Welcome back!

Welcome back to Singapore, baby!
I will like to give you a hug asap!

Waiting for you to come back.

37 and a half hours more before I can see you again.
I am waiting for you you you you you!
I miss you, baby!!! =(

I miss you!

Darling, I miss you miss you miss you you know?
Hope you are doing fine in Suzhou.
You must take care of yourself and have fun ok?
Muacks!
XOXOXOXOXOXO!

祝你一路顺风

Darling, you are going to Suzhou for two weeks tomorrow.
I will miss you. You don’t miss me too much ok?
Have fun and enjoy yourself. Just think of me occassionally.
Wish you bon voyage and take care of yourself when Im not around.
Have a safe journey, baby! This video is for you!



一路顺风！ I love you baby! Have fun! See you in 2 weeks! Muacks!

Good luck, darling!

Wishing my darling good luck for her first paper tomorrow!

Darling, Jia you!

You will do well! Muacks!

Windows Live Writer

One reason that I have been lazy to blog was due to the fact that I always have to log in to my blogger account to post and I find it very troublesome. =P.

Now that I'm using Windows Live Writer, I can blog from my desktop. Hopefully, this will encourage me to blog more!

Banes Of Our Progress

Why do we keep on moving forward? Why can't technology move backwards? Wouldn't that make life simpler? Many people may not be able to live without a computer or the internet. But think about it, without these things, we can spend more time with the people around us. We can engage in real, meaningful conversations and not just typing on the keyboard. I don't know how much of my life is wasted in front of the computer like now. And what do I really get out of it except strained eyes?

Without advanced technology, we can sleep when it is night-time instead of having to work because it is office hour in another part of the globe and we have to cater to other peoples' needs. Sleeping is such an underrated activity. Many so called successful people think that sleeping is a waste of time because they want to do as many things as possible with a limited amount of time. The amount of things you can do is unlimited, but your lifespan is limited. So why not sleep when it's time to sleep instead of trying to achieve an impossible task? To those who say that nothing is impossible, then why is the word invented in the first place? Even if you don't close your eyes for a second throughout your entire life, you will not be able to finish all your tasks, because there is no end to work.

If technology is less advanced, we will have less vehicles and people will be healthier since they have to walk or run to get to their destination. Obesity won't be an issue and diseases related to obesity will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, fewer people and animals will be killed in road accidents.

Animals are the greatest victims of mankind's progress. When we build roads and run vehicles through them, animals who try to cross the road inevitably get killed, some at the first attempt, some after numerous attempts. When biomedical research has to be done on some drugs to cure diseases, the drugs are first tested on animals like lab rats to observe the side effects, some of which are fatal. The worse victims are those animals involved in factory farming. Animals are treated like tools from which we can make money out of and when there's money to be made, people forget that these animals are living things and can feel pain. Lives are created (through breeding) and ended in a painful way so that the container of the souls can be exchanged for money. Other examples of how animals are exploited include skinning them to get their fur, which is the most sickening thing I have ever heard of. I don't even dare to watch the videos after hearing of how it's done and I wonder how a human being with a conscience can perform an act like that.

As technology advances, humans live longer and mortality rates are lower. The population of the world keeps on increasing and there are more mouths to feed, more diseases to cure, more roads to be built and more fur/leather products to be made. I wonder if anyone has done a survey (if it can be done at all) to count the average number of lives taken by a particular species of animal during their lifespan. My guess is that on the top of this list will be human beings, even if we do not take into consideration the number of homicides and suicides and any other form of killing where the victim is a human. Even the most ferocious of beasts have to hunt their own preys and it is unlikely that they will have a meal every day. On the other hand, thanks (or no thanks) to technology, food is in abundance for human beings because animals are raised in bulk worldwide and slaughtered every single day (maybe every single minute or second) so that human can have their pork and mutton and chicken and beef and (you name it). Therefore, it is no surprise that in one day, a man can take more lives than a lion, a tiger, a leopard or even all three of them put together on average (though ironically, he certainly has no chance of survival against either one of them).

