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I shall make a checklist now. That’s my task.

Your task is to mentally tick all items that apply!

Here:

1. You are always bored.
2. You want to do a specific activity (say, mountain climbing) but your buddies aren’t into it.
3. You want to find a boyfriend.
4. You want to find a girlfriend.
5. Okay, fine, you just want to make more friends or network.
6. You want to know what’s fun to do in Singapore.
7. You enjoy having a sense of belonging.
8. You need more hobbies.
9. You like taking part in contests and winning prizes.

That’s enough for now. Done?

Now, I shall tell you what this is all about.

See, if you placed even one tiny tick on any of the above items, it means you should check out this place called in2it.sg! =D

It’s a lifestyle portal which helps connect people who have the same interests!

So, I just signed up for fun. See, here’s my profile page:

There’s a buddy system in there which allows you to search for buddies by interest, so you can easily connect with someone who enjoys the same things as you!

For NSmen, you can even search by ORD! LOL.

Well, this portal was created by SAFRA so I suppose it’s geared towards NSmen. Many articles in there cater to guys (cars, gadgets, how to read girls’ body language, etc). Also, SAFRA members get occasional perks like discounts and stuff.

But girls and non-members can join also lah. I see girl members in there!!

Who are these cuties?! =D

Fuse is the club for clubbing peeps. LOL ok I shall explain about clubs now.

There are 19 SAFRA-run clubs which you can join for planned outings in your interest area, where you also get discounts and privileges!

Some example clubs here:

Besides clubs, there are also user-created interest groups for gathering like-minded people. You can create a group easily and have the system recommend people to invite!

You can also create public activities which will appear on all members’ in2it.sg homepage with an option to join your activity. (Or create private activities just for friends.)

Anyway, signing up is free, so no harm trying, right? There’s a series of six contests happening right now as part of in2it.sg’s first-year anniversary celebrations, so please try to win yourself something! $5,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. Whee!

The contests are only happening in March so now’s a good time to sign up! =)

If you’re an SAF NSman, receive a 2GB thumbdrive for being the first 100 to sign up. You need to do two things on signing:

1. Use WMGi as the referral code.
2. After logging in, update your profile to indicate you’re an SAF NSman.

So not fair lah, you guys get all the perks!

But, anyway, my job is done now. So…

No, wait wait wait… one more thing!

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! =D

Be a fan and win prizes from the many contests! ;)

Okay, my job done!

Your job: Get in2it and have some fun! ;)

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I was tempted to take part in Noise Singapore when I learnt of it a few years ago!

Noise Singapore is a youth arts festival initiated by the National Arts Council to create noise around the creative talents of youths.

Basically, anyone under the age of 35, regardless of skill level, background or occupation, can submit their art, design, photography and music and have it chosen for display or performance at Noise Singapore events and platforms around Singapore.

Well, I don’t want to bombard you with a long list of excuses why I never took part. So, let’s just leave it at that and talk about the people who did take part, because they are the ones we should celebrate!

I attended the Noise Singapore media preview last week to check out all the selected entries and to meet their creators. A nice, artistic space has been created on the third level of Raffles City Shopping Centre to house all this creativity.

Pretending to be a part of it…

Drawing and colouring materials are provided in the space for anyone to sit down and create an artistic masterpiece!

Spot the Nanny Wen…

With Esther.

While they were busy being budding artists, I was busy going around taking photos!!!

The media crowd:

The space has been divided into different segments for music, art and design, and photography, to simulate the actual working spaces of artists.

For example, a photography studio!

And a music studio!

This year, merchandise is being sold for the first time at Noise Singapore due to popular demand. You can find t-shirts, tote bags and shoes bearing the designs of this year’s participants.

This monster eating an SBS Transit bus is so cute right?!!!

The other side:

Okay, let’s meet some people now!!

Nicky Soh, an artist under the Apprentice Programme, showing us his portfolio:

The Apprentice Programme matches promising young artists in Singapore with accomplished field practitioners for seven weeks of hands-on guidance, culminating in works displayed at Noise Singapore!

