Church Retreat

Kh and I attended our Wesley sound crew/MTM church retreat at Tanah Merah SAFRA on sat and sun. It was fun fun fun! I missed a good part of the morning activities as we were not feeling well. Then Wendy called me in the afternoon to ask if I was going, because she too missed the morning activities. We decided to meet and go together after that.

We missed the shuttle bus so Wendy called Jack to pick us up at the mrt station. We realised later that the carpark entrance fee at TMS is $5. So each time you enter you have to pay $5. Though Jack said it was okay, it made us feel pretty bad. Didn't know carpark fee can be so ex?! If we knew we would've taken a cab as it would cost $5 too.

As I was still a new member, I went there knowing only 3 people. But I came back knowing many more. One thing I like about these church gatherings is that you can almost talk to anyone. Everyone's quite friendly, and the atmosphere is quite a cheerful and comfortable one. It just feels like you know everyone there (although you don't). It feels like we're one big family. It's true anyway. We're all in fact brothers and sisters in Christ.

The next day Kh and I cycled there again. Joined them for bowling, pool and some arcade games. It was so fun haha. Too bad everyone's not staying over for the night as they have work the next day.

Then I went home just in time to watch the Dance Floor finals. Vas and Pris won. Hmm I've no complaints about that. They do deserve the championship. I like Platinum too as I find their performance very refreshing and entertaining always. I'm just pretty surprise they didn't make it to the top 3?

Later on, Pris (not the vas-pris pris) came to talk to me at 11.45pm saying she wants to go Mac to study. I was like,"Don't mind". Then I changed out of my pjs and Pris came to pick me up 15 mins later. Everyone in my family was asleep by then, so I just quietly sneaked out and met her downstairs. We came back by 3plus. I think it was a very productive night/morning eh? Don't mind going again haha. Thanks for the treat too but seriously can you just take my $2? Tsk. This is making me feel bad.

26/4

This is so not a good day for me.

Had my law paper today. It was not good. It doesn't help that everyone else is complaining about the lack of time too cuz last year's failure rate was 39%. And you don't get to retake the paper. Well, unless you mean retaking it next sem. And that's gonna cost another thousand bucks. I wrote a reasonable amount of words, but it's the quality that worries me. I hate the feeling of coming out from the examination hall feeling inconfident and all. I just don't know if I'll pass.

Went to book my cruise ticket after that. Mum isn't happy about it at all but I can only hope that she'll understand. I understand her cause of worry but overreacting over such a small issue is really way too much for me to handle right now. I'm turning 21 this year man, gimme a break.

After several days of phlegm-spitting and nose-blowing--signs of a recovery from a flu-- I'm back to square one again, where it all begin. Having a pretty bad cold and sore throat now. Please I can't fall sick again! I've got exams, and work, and bbq... Argh, why am I getting so weak nowadays. Really can't afford to fall sick now.

Unhappiness aside, I think we got a pretty good deal from ChanBrothers. Balcony class BA (deck 11--highest deck) at only $683+112 (tax & fuel surcharge). That's a lot cheaper than what Kh's friends got at $776+112, and theirs was BB (deck 10). Meanwhile I may have to search for a dress to wear at the gala dinner. I think it's gonna be really fun. =)

Edit: Sorry BA is deck 11 not 10.. haha..

Cool Trick

You guys might wanna see this too.

Gimme a doughnut! Gimme a break!

I've been shopping a lot lately. CM was like,"Exams coming still got mood to shop?" Eh well... you'll always have the mood when you don't think about it.

I've decided on how I'm going to celebrate my 21st birthday this year already. And that's to go on a 4D3N cruise to Phuket/Langkawi onboard SuperStar Virgo, balcony class. Yes, I only want balcony class. That's gonna cost me a whopping $777 (promotional price) inclusive of fuel surcharge and travel insurance. I've been trying very hard to find ways to earn that money I want so badly. One of which, is of course, to find another part-time job.

Kh and I just went for a job interview for the "Singapore Ambassadors" position. Or so they call it. Apparently, Changi Airport has imposed a new regulation which requires all travellers to use ziplock bags to store their toiletries. Our job is to go around telling travellers about the new regulation, and give free ziplock bags to those who need it. If I get through the interview (changi airport stage), I'd have to start work on 8th May, and that's gonna be a bit of a problem because I still have an exam on 10th May. Oh well, I'll just see how it goes.

Later on, we went to Vivocity again to get that bag I had been eyeing on. We noticed that there were so many people eating Ben and Jerry's icecream! It was then that I realised that it's Ben and Jerry's free icecream day today! We went to join the queue as it wasn't very long. I got myself a chocolate fudge brownie cone, and frankly speaking, it didn't taste as good as usual. The brownie tasted like caramel for goodness sake! It wasn't even spongy. It was sticky and chewy! Okay I'm not going to be picky about that now cuz it's free anyway. Speaking of free stuff, I hate that ugly singaporean attitude I saw there. People were throwing unfinished icecream cones into the bins, and some went on to join the queue seconds after they just got their icecream. Tsk.