What attributes distinguishes human beings from animals? What is humanity?
From dictionary.com :

• Humanity: the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence
• Humane: characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, esp. for the suffering or distressed.

Somehow, I think these definitions make a mockery of mankind seeing how animals, and sometimes other human beings, are exploited. I have seen examples of animals being more humane than human beings. For example, in this age and day, the probability of your dog sticking with you when you are old and sick is higher than the probability of your children doing the same thing. I will say the main attribute that separates human from animals is intelligence. Intelligence has helped man to built tools for his own benefit and made him the dominant species in this world that he is today. However, does having a superior intelligence give one species the authority to exploit another species for his own benefits? If the answer is yes, then by the same reasoning, a more intelligent person can also exploit a less intelligent person for his own benefit. Well, come to think of it, I think this is already happening in this world. One example may be a con job, where the conman being the more intelligent person, cons his victim (who is obviously of inferior intelligence or else he wouldn't have been fooled). Another example is a boss of a company who makes his workers work long hours for meager pay so that his company can make a lot of money. Again the intelligence of the workers are assumed to be inferior or else they would have found a better job. So maybe it's just how life should be? Survival of the fittest as in Darwinian theory?

Anyway, back to the point, these kinds of exploitation is nothing compared to how human beings exploit animals. So if one day, all these animals that are reared for food or hunted for their body parts become extinct and there are only human beings left in this world, will it be justifiable for the more intelligent human beings to lock the less intelligent ones in cages with poor living conditions, let them mate and give birth to children, before killing the children for their flesh or organs and then dumping the mother aside to die once she cannot give birth to any more children? If the answer is yes, I fear for the future of mankind. If the answer is no, then by the same logic, a more intelligent species should not be doing the same thing to a less intelligent species either. If the answer is "I don't know", then maybe it's something worth thinking about.

Some of my views may be a bit extreme and to be fair, I have known of men and women who are compassionate and really humane. To clarify, I am not a vegetarian myself though I try my best to eat vegetarian food when I have access to them. I feel guilty for the animals that have suffered every time I eat meat. Therefore, when I refer to human beings, I am referring to myself as well. Maybe I have lost my point but what I am trying to say is that the advancement of technology and the progress of mankind has made the lives of other species much much more miserable without actually benefitting mankind greatly. Are we happier now in front of our computers (or iPhone or Blackberry for that matter) than if we were born a century ago without all these? Personally, I feel that life should be simple and right now, things are way too complicated with all the money and competition. Wouldn't it be nice if we could roll back time or rather, roll back technology and everything is simple yet again? We will not be facing the stress that we are facing right now and more importantly, other animals can enjoy their torture-free lives. Sadly, this sounds like something only Doraemon can help me with.

Human beings are progressing by leaps and bounds in terms of technological advancement and I wonder where is the pinnacle? Science fiction of the past is becoming reality of the present and the human brain is so amazing and powerful that I can't help but feel that it is the only thing that can bring down the human race itself, ironic though it may be. Will human beings be the victims of their own quest for knowledge and power? As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss....

Happy Anniversary!

Click here for my message! Muacks!

Bintan Holiday!

I'm back from a 2D1N trip to bintan. It was a wonderful getaway with my baby Wan Ching, her sister and her sister's friends. The beaches at Bintan Lagoon Resort are just too nice. After checking in on Sunday, we headed for the beach almost immediately. We wanted to try snorkeling, so me and baby rented two snorkeling sets. However, we were total greenhorns at snorkeling and in the end we didn't get to see much (There weren't many things for us to see anyway). Looking on the bright side, at least we learnt how to use the snorkeling set and flippers. =P



