Soda Green 11 Dec 2010

Porky has bought the tic for Soda Green concert a few weeks ago. We both love this band bcs of the lead singer , Qing Fen. He is definitely a motivating story for PLU , who is talented as singer and song writer. He did not fit in to any categories of main stream pop, not a hunk , pop icon , but he is receiving good reviews and has a successful band in Taiwan music scene. We love his lyrics , his unique singing ( kind of hard to tell it s boy or girl when he sings ), and to me he is a male version of Faye Wong , with a rock band. I kept playing his songs in my Ipod on Sunday afternoon , when i was walking home alone a year ago on Shanghai streets after my lunch during autumn, missing Porky pig at the same time. Porky also fall in love with this band later, but he likes to spoil their songs with his singing , imaging Peking Opera singing "Unbeatable Beauty".

We went to Max Pavillion at Spore last night , the concert started at 8 pm, i was not feeling well , due to my trachea infection at nostril and throat. I was feeling breathless , but Porky pig kept on talking and i had to keep silence.

The concert was great and will update some photos next time. We love the band, and it s good to be back to Singapore.

Darby

Penang -Eat Pray Love Day 3 & 4

Day 3

We went to a tour agency near the hotel as per planned, waiting for the Burmese who was supposed to help us to book the one day trip, we told him up front we did not book in advance (Porky was a bit unwell)and can we still go with the tour group. The illiterate guy may be just really poor in English , he made us waited for almost half an hour to realise that we did not book and wanted to join on the same day , then he only said no way to join on the same day. We stomped off angrily, the guy could have told us earlier. However, Penang is kind to us, we took a bus from Komtar , reached Ke Lok Shi in 45 minutes. Here goes our Prayer part of the trip.


Ke Lok Shi on mountain.
Beautiful decoration on ceiling.

We ate one of the best Penang Laksa down the hill of Ke Lok Shi.

Back to Georgetown, we took another bus from Komtar to Thai and Burmese Temple along off Jalan Burma, Jalan Pulau Tikus, easily access. They are enemies for generations, it s funny that their temples just opposite each other.

Thai temple.

Thai Rojak stall hawker.

Cross the road we reached Burmese Temple.

Guess who is this poor guy carrying all the bags? Perhaps he is praying for a chance to escape the clutches of evil lover. He he he...

Art piece in Burmese Temple.

Return to Jalan Penang , we wanted to visit Khoo Kongsi but it was too late , so we followed the advice of a kind Penang Chinese auntie who speaks English, to visit Baba Nyonya Museum.

Passing by a barber shop that looks really 60's.

A sculpture on Teochew Clan roof top.

Here we go , Baba Nyonya Museum. I took many shots here as it is full of antiques and gold, the Baba and Nyonya were really rich in the past. I would not post all the pictures here as i think it is too many, definitely worth the entrance fee.

We left the museum, time for a good feast, we accidentally bumped into a Hainanese Restaurant , Xin Qiong Ann, which serve good pork chop and chee char and located at Lorong Chulia . It is good and cheap , except the old waiter only speak Hokkien , which i cannot handle.

Blue Mansion at night, a World Heritage site convert to a hotel.

Thats the end of Pray.

Day 4

We have only a few hours in the noon , our flight is at 6 pm. So we can only stroll at nearby area of our hotel.

We decide to see if we can have high tea at Eastern and Oriental Hotel , but unfortunately it s operating hours starts at 2 pm , we could not make it for the airport.

We returned to Xin Qiong Ann for a hearty Chinese meal.

All i can say is Penang is beautiful. It is difficult not to fall in love , with the people , place and the pace of this little town. We will definitely come back to this Island of Love, the only one in Malaysia.

Darby

Penang - Eat Pray Love Day 1 & 2

Finally Porky and i are back. We have spent about 4 days at Penang Island,a lovely place.Both of us have visited the island many years back during a very short trip. This time, it did not disappoint us.

