pirates of the carribean: salazar's revenge

watched this show last night and totally loved it. it is a prequel and put into perspective how the different characters came about and their relationships. and i enjoyed thoroughly the build up towards the end of the show and how everything came together. very nice! very entertaining! and yes, i can say this is one of my favourite in the whole series of pirates of the carribean shows.

applying indian visa

i will be heading to hyderabad to attend an ex-coleague's wedding next weekend and the visa application process was such a huge pain. apart from the so many questions that i felt did not make too much sense (e.g. obvious birthmarks), i also felt superbly offended by the fact that i had to give details about my late-parents. what is your father's name, what is your father's nationality, what is your father's..., and then i had to repeat for my mother. i thought that was superbly insensitive and totally uncalled for.

new passport

made and collected my new passport two days back. efficient process and i didn't get to wait long.

:-)

sister act

caught the musical "sister act" thursday at the marina bay sands mastercard theatres with a few of my friends.

would have been perfect if not for the less than ideal sound system. i had expected the musical to be similar to the movie and had looked forward to the song "i will follow him". this was, after all, the signature song of the "sister act" movie. but it wasn't there. i supposed it was due copyright issues. nonetheless, i enjoyed the performance.

and above all, nothing beats having a sumptuous afternoon high tea and a great evening of entertainment on a weekday.

:-)

picture from https://www.aspirantsg.com/

lost & found

i lost my work mobile three days ago and managed to get it back a day later. thankful that the guy that found the mobile was honest enough to meet up with me to pass it back to me.

:-)

townhalls

i had to support and make presentations to quite a few town halls lately. it was rather stressful for the fact that all the town halls seemed to come together at about the same time. 

this development was an interesting and enlightening one for me as i came to learn that my predecessor had never done such presentations before. i also learned that my predecessor didn't have good relationships with the businesses and this affected my team's morale and effectiveness. the lack of guidance and leadership also saw my staff being made to take blames unfairly when things went wrong. i was thankful that the businesses were open to me and we ended up having a very good working relationship. this saw a direct increase the collaboration between my team and the businesses which in turn resulted in enhanced morale amongst my team.

feels good that these are energising my team really well.

you're beautiful

this is a beautiful song. but i cannot help but feel the mtv depicted the character committing suicide at the end of the clip. just look at all the signs of a suicidal person - letting go of things, arranging things neatly, saying words that suggest this is the end, etc... what do you think?

you're beautiful
james blunt

my life is brilliant.

my life is brilliant.
my love is pure.
i saw an angel.
of that i'm sure.
she smiled at me on the subway.
she was with another man.
but i won't lose no sleep on that,
'cause i've got a plan.

you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
i saw your face in a crowded place,
and i don't know what to do,
'cause i'll never be with you.

yes, she caught my eye,
as we walked on by.
she could see from my face that i was,
flying (fucking) high.
and i don't think that i'll see her again,
but we shared a moment that will last 'til the end.

you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
i saw your face in a crowded place,
and i don't know what to do,
'cause i'll never be with you.

you're beautiful. you're beautiful.
you're beautiful, it's true.
there must be an angel with a smile on her face,
when she thought up that i should be with you.
but it's time to face the truth,
i will never be with you.

here without you

if there's one song that reminds me of the days in florida, it would be this song. whenever i listen to this, i will be transported back to tampa bay, the times i ran along the bay side, the smells, the sights, the feeling of missing home...

here without you
3 door down

a hundred days have made me older
since the last time that I saw your pretty face
a thousand lies have made me colder
and I don't think I can look at this the same

but all the miles that separate
disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

i'm here without you, baby
but you're still on my lonely mind
i think about you, baby
and i dream about you all the time
i'm here without you, baby

but you're still with me in my dreams
and tonight it's only you and me, yeah.

the miles just keep rollin'
as the people leave their way to say hello
i've heard this life is overrated
but i hope that it gets better as we go, oh, yeah, yeah

i'm here without you, baby
but you're still on my lonely mind
i think about you, baby
and i dream about you all the time
i'm here without you, baby

but you're still with me in my dreams
and tonight, girl, its only you and me

everything i know, and anywhere i go (oh whoa)
it gets hard but it won't take away my love (oh whoa)
and when the last one falls
when it's all said and done
it gets hard but it wont take away my love, whoa, oh, oh

i'm here without you, baby
but you're still on my lonely mind
i think about you, baby
and i dream about you all the time
i'm here without you, baby

but you're still with me in my dreams
and tonight, girl, it's only you and me

alien: covenant

this show is a prequel to earlier alien shows. and as expected, it didn't deviate too far from what we already know of alien films - the kinda "i walked in knowing what to expect, and i walked out knowing i had watched what i had expected to watch" kinda feeling. but i did enjoy it as it gave me a view of how future space explorations would look like and the discoveries of new planetary systems. these are interesting scenarios, albeit one that is a little bleak given that it projects man's failure to save planet earth and thus have to resort to seeking alternatives in order to survive.

interesting politics

it's really interesting to read about the events happening in the white house. constantly surprised by the president's actions. creating havoc all round. since he ascended the throne, his domestic policies seemed to be getting everywhere but nowhere and he is making every one crazy. and on the other hand, his foreign policies seemed more mainstream than what he said he would do during his campaign... all these must be real tough for the people around him. wonder how long more they can keep up with him. feels just like a reality show. only that this time it is happening in the white house.

and with due respect, i seriously think americans deserve better.

vesak day 2017

this year's vesak day came and went. went for the usual 3-step-1-bow at the bright hill temple on vesak day eve and waited till almost 2am before the ceremony started. completed the whole ritual and got home about 5.30am. totally tired out. and for the first time since 2005, bee didn't join in. he had a bad back and couldn't be there. so... yeah, in the end it was just me and a couple of other friends. also made a trip to the sri lankan buddhist temple later in the day and had the chance to witness the retiring of the buddha relic from the temple's main hall to the monks residence. had not seen this done before and it was really an eye opener. the thing about me is that i always get a little awed and choke when i attend such ceremonies. it was the same years ago and it was the same yesterday. 