After snorkeling, we hung around the beach, playing in the sea and enjoying the sun. After that, we went to the Aura Resto at Pasar Ole Oleh for massage. All of us chose the combination massage which is a Thai massage followed by a Balinese massage. It's quite nice and the masseurs are very professional. The only thing I didn't really like was the "crack crack" thing when doing the Thai massage because I feel that it's rather scary. The massage parlour provided us with a free taxi service back to the resort and I will say that the ride is quite "exciting". There were no streetlights in bintan and the road was dark. Nevertheless, the driver drove quite fast, without slowing down even when there were incoming vehicles on the opposite lane. My heart was in my mouth every time the driver drove pass some vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Ok, maybe it's not so bad and the driver know what he's doing. It's just that I wasn't used to it and the lack of lighting on the road didn't help. Anyway, we reached the resort safely. =)



After a dinner of instant noodles, we turned in for the night so that we can wake up early for the breakfast buffet the next morning. And we woke up real early. Me and Baby were the first to reach the restaurant for the buffet at 6.20 am, even before they were ready! Haha. Ok, we were not that hungry. We just wanted to start our day early as we wanted to enjoy the morning sun at the beach. The breakfast buffet was great and our favourite dish was the omelette and the porridge. We ate till we were more than full, changed into our swimming attire and headed off to the beach after around 1.5 hours at the buffet. =P



We reached the beach at around 8.20am and the beach was empty, except for a couple doing sun-tanning. The beach was so calm and serene it makes us feel very relaxed and peaceful. The couple left shortly after, leaving the whole beach to only the two of us. Seriously, at one point of time for about one hour, there was really no one else except me and Ching. It feels so good to have the whole wide beach to ourselves. We could even swim in the buff there but of course we didn't. I was a bit tempted though. Haha. =P We stayed till the sun was too hot and went back to our room to wash up, getting ready to check out.



I really enjoyed myself; the sun, the beach, the sea and the massage. What I enjoyed above all these was Baby's company and it was our first overseas and overnight stay together though we slept in different rooms (Ching slept with her sister and me with her sister's male friend). The service staff at Bintan were also really polite and friendly and their service was excellent. This includes the taxi driver who sent us back to the resort. Seriously, though the ride was quite thrilling, the driver was very friendly and attended to all our needs. One thing that I didn't like about this trip is that a two days one night stay is just too short! 3 days and too nights will be just fine. I feel like going back to the beach tomorrow. =( I hope I can have the chance to go on more more more more more more more more more holidays with Wan Ching! Muacks! I love you baby!

Einstein and God

Einstein had previously explored this belief that man could not understand the nature of God when he gave an interview to Time Magazine explaining:-

I'm not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.

And I will say this topic is very interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relationship_between_religion_and_science



A meaningful quote by Albert Einstein which I'm sure most of us agree to:

“Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” - “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

Man's best friend

Dogs are shining examples of enduring love and faith. Could we as Homo Sapiens, a breed far more intelligent than mammals, fare better? I guess not.......

[Quoted from Noah's Ark blog http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/06/mans-best-friend-in-life-and-death.html]

Im back from Tokyo!

I'm back from Tokyo after spending 4 days there! It was a short but nice trip. We stayed in Tokyu Stay Hotel in Yotsuya which is quite near the Tokyo train station.

Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!

We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =D

Of course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(

In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P

Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!

*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!

Today is National Day!

Happy 44th Birthday Singapore!



I love Singapore! Weeee! =D




I love my darling too!!! Muacksy!!!

Troubles

My paper was rejected yet again. Though that was something I expected, Im starting to feel the stress now. Still no meaningful work done up till now, and I wonder if Im doing the right thing. I think Im just too slack and lazy.

So many things have been troubling me lately. Seriously, I don't know what will happen in the future.

However, I came upon this blog post http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2009/06/jolies-tale.html and realised that things are not that bad for me. There are others in a worse situation than me and I should learn from Jolie the dog as well as my own Chippy. =)

I need to work harder and stop slacking anymore. Ok, looking on the bright side, I don't have to go to Washington D.C. which will cost me a lot.

