LOST

Being so engaged in my hectic schedule, putting hypocritical smile in the past few days and shouting at a group of people whom don’t quite really understand why we raise our voice. (They thought that their seniors are so deaf that they have to shout in order for them to hear)

Indeed, the new batches are really extremely hard to ascertain. We never know whats going on in their minds….and really..the younger generation are getting more liberal and will not hold back to give you a piece of their mind. Is it the maturity or is it that they are just simple-minded?They looked very LOST. The reflections are mere words which they heard over and over again from us. Only two are truthful..from what i heard. That differentiates them from the rest and that gives us hope. Well….it took me two to three years to fully understand what is taught. So i guess, we still have hope. But i just hope that it will not take longer than that.

As for the new group of leaders who will be working together and taking over the unit, i must say..i have indeed seen their efforts. There’s more to work on though but i believe they can and will make it. Even though there might be a little setbacks, they will work and push themselves forward. This is what i feel and i will be there to observe….

The disappointing thing is that….Senior Rebecca is going to leave us soon for her studies. I guess she’s the only senior which i feel there’s no generation gap in between us. That’s why we understand each others’ crap. A great guide she has been…she’s leaving us with ‘independence’ as our guide. Well…this is a phase that we will experience. Luckily i have Moli with me and we can always discuss stuff.. Whether to plot against someone or what…hahaha….Anyway..we just wish Senior Rebecca all the best for her future endeavor.. Wah lau…cliche cliche. Nevertheless, its our wishes for her. Senior Rebecca….you can see it right? Hahaha..Anyway, shall end this post. Au revoir!

 

Finally!

Today is a day that is to be remembered. Why? Because Ren Nai has finally farted in front of me! Must blog must blog! Hahaha….

 

Save the earth

Reduce global warming before we have no more undies to wear.

 

Activities after Ratatouille

My mood after the movie was sunken all the way to the deepest of the valleys. Why? Because i regretted dining at a specific restaurant. I guess the worse feeling you could get from eating food that is not to your liking or rather not up to the standards of your taste buds is regret. Yes, thats how i felt.

Well…the restaurant that we went to can be found at the corner of the end of Bugis street named BUGIS STREET MEMOIRS. Apparently, it’s quite ULU. It’s a bar as well. Alright, the interior of the food looks quite decent. In fact, it looks like a studio. The food there are local dishes like nasi goreng, fried hor fun, fried beef hor fun. There was set lunch offered at $6.50 which includes a fruit juice, a main course and a dessert. Yep, we decided to go for that.

Fruit Juice: Ahboon and Siqi ordered lime juice. Ren Nai ordered apple juice and I decided to try something different. So, i ordered pink guava juice. The suay-ness always comes to the one who tries something new. The rest of the drinks were alright. But i do not know why did my drink taste so diluted. It’s definitely not a juice for me. It’s just a glass of plain water with pink colouring. I decided not to tell them since we were paying only what we thought $6.50. That was “suay” point number 1

Main Course: Ahboon ordered nasi padang. Tasted quite ok. Siqi ordered fried hor fun. Tasted ok. Ren Nai and I ordered fried beef hor fun. Tasteless. Heng, there was green chilli to go along. That’s suay number 2

Dessert: 4 of us ordered mango pudding. Looks good. But the first 2 mango pudding that was served to us looked different. Sort of darker and it tasted a bit bitter and sour. Mine was sour, ah boon’s was bitter. Ren Nai and Siqi’s tasted fine and looked fine. That’s “suay” number 3

The restaurant had their waiters of course. But where were the waiters when they spilled soya sauce on the table? They simply left after placing the food and the soy sauce without bothering to come back to clean. Well, if we were the one spilling soy sauce ourselves, we would have gladly cleaned it. But the waiter just stared at us from afar. Alright, after that was the mango pudding issue. Both ah boon and I felt that the mango pudding that was served to the both of us has started to undergo fermentation. So we asked the waiter why did the pudding taste so different and why it tasted bitter. We waited for the answer and the reply was: Oh, because the puddings were made by two different chefs so it tastes a little different. I would like to clarify that it tasted worlds apart. I feel as if they deliberately thought of some reasons so that we would accept what is given to us. Integrity is definitely out of sight in the restaurant. In the end, we didn’t finish our mango pudding.

