My 36 Hours In Singapore

"Qua, they want another meeting on Friday afternoon too... so how?" says biz partner who just got a call from a potential sponsor.

"Oh well, Ill have to go into Singapore later then," I replied.

Move fwd 2 days: By 5pm, the meeting ended. But instead of heading straight away from Kay El, we had to go to a mamak shop nearby, and work on that proposal we had. Another 2.5 hours or so, and then I was ready to head off to Malacca to fetch my mum.


By the time we reached Singapore after the 'pit stop' in Malacca, it was nearly 2am in the morning. And I reached my destination - 3am.


But in any case, I was in a good mood.

I was there in the island city for a holiday.. and was ready for some good fun. It was my friend's wedding that I came to attend after all.


So on early Saturday morning, it was time to head to the church. Old NTU buddy was pretty much his usual happy self, only difference is that he was dressed in all white.
Ah, his big day and I was proud for him!

Soon enough, he and wife Grace exchanged vows, and lunch was served!


Now that lunch was over, I decided to join my mum & bro for some jalan jalan Singapura. It's funny cos I am in some ways a tourist now.. but then, having stayed in Singapore for so many years, I am not too. So no Universal Studios or all those touristy stuff for me.


Instead we ended up in one of my favourite hangout place there - Orchard Road. And the mall we ended up at - Ion.

Wasn't much into buying anything.. so it was more of a look-see thing. Just enjoying the mood in Orchard.


We did have some yummy Toastbox at the food court below. The setting was different and wasn't the usual Toast Box kopitiam style. But I knew from the menu that it is.. for it sure can't run away from it's signature dish like this yummy peanut butter on bread, which I fell in love with 2-3 years back!

Also tried this - which was new in the menu (for me at least): corn beef with egg. Still prefer the peanut butter tho.


Oh anyway, it was here that I went into 'American English' mode. Cos, the staff was at first a lil rude when I was speaking local. But when the ang moh slang kicked in, things changed. And yeah, the slang stayed on throughout the trip (again) :)

Bumped into the exhibition area of Noise Singapore at Ion too. Quite a nice & unique concept of promoting Singapore's youth talents from the arts.


Was a very small area.. but well decorated. I'd say this could be more impactful if it was done in a much bigger scale (ah, but let's not go there). Still, a pat on the back for the organisers :)

Dinner was at Canton-i, joined by my best buddy & Pinoy friend, Richard. Yeah, it may seem a lil weird eating Malaysian there, but like I said, I'm not really a tourist so I don't mind. And besides, the food at Canton-i was like always - good!

After dinner, mum headed home to rest. While me & my Pinoy friend had some chit chat & catch up.. over some yummy cakes. Was really great talking to this close friend of mine, who is
always wise, light spirit.. and always happy!

After some cakes, and a bit of discussion, we headed to Clarke Quay to join with some of his other Pinoy friends who were in town.

And we got a table by the river - on that busy Sat nite! Lucky us! haha!!!

Btw, it's funny that while I was living there, I hardly visited Clarke Quay.. and only do so now that I'm not living there. Drinks and a round of murtabak after that, and it was 3am by the time we reached home.

Next morning, I woke up to my friend cooking. He cooks well, and was preparing some yummy Filipino food. I've tasted some of his cooking before, and knew that it was gonna be a feast for lunch.
And it sure was! There was fish & vegetables..

And his speacilty.. the adobo!


After lunch, we rested a bit. Yeah, enough of going out I guess. So, we just watched some TV.. and it was Philippine's ABS CBN's ASAP show (you'd think I was in Philippines, but it was on cable!). Entertained, we were but we had to cut it short, as then it was time to head back to homeland.

This was a short trip (about 36 hours), and not much jalan jalan as a tourist. But I feel so happy.. it was great connecting with my buddies again especially these friends who are true friends, and that was good enough! (plus the fact that I was with my mum & bro!!) :)

Playing Cupid!

Okay, Im gonna say this.. Love is in the air!

Remember Vday which was just over a week back? Well, on that special day, me & biz partner Leo did something rather unique.

We became cupid for that 1 day or I'd rather say, 'flower boys' ! Haha! Cos we were delivering flowers & video recording the special moments at the same time.

