a whole day on the roads with my darling, ending it off with a few hoots of durian and pizza for dinner. but of course this one day isn't a summary of the whole other 364 of it.
it's been fruitful and tho more would have been good but we can leave it to the next 365.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Saturday, 26 December 2009
top notch!
with 09 ending, and especially its 10 years since 2000, there's been tons of top 10 or top 50 or top "insert fav numeral", of TV shows, games, news, dogs, cats and whatever you want.
few contenders for disasters (911, tsunami, hurricanes and china quakes) of the decade. Avatar being the "most expensive movie" of the year/decade/ever. GTA:chinatown wars winning 2 platforms according to a popular gaming site. VW polo = car of the year? ok.
being a gamer, here's my top 5 games of the decade.
5th: world of warcraft
the game responsible for destroying (or nearly) relationships and families. so addictive that you need to cold turkey this to get out. that is, taking the huge frozen bird, bash the victim out cold and scream some sense before he starts "LFG" against you and whoever he ever cared about.
4th: bejeweled
gotta be the sleeper hit of the decade. millions of players for the minute blitz version. top app in iphone. need to say more? many a night went sleepless because of me and wifey sliding gems furiously on this game. they need a law against something so simple and yet so addictive.
3rd Grand Theft Auto whatever
I have only played about 3 of the series but each of those were like really good. it's essentially the same stuffs but the possibilities, backstory, missions just beckons you over for more digital spanking. it's hard to put down once you pick it up. although now it's officially banned by the wifey, I would still give it 2 thumbs up and therefore a place in this list.
2nd: advance wars series
right before wow came along, I was addicted to the advance wars series. a strategy with a very retro feel. like HOMM of the 90s, it's turn-based and the "just 1 more turn" was really sucking me right into it. but just like HOMM of the 90s, the series went downhill after the 3rd installment.
1st: starcraft
ok I know starcraft was released in 97 but I love the story and action so much that I keep going back to it now and then. sc2 was supposed to be released at the end of 09 but I guess the damned in wow took too much time. its the only game I am going to wait for in the new year and I'm sparing no expenses to build a nice rig just for it.
few contenders for disasters (911, tsunami, hurricanes and china quakes) of the decade. Avatar being the "most expensive movie" of the year/decade/ever. GTA:chinatown wars winning 2 platforms according to a popular gaming site. VW polo = car of the year? ok.
being a gamer, here's my top 5 games of the decade.
5th: world of warcraft
the game responsible for destroying (or nearly) relationships and families. so addictive that you need to cold turkey this to get out. that is, taking the huge frozen bird, bash the victim out cold and scream some sense before he starts "LFG" against you and whoever he ever cared about.
4th: bejeweled
gotta be the sleeper hit of the decade. millions of players for the minute blitz version. top app in iphone. need to say more? many a night went sleepless because of me and wifey sliding gems furiously on this game. they need a law against something so simple and yet so addictive.
3rd Grand Theft Auto whatever
I have only played about 3 of the series but each of those were like really good. it's essentially the same stuffs but the possibilities, backstory, missions just beckons you over for more digital spanking. it's hard to put down once you pick it up. although now it's officially banned by the wifey, I would still give it 2 thumbs up and therefore a place in this list.
2nd: advance wars series
right before wow came along, I was addicted to the advance wars series. a strategy with a very retro feel. like HOMM of the 90s, it's turn-based and the "just 1 more turn" was really sucking me right into it. but just like HOMM of the 90s, the series went downhill after the 3rd installment.
1st: starcraft
ok I know starcraft was released in 97 but I love the story and action so much that I keep going back to it now and then. sc2 was supposed to be released at the end of 09 but I guess the damned in wow took too much time. its the only game I am going to wait for in the new year and I'm sparing no expenses to build a nice rig just for it.
Friday, 25 December 2009
Christmas!
