the nclave

a little enclave for me in the vast ocean of the web. here's hoping i'll look back on all these someday, and be glad for it.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007

the wait...

The nervous waiting is killing me. Despite me knowing that God will decide the best outcome, the nerves are still buzzing. How human I am.


And on a completely separate note, here's a funny spoof. Har har.


(click on the pic to see it full-sized.)

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Friday, January 19, 2007

THE executive summary...

Ok, ok...here it is: the long awaited continuation of the executive summary.

Just installed Firefox to replace Safari as the default browser on my Macbook, solely because the formatting functions in blogger will work on Firefox but not Safari. So you're a privileged bunch for me to rock the boat in my Macbook just to ensure the posts here still turn out fine.

Anyway, I digress.

Just finished watching So You Think You Can Dance 2 which had been recorded on tape. I think the winner should have been Travis rather than Benjy, coz it's plain to see that Travis IS the better dancer. It's just too bad for him that Benjy IS the funnier guy, and thus more likeable. Oh well. I suppose things like that happen in our everyday lives too. How often have we been faced with the unenviable situation of bosses favouring someone else not because he or she does better work or is smarter, but simply because the said individual is funnier, or can schmooze easier with them? But don't be mistaken, I'm not implying I am in such a situation.

Ok I digressed again.

So here goes. After the Bangkok trip from 8 to 10 December, the big day came along very quickly, ie. my birthday! Had dinner with Ad at Bobby Rubino's in Chijmes, and then she surprised me by dragging me to this place called the Upper Club, where there was a huge dance floor, but largely empty. And that's not the end of the surprise! About half an hour later, Irks and Gi strolled in to join us, and we had a good time celebrating my birthday, complete with a log cake on fire:







That's about it for now I guess...it's a tad late to be catching up on the New Year celebrations now. In fact, this post has been sitting as a draft post waiting to be published for a few weeks!

So that's that. Suffice to say the New Year celebrations were great. Farewell 2006, welcome 2007!

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Monday, January 15, 2007

a flurry of activity...

While waiting for me to get round to completing that darned executive summary, I might as well keep going about the current events.

And so the date has been fixed. 12 January 2008. Signed the papers with The Marriott on 11 January 2007.



Pretty good package I guess. Pricey, yes, but the contents of the package seem sufficient to soften the blow on the wallet. Most yummy of all is the 2-night stay in the Junior Suite. Mmmm....




And of course the ballroom itself is sufficiently pleasing for our purposes. The slighly annoying thing is that we've just realised that The Marriott will be hosting a Wedding Workshop on 20 January 2007, and one of the perks to be offered at the event is a complimentary table in the package! Grrr...

But nonetheless, I think we got a decent deal, especially after I terrorised the poor girl from Marriott through numerous amendments to their contract and negotiations for more perks. Hopefully the ang pows collected will be sufficient to cover the financial blow (flying hint to all friends reading this! Heh...)

The following day, on 12 January 2007, which just happens to be exactly one year before the wedding, we dropped by a bridal fair in Suntec, and were sufficiently impressed/entertained by the folks at Santiago to place a booking for their bridal package. Again much haggling was done, and the Santiago staff even said I was a tougher bargainer than Ad! ;) The deal was pretty good, and includes pretty much all the clothes, make-up, flowers, etc needed for the wedding, and also the indoor and outdoor photoshoot. There goes another several thousand bucks. :(

We're just lacking a good photographer to do the actual-day shoot, following us around the island. Any good (and affordable) recommendations?

And to complete the said "flurry", we attended at the offices of Vegas Interior Design on Saturday to meet with someone recommended by Jo. http://www.vegas.com.sg/ Sadly, she forgot about the appointment, but she made up for it with earnest apologies and relatively practical and decent advice given. And it's a blessing she happened to be in the office at all, as Vegas had a booth in the ongoing exhibition at the Expo. Shall wait and see how the proposed layout and quotation works out.