Here's the roses dedication from the first couple:

To me this is classic.. seeing how yr loved one reaction is when receiving the flowers u sent. And I'm really happy to be able to record this moment for the guy!

And here, is the lucky girl on the 2nd video:

This girl is much more prepared, cos she knows that she is gonna receive the flowers! :)

Anyway, some behind the scene stories:

For delivery + video 1, it was relatively easy because the recipient was in downtown KL.

However, for the 2nd delivery, it was tougher.. not so much about the shooting, but more so on us finding the location. We got lost in the jam & rain, and drove over an hour to the destination.

Well, to cut the story short, check this behind the scenes video we did:

2 deliveries, and quite a bit of exhaustion, plus having to go back late and edit the videos on that Vday nite itself... , u'd think we are furious. Well, we are not cos in the end of the day, we spread some love around!

And guess what? With so much love around.. we are conducting another contest on our Fanpage, called CRAZY Love. Ah, more of that to come next!

*Anyway some info first in case ur keen to win some tickets yrself: CRAZY Love is a contest to win Micheal Buble concert tickets in Malaysia. More details on the fanpage at Project O&O Facebook.

Randomly Cute

I think the salt & pepper of these 2 are so cute.. and while I was having supper yesterday at the table, I just thought I'd take some random shots.

Here they are, with some captions to go along :)

Disney Romantic Songs

Recently some Disney songs came into my mind.

It started off with it being VDay, and the song that came into my mind was: Can you feel the love tonight from The Lion King.



I must say this song is romantic and fits the night just oh-so-well.

Just see this part of the lyrics:

"Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once, in perfect harmony
With all its living things"

After playing with that song, I started to search for other Disney love songs, that I used to listened before.

And then came along Something There from Beauty & The Beast.



I love the chirping sounds in the song, and Belle's voice here. But also, the 'Beast's' words which talks about a new relationship about to bloom:

"She glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw
No it can't be, I'll just ignore
But then she's never looked at me that way before"

More from Beuaty & The Beast is the main theme song.


I like the camera angles when the couple dance in the video.. and so does some part of the lyrics:

"Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast"

The 4th and final song that I 'felt' for recently is from Aladdin - A Whole New World.



Ah, falling in love is simply magical... and this song nails that feeling!

Falling in loves gives a new perspective of things, just like what the lyrics say:

"A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming"

Can you feel all lovey dovey inside listening to these songs?

Well, these 4 songs are in my current playlist. And these songs won't go away anytime soon! :)

When Tom Cat Sings In Mandarin (Tian Tian Hao Tian)

If u've noticed, I mentioned about my 3rd video, and then to my 5th video.

What happened to the 4th video?

Well.. actually, me & the guys (from Eleven Angles) did a short CNY greeting shoot. But as I've yet to settle the iMovie issue on my computer, I couldnt edit it..

It was rather late already, and I was to go back hometown.. but still, a CNY video would be good to have. Thought for a bit.. and then eureka! I decided to use the iPhone app of Tom Cat!

But what script to say? Ah... then I thought of the song Tian Tian Hao Tian, and how appropriate it will be! :)

So instead of getting the 3 of us in our CNY greeting with oranges & kuih bangkit & all, I decided to go cat-sy!



Was having a bit of fun, and got my biz partner Leo to suggest another script, and here's the other.



It's a pity u cant see the annotations on this 2nd video, as I actually added some funny words into it..
Update: I think the captions are resolved. Hope u guys can see it! :)

Anyway, hope u enjoy these 2 videos!!! :)

Celebrating My Pre Valentine's Day

Love is in the air.. and I had this pre Vday celebrations just yesterday. Now, it wasn't a planned outing.. but just something rather random.

As it was Saturday night, we were looking for a place to hangout.. and just decided to go to the heart of Kay El - yeap, Bukit Bintang!

It was jam as usual.. but that was okay. Cos we were not rushing to anywhere.. and really, it was our night out (awww..).

After parking, we jalan jalan the street a lil.. I've always liked walking along Bukit Bintang at night. Yes, it feels very touristy, but hey, I'm not from Kay El anyway, so it suits me fine :)

Some jalan and then we popped into one of my favourite restaurants (for drinks)... A&W and its rootbeer!

