Reunion Dinner 2006!

Sunday, 29 January 2006
Lunar New Year
Time : 2.35am

For many years reunion wasn't celebrated in singapore as my Dad would be flying off to KL to Uncle Pat's house for his happy hour party and reunion. This year Dad decided not to go back. So I stayed here too. At first I thought to myself that reunion in singapore was going be boring as so far most of the dinners we had together usually don't last for more than 2 hours.. But I guess there's always surprises...

The spread was pretty good... Very worth the price too. $170 and below for duck, chicken, roast pork, spare ribs, yu sheng.... etc... All very yummy.. Eat until full full...Chat, eat, chat, eat, drink... laughters. After dinner, I was thinking that if everyone goes back into their rooms, then it will be rather boring isn't it...

So I started calling everyone to play cards. Ended up playing a game called SCENE IT? It's a game where you have to use the TV. It's almost similiar to any board game. Where you have the board, dices, cards... How the game is played? It's a guessing of actors & actress, movie titles, can be anything related to movies. The cards and CD have got questions in them. Each time you roll a dice, it's either to pick a card or answer what is on the TV. We were all blur.. As some of the movies weren't even our time. So we got the adults to help out. Some movies were like in the 1930s, 40s.. AIYO! Headache! But we all had fun laughing at the answers, trying to guess the names, titles, etc. The smart ones in the games was Adeline, Phil and Dad. The rest of us, like Andrea, myself, Chris... errr.. blur.... hahaha

After a while, we got bored of the game as most of the questions, the youngest didn't know who the actors were nor know the title of the movies... So we took a break...

After the break, we still wanted to play cards. But some of the adults weren't interested. Dad had some work for the shop so dragged Alex to help him. Phil went back to his room to watch football. Chris started with her jewellery making. So the card game was only Adeline, Andrea and myself. The gals didn't have money on them. So I took out whatever coins I had and played with them. When they lose, they get very sian... When winning, both of them very chirpy. Especially when I put down more than 50cents or $1. Overall, the winning wasn't so important. It was just spending time together. Like what uncle pat always says... "It's not about the food"!

Chris made me a bracelet and anket. Matching colours. Very nice indeed! She can actually open a shop or sell it on the internet to earn extra.

I'm so looking forward to my holiday in another 6 hours.... Whoopi!

Chinatown Walk

Met up with Peijun at a bak gua shop... She was queuing for some time waiting to buy the yummy bak gua. It was really delicious. Chinatown was buzzing with people... Xin Nian music going on loud and cheery. Locals & tourists around, checking out the shops, checking out the food, checking out goodies, clothes, etc... Lots of do & check out.

We headed to Maxwell market to meet up with Jen for dinner. Before that we passed by this area where there's a huge bell, the 12 animals signs of Buddha. The bell.. you can make a wish, throw a coin (any amount), if it hits the bell, your wish will come true. The 1st time when I threw the coin, it didn't hit the bell. Peijun said when I make a wish, after that I got to calm down before throwing the coin. Think I was too nervous or excited. After a few rounds of calming down, finally made my 2 wishes. Both wishes links with the other.

Headed to Maxwell for dinner... Had the famous fish porridge. It was good. The thickness and taste was just right. Ordered chee cheong fun and fried dumpling. A combination of oily & not so oily food. :-)

After dinner, Jen wanted to go to the bell again. So we did... This time I prayed to the tiger Buddha. It was also to make a wish, pour water or maybe holy water over the Buddha. After that, make a donation of any amount you like.

We headed for the pasar malam... It was so crowded. But that didn't bother us.. It was the fun part of chinese new year.. To hear loud voices shouting for their products being sold... or the long queue of goodies to be bought. Jen wanted to buy a "Hu Lu". Something to hang by the window according to the feng shui. Hopefully it brings good luck & health to her!

After hours of walking, our feet were tired.. So sat down for a chat... before heading home...

I felt that this year the Chinatown streets doesn't seem to be as interesting as before. Somehow the atmosphere was different. Though on the outlook it had the chinese new year spirit, lots of ppl around buying things to decorate their home or stocking up for the holidays.. but to me, something was missing. Not really sure what it is, just somehow different from I expected it...



Moments of thoughts..
Sometimes don't expect too much from a situation. Coz things will never turn out as how we want it. There will definitely be disappointments. But at the same time, never give up on good things.... Look forward.... Sounds contradicting isn't it... But who knows one day we can change our disappointments into happiness.

FEW DAYS TO TURI!

