such a typical spore govt style video!! i mean, must they be so lor sor? the presentation of the video was bad too, using a boring powerpoint style format with cut and paste pictures and a damm lousy narrator! prob one of the male custom officer. with that boring layman spore style english. i mean this kind of vid is broadcast to many tourists etc...how can the standard be so bad? further more, the video is about warning pple coming into spore....is that what you call a welcome? before i can visit yr country, already got 20 rules for me to follow. i dunno lah, i felt a bit paiseh to see that. maybe the narration could be a bit softer and friendlier etc.
i can just imagine the boring, maybe local grad guy behind the video talking in his monotonous voice. are they so cheap to just use their own staff for a corp video?
maybe in other countries, the customs wouldnt bother to say too much before u enter the country. some things are obviously illegal ....... spore is so systematic , sometimes overboard...it may be quite efficient but now...its loosing out to many countries cause its boring to be here.
hope in the near future, the govt would be more relaxed on certain things in spore where the people will be able to make more decisions for themselves.
i think for a start, they shld relax a lot on rules for running a business in spore. lots of youths may have brilliant business ideas but its just too tough to implement them. in the end, what do we do? get a job in the office, 9 to 5pm with a fixed salary is the way to go to survive. is that the young people we want in the future to propel the country future in this competitive world?
maybe this will work 20 yrs ago...but not now.
i chat with some of my customers sometimes and they said their local business....the real headache is getting all the approvals and licenses...it could be up to 20 such approvals before any thing can start! of course, there must be a reason for each approval but this is certainly way to cumbersome esp for aspiring and amatuer people who like to try it out for the first time.
oh well, but in anyway, lots of people do say spore is a safe place for living and stuff (yeah...touch wood....terrorism is on the cards).... yes i do agree with them in a way. but we sure gotta also learn from other countries. they also have their strong points...despite higher crime rates or negative media reports....sporeans cant live in a well, watching those patriotic videos and songs on TV and always think we are the best. that would be our downfall.
ok...Happy 40th Birthday Spore!
i am still proud to hold the red passport and wish spore all the best for the future.
i went to bintan 3 weeks back, on the ferry back to spore, there was an awful irritating immigration video warning pple about what to declare, what kinda of tax on cigarettes, liquor...and of course death for drugs. its such a typical spore govt style video!! i mean, must they be so lor sor? the presentation of the video was bad too, using a boring powerpoint style format with cut and paste pictures and a damm lousy narrator! prob one of the male custom officer. with that boring layman spore style english. i mean this kind of vid is broadcast to many tourists etc...how can the standard be so bad? further more, the video is about warning pple coming into spore....is that what you call a welcome? before i can visit yr country, already got 20 rules for me to follow. i dunno lah, i felt a bit paiseh to see that. maybe the narration could be a bit softer and friendlier etc.
i can just imagine the boring, maybe local grad guy behind the video talking in his monotonous voice. are they so cheap to just use their own staff for a corp video?
maybe in other countries, the customs wouldnt bother to say too much before u enter the country. some things are obviously illegal ....... spore is so systematic , sometimes overboard...it may be quite efficient but now...its loosing out to many countries cause its boring to be here.
hope in the near future, the govt would be more relaxed on certain things in spore where the people will be able to make more decisions for themselves.
i think for a start, they shld relax a lot on rules for running a business in spore. lots of youths may have brilliant business ideas but its just too tough to implement them. in the end, what do we do? get a job in the office, 9 to 5pm with a fixed salary is the way to go to survive. is that the young people we want in the future to propel the country future in this competitive world?
maybe this will work 20 yrs ago...but not now.
i chat with some of my customers sometimes and they said their local business....the real headache is getting all the approvals and licenses...it could be up to 20 such approvals before any thing can start! of course, there must be a reason for each approval but this is certainly way to cumbersome esp for aspiring and amatuer people who like to try it out for the first time.
oh well, but in anyway, lots of people do say spore is a safe place for living and stuff (yeah...touch wood....terrorism is on the cards).... yes i do agree with them in a way. but we sure gotta also learn from other countries. they also have their strong points...despite higher crime rates or negative media reports....sporeans cant live in a well, watching those patriotic videos and songs on TV and always think we are the best. that would be our downfall.
ok...Happy 40th Birthday Spore!
i am still proud to hold the red passport and wish spore all the best for the future.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
why why!?? so hard to close a gas deal? everytime its near to conclude, something crops up! sometimes i dun know if i shld give up this industry...really getting boring and stale.
although colleagues are nice, location is good but i dun seem to be acheiving something that is satisfying.
and now the boss says more investors will be coming into spore...that means more investor relations needed...sure that could be fun but not when we are talking about chemical process and other non-interesting topics!
although colleagues are nice, location is good but i dun seem to be acheiving something that is satisfying.
and now the boss says more investors will be coming into spore...that means more investor relations needed...sure that could be fun but not when we are talking about chemical process and other non-interesting topics!