Pure bliss.. oh yeah...

Done with drinks and it was more jalan jalan.. first stopping by a street performer in all its glitter. Reminded me of the ones I took in Manila. Anyway, some loose change into his box, and a pose was next! (he made this pose just for me haha!).

The atmosphere along Bukit Bintang was lively.. and it felt good! Visited a few shops and got myself a Kpop CD. Nothing much else to buy, but it was still quite a nice walk.

Made a quick stopover at Lot 10 rooftop, and saw the beautiful view from above..

And finally, it was time to rest the legs and go for that cheesy moment.. yeah, for some cheesecakes (what were u thinking?). Hehe.

Though this outing was random, but it was rather nice.. and kinda feels so Vday-ish of sorts. So yeah, Vday 2011 sure came early for me! :)

Hmm, now I wonder what I'll be doing tomorrow..

And how bout u? What will u be doing this Vday? :)

Vday & My 5th Video

Vday.. oh Vday. Some people so look forward to it, while some people just wanna shy away from it.. all for obvious reasons.


Me - well, I treat Valentine's Day as quite an important day just like the other festive seasons. I've always enjoyed Valentine's someway or rather.. and of course, I remember the times when buying flowers, exchanging gifts & having candlelight dinners by the seaside.

And this year.. I just hope to make it special too.

It will come in 2 ways.. first off, it's personal.

But that's not all. I also hope to spread a unique L.O&O.V.E (pronounced lurve) this Vday. Yes, together with my biz partners, we are offering to deliver flowers & video the process too. Yeap, we are gonna record the recipients shocking (hopefully a happy shock) expressions!!! :)

Not sure if this is ever done in Malaysia (and even elsewhere in the world).. but well, let's hope we can spread some LOVE around, and make some lovebirds extra happy! (all together now.. awwww....!)

This is the sample video on how we will do it!

*Oh btw, if ur keen to get this package or win it too (yes, we are giving 1 Lucky couple this chance!), visit L.O&O.V.E ! Spread the lurve y'all! :)

*Thanks for Rebecca Saw ie Becky for helping out in the demo video!

CNY 2011: Part 2

(continued from Part 1)

A normal painting but felt much more important this CNY..

Moving on to the 2nd day of CNY, it was a much quieter affair. I wasn't really in the mood for anything much, and spent my time driving around Malacca which to be honest, got a lil boring especially with the extra hot weather. Oh, I went to the new Jusco Melaka too for some last minute groceries, and too find the mall a lil boring (yes, weird to happen on CNY, but I've never been a Malacca fan of late.. ooops!).

Then came dinner on the 2nd nite - which usually is a big thing for my family. Mum prepared steamboat, and my relatives from Malacca, Kay El & Singapore all came over. Aunties, uncles, grandma, granduncle, grandaunties, and cousins all came over to my house. But somehow, I was a lil quiet on that day - really not my usual self (more on that another time).

Come the 3rd day, the mood was much better. And I decided to visit some friends starting off with blogger friend Erika. This was the first time me visiting a blogger - what's more for CNY!

Btw, it was nice visiting her quaint lil house, decorated in a very cute way for Chinese New Year.But what I enjoyed most - the variety of kana she served! Hehe!

Lunch was then with my relatives once again, this time round at the Chinese restaurant. At this point, I made a decision to be happy and talk more to them, since I didn't quite talk to them much the day before (yeah, sort of making up). Felt good bout it!

After lunch, I headed over to visit another blogger's home: Submerryn. Her house was very inviting and full of the CNY mood as well - and the trees are so nicely hanged with ang pows!

It was another round of makan makan with Submerryn - she had another mix of cookies which were yummy as well (call me your cookie monster!).

Oh and guess what, Submerryn really gave ang pow! Haha!!! :)

And I wasn't the only one who received it. Erika, who came along with me, also got her red packet! :)

After some chit chat, it was time to go back.. and while it was nice chatting with Submerryn and family, and their "jokes" (go figure), it was evening time already.. Was just a pity, I didn't meet Submerryn's son, Ethan.