AIYO! I'm sick leh.... Been having sore throat since Saturday. Went to see doctor for medication. Flu bug attacked on Monday... Went back to the doctor again and now at home on MC for 2 days... Was given a stronger dose of flu medication... that knocks me out... so that I can rest more. So hopefully I can get well... If not spending money to Turi will be so wasted...



words from a sick gal... ^-^

I will set a place for you in my Heart and not my Mind, for the Mind easily forgets! But the heart will always remembers.....

I MISSED 2ND PRIZE! ARGH!!!! :-(

AIYO! I missed 2nd prize in 4-D! So heart pain though the prize money isn't alot if I buy I-bet.... But still money leh...

What happened was this morning when I went to see doctor, I was suppose to buy 4-D. But was thinking that if I'm going out in the evening then I'll buy it later. Coz I was carrying alot of groceries thus didn't want to queue at the 4-D stall with so many things on hand...

But who would have expected that I didn't go out as I wasn't feeling well... And totally forgot about buying the 4-D!

Sigh! Guess it's not my time to win yet.... Try again next time then.


P.S. An advice! When got feel to buy 4-D, better buy ASAP. No waiting! If not, will be like me.......

Hahaha! 7.5 Points???

It's the first time ever since Lisa last cooking in Year 2003. Finally, she's got the mood in cooking - Horray! Got free food and in the great company of good friends! She have cooked 6 dishes,
<--Peijun(before she said her bye-byes)


Posting by wise-crack @ 10:40pm
Sunday 15th January 2006

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today(on a Sunday) to sample Lisa's cooking..(Oh gawd!)

As peijun has noted above, Lisa has managed 6(including the spaghetti) whole dishes on her own(WowW!) namely:
1. Potato Mash salad(Lisa's comment: with prawns, ham & eggs)<--not quite "POTATO",
don't you think?
2. Pumpkin salad(with more POTATO)<--she'd gotten 5 potatoes in fact..
3. Vegetable (xiao bai cai with oyster mushroom...though it didn't quite look like oysters)
4. "Drummettes" (drumlets which after stir-frying looked very much like miniature "frog-legs")
5. Shrimp wantons (this time round...these were bought from the supermarket instead of hand-made ones)
6. Spaghetti (no prizes for guessing how this is cooked)
7. Additional dishes bought by Peijun:

• Seafood Tempura<--goodness knows why they called it that...Looks nothing like it.
• Crispy Chicken<--loads of pepper, and not as oily as the one you find at pasar malams

Topics of the day: Some homegrown singer's recent concert. Apparently it was reported in some magazine that it wasn't quite as fantastic as some newspapers and magazines had made it out to be. The other was of course about our token man: Bobo.

Poor guy got his secrets spilled. Hmmm... Like how he'd mastered the art of falling asleep while talking, watching tv, eating, sitting...etc..quite a feat! And all that with his eyes wide open.

And for you readers out there looking for after dinner treats, try Guardian's Fortune Cookies. The kids will love it for the joy of breaking open these things(they love cracking things anyway..most of them do), the teenagers love the thought of finding something romantic about their love lives(the girls do), the adults love the tradition of it and the aunties will luurrrvvvee the 4D numbers that come with it... Alright..I tried this at my own family reunion dinner last night.. So I've got a first hand experience of it. And all for the price of S$4.80 for a pack of 30 pieces. Quite worth-it don't you think?

And the clincher of the night: The 3 girls(Peijun, Lisa and Janet) were undoing the evils of a good meal with Lisa's OTO Trimax. Like they say: What goes in, must come out!

Posted by: *wise-crack

Welcoming 2006 with a big bang and kicking 2005 out the door...

11:04pm Tuesday
3rd January 2005

Yes yes, it's me again. This is the 3rd time I'm posting a message on Lisa's blog and I'm beginning to wonder why I haven't set up my own... ;oP (me being so lor sor)

New Year's Eve
This has been one of my most memorable days out of the 365 in 2005. It was a happy one; which is why it's a day I'll hold particularly close to my heart. I'd plucked up enough courage to attend a friend's wedding(on 31st December 2005) knowing full well that my ex-partner would be there with her girlfriend. In fact, we'd arranged to meet as I wasn't familiar with their customs and wedding receptions. It wasn't a Chinese wedding dinner... No Yam Sengs mind you...

Attending the dinner was a huge step to moving on from the past, not just for myself, but for this friend who was getting married. We'd gotten to know each other a few years ago. Many things have changed since then. Childhood friends were lost and perhaps one was found this day. I began to understand her joy and sorrow of losing people who were once so dear to her. She'd teared when she saw me. She didn't expect me to turn up, especially with my ex and her new gf. Back then, she knew me when I was with my ex. The whole group of us were having problems of our own and things had started falling apart between my ex and I. We gradually lost contact. Receiving her email and invitation to her wedding was the start to this experience.

