Orangeous Dailies

Finished uploading all the 182 pictures!

Jessie’s 23rd Birthday entry is finally published.

Defying gravity.

Rebecca posted something even more amazing. She caught this circus group while she was in Shanghai. 6 bikes in a cage, she says.

Shanghai Circus Bikes

I have a habit of keeping records of my petrol expenditure in a spreadsheet.

$2.153 per litre of Shell 92 petrol!

Less than a year ago, to be exact, on 23/07/07, it only cost $1.68 per litre of Shell 95 petrol!

Pang, Waikian, Jessie and I met up for steamboat buffet tonight @ Happy Joy Restaurant. I affectionately call that the-15-dollar-buffet! I’ve been there three times this year with my family already.

This restaurant has been around since I was a little boy. I remember going to the giant fish tanks and pounding my fists against the glass, trying to get the fishes to look at me. I used to have my CAL (Computer Assisted Learning) classes there, so we used to frequent that place.

We rushed there and managed to reach by 8pm. Steamboat buffet’s last order is at 9.30 pm. So we still had some time to gorge ourselves silly. This place is like a mini COCA restaurant. It loses out in the variety of food served, and the steamboat soup only comes in chicken flavor.

Then again, it’s only 15 bucks per person.

We ordered lots of crabs, pork and meatballs. The service has always been excellent, because only a few tables are occupied and there are plenty of staff running around. Their closing time was 10 pm., but we ate till 10.15 pm. And all the staff patiently waited for our last table to finish, gathering around to watch TV, while they took turns clearing the empty plates and replenishing our water.

Nobody even said, or muttered a word about I’m sorry, we’re closing. Big thumbs up to their wonderful service. So here’s the address, if you’re planning to go there for steamboat buffet.

Happy Joy Restaurant

166 Bt Merah Central #04-3531 Singapore 150166

Tel : 62734339 or 62734340 or 62724961

If you’re driving, you may wish to park at the multi-storey carpark opposite Bukit Merah Central. Preferably Deck 6 (Level 3), then you can go by the overhead pass and the brightly lit restaurant is visible on the right.

My family had dinner with my neighbour Alec, and his mum, who came to visit him. We dined at Ellenborough Market Cafe, Swissotel Merchant Court. Both of them are from Texas, Houston. Alec, from Rice University, is here on a student exchange program with NUS, returning in September.

Alec’s family and ours.

He was telling me weeks ago about how his mum wanted to meet my family, and that she would rather spend the money on having dinner with his close friends, than on tourist spots. When my mum called for the bill, there was no bill. Halfway through our dinner, Alec sneaked off to the cashier and paid for our entire table. Geesh!

We went for some drinks at Indochine, Forbidden City, and Dad came back from company dinner early to join us. And… I think they’re very nice people. Despite how the Internet and gossip portray them Americans as being biased against Asians, I think that they’re actually people who are always appreciative (eg. they say a thank you for almost everything), and… they tend to look at shitty situations from a positive point of view. It’s also very rare to see both mother and grown-up-child still being so close and sincerely praising one another.

Alec’s mother, Anne, made an interesting comment that night when I almost missed a turn, and swerved left really hard, nearly hitting the kerb before Central Mall.

Haha! Chris! You just drive just like a New Yorker.

Heh! I have absolutely no idea what that means.

I chanced upon this fantastic site, while searching for How To Clean Your Keyboard.

http://www.coudal.com/keywasher.php

Go watch the video. It shows a keyboard being placed in a dishwasher. Then I realized that my keyboard had not been cleaned for almost 2 years. I ripped out all the keys…

Time to clean the keyboard.

Tossed everything into a bucket, started to wash them in soapy water.

Washed them thoroughly.

Sprayed the keyboard with water.

Left them to dry for over 48 hours.

Satisfied that the keyboard was dry enough, I plugged it into the computer.

Nothing worked. I pounded on the keys, mashed them up, but not even a single button worked. I guess my keyboard just drowned. I rushed down to Sim Lim Square to buy a black Logitech keyboard for $16.

I’ll still wash my keyboard again. But ONLY the keys. I think only some keyboards are meant to be washed. So do that only if you have a spare keyboard sitting around.

I was on my way home after dinner when my mum called. Her good friend’s husband had passed away 4 hours ago, and she badly needed a lift to her place. So I picked her up from the hospital and we both went over. Mum told me what had just happened, during the journey there :

Mum received a call late afternoon from her friend. Her husband had a heart attack, collapsed at home, after complaining of chest pains. She called my mum who was at work. Crying over the phone, she wasn’t sure what to do. Mum told her to get an ambulance. By the time they had arrived at the hospital, it was too late.

