Painting the town Red and White

Here are the pics I mentioned in the previous post. From 2 diff cameras and thus a slight difference in quality. The pictures speak for themselves don't they :) A fun night out relaxing at a pub.

7 Degree Celsius

Yupz, that's what the digital display reads. It's single digit now. Autumn. Imagine what it'll be like in winter. Wonderful. Ahahaha. Was actually quite comfortable just wearing my favourite G2000 jacket while walking about Manc City with my mates tonight. A major factor would be the lack of any winds throughout the night.

It's 4am, only just got home after a mundane afternoon and somewhat boring evening. There were laughs, drinks and the usual good natured teasing of course. Also treated ourselves (myself, don't know about the rest) to a meal in Chinatown. No cooking for the day. Played pool after dinner before we decided to head to a club to round out the day's activities. Must say though, clubbing scene here is much better than in Singapore.

However, something is still lacking.... I wish I knew what. Too tired at the moment. Shall post pics from a few of our clubbing/pubbing escapades soon.

Speed is of the essence...

In a very good mood today. Mainly because dinner was very satisfactory and done in a very short amount of time. Started cooking at 6pm and we were done eating and washing up by 7:30pm. Loads of difference compared to the pasta that took us 2 hours just to cook alone the first time.

Menu and recipe for tonight's dinner:

1.Onion Omelette

- 5 eggs
- half an onion
- 3 teaspoons of milk

Self-explanatory dish here. Whip the eggs and milk together till creamy and with minimal froth. Add salt to taste and pan fry after adding onions to the eggs.


2.Leeks with carrots

- 2 leeks
- 2 carrots
- garlic
- shallots
- mushrooms

After slicing leeks, leave them in salted warm water to kill any possible pesticides, etc.. When it's time to cook, warm oil in wok (I only have a pot, so make do eh?) and fry garlic, shallots and mushrooms till fragrant. （炮香）Leeks go in next and lastly carrots. Be mindful not to cook the leeks too long as they're nicer if they still have a little crunch to the bite. A dash of soy sauce before serving and you're done.

3. Spicy Beef in creamy black bean sauce

- 2 slices of beef
- black pepper
- black bean sauce
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- half an onion
- garlic
- shallots

Dice the beef slabs into bite-sized cubes and marinate them with the remaining ingredients. You don't have to add all of the raw onions, about half of it will do. Massage the marinate into the beef and stick it in the fridge to stand for a few hours. As usual, garlic and shallots go in first into the warm pot. When ready, add in the left-over onions and allow it to camarelise into a nice brownish colour. Add and cook beef till outside of the cubes turn a nice dark grey. DO NOT throw away the marinate!!! Add water and cream (or full creamed milk as I did) to the marinate and pour into pot. That will be the sauce. Allow the beef to stew but turn down the heat so that it doesn't boil. Once the liquid reduces to a gravy of a consistency you prefer, (it should be great gravy to go with rice/potatoes so a little more of it wouldn't hurt ;P) add loads of pepper to level of spiciness preferred and it's ready to be served.
WARNING: Leave the pepper only to the very last or it'll burn and make everything very bitter tasting, thus wasting all your effort.

*** It struck me while eating that this dish would be very well complemented with either radish (白萝卜) or Parsnips.

4. Steamed rice with mushrooms and chinese sausage

- 2 cups of rice
- mushrooms
- chinese sausage
- minced garlic

Simplest of the lot. Usual washing of rice, appropriate level of water, throw in sliced mushrooms, sausage and minced garlic. Add a DASH of soy sauce. Close rice cook and press "cook" button. You'll swoon in the heavenly smell as it cooks. :)

I'm going off to relax, chat with friends and pat my tummy now. Cheerios~

Self-Study

Yupz, that is what I've decided will have to be done for the module Fluid Mechanics. I was pinning all hopes on the tutorial lessons initially, but it's just as hopeless. Both are from China and can't speak English well. No one in the tutorial group understood a single thing today. We left with more doubts than to begin with. Now, question 3 of my tutorial sheet is staring back at me with the same blank look I have on my face. Bye bye 47 pounds that I will have to spend getting a textbook. Darn it. That's 141 sing dollars mind you. Sigh......

On the verge of falling ill too. Can feel it. Might be the root of my frequent nightmares...


anway, WX, here's the link http://www.planearium2.de/flash/sp-studio.swf

Basketball and DOTA times...

Gosh, I miss hanging out with you guys. How's everything in Singapore? Anyway, here's something to us. Salute~! As always, ML stands in the middle. Wonder why we always do that when taking photos eh... Hehe. Take care bros, see you guys soon in a few months.


