Tuesday, October 31, 2006

exercise!

ahh....it feels good to be exercising again...on a weekly basis at least...and by playing sepak takraw, the most relak jack of sports...but hey, it beats jogging any day man.

thank goodness i didn't injure anything this time round...speaking of round, my tummy feels a bit smaller too! haha. but alas, i think it will only last a few days before the inches start rolling on once more...

which leads me to conclude that i need more exercise! something not too strenous though...lest i injure myself again...maybe i'll copy jo and his running regime...but nah, jogging's for pussies (no offense jo...keep up the good work)...and plus, i like my food too much. haha. cheers. =)

Friday, October 27, 2006

it's all about the benjamins

*lunchtime: moby gets a phone call from old-friend-he-hasn't-seen-in-ages (ofhhsia)*

moby: hello!
ofhhsia: hey hi! how've you been? i haven't seen you in ages!
moby: yeah man! it's been years...what's up?
ofhhsia: where're you? working?
moby: no, i'm going to have lunch now...why?
ofhhsia: oh ok...cuz i'm actually somewhere near your office...
moby: oh cool...how long you going to be there?
ofhhsia: i should be there the whole day...wanna do coffee later?
moby: sure!
ofhhsia: ok...i'll pick you up. seeya later!
moby: cheers. =)


*ofhhsia picks up moby from office*

ofhhsia: so where you wanna go?
moby: how about we go to adam road?
ofhhsia: ok...so have you seen blah blah blah... *continues normal old friends conversation*
moby: yeah, we're actually playing mahjong tonight...blah blah blah...


*adam road food centre*

ofhhsia: so how's work?
moby: it's alright lah...could be better, but then again, who's really truly happy with their job right? hahaha...
ofhhsia: haha...yeah, true...i've also been thinking and stuff...so i took on some other stuff outside of work...
moby: oh ok...what's that?
ofhhsia: it's actually a company doing some online sales in stuff...i wanna see if you think it works...
moby: err...ok...what's it about?
ofhhsia: oh, it's very simple...people always need to buy groceries right? so we are just providing an online version for them to buy their stuff...with delivery and all...
moby: err...ok...isn't that already something a lot of companies are doing already?
ofhhsia: yeah, but we're working directly with the manufacturers, so we cut down on the middle man...kinda like what dell is doing...
moby: oh ok...sounds quite feasible...
ofhhsia: i'm glad you like it...cuz i'm very excited about it...and guess what? we're looking out for new partners for this thing...all you need to do is to register for a training program on how to market this concept to people...you're interested right?
moby: err...
ofhhsia: great! i'll bring the forms for you tomorrow...
moby: err...
ofhhsia: pretty soon, you can start looking for your own partners too...
moby: err...
ofhhsia: and oh yeah, there's a small registration fee of S$68...
moby: ohhhhh...err...let me think about it ok?
ofhhsia: sure, no problem, i'll call you to check tomorrow...
moby: great. hey, i gotta go...the guys are coming over to play mahjong already...

*moby finishes coffee and leaves*


hey, at least i gave him face by not rejecting him outright...as i would normally do to those pesky insurance people who call at all times of the day (i actually had one call me at 10pm before). but it's just hard when you've known the person for so long...

i'm seriously very disappointed...it's all about the benjamins now.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

movie marathon 2

'tis the season for yet another movie marathon...the japanese film festival called "friendship" organised by the singapore film society is now ongoing at the national museum of singapore (the one next to ymca...not to be confused with the singapore art museum).

i had already gone to one of their films on sunday...this show called "fifteen", directed by yamada yoji. here's the synopsis:

"15-year-old student daisuke refuses to go to school. one day, without a word to his parents, daisuke sets out on a journey to see a 7,000-year-old cedar tree. hitchhiking his way to the tiny yakushima island at the southern tip of japan, the journey is set to be as unforgettable to daisuke as it is to the characters he meets along the way."

