As I perused through my organiser under the month September, I see lots of untidy scribbling. Some of them were to remind me of appointments, while others were my genuine feelings about life.
I had several arguments with King early this month. Most of the time, they were over our opposing views in life. Perhaps due to our diverse family background and upbringing, King and I have different principles in life. Well, we ended up with the same conclusion each time. What else could it be other than to compromise, compromise and compromise?
Celebrated Ting's birthday at Paulaner's this year but I left early to resolve issues with King. She had her group of friends with her and I felt uncomfortable to hang around for too long.
Happy Birthday Ting!
InterCPA netball games took place the next day and our team was defeated badly. I wasnt fast enough and the defender played to well. In the first game, the ball didnt even come to our goal third. Although it wasnt a victory for us, I forged friendship with some of the girls. Taking part in the games has also stimulated my interest in netball. I volunteered myself for the next corporate league in October.
10 Sept 2008 marked my 1st year anniversary with my current firm. The group of us organised a lunch get-together in celebration for that special day. The introverted me failed to break out from my comfort zone to talk to others. One particular reason was that 2 familiar friends were seated next to me and so I ended up taking to them, and them only.. I was actually more familiar with people from the other table and regretted not sitting with them.
Having gone through one year in the corporate world, I pondered over my experiences and exposure. I arrived at the conclusion that I have gone through lots and learnt too little. It suddenly hit me hard that my ignorant self has been taking over me over the past one year. I may be working on a task, but it never bothers me that I should find out more. I have no hunger for knowledge. Even if I do, things slip my mind..
Ben Shao finally ended his vocation training somewhere mid month. Farewell dinner - a commonly used reason of a gathering ever since I started working.. That night, we had ours at CHIJMES Hog's Breathe Cafe. One very good thing to organise an outing for a large group on a weekday is that we could easily get seats and have ample space of our own.
02s22 BBQ falls on a friday, while I was still on leave. I contributed some of my effort, smsing them since I was so free. But Weihan is still better at organising gatherings. In the end, he took over the responsibility. This time round, we went to Jit's place. I havent seen some of the JC mates for almost 6 months! Seemed like a very long time and I'm glad most people turned up! It was orignally BBQ but the guys cant start the fire. Wonder if it's the lousy charcoal or the poor skills. Haha.. We ended up cooking the food at Jit's place. Everyone look almost the same except for Weng and Jit. Weng apparently looked more manly now, with the tan and coloured hair and some bulk. Jit never change much other than the longer fringe that he likes to keep.
Guis celebrated Deez's birthday at Southern ridges again. A pity Ping and Xin were not able to make it. Last month, we failed to conquer the next half of our journey. Thus, we met earlier, started from the other end of the journey and never bathe after the walk. With all these in place, we managed to walk the full distance. Right from Clementi MRT station, all the way to Vivocity!! Along the way, we tried to take less pictures and walk faster. Ended the day at Kbox in Cineleisure. Bet we stink the KTV room!
Have you tried the steamboat buffet after 8pm at Crystal Jade, Holland Village? Darlie and I decided to try it after jogging one night. The buffet comes with a wide variety of vegetables, meat and mushrooms. What's best are the free flow soya bean milk, steam pork buns and a plate of complimentary prawns! Sweet Darlie helped with the peeling of prawn shells since I was too lazy to do it.
Verdict: Full satisfaction except our jog became wasted effort.
The steam boat
King peeling prawn shells for me :)
Sweet Sweet Prawns!
Since September last year, Darlie had been eagerly awaiting the ticket sales of the Singapore's F1 Grand Prix. Upon availability of the tickets, Darlie rushed to purchase them. I wasn't exactly a F1 race fanatic but since it's the first night race and Singapore's first time in hosting such an event, I embraced it too! We bought the cheapest 3-day ticket with seats at Marina Bay Grandstand for S$298. I could feel the pinch when I handed the money to Darlie. But it was a well worth splurge after I attended the Sunday race. Although it was a 3-day ticket, we attended only the Friday and Sunday one.
Friday's qualifying races were really boring with little to see. Most of the time, we could only hear the loud engines as the vehicles zoomed pass. Yet, it was a well-worth experience. Food and drink stalls littered along the Marina Bay street circuit (except that items were sold at a premium), there were performance to entertain visitors and we could have easy access to the surrounding shopping centres. On Friday, I left the venue with both good and bad feelings. Good, being the thoughtfully organisation of the event in a strategic location which was able to showcast Singapore to the world, but bad being the unsightly behaviours of few Singaporeans we met along the way.
Photos of Friday's qualifying race
It was the actual race on Sunday that changed my perception of the event, mainly due to the unexpected results of the race. Darlie and I even bought some bets to make it more exciting. Well, in the end, we lost our little bet, but it added thrills! One aspect which I think could be improved on is the lack in large screens for walkabout visitors. At various times, the speakers were too soft . The remarkable occasion brought about both praises and criticism. I'm glad I was part of it
Photos of Sunday's final race
2 different views:
Our bets on Hamilton
As we foreseen that attending all 3 days of the race could make us weary, our Saturday tickets were sold to Darlie's brother. We spent the Saturday afternoon cycling at ECP with some of the NTU mates. It was my first time riding on a double bike with Darlie and the feeling was awesome.
At the seafood restaurant near ECP
We went for dinner at a nearby seafood restuarant before joining Darlie's friends at St James Power Station. I seem to be smitten by clubbing craze lately. I used to shun away from clubs, but now visiting clubs on a weekend becomes a social event.
Today, I went jogging with Darlie at Southern Ridges after much persuasion. Halfway through, I realised it was a bad idea after all. Besides having a public holiday crowd, Darlie complained that the routes were too narrow and inclined for jogging purposes. So in the midst of the run and walk, he kept quiet and I became cranky. I guess it will be our first and last time there.
A wonderful month well-spent, indeed!
The long awaited visit to Fa Ji. Ting has been telling me how nice the durian soup is and I finally had the chance to try. We ordered everything with durian on the menu!
Durian Pancake
Durian Pastry
I was too busy indulging in the durian soup, I forgot to snap a picture of it.
Day 2: Went on a day tour
We had dinner at the Modern Toilet cafe, which after my first visit, decided it was over-hyped. The food taste bad. We even saw some people making faces as they chew on the food.
