Left Luggage counter

Notice at the Masouleum

Visit to the HCM Masouleum

More pictures of Hanoi.
Queues of rural students on their Sunday excursion to visit the Ho Chi Minh Masouleum.

Long queues snaking from the entrance 400m away to the masouleum.
Patang lah, I was rather reluctant to go on the visit but didn't want to break away from my group. Then things just turned out. The very last guard just before the Masouleum entrance checked my bag and saw my PDA and refused me entry. Any electronic device is just seen as a potential recording instrument. I had checked in my phone but not my PDA. Now I would have to go back to the start to check-in my PDA too at the left luggage counter and to re-queue. So, I detoured to the exit and waited for my travelling group.

According to my friends who went in, HCM's body could well have been a wax figure from Madame Trussauds.

Giggling Kit with a hat

Under one roof

Kind of look like he is on the Muppet show.

Playing house

Kit gets his first cosy little house made of clothes dryer rack, chair and table cloth.

Invite a magical flow into your life

I am delighted to just receive the link to the Heaven & Earth video clip made by my taiji teacher. Now I have something to refer to. Have been relying on my memory and wondering how much I have really forgotten by now. Probably everything by end of the week or get my sequences mix up.

Actually if I think about it, does it matter to my body if the sequences are mixed up, hmmm....
the real taiji practitioners watching at the side will just wonder what sect of martial arts I escaped from, hahahaha..

Urban Legend Eerie Nite tour

Came across this ad which looks interesting but I've got no guts. If you are game, call 6250 2283.

Experience:
- Labrador Tunnels Horror
- Grange Road Abandoned Houses
- Hillview Mansion (Haunted)
- Lim Chu Kang Cemetery Watch
- MacRitchie Lonely Water Tomb
- Devil's Bend Drive-through
Date: 1 April 2006, Saturday
Time: 7 - 11.55pm
Cost: $20

我是一只只只~~~小鸟

A well-known chinese slow-rock song sung by a very cute little girl.
Click on I am a little little bird to listen.

Here are the adapted lyrics (and my rough translation):

有时候我觉得自己永远都吃不饱
sometimes I think I will never have enough to eat
也许只有吃的很多才能够长高
Perhaps only by eating can we then grow taller
盼望能有一张迷人的相貌把所有人都迷倒
How I wish for an attractive face to charm all around
最后发现只有一种方法使用蒙汗药
yet discover the only way is to apply a portion of spells.
长大之后无奈进入了社会我总是睡不着
When I grow up and reluctantly enter society to discover I cannot go to sleep
我怀疑公司给别人的工资都比我高
I suspect the company pays others more than they pay me
总是努力学着对别人微笑难免也中他们圈套
I learn hard to smile at others yet cannot avoid falling into their traps
偶尔上帝也会对我说失败很重要
occasionally god will tell me failure is important
我是一只只只~~~小鸟
I am but a little little bird
因为吃的太多已经飞飞不高
because eating too much has left me unable to fly high
我寻觅一颗栖息的树已被我压折了
The tree I seek to perch on has been crushed by me
这样的重量算不算太高
Does that count as too much weight
我是一只只只~~~小鸟
I am but a little little bird
突然一天醒来有了迷人的美貌
suddenly one day I awaken to possess charming appearance
麻雀也能飞上青天谁的歌声真美妙
sparrows too can fly towards the sky so whose beautiful voice is this
美女的要求也不算太高
The requests of a beauty cannot be deemed unreasonable.

Cool USB Ports

When are we going to see these designs in the shops here? Can't wait!

May the Chi be with you

I did it. I actually attended a crash-course on Taichi or Primodial Qi Gong. It burned my whole Sunday; mum and dad couldn't believe how it can be possible to pick this up properly in one day. I wondered myself if this is a pirated version but decided I needed an introductory course. Besides, any exercise would be good for me.

According to the teacher, Andrew Fretwell, this short-form has been in practice for 800 years. He was careful enough to say he is teaching us the form so that we can then advance to focus on other aspects of this exercise as we progress. Interestingly the class was packed, over 25 of us and half of them, men, too! I think most of the people were in their 30s and 40s. More than a couple of the people turned out to be in the medic line, like in muscle therapy work, physio, etc.