Nicky is working on a comic book:

Rachel Wong, a property agent, talking about her photographs:

Lim Seng Tiong, a former ST photojournalist and Rachel’s mentor:

Me:

LOL. I sneaked a photo of myself in!

Gillian Toh, an up-and-coming artist also under the Apprentice Programme:

This is what it’s like to face the media:

Yu Jie, winner of the Noise Singapore – Photography prize, posing with his winning entries:

Amos Lu and Sarah Yap, winners of the Noise Singapore Celebration Theme:

I was very impressed by this duo when I heard them perform their winning song. Sarah, particularly, has a beautiful, melodious voice that belies the cute, impish styling on her small frame. You just can’t get enough of listening to her!

Calling themselves In Finite Flight, both are NUS undergraduates, Sarah in third-year Communications and New Media, and Amos in first-year Chemical Engineering.

It’s quite a story how they paired and up eventually won this prestigious award at Noise Singapore.

Amos and Sarah first met as band members in Anderson Junior College. They were asked to write a song for the school’s annual orientation programme. Then a trio, they wrote the song “We Will Make It” together with ex-member Harry.

The response to the song was great, so when Noise Singapore offered an opportunity last year, Sarah and Amos decided to re-record the song and submit it for the competition. A few months later, they received a call to tell them they had won!

You can hear the winning song here. Just scroll down or do a search for In Finite Flight.

Sarah recalls the time when they had to climb up neverending stairs to Amos’ flat in Bishan to practise their music (because Amos’ flat didn’t have lifts). Thus came the name for their group, “In Finite Flight”, a play on the words “in finite” and “infinite”.

Sarah plays guitar and sings lead vocals while Amos plays bass and provides backup vocals. It looks like the two of them are comfortable with the size of their band, with no plans to expand.

I think they sound good enough as they are. You can hear more of their songs on their MySpace page here.

It’s so nice to hear success stories, always! =)

Of course, In Finite Flight isn’t the only talented team to emerge from Noise Singapore. Why not check out more of such promising musicians at the Noise Singapore concerts? They’re happening at the Esplanade between March 5 and 7. Check this page for the schedule!

If you’re more interested in visual art, then Raffles Place Shopping Centre is the place for you! The art exhibition on Level 3 (which I have been blogging about) will be open to the public till March 10.

Ahh… who is this mysterious hunk walking out from the exhibition?!!

I have no idea, sorry. Was just randomly taking photos all day!

Some random pieces of art I was attracted to:

crows by jakejake

Joy by Phyo Myat Thu

Bipolar by origamidreamer

holly by alvelyn alko

RED by Chou-Tac

The Stare by Hanin

Deskchild by c00ki3

There are a lot more I like which I shan’t include here or there will be too much scrolling!! You should just head down to Raffles City Shopping Centre to see for yourself. =P

Or, better yet, why not take part in next year’s Noise Singapore?!

There’s an artist in most of us. Never mind if you’re stuck in a non-creative job because you need to pay the bills and haven’t visited your art in ages.

Don’t give up your talent! Get into the swing of things! To get inspired, you can attend a series of Noise Talks by industry leaders.

Zee Avi, Rob Campbell and Kelley Cheng will share their personal stories and inspire you into creativity. Happening on March 18! More details here.

Let’s all make some noise together, shall we? =)

And congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Noise Singapore!

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I suppose everyone knows by now that I go for looks more than function in gadgets.

As long as the gadget serves my needs, I will choose the prettier one even if it has less impressive functions.

If it’s very highly-rated but not pretty, I won’t buy it!!

So I’m really happy that companies like Dell are nowadays making more of an effort to serve vain people like me. =P

Just look at the Dell Design Studio range of laptops. I am especially seduced by the latest OPI series!

So glossy and beautiful, and you can paint your nails to match! Hehe! Isn’t that awesome?

These Studio 15 laptops, skinned in six different OPI colours, are powered by Intel Core i5 processors, upgradable to Intel Core i7 Quad-Core.

That’s, like, really powerful.

You also get a Hi-Def 15.6″ widescreen LED display, surround sound with subwoofer, built-in wireless card, 4GB RAM and up to 500GB hard disk space.

That’s a really good machine there. It’s like striking gold when you find a gadget that is good AND pretty! I like!

