understand your soulz

completed my second book of the year (and it's already july)... a recommended book for people into sales or looking for more frens.... "How To Make People Like You In 90 Seconds Or Less" by Nicholas Boothman. it teaches the techniques of leaving first impression, mimicking a person's actions and behaviour, and understanding the various signs / signals of a visual, audio and kinestic person... a rather lengthy book (for me)... comics and mag are still my best buddies...

it's been a while since my wife and i last visited a cinema (without my girls)... this year is exception. we went thru a number of movies... X-Men Origins-Wolverine, Star Trek and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.. to name a few... watching a movie is always enjoyable with someone you loved... of course, the movies must be of certain acceptable standard for us to catch... Star Trek the movie: i had never been a fan... never caught any seasons ... the 2 things i know of Star Trek before watching... "beam me up" and Captain Spock (the guy with that pair of pointed ears)... Whether you are a fan or not, this is a must-see this year... if you miss it, own the DVD or Bluray... whatever... good effects, good plot, good mixture of race?! X-Men on Wolverine... ok or so-so... watch it only if you really want to know how Wolverine came about... not really required to know though... plot a bit lame. Transformers 2... my personal fav... nothing much abt plot... if you like the car...

GREAT... GOOD FEELING. that's my driving mileage in USA (13 Apr to 27 Apr 2009).. from touching down in San Francisco and off to Hertz... driving straight from the airport to next town, Watsonville... *knocked out* very soon (thanks to that JET-LAG). left-handed driving and speedometer in miles did not improve my understanding of US road conditions for 2 to 3 days.. especially turning right almost on the next road (can be on red light)... keeping to right side of the lane for slow coach (road hogger) like me during the first week... driving is a definite must to travel and enjoy the trip covering San Francisco (cooling weather but 'freezing winds' along coastal drive), LA (cooling weather) and Las Vegas (hot but dry) and back to SF (passing Yosemite with their snow)... 2 weeks was not enuff. Places visited (in chronological order): - Gilroy Premium Outlet - Coastal Drive along Highway 1 (from Monterey Bay to Hearst Castle) - Carmel by the Sea - Pismo Beach Premium Outlet (n...

it has been years since my wife and i (only the 2 of us) watched a movie together due to our girls. the last time we went to the theatre watching "Kungfu Panda" were with Ziyi... i cannot remember the last movie we watched together before last Friday... the most recent movie happened last Friday "Quantum of Solace: 007". my all-time fav movie series... i think i caught all the James Bond movie series from Sean Connery to Roger Moore to the person who starred in one and only Jame Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" " to Timolty Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and now Daniel Craig... i happened to work in a video recording company while waiting for entry to Poly and managed to 'catch' all Bond series... seeing M from young to old... all the beauties and villians (Jaws)... fanciful cars, fantastic gadgets... Sean Connery was most charismatic... Tim was the worst Bond other than Lazenby... Daniel Craig, rugged Bond... with killer secret servic...

26th to 28th sept 2008... marked the whole first for Singapore... our little red dot was hosting the first F1 night race in the world... F1... it has never been in my books... i like rally more than this... what's so great about a bunch of cars zooming in the same tracks for over 40 laps without terrain issues to tackle? pardon me for my ignorance... i did not watch the event at Marina for this event... catching the 3 days over channel 5 and starhub channel... how wrong am i... first 2 days were quite bored... F1 cars are zooming at almost 300kmph and placements for finals are in milliseconds and seconds... then the final... i (with my 2 girls) was at my dad's place, catching it live over starhub sports... with Meng and family... my wife was 'sponsored' by her company to watch live... same as my elder bro... how lucky... cos they got the expensive VIP suite... costing over SGD6K+ per pax... free flow of food, wine, champagne... sheltered... near the start / finish and p...

these are not the "to-be-proud-of" achievements... my resolution this year is to complete more games... :P just completed "puzzle quest" for PSP... a mixed of RPG with Bejeweled... it really sets you thinking of pitting your skills with computer... it has a multi-player mode too... have not tried to pit my skills against others... good for all ages... my wife was quite relunctant at first but was stuck with this game now... i completed with Druid and will work on Knight now... another great game of all time... i think the greatest game that i have played in my life after Super Mario series... Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3!!! fantastic graphics, great replay value... the only game that i have completed 3 times and going for at least another 2 completion... the range of weapons is huge... the controls are awesome... you can be aggressive or stealth mode for the whole game...the cut-scenes were flawless except that it could be better (i.e. better facial expression, better...

that's not for me to remember but Ziyi (my eldest girl)... her first movie in the cinema... thanks to Nokia for bringing this event to Nokia staff and their family. funny panda... all the animals are so 'cutely' drawn... theme of the movie: nothing is accidental. a good de-stress movie... adults should watch too. Ziyi enjoyed it, laughing her way except for the fighting scenes. "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. that's why they call it the present", by Master Woo Kway... well said welllll saiddd.