My verdict, hmm..I got to learn a set of exercises called earth-heaven but I have to learn to really slow down the moves more to feel the chi. I find I can make yoga effective for me in a shorter time but what I like about qigong is I don't have to lie down or touch the floor with my hands. It seems I can practise qigong the whole day but not for yoga.

Today, my shoulders feel loose and a lot more relaxed. So now all I have to do is make sure I repeat the exercises everyday to keep this up and also to make sure I will not forget the sequences.

Now I know why Bian is in a world of his own when he thinks about his Taichi, and he moves his hands unconsciously.

Russian nite

This is the second time I am attending Palate Sensations' wine tasting session. This time again we are introduced to another 4 types of Italian wine (1 white, 3 reds), by the wine maker himself, Fillipo Gallino. It is great fun meeting the other guests.

The group is a bit different from the last session. It is a much smaller group. I met a family of Russians. The older couple from Moscow are here to visit their daughter, Olga, who is married to Swiss. There are also two other girls there who are very good friends with each other, Tuqua and Vicky. Tuqua is french while Vicky is a Singaporean whose mum is half-Khazastan. Vicky has a slight Australian accent.

The conversation got interesting when Vicky revealed that she has russian blood too after finding out the family group there is from Russia. She talked about how her mum met her father and how Russians are now buying up whole apartment blocks in Singapore. According to Olga, there are many russians in Singapore. All these little interesting snippets.

Lynette made us seafood (shrimp & squid) risotto, chicken wings, rendang & sticky rice and 2 desserts, a peach tart anf caramel meringue. My favourite is the meringue. The other people seemed to enjoy the risotto most.
On the wine, everyone agrees the dessert Birret is the best. It is red and bubbly and served in a champagne glass. Not too sweet, is very light and refreshing. Having said that, these bubbly drinks are really dangerous. On my way home, I broke out in a cold sweat and felt quite ill and very very drowsy. It took all my will to make it home without throwing up or banging into anything.

Hmm..I have to get a crate of that.

Paid to Shop

If you:
-like shopping
-are able to tell good customer service from bad
-are discreet
-are observant
-have a keen eye for detail
-are objective
-can write factual reports
-want to get paid to shop

Check out www.vitalpiece.com which is looking for mystery shoppers.
If you get the job, do come back and share with us what it is like!!

VGLDSW day

A friend send me one of those pass-it-on note declaring "Today is International Very Good Looking, Damn Smart Woman's Day". (Er, got such a day wan meh?) Her email went on to give a list of quotes and I am especially amused by the motto:

"And remember this motto to live by:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!" Have a wonderful day!

To the Girls !!

Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened.
-Cora Harvey Armstrong-

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies. (Unknown)

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. -Helen Hayes (at 73)-

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. -Rhonda Hansome-

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. -Jane Sellman-

Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows. -Jennifer Unlimited-

Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. -Charlotte Whitton- [now, wasn't it Teen who gave me a display plate with this quote.. ]

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. -Caryn Leschen-

I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. -Jennifer Unlimited-

If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. -Catherine-

When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.
-Elayne Boosler-

Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. -Maryon Pearson-

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.
-Margaret Thatcher-

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. -Gloria Steinem-

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. -Eleanor Roosevelt-

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. -Zsa Zsa Gabor-

Lessons learnt from a Baby (4)

An investment in education pays the best dividends.

Shops

Cyclos

Somerset West Lake

The service apartments we stayed in, it seemed, is opened by a Sgp company. We are very impressed that it even comes with a washing machine. Besides the two bedrooms, the living room sofa can be opened into a queen size bed. There's a gym and a pool, if you have time for it.

City life

When we first arrived, one of the sights from our van which struck us are the houses - many are very lean or thin. The width is commonly not more than 3m long, a result of some feudal law which taxed owners based on the width of their properties. The houses are also typically not more than 3 story high. An old house (landed property) can cost over usd1 million. Interestingly, the new freehold apartments are only around USD30,ooo.

