Month: August 2008

The latest in Singapore fashion

- Sheylara 15 Comments

Presenting the latest in haute couture, hot off the glitzy runway of Heartland Mall!

Spectators were completely bowled over by the creativity and free-spiritedness reflected in this shocking and innovative new design by a relatively unknown young designer, who looks set to elevate the status of Singapore haute couture.

The designer was unfortunately unavailable for comment.

But Sheylara.com followed the models backstage for a quick interview.

“What do you think of this unusual creation you’re wearing?”

“I love it!” said the model wearing the sleeveless version. “It’s so daring and at the same time fashionable!”

Said the model wearing the sleeved version, “I think it’s perfect for Singapore’s humid weather because the fabric is very thin and cooling!”

My ugly dumplings and amazing durians

- Sheylara 31 Comments

We made dumplings on National Day.

Or, rather, Cindy made the filling and allowed us to mess up her place wrapping the dumplings. We made a whole lot of assorted ones.

I’ve never wrapped dumplings in my life. And I’m a disaster in the kitchen. But I gamely tried to copy what the rest did, and came up with this:

I call them The Ugly Dumplings.

I made three of these and just couldn’t get the hang of it, so decided to stick to the easier ones.

But you know what? They don’t look too bad after being cooked.

We had a feast! Cindy cooked a giant pot of Buddha Jump Over The Wall which is arguably the best I ever had. I drank five bowls of it!!

I don’t have a photo of it because soup is boring to photograph. But I have a photo of black bean pork ribs:

And curry fishballs:

Cindy is an amazing cook!

And I’m a glutton.

Barely two hours after a super dinner, I made everyone go for durians.

It’s all Wang Wang’s fault. When we were watching fireworks from Cindy’s balcony, she got all excited because, she told us, “I can see the durian!”

She was, of course, referring to the Esplanade, but she made me think of durians and that gave me a huge craving and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So, even before our dinner was properly digested, a few of us drove off to the Four Seasons Durians Cafe.

The durians are freaking expensive but they are freaking awesome!

We bought two XO D24 durians and two Cat Mountain King durians for $120 and that’s after a discount.

Three of us shared most of it because Morte was having a sore throat and couldn’t eat too much.

After eating Cat Mountain King durians, you don’t want to eat any other durians, ever!!

Actually, I don’t know if it’s called Cat Mountain King. That’s a direct translation from Chinese.

Don’t care lah. It’s damn nice and I died and went to heaven eating them.

Pure ecstasy!

Here’s a nicely shaped durian which looks tough, but is so soft and creamy inside once you sink your teeth in it.

Wang Wang and Unker Kell got so drunk with the joy of durian feasting that they started doing strange things with their durians.

I was so full after all that durian!!! The CMK ones are especially potent because they’re very thick and creamy.

And the nice durian uncle gave us a complimentary packet to bring home! Wow!

I could eat durians every day!!!

Nah, I probably couldn’t.

I’d go broke.

NDP fireworks brought haze to Singapore

- Sheylara 14 Comments

When people ask me to go watch fireworks, I always say, “Siao lah. Never see before is it?”

I will never trouble myself to travel somewhere just to see some stupid sparks in the sky, especially since I know that 20,000 other people will be there fighting for the best spots to stand at and wait for hours.

But when fireworks are brought to me, in a manner of speaking, I can’t keep my eyes away.

Fireworks make such sluts of us.

On National Day evening, which was last night, when half the nation was out being stampeded by the other half of the nation in the name of patriotism, I was hiding in the comfort and safety of Cindy’s apartment.

Cindy and Paul had kindly invited us over for dinner, solving our dilemma of wanting to meet for dinner but not wanting to be stampeded by patriotic Singaporeans.

The apartment had a great view and we were actually able to catch some of the fireworks display from the balcony.

Nice.

Of course, one can’t fully enjoy a fireworks performance if one is busy snapping photos throughout, hoping some of the shots will turn out good. But that’s one of the job hazards a blogger has to get used to.

Then again, no one wants to see crappy fireworks photos taken with my gimpy camera because the entire nation of people have already seen the real thing for themselves, anyway.

So I’m going to show you something else, instead.

Smoke!

Shortly after the first pattern exploded in the sky, smoke started forming.

It thickened progressively and hung in the sky like a widow refusing to move on with her life and find another man.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy in the world but it kinda just popped in my mind.

Very soon, the smoke blocked our precious view of the fireworks.

My friends and I booed at the smoke, which, of course, was unmoved by our impassioned jeers.

A few minutes after the fireworks started, it stopped.

A thick cloud of smoke streaked across the skyline.

It got thicker by the second and refused to dissipate.

I don’t know what the view was like for those with front row seats at Marina Bay. I hope the smoke didn’t disturb their show.

For us in the apartment, when the fireworks came again, it looked like this.

Excuse the bad focus. My hands were shaking with excitement.

Not really.

I just wasn’t able to get a good shot because there were only a few sparks this round.

All I got managed to get a good shot of was the smoke.

We decided to go back to the living room to watch TV.