It was 11pm when I arrived. The lights in the house were still on. And I was greeted by a lady and her three children. All of them had swollen, puffy eyes after a huge bout of crying. I felt depressed seeing them. I didn’t know what to say, except for I’m really sorry to hear about what happened, and I sat there on the sofa, silently observing everything that was going on around me.

Her husband’s wallet was lying on the table. I recognized the typical huge bulgy worn-out black leather wallet my Dad always carries around. His handphone was switched off.

Mum and her friend, with her other friends, were in a room, discussing about casket services, insurance and autopsy procedures. He had his own business, so they were also discussing on issues relating to company accounts. Mum assured her that she would talk to the coroner. They picked out a suit for the deceased to wear, during the funeral.

I leaned back on the sofa, and thought of how sad it would be for me to lose my dad all of a sudden. I spoke to her daughter. And this was what she told me :

I had just finished my test. The results were instantly displayed on the computer and I had gotten full marks. I was so happy and I wanted to go home to share the news with everyone. Then my mum called and told me to come down to the hospital immediately. I rushed out of the lab. One of my friends accompanied me to the hospital, while the rest helped me pack up my belongings.

I felt so sad after hearing those words, and the only thing that came out of my mouth was :

You have really good friends.

I wished I could have said something which sounded better.

It was midnight when mum finished consoling her friend, who looked distraught and weak, we headed back home. Mum was hungry, so we stopped by the roadside for some prata. And we had a short conversation about the whole incident.

Me : Do you think anything could have been done after he collapsed?

Mum : CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation). But she was crying and in a shock.

Me : Could it have saved him?

Mum : Yes.

Me : How sure are you on that?

Mum : I’m a CPR trainer. What do you mean I don’t know? It’s been proven many many times.

Me : Then what if you’re not sure on how to do that.

Mum : Just keep pumping away. Four-second interval. Now they are debating over whether it is possible to keep pumping away at the chest, without the need to blow into the mouth.

Me : So if auntie administered CPR, would he have had a second chance?

Mum : Yes, most likely.

If you’re unsure of how to perform CPR, I suggest you learn it today.

http://globalcrisis.info/cpr.html

CPR might just make the difference between life and death, and one day, you might need to use it.

If you’re skeptical about this, I’d suggest you jolly-fucking-well listen up. Don’t ask me to touch-some-fucking-wood or any of those superstitious crap. Shit happens all the time, and when you would least expect it. It’s how you deal with it that makes the difference.

Had dinner with Jessie and her mum at De Bali Affair Stonegrill @ Katong. Jessie’s so-called birthday dinner with her mum. And knowing that her mum and I would always wrestle to foot the bill, I gave the waitress my card even before her mum arrived.

I know you’re laughing. Yes, I’m slow at discovering new things!

I found the entire experience of cooking your own piece of meat on preheated 400-degrees granite slab very interesting. You have absolutely no one else to blame if your meat ends up too tough to eat, that’s why I always stay on the medium-rare side.

I have to bring my parents there one day, because they are suffering from the buffet-syndrome. They think that the more you eat, the more you save. After every buffet, they would do a comparison between the market price of the food they ate, and the bill. I would love to see my Dad getting curious with the granite slab, and a few blisters on his fingers.

Jessie turns 23! Happy birthday my dear girl.

Big thank-you to all the friends who turned up :

1) Bernadette

2) Michelle

3) Siru

4) Robert

5) Chee Nin

6) Waikian

7) Pang

8) Kenneth (for helping us reserve huge sofa seats at his place, Tapas Wine Bistro)

Had dinner at Jumbo Seafood @ Dempsey Road.

Jumbo @ Dempsey

Then we headed down to Kenneth’s little watering hole, Tapas Wine Bistro @ Holland Village.

Kenneth got us a bottle of Moet champagne. Cheers!

Make a wish!

Had lots of great desserts!

Played the Red Indian drinking game!

And we made Jessie, the birthday girl, drink a lot!

Video : Jessie blowing out her cake

Photo Album : http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukianto/sets/72157605177733970/

Related : Jessie’s 23rd Birthday

Jessie blowing out the candles on her 23rd birthday.

It’s customary that the boyfriend drinks up half of the cup of liquor, to prove his so-called love for his girlfriend. I took half a Graveyard (heavy-duty, specially concocted by the bartender) for Jessie.

Fines for overdue books.

26 bucks! I thought library fines were usually less than two dollars!

I’ve finally learnt to return my books on time!

I was abruptly woken up by a phone call at 10am. It was regarding my advertisement, 2nd Hand Books For Sale, which Michelle helped me put up.