Next was the bill. Our set meal cost about $9 plus because we ordered the mango pudding for the dessert. Extra Charge, and yet, we can’t eat our mango pudding in peace. I truly regret going to that place and my mood was totally all the way down.

Next event, while we were walking along bugis street, there was a group of kim samsoon. They were Koreans. We were like racing cars. One of them kept banging on me for about 3 times and finally overtook me. I guess it’s their street culture but Wa lieu. Why me and me only? That’s “Suay” number 4. I decided to go home asap. As soon as my pals are done with their shopping, i went home and took a bath to wash away my bad luck. Haha..superstitious. Whatever it is, its better to stay indoors and sleep if you have bad luck.

 

Ratatouille

Ratatouille…..There’s no reason you shouldn’t watch this film. As can be suggested by the ratings that the movie critics have given, it is indeed a movie with substance. Just a prodigious rat who is mad about cooking is something that entices me to go watch it. No regrets.

The plot : There is nothing new about the plot. Quite a common kind of plot. It speaks of a rat(Remy) who wants to be a chef but is faced with lots of obstacles due to the fact that he’s merely a pest that humans will never ever allow in the kitchen. However, through some miraculous opportunity in life, he gets to set foot in this restaurant who was once owned by the legendary ah pui chef in Paris named Gusteau. His motto: Anyone can cook. That greatly inspired Remy to be a chef. Through some exciting expedition in the kitchen, he finally found his channel to help him cook. That is none other than the garbage boy named Linguine. Through pulling Linguine’s hair, Remy was able to whip up scrumptious food that can satisfy the taste buds of famous critics. The rest of the story, i believe everyone can use their imagination to imagine. The plot aside, the rest of the movie was great.

Characters: Remy. The Rat with exquisite taste. He firmly believes that Rats should not be eating garbage. If they had to steal, might as well steal the good food. He’s an avid reader of Gusteau’s recipe book and is a very knowledgeable rat. He knows the terms used in a kitchen, know the spices like saffron..so on and so forth. In other words, he’s born to be a chef.

Linguine. A not so talented in cooking man who is timid at first and then is rather puffed up by his fame for being Gusteau’s son who can cook (Remy is actually the one cooking) He later feels the importance of Remy and the both of them developed a special friendship between a human a rat.

Gusteau. An ah pui chef who appears like fairy godfather and is constantly inspiring Remy by his belief that anyone can cook.

Graphics: I liked the graphics especially. The soft lightings and the way they picture Paris in the animation is really a piece of art. It is surreal, sort of dreamlike. I think that can serve as an advertisement to promote Paris. The expressions of the characters were also done to near perfection. Every emotion was being portrayed by the expressions. Remy was also brought to life with his little movements of a rat.

On the whole, this is a movie that i will recommend my friends to watch. Time to rear a hamster and inspire him to cook. Ha!

 

Fartamania

what is it good for? Absolutely nothing…..hoohaa..hoohaa

While the people in JCs are mugging themselves to death…i’m boring myself to death. When the exams results are released….i will be shocked to death. But before i go and die…let me post something to reduce my boredom.

Today…Dr Chia will talk about flatulence….the art of farting. This is the topic that concerns me, my health and I the most. Even though i can say my input and output are pretty much balanced, flatulence is something i cannot eschew from 24/7. It lies in the genes. Based on past experiences, I have every reason to believe that my uncles and aunties have this amazing capability to put up a marveling fart-a-concerto while sleeping. No doubt, this skill has already being passed down to me without much interference. I have inherited 100% of the power. My friends will know it.

All right, for some general knowledge. Good for people who’s dying to be humorous to strike up some conversation. FLATULENCE, simply known as farting. The gas that is expelled through the anus is known as FLATUS. The gas is expelled through the tension of the anal sphincter..whether or not voluntarily. Don’t ask me whats a anal sphincter. Try farting and feel which part tenses…that must be the anal sphincter.

Many people have this misconception that the noise from farting is caused by the buttocks. It is actually caused by the vibration anal sphincter. The sound will vary depending on the tensity of the sphincter muscle, the velocity of the gas being propelled and also factors like water and body fats. Humans do flatulate during our sleep. This is caused by the relaxed state of body muscles. It is found that an average person can flatulate for 10-20 times through a night. (Hey! I’m perfectly normal!)

