Sentosa

It has been a long time since there has been a big outing or gathering sort of thing... and today wouldn't be possible if not for the fact that all the staffs there were overseas have returned from their project. Jiunn Hao took the initiative to organise a trip to Sentosa and I was in-charged of co-ordinating the outing.

We all met up at Harbour Front MRT Station at 1530 hrs before we head off to Siloso Beach via the Monorail (Sentosa Express). Sentosa is undergoing major facelift and construction work can be seen at most corners of the island. It has been ages since I've been here and it feels really funny to see so many changes... the island was so alien to me that I really missed the 'old Sentosa'... memories implanted deep inside my puny brain.

We found a spot to place our barang barang before getting all warmed up for soccer match, beach volleyball and frisbee.

Let's get warm up with beer!

What are they looking at?

Team Singapore

Team Belgium

Allez!

Smile for the camera. (:

Sentosa...

After hanging out at the Pool in Cafe Del Mar, we decided to have our dinner there. As we didn't make any reservations, we waited for almost 45 mins before we were given a table. To kill time, I took the chance to take photos of the group and some of the Belgians before they fly back to Brussels. They are a fun-loving lot and I'm really gonna miss them...

Un Deux Trois

Nico et Moi

Yannick et Moi

Tom Cruise (Piere-Yves)!

Mon ami - Didier!

The dinner was really good... however it was really costly for a miserable small chunk of roasted chicken. The bill totalled to about $600 for all of us... opps, I think I haven't return the money to Kai. Lol. =Þ

We went to Pool-fusion at Beach centre after departing Sentosa and I'm glad to realize that my skills got better than ever even though I haven't been playing for months. Yannick even thought I was a pool coach! Thanks (;

A bottle of beer at Chjimes where we celebrated the draw of Manchester United who was initially losing. Glad that they are still 3 points ahead of Chelsea. (:

The wonderful outing and beautiful night ended around 3 plus after the drink... A memorable day written into the journal of my life...

Jumbo / Orchard Towers

This is probably the 3rd time I've been to Jumbo as I'm not really a big fan of sea food and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual as they love to give me spots of rashes if I were to consume them. =Þ

All 3 times gave me quite a good impression as their food is really good... so is their service. As Vincent wasn't around, I was given the opportunity to order the dishes and I was extremely glad to have John sitted beside me to give some opinions. Although I'm trying to learn to take on more responsibility and be decisive, there is still a certain level of stress when I'm ordering for a Director of our company who came to Singapore to discuss our compensation package.

The food was pretty good and I'm glad that Johan and Renaud enjoyed the food. The only problem was that there were too much food for a table of 8.

Didier And 'Tom Cruise' (Piere-Yves)

What is Hans doing...?

Dony and Shawn

After dinner, we brought Yannick, Didier, Piere-Yves and Nicolas to "Crazy Elephant", a pub alongside Clarke Quay to have a few beers. This was the first time I really get to speak to Yannick. My first encounter with him was through the phone and emails, and back them I was really terrified of him as he was really stern and fierce (especially when it comes to work)... but after tonight, I really enjoyed speaking to him... a pity he would be leaving next week as he was here for only a few days to give ITIL training to my fellow colleagues in the office.

After about 2 jugs of beer, we went to Double O and had about another 10 jugs of Whisky Coke, Whisky Green Tea, Vodka Ribena and Vodka Redbull. The music and crowd for the night was definitely better than the few times that we had before. Yannick left earlier as he don't really enjoy clubbing, while the rest of us stayed till the club closed at 3 am.

Considering that it was still early, the 5 of us took cab down to Orchard Towers to let Piere-Yves take a look at Singapore's 'Lady-boys'... Not a fancy place to be at... but it is definitely an eye opener for me. The place... or should I say building was really sleazy with occasional groups of queens seeking business. I believed we went to at least 3 of the pubs in Orchard Towers... each having at least a bottle of beer and queens bothering the caucasians. Somehow, Didier seems really interested in them...? Hee hee.

It was around 6 am when we left the place and I was already pretty wasted by then. My head was spinning from beer intoxication and the lack of sleep... and thanks to an agent from Prudential that called me at 10am the next morning... argh.

In any case, it was quite a interesting night with some really fun-loving colleagues. (:

Street Kings

Knowing that Didier is quite interested to watch "Street Kings", a movie by Keanu Reeves, I jio-ed him to catch the movie at The Cathay... taking also the chance to bring him to one of the newer cinemas in Singapore.

The movie was pretty bad and boring... Personally, I think the plot was really lousy and it could have been much better. The director failed to build up the story or the suspense and right from the start, it was already obvious who were the bad guys. Overall, I think the movie was quite bad and will never ever recommend anyone to watch it... maybe not in cinema. (:

Date: 13th April 2008
Time: 1700 hrs
Venue: The Cathay
Seats: Theatre 1, G11/G12

After the movie, we packed dinner (Chicken cutlet) and went back to his apartment to catch MotoGP Race 3 held at Portugal. Had a few beer and drinks before I head home.

The Bucket List

Its been quite some time since I met up with Cheng Yong and Chin Huat. It has actually only been a few weeks since we last saw each other during reservists, but it always feels great to meet up with Army friends. We may not be the best of friends, but the 2 years of hardship has played its charm and there is always a special bond among us. (:

Today Chin Huat jio us to watch the movie "The Bucket List". We had dinner at TCC before proceeding to the movies. Initially I wasn't really sure if I would be interested in this film and the main purpose was more to meet up with them and chit chat. However, the movie turned out surprisingly nice. Yes, perhaps any comments from me would be: "its okay", "its nice", "I'm fine with it"... generally positive-safe responses (which honestly is how I feel), but I would say even Cheng Yong agrees that this movie is great and thought provoking.

From the title of the movie, its not really hard to guess the plot... but its not easy to guess how the story progress and I'm sure all audience will be pleasantly entertained. It's a light hearted show with slight adventure and comedy plentiful. There's not much to expect from the ending since the plot is about 2 men with terminal illness, but the director managed to pull it really well and staged a beautiful ending.

The main plot that really got me was how the friendship between 2 stranges blossom into something wonderous and selfless. There were also many provoking quotes throughout the movie that caught my attention:

"I love the smell of Chemo in the morning" - This was actually a famous reference phrase from the movie "Apocalypse Now" which was originally "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning"

"The simplest thing is... I loved him. And I miss him. Carter and I saw the world together. Which is amazing... When you think that only three months ago, we were complete strangers! I hope that it doesn't sound selfish of me but... the last months of his life were the best months of mine. He saved my life... And he knew it before I did"

"What does a snail have to do to reincarnate? Leave the perfect trail of slime?"

"You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not... ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ ‘Has your life brought joy to others?’"

I suppose not many people would be willing to fork the money to watch such movies but I strongly believe every cents was well spent on the tix. Nice choice Chin Huat! (:

Date: 5th April 2008

Time: 2100 hrs

Venue: GV Plaza Singapura