We took photos and exchanged greetings but never got a chance to really talk. That doesn't matter. I was happy for her. Happy that she'd finally found someone she could settle down with. Happy knowing that this man is going to make a very good husband and father. Happy to know that she has found what she's always been looking for. It brought joy to my heart, seeing and feeling that for all the screw-ups life has dealt her, there has been a happy ending.

I left the wedding to meet Lisa, Peijun, Bobo and Uncle Bill for the night's celebrations. Little did I know that there was going to be another twist to this eventful day. As I was walking out from the wedding reception, I didn't notice someone coming up behind me. He tapped me on the shoulder and called out my name. Turning around, I was pleasantly surprised to see another old friend from the group. Hadn't expected him to turn up at the wedding after all that we'd been through. Didn't expect him to come up to me either. I spoke with him and his family and updated our contact numbers. It was good to talk to him. I miss the times we've had, the midnight suppers, crazy drives, relaxing at Changi Beach, wacky jokes.

From this, I'd learnt to be thankful for the times I've had with those I care about. Sentimental me: You'll not know the meaning of cherishing good times till they're over and you sit down quietly to think about them. For all of life's trials, the little moments measure up to a great deal of happiness.

Oh, are you tired of reading yet? This post is barely beginning.... hehehe

After the wedding... It was rush rush rush... going to meet the gals at Safra at Carpenter Street... I was lost... The taxi driver was lost. I actually put Lisa on Loudspeaker to give the Taxi Uncle directions. Hmmm... first it was Safra near Lavender, then Safra at Carpenter Street, then Safra near Boat Quay, then Safra near Boat Quay and opposite Merchant Court Hotel, then Safra near a place where there were construction works going on, then etc... etc... (see how confusing and confused I was... LOL) but yes, I eventually found my way there.

Anyway, I was talking to the Taxi Uncle in Hokkien and ended up doing the same to Peijun when I got to Safra.. Like "Hallo, wa ti lao kar liao" "Ke gui lao arh" .... ;oP for those of you who know me, I'm not Hokkien and I don't speak Hokkien often... Pardon my enounciation... LOL...

Oooohh... walking into the club... first thing that caught my eye (other than the people) was *drum roll*... the POOL TABLE...like wowwww....yayyyyyy...skippididoo! Ok, I haven't played pool in a long time and I miss it. I'm not fantastic but I enjoy the game very much. I met all the Uncles and one of them invited me to play pool with them. Hmmmm... you can imagine how fast my heart was beating...

Well, it's not a surprise that I lost to the more experienced professionals. Mr Birthday Boy/Man was gooooddd..

After a couple of drinks we sat down and Karaoke-d... Alright, we were actually singing oldies. But nonetheless, Goldies. Hey, you know what, Uncle Bill has a reaaallllly good voice. If you ever have the chance, listen to him sing. Bobo picked Hey Jude and Let It Be. We sang our hearts out(ermmmm.. without the mikes though...so shy!)... Peijun was asking us to pick more upbeat songs. In fact, she'd chosen Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head/Mind" MTV and was singing and shaking to it. (So cute!) Between mouthfuls of chocolate cake and housepours, we'd managed to make toasts and hoorayed at each song. (This is really effective multi-tasking...Just imagine if we can apply this to our work)

In the midst of this celebration, who can forget to check 4D? kekekeke... First hand news from Lisa'a phone... Eagerly scrolling through and scrutinising each number, imagine 3 of us passing the phone around. Bobo as usual was the 'relak' 'cool dude'. He'd his share of numbers but I guess there were too many to remember. Oh well, darn, we weren't lucky on the last day of 2005.

Midnight was fast approaching and the karaoke-ing gave way to dance hits. Unfortunately, no one was dancing except Peijun. That girl was out to enjoy herself and she did. Salutes to her for the shaky-bon-bons... ;) I've never seen her dance and this was an eye-opener. Perhaps I should ask Lisa how to upload the video I took... ekekeke(Peijun, you have the other video of me singing and dancing too right.. ;P)

12 midnight -> We blew our whistles and popped the party-poppers! Here comes the New Year! Here's to a new beginning!

We left around 1am and headed for Peijun's place... Hmmmmm... The New Year is just beginning... We haven't quite gotten to our day trip in Johor on 1st January 2006... heheheh...

Lisa's getting tired waiting for me to finish so... adios amigos!