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
cool on the outside
Just started using the oh so cool and sleek Motorola V3 Raz...yep.....the thinnest phone around made out of aircraft aluminum....its definitely nice piece of art ...but function wise ....not so high tech as it looks. wonder why?.....why why does motorola never make smart user freindly phones...why why does motorola make boring old fashion looking phones...i guess its cause they are american?. america never really had many interesting innovative interesting designs...somehow they dun look modern.
now that the V3 looks so good but sadly the functions and technology inside the phone is prob only half of Sony Ericsson.
i could make a wrong judgement as the blue tooth apparently works very well in the v3 and its a quad band phone (i know tri band works in US as well as GSM networks..what about quad band? works in Japan and Korea?...have to find out)....but as you go thru the phone, ..the interface is quite dull, icons everything not like sony's 3D looking icons, memory is only 5mb, sony is 41mb for a model that came out last year, no video capture only video playback (V odd...the latest black version has video capture though)...and one function that i really miss is that during SMS....if a tel number or email add is in the message, SE phones will automatically recognise those numbers and highlight it and prompt you if you want to save it to the phonebook! that was really a useful function!
maybe SE is so cool cause they got most advance mobile phone technology from Japan and the also modern urban looking designes from Sweden. but still the v3's look is a winner..the 256k screen is sharp too. but after a while...the phone is really not that much fun. i guess depends on the user too. SE may be too cutesie for some users ..... i guess prob asians would love SE phones more
check out their websites and compare the feel
www.hellomoto.com
www.sonyericsson.com
now that the V3 looks so good but sadly the functions and technology inside the phone is prob only half of Sony Ericsson.
i could make a wrong judgement as the blue tooth apparently works very well in the v3 and its a quad band phone (i know tri band works in US as well as GSM networks..what about quad band? works in Japan and Korea?...have to find out)....but as you go thru the phone, ..the interface is quite dull, icons everything not like sony's 3D looking icons, memory is only 5mb, sony is 41mb for a model that came out last year, no video capture only video playback (V odd...the latest black version has video capture though)...and one function that i really miss is that during SMS....if a tel number or email add is in the message, SE phones will automatically recognise those numbers and highlight it and prompt you if you want to save it to the phonebook! that was really a useful function!
maybe SE is so cool cause they got most advance mobile phone technology from Japan and the also modern urban looking designes from Sweden. but still the v3's look is a winner..the 256k screen is sharp too. but after a while...the phone is really not that much fun. i guess depends on the user too. SE may be too cutesie for some users ..... i guess prob asians would love SE phones more
check out their websites and compare the feel
www.hellomoto.com
www.sonyericsson.com
Monday, June 13, 2005
never laughed so hard for a long time!
borrowed 3 DVDs from Music Junction to watch over the weekend...was thinking...hey $6 per dvd for 5 days aint that bad...yah i wun get to keep them but so what?! anyway i normally dun watch movies twice. the first feel is always the best. furthermore, the cinema ticket prices are up again! but yet the stupid screens keep getting smaller and smaller ...no logic to really go to cinema now i think unless u want the darkness and the booming sound and echos. haha...
borrowed 2 titles that i always wanted to watch and 1 that i was just curious to watch.
1. Briget jones - the edge of reason
yes! the badly reviewed part 2 of BJ!! heck with the reviews...i had to see it for myself...after all she is cute and so real and that boyfriend of hers...hmm...mark darcy (acted by colin filth..pardon the spelling)...he doesnt look handsome or anything but there is just something special about him. he is a top notch lawyer but super serious and boring ...in a way. but with a heart of gold.
the part 2 wasnt as fresh or funny as the part 1 but i think that is common. this time bridget has a BF! finally...but she feels insecure about the relationship. the movie actually deals with the more settled side of BJ but i guess the masses wanted to see her goof up more. the movie is not without those goofy moments like her ski trip, buying a pregnancy kit using german..haha, taking to her bf on the answering machines and the door intercom at the same time..., staring at him in bed in a silly manner ...rather adorable .... but to follow the success of the first show, the director prob lost some of her ideas and followed the winning formulas from the last show. so a bit made up for some scenes.
