My amazing lunch hour

It has just been a most spectacular day. Well, actually spectacular lunch break. It all started like this..

I had arranged for a pizza lunch amongst a few of my colleagues at 12.30pm, so as the hour drew nearer, I started to hallucinate those lovely Rocky Master pizzas. Bradley, the Londoner sitting next to me, suddenly called my attention to an email on his screen,"Hey Daniel, would you want some free tickets to go see the world cup?" I was thinking to myself,"Hmm.. free tix to go fly and see the world cup. Who wouldn't want it?" Turns out he was talking about the email he had received, where someone was issuing 45 free tickets to Credit Suisse employers to see the World Cup TROPHY displayed in Singapore during the stopover for its World Tour. He quickly forwarded the email to me and zipped off for lunch at 12pm.

I took a look at the email and started weighing between 1) My palatable pizzas or 2) A slim chance of getting tickets to see the world cup. The person issuing the tix would only be there at 1pm sharp (dun ask me why). I consulted the remnant of my pizza gang, who didn't really mind eating anywhere. So I rang up the gang Bradley was with, and joined them for a quick lunch at ThaiExpress (yes, I know.. don't remind me of my vietnamese beehoon). By the time we settled the bill, it was 1pm. TOgether with Bradley, we dashed our way to Suntec and arrived at 1.15pm! Suddenly, we started asking each other,"Err.. who do we meet? Where're we meeting?" Turns out NON of us knew ANY details whatsoever, except first name of the person who sent the email (Catherine) and the time to meet (1pm, which was sooo past).

Since we made the trip there, we might as well TRY. Taking the escalator up to the exhibition, Bradley calculated a 2% chance we might be able to get in. We saw a queue outside the door and decided to try out luck and "bluff" our way in. From the corner of my eye, I spotted something. A credit suisse employee card! So I went up to the person and asked if there were any more tickets.

"Oh, the person who was issuing tickets has left"

Arghh.. what a let down.

"Wait, I call my friend see if there are extra tickets."

Hmm.. a slight chance. Friend comes out..

"Ya, I've got 2 tickets extra"

WHAT?! Oh no, but there are 4 of us. Suddenly, another friend pops out..

"I've got another 2 tickets extra"

UNBELIEVABLE! It's really like what Morpheus said in Matrix 2: "I see providence.." Wahaha. We were thrilled, and like happy bees in summer we quickly found our place amidst the football exhibitions. Taking a quick walk to the end, we soon found ourselves in a 3D short presentation by FIFA which was waaaaaaaayyyy COOL! It used polarized 3D glasses instead of your normal pathetic red and green ones. We were led outside to a long queue line and we finally got a glimpse of the WORLD CUP TROPHY! It's the REAL THING! The very thing Ronaldo and Maldini kissed a few years back! Very soon we realized what the queue was for.. to take pictures with the World Cup. As we approached the end of the queue, we asked the attendant,"Err.. how much is it to take a picture with the Cup?" To which he promptly replied,"Oh it's free." Our jaws dropped and eyes popped. They would take photos for us with the trophy and give it to us FREE?!?!

I went back to office a very very very happy man. Not so much cos I got to see the World Cup, well that's one. But I think it's amazing how God just spiced up my day with a seemingly impossible short 1 hour like that. It's truely a once in a lifetime experience, with the World Cup included of cos. :)

Not very crowded yet. But lots of activity going on

Bradley taking a quick look at some football clips

My godsend ticket. Most amazing

Freebies!!

My photo with the World Cup. Wish I could touch it.. haha

Oh, since it was such a happy day. Let me end off with a view of the window (and photocopier) from my desk! :))))))

I AM BACK!!

This would be the most shitty entry ever. I mean it.