So, what makes up a flatus. Humans farting methane just like how cows does that cause global warming is a popular fallacy. The truth is, our flatus is mainly made up of nitrogen which takes up about 20-90% of our flatus. As we all know, nitrogen is used to preserve food. SO…in the future if you want to preserve your bag of chips for a longer period of time…you know what to do. But be careful…don’t try so hard that you poop inside. Methane and hydrogen makes up a small portion of flatus but not all people can produce methane. So if you know of anyone who produces methane by flatulence, ask him/her to start your campfire. Also…oxygen can have the potential to make up 10% of our fart. Try using it for CPR if you want. But considering the amount of flatus you emit and the composition of oxygen in it.. the probability of success is near zero. But who knows, the person might regain life after smelling the stench.

I shan’t touch on the causes of flatulence. It’s too tedious. No matter what you eat, you will still fart. Some common foods that increase fart rates are, beans, lentils, broccoli, oat, onions and garlics.

My very memorable farting experience….. I was on my way home with Ren Nai (Renee) when i was in sec 4. We were walking on the path towards the bus stop from our holding school’s back gate. A few other students were walking in front and were far away from us.

Cherina: Eh..Ren Nai.. i want to fart.
Ren Nai: You fart lor..you fart lor (said it thinking i wouldn’t dare flatulate)                            Cherina: poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh

The next thing i know…..she was very far away from my sight.

Yes….that’s the end of my post. Educational and entertaining. Simply wonderful. Signing off. Au revoir!

 

Vivace

A century has passed and i’m back from the exam war front. How well did i do? i dunno. But i just know that for the last two paper, i can barely pass. No point pondering about it already, what is done is done.

Fatimah’s birthday…another small girl and she’s finally 17!!!!! Everyone’s getting old. SO let’s keep our childishness and grow up man. It’s a disappointment i can’t stay all the way till the end of the celebration..but still i enjoyed the meal together with Fatimah and friends!!! Haha..

Right….next event…went for a piano concert by my cousin. It’s called Vivace. Cool ah.. the piano players are all grade 8 and above with numerous of them being awarded with prestigious awards in the music realm. In order to achieve that, i suppose great investments have been made by their parents. ($100/lesson by this certain piano teacher ) Imagine a month you have at least 4 sessions…a year that would be…all right..go count yourself..plus that grand piano you ought to have if you learn it till that standard….

Ever wondered why pop music is more popular than classical music? Simply because pop music cater to the majority of the crowd while classical music requires people of certain class to appreciate it. In order words, they cater to the niche. After the numerous yawns that i have made during the concerto, i conclude that i belong to the majority of the population. Can’t understand lah. The pieces they played really emphasizes their expertise in piano. It’s like competing on how many keys can you play in a second. For me, music is something that can convey emotions to the audience. Some of the pieces were able to evoke emotions in me. But most of them just went in from one ear and came out from the other. Besides, i dunno why…probably the composers of those classics had bad hair day or what during composition…their songs are all so agitated…..just my feelings…not a professional critic so i’m in no position to make professional comments….

Whatever it is…a young boy caught my attention and i was moved by his playing… a tender age of 8 years old and he is already doing his own compositions..and his pieces were with much feel. His name is called Jonathan. I guess he has already obtained his grade 8 or something. He was superb. A tiny physique but a great mind he has in his head. The future of the music scene!

 

Secret

Secret……i guess there is no need for more promotion of the movie. My advice..just go watch it. Let the movie speak for itself. Overall, i enjoyed it. Although some scenes can be a little old-fashioned (like that sort of “come, come and catch me”) but thats something rather entertaining. I went with the mindset that the movie is sure to be overrated but after watching it, i would have to agree with the many who gave good comments on the movie.

The plot of the movie, Splendid. It was quite an unusual plot with wittiness and it was able to sustain interest. The way the movie twisted was smart and something out of the ordinary. (Wonder what Jay Chou’s brain is made of) It has a very distinct theme of love that transcend time. Most importantly, it has got STYLE. Shall not spoil the movie for those who haven’t watched it.

Actors and Actress wise…i guess they were greenhorns and thus did a rather good job in conveying their emotions. Except for some scenes which kept my hair standing, the rest were pretty well done. Oh yes..there was humour injected here and there which was not overdone thus, adding flavor to the movie

Personally, i enjoyed the piano scenes as well as the background music . Especially the battle of the piano where Jay Chou challenged a piano prince for a score to give his beloved. Awesome is the word for it. I think Jay Chou’s piano skills was comparable to Maksim (you know…the flight of the bumblebee? )The background music was fabulous as well. It was just the right tool to evoke emotions and it has got style.. I guess many are inspired to learn piano by now.