the thailand bit was not really needed but one scene was quite meaningful as BJ was complaing to her thai inmates how angry she is with her BF. then the thai girls said, their bfs, make them work the whole day, beat them up, ask for money etc etc...and asked her what nasty things he did to her?...and she could only mumble :er..."fold his underwear in a boring manner "..haha..and he is boring or something...hahah..then she got nothing to say any more and said : yeah, he made me sell drugs too! etc..." so as not to loose face. hugh grant is as usual charming and he continues to have an entertaining and amusing fight with darcy.
overall, ok lah...watchable but dun think there will be part 3.
Now the really hilarious movie was "Harold and Kumar goes to White Castle". This movie is awesome!!! (do i start sounding like some american...hehee)...really one of those movies that will have you launghing out LOUD till your tummy hurts! always wanted to watch this movie as the plot sounds interesting and silly...but u know its still something that i can relate to.
Its really a guy buddy movie...these 2 frens Harold (korean guy) and kumar (indian guy) are room mates. harold is a little uptight and always get bullied in office while kumar is a fun loving happy go lucky kind of guy who hates to comply to his parents wishes for him to be a doctor.
one night while they were watching TV and smoking some pot (i think), this White Castle ad came out (burger joint) and they suddenly craved for it like crazy!!! the prob is the nearest white castle is quite a distance away..so they drove off to find white castle but inbetween, they met with unexpected and crazy adventures along the way!! all in one night!! its just hilarious!!! they actually took a ride on a cheetah along the highway!! haha and one part they stole these hooligans (who always bully them) truck like vehicle to continue their trip, to their surprised the Cds in side were like "baby baby" by amy grant and hold on by Wilson Philips!! haha i couldnt stop lauging when 2 of them started singing along to the cheesy "Hold On" with a lot of feelings too! esp the chorus! haha
another really funny part was when a staff at another buger joint went bersek at the drive in counter as they were trying to order their food. he just went crazy and started swearing like mad!
along the way there are many sterotype jokes on asians and blacks ...but really just humourous.
its really been a long time since a movie can make me laugh like that.
i think a lot will agree, the movies nowadys are hardly memorable or that entertaining as before. this is really a simple movie but lots of crazy ideas and fun. just like those fun movies from the 80s.
sometimes, we can really do without the big budget and packaging.
the last movie i borrowed was suprise surprise : Mean Girls....sigh,,yah...one of those current teenage crap movies. i was curious what is exactly the hype about lindsey lohan..(spelling)...
anyway, its ok lah...talks about this generation high school and all...not exactly mean as i thot...more like fluff. dun borrow it unless u wanna watch some high school girls prancing about. the story is real weak too, so is the romance interest.
borrowed 2 titles that i always wanted to watch and 1 that i was just curious to watch.
1. Briget jones - the edge of reason
yes! the badly reviewed part 2 of BJ!! heck with the reviews...i had to see it for myself...after all she is cute and so real and that boyfriend of hers...hmm...mark darcy (acted by colin filth..pardon the spelling)...he doesnt look handsome or anything but there is just something special about him. he is a top notch lawyer but super serious and boring ...in a way. but with a heart of gold.
the part 2 wasnt as fresh or funny as the part 1 but i think that is common. this time bridget has a BF! finally...but she feels insecure about the relationship. the movie actually deals with the more settled side of BJ but i guess the masses wanted to see her goof up more. the movie is not without those goofy moments like her ski trip, buying a pregnancy kit using german..haha, taking to her bf on the answering machines and the door intercom at the same time..., staring at him in bed in a silly manner ...rather adorable .... but to follow the success of the first show, the director prob lost some of her ideas and followed the winning formulas from the last show. so a bit made up for some scenes.
the thailand bit was not really needed but one scene was quite meaningful as BJ was complaing to her thai inmates how angry she is with her BF. then the thai girls said, their bfs, make them work the whole day, beat them up, ask for money etc etc...and asked her what nasty things he did to her?...and she could only mumble :er..."fold his underwear in a boring manner "..haha..and he is boring or something...hahah..then she got nothing to say any more and said : yeah, he made me sell drugs too! etc..." so as not to loose face. hugh grant is as usual charming and he continues to have an entertaining and amusing fight with darcy.
overall, ok lah...watchable but dun think there will be part 3.