So that's that. All set for the new life ahead except for a photographer and an ID/contractor. Now to consider the rather important factor financing all this insane spending: CAREER. Hmm....

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Friday, January 12, 2007

Droooool....


I cannot describe this. Go see it for yourself: http://www.apple.com/iphone/. Get your bib ready.

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Thursday, January 11, 2007

random post

Ok so I didn't manage to continue with my executive summary that night. But I'll get round to it very soon. ;)

As an aside, check out this brilliant firm to work in: http://anonymouslawfirm.com/index.php. Grabbed the link off the vine, and it offers some much needed comic relief in the midst of these mind-boggling thoughts of career options.

This being a random post, I shall touch on some random issues I saw in the Straits Times today.

Random Issue #1

"THREE polytechnic students have come together to solve a bugbear for people in wheelchairs and those pushing prams.

A ramp they have designed can be attached to MRT carriages to prevent the bothersome - and dangerous - tendency of wheels getting stuck in the gap between the train and the platform.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will test the ramp in the coming months to see if it can be used in a big way.

The invention won the three final-year students from Temasek Polytechnic's Intelligent Building Design course a $500 cash prize at this year's LTA-Polytechnics Collaboration contest."

500 lousy buckaroos?? The LTA could possibly install these on all their trains, and all these students get for their innovative effort is 500 bucks? I certainly hope the students get some good advice from an IP-savvy person to go patent their device or something, and get properly compensated for their work. Shocking.

Random Issue #2

"Rethink plan for artificial turf in schools

ABOUT three years ago, I wrote to the Forum to highlight that many schools prohibited their students from playing in the school field outside of Physical Education lessons ('Pray, let the children play'; ST, July 8, 2004 ). In several schools, the fields were fenced and locked most of the time.

The schools' excuses for keeping the fields locked were, firstly, to prevent the children from hurting themselves; secondly, teachers' dislike of sweaty and muddied students in class and, thirdly, school fields being very expensive to maintain.

After my letter appeared, there was a strong push to let children play. Hence, my surprise when I learnt of the Ministry of Education's plans to replace the fields with artificial turf. While this may please both parents and the ministry, it comes at a cost.

Besides the environmental cost, there is the developmental cost to our kids. Why the paranoia about kids getting hurt while playing? That is part and parcel of growing up. If the worry is about parents complaining, then get all parents to sign a letter of indemnity before they enrol their kids in the school. Also, make personal accident insurance compulsory.

I remember my national-service days when the platoon sergeant made us crawl through muddy water as part of a training exercise. Our bodies, including our faces, were caked in mud. For those of us that grew up playing football in muddy fields, this was no big deal.

I dread the day when our NS boys are so afraid of getting muddied that they tiptoe around puddles of water because they grew up in an environment where they could not get hurt or muddied.

I send my kids to school not just to achieve good grades. I send them to school so that they can receive a broad education and be prepared to face the challenges of life.

If cost of maintaining the fields is the primary concern, get the children involved in replanting the grass. Working in the fields brings lots of benefits and valuable life lessons - they learn to use their hands, they learn about the environment and the laws of nature (you reap what you sow and you can't shortchange nature) and they end up tougher.

I appeal to the ministry to drop its plan to replace fields with artificial turf. The hidden costs outweigh any savings on maintenance.

Patrick Tan Siong Kuan"

Well done, Patrick. I echo his sentiments completely. Kids these days are just overly pampered and protected. In the unlikely event that I do hire a maid in future, her job will be solely to alleviate the burden of my wife, and not to pander to the kids' whims and fancies. Want a drink? Go get it yourself. Spilt some milk? Get a rag and wipe it up.

Come on, face up to reality. The kids nowadays are fast growing up to be devoid of self-reliance, but simply hollering for someone, anyone, to do everything for them, simply because they have never been told to do it themselves!