one of the better films i've seen recently...seriously. it's a story about family, travel, adventure, friendship and maturity, which will bound to bring out the tissue in you. too bad the only showing for this picture during the festival was last sunday afternoon. if you can, try to get the vcd / dvd...i recommend it. =)


as for today, in order to celebrate the day off from work, we decided to go for a 3 movie marathon, starting from 11am. they were all different genre of movies directed by kitano takeshi, who is very talented i must say.

the first movie was called "kids return". here's the synosis:

"kitano's semi-biographical work. masaru and shinji are high school buddies. the mischievous duo often creates trouble in school. one day masaru is floored by one of his victims' elder brother. humiliated, he decides to take up boxing and makes shinji join him. shinji begins to excel in the sport whereas masaru quickly loses interest. their paths begin to diverge as masaru joins a yakuza outfit."

film of the day i must say. i must admit that i love buddy-buddy movies like this...the actors are good-looking and cool, the plot is well built, the storyline has enough suspense and action, but is easy enough to follow, the screenshots are immaculate...the only complaint i have was that we were seated in the very first row...which made it a bit strenuous on my neck...though it was mostly our fault for going late.

oh, btw, did i mention that the jap film festival is free of charge up to the 26th of this month? hehe. that's why we were only on the waiting list when we reached the museum at 1055am. hehe. but we were lucky enough to get the very last available seats in the house for "kids return". once again, get it on vcd / dvd if you can. it's well worth whatever you pay. (p.s. - if you bring an over-enthused companion with you to watch this particular film, don't please forget to duck when you hear a *bish!!!* sound coming from his / HER left "elbow cut" aimed at your ribs. trust me.)


the next movie was at 230pm..."fireworks"...synopsis:

"detective nishi visits his hospitalised wife miyuki instead of accompanying his partner and close friend horibe on a stakeout. he receives a double blow when first told that miyuki's illness is terminal and later learns that horibe was shot at the stakeout. to redeem his friendship and out of love for his wife, nishi travels down a road of no return."

kitano takeshi (aka "beat takeshi") is known for the violence in his films. however, "fireworks" was the only film that i saw today which displayed this. kitano was also known as a painter...and quite a few of his paintings were featured in this film. when i read about that in the programme given out, i thought it meant that these paintings would be in the background somewhere in some room...but i guess when they say "featured", they really mean feature. a good 5-10 minutes of the film was dedicated to exhibiting these works of art, and these works of art only. interesting i must say.

anyway, this film was a bit slow for me...the scenes could have been cut a bit shorter than they actually lasted...which led to me fidgeting a bit in my seat (or that may be the result of the hard-ass cushion seats in the gallery theatre). even so, the film had a bit of a twist, a bit of humour, and a tinge of being too artsy...but still watchable though...


the last takeshi film we watched at 5pm was "kikujiro". synopsis:

"the 9-year-old boy has nothing to look forward to during the summer vaction. living with his grandmother, he decides to go on an adventure by travelling to visit his widowed mother who works in another city. the boy soon finds himself in the company of a middle-aged unemployed man. an unlikely friendship develops as the odyssey begins..."

kitano actually began his career in show business as a stand-up comedian. the results of which could be seen in this film, which to me, was an effort to rope in the younger viewers with the slapstick, deadpan humour style shown in this film. while i wouldn't call it a comedy per se, but towards the end, when all the kids in the cinema were sniggering their heads off, i was still trying to grasp what significance those parts had to the movie as a whole...especially with the bald naked guy (don't wanna ruin the vcd / dvd viewings for those who haven't watched, so i shall not elaborate).

it's not that i didn't laugh lah, but i guess watching a movie at a film festival in the national museum is kinda different from catching "dumb and dumber" at lido...you somehow wanna get more out of it. so shoot me if i'm wrong. haha. but anyway, it was a good movie...if you wanna entertain the kids on a tuesday public holiday evening. ok ok...it definitely beats any jim carrey movie...hands down.