On our first day, we asked the receptionist how far away was hoan kiem (sounds like "hong kim" or yellow gold in hokkien) lake. He said half an hour. It took us 2 hours of walking. I think there was a miscommunication; he probably thought we meant how far by vehicle...The bright side is, we recognised many landmarks after that and knew if the cabs were taking us in the right direction. The city seemed less alien, more familiar.
Lots of greenery, clean roads and clean loos. No McDonalds, no Starbucks, No Burger Kings. No Giordanos. No Watsons.

Hanoi

Prepare for the onslaught of the traffic of motorcycles and scooters. Lots of young women ride these in their high heels and hot pants and riders do not don any helmets. Apparently, they drive slowly enough so I quickly get used to crossing without much fear. Having said that, I have been that close.. many times.. and got away by just a hair's breadth. It is the endless beeping and horning of the bikes that drain your mind.

If they knock you down, they have less liability if you die than if you are injured.
Be prepared to be run over twice.

Halong Bay

Halong Bay- officially recognised by UNESCO in Dec 1994 as one of the world's natural heritage, for its scenic beauty comprising over 1000 islands. The floating houses are fishing villages where we could go up to to buy their fresh catch to have it cooked on our junk.

It was a misty day due to the endless drizzle which was enough to create a damp but not enough to drench hence no one went around with an umbrella. It added to the mystical air but also masked a lot of the scenery. A reason to make a return visit.

The trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay was over 3 hours. We were so glad to have brought two bottles of wine with us, a red and a white (which were lugged all the way from the home airport...). We could finally reward ourselves for the hardship journey by enjoying the drinks with our fresh seafood lunch. Since the boat/junk was all just for the 7 of us, excluding the guide and 5 other crew members (captain,cook, waiter, etc), we did not have to watch our belongings and simply relaxed and moved around the boat in very high spirits.


Another strange looking rock. I think they say this one looks like an elephant.

A matter of interpretation

Two men meet on the street.
One asks the other: "Hi, how are you?"
The other one replies: "I'm fine, thanks."
"And how's your son? Is he still unemployed?"
"Yes, he is. But he is meditating now."
"Meditating? What's that?"
"I don't know. But it's better than sitting around and doing nothing!"

Dr.Seuss

Another gem that dropped into my email..
++++++++
Excerpts from the lost poem from the Dr. Seuss collection

I LOVE MY JOB! I love my job, I love the pay! I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss, he is the best! I love his boss and all the rest.
I love my office and its location, I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and grey, And piles of paper that grow each day!

I think my job is really swell, there's nothing else I love so well.
I love to work among my peers, I love their leers, and jeers, and sneers.
I love my computer and its software; I hug it often though it won't care.
I love each program and every file. I'd love them more if they worked a while.

I'm happy to be here. I am. I am. I'm the happiest slave of the Firm, I am.
I love this work, I love these chores. I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job - I'll say it again - I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who've come today, In clean white coats to take me away!

+++++
I have to say, not many people are insane in a happy sort of way.

38

Happy International Women's Day.

 

祝大家快乐 3 8 妇 (富?)女节

 

The SureReal World

She: Oh doctor, we told her not to cross at the traffic junction. It is more dangerous but she would not listen.

He: Hmm...I can see where the problem lies...I gather she is Singaporean?

Honk Honk

A colleague sent me this for my upcoming break to Hanoi. My gawd, I would think this is a satirical piece and quite hilarious if not for the fact that it is very true and I would be encountering this first hand very soon.

So scary. I am terrified of crossing heavy traffic even in Singapore. Hope I survive Hanoi. I am sticking close to a local when I cross. The idea of wearing a neon jacket actually crossed my mind.


Crossing the road

The stakes are high: if you are to die in Vietnam, more than likely it will happen on the road -- be it in a car or under one. Vietnamese cities are crowded, and the roads are absolutely packed. You will take your life into your own hands every time that you cross a busy street in any of Vietnam's major cities.

In most of the Western world, the trick is to avoid the cars. That's simply not possible in Vietnam, as there are far too many cars, trucks (lorries or utes), motorbikes, cyclos and bicycles in far too little space. No, the trick in Vietnam is to enable the vehicles to avoid you.

