Oh, 2010 is almost over.

Nothing new there.

I still hate new years like I always have. If you look at all my December blog archives, you’ll notice a similar vein running through each of them. I am usually grumpy, depressed and/or angsty during the year end.

I won’t repeat what I’ve already said every other year; you can check my archives if you want to know; they all sound the same; wow I’ve got so many semi colons in this sentence.

But I’ll just say that this week has been hectic, which makes me feel quite rushed into the new year, which is not good.

Everyone wanted to meet up this week to “catch up” before the year ends. I had two interview shoots scheduled. And there are so many freaking new awesome games on the iPad!

Speaking of which, I will do another iPad games review post soon, okay? Or are you tired of them already?

So, I’ll do something different this year.

I’ll make a New Year Resolution list.

I think that means I’m getting older. Or maybe I’m just feeling older because I’m so exhausted this week, having to wake up early every day for shoots and meetings.

On a slightly unrelated note, I just started taking ginseng powder (like, yesterday) which I bought in Seoul and which has sat at home untouched for two weeks because I’ve been too lazy to open the box.

So let’s see if I start feeling younger after a while of taking that, assuming I don’t give up after two days.

It’s bitter, you know.

Okay, list.

2011 Resolutions

1. Take icky ginseng powder every day.
2. Blog about it every day? No, I mean just blog every day.
3. Start running again.
4. Finish learning the two Korean self-study books I bought.
5. Start learning Malay also?
6. Keep human hours.
7. Clean my room.

I shall be realistic and stop there. Every item I add means one more item I won’t be fulfilling. Haha.

I thought I could resolve to stop buying iPad games compulsively. But I hear little laughters going off in my brain whenever I entertain that thought.

I have evil little imps in my head.

Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to succeed at “keeping human hours” since adolescence. Darn imps!

Now, on a totally unrelated note, I have given Nanny Wen a new name. I’m calling her Buggy Wen from now because she’s a bug!

As in, she’s always bugging people when she’s bored or restless or just feeling buggy, which is always.

The last time we were stuck on a flight together, she kept bugging me to play on my iPad. That was after she was done hijacking it and playing Plants vs Zombie till she was bored of it.

“Your turn! Play something!” she said, waving my iPad at me.

“I don’t want to,” I said, “I’m tired.”

“Play lah,” she persuaded.

“You continue playing lah.”

“I’m tired.”

“Then why must I play?”

“Cos I want to watch.”

I decided to humour her. I started up Chinatown Wars.

Two minutes into my game, I glanced over at her and she was happily snoozing away.

Stupid girl!

I spent Christmas with her and would choose to spend the new year with her so that I can be grumpy, depressed and angsty at her. But she’s now in Beijing on holiday. Huh!

I shall have something to be grumpy at her for when she comes back!

Alright, I’m done rambling.

Thanks for reading my blog this year. Thinking about the love and support I’ve received from you all makes me less grumpy and depressed, so thanks!

Come back more regularly so I will feel compelled to update more diligently.

Have a great 2011, everyone.

It’s really strange how time just moves on. When you think back to the beginning of any significant occurance, it’s kinda shocking to realise how long it’s been.

For example, I think about my friendship with Unker Kell and Elyxia and realise that we’ve known one another for nine years. I still remember very clearly the circumstances under which we met, so it doesn’t strike me that so much time has already passed.

We’re all almost a decade older and are a lot closer now than we were then, which is the way you always hope friendships develop.

Both of them are the sweetest people and the best friends I’ve ever known, not counting my dearest cousin, Monster, because she’s family.

That’s a 6-year-old photo. I can’t find any earlier than that.

But let me get to the main point, which is that Star Blog is coming to an end. This week is the last week and it will be replaced by something else in 2011.

I can’t believe I’ve been Star Blogging for 2 years 3 months. It really doesn’t feel that long.

The most memorable thing about it is that I always have to be a wet blanket because of it. We usually get our topics on Friday evenings and we have to submit our blogs by Monday mornings, so that means we have to work on it over the weekend.

There have been countless times I’ve had to say to my friends, “I can’t go/do that/stay out late. Gotta do Star Blog.”

During weekend getaways with friends, I would have to beg off activities for half a day to work on the blog.

On Wednesday nights, I might be out having dinner with friends and I’d have to be antisocial for an hour while I log in from my phone or laptop or iPad to do the “live” chat.

I guess the schedule is a little inconvenient, and sometimes the topics are really tough, but I don’t regret my stint on Star Blog one bit.

It’s always exciting checking my e-mail every Friday to see what the new topic is. And it’s fun during the times I round up my friends to help me pose for photos to illustrate a specific blog.

That was us trying to pose like Michael Jackson but not succeeding very much, for my tribute post to the late superstar.

