Tree Top Trail

Went to the HSBC's Tree Top Walk thing again this past weekend.. this time, with the DIP folks (read about our silver-award winning DIP journey here).. and thank God, the weather was much much MUCH better than the last time with the Jazz&Blues ppl..

Realised that I could actually start charging ppl to bring them in.. haha.. guided tour with an outdoor lunch provided.. heh.. and then it also hit me that I've been frequenting the area for almost 14 years, since the very first time.. fwah.. haha.. now I feel REALLY old.. but anyway, it's a good trip. Even though the route was not exactly what I'd prefer, and we ended up walking a little more.. it was nice.. managed to take quite a few pictures that we would have missed if we had shortened the route..

managed to capture some neat shots.. can't exactly post all of 'em here though.. =)

No food this time round, but I'm pretty sure the next time we go back in, there definitely will be..

..and yes, if you're wondering, I'm still waiting for you and you to go along with me and find those checkpoints.. especially that dreaded DRUM.. *fold arms, tap toe and wait..* =)

Happy Birthday Ah-Tan

Had a half day at work on Monday, so we took the opportunity to celebrate Alvin's birthday.. his big birthday.. 21. I remember my big birthday.. nice food, nice ppl, nice company, lovely present.. thanks to all once again.. I really appreciate it.

So anyway, work ended at lunch, so the afternoon was spent at Mind's Cafe @ bugis.. not really too sure where it is.. but I think I'll be able to find my way back there if I'm gonna have to again.. nice place though.. albeit a little squeezy cos the shop-front seems kinda narrow..

Played some interesting games, most of which I've never tried before.. so it's quite an eye-opening experience really.. plus this is prob only the 2nd time that I've been to a board-game cafe.. but it's nice. =) I enjoyed the games.. really fun.. and for only 7 bucks per person, with a free flow of drinks.. all the better.. hah.

some of the games we played.. Saboteur's quite a fun game.. tests how scheming you are.. =) and that concerto crosso one is just plain silly. Pure Brainless Fun.. haha.. just watch and react.. heh.

meet the IA family from blk11, room 5-20A (clockwise from top-left): weide, me, fabian, wilson, dongyu, kaiyen, AlvinTan (the birthday boy), kaiqi. And yes, it's yet ANOTHER alvin. Goodness, I'm really beginning to feel that my name's getting more and more commonplace.. *sigh*

Proceeded to 'Dian Xiao Er' to have dinner.. didn't get anything too crazy.. and no seafood since the birthday boy can't take any crustaceans.. (bro, you really don't know what you're missing out man.. heh) but nonetheless, the food and company was good.. and I especially like the interior decor of the place.. it's a pity I didn't get too many shots inside the eatery.. was probably more concentrated on the food.. =)

Then it was a stroll around town.. letting the food settle in.. which totally didn't help the mood. It's a monday night, but it totally felt like a friday evening or something.. going back to work the next day was a total dread.. but that's another story for another time. =) took some pretty pictures along the way too.. I realised that it's been such a loong while since the last time that I had the time and opportunity to just walk around with my camera.. it's really quite a refreshing feeling.. and again, it totally didn't help with the monday mood. Hah..

Top Left: there was some Indian Cultural performance over at the Esplanade.. quite interesting, but not exactly my cup of tea..
The rest are just eye-candy.. so happy I finally made use of my camera again.. =)

Welcome Back!

Shirley's back! But only for a month.. had dinner with the bulk of the cousins the past friday.. just realised, that it's gonna be increasingly hard to have a picture with ALL the cousins.. *shrugs*

IA Retreat @ Changi Beach Club

Had a retreat for us IA students last Thursday, over at Changi Beach Club.. just next to hendon. Quite a nice place.. so many years I’ve been going to and from hendon, and yet I never knew that just further in, there was such a nice place.. really nice and quiet. Serene. The food, facility and view’s really good too..