finally, my younger bro is listening to cupid and settling down. my family met up with my soon-to-be sis-in-law, Yuli 12-hour ago. first impression, passed... she's an indonesia sundanese but looks more like a Chinese... minimal understanding of english and knows more Teochew and Hokkien other than Bahasa Indonesian... we had lunch at Chijmes Sun Japanese Dining today... 30% off for all items... really worth the food too... the steamed rice was filling and delicious... enough for 2 on the steamed rice set... 4/5 rating.

i've been having this white PSP for more than a week... only one game (WORMS)... still deciding to mod this set... i got a 4GB memory stick and the moment i got it, all the 'rubbish' starts to appear inside PSP. throw in a few comic articles and my girls' pictures, convert loads of cartoons/videos for my girl, listening to the internet radio (still listening now), dumping a few mp3 tracks... surfing the web (during toilet breaks)! PSP has become my official 'all-in-one rubbish dump'... anything that i wanted to see or use, i just upload... no limits for me, the only limitation? my 4GB!. portable game console?! it is more like a handy machine to me...got this TV out cable for PSP... now i can play my mp4 videos on any TV with components input... but only kid's videos now :) PSP is a thumbs-up for me, it really helps to 'kill' time, why iPOD?

celebrated my 9th wedding anniversary yesterday... got a PSP from my wife ceramic white... i got a simple bouquet for her... tried Aji by Hanabi at Vivocity... ala-carte Jap buffet... sashimi was good... most of the items are of quality... too bad there is no dessert to go along... lunch time pricing is still acceptable at 36++, below 5 year-old kid eats free! we ended with Gobi strawberry shortcake, nice packaging (good for Valentine's Day). cake was delicious and not 'heavy'. the cream tastes good (surprisely for me as i don't really like cream)... check them out here . we had dinner with my family... and actually tried 2 restaurants at Central Mall! one ramen restaurant on 3rd floor (3 ramens to choose only?!) but it was delicious though slightly expensive... we adjourned to the restaurant beside this ramen house, a curry udon house... another good place to visit... both got 4/5 stars... a really 'bloated' day.

it has been a while since i last posted.... i must have been crazy... really crazy on Scrabble... thru' Scrabulous from Facebook. for once, i can be playing up to 12 opponents at one go... too preoccupied, leaving little time to work on, for other things. last Sunday, my family (including dad and hwee) were at Suntec. While trying to decide on what to eat, i saw Pho House outside Toys 'R' Us. we decided to give this restaurant a try due to..."Healthy conscious food" and empty seats... Pricing for this place was generally more expensive than normal Vietnamese Rest... However. the portion was huge... a couple can just share a main dish and order more side dishes... the soup based noodle (i tried Central Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) was tasty and really appetising...one of the few Viet Restaurant that i would recommend to visit again! my bro, Hwee gotten the sweet and sour soup... sweet and sour, the taste still lingers in my taste buds... Psst... they have set meal...

it's on now! every tuesday 8.30pm on channel 5... those who have been through the 80's will really like this sitcom... 80's rewind: who would have forgotten... first episode was Star Wars... the craze of "may the force be with you". i still remembered the first movie that my dad brought me to was Star Wars: A New Hope... the scenes were still vivid although i did not understand much of the plot / storyline during that time. since then, i have seen this episode again and again... still one of the best Star Wars epic... 80's rewind today was about polytechnic and university graduates... how they are compared as different classes of people... poly grads are liked blue collar workers, earning lesser and slogging thru their lives; whilst uni grads are white collars managers that 'climb' the corporate ladder faster... luckily my dad don't care how i completed my studies... i am a poly grad and very proud of it... it's not the studies that makes a per...

yesterday was my wife's birthday.. dinner at Lawry's - paragon... price was expensive for me but food and service was good... excellent. rather. i tried the english cut, 3 slices of 'medium' beef...yummy, spinning salad bowl... the big sister (my eldest) loves the fish and chip... she hardly finished a kid's meal but managed to 'clear' 90% (10% left cos she is FULL)... it must be delicious... my wife had the tenderloin and she gave the dish 'thumbs up'. it will be best if you enjoy wine and dine... they serve a good selection of wine to go with your steak... it's really a dining experience for us... i heard their sunday brunch has a good spread and reasonable pricing... will try again... "FIVE/FIVE STARS"... not my most expensive dinner though... the most expensive dinner happened on 15 dec 2000... my wedding dinner. Ha Ha.