This is managed by first picking a reasonable gap in the traffic (probably a smaller gap than you'd choose when jaywalking in, say London or Manhattan or Sydney), then walking slowly
and predictably across the street while looking directly at the on-coming cars, motorcycles, cyclos and bicycles. The predictability of your pace and path is the critical factor between life and death. Do not change direction or speed.

If you stop, retreat or try to dodge the vehicles, you'll probably die or at least be severely maimed, and your misfortune will merely annoy a lot of commuters by snarling traffic even further. But if you step confidently and carefully, the drivers will see and smoothly avoid you -- often with grace and a casual aplomb that's initially bewildering to many panic-stricken Westerners.

But remember, they do this all the time, every day...or they wouldn't be alive themselves. The simplest way to cross a busy street is to find a local and walk close to him or her, mirroring their path and pace. They know what they're doing! And once you get the hang of it, it's actually great fun to find yourself walking unafraid through a deadly sea of swarming vehicles and people, suddenly feeling like part of the normal flow in this otherwise foreign land.

Meme

Learned something new - this thing called Meme (so cheem) which appears to be a form of sub-culture in the blog community. So I shall play along since I have been pointed to this set of questions to be answered on my blog.

1) What was the first album/CD/Cassette you ever bought?
♥ John Denver, I think. That was a long time ago. My classmates thought I was so uncool.

2) What was your first fave song?
♥ Too Much Heaven. First heard it on a camping trip when I was 12.

3) Which song gives you that "funny nostalgic feeling" everytime you hear it?
♥ Swept Away by Christopher Cross

4) Name the first concert you ever went to.
♥ Michael Jackson at the national stadium and he stood me up (!). It was around the first time he was facing accusations for child molestation. He had a headache and his manager announced the concert would be postponed but not before keeping the whole entire stadium waiting 2 hours for the concert to start. After that, I was not too hot about attending concerts.

5) What do you consider the worst song of all time?
♥ Can't think of the name at the moment.

1) Name your fave song at the moment.
♥ Don't Cha by Pussy Cat Dolls (cos whenever Josh plays it at his gatherings, people break into a dance - like you can see S. here jiving to the beat at the front of the window; I was surprised the worker in the construction site opposite did not fall out of the balcony from leaning out too much for a closer look)

2) What is the most recent album/CD/Cassette you purchased?
♥ Not bought anything recently. Last purchase was an album called "You are the One" by a brother-sister team (Matthew and Dorcas Quek) who write and arrange their own original compositions.

3) Which song will you never get sick of hearing?
♥ Too many...Rain by Madonna. Whiter Shade of Pale by Annie Lennox. The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens. Breathe Again by Toni Braxton, Abu Ne Ne by Ah Gu (阿牛）etc.

4) What is your current fave music video?
♥ Have not watch any recently. Probably something from Britney.

5) If you could be a famous music artist, what type of music would you produce
♥ er.. Abba.

Illustrated Kit

Kit's favourite hobby is sticking out his tongue and spraying saliva.

Lesson Learnt from a Baby (3)

Lesson 3:

It is never too young or too old to start on your exercise program.

First swim suit. So man.

Loser

After hearing so much about it, I finally watched Brokeback Mountain at the SFS screening last nite. The actors and especially the actresses did an excellent job. The scenary was great but the movie was slow, like a sunday matinee. I did not find it moving, nor sad.

The biggest thing that struck me was what a LOSER Ennis was. Superficially he followed the rules and conventions of society (which are there in essence to protect and nurture relationships) and appeared to be responsible , but where it counts, he had broken all the rules. Physically and spiritually, he was not there. He could not be there for his wife, nor his daughters, nor his boyfriend. He supported no one; time and time again he disappointed and declined away from everyone who loved him. Somehow I don't feel sorry for him. I don't know what his life represents.

Why do people wish that it would have worked out. If there is anything regrettable about this whole affair, I think it is as Jack said he could "not quit" Ennis. It is indeed Jack's tragedy to have fallen in love with such a loser.

Also, why do people name this a story about a relationship between two gey men? Ha, I see two bysaxchuals here if you ask.

Manga photo

Thank you Fyen for introducing this portrait maker. It is awesome. I had a fun time. Another evening burned..Create your own caricature