Now the really hilarious movie was "Harold and Kumar goes to White Castle". This movie is awesome!!! (do i start sounding like some american...hehee)...really one of those movies that will have you launghing out LOUD till your tummy hurts! always wanted to watch this movie as the plot sounds interesting and silly...but u know its still something that i can relate to.
Its really a guy buddy movie...these 2 frens Harold (korean guy) and kumar (indian guy) are room mates. harold is a little uptight and always get bullied in office while kumar is a fun loving happy go lucky kind of guy who hates to comply to his parents wishes for him to be a doctor.
one night while they were watching TV and smoking some pot (i think), this White Castle ad came out (burger joint) and they suddenly craved for it like crazy!!! the prob is the nearest white castle is quite a distance away..so they drove off to find white castle but inbetween, they met with unexpected and crazy adventures along the way!! all in one night!! its just hilarious!!! they actually took a ride on a cheetah along the highway!! haha and one part they stole these hooligans (who always bully them) truck like vehicle to continue their trip, to their surprised the Cds in side were like "baby baby" by amy grant and hold on by Wilson Philips!! haha i couldnt stop lauging when 2 of them started singing along to the cheesy "Hold On" with a lot of feelings too! esp the chorus! haha
another really funny part was when a staff at another buger joint went bersek at the drive in counter as they were trying to order their food. he just went crazy and started swearing like mad!
along the way there are many sterotype jokes on asians and blacks ...but really just humourous.
its really been a long time since a movie can make me laugh like that.
i think a lot will agree, the movies nowadys are hardly memorable or that entertaining as before. this is really a simple movie but lots of crazy ideas and fun. just like those fun movies from the 80s.
sometimes, we can really do without the big budget and packaging.
the last movie i borrowed was suprise surprise : Mean Girls....sigh,,yah...one of those current teenage crap movies. i was curious what is exactly the hype about lindsey lohan..(spelling)...
anyway, its ok lah...talks about this generation high school and all...not exactly mean as i thot...more like fluff. dun borrow it unless u wanna watch some high school girls prancing about. the story is real weak too, so is the romance interest.
Monday, June 06, 2005
blogging in my jail cell
ah...poor blog....its quite pathetic that i am not been filling up anything here...dunno why, perhaps i am too lazy...i do think a lot , lots of dreams and funny thots...typical pisces but somehow i am so lousy at penning whatever i think! sssshhh...feel quite shallow suddenly.
wouldnt have entered anything here until an sms from a happy go lucky friend....its 19:45, spore time and i am here YES here still in my office prison cell...finishing up the remains of the evil monday blues! well, hmmm...at least i just closed a deal...not a big one but at least something.
but hmm today aint that bad as last week, last week was just total NO MOOD to do anything feeling in the office...felt life was grey...went to read a friend's blog about her life in japan. as visually exciting as tokyo can get but ultimately i thot...hey she has her own stress in japan too despite the colour clothes and vibrant urban life there. nobody said life was easy. perhaps spore is just too small and we get bored easily. hey any spore bloggers here? what do you guys do on the weekends?!!!! BEsides hanging out at orchard rd lah, suntec city lah...
not sure what are my hobbies now.....maybe i shld take up higher chinese...that shld be useful enough....
finally open the wrapper of my 2 mth old incredibles DVD on sat....was finally bored enough to do that and look forward to a good movie...who knows i turn the damm DVD off after 45 mins. Sadly the movie was dry and wordly....sigh.....nothing compared to nemo and toy story. i think i like cute silly characters...the beefcake looking guy inside just bores me. and the dialogue isnt witty AT ALL. some say that european designer woman inside with her italian or french accent is cute...but i think i will be more entertained watching that weird and dried up karl langerfeld talk at some fashion show.
nowadays as i get older, i find i have no patience to watch any movie of a drama nature. it just bores me and make me feel even more dull.....crazy comedies is what i like best.
never get sick of those HK classics....just totally no meaning but funny. at least they let out their craziness.
hey! quite happy to see that i have 2 guest from US who left comments on my blog...hello hello...welcome ^^
i feel really happy and surprised as my blog is practically nothing. thats the wonder of the net eh...the world does indeed gets smaller:) ok..... thats it for a monday....back home, dinner get forced to view desparate housewives (my sis fave show)....cheerio!
