Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Remember the candy popiah?

Published on January 29, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 6 Comments Tags: candy popiah, chianatown, people's park complex.

Yeah this is one of those nostalgia entries where we focus on something that takes us back in time. Lyn (my boo) and I popped over to Chinatown a couple of months back for some foot reflexology goodness when we came across a temporary store selling old skool sweets, pretty much like what the people in the 60s used to enjoy. Taking a quick look around, I chose a candy that I had not tasted for a long time. I am not too sure what it is called but its pretty much like a candy popiah.

Left: In its entirety | Right: Half of it

The candy is like a combination of honey and chewy biscuits or something wrapped in a popiah-like skin. It was really sweet. I remembered vaguely back in the days of yore where there was a sheltered overhead pedestrian bridge near People’s Park Complex. There parked nicely at a corner of the overhead bridge sat an elderly man selling that popiah. Back in those days, two of these lovely but sweet candies were sold for a few cents. Now, I had to part with $3. How times have changed. They were good though. It sure brought me back some good ‘ol memories… .

Still closed on day two

Published on January 28, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments Tags: chinese new year, shopping, thomson plaza.

Chinese (or Lunar) New Year in Singapore is a time where the country pretty much shuts down. From your favourite restaurants to shopping malls, the closure means that our non-Chinese brethren would have to do some stocking up, quite similar to how chipmunks would stock up nuts for the winter. Yeah, Lyn (my boo) and I caught Alvin and the Chipmunks a couple of days back and hence the analogy (don’t go all “oh you are so racist on me” please, this is a friendly blog…really).

Thinking back about my conversations with some non-Chinese and other expat friends of mine, Chinese New Year to them also mean two good back to back days of some well deserved rest. Of course this is especially if they are still in the lingering state of last year’s Christmas and New Year festivities.

Okay, I have a habit of digressing, now back to what I was getting at. Lyn and I yesterday popped over to Thomson Plaza after a nice lunch at Justin’s place to get ourselves a pipping hot cup of java. Perhaps the first time in a long while, I could not only witness scores of empty parking spaces, but got myself a very good slot to boot. What is normally a very bustling family shopping centre especially on the weekends, Thomson Plaza is extremely dead except for a few outlets like Watsons, Thai Express, Starbucks and NTUC finest.

Left and right: Entire stretch of shops closed

Left: Coffee was out of the question with Ya Kun closed | Right: Empty empty

Coming from a person who dreads heading to that mall for grocery shopping, I must admit that the empty atmosphere (or rather lack of) was rather refreshing. I could easily count the number of people at a spot with my fingers and it was extremely close to dead silence (okay maybe not that silent). This is also perhaps the first time I didn’t bump into anyone or had to make that quick decision to avoid one. Sure it may have a hint of surrealism, but I kinda liked it. Nice and quiet.

With most of the shops closed especially Ya Kun and given that we were not interested in Starbucks (or how we label it ‘Ang Mo kopi’), we popped over to NTUC Finest for a little walk around before making our purchases for things we really needed (we are on an austerity drive lately) and headed back home happy… .

First day of the ‘Niu’ year

Published on January 27, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments

Guess its either my Wordpress or my Macbook is rejecting Chinese characters and I can’t for the life of me seem to type the Mandarin word for cow in this blog. This means that I would have to just stick to the pinyin version “Niu” instead.

Now back to the subject proper. Apart from the usual CNY visitation which included Lyn’s (my boo) home and her granny’s, the maggots, Lyn (the honourary maggot) and I popped over to Brewerkz at Kallang for our yearly new year beer. Its one of those traditions started by one of us drunks (definitely not me) and we somehow managed to keep it going for a number of years now. As our sessions develop, we begin seeing more loved ones joining us in our yearly tradition such as KP’s brothers and Lyn. But of course we regret to see a number of others leaving the pack like Boh Kee Soh in particular. Yeah we have been missing her after she got all domesticated on us (long story).

Left: Fries and pizza | Right: My mug

After some unhealthy but great food and about six jugs of beer, Lyn and I picked up a 5 litre keg of Organic Pilsner (whatever the heck that is) and headed to Tom and Audrey’s home at the Riveredge. Mounting ourselves at their balcony, we were awed by the amazing view of the southern point of Singapore and I honestly wished that I could have Tom’s expat package which he humbly deemed as the cheaper deal compared to the rest of his other colleagues.

