Double the fun

On the 21st Dec 08, Eunice and I went out to east coast park (ECP for reference in this post, not the expressway).

We bought some snacks at IMM's Giant before driving there, and bought ourselves lunch from Mcdonald's drive-thru. Then we drove towards the end of ECP where we found a place to park along the road and yet very near to the beach. We then set down our picnic mat and had our lunch. The weather that day was really great, it was very cooling and windy.

Then later on we went to rent a double-bike for 2 hrs (1-for-1) and we really had a blast cycling through ECP together. Its really great to be able to do something fun together with her like this and yet give ourselves a workout. I have to say it's probably the best time I ever spent at ECP... sharing joy and laughter and feeling so close to her, the wind in our hair, the sun gracing us gently.

These few days spending my time with her during the holidays, i feel like im living the time of my life.












========== Side-Rant ==========
Something annoys the both of us greatly, and that is the transformation of ECP into refugee settlement camps. The pollution of tents all over the park makes it look very messy and crowded... it has now become a shelter for the homeless. Go to our neighbour in the north where land is abundant, don't do this to our precious landscape.

Near-War Experience & A Happy Day

Hello! I just had a super great day at JB with Eunice and her parents, I'm really happy because it's the first time going out with them, and things went really well :)

========== Near-War Experience ==========

Leaving the best for the last, I shall first rant about some really scary experiences we had, and they took place at possibly the world's worst immigration checkpoints... Hang on to your seats as some really serious ranting is about to happen... No offense to malaysians, I have nothing against you. But please do something about your non-existant government.

The horror starts right from when we got down the bus to get our passports stamped at the malaysia side. The queue starts right from where we got off the bus, and stretches all the way to the counters. I estimate the length of the queue to be roughly 60 to 70 meters... Ok well, maybe its because its a saturday and many people are going over to shop and eat... I don't mind to queue a little while, but is it so hard to make us feel comfortable while we are at it? Don't they have some money to install working air conditioners? Don't they have money to hire people to clean the fans? Do they even have the brains to separate the queue lines with fences so that we will know where to start queuing? (No, the couple section of fences right in front of the booth doesn't count.) And why is there a person paid to give out white cards while he can be chopping passports? Haven't they heard of automation? Or maybe the word "organisation"? Or "order"? How about "common sense"? I don't feel a little bit welcome at all. Instead I saw stupidity, laziness and outright retarded-ness. They do not deserve tourism in their country. At all.

Fast forward to the time of escaping back to peace and prosperity... The same thing happens at the counters. This time, the queue starts right from the landing of an escalator. And then its madness and chaos. Its just a crowd, all squeezed together... I felt like I was in a concentration camp, just that there weren't any Nazi soldiers. Things were reallllyyy crawling, there were like a million people trying to get out of the war zone, and the "brilliant" government of malaysia built a little hut with about 6 counter booths. Imagine a small gate, and trying to get a billion sheep to cross that gate. They even have a few immigration officers standing there doing absolutely nothing at all. Some of them were trying to look important while some were just keeping the snail passport choppers company, happily smiling and talking while we were dying out there. At one point I was actually scared for the safety of my honey, because the mob was getting impatient and pushing towards the booths, hoping they can maybe overrun the checkpoint. I wouldn't be surprised if one day a stampede happens and people die. While queuing up to get their passports chopped. It will be the joke of the millenia. Cockroaches will still remember and laugh about it after humans go extinct.

I was relieved to get out of that hot, sweaty pile of human jam. Although I have been to malaysia before, this is undoubtedly my worst experience (at the checkpoints). I'm amazed that a short bridge can separate a first world country from a third world country, order from chaos, heaven from hell. I'm no great supporter of PAP, but let me say I am so proud of what my government has done. Lucky us Singaporeans that we have a government, because our neighbour has none. The stark difference you will experience, the moment the automatic doors slide open after you get off escalators that actually move: Cold air. Order. Peace. Singapore.

Word of advice, DO NOT go to JB during the weekends unless you are planning on committing suicide. I wonder if the new checkpoints will prove me wrong about malaysia not having a government... I wouldn't count on it to allow myself to go during the weekends yet. Maybe someone can be a guinea pig and tell me? If you manage to come back alive, that is.

