Premiere for THE MUMMY yesterday night.
A big thanks to Charlene who rushed down on such short notice but fortunately, her office was only 5 minutes away.
There was free GREEN TEA popcorn and Green Tea drink on each seat!
You realised I took this shot very discreetly. You'll know why later.
And the best thing was the 2 seats beside me were empty so I had a feast on popcorn and green tea!
The movie itself was pretty alright, largely very predictable stuff, but the effects were pretty good. Especially the yeti and the avalanche, that was pretty cool. Better than any scene from Batman, really. The only problem was Jet Li - I mean, no doubt he's a great actor, but please do something about his face? It's like wrinkling like a pack of soggy french fries, it's really an eye sore when you do a close-up.
Anyway, since I still jobless and I have, what seems like, 100 hours in a day now, I decided to do bo liao things like write to The Straits Times forum.
Wrote 2 articles some more! Must be so free right. LOL.
Article 1:
Disclaimer - I admit some of the stuff in this article is slightly mythical, but it represents my views from past experiences as well.
Title: Inconvenience at a movie premiere
On Tuesday night, my friend and I attended the premiere for 'The Mummy' at Golden Village Great World City at 8.45pm. On the admission ticket, it was clearly stated that mobile phones and other devices which are camera-enabled would be prohibited from being brought in and had to be deposited at a baggage counter. I had a spare non-camera phone that I brought for the night but unfortunately, my friend came directly from work and could not abandon her mobile phone which had a camera.
The inconveniences started about 20 minutes before the start of the movie where everyone was depositing their mobile devices or digital cameras. There was a long queue at the foyer area, much to the dismay of many movie patrons who were worried they might be late for the start.
At the movie theatre itself, the jam continued where security staff were searching and rummaging through all the patrons' bags to ensure that everyone heeded to this rule. I witnessed a security staff refusing entry to a patron carrying a laptop and a little disagreement ensued but was settled promptly after the patron insisted the baggage counter allowed him to bring his laptop in.
The movie started about 9pm and ended about 10.40pm, after which the whole process was repeated. Patrons went down to the foyer to retrieve their devices and thereafter causing yet another unnecessary queue. By the time my friend collected her mobile phone, it was almost 30 minutes after the movie had ended and we had to rush off to take the last train service home.
I would like to inquire about such a necessity. What was the rationale to ban camera-enabled devices? In an age where technology is so advanced, it is very common to be holding devices which have camera and video-recording functions. That being said, I honestly don't see how anyone can be filming an entire movie using a mobile phone, which has limited capacity.
Furthermore, when I was watching the movie seated in the last row, I noticed a security staff standing beside me the whole time, presumably ensuring that no one was recording the movie somehow. Isn't this a sufficient measure? With such a move, there was no need to go through so much hassle queuing up to deposit mobile phones and collecting them after the movie again. Unnecessary time was wasted and being a weekday, it certainly made matters worse as everyone would be rushing home after such a late movie.
Having attended movie premieres overseas, I have never encountered such an extreme measure to inconvenience movie patrons. Bearing in mind the amount of time I have to waste just to deposit my mobile phone, I have second thoughts about attending such premieres in future.
And this is article 2:
Title: Response to article 'Heartland shoppers hit hardest by NETS fee hike'
I am responding to the article 'Heartland shoppers hit hardest by NETS fee hike' on Tuesday, 30 July 08.
The article mentioned that it was illegal for shops to impose an extra charge for NETS transactions and shoppers are encouraged to report these shops to the relevant authorities. In addition, shoppers can refuse to pay the extra charge.
I would like to bring forth a key point that taxi companies were one of the first to impose this extra charge for NETS payment. Currently, all commuters who wish to pay for a taxi ride by NETS have to pay an extra 30 cents on top of their fare.
Therefore, are taxi companies allowed to impose such charges when brick and mortar shops are disallowed from doing so? And can commuters refuse to pay the extra 30 cents charge since NETS has encouraged the reporting of such companies?
Well because this is meant to be a fun blog, please don't tag and criticise what I have written. I don't want my blog to end up like Xiaxue, if you know what I mean, and I'm just doing this out of fun. So unless you REALLY REALLY HAVE A BURNING ISSUE TO MY VIEWS, err, just take it like a pinch of salt, and maybe MSN me instead?