I woke up on Sunday morning thinking about hopping off to church. Unfortunately, while my eyes were opening up, my head felt like some fat hen had been sitting over it overnight. Painful, not hot btw. Had diarrhoea a little later to add to my worries. Not to be perturbed, I went to church anyway for worship meeting (the group was small enough even with me). The whole time feeling the dam of my anus was gonna release the floodgates any moment. Thank God Jason was kind enough to send me home!

Anyway, once I reached home I almost immediately vomitted. A lot load of stuff I couldn't recognize, from the strange variety of food I had sparsely fed myself with over the last few days. It wasn't long before the floodgates were opened and I found myself stuck over the toilet bowl for the next 30 min. I popped some pills and tried to pray the pain away, rolling about hopelessly on bed. It wasn't too long before I had to visit the site of my previous bombing for a third wave. Half way through the third wave of bombing, my stomach suddenly acted up again and I could feel the puke pushing its way up through my throat. My first thought was "I DUN WANNA FACE MY SHIT!", and went to puke into the sink instead. The next happening was obvious, I choked up the sink.. with vietnamese beehoon I ate for thurs lunch. And this was on Sunday evening?! The next 1 hour was a horrid ordeal trying to clear my bowels, stomach, toilet bowl and sink at the same time. Not a fun game to play. I told my parents the doctor can wait, I'll probably be able to pull through by myself. I hadn't seen a doc for some years, and I didn't want to miss work on Monday. I decided to try a thermometer just in case anyway. 38.4 degrees! Sigh, guess I had better see a doc.

The visit to the clinic wasn't very pleasant. I was number 18 in the queue and the doc was consulting patient 5 at that time. They took my temperature and it was 38.7 degrees by then. The next 1 hour of intermittent praying, talking to myself, thinking to myself and looking at the Superhost on TV followed suit. Hmm.. oh great he's now seeing number 11. Realizing my doom is inevitable, I told the nurse if I could go first, cos my puke was gonna come out, water bag is gonna burst and my fever is starting to take its toll on my IQ. 20 minutes later, the doc finally decided to see me.

The medicine wasn't too helpful at first, I woke up at 3.30am to puke AND had diarrhoea again. But thankfully, that was the last of it. I spent Monday sleeping and tried to work on Tues morning, but returned to rest in the afternoon anyway. It was probably my worse experience with Food poisoning just yet, and hope I'll never end up in hospital for it. Though unlikely as this might be, since my stomach is weak as a worker ant with 2 legs less. I'm still trying to figure out the source of the poisoning though. My saturday night's supper was Egg Nooddle at Wee Nam Kee, but I strangely vomited the Vietnamese Noodle from VienThai which I had on thurs lunch too. Which is it? Might be either, might be both. But now, I'm boycotting them all the same. :(

Thanks to those who know and prayed for me. Thanks to those who found out and encouraged me too! Namely Joey, Rachel, Brownie, Isaac and Nanaho. Did I miss out anyone?

Sorry Rachel and Joey. Owe you all the pics since Sat. In my photoalbum (misc folder).

Brokeback Mountain starring uncle Jimmy. Haha.. O_O

Come back as a GYM FREAK!!

Always mama's boi

Errr.. -_-"

Brokefront Mountain Part Deux

Rolly Polly's funky specs

38 floors up!

I can see my house! Ya right, pic so blur.

Changi MRT. Ended up there cos overshot by 1 station.

David impersonates Vanessa
Here's a song for Sunday. Better learn it well first! :)

MAJESTY - Delirious

Here I am humbled by your Majesty
Covered by your grace so free
Here I am, knowing I'm a sinful man
Covered by the blood of the Lamb

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

Majesty, Majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed, but alive in your hands
Majesty, Majesty
Forever I am changed by your love
In the presence of your Majesty

Here I am humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I stand, knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

Fast one

Its very late. Time to sleep. But before I do..

Korean guys are very well received in Singapore man!!

Time for me to venture overseas.. ^^

Happy birthday blog!

