And here's Vincent going for a huge serve....

Charlie's Angels...hey wait, who's that on the left??

The dazzling display of laser lightings were so strong that it made this look like some scene from a horror movie. And we were actually 200m away from the stage....

Clockwise from left: Lewis, Jeremy, Jonathan, Mei, Eliza, yours truly, Steffa.

This was taken in much cleaner but not necessarily happier times when the party was just beginning to take form at about 630pm....

Melaka - Global Gathering @ Afarmosa - i.e. Mud Bath.

Of all days it had to rain the day before we hit the party at the Arena. And since we had already driven up 4 hours (takes longer in the night when you have 4 cars tailing each other) to our villa on Friday, there was really no turning back now. The ground was still reasonably firm when we arrived at about 6pm, but after thousands and thousands of people’s perpetual ambling over the moistened mud it just got worse as we progressively partied into the night; to the point in which we gave up walking in our slippers and danced barefooted all night. Trust me when I say that the mud our feet were in was nothing like the one you see in Spas. I even told Eliza, “Either my feet is going to have really good complexion after this or it is just going to rot.”

Let the Bloggings Begin...

After an inordinate amount of time spent away from my beloved blog due to work (stress), relationship (issues), family (commitments) and social (partying) life, I finally made the decision to publish a post. Blame the spare time created during my leave or the desire to diarize all my life’s moments. But I thought it would be good to make some use of all those pictures stored in my computer. Besides, I found it rather nostalgic reading all my past posts and maybe, I’ll show them to my kids when I grow old!

So we went round and round Lam Kwai Kong pretending not be lost before we finally made it to our destination, Dragon-i (pronounced Dra-gon-Eye). So yeah, after splurging on a bottle of expensive champagne and getting acquainted with her sister's friends, this magician from America (a David Blaine wannabe probably employed by the management) came over to our table to perform some tricks for us. He tricks and antics gave the saving grace for the lack of people at the supposedly reputable club that night.

And some were so nicely decorated that the ornamental factor nearly preceded its edibility factor. The food was shared freely and unabashedly so that ended up in us eating more of each other’s dinner when we felt that it tasted better than our own.

This was taken at Cafe Deco on top of The Peak; where we were finally able to repress our hunger almost two hours after our shopping marathon with succulent steaks and gourmet food. Although we were sitting in the middle of the restaurant, we could still enjoy the panoramic skyline view of Hong Kong and Kowloon. The live jazz numbers and the ambience created gave us our much deserved indulgence beneath dimly lit chandeliers.

We actually took quite a few pictures up on The Peak but it seems now like only a few are worth posting since you can barely see anything in those darker ones. The view was fantastic and the breeze would be so much more refreshing if it weren't for all that pollution. The breeze was so cold that Addie nearly froze in that tube top. I believe there is a befitting Hokkien saying that goes something like this, "Care to look good but don't care for own life." Ok, ok...I should have known better to warn her.

I actually thought of a caption for this picture that we were joking about in the cab on our way up the peak...but I really don't wanna get into trouble with some Sedition Act and end up in jail...so yeah...This one's exclusively for you, Linda. Cheers.

We made an effort to dress up and look our best before we went up The Peak and later to Lam Kwai Fong. But we weren't sure so we decided to take some pictures to see if we looked good first.

Since my baby was feeling a little under the weather, we decided to try some of the local remedies to alleviate her cold symptoms. Much to her dismay, the concoction was less than palatable as seen in these pictures...Not only Addie herself but both Linda and I can attest to that. Nevertheless, it probably had some effect coz' she felt much better the day after with additional help from an array of pills and medications. Like my mum used to say, "The more bitter it is...the more potent it should be." Hell yeah...

And this is what excessive shopping, jostling peak hour crowds and sweltering heat in Hong Kong can do to people...we had to battle migraines, bouts of flu, cough, cold and plain fatigue just to get back to our hotels and recover for our much anticipated journey up to The Peak.

Here's Jude trying out his goofy antics on his unassuming girlfriend hoping to scare her out of her wits. I only managed to catch his devious act just before she fainted while Addy baby looked on helplessly behind me. This picture was taken in one of the shops at Pedder building. We bought nothing there but we managed to entertain ourselves with some window shopping and playful badinage.

This was taken at the famous Yung Kee duck restaurant that I visited just months ago during my trip to HK with my family. Although we ordered a healthy spread of dishes, the bill turned out to be very affordable. We were all stuffed to the brim (except Linda who didn't like duck)after our brunch but the egg tart that was to come from Tai Cheong just minutes down the street was too inviting to miss out.