SINGTEL PRESENTS..
TRAFFIC JAM!
DAUGHTRY SHOWCASE
ARMENIAN STREET
With The Great Spy Experiment
In all honesty, it wasn't a great showcase throughout, and in more ways than one, quite disappointing. Didn't help that I rushed down after my match, and my team got thumped 6-1.
Firstly, didn't know it was gonna be at Armenian Street. As in, literally at a street. Essentially, can't they just hold it in a pub/club? In which case, I would have ditched my long sleeve tee and jeans with t-shirt, shorts and slippers instead. Made me barbecue like a satay stick out there in the humid evening. And if you wanna hold it in the streets and close the roads, be smart - at least choose a road with ERP lah. Help your fellow Singaporeans in a time of inflation. Armenian street of all places. Might as well put it at Simpang Bedok. Save me so much trouble then.
Secondly, Daughtry came on so late, I wondered why I actually went there so early. The first part of the evening was an average performance by Great Spy, followed by a completely useless band doing covers (forgot the name; doesn't really matter), and, see below, some street-busker-like group playing samba.
It's fine if you wanna spoil some shit song with your samba drums right in my face, BUT NOT A MADONNA SONG, OF ALL SONGS. PISSED.
Well, Daughtry finally came on!
Did 8 songs, and after the first I realised it's probably not the genre of music that I desire, so pretty much dazed through the rest.
I must be the fussiest music fan in the whole world. Got tickets also complain. No tickets also complain. Hahaha.
You give me tickets to these shows lah!
I confirm won't complain!
Da da da da da da da da da da!
beautiful stranger
Went for interview this evening, then for movie with Nicole in cine.
Is it just me or are there only horror psychological thrillers left to watch?
P2 is just another prom night movie; the only difference is this is bloodier but at least the victim is smarter. At least she managed to fend off a ferocious German Shepherd and stabbed the poor dog to death with a slicker! That just justifies my movie price!
Another movie tomorrow, another jobless week ahead.
MY NEW GADGET !
CANON IXUS 90 IS
Technically, not new, it's my Dad's. But not sure what conspired him to downgrade from this 10mp beauty to a 7mp Lumix, which looks a tad bigger than this slim baby and from what I heard, isn't a very good camera. But oh well, as long as he likes it, and I benefit from it anyway!
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD.
Never underestimate the importance of food. Oliver Twist found out the hard way!
Yesterday was a food excursion to three brilliant eateries. Seriously at the rate I'm pigging out, I need like a 2-hour Cage session every day, and that's gonna make me horribly broke as well.
Before that, Terence and I were at Peninsula trying to hunt down next season Newcastle away kit. Unfortunately, stocks haven't arrived, but didn't know Man Utd and Liverpool have new away kits too, and boy, the latter one is an extreme eye-sore.
So much that I figured it would ruin my camera so no-go.
Pretty much decided whose name to print already =)
Stumbled upon some stickers, car decal, and a stunning pair of Inter Milan cuff links, all for only SGD5!
Dinner thereafter at Seah Street Deli.
I just love this place to bits! They have a retro-looking Jukebox that plays all the great pop hits from yesteryears, and the food is pretty awesome!
A humongous jug of lime juice that can serve 8 glasses! So each of us downed 4 glasses and almost died from lime juice overdose.
Left for Vivo and waited for Charlene to finish work at 9pm so she can take cab and claim!
Managed to hunt down my DUFFY album.
I think she sounds worse than Macy Gray. That's not too bad for a UK no.1 record!
Cabbed to my favourite favourite place in the whole wide world (if not for the inaccessibility from my house)..
CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP
You know what's coming, don't you?
A gargantuan glass of sugar cane. Reminds me of the 1-litre beer I drank in US and got knocked out cold after that.A treat from the HSBC banker, the first to find a job among everyone. Well done. Would have joined you at Comtech building and we can have lunch every day but too bad, American Express rejected me.
YOU KNOW THIS WAS COMING!
If I could do my own business next time, I would open a spa resort and all the bathtubs would be filled with tau huay.
Forget about those wine spa, chocolate spa and what green tea spa.
I assure you, nothing would beat lying in a bathtub of tau huay!
Let's do this one by one. It's fully deserving!
1. Chocolate tau huay
Of course, ordered by yours truely.