========== A Happy Day ==========

Now for happy things!!! =) I'm gonna talk about what an incredible day I had with Eunice and her parents... I'm so happy because its the first time I went out with them and everything went really smooth. They are a very nice couple and we shared many moments of joy and laughter. I feel great to be able to have them accept me, feels wonderful! I can feel my relationship with Eunice getting into a higher level, now that I have met her parents. And out of accident, I also met her sister and brother-in-law =) I have now met all of her family members (met her brother, sister-in-law and their new born baby awhile ago), and just yesterday I was at her place and I met Eunice's 7 year-old niece and 4 year-old nephew, whom I really enjoyed playing with haha... they are such cute little things. Now back to the JB trip...

We shopped for the entire afternoon after having lunch at Secret Recipe, at City Square. Her parents were really generous and nice, treating me to lunch and dinner. After we were done shopping at City Square, we went to Holiday Plaza to get DVDs. In order to get them, we had to get to the third floor, and enter a room that is well hidden away from the public, especially the polis. In the room, we were greeted by a very friendly guy which provided us with superior service in finding the movies we wanted, being very patient in looking for missing titles and taking care of all our pirated needs. I have to say I was really impressed. We bought 32 movies in all, and with free delivery to our homes, we didn't have to worry about being caught.

The last item on the iternary of the day was a sumptuous dinner at Teman Sri Tebrau, where we had stingray, cereal crayfish, kangkong, sotong and penang char kway tiao :p Just listing them out makes my mouth water again haha...

Another reason that I am so happy is because Eunice and me really had lots of fun shopping, talking and laughing about all sorts of stuff. Everything is so right when I'm with her, we can agree on anything and this connection feels so magical... everytime I hold her hands and look into her eyes, I feel so lucky to have her. 

I love you, Eunice :)

Keeping the door closed and locked

Hello everybody! EXAMS ARE OVER hahahaah...

I'm really excited with the lineup of activities eunice and me have planned for the holidays... cant wait to do all of them!

I have wanted to write this post for a damn long time, but haven't really got the chance to do it. This article is more for people who are not so aware of how to keep their Windows PC (especially XP and older) safe and sound. For those who are more aware, maybe you can exchange ideas with me, and I can add them in here.

I have thought to myself a long time ago, why do people's PCs keep getting bugged down with viruses, spyware and other malware? Is it because they surf alot of porn? What could be the reasons? After many experiences of troubleshooting infected PCs (some FUBAR-ed...), I have come to realise the 3 grave mistakes people make, which led to their PC's horrible deaths...

1. Performing daily tasks using an administrator account, especially web surfing. Most people don't even know what is an administrator account.
2. Windows not updated. Most people simply don't care or don't know how to do it.
3. No anti-virus software installed, or not updated. Most people have a few months of trial period on their anti-virus and just leave it there to rot after it expires, because they have to pay to renew the license.
   

Now I shall share with you how to do things the proper way. This is how I have kept my computers safe for years without ever needing to reformat my disks.

1. Use the admin account only for installation of programs and other admin tasks. Create a limited account for your normal work (especially web surfing). If you have to download files for installation, use the limited account. Trust me, the little amount of trouble from switching accounts is worth it.
   
2. Set your Windows installation to update itself automatically. This will allow your Windows installation to be patched with security fixes regularly. The malicious software removal tool which is updated monthly will also be provided automatically through Windows update.
3. Set your anti-virus software to update its virus database regularly. If you can afford to, then pay for an extension of licenses. If not, just simply download a free anti-virus solution from the internet. e.g. AVG free

Take note that these are simple solutions for common day-to-day security problems people face at home, and should be rather easy to practice once you get used to them.

Many users are simply not aware of what to do, and a little education can help alot. Do not be ignorant about these matters, knowing what you should practice as a user can help save alot of your precious time. You do not want to keep reformatting your hard disks right?

Tips to save money #2

Here is the second entry, and this time I shall share some knowledge about...

*** Saving Electricity ***

1. Switch off lights / fans / aircon / appliances when not in use. (You can keep your fridge switched on...) Keep a habit of turning off these things everytime you leave a room for sometime.
   
   
2. Try not to use the aircon so much, use a fan to cool yourself. Aircon is the killer as they REALLY consume alot of electricity. Yes, I know... sometimes it gets really hot in Singapore, but try to cut down.
   