Periodically, over the next hour, I went outside to check on the smoke situation. Here’s my stills version of a time-lapse.

The entire sky was totally smoked out after about half an hour.

It took about an hour for it to clear considerably.

Oh, well, at least it was something different to watch.

Did you have a good National Day?

Scared of crowds

- Sheylara 16 Comments

It gets very confusing when everything happens all on the same weekend.

National Day, Olympics, World Cyber Games, Xbox Xperts launch.

I’m normally home on National Day because I’m scared of crowds (because I’m claustrophobic, not because people are scary, although some people are scary).

But I have to go to WCG today and throng with the National Day and WCG crowd. Nice. And I don’t know where to meet my friends for dinner. They’ll hate me if I make them go to Suntec City to meet me. It’s probably gonna be impossible to park there tonight.

So, I dunno. I just wanted to say, “Happy birthday, Singapore!”

GGF#13: Sheylara endorses Xbox 360

- Sheylara 55 Comments

[Gamer Girl Friday]

Woo! If you’re an Xbox fan, congratulations! You can expect tons of exciting developments this year to keep you happy and busy!

If you’re not a fan, I recommend that you give the Xbox 360 a try. And I’m not saying that just because I’m the Xbox ambassador. I’m saying it because I’m having a heck lot of fun with it and I’m really hyped about the new stuff that’s in store!

Today’s GGF is all about the Xbox because that’s what’s happening this week. But don’t worry. I will still talk about other platforms and consoles in the coming weeks.

The Xbox people believe in well-rounded gamers and for that I’m really thankful. After all, games are games and gamers are gamers. Bottomline, we all just wanna have fun, right?

I’m so in love with the Xbox 360! Come join me on Xbox LIVE!

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Table of Contents

  1. Sheylara as Xbox ambassador
  2. Xbox Singapore announces many exciting things
  3. Upcoming games on Xbox 360
  4. Sheylara in World Cyber Games
  5. Babes at World Cyber Games
  6. Results of last week’s contest
  7. Ask Sheylara
  8. Win a fantastic game called Too Human!!

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Sheylara as Xbox ambassador

A new campaign for Xbox LIVE has launched in Singapore.

And I’m part of it!

It’s called the Xbox Xperts program and I’m the first Xpert onboard.

More than just a brand ambassador, the Xbox Xpert will guide new users through Xbox LIVE and help them connect to the Xbox LIVE community.

Come and read my Xpert blog here!! (And if you have a minute, do register and post some comments!)

I’m not really an expert in the traditional sense of the word, though. And, in my Xpert blog, I’ll still be blogging in my usual rubbish manner which you all love. RIGHT?

You can read the press release to get the full details if you’re the sort who likes reading press releases.

Also, watch out for advertisements on buses and MRTs in the next week or so.

Oh, and dig this. New subscribers of Xbox LIVE Gold memberships will be rewarded with two movie tickets as a welcome gift!

This is an amazing offer because you’re also getting a free one-month trial Gold account when you sign up!

Trust me. Xbox LIVE is very addictive. Once you log in and play some games and start getting those achievement points, your gaming habits will change, like mine did.

Okay, now, please tell all your friends about this and get on the program!

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Xbox SG announces many exciting things

Some of the things you know, some you don’t. I’m just gonna tell you everything to make sure you don’t miss anything!

X08 Coming Soon!

This is a huge gaming convention which will be very fun and very cool and very awesome and very everything good!

The last one happened two years ago. That was X06.

On October 24 this year, there will be X08! Mark your calendars!

Very funky cool Xbox retail shops

New concept stores will soon be built for users to immerse themselves in the true Xbox experience!

Events will also be held in those stores… and I think I’m supposed to make public appearances for some of them.

Nice. I hope I’ll get to play some games in there!

New and improved Xbox LIVE dashboard

Xbox LIVE will soon have a new look and user experience.

This was announced at E3 so it’s not very new news but it’s still exciting, nonetheless. You’ll be able to create customised avatars and there will be a lot more fun content to download. Look out for it!

For a detailed overview of what’s in store, read this article.

Xbox 360 is very affordable now!

The Xbox 360 has seen a price drop from $620 to $499.

Not only that, the new Xbox Pro, which comes with a 60GB harddisk, will be available from mid August also at $499!

Great time to buy an Xbox now, I think.

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Upcoming games on Xbox 360

Too Human

I am most interested in this title because:

  • It’s an interesting mix between fantasy and science fiction, combining gods of mythology with technology.
  • It’s got cool quotes like “He who fights monsters should take care not to become one” (Nietzsche).
  • The genre is interesting, action combined with RPG, and the story is rich.
  • It’s releasing SOON!! On August 19 to be exact!

You can watch the trailer here or view the official site here.

You can also win a copy!!!

Fable II

I didn’t play the first Fable but I’ve read good reviews of it.

I want to play Fable II because:

  • The Fable series is an RPG with a difference. You can become a good or evil person based on your actions. In Fable II, you can get married and have children and the fate of your family depends also on your choices in the game.
  • You can start earning gold for the game from next week! Yes, you didn’t read wrong. You will be able to download Fable II Pub Games on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Points you earn from playing those games will be turned into actual gold pieces that will be deposited into your Fable II account when the game is live!