Day 1 Arrival
We were stuck in the Changi airport for 4 hours due to technical problems of the aircraft, luckily it is not A380 ( hehe.. ). We were asked to transfer to a different aircraft after waiting like ages in the check in area. Reached Penang at about 4 pm and fortunately transportation to Hotel in Georgetown was smooth and cheap. Among Malaysia cities, Penang could have the most economical and easily access airport transfer service, Rapid Penang public bus. Less than 3 RM per person and in about 45 minutes, we reached Weld Quay near Georgetown where we took a free shuttle for tourist to our Hotel, it is very convenient. Malaysia public service sector is infamous for bureaucratic and horribly lack of efficiency, but Penang is a good surprise. The counter service is ok not too rude to deal with , the bus is clean and well maintained. We reached Bayview Georgetown Hotel smoothly and ate something before our much needed rest. We both rushed for work the day before the trip, it is good that we booked an afternoon flight so that we can have more rest and less stressful.

Day 2 Eat like a pig

Wake up to the nice sea view in the morning, we can see the Penang Straits from our room. Bayview Georgetown Hotel is just next to Eastern and Oriental Hotel ( Elder sister of Singapore Raffles Hotel , by the same Armenian designer.). Overall, we are pleased with the room and hotel service.

Very 60s buildings can be found everywhere in Georgetown. Nostalgic.



Porky fav Lo Bak from Hai Onn Kopitiam along Jalan Burma. The Lo Bak uncle really photogenic for Wong Kar Wai s film. Also in the picture you can see their famous Kuay Teow Soup, heavenly good too.


Nice coffee from Hai Onn Kopitiam , Penang.


Lunch Bak Ku teh at Komtar , 7 RM per bowl, Left is without wine right hand side is with Wine. Of course i took the one with wine, Porky cannot drink.

We had our massage and haircut, plus a movie in Komtar. Everything is less costly here in Penang.


A Teochew Cendol for dessert, note the size of the coin and you can tell how big is the portion.


Red Garden Hawker for dinner, we had Laksa and Lor Mee.

We reached hotel with a full stomach, and god knows how much we love the Hokkien/ Teochew foods here, let alone the cheaper price for meal, friendly Penang locals. In his dream, Porky smiled contentedly like a baby, he lives for good local Chinese foods and now he can have them all as much as his stomach can take it.

Darby

東主有喜喜, 休息8天

Ok, Porky and i are not getting married. We are going away for a few days short vacation to Penang Island for a short break coming Wednesday, finally after a long and tedious Y2010. We chose a nearer and more familiar place so that we can have less problem doing our free and easy ourselves, plus all the natural disaster in Taiwan , Bangkok , New Zealand, there is really not many favorite places we can chose from. And due to the big investment on our house , we are pretty much dried up in our pocket, we will not have the luxury to go Europe/ Japan this few years.

We just want to enjoy this short trip and time spend together,hopefully come back with recharged body and look. No fighting between fat cat and piggy .. haha...

Darby

The morning benders- Excuses

Yesterday while watching tv with Porky, Sony s 3D tv ad was playing and the background music just caught my attention. After The Submarine s Submarine Symphonika (from Ipod tv ad), i just like pop songs with Symphony ( violins particularly ). I searched from Youtube for the song and god i am glad i did, the male lead singer Chris Chu (should be a chinese) from the band "The morning benders" teamed up with the Echo Symphony just matched perfectly. You can see a shy / humble guy with amazing voice singing live, the male lead is terrific. They sound really Beatles in "Damn It Anna " and "Waiting for a war". With many others songs and mtvs , i just found this group is about music and music, no packaging but only real talents.I am glad there is a band like this in english pop scene nowadays.
Darby

My 36th Birthday

Porky and i had a great day yesterday(Saturday) celebrating for my belated 36th birthday on chinese calendar (supposed to be Thursday). He smsed me before that and said he will be a male slave for me for a day, he planned it thoughtfully as below :

9.30am : Me the lazy fat cat woke up at this hour, after a few long and stressful weeks of hard work , i really need a good long sleep to recover.

10am : Finished breakfast and watching some stupid tv programmes

11am : Doing some house chores

1230am : Left for lunch at Bugis Illuma rooftop, we went to the restaurant namely Chef Daniels Kitchen , it has received good reviews by critics and public, well known for it exquisite western cuisines with mass market pricing. Porky ordered a set Grilled Chicken lunch and me Sirloin Steak. The set lunch comes with soup of the day + breads, main course , dessert, for just 10.50 SGD per person. The ambience is great and classy, meals and desserts are good, i would definitely come back again. I opened the wrappings for my birthday present from Porky , it is a bottle of SKII essence, we are vain, isnt it.

2pm : We lazed a bit after lunch and headed to ION Orchard to do some banking.