I missed my blog's first anniversary on Sunday. Geesh.. after thinking about it over the last week, I clean forgot about it when the time came. Thinking back about it, the initial reason why I had started a blog a year ago was because.. haha nvm. But I've got a new reason now. And that's to keep myself in touch with those who do have a blog, and I mean everyone! I'm a bit busy cos of work now, but I still read blogs every weekend so don't stop updating. What's a blog if it's not read. Might as well write on toilet paper, then flush down after cleaning up. -_-"

Oh ya, its that time of the year again!! It's VALENTINES DAY <3! Do I hear some yay's? I've got 3 seasons of mourning. Haha, well actually 3 days I dread most in the year. My birthday, Christmas and Valentines Day. The reason for it being so is the same, because it's a lonely season. Wahaha.. It's not that bad actually, cos singlehood is a blessing in it's own right. It just plain jane torments a person to go through those days when they're crazy about someone else (who won't spend that day with 'em). Christmas last year wasn't a dream come true, but it was so packed that I had no time to brood or breathe. This year's Valentines was like any other day, but I'm feeling quite pleased actually. Haha. Though no flowers.. :(

I remember what Uncle Kim Song said on 29th Jan (Sunday). He was talking about his kids getting angpao and the lessons he would teach them. One of the things he said was sometimes he would purposely withold something from his kids, until a time when they no longer feel a consuming desire for it, then he would let them have it. It was a big bang in my head going "Eureka!" about the pressure of getting attached. It's very paradoxical, cos the best time to give someone something is when they no longer feel binding need for it. It is NOT a contradiction however, to pray for God's best, when knowing the answer in reply is oft to wait. That I do, with deep conviction, but I tend to move ahead of myself sometimes. Haha, dumbo.

Dun mind me thinking aloud here. I was just thinking about what Karen was teaching on Saturday, about the 5 Love Languages. Heard of them? Basically each of us have one or two preferred ways of SHOWING and RECEIVING love. Conveniently categorised for us are 1) Words of affirmation 2) Quality time 3) Giving/Receiving gifts 4) Acts of service 5) Physical touch. I scored 7,9,2,6,6 (higher better).. and it's true, my favourite way of showing/receiving love is just by spending time with a loved one. Thinking about what I've learnt about myself through the years.. Nothing quite a pleasure as driving someone I love back home or around the island, anytime. Nothing quite like spending a night cycling behind someone that means a lot to me, watching her back (in all meanings of the phrase). Nothing beats coming home thinking about what time of the night I should make that call to catch up with a "how was your day?". Nothing like taking a major detour to send someone special back home safely, no matter how late it has gotten. Maybe someday my suspicion of my gift of celibacy will be proven wrong, when someone would say "Nothing quite like.." for me. For now, it doesn't really matter. Some people spend their lives making mistakes before they finally learn about themselves and what's really good. I can't thank God enough for often putting me on a spiritual highway, when I don't even have a chance to stop the car to take a leak. Maybe someday I'll finally get to take a stopever, but for now.. I'm still a winner! Haha.. Once again, happy Valentines Day all! V (^_^) V

Multimedia Mania

A lot of multimedia for my visitors. So much to update, after I've finally gotten my hands on pics and other stuff. But no time to put everything up in an orderly manner, cos I'm aiming to sleep early tonight for a busy week ahead! *EDIT: I'm quite peeved now as I've just wasted 1 hour of putting everything up, only to have an error message and my post robbed*

I'm only showing some on the blog, so go to my Photo Album on the right for the full collection ahead! Please click thumbnails for pics k? Wont regret the load time, I've chosen only the best from 400 pics updated today! (Youth Camp 2005, Secell RA Day 2006, Family CNY, Secell Pioneers Reunion Dinner, Joy Praise Team - Korea)

First up! Secell Recognition and Appreciation Day 2006!


1st pic: Everybody in! Think I look a bit weird here.
2nd pic: WAAA!! -_-"
3rd pic: All the girlies in please..