P.S. I took the liberty of doing ML's pic for him as I haven't seen him online. RB and I did our avatars by ourselves.

How I wish I could make/eat/savour these

If only I were at home!!! Would definitely try to make the potato fritters mentioned in above link!

Had to do my first tutorials this week. My brain is really really really rusty. Gona have to work real hard to scrub all tht grub away.

Cooking on a regular basis now... but I still miss eating at home. :(

whoa.... okay, had to register with the local GP (doctor) today and when I had my height and weight read out to me, realised that I've lost 3kg over these 2 weeks.

This is so wrong... haven't had the chance to exercise since I arrived and been drinking too much alcohol to boot. Well, Agnes and Pat, you have your figures liaoz.

we cooked dinner as a group tonight and I personally felt it was better than the previous meal. Maybe it's because of the company and the fact that I didn't have to eat alone.

Will update in details on the meal on a later date. For the moment be satisfied knowing that I'm near drunk on a friday evening and that if this happens every week I'm getting permanent liver damage. :P

(wait for an update when I'm sober)


update: 25/09/05 2132hrs.......................................

cooked the following for the meal I mentioned above.

1. spinach tortenilli in tomato and mushroom sauce. (real sauce this time! had tomatoes and mushrooms that I diced myself in it)

2. Stir fried bean sprouts with tomato and bacon (wanted to finish the fresh tomatoes)

3. Omelette with tomato chunks (yes, again, to finish everything) and diced ham (had 2 slices left in the fridge)

that's all of it. Was definintely more worth it cooking as a group. I feel like roasting chicken sometime this week. Have to go grocery shopping tomolo I think.

SELF cooked meal.

I cooked dinner today! yeah! First non-outside food in 10 days! Had the following:

1.spaghetti with turkey and mushroom in fake bolognose sauce (what, it was cheap!)

2.mushroom omelet (what, leftover mushrooms! I love mushrooms anyway :P)

3.a oven grilled chicken thigh


notice how I say SELF cooked instead of home cooked. Taste nothing like home cooked. Didn't have the necessary seasonings/ingredients. Worse, didn't have any vegetables other than mushrooms. Urk...



now... if only I had someone to eat with or share with.

Birth Day

My 22nd BDAY!!! Yet another year older, but what the heck, I'm already called Uncle Sam anyway, what's another year under my belt. Pfft. Hahaha. Was another wonderful nite spent with my buddies RB and ML along with good friends like Fifi, Wan Xin and Wen Long (ML's bro). Had dinner at a perenakan restaurant in Joo Chiat. Cafe Von Beta or something. Quite Good! Would definitely go back again when I'm back in Singapore. First up, the gifts from RB - 2 book on Fit For Life. My brother doing the good thing and guiding me towards a healthier lifestyle.



WX's present and her handmade card... wrapped inside is....



The book: Brian Greene's The Fabric Of The Cosmos and Gorillaz's new album - Demon Days!!!! Awesome!!! Hahaha, actually she cheated a little and knew both were things that I wanted, making them instant good presents :P



From ML - Nutty Bar Chocolate from ROYCE!!! Yes, they are heavenly!




I was amazed at the extravagance! (and richness of the chocolates)



A combined pressie from the guys - A photo frame with pics of some of the best times we've had together inside. Damn nice of them



With SINGAPOREAN sized condoms attached behind. Damn thoughtful of them. HAHAAHAHA



Fifi gave me a beautiful scarf with my name embroided onto it. Exquisite!




My bday ice-cream cake!


Happy bday to me~~ happy bday to me~~ happy BDAY to mmmeee~~~ happy bday to ME~



The BROS



Sistas!!!



Me trying to slice a rock hard ice-cream cake and Fifi trying to avoid any possible "spillage"



Finally!



Enjoy???



Actually, NO :P we all agreed tht this particular gelato store might sell good ice-cream but their cakes sux major big time XP



In summary, here's the wonderful presents I've received: 2 damn creative cards



Photo frame with memorable pics and a bball spiderman inside from my Brothers



Books from WX and RB



A bon voyage candle from WX



Gorillaz - Demon Days from WX



There's the choc from ML of course... but it's all gone now :P so, next is the scarf from Fifi



with my name on it



An Addidas school bag from my younger sis



French Connection sweater from Nerissa.



Thanks everyone!!! I love all your presents! They are all well thought. Appreciate every single one. Gona miss you all when in UK!!!

Occupation: Student

I am now OFFICIALLY a student!!! Muahahaha! I feel younger already. Notice that I already have the alcohol induced blood-shot eyes :P Kidding, it's just a crappy photo.