Christmas this year been fruitful and fulfilling.
started with smooth preparations for the dinners with our extended families. the buying of presents was fun and although the dinners and presents resulted in mixed reactions from both sides, it was a good experience nonetheless.
the news of me having successfully completed my studies was a great one because it has dragged on too long and seeing it through seemed impossible. glad its over and don't need to spend any more $ and time on it.
attended cefc service with a word from their senior pastor Edmund Chen. great service and pst Edmund is a good speaker. the word wasn't about how wonderful Jesus was and how Christmas should be celebrated. nor did he attempt to evangelise heavily to the visitors of the church. he laid a foundation for the congregation as individuals
(whoever was listening) to build lives on. although it sounds like a cute little sermon with a 3 bullet points with easy-to-remember abbreviations, this one made sense and motivational. so much that when he ended, some in the congregation actually clapped. really sounded like a $10,000 a night kinda speech rally thing.
started with smooth preparations for the dinners with our extended families. the buying of presents was fun and although the dinners and presents resulted in mixed reactions from both sides, it was a good experience nonetheless.
the news of me having successfully completed my studies was a great one because it has dragged on too long and seeing it through seemed impossible. glad its over and don't need to spend any more $ and time on it.
attended cefc service with a word from their senior pastor Edmund Chen. great service and pst Edmund is a good speaker. the word wasn't about how wonderful Jesus was and how Christmas should be celebrated. nor did he attempt to evangelise heavily to the visitors of the church. he laid a foundation for the congregation as individuals
(whoever was listening) to build lives on. although it sounds like a cute little sermon with a 3 bullet points with easy-to-remember abbreviations, this one made sense and motivational. so much that when he ended, some in the congregation actually clapped. really sounded like a $10,000 a night kinda speech rally thing.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
"it's a trap!"
it's the year end and we went sentosa for our getaway this time around. simply coz overseas seems a bit too much on $$ and we can't quite arrange a stretch of time for it.
amara sanctuary
a relatively new hotel on the island and a darn expensive one. we got it on a good deal at $200++ a night (usual $600+++), for 3 nights. it's not a beach front like rasa sentosa but hey, sentosa isn't all that big. and it's darn near Resorts World, which is due to open early 2010.
rooms are only so-so. we came after the zoukout party weekend and heard from the reception that the engineering and housekeeping are kept busy recovering from the tornado-ic zoukers. we saw some minor damages and things already missing from the hotel rooms. we were offered a room change too because a bedside table lamp at the bottom came off. and so we were upgraded from a deluxe to a premier room just like that. pretty sweet.
I got backaches from sleeping on the bed tho wifey had no complains. TV seemed a little too small and far away from the bed. tub is ok. showers are neurotic. takes a long time to get hot water and it's not constant. not good.
our package was without breakfast and thank God really. at $28++ ppax, the selection is pathetic. you can just travel down to anywhere else on the island, pay $50 and eat till you puke and it's all day menu too. waste of time and money.
luge
it's something like a go-kart except its gravity-powered and the route isn't too bad for the 1st 2 rides. same goes for the skyride. but after that, it just feels too short and so-so. a new route is in the works while we were there and will want to give it a try when it opens. should be fun.
sentosa 4D magix
a complete waste of time and money unless you die die also must try. too expensive and over way too soon especially the interactive shooting thing. the pirates one was the best because they try to make it real enough with jets of air from the chair and sprinklers from the top. the 3D effects was good. but overall just not worth it.
songs of the sea
the one to go to. even if you have been the musical fountain eons ago. it's basically a much upgraded musical fountain and cost $10 ppax and there's a story (albeit cheesy). the effects are excellent especially for 1st timers and watchable even the 2nd or 3rd time. it's not very expensive and it's probably one of the better attractions on sentosa.
underwater world
what's better than watching huge nurse sharks and gigantic grouper fishes and a wide variety of marine life for about $20 ppax? maybe songs of the sea for $10 but nothing much else. last time I went underwater world was around 1998 and don't remember much from then already. good to update myself.
food
what can I say? all marked up for the sake of tourists. nothing fantastic unless you are willing to pay a super premium for good food, which you can get on mainland for lower anyway. but no choice lah, do you really fancy travelling to vivo each time your tummy rumbles? bite the bullet, and chew slowly.
weather
december singapore weather is mostly wet. and for most of the 3 days there, it was raining. not heavily but enough to dampen the beach mood. better to go at another "season".
overall
well it's definitely a tourist trap. it's just too marked up for locals and don't have much a choice right there. don't think I will seriously visit again other than for the IR, the new luge track or maybe songs of the sea again.
amara sanctuary
a relatively new hotel on the island and a darn expensive one. we got it on a good deal at $200++ a night (usual $600+++), for 3 nights. it's not a beach front like rasa sentosa but hey, sentosa isn't all that big. and it's darn near Resorts World, which is due to open early 2010.
rooms are only so-so. we came after the zoukout party weekend and heard from the reception that the engineering and housekeeping are kept busy recovering from the tornado-ic zoukers. we saw some minor damages and things already missing from the hotel rooms. we were offered a room change too because a bedside table lamp at the bottom came off. and so we were upgraded from a deluxe to a premier room just like that. pretty sweet.