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson passed away last thursday due to cardiac arrest. Though I wouldn't dare claim to be a die-hard fan of his, most of the English songs that I listen to, if at all, are his works. My favourites are Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Black Or White, Beat It, Heal The World and You Are Not Alone. I even sang Heal The World as part of a trio when I was in primary three in front of the whole school. =) My group also presented Black or White for one of our courses, Music: Adventures in Listening, when I was an undergraduate. His songs are so captivating that the only reason that someone do not like his songs can only be that the person has not heard them before. However, what I like most are his music videos, especially the earlier ones like Smooth Criminal and Thriller, which are electrifying to say the least. In addition, one of my all-time favourite video game is Moonwalker, featuring Michael Jackson himself.

I've been following news report about his death and about his life and what I realised is that his life was quite sad. Forced to perform since the age of 5, he didn't have a proper childhood which he felt was something missing from his life. That led to his love for children which in turn got him involved in the child molestation case and tarnished his reputation. In the end, he was acquitted of all charges but people still had their doubts. Only until his death did people start to believe him and remember the good things that he has done, the music that he has brought us. But isn't that a little too late?

That has always been the problem with human beings (myself included), always looking at others' bad points and overlooking the good ones. It is always until the person is gone that we will start to forgive, and start to remember all the good things he or she has done. But the person will never get to hear the good things about him or her again.

MJ had a bad childhood where he was always beaten up by his father. He was in a bad shape towards the end of his life too. I guess the only happy moments in his life was somewhere in between. According to news reports, he took up to 8 kinds of drugs everyday and was not eating much, making him very frail. He was also heavily in debt due to his child molestation court cases and poor financial management, not to mention many people trying to fleece him. And the worst thing is, he had to perfrom in 50 concerts in London. 50! Can you believe it? 50 concerts for a weak 50 year old man with all sorts of health problems. How can he manage that? I guess death is his only escape. It's sad that things have to end up this way. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson, your music will always be remembered.

Massacre of the pigeons

Recently, there were a lot of pigeons around my block and the number was increasing by the day. The reason for the rapid increase in population of pigeons around here was that residents have been feeding them. People have even been throwing food out of their windows and this is attracting more and more pigeons. The droppings of the pigeons are a nuisance and the food used to feed the pigeons may attract rats. As such, I wrote in to the town council to ask them to stop these people from feeding the pigeons. And I specifically said that Im not asking for the pigeons to be killed. Just ask the residents to stop feeding and the pigeons will go away.

The town council didn't reply me up till now but on thursday, they sent people to poison the pigeons. I don't know whether they acted upon receiving my email or complaints from other residents. But I really didn't want them to kill the pigeons. The sight of it was terrible. Pigeons dropped dead on the ground just like that. The worst thing is, some of them are not really dead after dropping to the ground and they were rolled over by cars. I can see them flapping their wings in pain after the car ran over them. It was very sad. And none of them were spared. From late morning to evening, more and more pigeons were posioned and their carcass littered the grounds. Occassionally, the workers will pick up the dead pigeons and out them in a thrash back. I think I saw three big thrash bags amounting to almost a hundred pigeons if Im not wrong. Hundred lives taken, just like that.

Why can't the town council issue warnings to the residents who were feeding the pigeons and slap them with fines? Why must they so cruelly kill the pigeons? If the residents don't feed them, they won't come. Is it because identifying the residents feeding the pigeons is a more laborious task and killing the pigeons is an easier way out? Is that why their lives are sacrificed for the convenience of human beings? Somehow, I feel guilty for sending out that email. And Im sad to see the pigeons being killed. If I knew that the town council will resort to this, I wouldn't have emailed them. However, Im sure Im not the first nor the only person to bring up this problem as someone has also written in to the newspapers about the same incident in my area.

Despite all these, the problem is not solved. I still see residents feeding the few pigeons that are left and since pigeons grow very quickly, it will be a matter of time before their numbers grow large enough to become problematic. And when the time comes, will there be another massacre? This will become a cycle unless the problem is nipped in the bud by stopping the feedings. To the pigeons who were killed: Im sorry. =(

Sundown Marathon Team Challenge

Team Snoopy Rank: 96

Total time: 05:02:17.23

Race results

First race of the year. Took part in the adidas sundown marathon team challenge with darling and her two good friends. Timing is as above. Mine was not too bad but not very good either. Hopefully the next race will be AHM and then SCSM. Still considering whether to take part this year. Hmm..... Congratulations to darling for completing her first 10km. 你真棒！Muacks!