More Name Games

Well... yeah, I am a norturnal creature :P

How many of us are like this?

Take a moment to reflect, are any of you in danger of commiting any of these?
在此送上一句给大家

说了你又不听，听又不懂，懂又不做，做又做错，错又不认，认又不改，改又不服，不服也不说， 叫人怎么办？

Think I'm gona die a young man

Fuck, went for medical checkup today. GOT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE!!! ME!!! HBP!!! I don't overeat, virtually no snacks, exercise regularly, eat more vegetables than meat, don't lose my temper easily, take most things calmly and easily, STILL GOT HBP.

My pressure is 160/90. WHAT THE FUCK. Normal pressure for a male my age should be 130/80. This HBP news might as well give me a heart attack and kill me. PUI!

Life isn't fair. I know. It's gona take some time for me to swallow this bitter pill. I'm still gona swallow and digest it though. Stupid genes from father side. I'LL SHOW YOU!!! You won't be a crutch in my life.

In parting: FUCK YOU

I'll make sure my power tools are always handy!!! :)

got this from a fren of mine(points to the left). Quite inspiring, but Virgos, don't use this as another excuse to go abt criticising others or be nity-picky over some work.


The Carpenter's House
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and spend more time with his family. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour and the carpenter agreed. However, it was plain to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house; my gift to you."

The poor carpenter was in shock and shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the shoddy home he had built.

Is this the same with us? We may be building our lives in such a distracted way, by reacting rather than acting, by putting in the least instead of our best. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.


p.s. RB's bday this friday!!!

New Address

Well, topic says it all. Starting September, I'll be located at address stated below :) Feel free to send love/hate/memory/monetary mails as long as you're someone I know and have an address so that I can reply to you in kind. :P

• Sam Png

Room B2.03,
Weston Hall,
Sackville Street,
Manchester
M1 3BB
UNITED KINGDOM

Yup, that'll be the Hall that I'll be bunked in for this school term. Remember to check this slot again next September for an update.



****edited 22nd Aug '05 1146hrs

Flight details -

SQ 328 on 11.09.05
2350hrs

arr on 12.09.05
0650hrs

3 more weeks in sunny Singapore!!!

Beautiful, ain't it? Had a marvellous time in Redang. The snorkelling especially. This is only the 2nd time I've gone snorkelling and each time just leaves me wanting more. We were really lucky that it didn't rain once for the 2 days we dived into the embrace of Redang's crystal clear waters. This was the first time we ever went overseas as a class too, so it had a special significance in displaying how far along the bond we have amongst us has come. Can't wait for nxt year!!! *winks*

For Geeks

Like you and me :P

Those of you who use Firefox as your browser, which every secure-no pop up-safe-tabbing surfing experience liking person should do, might be interested in a proven way to boost the speed and performance of Firefox. I've tried it myself and it does improve browse speeds TREMENDOUSLY. Of course, d/l and u/l speeds aren't affected as your bandwidth isn't physically increased. Just the way data is processed. ;)

Right click your icon for firefox and select properties. add this to the target at the end
/Prefetch:1

Should look something like this "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" /Prefetch:1

Relaunch firefox.

Or to make the internetz Go even faster then they will with that boosty thingy, save this file:

http://users.tns.net/~skingery/weblog/user.js

to this folder:

- In Windows XP, it is located in
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.###\

How do you find someone to share this?

When and how can you know if it is the right person or time to share the most precious thing in the world: yourself

I can imagine how lonely this boy must feel. Still, this video made me feel warm inside.



saw the video here

How fast are you? (click!)

Go try and find out your speed from link above, is it similar to mine below?

Communications 629.1 kilobits per second
Storage 76.8 kilobytes per second
1MB file download 13.3 seconds
Subjective rating Not bad


I think it's a shit rating. Compared to the kind of bandwidth and speed ISPs are giving to those in USA and UK. Here's what a friend of mine in the UK has:

1.1 megabits per second
Communications 1.1 megabits per second
Storage 134.2 kilobytes per second
1MB file download 7.6 seconds
Subjective rating Good

and in USA......

Communications 10.1 megabits per second
Storage 1.2 megabytes per second
1MB file download 0.8 seconds
Subjective rating Unbelievable


geez.... Seriously.... I'm jealous.

My Thanks

Gal, thank you for your bravery and honesty.

It's friends like you that makes it worth while fighting on for life and the future.

adieu, my black beauty

she served me well and will be thought of fondly always.

The Dream Approaches

September beckons as time continues its headlong charge


As always.