4th pic: All the hunks in now..
5th pic: Tsidkenu. Where are you Shalom?! *tsk tsk*
6th pic: 2006 Secell Graduates. ~Wave~
Secondly, snippets from my family CNY visits. First day of CNY at my 2 grannies places.


1st pic: My paternal granny! Err.. and maid
2nd pic: My 2 notty cousins - Isaiah and Jeremiah. Next one will be called Lamentations. Haha
Thirdly, Secell Pioneer Reunion Photos! What a great evening it was. No regrets trying to get everyone together, and thanks for taking the time everyone! :)


1st pic: (From left) David, Irena, Jesse, Esther, Kevin, Karen, James, Yilin, Jason, Jon and me
2nd pic: Desserts at Swenson! Good food makes us grow up faster. Sigh..
Last but not least, our Korea brothers and sisters from erm.. KOREA!! Sorry, no Sam Soon or Jeon Ji-Hyun. But I would rather have JOY PRAISE TEAM!! Weeeehoooo.. What a great Sat night service it was. I think we really rocked Novena downside up man. Oh ya, our Korean counterparts would have more photos. I'll post the updates once i get my hands on them, they're flying back on Tues. Wondering how I know? Cos James told me. Dun think too much ah >_<


1st pic: Introducing.. Roy, Joy Praise Team leader!
2nd pic: Raine-lookalike. My apologies, didnt get his name
3rd pic: Jeremiah, ambassador aka Mayday lead singer


4th pic: Unstoppable joy!! Genuine stuff, cannot bluff
5th pic: Oh man, I love to worship with Koreans
6th pic: Their very cute pastor, with a very timely watery message


7th pic: Pink strewn all over the place. One family transcending language and geography
8th pic: Very graceful and professional! Two thumbs up!!
9th pic: Karis.. hearthrob sound engineer, photographer and dancer.


10th pic: Flute performance. They were really worshipping, play until cry know?
11th pic: Finale dance. Led by the hearthrob. Haha.. Very nice!
12th pic: Altogether now.. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!! I think they have nicer versions of this pic.

13th pic: Joy's fanclub.. the Korean office
14th pic: Karis is a real hit with Singaporean girls
15th pic: and erm.. also the men?!
I used my MP3 player to record their songs down. Unfortunately, as the laws of physics restricts the maximum amplitude of sound on a small diaphragm like my MP3 player, the quality isn't too good. So bear with it, as the bang bangs are really loud. But the flute performances were pretty okie, worth a second hearing, even if you've heard them once! :)

Joy Praise Team - Better than life
Joy Praise Team - King of Majesty
Joy Praise Team - My life is in You
Joy Praise Team - Celebrate Jesus
Joy Praise Team - My peace I give unto you
Joy Praise Team - Flute Performance
Joy Praise Team - Flute Performance 2
Joy Praise Team - One way
Joy Praise Team - Everyday
Joy Praise Team - You are good (encore)

Enjoy! Have a great week ahead folks, and dun forget to take a look into the albums if you haven't..

Forever Friends Reunion!! Lovely~

Just came back from a reunion dinner cum get together with old pals, Secell Pioneer Batch. Secell history started when I was 12 years old. Together with Jon Wong, James, Jesse, Yilin, Esther and Karen, we were taught by David, Jason and Huiting. Anyway, everyone turned up today and it was GREAT!! Oh, I just realized the "teachers" to cell members ratio was super high, maybe that's why it was so effective back then? Together with Kevin who entered Secell slightly later than us, we met up for a Reunion Dinner tonight @ Taste of Thailand!! It was a blaaaaaaaaaaaaast laaaaa.. Most of us were friends since 7 years old, so we've very much known each other for more than 70% of our lives. It was fun just talking about old times, about how Secell was like 11 years ago. And unwittingly, we'll always talk about what the future for each other might be like. A fitting topic, since most of us are at cross roads in our lives, and Esther is gonna get married soon.