it must have been age that is doing this trick... in the early childhood days, Perfect 10 (98.7fm) used to be my fav radio channel... bernard lim and vernetta... music was great... the 'in' station... we used to record some songs using cassette tapes - the best recording media back then ... (the other invention that is great - video tapes). during sec 3, somehow (i also don't know why)..933fm - mandarin station becomes my centre of focus... probably that was when Karaoke was popular but my 'potential' in singing was only realised at a later stage...hahahha... loyalty to radio 933fm stayed ... for almost 10 years... until i met my wife... class 95fm becomes my choice...all the fav 90's and 80's songs...all retro... all the mambo... the discos tracks... flying dutchman in the morning hours with hubert tang... simply great team... almost another 8 years has past and i am still with class95... but only in the morning hours weekdays (where flying dutchman is stil...

my family was at Best Denki, VivoCity last Thursday... we wanted to check out Nintendo Wii (intended for my inlaw)... just gave them my old PC (loaded with games) and they were enjoying it. Wii is supposed to be my mum-inlaw's birthday gift... alas... not a single console was in sight (all sold out)... while wondering past the rest of the consoles.... XBOX360 and PSP... my wife came across this small notice: PS3 clearance set... without thinking, we ask for a view of the display set and ended getting one... talked about impluse buying... with PS3 around, my PS2 had to go... any takers @ a price will be good... PS2 with 2 controllers and 2 guns...fully modified... i had been testing the new console lately... weight is like a CPU (ventilation is greatly required)... 60GB HDD can be partitioned into 2 parts (one for PS3, the other for you to install your own OS)... it is really like a CPU. If you are thinking of getting a CPU, might as well buy a PS3. imagine it comes with Blu-Ray pla...

no, this is not your usual free oyster buffett. it is from zero to 100km/h for a car...it's not Ferrari or Lambor or Porsche or other sports car. ..... but a simple YRV... first time in my life, i get to this heart-thumping, adrenalin, jaw-cannot-closed, near-to-Buddha experience....i still remember vividly even though this is the fourth day. i am not sure what my fren did to his car...you basically 'fly'....you can feel the 'force' that pulled you to the seat when the car is zoomin'...psst, i am not driving... i tried earlier on, a slight touch can go to 80km/h in no time... this is exhilarating....i will get a 'Prancing Horse' and stick on his YRV. oh, we tested Swift Manual, great car to own, good handling, quite powerful for a small car, gear 2 you can really drag like no business...if not for the small cabin and boot space, i would have gotten this long time. 206, i felt that the lag in your power after YRV and Swift test drive...207 or SX4 next???

check out this link . you can play to your heart's content on Super NES, Neo-Geo, Arcade games. anything new, you have to find it yourself. at least this site don't contain virus and other nonsense ads. too bad, no Mario, no FF, no Zelda, etc, but it still has some good and fun games.....just like my good ol' days. Contra, Dragon Quest, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, KOF............so many titles but so little time to play. PS: download the emulator of the console that you want to play and then the ROM s.

Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft XBOX360 - new and upcoming console boxes, all released in US, Japan and Europe but not here in Singapore... what a load of crap. which one to choose. it seems like Wii has been getting better reviews and can get anyone Tom, Dick and Harry to be involved...cheapest of the lot... PS3??? most feature-packed but price $$$ highest. blu-ray disc, free download of PSone games, etc....even web surfing. Xbox360?? i give it a miss after my first experience with Xbox.... Verdict: Wii unless it is not coming to SG. if PS3 is much cheaper and blu-ray disc has gone mainstream, then maybe give this a try or unless you are Final Fantasy addict (FFXIII is coming and only on PS3 - for now). Handheld players are Sony PSP and Nintendo DS Lite, where is Microsoft product? probably in the making...both look equally enticing, if you need more features (MP3, watching quality videos), go for PSP. if you need more interactive games, DS is the best. it seems like both ...

help wanted... i having been trying to get CD from this Motown boy band (60's to 80's)...Temptations... they featured songs like "Papa was a rolling stone", "My girl", etc. i only know them when i saw the Hallmark channel on a movie made for them "Temptations", worth to see!!! still searching for a good greatest hit CD from these guys... search Sembawang Music, nothing...newer and small CD shops, nothing. HMV, that CD shop and Gramaphone... here i come.

30 Nov to 3 Dec... a battle of shoppers/consumers by major events. 30 Nov: - grand opening of IKEA tampines starting at 7am...saw from the papers that the first couple queued at 1245am...crazy or?? 30 Nov to 3 Dec: - the big event of SITEX (IT show)...i was on a service call to coffee bean (expo outlet) where the event was held....not much crowd....they must be at IKEA....hahaha - john little sale at expo also...crazy... - some big boyz toys at expo also... 1 Dec: - grand opening of VivoCity...fireworks at night...6mins... 3 Dec: - stanchart marathon run. most roads closed. i wanted to visit SITEX since thursday....alas, did not step into the show again. avoided most places due to the crazed... it's really time to do some Christmas shopping....what to buy now... just gotten this TEFAL aquaspeed 150 steam iron...simply fantastic piece of equipment. it makes ironing so easy and fast...lucky that i gotten it from a warehouse sale SGD63 vs SGD98...