Dreams begin but will I change it to reality as I myself so charged?


As always.


Smiles, hugs, greetings, shoulder pats and handshakes, but why do I dread these cold sheets at night?


By myself I cry,
As always.


Vision fogs and I plead for my support pillar to guide me through this wet fog. Echoes I hear.


As always.


End September,
end the partings,
end the searching,
end the loneliness,
end the coming of age,
end the longing,
end the heartache,
end the fear.


End not, however, living the life.

As ever.


Wake me up when September ends.

As reborn.


- Sam Png©


Can't sleep this Sunday night and I have to admit, this .... thing above has been bumping around in my head noisily for quite some time now. So, hopefully I've now exorcised it out of my system. Pretty obvious what I'm writing about.

Oh yeah, credit must of course go to Green Day, their song did inspire this (in a way lah, it was more of my current situation/circumstance) after all.

WELCOME BACK!!!

Good to have you back my dear fren. Good luck with your final year in school ;)

We missed you Pat! *pats ya head just like ol times*

Mortality

Men were born to die. Morbid, I know, but true.

A stark reminder today of how limited one's time in this world at a funeral wake for R's grandfather. The fatigue was obvious in his eyes. The sadness telling in his demeanor. I was glad to know that at least he was spared having the passing of his grandpa come as a shock. It is always harder to come to grips with an unexpected departure of a loved one. Both my grandparents and my youngest aunt left us with little or no warning. Somehow, I think I still blame myself for not being by my grandma's side when she exhaled for a final sigh. How could she not sigh? Her grandson wasn't with her, the family circle incomplete.

R, my deepest condolences. I can empathise with you as I know you were close to your grandpa as I was to my grandparents. Here's a favourite line of yours dedicated back to you:

"What you do in life echoes on in eternity."

Take heart that your grandpa will live on in the way you treat your friends with sincerity, your warm personality, your love of life, your openness, gentle maturity and generous spirit. Surely he played no small part in nurturing these qualities of yours.

Remember, my friend, our thoughts are with you in this dark hour. Take care, take heed and, once again, take heart.

Please let me be Seraphim

God, I hope I'm Seraphim cos boy do I ever feel like I'm spoiling for a fight at the moment.




You are one of the few out there whose wings are
truly ANGELIC. Selfless, powerful, and
divine, you are one blessed with a certain
cosmic grace. You are unequalled in
peacefulness, love, and beauty. As a Being of
Light your wings are massive and a soft white
or silver. Countless feathers grace them and
radiate the light within you for all the world
to see. You are a defender, protector, and
caretaker. Comforter of the weak and forgiver
of the wrong, chances are you are taken
advantage of once in awhile, maybe quite often.
But your innocence and wisdom sees the good in
everyone and so this mistreatment does not make
you colder. Merciful to the extreme, you will
try to help misguided souls find themselves and
peace.

However not all Angelics allow
themselves to be gotten the better of - the
Seraphim for example will be driven to fighting
for the sake of Justice and protection of those
less powerful. Congratulations - and don't ever
change - the world needs more people like you.

Image Copyright Sheila Wolk (prints available
through treefreegreetings.com) - words added by
myself.


*~*~*Claim Your Wings - Pics and Long Answers*~*~*
brought to you by Quizilla

Forever is Never

Regardless of your gender, if you haven't seen this movie, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!





there are 2 different links hidden in this post :P

NEW LOOK!

Yes, I have a new look.

Hair cut, dye and all tht. Even gotten round to using my contacts again (damn, they actually have an expiry date!) Haha. Sorry, no photos and dun intend to put any up. Meet up with me! I mean, come on, you got to at least make that much effort. What are friends for? :P

Missing Person Report

"Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends"

- © Green Day

So much to say, but yet I'm holding back tonight. Perhaps it's just not time yet. Well, finally finished my working stint, but I'm still a few hundred short of my target to buy a laptop before I head to UK. So....Probablyy means I'll have to taken on a final temp job. Been working on and off since Feb (mostly on) but much more frequently this June. Ergo my long absence from posting.

I'm quite worried actually. Just a mere 5 months (okay, take away a month for when I was in Europe) and I'm feeling the monotonous and mundane daily routine of a working life. I can literally feel it in my bones as the weariness seeps in at the end of the day. I'm not even doing anything physically taxing. In fact, my body is telling me it WANTS exercise! I fear for the rest of my life. Will I be able to survive the merciless grind of the working world, or will I be reduced to so much ash? Just another casualty of capitalism, strewn over at the side of the road as others trudge on by heedless of my tragic end.