week 8 of 40...

Over the past few nights, both my wife & myself have scoured all available online resources to shortlist baby names. Suffice to say, there are some really awful ones, many oh-so-common ones & a handful of pompous names that we found. Finally we shortlisted 4 names, 2 for boys & 2 for girls. How are we going to decide? Perhaps by a lucky draw? More likely, we are probably going to bring the names to consult the gods for enlightenment...and to bless our child with wisdom, good health & obedience.

This is week 8...another 32 more weeks to go. Every single day feels like an eternity before we can see our baby (actually, I really think I'm much more excited than my wife who's carrying the baby) Nonetheless, it's still the first trimester which is a highly uncertain period. Coupled with the fact that I have my court hearing next week (sigh, I have to relive the nightmare again & again), I simply can't wait for July/Aug to arrive so that I can fast forward away from the misery. Right now, I'm keenly awaiting for June 19, where we'll be seeing a new gynecologist Dr Judy Wong at Thomson Medical Center. I can't wait to see how the baby has developed & hopefully all is going well and the baby is in good health.

Oh, I switched channels to National Geographic & saw a clip on Christmas celebrations in Singapore. How I look forward to Christmas this year! And I can't wait to bring my wife & child for a white Christmas where we can all play in the snow (Korea & Canada is definitely high on the list!)

Til the next post...

a new post after 5 years!

Wow, I just read some of my old posts & I can't believe that I have changed so much over the past 5 years. Nonetheless, it is indeed interesting to read about my past experiences, my thoughts, the things I have done and people that I have met. I had a sudden revelation recently that I should keep a blog to keep track of my life experiences and perhaps read them again 10 or 20 years from now.

Suffice to say, much has happened in the past 5 years. I changed jobs, got married, got fired from my job, hauled into a police station, thrown into a lock up, charged in court and got a new career in property. Life is a journey of experiences & I certainly had one heck of a ride so far. All that aside, I've learnt to be wiser, smarter and also matured as a person. I have also learnt that my wife & my family are extremely important to me, for they have stuck by me and supported me despite all the crap I put them through. The one thing I really need now is to take a good holiday & enjoy for a week or two before I embark on the next chapter of my life's adventures..

Another reason why I'm restarting my blogging habit is that I want to chronicle my daily thoughts for my child to read in future! Yes, I'm going to be a papa! I will never forget that moment on Vesak Day 2012, when my missus walked up to me while I was playing FIFA 12 on the Xbox and showed me the postive pregnancy test kit...



I drew a blank at first as I thought it was a false positive. We were both planning for a baby in early 2012 but too many things were happening at the same time (planning for our wedding ceremony which was long overdue, awaiting for a closure on my police case etc.) I had changed my plans and wanted to have a baby in 2013 instead. So when I saw the test kit, I was stunned for a moment before a wave of excitement gushed all over me. I jumped up from my seat & sprang towards the bedroom where there was another spare test kit. Josephine took the test again but the signal was very faint. I kept my hopes & prayed for morning to arrive quickly before I ran over to the Guardian pharmacy opposite our place to grab 2 more test kits. The digital kit finally confirmed the pregnancy and I was ecstatic! Yay!

We broke the news to my wife's parents followed by my parents. We did not want too many people to know till we are 100% sure of the pregnancy. What followed on were several blood tests done by a gynecologist recommended by mum-in-law. The doctor had setup her own private practice 2 weeks ago and I must say she hired a very blur nurse (who wasn't able to draw blood after several attempts & finally relegated to being the cashier where she managed to screw up several times too) Nonetheless, we needed the doctor's advice & ultrasound scan so we held our nerves and went through it all on our first visit. As I predicted, on the 6th week of the pregnancy, after much trepidation, waiting & anxiety, we went for the ultrasound scan the 2nd time (the first scan showed nothing as it was too early). The doctor did a tummy scan which showed nothing again (my heart was pounding like mad while I stood strong beside Jo to calm her) Finally, the doctor did an internal scan and voila! She gave us the first glimpse of our child! It was really quite the moment when the doctor said "Ah, here is your baby" Although the baby is just 5mm at this juncture, it is truly amazing to see that it already has a heartbeat and slowly growing to become our baby!

To my parents, papa & mummy, I just want to say I love you both very much and you have both been the best parents I can ever ask for. It is true that when you have your own child, you'll learn to appreciate your parents more and the hardship that they have to endure through the years.

To my wife, you're the love of my life and I'm very lucky & fortunate to have married you. I know I get on your nerves most of the times with my silly antics but do know that you mean the world to me and I'll be the best husband & father that I can be.

To my child, you are just 5mm now and really really tiny but you're growing very quickly each day! Papa & Mama loves you very much & we are looking forward to welcoming you in Jan 2013! You'll enjoy the love & care from the whole family! Stay healthy, be strong and we'll see you real soon!

I used to say that my friends have changed drastically since they attained parenthood (where they are obsessed with their child & their child comes before everything) Back then, I could never really understand why...now, I do :)

Been quite a while since I updated the blog, have been very occupied lately with work and things going on in my life. I am posting 4 designs that I did for my company's D&D next year, so I can keep an online record which I hope I can look back on 10 years down and say, 'damn! what a lousy design that is!' Hee hee...

Anyway, I came up with the idea of teaser emails to the whole UOB community to remind them of our upcoming D&D, which my department is in charge of next year. Not sure how my bosses will react to these designs but so far, i got mildly positive reviews on it. I just love the feeling of designing a poster that makes people go 'wow, that's nice!'

Just food for my ego now and then =)

iphone!