And going back to Patrick's point, it would be a sad sad day when all the new recruits balk at the idea of running through a muddy field. And so I say again - stop being over-protective, stop spoiling the kids. Let them learn that the world does not revolve around them, that people do fall down, people do get scraped knees, but pick yourselves up, brush it off, and you'll live.


Ok, I'll get round to the continuation of the executive summary soon. Have a nice Thursday.

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Tuesday, January 09, 2007

catching up...

Been awfully lazy with the updates since the period when my computer (Windows, urgh...) was dying, and so let me now try to give a brief summary of the ongoings since then.

The Nclave

Progress has been fantastic. Here's how the worksite looked like on 26 November 2006:



The front block is actually completed already, but the pictures are not with me now, so I'll post them up later tonight if I'm not too lazy. Most most exciting. :)

Baptism and Acceptance

26 November 2006 also marked the day when Ad was baptised as a Catholic, and I was officially accepted into the Catholic Church (I had been previously baptised as an Anglican). This marks a key milestone after 13 months of RCIA, spending 3 hours every Sunday evening in church.

There are several more sessions before we finally go through the Rite of Confirmation in June 2007.

Ad getting baptised:


Sitting in the pews after the rites:


Giving testimony as a newly-accepted candidate:


Personalised cupcakes made by the sponsors:


More pictures can be viewed here: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2098047675.

Bangkok Trip

Headed over to the Land of Smiles from 8 to 10 December 2006 with Ad and the folks at home except for Dad, who preferred to stay home to look after his beloved wheels.

Stayed at The Twin Towers Hotel, which was pleasant enough, but I tend to prefer the convenience of Asia Hotel. Shall switch back to Asia Hotel next time round. Also need to thank God that the recent bombings in Bangkok did not coincide with our visit.

The pics can be found at http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2098094099, but here are some selected pics for convenience in case you don't want to encounter the slooooow loading time of imagestation.

Map-reading outside the hotel:


Lingerie shopping:


Whizzing around in a tuk-tuk:


The big family feast:


Chilling in A&W at Siam Square:



Ok I'll have to pause here for now, as there are too many events to update for December. Will be back tonight to continue the executive summary. ;)

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The Great Switcheroo

It is done.

As promised earlier, I have made the great leap over to Macintosh. Bought a Macbook on 6 January 2007, and I have no regrets thus far. For the full details of my newly-acquired toy, go to http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html. It is the white 2.0 GHz version. :)

Been doing research on the web since my earlier post threatening to abandon Windows, and also did some on-site research by visiting the Epicentre @ Orchard twice to take a closer look at the form and function of the Macbook.

Eventually went to the iShop21 at Cineleisure to close the deal, as iShop offered a much better promotion than Epicentre. For an additional $149, I got a licensed copy of Office:Mac 2004 (which is crucial for working purposes), a Mambo sling bag with a laptop compartment, an optical mouse and a keyboard protector. The Office:Mac comes with 3 licenses, so if any of you decides to buy a new Mac, you may procure one of the licenses from me at an attractive price (or a nice meal ;p ).

It took a bit of getting used to especially since I have become quite adept at Windows over the many years of the Microsoft monopoly, but in a way, I have come a full circle since the days of excitedly trooping over to the Computer Lab in Sec. 1 to learn how to use MS Works on a primitive version of the Macintosh, which looked something like this:



And so it is evident that the Mac has come a long long way from that ugly nondescript box to the its very sleek and sexy form today. Needless to say, the features have improved dramatically, and I find myself very pleased at the ease of use of the Mac as compared to Windows. It is stable, faster, and very aesthetically pleasing as compared to the boring taskbar and Start button combination in Windows.

I still have lots to do in order to complete the switch though. The files have been mostly transferred, but I need to get down to organising the photos and music, and reconciling them with the built-in software like iPhoto and iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, the remote control that comes with the Macbook is brilliant. Well done, Apple.

Hours and hours of fun "geek-time" ahead for me! :)

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