   
3. Appliances on standby mode consumes electricity too, keep the power socket switched off if possible.
   
   
4. Try to multi-task: download huge files when you are doing your work on your computer to avoid having to leave them on overnight. Computing power in home PCs for today's standards can easily accomodate this, even for gaming or watching streamed videos at the same time. If you do not like to wait for your computer to boot up, you can put it in hibernation mode instead of leaving it on for a few hours, this can reduce power consumption. Hibernation mode consumes less power than standby mode.
   
   
5. Learn to shower with cold water, you save power by not having to turn on the water heater. Plus, its refreshing!
   

The Matrix...

on Windows?!?!?! I wouldn't want to live in Windows...

Tips to save money #1

Hello people... times are hard, so I thought of sharing with people some tips to save money. On this mini-series (hmm... "mini-something" sounds like a sensitive word nowadays), I will have a few posts on saving money, each will cover different aspects...

If you have any more that isn't here, please let me know and I will share it here too!

*** Saving Water ***

1. When bathing, shampoo and soap your body before washing off everything. You can also wash your face with facial foam (if you normally do that at all) too and wash off everything together. Position the shower head above your head, as the water will wash everything down, for a more efficient bath instead of holding it in one hand and moving it around your body.
   
   
2. Do away with aquatic pets... changing of water in tanks means using up alot of water.
   
   
3. Don't you dare fill up that bath tub!!!
   
   
4. This is a little extreme... flush your toilet only after a few times of pee-ing. If you are thinking of shits too... you are sick.
   
   
5. Put a filled water bottle in your toilet cistern (away from the moving parts) and you can save quite alot of water.
   
   
6. Eliminate bad habits like letting the water run while you brush your teeth, while you soap / shampoo etc.
   

The run for my love

As I run along the quiet streets of the already asleep neighbourhood, I can only hear music in my ears.
But what runs through my mind are images of your sweet pretty face,
and they certainly motivate me to run ever faster.
Every step I get closer to my goal, every drop of perspiration I sweat for you.
Red lights don't stop me, but watch out for speeding taxis!
Block 542! I break into my final sprint, the last bus rushing back to the interchange.
In between hard panting, I feel vibrations coming from my pouch.
It can only be my love, her sweet voice greeting me just as I enter the void deck.
The familiar routine of the lift ride, the long corridor I must walk to reach my dearest.
At last I see her, my angel smiles upon me.
All tiredness soon fades away with her presence.
A long awaited kiss, tingles my heart and soul.
I'm home.

Stoning in class

im just trying to keep myself occupied actually. SImply cant focus anymore due to my 4 hr sleep from this morning. Just cant wait to see u at 6pm later honey!

Tired Pok

List of POKs

This is Eunice-Juncheng language. Nobody else will understand... here goes!

1. TDP!!!
2. Clumsy Pok
3. Lousy Pok
4. Tired Pok
5. Stupid Pok
6. Honey Pok
7. Silly Pok
8. Crazy Pok
9. Candy Pok
10. Toot Toot Pok

Night Cycling Trip Log, 20 Sep 08

The gang went night cycling in the early morning of 20 Sep, around midnight. We started off from Ivan's place (Tampines), and headed for Pasir Ris. We wandered off into Pasir Ris park, but then realised that we couldn't connect to Changi beach park, so we came out onto the streets and went along Loyang Ave.

We wanted to stop at Changi V for a cold coconut, but then realised the whole FC was under renovation... so nvm we just stopped for a quick drink from our bottles and carried on. Soon we were at Changi Coast Rd, and cruised for a relaxing 8km before we reached East Coast park.
Then after reaching East Coast park, we headed for Mcdonalds, which was our turning and resting point. We had some food before we set off back towards Ivan's. From East Coast park, we cut out through East Coast service rd, and through Bedok before finally reaching Bedok Reservoir rd. From there we took a shortcut through the industrial estate before reaching Tampines new town.

Recently we bought a GT Ruckus 2.0 frame for Dean, and throughout the journey we were planning on how to build his new bike... stay tuned for developments of project X...

We clocked slightly less than 50km, finishing at around 5.40am. It was really good to ride a new route, on Changi Coastal rd, as its really relaxing with the cooling night wind. Thanks to Ivan for bringing us on this interesting route :) Its always great to ride with the guys, hope we can do this more often.

BirthdayBoy Update

v1.0.3 has been released. Check out the BirthdayBoy page for download and release notes.

A bright night

On the 14th September 2008, we went to Little Guilin and joined in with fellow lantern wielding and sparkler swinging people. While most of the people were having a great time, some people were having a greater time trying to burn down Little Guilin haha...