3.30pm : Went to Somerset NTUC fairprice Fine for groceries shopping for the dinner. Porky vowed to clear his name of being a big mouth piggy with lots of talk and no action, aka NATO ( No Action Talk Only). He is gonna cook me Mee Suan ( rice vermicelli ) for birthday as a custom for us Chinese.

5pm : We hopped on to a bus from Somerset and going back to our home, a comfortable ride with cosy seats ,I always prefer bus than MRT. When we are home, Porky started to do his cooking.

630 pm: Dinner served by Chef Porky personally, a Chicken Soup Mee Suan with drumstick and eggs / Vege for the birthday boy, me. It was unexpectedly good. Porky has another signature dish again besides his pasta. I truly enjoyed the meal, a sweet, loving, heart warming meal.

8pm: Washed all the dishes , and we are eating again , yogurt with plums prepared by Piggy.

1030 pm : Time to sleep. A contented me hugging porky pig.

Darby.

My first major assignment

After working for 4 months , i got my first major assignment to up rev the company quality system , make or break. I will have to go if i fail , i knew, cause i do not really fit in to the sme working culture after so many months. I am being assigned many funny jobscopes that ppl/ i would not take up as an undergrad. That is SME.
The result will be out by October. I hope to apply PR before i decide my next move.

I believe i can find the next job, as 3 companies have approached me for working as a customer quality again, which i rejected cause i do not want to waste my effort in this company and i am not going to quit if i have not tried.

I think i may need some help. Shld i approach my ex manager from Singapore who is an expert in Quality System cause it is a new job scope for me.Thanks for piggy support all along, i cannot endure this much without him.

Darby

Single and Lonely

Porky and i went to Balestier Rd to buy some sanitory accessories yesterday. We had Ba Kut Teh at one of the stalls before the purchase, and we bought eight pieces of 603 Tau Sar Pia for our snacks later at home.

Porky then asked me. Isnt it very lonely if you are PLU and single at 40 years old? I told him , if you are single at 40 y/o , it is gonna be same kind of feeling whether you are PLU or not. i have ever thot abt this question when i was in my late 20s, that regardless of your sexual orientation , a spouse is not a guaranteed gift from God. Anyone can be single and lonely at 40 yo, no close friends, no family , no lover, everyone else in your life could be busy with their family / kids / boy or girl friends. You could go home to an empty house after work , i experienced that for the last 4 yrs when i was working in China, it is a horrible feeling.

But as a person, he/she must love him/herself enough first , so that he/she is able to love others, love yourself means knowing how to get along with yourself when alone, it's only when you are able to get along with yourself then only are you able to get along with others. A desperate middle age guy who acts like a freak will drive away everyone else around him, and there is definitely no sexiness or maturity in such a person that will make others find him attractive.

Darby

Submarine Symphonika ! The Submarines

The Submarines - Submarine Symphonika download

found at bomb-mp3 search engine

Brilliant piece.

Darby

What i am looking for ! Brendan Benson

Brendan Benson - What I'm Looking For download

found at bomb-mp3 search engine

I definitely know what i am looking for and i found it.

Darby

Albert Kahn : voyager en couleurs (1907-1929)

BBC played a documentary about Albert Kahn , a french Banker who sent a troop of ppl to the four corners of the world to take down the photos of ppl daily life as a record. He ended up with a collection of the photos that a museum was set up to display these photos taken , in early 19th century. Among these , what is most fascinating to me are those from Far East (Japan and China)and Indochina. The buildings, costumes, rituals, economy status, were recorded in the autochromn photos, 100 years ago.And the quality of the photos are really amazingly good.
Vietnam


Japan


Truly enjoyed the show and wondering what have we gained after 100 years of civilisation.

Darby

A walk in the park

Finally the pig and i went to the park for a walk this weekend , the pig kept talking non stop on the way, and without fail he needed to release his energy by immitate how others jogged or walked on that day. i was just worried that his noise level could be too high and he will be kicked out by all the park goers that day, but luckily it did not happened. It was a saturday afternoon , and the park was looking green and fresh from a big downpour in the noon, no insects hovering in the air due to high humidity , trees stretching high towards sky sheltered us from any light source available , cool breeze and fresh air. Once in a whie you will bump into a couple of park goers who could be family , lovers , old folks with dogs etc, other than that everything is quiet.

