The Quarter Century

Once again, due to the ridiculously long blogging hiatus, this is gonna be a lump of disjointed posts. Some stale photos to begin with. =)

@Valentino with our dear friends JingLiang & Xiaoyu

We were given the VIP room as the main restaurant was full... how I wish this happens everytime =)

Clarisse, scared stiff by harmless little Mango (Cheuk Fung's pet lovebird)

And Mango with her new friend Mikan (みかん, or orange in jap). I can't call them mates yet cos no one has any idea how to identify their gender.

The view out of my nice new office space.

Well it's plenty smaller than the old office, but much much better location within the CBD. Well you win some you lose some.

Pri Sch Friends

Dinner Gathering@ Sushi Tei Paragon.

Charissa on the left was a pretty close buddy back when we were 9, but grew apart as we went to different classes. She's getting married in March! sho exciting.

Not to mention, we managed to link up over dinner and her fiance (husband in a few weeks) is now working wth me as a graphic designer. ^_^

Clarisse before her haircut.

The result is pretty nice, but I think it doesn't reallyy suit her. Something fresh nevertheless.

And it was the trip back to China. Didn't take many photos unfortunately. The weather was fantastic, 15-20 deg air-con style weather. Coupled with the festive mood in the air, the crazy-fun family, CNY couldn't be any better than this.

At least, I managed to capture a few scenes out of the pompous procession to welcome the local diety during CNY. Among which, the Ying Ge troupe was Clarisse's favourite from young.

Pretty cool makeup.

They were dancing with two wooden sticks, knocking them in well-practised movements. The festive atmosphere was in the air, as everyone came to the streets to follow the procession.

Think Chingay without seats & grandstands, moving through the whole of Singapore and excited residents chasing and following the whole show.


And on my Birthday, the whole family sat down to make dumplings!! Loads of fun.

The first batch!

Came in all shapes and sizes, as we went crazy with the wrapping. And when the girls got bored, they went a step further to do this:

-_-|||

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So they really dumped it into the pot to cook. Only Clarisse's one survived, while zefang's and 婷婷’s were decapitated, amputated, etc. But they insisted on gathering back their proud works of art onto a single plate.

And we also had 鸡蛋面线 as it was my bday.

The mischevious trio

While originally planning to go on numerous hikes at the nearby Monkey's Hill, the weather was too cold in the mountains to ascend, and we ended up with too much time on our hands.

Clarisse indulged in her favourite hobby - zzzzZZZ-ing. And the trio enjoyed engaging in their favourite activity cuddled together. LOL

For me, I ended up mastering e classic Rubik's....

only to end up being given a 4x4x4 cube as a bday present.

And mastered that too after a few days of fiddling =))

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For me, Vday was spent very meaningfully, blessing the wedding of a business partner: Gan (Ganesh) and his Air-Stewardess wife Sabrina.

Gan was the one who worked with me when bringing in one of the earliest batches of iPhones - he imported, I cracked. Had to say it was a minor windfall back in 07, amidst the hype of the iPhones.

I used to be a chaser of such tech gadget crazes - but it's an entirely different level of satisfaction capitalizing on the craze.

The pompous setup

The wedding was semi-traditional, with many of the cultural elements retained - the blessing by hindu Brahman, the traditional Indian percussion & wind instruments at the side, the throwing of wheat to bless the couple, the sweet home-made pastries, etc.

It was a culturally rich ceremony with great food - I'll get back on the food later.

Rob (a musician), Gan, Sabrina, Rob's wife (sorry but forgot her name)

The truth is: I love Indian Food.

The problem with loving Indian Food, is that there are 2 major side effects.

1. The burning sensation when you burp.

The spices that make the food tasty, are the same things that will torture you when you burp. Be wary of the burning sensation in your throat which no water can quench.

2. The burning sensation when in the toilet - over the next few days.

Unfortunately, the potency of the spices live on inside your stomach. And trust me, it is an agonizing feeling when the burning sensation lingers. For a couple of days.

So you see, the unfortunate thing about loving indian food, is that due to the hazards, I have a love-hate relationship with them. But I like them enough to bear the consequences at least once every couple of months.

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My 25th was remarkable not because of the number.

But because of the things that happened the night before.

The emotional crisis happening all the way from back in sg was averted elegantly. Thx to Jess, Sheen and Wanz for chatting w/ me. It made things easier.

Then, there's also the significant deal that was hanging in mid-air was finally signed, kudos to my partner Simon, who covered my duties flawlessly while I was away.

Also, Silas has, at least to me, undergone baptism by fire, handling multiple cases per day, while I was away. It's very valuable experience in the long run.

Finally, the delinquent boy has finally packed his bags and went far from home to find work, to learn to be a man; fingers crossed that he won't give up easily this time.

When you set your mind to it, the world conspires to aid you in what you do.

Right now, I'm looking forward to the exciting year ahead.




In life, we make our choices. You chose (the same). Once again.