Niceeee…

Sure, I would love to take the ‘cheap package’ off his hands. But judging at how he had to pick up a number of work calls during our poker night yesterday, think I’ll hang on the deal for a while . Oh by the way, we lost about $20 at the poker table. Bye bye gambling budget for the year . Happy ‘Niu’ year all!!

Brats at Johnsonville be afraid, be very afraid

Published on January 25, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 6 Comments

Popped over to Giant at Vivocity for a little late night shopping given that they are opened for 24 hours from yesterday to today. While Lyn (my boo) was checking out the right type of chicken to use for soup and I was doing my usual goofing off with the trolley (as I always do), we chanced upon this.

That’s right, this serves as a warning to the brats at Johnsonville…don’t piss the residents off .

The mob invades “Oh La La Las Vegas”

Published on January 24, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments Tags: dinner and dance, mobster, oh la la las vegas.

My Board organised a Dinner and Dance themed “Oh La La Las Vegas” last Friday at the Marroit Hotel. Initially deciding on just turning up and not doing anything special, my colleagues and I from the communications team figured it would be fun to dress up as mobsters for our table. So the day before, we headed to Far East Plaza to pick up some mobster-like hats and skinny black ties and turned up in suits.

Left and right: The bunch of us mobsters

We got nominated for best table. Not bad for a bunch of people who had no intention of dressing up .

Slingers trumps Ginebra in final game of the series

Published on January 20, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 10 Comments Tags: barangay ginebra, basketball, PBA, singapore slingers.

Thanks to Nic again, the bunch of us bloggers headed to the Indoor Stadium last sunday to catch the final and dream match under the Singapore challenge Series. The Singapore Slingers after a disappointing no-show from the Sathyabama Stars had to organise the final game and invited popular Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team Barangay Ginebra to contend for the S$10,000 booty.

Speaking to a couple of Filipino friends including the photographers earlier on, I learnt that Ginebra although may not be the best, but is one of the most popular team in the PBA. With an ugly reputation of being the dirtiest team in the PBA (or so I heard), I was prepared to witness a number of fights and body checks. Despite playing without a number of key players from both sides, the spectators were still treated to some good ‘ol professional basketball. As the final horn sounded, the visiting team were outgunned by the home team 100-68. Here are some of my accounts.

Al made his point
With Shane McDonald recently released to the National Basketball League’s (NBL) Perth Wildcats, the Slingers relied solely on their only good point guard, Al Vegara for great passes and furious finishes. Bearing the responsibility on his shoulders, Al did not disappoint the home crowd as he kept his composure and court awareness at an all time high contributing 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals. Al’s firepower beyond the arc also proved effective as he banged in three of four three-pointers.

With fans from the Philippines making up a good 80% of the spectators, Al is perhaps the only Slinger that the majority of the stadium (if not all) gave love to. Well done Al, you have made us proud.

Left: Al drives into the paint | Right: Ignores defence for a layup

Ginebra, a friendly team
Fans expecting a couple of fist-throwing fights based on Barangay Ginebra’s dirty reputation had to go back home unfulfilled as the visiting team displayed their modest side throughout the game. Keeping their body checks and dirty plays to a bare minimum, Ginebra stuck to just good and tough defence while throwing in a number of lane driving baskets. In addition, we even witnessed the softer side of 6′7″ Ginebra centre, Alex Crisano from New York when he turned and helped Slinger bad boy Eric Sandrin up after running into him.

The Ginebra team also seemed to have loads of fun during the game. There were moments of laughter and jokes at their bench and none of them showed any expressions of aggression (or at least I think). Taking a look back, Ginebra seemed to be the best behaving PBA team the Slingers hosted.

Left: Crisano with a fade away jumper | Right: That big smile while shooting from the charity strike

Left: The very quick Gloger driving into the lane | Right: Attempts a layup

Left: Blocking Fitzgerlad’s shot | Right: Taking away Sandrin’s ball during post up

Dunking good start, dunking good finish
I guess you can’t ask for a better start and end to Sunday’s game, especially when its touted as the dream and final match of the Singapore Challenge Series. The Slingers started their first two points with a statement when Al passed an alley-opp for Sandrin who dunked it hard (the rim would have felt it the next morning).