I met up with Jasmine today and she showed me the iPhone her bf bought for her from HK! What the fuck! Haha. Being the geek that I am, i was playing with her phone the whole time. I must say that it's a pretty cool phone, but it's $900 down the drain to own this cool device. But comparing between it and N95, I must say that this one's got my vote. Apple's seriously reinventing phones as we know it.

stronger...

this is a hilarious presentation during this year's emmy awards..i love this song by kanye west!

awfully cute...

awwwww..ain't he cute? just a big furball. I think I will keep a Chow chow, a German Shephard and a Goldie in future. 3 big dogs to play with one another. Hehe.

the monster of the roads...

I went to view this bike earlier tonight. This is one hell of a monster! When the engine roared to life, I swear i got an erection just from the engine rumbling, with horses screaming out from its dual exhaust pipes. I took it for a short spin and felt just like Zeus. With so much power in my hands, i could wreck havoc simply with a twist of my arm. It brings immense joy and pleasure to me, but at the same time, it brings some thoughts to my head too.

Does riding motorcycles and oogling over kickass computer games equate to immaturity as a man? I feel like I'm trapped between 2 worlds, a world where I'm being pushed towards being serious and 'man' while the other world is pulling me towards fun and spontaneity as the person that i am. I very much want to continue to be the person that I am, but somehow I feel that there's this innate change going through me that demands a lot more.

Perhaps I did changed somehow.

FOTC...

I caught an episode of this new hit show on HBO called "Flight of the Conchords". Apparently, it is about how 2 famous comedian-singers from New Zealand who try to make a name for themselves in New York City. I didn't really catch the humor in this series, although their real life performance is rather hilarious. Check it out, i bet you will laugh too =) It's a different brand of humor really...



Darn, I love the way New York City is depicted in FOTC. Make me wanna go back to NYC one more time to eat the roadside hotdogs. Mmmmmm....

I caught the first 3 episodes of Prison Break Season 3 too. I must say the writers are pretty smart to throw Michael Scofield back into prison and see how he try to break out again. Throw in the usual prison politics and you got yourself a new season. I would love to see how far Fox can stretch this series and squeeze money out of it. Can't wait for episode 4!!

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind..

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd

- Alexander Pope


I watched a brilliant, brilliant movie in which I think Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey gave one hell of a performance. Charlie Kaufman is an excellent writer, and the scripts he write are simply unique and mind blowing (as compared to many of the cookie cutter movies churned out by the Hollywood machine these days.) I caught another film of his "Being John Malkovich" and that show blew me away too.

Eternal Sunshine's premise in the film is excellent: What if you can erase the memory of someone whom you want to forget? Would you do it?

This film invokes a lot of thoughts in the mind, but strangely enough, I find myself extremely attracted to Kate Winslet. She has that type of face that will instantly catch my attention if i walked into a room. Kirsten Dunst character was un-neccessary, and I didn't think it adds to the plot with her getting it on with the doctor. Jim Carrey was amazing in the show, and he proved that he could do serious drama on top of slapstick idiotic comedies like Ace Ventura. 5 stars for this movie!

For those of you who have not watched this movie, I strongly recommend you to watch it.

"Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better
Even of their blunders."

- Nietzsche

the official game of the year!

Holy moly! I have been raving about this game for the past few months and now, it's 1 month countdown to the launch of Call of Duty 4! If you think i'm going nuts, just check out the youtube video I posted and you'll know why this game rocks.

The game no longer feels like a computer game, but more like a movie where you are actually partake in to decide how the whole script pans out. This is why I love games like Call Of Duty and Grand Theft Auto IV. And the graphics and gameplay are sooooo realistic, and coupled with the excellent sound effects and background music, you really feel the intensity of a firefight!

I'm telling you, Call of Duty 4 could easily have been made into a Hollywood movie based on the premise of the story (a disgruntled Chechen (pissed off Russian state) general collaborates with some Middle Eastern terorist group to fuck up the Americans.) And the British and American troops (as usual) gangs up to fuck them back. The result of this scenario equates to total chaos, anarchy, blood and dead bodies. How can anybody not love such a story? I love it!

I'm seriously considering to take leave just to play this game when it launches. It will be a 'Good bye world, hello computer game!' day for me. Hehe.

what to do on a lousy workday....

I think everyone needs to get a pack of this to wear in office during a down day. I simply love how they portray the asian kid in this video. Couldn't stop smiling :)

happy birthday...

Song: 祝我生日快乐
Singer: 温岚

我知道伤心不能改变什么
那么让我诚实一点
诚实难免有不能控制的宣泄
只有关上了门不必理谁

一个人坐在空的包厢里面
手机让它休息一夜
难,想切割切掉回忆的画面
眼泪不能流过十二点

生日快乐
我对自己说
蜡烛点了
寂寞亮了
生日快乐
泪也融了
我要谢谢你给的你拿走的一切

还爱你带一点恨
还要时间
才能平衡
热恋伤痕
画面重生
祝我生日快乐

sweet, sinful treat....

Got a lunch treat from my new boss at Royal@Scotts. Damn good buffet they have there. Not expensive but the food quality and selection is excellent. The chocolate fountain is especially delicious. Hee hee. I can't wait to go back one more time, maybe for a date or something. Woo hoo~

cramp fingers and sore toes...

Went rock climbing with Botak last evening. We were both ambitious and wanted to try the 25m high rock wall. But decided against good sense to try the indoor wall instead so we can live to climb another day =) Had loads of fun with my good ol' buddy. Rock climbing is tough. My physical ability and interest span lasted over an hour before we decided to call it a day and went on a spin with our motorbikes (or at least the bike I borrowed from Weixiang) The feeling is rejuvenating! I planned with Botak to go on a long distance biking trip up to KL or Malacca. We can make stops along the way to see interesting new places, to take photos, try new food etc. Would be a really fun road trip!

Looking forward to next week at work. Gonna be one heck of a fun week ahead! Especially next Sat ;) Hee hee...