We lit up our lanterns as soon as we got there, but decided to light up some candles on the ledge by the lake after walking a mere 20 metres lol...









Under the bright moonlight and shiny stars, I looked at her playing with the candles just like a little girl... It feels fantastic to feel her presence... just wanna hold her close, smell her scent, watch her hair flowing in the cool night breeze... this is love.

Dian Xiao Er Wonder Duck

Hello, this time we hunt down "Ten Wonders Duck", from Dian Xiao Er in Vivocity. I have to say the overall food here is excellent, and definitely worth the queue. Oh yes, they open for dinner at 5.30pm, and soon you will see a queue forming at the door.

On the hunt, we ordered a small "Ten Wonders Duck", a bowl of winter melon soup, and traditional sliced fish. But the main target we were there for was the TWD. Just thinking of how to describe this dish, my mouth is watering this very moment haha... The meat of the duck is simply tender and super juicy, soaked in the gravy that is cooked with herbs. It almost melts in your mouth! Its really wonderful, and I got hooked the first time I tried it. I give this dish a 10/10, its a must try!!!

There are other outlets of Dian Xiao Er, but I have only been to the one in Vivo, and I heard that the one in Marina Sq is not as good as the one in Vivo... so just try it in Vivo.

Hunt Date: 10 Sep 08
Location: Dian Xiao Er, Vivocity

==========Disaster Report==========
That night we also went to have a mango dessert at Kim Gary, I don't even want to remember the name... for its ridiculous! The ice is not even well shaven, its like throwing a whole block of ice into the bowl, add a few strips of mango on top, and some red bean fillings like at the bottom of the ice (like ice kachang but doesnt even come close, pathetic attempt). The only thing that is tasty is the mango syrup on the ice. It costs 5 bucks, which I would have given to charity instead. It was a disaster, and we condemn the dish. We covered the bowl with a serviette because it was declared dead.

Joo Chiat Bak Kut Teh

This mission was rather impromptu, we were just exploring Katong area for nice food on a wet day, and we stumbled across an ulu shop along Joo Chiat road. I remembered when I was still serving, that my friends in the army drove me here for Bak Kut Teh after a unit run in east coast park.

It was rather affordable, the both of us shared a bowl of Bak Kut Teh for 10 bucks. Eunice said that the soup was not peppery enough. I thought that the Bak Kut was really good, though I agreed with Eunice on the soup. In th soup, there is seaweed-like vege (fa chai) and green vege (dunno whats the name haha) which makes the whole thing even more yummy.

This BKT is not bad, and I believe it has been here for many years already. Business is not bad, even with the bad weather, we can still see people coming in the early evening. I give it a 8.5/10.

Hunt date: 14 September 2008
Location: 328, Joo Chiat Road #01-02

Bugis Assam Fish Head

Hi all!! Haha havent been blogging for sooo long :S
Today I will talk about one of my personal favorite dish: The Assam Fish Head....Damn. Even the mention of it makes me hungry.


This dish is simply made from heaven. When JC first brought me to this eating place, I could tell that they serve good assam fish head just by the smell and look of it from the other patron's tables. You know there're some dishes you just can tell if it's good just from the look of it. I know we shouldn't judge just by the appearance, but food wise..the appearance always tell us the whole story :)

Anyway back to the food huunt, after we ordeered for our dish, I just couldnt wait for it to be served. When it was finally here, I was super duper excited and tried the curry fish immediately.



Man....was it orgasmic!!!!! The fish is just so tasty. There was a tinge of sourness in the spicy curry and the fish was so so juicy and succulent. It was not too soft and there was no fishy smell or taste at all. Overall, it's something to die for.




Haha. I would rate it 10/10. Definitely one of the best assam/curry fish I have tried. Price is at $20 for one and it can be shared between 2-4 persons. But cos I love it so much, I wanna just enjoy it with my dear JC. Haha the other time we brought his friends along, couldnt really get to eat much for 4 ppl. Well...JC maybe we shd go back again soon..im craving for it NOW! :)

A day with the animals

Today, we went to the Zoo! I totally had fun, and it was a blast seeing how Eunice had fun and was so happy.









Haha she was just like a little girl, so excited to be at the Zoo. I think that its great for us to learn more about the animals, and how some of them are being endangered by humans...





















































To end, I would like to dedicate a quote for mother nature: Extinction is forever, Conserve!
View more photos here.