We went for our fav clay pot rice after the walk as the sky turned cloudy and dark, looked like it is about to rain , and we dashed all the way to the neighborhood hawker center. It was coincidence that just when reached the Kopitiam , it began to rain and we were enjoying our hot steamy clay pot rice while outside was cold. And i bought 2 packs of durian that taste bitter sweet for just 5 SGD after meal for dessert, we had our fill of durians that night. Is not is life is good ? That s why i shld returned from Shanghai , nothing beats the companion of Porky Pig.

It is a blessing for Singaporeans to have so many nature reserve parks near by , and being a Malaysian myself , i do not remember there is any nature park visible at Johor Bahru, quite a shame that we are a country with plenty of lands, sufficient supply sunlight and rain water free of charge, and yet we do not have cool air from the park and a break from the city bustling sounds. Sick of the country with politicians act like a clown. Come to mid thirties , i decided to vote with my feet, everybody deserves a greener pasture.

Darby

Mcdull and Darby Q & A

Mcdull's birthday is coming soon and i got him a shaver yesterday as a present since he mentioned he wanted a shaver.

Darby : It can run on the battery or from power point directly. The first charge of the battery will take 4 hrs and i did that for you already , subsequently you just need to charge one hour and it will last you for 2 weeks.
Mcdull ( rolled his eyes ) : My moustache will not grow back for 2 weeks ?
Darby : ....... I mean the battery .
Mcdull (blushed) :.......

Isn't he too cute for real ?

Darby

Got my new spectacle

Porky and i went to Vivocity yesterday, i have to collect my new spec that is similar to BYWP, a German brand that i have been hunting hi and lo in optical shops throughout the Great Singapore Sales for best deal. I have fall in love with a model from this German brand , modern classic series , Code 8051. See below.

It gives a clean cut and smart look , you can tell it is expensive by its design but it does not look that loud like some Ah Liang / Ah Beng fav brand such as Gucci / Armani. And it costs 700 SGD ( same price as my new netbook ), i just cannot make myself to fork out the money for it , i got to use this sum on better usage. So finally i have to compromise, i chose a similar design with less that half of the price. Well , finally bidding farewell to my black plastic frame almost 10 years.

Then we went to Page One for reading , Porky and i found a window seat in this bookstore , he started reading Haruki Murakami recently and became a fan of him immediately, Murakami is my favorite Japanese author that i talked about at the beginning of this blog. And without fail , he fall asleep after a while, not because of the book , he just can fall asleep everywhere with his mouth wide open. I took a snapshoot of the scene, so that i can publish a book that feature that many places that he had slept . Then we went home for rest.A peaceful day.

Darby

Happy together Happy forever.

Been looking for my Wong Kar Wai DVD , especially In the Mood for Love, i was real upset that i did not have enough personal space in the past for my stuffs that i bought when i was in China. Now i have a hard time to find those things i bought and i just do not know where they are now, Piggy is one of the culprit who kept the things in his storage space and did not return to me. Hmmmph. And i have lost count what i have given him, and he is testing my memory to tell him what i bought and stored at his place. One by one , i have to recall and request , and he will take a month or two to return me. It is a game he is playing. Testing my memory and patience at the same time. I like to give things to others when i am not using them, sharing of resources but he is really good at keeping things and not using them till it rots, which i find it .... makes me speechless. He just cannot be bother about the collection he is building.

I was browsing in Youtube for Wong Kar Wai movies, and found the poster , that reminds me the Waterfall Table Lamp from Goods of Desire G.O.D HK , it was cheap and i did not buy it cause i think it was too heavy to carry back. Alien and i found the Zero Degrees poster in Holiday Plaza JB , it was about 100 RM many years back , and again i was not able to afford at that time. Many things just past, and i have earned enough to afford these things now , i have my house to display them now, but they are gone.

In the end of the making of Happy Together , Wong Kar Wai added, Happy Forever.


Darby

MC today

After having giddy spells for days , i decided to go to the clinic last night. Doctor gave me MC for today and i decided to take a break when i cannot wake up on time , coz i just turned off my alarm clock this morning and overslept.

I slept till 11 am , watched tv for a while before lunch. Back from lunch , i rested a while by reading paper again, began to feel bored. I still feel giddy , the medicine is not working very well. I wonder if the doctor diagnosis is effective or not.

But i need to rest more , tomorrow is a long day. Porky is busy at work today i guess. Time to take a nap.