Me : Which textbook do you need?

Caller : Human Resource Management.

Me : Ah yes, the one going for $15.

Caller : You will send it to PSB Academy right?

Me : Yep. What time?

Caller : I finish class at 12 noon.

Great! One down, more to go.

Me : Ok that’s great.

Caller : Erm wait.

*brief pause, discussion in the background*

Caller : Oops, wrong edition. I’m so sorry.

Me : It’s ok. Don’t worry. Thank you.

I have abso-fuckin-lutely no idea what to do with the pile of textbooks piling up in my cupboard. Business Law, Business Statistics, Management Accounting… and more to go. The newer editions keep coming out (probably with one or two new topics) and I have no way to get rid of them.

I brought my whole bunch of computing textbooks to Bras Basah once, to a bookstore on the 2nd floor, run by an Indian guy. He gave my brand new textbooks a glance and told me he’d give me FIVE FUCKING DOLLARS for the bag. Ended up donating them to The Salvation Army instead.

Colonel Sanders would be really pleased.

Dear Human,

I puked a grand total of eight times from Thursday night till Friday morning. I didn’t feel like eating or drinking afterwards. Everyone around me panicked.

They brought me to a place where I sat on a metal tray. The only thing separating my ass from the cold table was a piece of cloth.

Carlos, totally freaked out

I immediately recognized this place because of the strong smell of antiseptic. The last time I came here, I was placed in a tray, in this room with the same smell, and my two precious balls were forcefully removed WITHOUT MY CONSENT. They all started talking and the doctor shook her head.

They took a blood sample. I started crying. Afterwards, they inserted a needle, with a tube leading to a bag containing some transparent liquid and left me there in a cage. I totally freaked out.

And from that distance, I could see Michelle and Chris opening the glass door, about to leave. I yelled and howled. They both paused for a second, looking in my direction. Last chance. I gave a long pitiful wail, hoping that it would change their minds. They both looked down and left.

When will I see them again?

With love,

Carlos

[Update : 110508]

Carlos came back home on a Saturday afternoon, overjoyed to see all of us, and with a $250 bill from the vet. They shaved his left arm so they could put him on the drip.

Shaved.

The vet claimed that Carlos puked due to :

1. Aggressive use of the choke chain.

2. Intoxication. He probably ate something bad.

Then again, vets and trainers never seem to get along. When we asked the trainer about the whole incident, he was certain that the choke chain had nothing to do with the vomiting. After all he has been using this technique for 7 years and no dog ever had a problem. Subsequent research on the internet revealed that people have been using this for years as well, without any problems. Moreover, we continued bringing Carlos to training school as usual, on Sunday. The choke chain was used more frequently compared to other sessions. He didn’t puke when he reached home.

I went home, threw away the old uncovered bin in my room and got a new Ikea bin with a cover. I believe he drank some leftover beer from the discarded cans in my bin. Haha!

Happy 23rd Birthday Waikian!

Celebrated Waikian’s birthday at Timbre @ Old Parliament House.

We finally ended the Playstation-Portable-As-Birthday-Present habit (the past few presents we’ve been buying all the birthday boys, was always a Playstation Portable). Waikian had a PS3 already, so we figured out he wouldn’t need another console. We couldn’t afford to get him the black Gucci wallet which he wanted very much, so we all gave him a red packet with cash inside. Hopefully he’ll put it in his Gucci-Wallet fund.

Pang got Waikian a Superman cake!

Jessie sneaked away from the table and ordered a Waterfall. Waikian was pretty shocked when the drink arrived. You can tell from his face.

The band at Timbre played Waikian a birthday song. They also made fun of his fruity surname, Lychee Lum, which we wrote on a piece of paper passed to them. In the short video which we recorded, we were all laughing when the dedication was read out.

Why Lychee Lum? In a desperate bid to stay sober after five straight losses in a drinking game we played, he hugged a can of lychees, and his luck went up. He stopped losing after that. He spent the whole night protecting that can of lychees, refusing to let anyone go near it. He named them his Lucky Lychees. And because his surname’s Lum, we came up with something which rhymed… like… Lychee Lum!

Videos : Waikian’s 23rd Birthday Cake and Waterfall

Photo Album : http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukianto/sets/72157604902420749/

Related : Waikian’s 23rd Birthday.

Held at Timbre @ Old Parliament House.

Presenting Waikian with a Superman birthday cake, and a song dedication from the band at Timbre. They also made fun of his fruity surname, Lychee Lum!

Jessie ordered a Waterfall drink as a birthday surprise!