Posted by:
*wise-crack

Exquisite(Expensive too!) New Year Dinner with Uncle Bill

10:11pm Tuesday
3rd January 2005

*wise-crack --> I'm helping Lisa to update her blog, at her request and my insistence... ;oPPP

Hmmmm *burp* Dinner with Uncle Bill was at Mandarin Orchard...What's that restaurant called? Oh yeap..
PINE COURT CHINESE RESTAURANT, at the 35th floor...(I just asked Lisa which level the restaurant is at, and all she can tell me is that she only remembers the yummy food) (haiyor, you see this girl...)

Ok, our memory is so bad, we can't remember which day it was. (either 29th or 30th, 'cos we'd spent New Year's eve somewhere else...that'll come later)

Anyway, stepping out from the lift, you can't see the interior of the restaurant. It looked really small from the outside as the only thing visible was the passageway. There were 6 of us: Uncle Bill, Lisa, Peijun, Bobo, Janet and I. Janet was the last-minute add-on(Lisa's comment: "Extreme last-minute")... In fact, I didn't see her coming with them as she's so small-sized, walking behind Bobo who's tall and lanky.

When we entered the restaurant proper, I was amazed at the varsity of the main area. Just this square block of space with tables(very nice decor too). Our table was by the window. View wasn't too bad I'd say. The manager, Evelyn, was fantastic! She was sooooo attentive to Uncle Bill and Lisa's tastebuds; she'd actually remembered the type of food that they like/dislike. i.e Uncle Bill doesn't like onions, chives(chong stuff) and Lisa likes to eat the roasted chicken with egg strips(see how informative this dinner was)...

Disclaimer: The whole dinner was fantastic, but I really can't name the individual dishes... ;oP
Moving on...

Janet tested her culinary skills by adding red wine to her soup. Hmmm... Soup had mushrooms and scallops...Yummmmmm... She didn't quite finish it and was chided by Uncle Bill. Poor girl was sitting beside him, so he saw everything that she didn't finish. Let's not forget the dips too. Even those were fantastic.. Apparently, we learnt that the XO sauce went well with red wine(you should try it too). Next on the menu, the Codfish..
Beautifully arranged, juicy and tender...*dreaming*... After that was tauhu,vege and *fake* abalone...(which turned out to be a gigantic mushroom) *cheated*... Taste-wise...thumbs-up... Lisa's favourite came next. I must admit, the roasted chicken had crispy skin but the meat was succulent and moist. This one, die die must try! Our final dish for the evening(last but definitely not the least) was tunghoon with erhhh...green chinese capsicum/some green vege...

Joke of the night(for those of you who remember) : Screwdrivers can get rusty without proper care and constant oilment. This was Uncle Bill's idea and he'd laughed so hard... so hard that he teared... LOL...
Gist of this joke-> Women who've grown too old will become rusty without *tender-loving-care*.. (this is a family-oriented place so I shan't go into details ;oP)

Ahhhhh, then there was the desert... Walnut ice-cream on dry-ice... Ooooohhh, this was nice... With chunks of tasty walnuts... Janet had barely finished half of her ice-cream when the dry-ice effect wore off... we joked that it meant she'd gone dry.. while Lisa's was bubbling and bubbling away (I suppose you know what THAT means...hmmmmm)

With the night drawing to a close, we'd rubbed our tummies and said our thank-yous... Let me add one more: THANK YOU UNCLE BILL FOR THE GREAT DINNER...

Posted by: *wise-crack

Thoughts from a friend

9:30pm Tuesday, 3rd January 2005

Wise words from a wise-crack: Don't get involved in the alternative lifestlye.

Why?
You'd probably ask. Experiences have taught me that the people around you are not quite what they seem. Or perhaps they are, too much. Talking to one person about your problems tend to lead to others knowing about it. It's probably fine and dandy when you talk about each other on simple things. I personally believe that you shouldn't talk about very personal stuff, no matter how close you are.

Question: Hands-up, those of you who've had someone confided in you about their innermost problems/thoughts, without you telling someone else about it.
Kudos to those of you with your hands up. People tend not to be able to keep it to themselves.

Yes, you probably think I'm very bitter right now. That I am. I've confided in someone about something very personal and close to my heart. I'd never expected it to become a topic in her discussion with someone else that I know. She thinks that I've got a lot of issues(the two of them think so, actually) and that I haven't gotten over my problems. How to get over a problem, when you're being reminded of it? <- i ask

She was just concerned for me. I appreciate the concern, but I do not appreciate having my personal issues brought up, and to someone else. Talk, but talk to me. If you think I've a problem, come to me directly and tell me straight to the face. I'd appreciate your honesty more.

I guess people show their concern in different ways. Perhaps it's not for me to judge. My point of contest: Don't talk about my personal stuff.

Ok, moving on to the next topic...(enough lousy feelings for the start of the new year)

*wise-crack