Darby.

My pal - Kopi

As a child grew up in suburban of Msia, i have the luxury of the forest near to my father's employee dormitory. And because of this , we were keeping like 30 dogs for the employer, to safe guard his factory and employees from wild animals and bad guys.

The leader of these 30 dogs, was a big male dog with tigerlike furs, black stripes over orange furs, we named it Kopi. Everyday after school, i would carry a big pot of coarse rice porridge (with bones / veggie from our family leftover) cooked by my mother and walk towards the back yard. These hungry animals would smell their meal from far far away and rush to their dining room immediately with barking sound happily. No one fights with Kopi for the porridge scoop on to first bowl, i would usually go from one bowl to another , until the porridge in the pot is cleared. Then i would play with Kopi for a while , like hand shaking ,if i extend my hand towards its, it would do the same too with its fore leg, i would shake its leg, sometimes i would ride on it as if it is my horse. Although ir is a king in its pack, it will never reject my play and never hurt me although its height is about my waist already. I have always been a loner in my own family , after returning from my grandparents home, Kopi has been my only pal who kept me accompany, and many playful moments we have shared, it just cannot talk.

I would not forget that fateful afternoon, a f*cked up driver who knocked Kopi down on the road outside our dormitory. As the road is not frequently travelled , there is almost no traffic usually on that road, i believe the f*cker was speeding and he knocked down Kopi when it was about to cross the road to the jungle opposite the road to play. By the time I saw Kopi lying on the road side , bleeding from its mouth, it was dead. It was dead. I knew i have lost my friend. Till nowadays , i cannot forget Kopi. I still like dogs, for dogs will never look down on you , never cheat on you, give a little and they will return alot to you.

Darby

Miss my grandpa

The first man who doted on me in my life is not my dad, he is my grandpa, my mum's dad. I was brought up in my grandparents family since childhood , with 3 aunts , 3 cousins. My grandpa and grandma doted on me for unknown reasons , may be they were pity on me , a young boy at age 5/ 6 yo had to leave his home and grew up with grandparents. My grandpa showered his love for me in his way, we have house rules for all the kids to take afternoon nap at 3 pm everyday , and i just could not fall asleep together with my cousins most of the time. Grandpa would put me on his bike , and asked me to hold his waist real tight , off we would go to coffee shop about 5 minutes ride away. He would buy me toast , half boiled eggs , and share his hot aromatic coffee with me in that kind of plate for coffee cups that you may still find now adays in old Kopitiam. Sometimes, he would order a few small cubes of butter or cheese ( if i not wrong, i still do not know what is that altho i can remember the taste ), with tooth pick poked into it, and i would take one from the plate. That was in late 1970s, taking afternoon tea at Kopitiam was an expensive habit. My grandpa did not share this quiet moment of the day with his wife , but me, perhaps i was not too nosey as a kid. Looking back , i realise how he pampered me , not his oonly grandson that carry his surname.

And on one of the family photos taken , i was about 4 y/o standing in front of grandpa who was seated ,i was crying loud in front of the camera , and you can tell that my grandpa s facial expression is sad , not annoyed. He was really sad that i cried for unknown reason and holding my little body , trying to comfort me. A gentle old man. And what really upset me is , the last few years before he passed away , he was senile and just could not recognised us, and constantly worrying about the Japanese will be attacking again, he was a young man when took part in the world war II , fighting Japanese with Malayan Communist then. That experience must have embedded deep fear in him subconsciously, it should be a horrifying experience for a kind soul like him. I despise Japanese ppl who took part in World War II , and that is something we as a Chinese you can forgive , but never forget.

And after i left grandparents for my own family, i have no fatherly love for a long period of time. I just miss him recently,one of a few persons in my life who has been real kind to me.

Darby

Trauma is over

Porky and i went through some crisis this month,our house was infested by termites and i almost went crazy during the period of monitoring before the pest control came to check on the affected areas. Everyday i would reach home and check every corner of the house for the signs and i managed to find some , whenever it happened my heart sank. My new job started at the same time and i always reach home by 9 pm due to the long travel distance, i am exhausted whenever i reach home. Finally by this sunday i can feel relief that the problem is tackled and i can sit in my living room and enjoy some peace. And happened that today the sky is clear , view from living room window is breathtaking. I took a picture of that , and the black spot in the picture was a helicopter.