It's funny how everything and nothing changes. We're still the good ol' friends from yester years, though we've all changed so much from 11 years ago. But I guess it's the indescribable bonds weaved through the threads of time, knotted amongst countless precious memories that never loosens. It's been a special night to me for many reasons, cos I'm a sentimental guy! I remember things that mean a lot to me, special days, special numbers, special happenings, and special people. And among these precious friends, are many shared memories I'll never ever exchange for the world. Lest we forget, a high ho hum cheers.. Forever Friends!

Run with it!!

Another day of work, with 3 days worth of emails awaiting me. That's what happens when holidays happen in Singapore, but people in Seoul, London and Japan either have shorter or no holidays. And all that work piled up just for a measly little intern like me, imagine the old timers who are project managers, or worse still, my Vice President aka Line Manager. I can see his screen clearly enough to make out which emails in his inbox are read, and which haven't. He can NEVER EVER clear his inbox fast enough to have all bolded mails (unread) covered. For him, they just keep coming! I guess his pay more than makes up for the stress. Hehe, anyway he's nice enough to give me an Ang Pao today. And he's an Aussie, fresh in Singapore since Dec last yr! ^^

I returned from lunch today at the foodcourt in Marina Square, then proceeded back to the office to sit on my chair. Hmm.. I think my pants might have tightened by 1/2 an inch around the waist, not too sure. HORROR OF HORRORS!!! I seriously doubt it shrunk, that means.. I might have expanded from the CNY goodies (or the lack of it). At about 2pm, I made up my mind. I am going to buy a new running shoe and go jogging today!

And so it was, quite excited after work. Went to Royal Sporting House (i know its not the best place to get shoes, but no time to go better places la), and checked out the usual brands - Naiki, Rebook, No Balance, Addidas and Pumar. All were either 10-15% discount, cool. Unfortunately, my budget was $60-80, and was just aiming to get a decent shoe to wear out. I wear out my shoes VERY VERY fast, dunno why too. My shoes get sole-less real quick.. weird. I tried out some Nike and Reebok shoes about $129 before discount, then the sales lady asked,"Do you run often?" To which I replied,"Err.. Soon.. ya." After which she immediately declared,"Then get Asics!"

I'm quite a shoe nut, unlike Zack. And like Pastor Mark, who is a one-shoe-at-a-time person, except I'm one-TYPE-of-shoe-at-a-time. So my experiences with running shoes, in particular, are quite pathetic. Later I found out that Asics were quite top of the line, confirmed by Zack the pro, except they cost $200 plus on the average. Ah well, I gave the shoes a look anyway and if they weren't durable or light, I might have bought them for the design anyway! Haha.. Okie, so no surprises. I dropped a bomb on myself by buying a pair of Asics GEL DS Trainer XI - the latests and one of the lightest. The nice filippino sales lady said she'll see me back there at least 3 years later, but knowing myself.. cut that down to 2 years perhaps? Splash the cash on a (hopefully) durable shoe which can last me long long, and most importantly.. MAKE MYSELF RUN!! Wahahahahaha.. I ran/jog 3.8km upslope downslope btw. Almost killed myself, cos I pia the first half like a super hero. That's what I deserve for not running since Nov. My target weight? 65kg! *hiak hiak hiak*

Designed especially for the elite or performance orientated runner who seeks the ultimate in lightweight shoes for faster paced training. They incorporate special weight reducing technical features such as DuoSole, the Trusstic system and minimal reinforcement materials for lightweight support and greater flexibility.
Upper: Synthetic leather, air mesh, biomorphic fir, 3m reflective.
Sole: SpEVA midsole, I.G.S, Space Trusstic, DuoSole, AHAR+ heel, Durasponge rubber forefoot, rearfoot Twist GEL, forefoot Twist GEL.
Features: Slip lasted, removable perforated compression moulded EVA sockliner with orthorlite.
Weight: 252gm.

Err.. yeah.