85 Bak Chor Mee

This dish is pretty well known to many people, especially to those staying in the east. Located in the heartlands of Bedok is a food centre that opens till late into the night, feeding hungry Singaporeans numerous choices of good food. We have come all the way here for possibly the best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore.

The form of this BCM comes in soup, and boy does the soup taste yummy!!! The meatballs are so juicy and bouncy, that it makes you wish there were more in the bowl. The BCM does not come standard with De Kwa (Pig's Liver). But after you try this, you will find out that there is not a need to have De Kwa in the dish because the dish is complete.

The largest serving is 3 bucks, and I feel that I can finish 2 bowls almost everytime I go there for BCM because the portion isn't that big. This is a must try, this BCM scores 9.5/10!

Note that there is another stall located next to it that sells exactly the same thing. I have not really tried that stall, but their business is pretty good too, just like this stall. So no harm trying it...



























Hunt Date: 3rd August 2008
Location: Blk 85 Bedok North Ave 4

Things we are gonna do!!

1) Kite flying
2) BBQ-ing cum chalet trip :):):)
3) Zoo!!
4) Continue with our food hunts
5) Party together one day :P
6) bla. loads. lazy to think alr. lol

One month in a minute

On the 23rd of August 2008, we celebrated our first month together. Everything happened so quickly, so fast. Time really do fly when we are enjoying ourselves (I seem to like this phrase alot). It feels like one minute, but one month has gone past just like that. I just love how she looked when she received the bouquet from me...

That night, we went for a nice half-meal at Graze, in Rochester Park. I say half-meal because I was just so broke... so we shared a cripsy black skin cod fish, and a HUGE plate of desserts, with many small assortment of desserts. They call it the dessert platter. I have to say the food is really great, though expensive. I will bring Eunice back there again for another meal in the future, and maybe it will add another entry in The Food Hunt Log... hehe.

Honey... I love you. I wish there be many many many many more months like this =)

Balestier Bak Kut Teh

For our very first food hunt mission, we drove to central Singapore in search of the famous Bak Kut Teh: Founder Rou Gu Cha, buried in the shophouse-lined streets of Balestier.

As Eunice knows where the place is, it was not hard to get there. We parked in Shaw Plaza and crossed the road. After a 20 minute wait in the queue, we finally got to our seats.

Hi all. This is Eunice here, the guest blogger on this blog :) Since this is my debut entry, I shall let u guys know more about me first ( though i dunno how many ppl would be reading this, I might end up talking to myself). Ok, I'm Eunice, Jun Cheng's......gf? hahaha. *shy*. Err what else about me..Ok..boring stuff. I'm doing Biz Ad in NUS. Currently in year 2. And my motto in life is to study not hard but smart, but play hard :). I aim for perfection in life, and some say I have very high expectations in life. Well, I see that as a plus point. Hehe. I am an extremist in that I can be super duper playful and sacrifice sleep if I have to or go home everyday at 5am just to stay out and have fun. But when it comes to studying, I can be pretty hardcore too. Some people might find me weird cos' I have many 'things' about me which lots would not be able to understand..such as err I better not say. Haha. :) Three things in life i love. FASHION. MUSIC. FOOD. Anyway, I think im talking too much about me here. Of cos, apart from the 3, I love him too :)

Alrighty, today's food topic. BAK KUT TEH. I can alr taste the bak kut in my mouth as I recall back to 2 weeks ago. It's simply heavenly. What can I say. You have gotta try it!! I think it's one of the very very best in Singapore! The smell of the pepper lingering in the air as we queued to get a place in the eating place. It's air-c0nditioned, so you wouldn't needa worry about sweating like a pig after consuming the heavily-peppered dish. And also, the soup's refillable. The soup....is orgasmic!! The pepper taste will just fire you up after the very first scoop of the soup. The meat is so tender and soft..but the portion might not be enough for big eaters. But i think this fact is complemented by the simple mouth-watering tasty soup. It's really a must try! Affordable certainly, it costs approximately $15 for 2 people's share, i give it a 9/10 :)

Hehe thats my sweetie, Eunice. She will be the resident blogger from now on, and as she is also my deputy food hunter, we will be doing food reviews and sharing with you our food hunt adventures. Do stay tune for our next mission, on the food hunt log!

View more photos here.

Hunt date: 22 Aug 2008
Address: Founder Rou Gu Cha Cafeteria
347 Balestier Road, S'pore 329777