Ching Ching and me!

Team Snoopy!

Sexy Boy

Shawn Michaels' Sexy Boy, edited for my darling:
Haha.
Just for Fun, don't read too much into it. =)

I think I'm cute.
I know I'm sexy.
I've got the looks,
That drive my darling wild
I've got the moves, that really move her.
I send chills up.
Up and down her spines.

I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy
I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy

I make her hot.
I make her shiver.
Her knees get weak,
Whenever I'm around.
She sees me walk,
She hears me talk,
I make her feel,
Like she's on cloud nine

I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy
I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy

May Day

It's the first of may again and 2 years ago on this date, Chippy met with an accident and I can still remember what happened. Nevertheless, she is alive and well now, although quite overweight. But still, I will not forget my promise to take care of her and treat her well.

I think that Im leading a blessed life, with parents and grandparents who take good care of me since young, a very cute little dog, and more recently, a girlfriend who I love very much and is very nice to me. I don't have much to ask for in life, just those who I love and love me live happily and healthily from day to day. =D

我们在一起半年了！

Happy 6 months, baby! This video is a dedication to you to tell you what you mean to me. =D

And my message here => http://wcloveswc.blogspot.com/?zx=8f5a73b112a6bdbd

Love you! Muacks!

Drive to ECP

Wow! I finally managed to drive without an experienced driver by my side, five years after getting my licence -.-.
And it was from Woodlands St 82 to East Coast Park in Ching's Dad's car and back.
It was stressful at times but I felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of the journey.
Yeah, I didn't let you down, baby. =D
Muacks!

P.S. And thanks to your friends for the directions!

Happy 21st Birthday!

Happy 21st Birthday, Darling!

You're officially an adult now!

But you'll still be my Baby!

I want to say this:

I love you!

Hope you don't get sick of hearing this! =P

Noah's Ark Visit

A meaningful quote

Your dog is your friend, your partner, your defender your dog. You are her life, her love, her leader. She will be yours faithful and true to the last beat of her heart. You owe it to her to worthy of such devotion.

Our First Valentine's Day Together!

It is our first Valentine's Day together! A special bouquet of flowers for a special girl. There's a story behind this bouquet of flowers which can't be bought outside. Not many people know the secret. =P Ching loved it so so so much though she said that I didn't have to waste money buying flowers for her on Valentine's Day. 口是心非！Haha. But Im really glad to see her so happy!

A caucasian guy from a push-cart at Raffles City shopping centre offered to curl her hair for free to demonstrate the hair-curler he's selling. It was very well done and she looks gorgeous with the curls. I love this picture soooooooooooo much!!!

The rest of the day was spent shopping for her gifts and then we went "on top of the world" at the Singapore Flyer. There were so many people and we both think it was okay only. Haha. After the ride, she treated me =P to dinner and dessert at Roma's Deli and 记得吃 respectively. All in all, it was a wonderful day! =)

To you you you you you you: Baby, thank you for being my Valentine! *Muacks!*

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy 4 Months together, Darling!

This time round, my message to you won't be posted on my blog but somewhere else.
It's up to you to guess where it is. =)
I love you!
*Muacks!*

Vote for us! =P

Dear Friends, Please vote for me and Wan Ching under http://www.cozycot.com/valentines/contest/5 No. 81 ;)

To do so, sign in by clicking the icon on the right, under Google account, then choose the number of stars (5), then comment! Your help is very very much appreciated!!!

Thank you very much for your time. =)

卉出靖彩校园演唱会

I attended my first ever campus concert in NTU after almost five years, and it's a concert held by my primary school classmate Huang Jinglun, together with Shi Xin Hui! The guy who used to play soccer, go swimming, play console games with me and whose home I've been to most often among all my friends is already a superstar with his own album! Of course I can't miss the opportunity to ask for his autograph! =P

He reserved two VIP tickets for me and together with Ching, we sat in the front row. It was so close! Haha. Ching said she felt like a judge for a singing competition. =S

The two performers' singing was awesome and I was very impressed by Jinglun who not only sang well but was also very vocal on stage, cracking a lot of jokes that made the audience laugh. Except for his appearance, he was totally like the Jinglun I know, even on the stage. Haha. Really feel glad for him for being so successful in what he has always wanted to do. Looking forward to his personal concert soon!