After few weeks of follow up actions , we managed to identify the affected areas and torn down these parts and threw them away. Then came the repair and replacement work to follow up. I am spending almost every weekend to follow up this issue, as Porky is sick and busy with his work. and whenever he is sick he will turn on his "Emperor" mode. He will behave like he is the emperor , sulky face , want attention for his illness, and ignore others existence. But that is him, and with my bad temper , we bound to crash. This is the second crisis.




And i hope bad things are over, including my new company's boss's health issue. I hope she recover soon. And god bless her.

I just want some peace, time for two of us to sit down and talk about our role for our home, our future. And i look forward to our trip together , we did not go for trip for half a year , bcs of the house , my new job and many many things. I want that, it is good for both of us , we need a break , a break much needed and postponed for so long, to spend more intimate time together.I know Porky is tired, and so am i.


Darby

First jog at Nature Park

Our place is just in front of the nature park and whenever it rains the view is just breathtaking , the foggy green forest , clear blue sky , cool breeze . We have been telling each other that we shld go for a jog in the park but it never happen till today, i decided to exercise more as my back is less painful this morning. I ate my breakfast , tidied up a bit the house, and off i went for a jog. The jog today was a good start , the park is small but it has many different route you can see different plants along the jog. About 30 minutes of slow jog, i was all in sweat. I think i will jog more during the weekends, so that i can win the birthday bet and piggy will stay the same as a piggy. (evil grins ...)

Darby

So what is on the menu today

Ever since we moved in to the new house , we have more chance to cook up a storm in the kitchen like 食神.

We are experimenting on those dishes that our mums cooked for us before and tried it in our little kitchen, whenever we have time for groceries shopping and preparing foods. So you can see two guys squeezing in the tiny little kitchen bossing around each other and telling the other what he thought is the right way to prepare the foods, for a few hours.
"You need to boil it with hot water first !!"
" Why dont you do it since you are so good at ordering me ??"
"Well thats how my mum does it."
"But my mum did not do it this way."
(So two mummy s boys fighting in the kitchen now)
"@#%^&&*&&% "
"@#%^&&*&&% "

Despite the heated exchange sometimes in the kitchen, we managed to accomplish our mission , we usually end up seated and happily tucked in the dishes we cooked. And believe me , it is far above average for a beginner. Simple dishes like soup , vegetables , meat , we just love our own cooking. And piggy will happily clear up the plates everytime since he is the big eater.

I love my life now. After 30 yrs ++ , first time i found a place to call home , our home.

Darby

Shopping done in a day

Without wasting much time , i completed my task to shop for the list i have jotted down below.

1. Watch (tick)
2. business shirt (tick)
3. suitcase (tick)

All done within a day within budget and i bought some household items too , chopstick and pot gloves.

I have received calls from recruiters , which is seeking the candidates with experience in customer quality, that is what i have been doing since graduation. I checked out the hiring party and does not seems attractive for me to give up the offer in my hand, although the recruiter said they sent a few resume and the hiring company has only chosen my portfolio. And they asked me to go for interview yesterday urgently as they know i have an offer on hand already. It s quite ironic, when Li Peh (your daddy in Hokkien) is seeking job for high and lo until sufferred from depression , there is no respond from the whole universe. After Li Peh finally received an offer already then here comes the right job offer. The time is not right. Sigh...

Mothers day is coming, and i need to do something about it.

Darby

One step a footprint Taiwan

Watching the tv program "One step a footprint Taiwan" yesterday and heard a enlightening statement , a professor in government bureau for over 30 yrs gave up her high pay and luxury life in Taipei and moved to Southern Taiwan to start her social work. She picked up the responsiblity like Mother Theresa and received many cold shoulders from others. A drastic change in her life but she already prepared for it , she said : I want a different life style , so i have to accept many differences in this life style. Indeed , she wanted a different life style , means many things will be different in her life , eg you will no longer able to eat at posh restaurants/ buy Prada or Gucci bags / go to spa / etc.

This is particularly enlightening to me. I want a different life style , that is why i flied back from SH and bought our love nest ,i started my job hunting and the job is leading me to a different path. I am expecting and preparing myself for a different path, knowing that things will be difficult for me as the job scope is not what i am familiar with. The changes are :
a. I got a life partner to share sweet and bitter experience with, everyday. We even have our space now.
b. I got lower income , tougher job.
c. I get to see my friends and family more. Not just twice a year.
d. I am definitely healthier than before. My body is used to tropical weather.