And just before I left Malacca, I did what I usually do when I go back - that is to go to the beach. But this time I not only visited the beach but I actually had dinner by the sea too! Was Malay ikan bakar! Again, my first time doing such on CNY!!! (this btw is my view during dinner.. oooo).

Well, there you have it.. on how I celebrated the first few days of my CNY. Like I mentioned previously, it was a very different CNY for me.. one that I'll definitely remember for the moods I had, but also how different this CNY is! :)

How I Spent My CNY: Part 1

How was your CNY so far? Mine.. well, lets look back..

On the eve of eve, my grand uncle treated us to a sumptuous CNY dinner. This is like a yearly affair and I'd attend if I'm back to hometown early. So happen, that I am this year.

CNY in Melaka (this is the area at Bukit China). This shot was taken on the way to the restaurant.

On the eve, it was time for some spring cleaning.. however, there's not much time to help with the spring cleaning except cleaning my room and the porch & garden in front.

Anyway, on my room - no matter how much I clean it, there are stuff to throw away yearly. That's kinda surprising cos I don't really use the room in my hometown in Malacca.

Amongst the many things I found in my room.. ahh, memories.

CNY eve dinner was yummy - with homecooked Nyonya dishes by my grandaunt.. We had the yearly stuff of chap chye (mixed vegetables), ayam buah keluak (beetlenut with chicken), and babi pongteh (pork cooked with tiaochew sauce).

And as our yearly routine, we helped mum to 'decorate' the fruits with the red paper. We used to think of this as a chore, but now with ready cut papers, it was quite a breeze! (no more cutting zig zags!).

And next, using the ang pow wrappers to be hanged on trees. Btw I thought that this ang pow wrapper was kinda Valentine's :)

We waited for the countdown and then, I went out for a drink.. Usually, for the past years, I've not gone out late for the Eve... but somehow, that was the first difference I did this New Year.

And yes, I slept late (which some say is good so your parents can get longer lives). Okay... I played my part. Ehem!

On the first day, I went to the temple in the morning.. this is not the temple I went to, but it was not too far off from Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, and every year, I'll pass by it. What I love about it - the huge joss sticks that they burn yearly on CNY!

Bumped into a friend at the temple.. and chit chatted quite a bit. Yeah, was a good catch up.

Then on the way back to the car, I saw the lion dance.. It was unique cos, I don't remember seeing lion dance on the pole before - at least not live.

In the afternoon, some friends and parents friend came over. And in the evening, I actually napped for a good 2.5 hours! Was simply too tired for the late nite earlier.

Dinner - was Pizza Hut. Another first for this CNY.

We ordered the coin pizza that was made for the CNY (u can't see it properly here cos it's been taken off the plate that fast by family members haha!).

And then, at night on Day 1 - having maggi mee goreng with mata kebab (ie sunny side up). Had this with blogger friend, Erika. Again, another first of sorts for me.

So for the first few days to and even on CNY day, it has been a somewhat different CNY for me. Not wrong, but simply different & unique.

*Now writing this, makes me kinda feel for this CNY. I've thought that it was a 'not so good' CNY, but looking back, it wasn't too bad after all? Anyway, there's more to come! :)

YEAH!

A decade back, there is the movie - Pay It Forward. I watched it, and got impressed with the concept of... paying a good deed you received, forward.

What this means - if we receive a good deed, instead of paying the person back, we do another good deed to someone else, and in hope that he/ she will pay it forward too. The deed can be big, or small.. and to people we know like families of friends, or even strangers.

When I watched this movie, I was mesmerised by this concept. It's really powerful.. and at the back of my mind, I knew that one day, I'd like to work on this..

So when we had to do Task 3 for our Semi Finalists (in Project O&O) came about - I thought of using this same concept... creating a wave of inspiring acts, touching & empowering lives. Brought this up to my partners, and they agreed!

The name of the task was created by Leo... and he came up with YEAH, which also stands for Youth Empowering Another Human.

Niway, the task has started and so far, the finalists have been twittering their good deeds daily with the hashtag #YEAH & #PONO .

Whether or not this creates a bigger movement is yet to be seen. But even if it doesn't, I'm happy with what it will do this 2 weeks for the people around the contestants, and also inspire others on their twitter!

*I've also joined in this task, and tweets about my #YEAH acts daily! And u could join us too! :)