Besides OPI, you could also have your Studio 15 laptop skinned in Artist Edition designs. Artist profiles and designs can be seen on the Dell Studio website!

Some time back, Dell ran a contest for the best laptop design, with a prize money of $2,500 and a Dell Studio laptop skinned with the winner’s design.

The submissions are now up for voting! I had a really hard time choosing my favourites because they’re all so good.

Well, okay, not all. Some are not so good but there are enough good ones.

After spending a long time deliberating, I’ve picked eight favourite ones. I voted for all of them! (Yup, you can vote for more than one. It would be impossible to vote, otherwise.)

All so pretty, right? I love clean and bold designs, not necessarily at the same time. I would love to have any of these on my laptop!

Go vote, go vote!! (You’ll need to register first.)

Click here to check out Dell Studio laptops and vote your favourite designs before Feb 12, 2010!

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I procrastinated writing this post for a week because it’s such a torment looking at my photos and remembering the succulent, delicate taste of the KFC Egg Tart.

Talk about job hazard.

Every time I open up my photos folder to start blogging, I get a major craving. A sweet savoury fragrance teases my senses. My tongue luxuriates on the creamy texture and my taste buds tingle with the delectable freshness of the egg custard.

Seriously! Such a craving it is that my mind starts imagining that the egg tart is there and I’m eating it when it’s not really happening.

Aaaaargh!

Oh, yeah. I’ll bet some of you don’t know yet that KFC now serves Portuguese egg tarts (using the authentic recipe that was developed by the famous Margaret Wong in Macau).

Well, now you know!

Yums!

It’s really good quality egg tart!

The crust is crispy and fluffy. The custard is so smooth and creamy. And the top layer, where the dark spots of caramelised sugar form interesting patterns so that no two egg tarts ever look the same, is so lickable and almost crunchy!

There is just the right amount of sweetness in the custard to complement the buttery flakiness of the crust, filling your mouth with an exquisite burst of flavour!

See how I torment myself!!

Every bite is pure delight!

Now you know why I had to procrastinate this post for so long!

Well, it’s about time I paid a visit to KFC again. It’s one of my favourite places to eat at, actually. (I order delivery quite a lot too. There was one time I ordered twice in a week, OMG.) I love the fried chicken to bits!

I think I will be able to indulge in this awesome new discovery quite often. Heheh.

I so love the golden yellow look of them!

The egg tarts are baked fresh on the spot at KFC restaurants, so you can be sure of getting steaming hot tarts fresh from the oven.

They taste good even after they’ve sat around for a bit and cooled, but they taste even better hot. You gotta try them hot! It’s totally heavenly!

The egg tarts cost $1.30 each or $7.50 a box of six.

Getting the box is a really great idea. Because one is never enough!

Haha. Seriously, the box is designed just in time for Chinese New Year, with red and gold themes.

Perfect for gifting, I think.

If you were going to visit me during CNY, I’d rather you bring me a box of egg tarts than oranges. Haha.

But, erm, if you’re going to visit in-laws or your girlfriend’s/boyfriend’s parents, don’t skip the oranges. Bring them AND a box of these egg tarts to score major points! Hehe.

The sides of the box open up into a cute heart shape! How cool is that!

ISN’T THIS JUST PERFECT FOR A CHINESE NEW YEAR THAT FALLS ON THE SAME DAY AS VALENTINE’S DAY??

Whoever came up with this box design is quite a genius!

Inside the box:

Major droolage!

Nah! Valentine’s New Year present for you!

Heheh.

I have been thinking of getting a box and sharing them with my friends. But now I’m craving it so much I think I’ll probably finish the whole box before they get to my friends!

OMG aaaaaaaaaahh it’s killing me, looking at me so tantalisingly!

Help me!!

Maybe I should get two boxes, instead?

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Can you solve this clue?

The remnants of a fortress are all that remain in this area once known as Forbidden Hill.

This and four other similar clues to locations in Singapore were what awaited the Goonfather and me at the Garmin-Asus Live-Navigation Challenge on Dec 19.

(I had to paraphrase the above clue a bit because I forgot to take a photo of the clue card.)