I can't see how any other flavour would beat this. Charlene says this is even better than Koko Crunch. WELL DUH! Silky smooth chocolate beancurd that just melts in your mouth; ooh! One bite and I thought I just died in Switzerland! I would trade anything just to have this for breakfast every single day.
tau huay-o-meter: 5/5
2. Strawberry tau huay
I forsee this is actually the next popular flavour, and it's not hard to see why. One bite from everyone and the verdict was unanimous - it tastes like those Dutch Lady milk packets we used to drink in Primary School. And why not? A milky beancurd which is flavourful and safe with the less adventurous.
tau huay-o-meter: 5/5
3. Honeydew tau huay
I would highly recommend this flavour to anyone who is sick and tired of the diabetes-inflicting meals at the fast food centres. This flavour is mild and not sweet - in fact if I didn't tell you what flavour this is before hand, it's not easy to guess. But once the beancurd sinks in, you could sense the bits of honeydew flavour forming on your tongue, which just sets in nicely without becoming too overpowering. Simple, yet sedap!
Tau huay-o-meter: 5/5
4. Tau huay with pearl
This is just normal tau huay, but for those who are constantly frustrated with the B-grade 55 cents tau huay all over the neighbourhood, why not try this version with pearls? It's a perfect combination, and the stall is generous on the pearls as well!
Tau huay-o-meter: 5/5
5. Tau huay with fruit cocktail
Again - a simple and effective formula. For those who want a healthier option, why not get the one with fruit cocktail toppings? It makes your dessert less sweet, and great for those who are always chowing down ice cocktail jelly. Repeat after me : B-O-R-I-N-G.
Tua huay-o-meter: 5/5
6. Bandung tau huay
You know, I probably shouldn't even write a review for this one. All I can say is a pictures tells a thousand words. Just looking at it, man, I wish Willy Wonka would bestow the power upon me to grab whatever I see on my screen and just eat it! Like any Bandung drink, this is an absolute winner. For a change, next time I will order this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Purr-fect.
Tau huay-o-meter: 5/5
I don't why I'm still jobless. Someone should hire me and join makansutra and I will write food reviews for a living.
Went for the midnight screening of PROM NIGHT.
No surprises, don't think my money was well spent because half the time I was staring straight into my sweater and covering my ears. And worst thing is, it's not even NC16! Just PG! Yeah, how scary can it get right. Go watch it lah!
Supper thereafter. We are always hungry animals. Too bad. Can't help it.
GEYLANG DIM SUM
The only new dish that I tried was the coconut tarts (below, right) and boy, one bite just sent me into a seizure!
Charlene just gave me the best motivation to pass my driving. She said she'll be getting a car at the end of the year (BLUE SUZUKI SWIFT! CHIO BU!) and that if I pass my driving, I can use the car when she's at work.
I mean, if that's not motivating enough? what is???
So I decided, gonna be very serious with my driving now! No more fooling around, no more driving at first gear and being lazy to change gear, no more knocking down poles at parking, no more signalling late, be focused Jerm! You can do it!
I think we've all heard this already, but, really, isn't this gonna be so exciting? F1 race right here in Singapore!
I know the current craze is about the Brazilian team in Singapore right now but seriously, superstars? Who? Bugztooth? Pato? Anderson? Lucas Levia?? The guy who hacked the ankles off James Milner last season??
Well unfortunately I don't think I'll be paying $1388 to be seated at the start and finish line; yes it sounds crazy! For that amount I might as well fly to LA and see Madonna in concert. Anyway, because I'm still jobless, I have so much time to waste and I was thinking of booking a room at a hotel to watch the race instead. It's definitely a more viable alternative - I get a rather good view, I don't have to sit my ass in the humid weather, I can watch the LIVE highlights on ESPN while the race is ongoing, and when I'm tired, I'll just sleep whenever I want. Of course not to mention, maybe a few friends, a bottle of champagne, and if I'm really desperate, a mahjong table.
Ok obviously that was just a fantasy, but anyway, since I was so free, I actually called Swissotel Stamford to enquire and my conversation with the operator lasted like, 5 seconds? No surprises the whole hotel is fully booked then. And, when I actually checked online, the room rates during the race day were raised - believe it or not - 40 times!
Someone talk to me about inflation!