as i mentioned before, kitano takeshi is a very talented individual...apart from being a comedian, actor (a career he is still prusuing and excelling in, both in his own works and others'), director and painter, kitano's other talents include writing, tv-presenting and video game designing...that's like almost every man's dream as a kid...he's a cool guy. go catch his films. i know i'll be looking out for more of his stuff in the future.

there're still a few more days left in this japanese film festival...it runs on till the 29th of this month...but do note that it'll be S$10 per ticket for films after the 26th (thurs)...i'm sure it'll be worth it though. see ya there!

cheers. =)

(p.p.s. - prepare to want to eat japanese food after viewing of movies...any of them...it's inevitable...trust me. korean's the next best option...and again...trust me.)

Friday, October 20, 2006

lesportsac tokidoki bag

check out the first ever handbag that i've ever bought for anyone:


lesportsac tokidoki bag

actually the one that i bought is much nicer cuz it's got more brown (and more monkeys) on it but they didn't have it on their website...it's a lesportsac "minibag" designed by tokidoki...it even comes with a keychain which they call a "qee":


tokidoki qee

i looked high and low for 3 days straight...with tremendous help from joanne, jaime, jason, and jo. i hope she likes it...though i've kept the receipt just in case...haha.

cheers. =)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

hope

hope (hohp) - noun, verb, hoped, hop‧ing.

–noun
1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best: to have hope.
2. a particular instance of this feeling: the hope of winning.
3. grounds for this feeling in a particular instance: there is little or no hope of his recovery.
4. a person or thing in which expectations are centered: the medicine was her last hope.
5. something that is hoped for: her forgiveness is my constant hope.

–verb (used with object)
6. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
7. to believe, desire, or trust: i hope that my work will be satisfactory.

–verb (used without object)
8. to feel that something desired may happen: we hope for an early spring.
9. archaic. to place trust; rely (usually fol. by in).

(source: dictionary.com)

hope: a very dangerous and damaging word...but also a most important one in my opinion.

next episode..."luck"...as in "wish me luck".

cheers. =)

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

weekly exercise

i just came back from a sepak takraw match with some old friends of raffles hall. i think tore my right hamstring. and sprained my left wrist. and bruised my ego. i can't wait to assess the total damage tomorrow morning, after having taken into account the inherent aches and sores from not warming up / down properly...haha.

"i'm not half the (takraw) man i used to be." sigh.

but anyway, good news though...this is supposedly going to be a regular weekly thing...which is fantastic because i'll be getting back into shape soon (hopefully) with all this exercise! to all you people who have made stupid jokes and remarks about me being very prosperous ("你发福了啊?!")...eat that! haha.

but somebody please make sure that an ambulance is on standby somewhere in bukit timah. actually, better make that two...for the other old foggies with me today who suffer from similar injuries. haha.

cheers. =)

Monday, October 16, 2006

hazy

everything's so hazy now...

i wish i were in alaska watching the northern lights and eating snow crabs now, snuggling in the warm comfort of my quilt...

or on a helicopter in brazil, circling corcovado hill with the world at my feet...

or hiking in new zealand taking in fresh and crisp air, with kiwis chirping in the distance...

or laying on a beach in the seychelles, listening to the waves sweep the shores with the sun setting in the horizon...

or even just back in thailand...back to the land of mountains, lakes, beaches and smiles...

i wish...but it's just so hazy now...

Monday, October 09, 2006

adventuresky thailand - bangkok (part i)

next installment: bangkok, thailand...river taxi boat ride and chatuchak street market...



watch this space for more good stuff. cheers. =)

Thursday, October 05, 2006

adventuresky thailand - chiang mai ~ bangkok (thai railway)

apologies for the delay in writing anything in this space...

but 'tis the season to get married...falalalala lalalala...not me lah...namely melvin and steven (not to each other either lah...sigh, the complexity of the modern world requires this disclaimer)...

congratulations my friends...may all your journeys in life take off to greater heights. haha. =)

speaking of journeys, this is the second installment of my trip to thailand:



cheers. =)