Fable II releases Oct 21, 2008.

Japanese RPGs

Fans of JRPGs will be really pleased to learn that several exciting titles are in the Xbox 360 lineup!

Starting with Tales of Vesperia by Namco Bandai, there’s going to be a slew of JRPGs to quench your gaming thirst!

Square Enix, the popular giant that made Final Fantasy, has committed to making an exclusive JRPG title for the Xbox 360.

Infinite Undiscovery is the title and – OMG – you must check out the website. It makes me want to play it now. I’m DYING to play it now.

Well, okay, mainly cos the music is so nice. Haha. But the game does look really good, too.

It’s coming on Sept 2!!

Also, Final Fantasy is finally coming to the Xbox 360! No dates yet, but expect to play Final Fantasy XIII on your Xbox! Let’s hope it comes sooner rather than later!

There are tons more games coming up:

Gears of War 2, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, The Last Remnant and Lips!

Aren’t you hyped?

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Sheylara in World Cyber Games

Yesterday, as part of the WCG celebrations, Microsoft Xbox hosted a press conference at Harry’s Millenia Walk, where I was introduced to the press.

So many journalists attended the event.

This is me before the event started, in my Xpert outfit.

After the event, I popped over to WCG in Suntec, where Bryan de Silva of RAZORTV interviewed me for, well, RAZORTV.

After the interview, Bryan challenged me to a game of Guitar Hero 3, which turned out to be quite hilarious.

I can’t tell you the results yet. Wait and watch on RAZORTV!

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Babes at World Cyber Games

There were fewer babes than I expected, but they were all very pretty!

Samsung babes:

Intel babes:

There are more, I believe. Go check ’em out yourself!

World Cyber Games is now on at Suntec Convention Centre Halls 402 & 403, until Sunday.

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Results of last week’s contest

Wow, lots of people wanted the Gran Turismo 5 windbreaker! Unfortunately, I only have one to give away.

Randomiser proclaims the winner of this awesome windbreaker to be Anlooo!

Congratulations, Anlooo! Randomiser loves you! Will contact you soon about your prize collection!

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Ask Sheylara

Ask me any gaming-related questions! Post them in the comments or e-mail me, I don’t really care. I will try to answer all questions (unless I get like 500 questions a day).

Nikhil asks an Xbox 360 question:

I have bought an Xbox 360 in singapore. I would like to know which format of Xbox 360 games I can use for my Xbox 360 (NTSCJ or PAL). Thanks.

Sheylara Says:

That would be NTSC-J. Remember to sign up for your free one-month LIVE Gold account to get free movie tickets! :) More info found here.

aig asks an Xbox 360 question:

Have you guys managed to make the Xbox Media Center work flawlessly? I have a Windows Vista laptop and I tried to set it up with my Xbox 360 Media Center feature. They can detect each other; problem is I am not able to play a video nor a picture slideshow on it because it is very slow. Ever had the same experience?

Sheylara Says:

We haven’t had a lot of success in this area, either, trying it on both wired and wireless connections. But there’s an alternative you can try, which works for us. Watch your video off a thumbdrive, which you can plug directly into the Xbox 360’s USB port. The playback is decent on that. :P

Anlooo asks a GGF question:

Can you do a section in PSP games review?

Sheylara Says:

I certainly welcome suggestions of what you guys want to see in GGF. However, I can’t promise that I will take up every suggestion. What appears on GGF every week is very dependent on my resources for the week and amount of time I have to work on it.

If a PSP game appears in my life, I will review it. If it doesn’t, I can’t. Maybe if game companies start sending me games to review, I will be able to do permanent sections, but not until then!

Alfred asks a Ninja Gaiden II question:

How to open the gate in Stage 5 where there’s a lot water???

Sheylara Says:

I believe you’re talking about the bridge gate in the Aqua Capital. There’s a shop directly opposite the gate, right? While facing the shop, you can see a small door on your right. Kick that down and go inside. You’ll find the key inside a chest.

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Win a fantastic game called Too Human!

Yes! I managed to wrangle a game for you guys to win! And it’s a game that I dearly want to play myself! I hope I can wrangle a copy for myself, too, when it releases!

This prize is kindly sponsored by the Xbox team in Singapore!

Well, I don’t have the physical copy yet since it won’t be released till Aug 19. That also means the winner won’t get a copy until then, too.

But let’s win it first!

The usual deal, okay, cos I don’t have time to think up anything fancy.

Post a comment saying you want it before next Friday.

Then go suck up to the randomiser so that it will pick you.

Good luck, everyone!!

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Woah, this has been quite a dizzying week. Lots of stuff happening, hyperventilation, general craziness.

And people publishing ugly photos of me in the papers. OMG.

I suppose that can’t be helped.

I want to thank all my friends and supporters for saying that you still love me even though I have ugly photos. You guys are the best and I love you!

[Gamer Girl Friday]