Who is not facing difficulties in his/ her life everyday ? So i can see my life s changing , good to bad or bad to good, give and take. I am just glad that i did not lose too much and gain alot.

Darby

Mcdull and Darby Q and A

Mcdull : Do you know which country was practising Apartheid system ??
Darby : You make a guess and i will tell you the answer
Mcdull : England
Darby shake his head
Mcdull :A South America country
Darby shake his head
Mcdull : x&&%##^*(%.. ( A country s name )
Darby shake his head
Mcdull : x&&%##^*(%.. ( A country s name )
Darby felt like banging his head onto the table like last time Mcdull ordered Fishball Noodles.
Mcdull : South Africa
Darby : Phew......
Mcdull : I knew it , i watched the movie by Matt Demon about this country
Darby in his mind : Hehe(Evil grins).. if so what is taking you so long to answer it correctly..

Closed the deal

Finally after 3 months and 17 days i received the first letter of offer. I am not very happy with the salary itself but the career path planning from this company is rather attractive and with products from a niche market. I am lucky i guess. A switch of career without planning to switch. My new jobscope is totally different from my past experience, come to think of it , it is quite scary for me as i would need to transform myself totally as a person. I need to change to survive, i mean i am not selling my body (nobody want to buy either) but the nature of the job is totally different required a more outgoing personality which is not quite myself.

Immediately without waste a second i decided to celebrate it with some shopping spree, here comes the pink dollars. I have been controlling myself from spending on unnecessary stuffs and now it is the pay back time.

A list of items i need to replenish :
1. Watch (Not wearing any watch now)
2. Suitcase (Bought 3 years ago in HK and worn off now )
3. Business shirts (those that in my wardrobe now are bought about 5 years ago before i went to China, and they really look outdated now)
4. Netbook ( the existing one is not stable now , after all i bought it 4 years ago )

These are what i can think of now. I am going to reward myself and piggy a bit over the weekend. After all besides my best friend Alien / my family/ some ex colleagues, he is the one who gave me the biggest supports financially and morally, has been tolerating my mood swing due to depression. Even till yesterday , i just lost my temper and raised my voice at him due to the job offer issues like volcano in Iceland, but i am not actually mad at him. I just cannot help it as i felt so exploited and angry at that moment. I do feel bad and here is what i want to say to you : Sorry Piggy, I love you.

Samsoon is not back from laundry yet as the laundry guy lost her pink heart shape necklace, they are looking for her replacement.

Hope for a better future for us in this year, For me and my loved ones.

Darby

Samsoon goes to laundry

Sent Samsoon for laundry today. A wash much needed since Y2007 when i brought her back from China as a gift to Porky . She has turned into grey color when i met her this year on Porky s mattress. Sigh... Dun know what did Porky do to her on those stormy nights in tropical...

She is actually a momento for both of us, after watching a Korean Drama , My name is Kim Sam Soon. We spent many saturday afternoons in Porky s old house many years ago, watching this Korean Drama series together, Samsoon Pig is like a mascot for the drama series. She looks ultra sissy with pink ribbon on her head and heart shape necklace, but her smily eyes , big tummy , short trotters just looks oh so cute to me from every angle. I remembered Porky said yes without hesitation when i said i wanted to buy Samsoon as a gift to him , which is something rarely happen as he usually do not want me to spend on him. This shows that Porky also like Samsoon alot.

Till now , she is still very important to us as a part of our memories, never fail to make us smile just by sitting on the sofa. And to shorten our separation from her during the laundry service, we have checked with a few laundry services to ensure she is not away from us for too long. This time it is 8 days, and i hope she come back asap and safe, since we have never let her leave our place for years.

Darby

First meal cooked

Porky cooked the first meal for us , pasta with carrots and brocolli. It was really good and tasty. I gave him 9 out of 10 for a first timer.


And we moved samsoon to our new place. She is happy i guess to be able to do all the things pig likes to do.






The PCK company rejected me. :-( goodness..

Darby

Short update

I supposed this week will receive a reply from one of the interviewer , who is a SME , the set up is really in a mess and very Phua Chu Kang to me. I have not much experience in a company which is not MNC, but i need to bite my lips and go for it. I need to bring home butter and bread, for my family and myself, now the new home.