I got backaches from sleeping on the bed tho wifey had no complains. TV seemed a little too small and far away from the bed. tub is ok. showers are neurotic. takes a long time to get hot water and it's not constant. not good.
our package was without breakfast and thank God really. at $28++ ppax, the selection is pathetic. you can just travel down to anywhere else on the island, pay $50 and eat till you puke and it's all day menu too. waste of time and money.
luge
it's something like a go-kart except its gravity-powered and the route isn't too bad for the 1st 2 rides. same goes for the skyride. but after that, it just feels too short and so-so. a new route is in the works while we were there and will want to give it a try when it opens. should be fun.
sentosa 4D magix
a complete waste of time and money unless you die die also must try. too expensive and over way too soon especially the interactive shooting thing. the pirates one was the best because they try to make it real enough with jets of air from the chair and sprinklers from the top. the 3D effects was good. but overall just not worth it.
songs of the sea
the one to go to. even if you have been the musical fountain eons ago. it's basically a much upgraded musical fountain and cost $10 ppax and there's a story (albeit cheesy). the effects are excellent especially for 1st timers and watchable even the 2nd or 3rd time. it's not very expensive and it's probably one of the better attractions on sentosa.
underwater world
what's better than watching huge nurse sharks and gigantic grouper fishes and a wide variety of marine life for about $20 ppax? maybe songs of the sea for $10 but nothing much else. last time I went underwater world was around 1998 and don't remember much from then already. good to update myself.
food
what can I say? all marked up for the sake of tourists. nothing fantastic unless you are willing to pay a super premium for good food, which you can get on mainland for lower anyway. but no choice lah, do you really fancy travelling to vivo each time your tummy rumbles? bite the bullet, and chew slowly.
weather
december singapore weather is mostly wet. and for most of the 3 days there, it was raining. not heavily but enough to dampen the beach mood. better to go at another "season".
overall
well it's definitely a tourist trap. it's just too marked up for locals and don't have much a choice right there. don't think I will seriously visit again other than for the IR, the new luge track or maybe songs of the sea again.
what happened
in 2009? quite a bit.
change of year
changed job. learning totally new stuffs and found myself doing things I never thought would ever do. tho there were a fair share of griefs from it but it was mostly fun and certainly very enriching. nine out of ten.
toy of the year
I jumped to the iphone boat in sept and was even given a "welcome aboard." by the sails (sales) guy. it's basically a device that tries to be everything. but with a limit on size and controls, it's everything you really can't. sure you can say there are hundreds and thousands of amazing apps to be downloaded. but of those most are simply not amazing and a lot of them are even a waste of time/money/bandwidth. I do miss the E71. but bejewelling with the wifey on the iphone been much fun. won't deny that. six out of ten.
marriage
well let's see. wakeboarding (march) which was semi-fun. club med bali (june) which was good experience. chilling out (whole year round) in front of TV. all these did lots of good for our marriage, discovering each other (she can wakeboard better, I like golf and both of us enjoy thrillers and crime shows). been a great year for our relationship. perfect ten!
studies
at about a quarter into the year, saw the opportunity to complete the studies by year end. and honestly, I almost didn't think I could but I did. tho results are still pending but after the final exams, I think its a given and just a matter of by how much. this is probably one of my greatest milestones for 09 and my life. thank God. now I can go round telling people I know what raid 5 or byte extend means. eleventeen out of ten.
spiritual health
after a year and still mucking along the long smorgasbord of spiritual gym that is called the church. can't help but wonder if this wilderness has an end. not good but probably necessary. God help! my iphone can't GPS my spiritual life out of this mess! three out of ten.
physical health
yeah yeah my huge bug bear. I wish I can zap my lumps away with my iphone. sure there are like thousands of keep fit shape up apps but what good it does if I don't follow? I can print it out and highlight them goals with my pink hello kitty highlighter. FAT lot of good it does. one out of ten.
so in 2010? a few things to look forward to.
self-improvement
thinking of learning malay and/or something else from a CC course. it be good to know a language altho the main concern is I won't be able to use it as often as I would like to.
self-gratification
don't think I would indulge myself in a new toy unless a really kick ass phone comes along. (nokia are u listening?) 2 major things I'm looking forward to is get back to scuba again and play starcraft 2! can't wait for it to be released already! (blizzard are u listening?)