Unker Kell ignored my instructions to the group to wear black that night, but he was really good at the poses, so I made him dance coach for the night.

Haha.

In total, I’ve written 116 Star Blog entries. It’s become such a routine that it’s gonna be weird not to have to do it anymore.

The job was very stressful at first, because the topics started off being more issue-oriented, many of which required research.

My very first post was to comment on the two candidates for the 2008 US Presidential Elections and cast a vote for either one.

That was the scariest topic ever, considering that I’ve never followed American politics or, in fact, any politics at all, in my life.

The only politics I was vague aware of were of the ones in the offices where I’d worked, but which I diligently avoided as much as humanly possible.

You can read for yourself how knowledgeable I was on the subject. =P

After a year, the topics became easier for me because there were more personal topics. Isn’t it always easier to write about yourself than about two blokes whom you know absolutely nothing about?

But, despite the stresses and the inconvenient schedules, I’m going to miss Star Blog a lot. It’s been a huge part of my life for over two years and I’ve made real friends from it.

I’m just glad I was given the chance to be on the team. I always enjoy being on some team or other.

Next week, a new STOMP section will replace Star Blog. It’s called “You Say, I Say”. I don’t know the details, but I guess we can all find out next week.

In the meantime, here’s my final Star Blog: What my life will be in 2011.

Go read it! Don’t read next time no more already! =D

Oh, takeaway snack-size Peking duck and suckling pig! I’m glad someone finally thought of this.

Seems like it’s been around for a year or more (at Ion Orchard) but I only just discovered it last night at VivoCity. It’s prepared on the spot and nicely rolled up in egg crepe for you to take away.

I’ve always loved Peking duck but seldom eat it cos it’s so expensive and you can’t just walk into a restaurant on your own and order a duck. And, most people, when you suggest to them, “Hey, let’s go eat Peking duck today!” will look at you funny and say, “Siao ah!”

So, anyway, I gave this Modern Peking Duck a try despite already being quite full from dinner.

Kay bought both the duck and pig, but I only tried the duck because, well, I was full. And, because I had really high hopes for it, I was a little disappointed by the result.

The taste is similar to what you’d get at restaurants, with the egg wrap and sweet sauce. But what’s wrong with it is the skin-meat ratio.

In restaurants, you get a larger slice of skin with no meat. That’s what I like. A big chunk of crispy skin. In this takeaway version, it’s mostly meat and very little skin, so it just doesn’t feel the same.

I unwrapped one to show an example.

The amount of skin is a bit pathetic. When eating it, I could only taste meat and hardly skin. I suppose, for $1.20 per piece, I can’t ask for too much?

Anyway, check this out. The outlet is trying to have its suckling pig replace turkey for Christmas! Heheh.

Kay took a look at the poster and said, “Ooh, I could eat that whole thing myself!”

So I said, “Let’s get it for our Christmas dinner!”

We had originally planned to order turkey for our little get-together with two other friends. But we only decided that two days ago. By then, all Christmas orders everywhere had closed.

But Kay replied, “Siao lah! How to finish!”

I do declare, men have absolutely zero for logic. They say the most illogical things and contradict themselves all the time.

And it’s all the more annoying because I try to only date smart, intelligent men because I enjoy intelligent conversation. But all my smart, intelligent men say the most illogical things.

So I beat Kay up (metaphorically) over this until he revealed that what he was thinking was more along the lines of suckling pig for Christmas is wrong.

So why didn’t he just say that, instead?

I don’t know why men always have to complicate things by never saying exactly what they really mean!

And I don’t know why women put up with it! I always beat my partners up when they’re being illogical.

And men have the cheek to claim that women are the ones who never say what they mean! Huh!

Well, okay, women do that, too, but it’s usually out of shyness about expressing their feelings. Men do it because they just can’t be bothered to tell the truth and will just say the most convenient thing that pops out in their heads just to get you off their back because they’re lazy to answer questions.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Anyway, Modern Peking Duck is at Ion Orchard (B4-75) and VivoCity (B2-K15).

Merry Christmas, everyone! =)

I have a sudden mad craving for tang yuan because my friend retardedly_cute is talking about them in Star Blog chat right now.

It’s supposedly the Winter Solstice Festival today, the day people supposedly eat tang yuan. But I can never remember such things.

I remember helping my aunts make the cute little pink and white balls when I was little, although I never cared to remember when they were eaten nor why.

[Photo Source]

I can’t remember when was the last time I ate these, even. The tang yuan we eat nowadays are always those big white ones with peanut or sesame paste in them, which I love, but I miss the old fashioned plain ones.

So, now, I’m hungry. I haven’t had dinner!

It’s about 10 pm. I had lunch around 4 pm maybe. Time for dinner, by which I mean I’m going to blog about food now.