:-)

annual obligations

visited the temple last week to pay respects to the taoist deity (that my mum had prayed to). the birthday of the resident deity will be celebrated next month and they have started the month-long celebrations. i also need to fulfil my responsibilities as a "god-son" by making donations to the temple and renew my "adoption" status.

:-)

asian civilisation museum

i never fail to learn new things when i visit the museum. also, the constant renewal of the exhibits to focus on different aspects of asia is very refreshing. and this time round, there focus is on korea. 

very interesting.

月亮代表"ah ma"的心

i was at the market this morning for my breakfast and there was this guy basking there. he was playing the organ and singing some very popular songs from the 80s era. after a couple of songs, he was joined by a 30-something year old lady. i supposed the lady was his friend for they paired off very well. their singing was competent, not fantastic. i kinda enjoyed their selection of songs and i believed many did too, judging by the fact that many were singing along as they ate their breakfast. 

and as i ate, a familiar tune came on. it was teresa teng's "月亮代表我的心" (the moon represents my heart). this was an all time favourite of many and i sensed everyone's approval. by this time, everyone was familiar with the lady's voice as she started the song. then, after the first sentence, another lady's voice came on. this voice was different. it sounded rough with age and everyone turned to take a look. in place of the young lady was this 80-over year-old white haired petite sized lady. and wow, despite her age, she sang very well! 

ah ma put in all her heart as she sang. she closed her eyes and moved her hands as she belted the love song. and when she sang out the words "moon" she raised her hands and looked up, as though she was pointing to the moon... by this time, a crowd had built up. and everyone stood around, mesmerised by this old ah ma. she sang very well and hit every note accurately. and when she ended the song, everyone broke into a huge applause. ah ma smiled shyly, waved and thank everyone for their applause and limped towards her husband (presumably), who had been standing by the side quietly. and she held onto his hand and they walked away quietly. 

i could imagine ah ma dedicating that song to her husband.

it was an amazing sight.

:-)

dildos... & toys

just felt like making this very spontaneous post about

dildos & toys

they do come in all shapes and sizes don't they? 

and in all the different colours and hues too...

:-)

picture from http://blog.sheboptheshop.com/tag/dildos/ & http://www.male-hq.com/

sleep sleep sleep

i slept through most of the day today! 

i just didn't have the energy to want to get up. came back late from dinner at karen's place, woke up at 7.45am, went for breakfast with bee... usual morning routines, and then i simply knocked out from 10-ish till almost 3pm. went for a quick meal (don't even know if it was lunch or tea), came back and continued sleeping till now...

i felt soo exhausted. it must have been the very packed week.

cooking nonya chap chye

i cooked nonya chap chye for my friends last evening. that was the first time i cooked anything "big" since mum passed on in nov 2015. and since i am currently observing a vegetarian diet, i had to rely on the gang to do the taste test...

was glad everyone enjoyed it, nonetheless.

:-)

vegetarianism

i have observed a vegetarian diet for almost 2 weeks. this is an annual routine i've observed for many years. i'd start my vegetarian diet on the first day of the 4th lunar month and stop after vesak day. i recalled the first year when i did it, the 15 days seemed to last forever. i'd yearn for meat and i'd find a lot of difficulties looking for vegetarian eating places.

but these days, the 15 days seemed to pass very quickly. i supposed its partly because vegetarian eating places are quite easily found. also, i have gotten used to it and thus do not find difficulties switching to a vegetarian lifestyle. but vegetarian food are not necessarily more healthy, especially chinese vegetarian food as many are made from gluten. but yeah, all things being equal, i do make a more conscious effort to control what i eat. and this helped me better manage my weight. 

:-)

a dog's purpose

watched this over the tv last evening at karen's place. was warned that it was a tear jerker and that people who had/ has dogs as pets would break down several times during the show. but hmmm, perhaps its due to this warning that created too high an expectations. i didn't cry at all.

"a dog's purpose" was a story told through the eyes of a dog who was reincarnated several times and reunited with his owner (several lives back). touching at times, i must say. but from another perspective, funny. funny in a warped sense. how the hell does a dog reincarnate into another dog? how does the memory of one life stay on to another, etc. heh... i supposed i'm just too logical a person.

then again, the show in itself was interesting for the fact that it centred around the concept of reincarnation, a concept that is not accepted in the christian faith (i am of course making the general assumption that christianity is the most common religion in the western world)...

ok, i think too much...

post-note: i checked the net for some background of this show and learnt of allegations of animal abuse when they produced this show. a clip showing how a dog was forced into a pool was shown. my immediate thoughts when i watched the video was that there was no abuse per se. i supposed there was a very fine line between coaxing and abusing. then again, shan't go into this debate.