Yesterday night , after doing some laundry in our new home and some groceries shopping , i took some time and repaired my masterbedroom fan which is way too noisy, it sounded like aeroplane take off except it is always in take off mode. I dropped the fan cover and scratched / dented the parquet . SOB SOB SOB... I dun have a baby, but i know how a mother feels now when the baby is bitten by mosquitos. I feel so guilty.


Today will receive our bed and electrical appliances. Off i go now.

Darby

Handover of our home

The contractor will handover the new place to us by tomorrow, basic renovation such as parquet/ skirting polishing , marble polishing , paint work , custom made study table / cabinet , chemical wash. Next Monday and Tuesday will receive our furnitures and electrical appliances, wallpaper will be installed too. After next Tuesday , i can start to shop for groceries daily usage for kitchen and sanitory. The new home is ready for occupy.

There whole process is tedious and tiring , i can now understand how my friends felt when they are forming the little family nukleus and began to live independently as husband and wife. The preparation / info sourcing then execution , then follow up , then the completion and inspection. Everything in your house , tiny little things or major appliances. Electrical / lighting / scv or internet cable / water piping / gas / wall color / study design / furniture / electrical appliances, there is more to go such as kitchen and sanitory accessories which i have not purchased yet. Luckily Porky handled the legal paper work and the loan procedures, helping me with the renovation work too.

Altho the whole thing is tiring but meaningful. Nothing beats that feeling that to see your home with your loved one, transforms everyday closer and closer to your planning, becomes more and more gorgeous like a beauty in process of making. This is the space we will live for many many years.

darby

Enuff of extra marital affairs of celebrity reporting

Whenever there is a scandal of celebrities reported by the papers , they will use at least 2 weeks headlines to follow up with the scandal for 3 to 4 pages everyday . It is just make us feel fatigue to read the same storm in a tea cup everyday.

The contents will be
1. The "juicy" parts ( to paparazzi and ppl are busybody )from the scandal itself.
To me , i have paid 90 cents for my newspaper , all i get in return is a piece of junk.

2. the unwanted public opinion ( who cares about what Ah Beng and Ah Liang think about the scandal). I am not a Christian , but Jesus said once, "Who has no sin may throw the stone at the woman ( a whore )" . Chinese also has one famous clause : There is no man without err. It just that you did not get to wash your dirty linen in front of public, so stop acting like a holy man to condemn others. And stop making life more difficult for Mdm Irene Kng and their children.

I am surprised that the Romanian Embassador hit and run case is not getting much attention than the Jack Neo case. It is sickening to hit and run , it is even more sickening to lie about the crime committed as an Embassador, but our attention has been diverted to the wrong channel, as there is no noise heard from the public on this.

3. some so called specialist advice ( do not know where they are from as no one heard of them before the scandal )

When have the ppl and the media become so perverted to have the habit of daily feast on scandal? There are more serious things in life you should vent your angst and energy to.

Darby

Mcdull Darby Q and A

Regarding rusty supporting pole for shower head
M: Does water run through the shower head supporting pole ?
D: Nope , the water runs from the water hose and sprays out from the shower head.
M: Good , cause i do not want to drink any rust water during shower.
D: I am curious that why you need to drink water from shower head.
M: Mmmm... you know , my mouth is too big. I can drink alot during shower.
D: .........

Sleep

It is getting more and more difficult for deep sleeping for me recently , and i thought what is the problem? Am i getting old or my health is just not restored yet?

My landlord s Malay neighbor is keeping a few fat cats in the lift lobby , they like to take a nap in the afternoon , sleeping soundly like a baby on their young master's work out bench everyday. The hot weather for the past few days is making them more drowsy than usual, they just do not bother to wake up when the lift door is opened or closed. I really envy them. When i was a child or younger at early 20s , sleeping is never an issue , i like to stay up late watching tv and wake up early next day without feeling any tiredness. As i grow older , i need to sleep punctually else i will feel tired, and now i cannot sleep and just suffer the consequences such as back ache , headache ,feeling tired.

How i just hope i could return to my childhood , with no worries for tomorrow and for earning my livinghood, although my own childhood is never of a carefree version.

Life goes on , ppl ageing every second, sun rise and set everyday. We are closer and closer to the end of life , our misery and short life. Cherish what we have..for nothing is a constant , change is a constant.

Darby