wouldnt have entered anything here until an sms from a happy go lucky friend....its 19:45, spore time and i am here YES here still in my office prison cell...finishing up the remains of the evil monday blues! well, hmmm...at least i just closed a deal...not a big one but at least something.
but hmm today aint that bad as last week, last week was just total NO MOOD to do anything feeling in the office...felt life was grey...went to read a friend's blog about her life in japan. as visually exciting as tokyo can get but ultimately i thot...hey she has her own stress in japan too despite the colour clothes and vibrant urban life there. nobody said life was easy. perhaps spore is just too small and we get bored easily. hey any spore bloggers here? what do you guys do on the weekends?!!!! BEsides hanging out at orchard rd lah, suntec city lah...
not sure what are my hobbies now.....maybe i shld take up higher chinese...that shld be useful enough....
finally open the wrapper of my 2 mth old incredibles DVD on sat....was finally bored enough to do that and look forward to a good movie...who knows i turn the damm DVD off after 45 mins. Sadly the movie was dry and wordly....sigh.....nothing compared to nemo and toy story. i think i like cute silly characters...the beefcake looking guy inside just bores me. and the dialogue isnt witty AT ALL. some say that european designer woman inside with her italian or french accent is cute...but i think i will be more entertained watching that weird and dried up karl langerfeld talk at some fashion show.
nowadays as i get older, i find i have no patience to watch any movie of a drama nature. it just bores me and make me feel even more dull.....crazy comedies is what i like best.
never get sick of those HK classics....just totally no meaning but funny. at least they let out their craziness.
hey! quite happy to see that i have 2 guest from US who left comments on my blog...hello hello...welcome ^^
i feel really happy and surprised as my blog is practically nothing. thats the wonder of the net eh...the world does indeed gets smaller:) ok..... thats it for a monday....back home, dinner get forced to view desparate housewives (my sis fave show)....cheerio!
Friday, February 25, 2005
and more
not to mention in 2004, i had a promotion, a smooth working environment, watched jeff chang. jay chou and faye wong live, transfered to town for work...etc etc...hmmm...can 2005 be just as fulfilling? have to try.
was i ever there?
suddenly thot about the trip to europe again...its always like that...after a while, this trip will come back to my memory and i ask myself "was i ever there?"
got an email about special fares from air france, so i visited the site.....there they listed many cities we could book over the net...and yes ..i saw Sin - Cote D Azur - Nice as one of the desitinations. $1400 ...so easy to book and buy a piece of dream.
ah.....i went to see some pics of it on the net...its really so pretty and nice . and i was there walking along the Promenade des Anglais last Oct, feeling so relaxed and comfortable.....
some times i wonder why i still have a imaginery feeling about the trip to europe. when i was there, why does it feel so common and natural....like spore was just next door. and yet now in spore, i feel cote d azur is a million miles away from me.
i also remembered the little boat ride along the italian coast...porting into protove...ah whatever....that is such a pretty town too with pretty little boats.....
how many sporean have been there?
if only i could just absorb the place for a little longer.
last year was indeed a fantastic year for me and somehow i feel so afraid that this year would not be such a good one. doesnt help that the fortune for rabbits aint too good this year!
last year was quite unbelievable....visited HK, Tokyo, Taipei , Kl, M'cca and 4 cool countries in europe.
what to discover this year?
got an email about special fares from air france, so i visited the site.....there they listed many cities we could book over the net...and yes ..i saw Sin - Cote D Azur - Nice as one of the desitinations. $1400 ...so easy to book and buy a piece of dream.
ah.....i went to see some pics of it on the net...its really so pretty and nice . and i was there walking along the Promenade des Anglais last Oct, feeling so relaxed and comfortable.....
some times i wonder why i still have a imaginery feeling about the trip to europe. when i was there, why does it feel so common and natural....like spore was just next door. and yet now in spore, i feel cote d azur is a million miles away from me.
i also remembered the little boat ride along the italian coast...porting into protove...ah whatever....that is such a pretty town too with pretty little boats.....
how many sporean have been there?
if only i could just absorb the place for a little longer.
last year was indeed a fantastic year for me and somehow i feel so afraid that this year would not be such a good one. doesnt help that the fortune for rabbits aint too good this year!
last year was quite unbelievable....visited HK, Tokyo, Taipei , Kl, M'cca and 4 cool countries in europe.
what to discover this year?
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