After that, we decided to try Vinco doughnuts to see what's all the fuss about. We ordered Royal Cheese and Chocolate Cinnamon. Sorry to say, it sucks! It doesn't worth its $1.20. I honestly think I can make better doughnuts than them. I thought okay maybe their doughnut are made of some kinda heavenly flour. But no. The doughnut base itself sucks! Please, can someone explain to me why people would queue hours and hours for boxes of doughnuts that suck? And they're willing to pay so much for it? Kh's sis had said that one doughnut is not enough. After eating, we understood why. It's not enough. We agree. Because it's so TINY! Not becuz it's nice! Please!

I've yet to try those from The Doughnut Factory, but looking at the way things are now, it's probably just a fad. Overrated, overpriced doughnuts. Gimme a break. If I wanted to eat good doughnuts, I'd go to Dunkin' Doughnuts! It's nice, and I don't even have to queue!

Google Earth Pro

The other day, Kh downloaded the latest version of Google Earth Pro on my laptop and insisted that I take a look at it. I thought Google Earth is kinda useless and a newer version doesn't add any relevance to my life. I didn't bother much. It was only after he left that I begin to explore it myself. I ended up spending hours on it. >_<" ...

The path I take to tuition. Looks far but it's only 5 mins by bicycle.

My route to school on bus 154. Zzz...

This is the usual cycling route I take from my house to Tanah Merah SAFRA. Kh and I would cycle there, stop there for bowling, then cycle all the way back non-stop.

I went rollerblading again with Kh, his sis, and Jinghao. Rollerbladed from Fort Rd to Bedok Jetty and back to Fort Rd again, non-stop chionging. It was sooooo tiring! My left ankle (which is already very weak) was so sore after that.

Carnivore

Kh and I went to Carnivore for dinner yesterday. It wasn't a special occasion, just that we were feeling really really hungry cuz we hadn't eaten the whole day.

It's a Brazilian Grill meat buffet. We went for the Happy Hour special at only $29 per person instead of $34. The service is wayy too good for that price. A waiter pulled a chair out for me to sit. Woah. We got constant attention from the staff there. Mind you, the waiters and waitresses there are not your typical part-time students. They're professionals, really. All of them have this look on their face that tells you they're serious about their job. Yet, everytime they look at you, they'll smile and ask if you need anything. They don't drag their feet or sashay their way to your table like many others do. They would walk briskly yet unhurriedly, and as result, you get your drinks served and tables cleaned within seconds. You also don't see them chatting and laughing with their fellow colleagues. They would stand behind their counter and be on constant vigilance. Woah, such great service.

The buffet is unlike others which requires customers to get up from their seat and serve themselves. You only need to do that when you want something from the salad bar, or the chocolate fondue station. For the rest of the time, waiters would come to you with a large skewer and have the meat cut right in front of you. The less popular items would come by more often, and the more popular ones, hardly. However, you can make a request for the food you want to be served to you, and it will arrive promptly. I quite like the concept of the buffet, except the part where you have to keep waiting for the food you want to come to you.

They don't have the list of food for the buffet on the menu, so I thought I'd just list it out here in case anybody wants to go try too. All those listed are based on what I remember seeing. Those with a (Yum!) are my faves. =)

Food on skewers:
Rump Beef

Topside Beef

Beef Hump

Beef Rib

Beef and Bacon (Yum!)

Pork Shoulder

Pork Sausage

Honey Ham

Lamb

Butterfish (Yum!)

Chicken Thigh

Chicken Heart

Pineapple (Yum!)

Garlic Bread

Salad bar (way too many varieties, so I'll just name a few):

Sweet onions

Onion soup

Corn soup

Potato salad (Yum!)

Grilled potatoes (Yum!)

Pasta (Yum!)

Garden salad

Cocktail with shrimp (Yum!)

Long beans

Cauliflower

Pumpkin puree

Cheese bread (double Yum!)

Beetroot

Steam rice

Chocolate Fondue station:

Honeydew (Yum!)

Grapes

Dragonfruit

Marshmallow (Yum!)

Breadstick

Great dining experience. =)

Holidays!

What a relief. I'm finally done with my law assignment which is due today (which is also the last day for lectures). It was worth several days of hard work and studying. And I really do mean studying. You know, usually, the only time I really really study at all, is the night before the exam. I just get this tremendous amount of pressure due to last minute studying, and as a result, I get very productive during that time. It has been like that for so many years, such that everytime I pick up my notes to read, my mum will think I'm having my exams.

I was studying really hard one night, and the next morning, I told my mum I was going to JB. She was like,"Huh! Go JB? Don't you have exams today?" "Um, no... what makes you say so?" Then she stunned a little while,"I thought I saw you studying...." >_<"

Hey miracles do happen. Like I said in my 2007 New Year's resolution, I really do hope to be a good student this year. Then again, I'm wondering if my sudden outburst of enthusiasim is due to the fact that I enjoy studying law very much. I haven't started studying on the boring subjects yet, but I sure do hope to get started soon. I don't wanna break the momentum I'm gaining now. Newton's First Law of Motion (Inertia): An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force acts upon it. External force-- slacking too long. =X

I'll be having my holidays from now till august. Meanwhile, I'm thinking of taking up another part-time job to occupy my time when my term break officially starts. Any recommendations? Please let me know. Thanks!