Our first Chinese New Year together!

First Chinese New Year together!

Happy New Year!

新年快乐，万事如意！
身体健康，事事顺利！
恭喜发财，财源广进！

Happy 牛 Year!

IPPT

I took my IPPT last tuesday and was only expecting a pass as my training jumps for my Standing Broad Jump is only between 212cm and 221cm. However, on the test itself, I actually jumped a 225cm. I was so surprised that I didn't bother to jump a second time (every person was allowed 2 attempts).

However, after everything is over, I realised that I only needed to jump 5cm more to get Gold! And that's $200 more! Hai... Maybe I should have jumped a second time, who knows I may get lucky? Haha. But then, getting a silver when I was expecting a pass is already good enough. I'll just have to try harder next time.

Oh dear! it suddenly occured to me that when ppl ask me when I graduated,

my ans will be

'Last year June'

Hahaha!
=P

An eventful new year's eve and new year's day

Our new year's eve began with a trip to the Peranakan museum at city hall area. The museum would have been boring at other times but after watching 小娘惹, it became very interesting, the exhibits were all as shown in the show. Ching liked the beadworks and jewellery and she kept telling me they are very pretty. =) It was great to learn more about the peranakan culture.

After the visit to the museum, we went to Lotus Restaurant at Quality Hotel for a vegetarian steamboat dinner. The food was nice and we ate until we were very full. Maybe we could have eaten more if we had more time, but maybe not. But we had to leave early because other customers have made reservations after our time slot. We were taking photos outside the toilet when a group passed by and a guy asked us if we needed help. Haha. It was quite paiseh. =P

After the dinner, we did a bit of shopping at Novena Square before heading over to Orchid Country Club where my uncle had booked a room and my family members were having a gathering. They invited me and Ching over and Ching was feeling a bit uneasy about it as this is the first time she's going to meet my maternal grandmother, uncle, aunties and cousins. She was rather nervous. Haha. She bought $10 worth of bread from BreadTalk there and we stayed around in the room for a while before we went to venture around. We strolled to the swimming pool which was already closed by then. We didn't swim of course but lay on the tanning bed to gaze at the stars. It was so romantic! After a while, it was time to countdown to the new year and it was our own private countdown! Away from the crowds at marina bay, vivocity, sentosa or wherever. 5-4-3-2-1... Happy 2009! We kissed on the stroke of midnight like many couples do. =D

After more star-gazing, we left OCC and I stayed over at her home that night (in separate rooms of course) because we had another interesting activity in the morning. We woke up at 5.10am and left her home at 5.30am where we made our way to sembawang park to watch the first sun rise of the new year! The process of leaving with her together so early in the morning is quite fun in itself, it feels like we were eloping. Haha. When we reached sembawang park, it was around 6am and the sky was still dark and the sea breeze was cold. Thankfully, the thoughtful Ching brought jackets for both of us and we waited at the jetty for the sun to rise. Slowly, we saw the sky being brightened to an orange colour. It was really beautiful even though our view of the sun was partially blocked! I really liked watching the sunrise and this was a great experience! And Im really fortunate to have Ching by my side to watch it with me.

That's not all. We went back to her home and we went jogging at Circle Green! Yes, all these despite a tiring day and only three hours of sleep. I wonder where we got the energy from. Haha.[And there's a secret about my running wear which I can't disclose. =P] After two rounds of running we went back to her home and had breakfast which her parents had bought for us before we watched the recorded episode of 小娘惹 which we had missed the previous night. That sums up our new year celebration. It was really eventful; I don't think I've ever done so many things and been to so many places within 24 hours! Thank you Wan Ching, I love you!