And if you think that is the best the game can offer, the final two points were even sweeter. Local player Hong Wei Jian with under 10 seconds left in the clock caught a good pass from Desmond Oh (who we should give a thumbs up to for a nice last minute steal) drove to the lane to score the Slingers’ 100 game night points with an emphatic two-handed dunk. The crowd went bersek, angels sang, fireworks exploded, roses bloomed and I almost pee’ed in my pants (too late). The first local Slinger to ever dunk and in a dramatic fashion too…I caught them with my own two eyes. Best game ever .

Left: The first two points with an alley-opp to Sandrin | Right: Wei Jian making history

All Slingers
The night went to Singapore Slingers as they took the game by a good 32 points. Armein Kirkland finished off with 23 points, four assists and two steals while Sandrin despite facing tough opposition contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and blocked a shot. A great effort by the Slingers despite playing without a few good men.

Left: Kirkland breaks away for a layup | Right: Fights his way in for a shot

Left: Eric with an easy two… | Right: …attemps a hook

Our local players did do us proud especially during the last few minutes when the Slinger coach fielded all five of them in the game. Wei Jian who finished off the night with a wonderful dunk had 11 points and three steals while, Pathman scored four points and pulled down a rebound. The night did go to Wei Jian as he showed absolute no sign of intimidation and played like how a Slinger should play…fearlessly. Well done you guys!!

Left: Wei Jian started off his first two points with this acrobatic shot | Right: Bangs in a contested trey

Left: Pathman attempting a heavily contested layup | Right: Stops a pass under the rim

At the end of the game, Slingers fan went home more than satisfied and I finally got myself a nice home jersey (size M…really). The close of the series can’t get any better and I am honoured to have caught it. Moving on, the Slingers will be penning a new contract as the inaugural Asean Basketball League begins this coming September. Plans are still in the making so I am keeping my eyes pinned on the development. You can find more information here. Until then, Goooooo Slingers!!

More photos in my Flickr album here.

Chris Garver inks Sharon

Published on January 15, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 10 Comments Tags: chris garver, tattoo.

My colleague Sharon a couple of weeks back won a contest that scored her a tattoo session with Chris Garver from Miami Ink. Chris is in town for the next two weeks or so under the invitation of the folks behind the first ever Singapore Tattoo show. I am not going to go into the world of tattoo given that I know next to nothing of this ancient art (scared pain).

Needless to say, Sharon who is a huge fan of Chris Garver and his work was totally stoked. She has been beaming away at work since she got the call from the organisers with the occasional grabbing my arm and screaming “I can’t believe it!! I can’t believe it!!” Well believe it girl, you got it .

To give our support (not that she needs it anyway), the bunch of us groupie colleagues popped over to Body Decor at the Heeren during lunch yesterday to witness Sharon claiming her prize, all four hours of it. Using Sharon’s curvy side as a canvas, Chris first did an outline bridging her two existing tattoos and the rest they say, is history. For a person who knows nothing about art or tattoos, I must say he did an excellent job.

Left: Sharon gets inked… | Right:…by Chris Garver

Left: Side view of the tattoo | Right: Me cam whoring with Sharon

Left: A full view of the incomplete masterpiece while Chris takes his break… | Right: …with Sharon posing

Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of the completed tattoo in its full glory. I guess I will have to wait until Sharon hands them over to me. Meanwhile here are photos and a video in my Flickr album here.

Barangay Ginebra replaces Sathyabama Stars for final game

Published on January 14, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 2 Comments

The Singapore Slingers have found a replacement team for the final game of the Singapore Challenge Series after a no-show from the Sathyabama Stars last week. Popular Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team Barangay Ginebra will be in town on Saturday to face off with the Slingers in what will go down in the series’ history as a dream match.

However the both teams will go without key players. The Slingers had recently released Shane McDonald to pursue a career with the Perth Wildcats and probably Dr Darren Ng who returned to Australia for his orientation. Barangay Ginebra will miss players including JJ Helterbrand and Eric Menk. However as games with our Filipino brethren go, expect some fantastic showtime as both teams go head to head. More information in their media release below.

You Asked For It, Now You’ve Got It: Ginebra vs. Slingers on Jan 17, Singapore Indoor Stadium, 7:30pm – taken from Singapore Slingers website

Barangay Ginebra, the most popular pro team in Philippine basketball will be playing the Singapore Slingers in an event brought forward due to the no-show of the India team last Jan 11.