I recently discovered some really good prawn noodles ironically at a Japanese ramen restaurant.

RamenPlay has decent ramen, not the best. I think only the prawn ramen stands out as being worthy of repeated visits. It tastes like really good Chinese prawn noodles! The soup is very potent! In a prawny way.

RamenPlay is at 313 Somerset, Resorts World Sentosa, Junction 8 and NEX. Okay, I’ve only eaten the prawn ramen twice so far, but I’m going back for more!

Next on my list is pomelo salad from Orange Lantern, a Vietnamese restaurant.

It is super good.

Very generous servings of sweet pomelo, tossed with thin lettuce leaves, peanut bits, carrots and and crunchy savoury brown stuff that I can’t identify, and drenched in sweetly-sour Vietnamese salad dressing.

Ah, heaven.

I usually have it with Vietnamese vermicelli and fried spring rolls, my favourite Vietnamese dish. There are better ones at other Vietnamese restaurants, but this one is good enough.

I love the sauce! You’re supposed to pour it over the vermicelli.

Orange Lantern is at Killiney Road and Harbourfront Centre.

Okay, last item to whet my appetite.

Curry puffs from Prima Taste (at Ho Chi Minh International Airport).

It was quite decent curry puff, and a good taste of Singapore in a foreign airport.

OH WOW guess what.

I was gonna type something along the lines of: “My kingdom for some tang yuan / prawn noodles / curry puff / pomelo salad!” when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

I left my PC and got up to open the door and there was my stepmom standing there bearing a bowl of tang yuan!

Like she can read my mind SO AMAZING. Aww family is so wonderful!

Thanks, dad and stepmom for the sweetest bowl of tang yuan ever!

Happy Winter Solstice!

I don’t know why I felt like I needed to take a break after returning to Singapore (last Thursday). It’s not like my time in Korea was particularly hectic.

In fact, while in Seoul, we spent many idle days just lazing indoors, sleeping till afternoon, some days only going out for food at 10 pm.

Somehow, no matter what you do, just being overseas is enough to tire you out.

As a side note, I often felt fatigued in Seoul, maybe because the cold weather induced in me some strange amphibian instinct to hibernate.

Anyway, it’s good to be back in familiar territory, although I can’t help but miss Seoul. I definitely want to go back again, which is why I’m learning the language now, using two self-study books I bought there.

I’m having trouble memorising the vocabulary. My memory isn’t as good as it once was.

I am reminded of this photographer who was recently featured in Time Magazine for his photo journal chronicling the final years of his senile father’s life.

It’s really touching. You can see a preview of his book here: Days With My Father.

I’m quite scared of senility. But I told Kay that he’s going to turn senile faster than me because I play games and he doesn’t. Haha.

Playing games (the right kind) is really good for the mind. I hope I will have the eyesight to continue playing games till the day I die.

Okay, so I’m scared of failing eyesight more than senility.

Humans are really fragile, right? I’m more scared of growing old and having my body malfunction bit by bit than of death itself. So I don’t think I want to live too long.

Which reminds me.

Kay has this habit of stopping in his tracks and picking snails off walkways and putting them under bushes where they can’t get stepped on.

He’s always admonishing them as he does so.

“Why must you be so stupid to keep walking right out into the open to get crushed by human feet? Why can’t you just stay put where it’s safe?!”

As much as I am touched by his compassion for snails, I can’t help but be concerned.

I’d say, “Are you sure you’ve put them in the right spot? What if they have just spent the last two hours travelling from there and now you’ve put them right back where they started and they have to do it all over again!”

“Why do they even need to go anywhere? It won’t do them much good if they’re killed in the process,” he’d say.

“They need to migrate, just like any other creature.”

“Then they should just find safer routes and not walk right into the middle of pavements!”

In any case, these conversations (I’ve seen him “rescue” about five snails so far) make me feel very sorry for snails. And for lifeforms. Any lifeforms. Even humans. Because you can always see some absurdity in life, no matter what species you are.

For instance, we get so caught up with our concerns, needs, wants and emotions every day as if they’re the most important thing in the world. We fight with people. We get angry. We rant and rave. And then, suddenly, we’re 80 years old and dead.

And everything seems silly in retrospect.

We’re as stupid as snails, then, to venture out into the world knowing we will get hurt. Even if we manage to get to our destinations unscathed, we die eventually, anyway.

So, that’s absurd.

And that is why my philosophy in life has always been to enjoy the moment for itself and continuously create moments of happiness and fulfillment, avoiding as much as possible unpleasant situations.

So that, even if I were to step outside and get run over by a car now, I wouldn’t feel stupid to have lived in vain.

Coincidentally, this week’s Star Blog topic seems to be along this theme. So I shall end this piece with a link for further reading:

My experience of the perfect day

Have a great week ahead!