So fortunate of us to be able to get a hotel right smack in the middle of where it all happens despite the fact that we used www.priceline.com to book at the cheapest rates available. We even had the luxury of having a good Dim Sum restaurant which went by the name of Yat Tung Heen at our basement, a swimming pool that we planned to use but never did and the Temple Street Market just across the road. Our hotel was less than 5 minutes away from the Jordan MTR station.

So after the Citibank Car Rally, we knew the wanderlust bug had bitten us. The planning all started at City Space, Swissotel, and we were deliberating between Koh Samui and HK. And since the ladies loved shopping so much, we ventured into the land that never sleeps for scrumptious food and endless (and I mean Endless) shopping, Hong Kong.

My mum was visibly moved that day and I hope that this day will be remembered like every other day we spend with her.

We showered her with gifts and showed her how much she meant to us. I've never met a more dynamic or naggier woman than her...But I'm sure I speak for all when I say that we're all unabashedly proud to have her as our mum, wife, aunty, sister, daughter and friend.

It was my mum’s birthday and I decided to cook up a scrumptious but simple dish to surprise her with something I’ve never done before. As I embarked on my maiden endeavor in search of a suitable dish, I settled for Adeline’s concise and idiot-proof salmon recipe. With her recommendation and help to get the sauce, I was able to satisfy the taste buds of my guests as well as my mum. The plate was cleared in less than five minutes because everyone just wanted to taste how good…or bad… my cooking was. The feedback on its taste was good but the response on what a miracle it was that I can actually be bothered to cook was overwhelming. I’ve got to also give credit to my second aunty who put in so much effort into getting everyone together and cooking the rest of the delectable dishes.

This was taken upon our arrival in Bali where I so coincidently bumped into Iggy and Serene...who were also, so coincidently staying in the same hotel as us...talk about small world, huh. On our way back at the Bali Airport, I also met some rugby mates who were also on holiday...I almost felt like I never left home.

Every CNY, I find it hard to avoid the unanimous decision by all my younger cousins to make me the "banker" of this little game we call "Bun Lat". Being the oldest one around isn't always an advantage as I soon learned; the hard way, that is. Despite an inexorable string of good fortune at the beginning, I started losing what I won and not to mention much more towards the end to put a smile on the faces of most of my younger cousins that night. I may grinning from ear to ear in here but I'm just masking the pain inside...

It really wasn't that easy to maintain a proper conversation with Fiona when you have a mic above your head, four cameras pointing at you, lights threatening to blind your vision and 20 other people scrutinising your every word and action but I think the adrenal rush just made the whole deal more enticing.

Fortunately, after warming up with Fiona and the boys we found out that Fiona was almost as nervous as we were at the beginning of the shoot. Having realised that, it simply allowed the atmosphere to be more conducive for frank conversations minus the unnecessary uppity attitude.

 

We started filming since 6am but it wasn't the filming itself that was tiring but more of the waiting that really made me sleepy. I've since lost touch with everyone you see in this picture but you can still see them in here: http://www.lovelight.com.sg/ 

There was a lot of waiting in between shoots so we had a lot of time to chat and get acquainted. But after tediously long bouts of inactivity, I got a little fatigued and lethargic.  

Conned by a friend working for a production house and drawn by the appeal to watch how filming is done, I decided to give it a shot at a this upcoming TV game show they call "Lovelight". This was taken at Embassy in between filming with the rest of the contestants.Disclaimer: I wasn't the one who put those three words in the picture... 

t-shirt?: $35, earrings?: probably less than $20, A night of good clean fun with family and friends?: Infinitely priceless.

We took this picture at Lynn's mother's god son's birthday. And yes, that would actually mean that Lynn has a god brother who's 1 this year. Many exciting games were being played that night but most memorable of all was the "smash the pinata" game. Suspended under an "Exit" sign, the pinata was made of such durable cardboard that no one was able to break it open with the bamboo stick. In fact, after numerous tiring attempts all we could only break was the rope that held up the pinata. I happen to be one of them who did...

She's always been like a little sister to me and well, he's always been my pesky brother. And when these two told me they're together, the first thing that ran through my mind was, if I may put it so bluntly... incest!  

Sometimes they say when people hang out together too often, they start to look alike and dress the same. Their periods may even start to coincide on several occasions I heard. I don't know about you, but these three are beginning to look like sistas to me in here. I think I wanna hang out with Brad Pitt...