others but not least
do my spiritual and physical exercises more. and really finally settling in a church.
so yeah, it's almost the same story different year really. but this year I'm putting way more focus on spiritual and physical. I'm mid way 30s and I think it's about time. don't want to sink 6 feet under before it's too late.
happy new year!
change of year
changed job. learning totally new stuffs and found myself doing things I never thought would ever do. tho there were a fair share of griefs from it but it was mostly fun and certainly very enriching. nine out of ten.
toy of the year
I jumped to the iphone boat in sept and was even given a "welcome aboard." by the sails (sales) guy. it's basically a device that tries to be everything. but with a limit on size and controls, it's everything you really can't. sure you can say there are hundreds and thousands of amazing apps to be downloaded. but of those most are simply not amazing and a lot of them are even a waste of time/money/bandwidth. I do miss the E71. but bejewelling with the wifey on the iphone been much fun. won't deny that. six out of ten.
marriage
well let's see. wakeboarding (march) which was semi-fun. club med bali (june) which was good experience. chilling out (whole year round) in front of TV. all these did lots of good for our marriage, discovering each other (she can wakeboard better, I like golf and both of us enjoy thrillers and crime shows). been a great year for our relationship. perfect ten!
studies
at about a quarter into the year, saw the opportunity to complete the studies by year end. and honestly, I almost didn't think I could but I did. tho results are still pending but after the final exams, I think its a given and just a matter of by how much. this is probably one of my greatest milestones for 09 and my life. thank God. now I can go round telling people I know what raid 5 or byte extend means. eleventeen out of ten.
spiritual health
after a year and still mucking along the long smorgasbord of spiritual gym that is called the church. can't help but wonder if this wilderness has an end. not good but probably necessary. God help! my iphone can't GPS my spiritual life out of this mess! three out of ten.
physical health
yeah yeah my huge bug bear. I wish I can zap my lumps away with my iphone. sure there are like thousands of keep fit shape up apps but what good it does if I don't follow? I can print it out and highlight them goals with my pink hello kitty highlighter. FAT lot of good it does. one out of ten.
so in 2010? a few things to look forward to.
self-improvement
thinking of learning malay and/or something else from a CC course. it be good to know a language altho the main concern is I won't be able to use it as often as I would like to.
self-gratification
don't think I would indulge myself in a new toy unless a really kick ass phone comes along. (nokia are u listening?) 2 major things I'm looking forward to is get back to scuba again and play starcraft 2! can't wait for it to be released already! (blizzard are u listening?)
others but not least
do my spiritual and physical exercises more. and really finally settling in a church.
so yeah, it's almost the same story different year really. but this year I'm putting way more focus on spiritual and physical. I'm mid way 30s and I think it's about time. don't want to sink 6 feet under before it's too late.
happy new year!
Saturday, 12 December 2009
"I am not good enough to go Heaven."
if admission to Heaven is based on merit, God would be lonely. we are saved by His Grace and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. the sinner who was crucified alongside with Jesus in Calvary, repented at his dying moments and Jesus promised him Heaven.
so does that mean we can just go about our lives saying yes to temptations occasionally, so long as we attend church on sunday and repent like we think we mean it when we are about to die?
even a day pass to disneyland cost something. stop cheapening the Grace shown to you.
so does that mean we can just go about our lives saying yes to temptations occasionally, so long as we attend church on sunday and repent like we think we mean it when we are about to die?
even a day pass to disneyland cost something. stop cheapening the Grace shown to you.
a weight off
and with that last 2 hours of relatively easy questions on operating systems, concludes the course (I hope, results in jan) which has been running way too long and too costly.
looking very forward to doing some other productive stuffs. like gaming and gaming and gaming until my eyes pop.
looking very forward to doing some other productive stuffs. like gaming and gaming and gaming until my eyes pop.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
finally!
things are looking more positive.
1) had a decent anniversary at sg flyer
2) studies related stuffs are almost over. got a good grade for 1 assignment even!
3) staycation plans looking up although there's a consideration for the cost.
4) xmas coming up!
God thank You for all the blessings You have poured out into this house!
1) had a decent anniversary at sg flyer
2) studies related stuffs are almost over. got a good grade for 1 assignment even!
3) staycation plans looking up although there's a consideration for the cost.
4) xmas coming up!
God thank You for all the blessings You have poured out into this house!
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