It was so, so so so so so fun!! I wasn’t eligible to win prizes but the organiser said my friends were, so I urged all my friends to take part. But only the Goonfather was free on that day so I made him sign up!

The challenge was to start at 1 pm with the first clue being SMSed to him.

It started raining at 12:30 pm, making us worry because we were already outside and we didn’t have an umbrella.

The first clue led us to Kreta Ayer Community Centre. (The clue said something like “This used to be Banda Road Community Centre” and I’m paraphrasing very much because the Goonfather has deleted the SMS.)

As luck would have it, we were already on the road nearby when the SMS came in.

It took us a few minutes to check with Mr Google and then arrive at our destination. We had to search for a bit once we reached the community centre, but it wasn’t too hard to find the pitstop.

The crew was really amazed to see us. They were, like, “How did you guys get here so fast?! We just sent out the clue only!!”

After marking his attendance, the Goonfather was directed to a mini-game challenge. He had to use the provided Garmin-Asus M20 to locate the eatery nearest to the Singapore Art Museum.

I made him stop work for awhile to camwhore with me.

LOL. I know! Totally sabotaging his momentum!

Anyway, once he completed the task, we were given our next clue.

The Goonfather said, “Some kinda toy museum.” And I immediately thought: “MINT!”

It’s a toy museum at Seah Street which I’ve been to before, for an event. In just a few minutes, we were there. We got a bit wet getting to the place from the carpark. It rained unrelentingly throughout the day.

There, a jigsaw puzzle and a mulltiple choice question about the museum awaited us.

There was a five-minute time limit for the jigsaw puzzle. I think we completed it in about four.

Done!

Next clue!

Easy!

But when we reached Telok Blangah Hill, we saw that it wasn’t easy after all because it was pouring by this time, and the wedding area was high up on a hill that could only be accessed by foot!! And we had no umbrella!

Fortunately, I had a windbreaker with a hood, so I managed to protect my upper body a bit. But the poor Goonfather got soaked.

It was quite an experience trying to race up a hill in pouring rain! We were really wet and huffing by the time we arrived.

The activity here was easy. We just had to match phone icons to their names. Done in a minute!

And, of course, I had to waste time posing for photos!

When I asked the crew to help us take a few photos, they were quite incredulous because they thought we should be rushing to the next location already, lol! They were, like, “Go go go and good luck!!”

And then it was another trek down the hill. The Goonfather refused to run so we took a leisurely stroll in the rain. O_o

Back in the car and really wet:

Well, only my legs got really wet since my upper body was protected by my windbreaker.

Another easy location:

We found the place (Red Dot Design Museum) easily, but we went into the wrong entrance so we had a big distance to travel through the building to find the pitstop.

The challenge here was to randomly pick a question from a box and then answer it. I can’t remember what the question was. I just let the Goonfather do the job while I busied myself taking photos.

The next clue we received was the one I mentioned right at the start of this post.

The answer is, of course, Fort Canning Park! Google really helped us a lot in this race. The GPS on the Garmin-Asus would have helped, too, had I been doing this alone. But because the Goonfather is like a walking street directory, he just zipped from location to location without needing external help.

Another long trek in the rain at Fort Canning. We parked at the bottom of the hill, walked through the park and through Fort Canning Centre trying to find the pitstop. (The Goonfather is averse to running.)

We finally located it behind the building, some place called Battle Box, which I never even knew existed.

When we got there, we discovered that it was the final stop and the Goonfather had come in 4th place! All we had to do then was wait for more participants to arrive so the prize-giving ceremony could start.

The Goonfather won a Garmin-Asus G60. Cooooool!

After all 15 winners received their prizes, Garmin-Asus sprung a surprise. They called out my name and made me go up to receive a token of appreciation!

Aww! So sweet! =) It was a $100 Takashimaya gift voucher. Just in time for Christmas shopping!

Group photo of some of the winners:

Well, what a fun event! I really think the Garmin-Asus crew did a great job putting this game together. It was very well planned and executed. Even the Goonfather enjoyed the challenges, despite the rain. For me, I think the rain added to the fun and excitement.

Let’s hope they do this again! I bet all my friends regret not taking part now!! Hah! =P