“It is a critical decision we had to make as both teams will be without key players”, said Paul Monozca, Chairman of the Monozca Foundation – the key patron of the Philippine teams playing in Singapore. “But we feel it’s a great way to end the ‘Singapore Challenge Series’ with a dream match. The fans will be happy to know there will be a re-match when the teams complete themselves in a few months. But for now, patience to hold this game has run out”.

“We welcome the decision to have this dream match earlier” said Bob Turner, Managing Director of Basketball Enterprises and owner of the Slingers. “This match is all about saying thanks to all the supporters of the ‘Challenge Series’ this year and to tell everyone to look forward to next season when the official regional pro league opens. Ticket prices remain the same at $6 to $16 and are available at all Sistic outlets”.

The Slingers will be playing without Shane McDonald and possibly Darren Ng while Ginebra is playing without JJ Helterbrand who is training with the national team and Eric Menk, who is in the United States. Mark Caguioa is also not playing and Reavis and Valenzuela are side lined due to injury.

But fans can look forward to a matchup between the bad boys Eric Sandrin and Alex Crisano and point guards Paul Artadi and Al Vergara. Veteran star point guard Jhonny Abbarientos will also be suiting up for the Singapore game. Fans will also be treated to meet veterans Jong Uichico and Allan Caidic who are both part of the coaching staff of Ginebra.

“Ginebra is the Apple Computer of the Philippines. It is not the strongest team, but the most popular”, said Noel Saavedra of the Monozca Foundation. “It is our version of the Kallang Roar”

The match will be played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are available at Sistic.

The Sun with Moon experience

Published on January 13, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 3 Comments Tags: food, japanese, lunch, restaurant, sun with moon.

Our department took to the Sun with Moon at the Wheelock last week in a bid to start off 2009 with a nice lunch and pow wow. I won’t go into details on what we discussed or the food we ate since the pictures will speak for themselves. Of course being the klutz that I am, I forgot to list down the type of food we ordered. Think my colleague Chantel has the full menu list, will need to ask her what the heck we ate .

Thanks to the boss for footing the bill, you know we love you. Needless to say, lunch was good and we went back to work happy… . Here’s to an exciting 2009 at work…I pray it will be extremely positive for us.

Sathyabama Stars fly our aeroplane

Published on January 12, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments

The Singapore Slingers were scheduled to meet up with the Sathyabama Stars for the 11th and final game under the Singapore Challenge Series yesterday afternoon. What was supposed to be an afternoon of great basketball with dazzling dunks and show-stopping moves, the Sathyabama Stars on Saturday morning told the Slingers that they can’t come due to travel boo-boos. And to top it off, they told the Slingers on the morning that they were supposed arrive.

I guess this is one of the many outcomes that the Slingers must face if they are going to continue trashing teams our visiting teams. The Singapore Slingers have only lost one game in the series against the Sydney Spirits. I guess the Sathyabama Stars are convinced that playing against the Slingers will be a lost cause and hence ‘flew our aeroplane’.

Moving on, the Slingers arrange for another game this weekend with a high profile team, perhaps one that will bother showing up and playing. More about that soon. Meanwhile here is the media release from the Slinger’s website.

Indian Team a No-Show for Challenge Series - Taken from Singapore Slingers website

The Singapore Slingers learned early this morning that the team from India, Sathyabama Stars, to play in the Challenge Series tomorrow would not be arriving.

Travel hiccups, immigration and clearance issues were given as the reasons. As a result the Slingers were left with no option but to cancel the Sunday game and commence immediately to reschedule a replacement match.

The Singapore Slingers are now working to replace this game with a high profile opponent and preliminary plans are to play next Saturday or Sunday.

“We are extremely disappointed with the organisers of the team and lack of professionalism in not fully informing us of the problems until this morning when we went to pick up the team. We will now be arranging for the 11th and final game of the Singapore Challenge Series to be played next Saturday or Sunday. We will be honouring all tickets purchased for this game, including season tickets, for next week’s game. Tickets purchased through Sistic will be refunded if required. We really regret this unforeseen circumstance that led to the cancellation of the game and we’d like to thank all our supporters for their understanding”, said Managing Director Bob Turner.