On the whole….thumbs up for the movie. Girls who watched this movies might develop new expectations for guys..Haha..the piano industry is booming!

 

The Big D

D for dog, D for depressing, D for demoralizing, D for disappointing and D for Food and Beverage Project. Yes, i got a D for my project of my favorite subject. The D’s that i have mentioned above expresses my feelings. The effort spent on this project was i would say greater than others. I stayed up a few nights to make the wine selection and the design of the menu (i didn’t even stay up for the rest of my projects). But honestly, D was what we deserved. In fact…we could’ve failed.

The problem of our projects….we compromised our standard for time and we were too full of ourselves. Despite the effort made (great efforts by group mates i must say) the whole orientation of the project was off track. I guess we could’ve obtained a reference menu rather than doing it our own way. Well…we’ve gotten feedback from our tutor, i guess now we know where we have gone wrong. (After thinking about how cliche was debriefing…it actually works) Take the advice and get on with life.

Tips on projects by Cherina

1) Have a clear sense of direction and clear picture of what you have to do

2) Primary planning is vital and never neglect it

3) Stick close to project guidelines

4)Check work (most of us neglect this part due to the fatigue we get from all projects lumped together…but it is IMPORTANT to check each other’s work!!!!)

Yes….that’s what i’ve obtained from doing badly for a subject that I like. Going to get rid of all the Ds and now it is Down for action. Cool man..woohoo!!!! (The above is some self-encouragement for myself.. Do not read if you feel awkward about it.) Signing Off….Good Day!

 

Changing Appetite

It was Siqi’s birthday yesterday..whoopie…despite her puny physique, she’s 17. Happy Birthday once again….But out of a joyous day, something spoiled it. The dining experience at where do you call that place? Oh yeah….CHANGING APPETITE located at where? oh yeah…Marina Square. Once again, i’m not trying to tarnish their reputation or whatsoever…but the forthcoming blog post is solely based on Ren Nai and my dining experience over at CHANGING APPETITE. It is a representation of our mixed emotions by words. Yes, after consuming food from changing appetite, i feel like turning into a vegetarian….Their slogan: Ya gotta luv it…….(yeah..like real)

Let me recall…..ok… i ordered a honey BBQ ribs (can’t remember the full name) Ren Nai ordered the black pepper one. Is it me or is it the style of the cuisine that the sauce tasted far from honey…in my opinion, it should be called sour BBQ ribs.

Amazingly, what we ordered was served to us rather quickly. But that wasn’t a good sign….i will touch on that later. The portion really looks great at first glance. It was quite huge…we were really looking forward to eating the big chunks of meat…but that was just our illusion. Of the whole piece of ribs, more than 3/4 was made up of the bones and the cartilages… Cartilage was edible…but i would prefer to eat meat with flavor as compared to eating chunks of soft bones without any flavor… mal-nutritious ribs. Let me show you evidence. sp_a0030.jpg Picture may cause some discomfort.

Let’s move on….texture wise…it’s really disappointing. We spent half the time trying to saw the meat and trying to differentiate which part is the bone and the meat (apparently the rib was mainly made up of bones) It is to the extent whereby you try so hard to saw the meat that your knife can actually fly out from your hand. (It nearly did) As you chew the meat, meat strands get stuck to your teeth, and i tried so hard to chew that my jaw felt tired. It made the whole dining experience tedious. Just a piece of advice….do not eat the ribs with dentures and do not bring your grandfather who’s wearing dentures either. It just appears to me that they focus too much on “speed-delivering-food-to-customers” that they neglect the quality of food.

On the whole…we paid $15.50+++ for the bones and our muscle aches. I will not recommend anyone to go for the main course over there. Not value for money. There were also quite a few miscommunication here and there….But but but…they really do have pretty good desserts there.

If you want good ribs, cafe cartel serves very decent ribs and FOO HOUSE at Upp Changi Rd serves superb ribs (the meat just falls off from the bones..not much cutting needed. Oh yeah…the chef was previously from grand hyatt) Alright shall end my post. Adios!

Now let’s spend some time on pictures!!