Had a couple of team-building games, typical TBTL kinda stuff.. quite fun actually, contrary to what I’d had expected initially.. was actually quite apprehensive about the whole event.. heh. Had a simple workshop too and I found out I was a Reflective Observation (RO) kinda learner. Quite drastic actually, my graph shows quite a slant towards that direction.. and looking back, I totally agree with it. See? I AM blogging abt past events and my thots abt them after all right? =)

So anyway, the retreat was good all in all. Had a really nice time getting together with the other students from the other blocks.. and especially those in 5-20a.. the ppl in ur workplace really make all the difference in how you feel going to work day-in-day-out. And I’m thankful I’m in a roomful of fun-loving jovial pple.. couldn’t ask for more.

Took quite some scenic shots there too.. quite amazed at how the pictures turned out.. it feels good to just walk around with a camera and snap away.. A nice relaxing feeling that’s really quite addictive.




Bottom Left: my personal favourite.. will prob be part of my wallpaper for a long time.. =)

Oh, and it was as if the stars were aligned and smiling down at me. I managed to catch Clarence in the 20-odd hours that he was in Singapore over on Thursday night. Decided to try asking him out and lo and behold, he was still in camp.. good supper, good catching up.. have to do it again soon when you’re back.

The Great Exodus

..and so it has begun. I have taken that first step and embarked on a brand new journey with the penguin OS.. yes, I have migrated over to Linux. Gone will be the oppressive days of Blue Screens and endless anti-virus updates. Gone will be the days of merciless rulings and useless ‘support’ coming from Microsoft.

A whole new world awaits.. where software is and will always be free. Where ppl gladly share knowledge and where software codes mature faster than Microsoft can say BillGates.

So anyway, it’s a start, and I’m feeling good about it. It’s quite interesting really, I really wind up learning a lot more about what’s going on in the background, rather than the usual WINDOWS splash screens and automated everything.. it’s no wonder that the great IT users of this world don’t dabble with windows.

Came across an article a few days back.. quite timely.. and I thot I’d share it since it really fits the whole ‘IT’ topic of this post. Enjoy!

Upgrade From Boyfriend To Husband

Dear IT Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a slow down in the overall performance, particularly in the flower, gifts and jewellery applications that had operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 un-installed many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, but installed undesirable programs such as Formula One 5.0, NBA 3.0 and World Cup 2.0.

And now Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and House Cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate Housewife

Reply:

Dear Desperate Housewife,

First keep in mind:
Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Try entering the command C:\ I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME and download
Tears 6.2 to install Guilt 3.0.

If all works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Late Night Teh Tarik 6.1.

Late Night 6.1 is a very bad program that will create SnoringLoudly.wav files.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-Law 1.0 or reinstall another
Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash
Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have a limited
memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.

You might consider additional software to improve memory and performance. I personally recommend Hot Tasty Food 3.0 and Tongkat Ali 6.9.

Good Luck,
IT Support

IT Show 2008

Visited the IT Show on Saturday..

I went, I found and I expanded..

Got me a new external hard disk.. whopping 500Gb, since the 1Tb is just not worth its price.. now that’s what I call space. =)

My new hard disk, affectionately named ‘Monster’.

Istana 2008

Didn’t actually plan to go visit mr president.. but chance had it that it was opened to the public.. 2nd day of CNY.. so dropped in and took a look.

First impression: IT’S A MIGHTY LONG WALK JUST TO GET IN and see that building.. how dreadful.. goodness me. The view was nice tho, and it sort of reminded me of the botanic gardens.. albeit a little less trees.. which leads me to the next impression..

Second impression: THAT’S WHERE ALL THE LAND IN SINGAPORE HAS GONE TO.. he’s got his own golf course.. how many ppl can actually say that. Hah! Even tho I don’t think he plays it.. I thot I heard that the late president ong played golf.. but never heard of the current one doing golf.. oh and it’s also an interesting feeling. You’re in downtown orchard.. where every few metres there’s some building or construction going on.. but yet, hidden away behind the huge gates and the 2 guards, is actually a very lush and spacious place.. how lovely.. a nice fusion of sensations and space.. a retreat getaway in the heart of a metropolis.. =) truely fit for a king, or in this case, a president.