Phoenix ..Rise from the Ashes..or Sands more like! Phoenix has the sun,the sandsand the cacti.Lovely weather, I must say. Not a surprise that people move into this area like ants army, especially those from the West Coast, where things are expensive, living costs and taxes high and great jobs not so aplenty.The Phoenix-Tucson corridor is touted to be the next blooming megapolitan of the USA. With the Rockefeller and many other giant companies also expanding their wings here, great infrastructure, pro-biz government and lovely lovely houses and golf courses..Oops..Sorry I got carried away describing Phoenix-Tucson's economic potentials, as this is what I do for a living..In case you don't know, my 29 yr old company provides opportunities for people around the globe, to participate in land banking in the US. (pre-development stages of real estate development - a bit like URA in Singapore, but we invite investors in).Some of the projects are in Phoenix. Thats why we went to Phoenix!So, what did we do in Phoenix????View the lands and sorroundings of course.What better way to view, than to take the heli!It was the first time I took a heli ride.. !!! Have you??? The take off is the best part..Almost orgasmic! But the rest of the trip is dizzying! Especially if you keep looking left and right, agitatedly.This is me and Pisoot, Pisoot is the VP for International Relations in our Phoenix Head Quarter.Cute hor?? Sorry hor.. married, with a daughter.Hovering from hundreds of meters above the ground, we managed to capture pictures from aerial view. Very handy indeed.Here's one of the many commercial areas in Phoenix-Tucson. Does this look like a desert to you?Hardly. Phoenix is very much developed.Camelback mountain is one of the many mountains that sorrounds the valley.Looks like a camel's back. Right?Ph-Tucson is a valley area. They love the views of the mountains so much that the developments in Phoenix are mostly low-rise, to ensure nothing blocks the mountain view.The Colorado River runs through Arizona and it provides water supply to the area. It comes with a surplus so Arizona state actually sells the extra water supply to neighbouring states.Interesting hor?? And you thought this place is a Desert! It has more than enough water for everyone. =)Check out the highways!US has the #1 Infrastructure in the world. Most well connected through all the interstates highways and whatnots.Huge highways eh..5 lanes leh! But wait til you see the ones in Dallas..The houses are fyucken gorgeous la.Many houses are built along man-made waterways.These are rather costly (compared to other places in US) - perhaps up to USD300-400 GRAND a house.Every house has a pool!!! OH MAN!!!! I am so jealous!!Here's a better view. Wow right? All the neighbours have a pool. And the houses are huge.Which is good, that means land is always in demand as they build sideways..You won't believe the growth happening in this area.Sub prime or no subprime, developments still going... just perhaps at slightly different rate.Population growth in Phoenix grew 200% in the past decades or so. Can many other cities say the same thing??Including Singapore?Actually, the recent sub prime and economic downturn helped us.It squeezed speculators out of the game and it enabled the acquisition team to secure prime land banks from distressed owners.More houses... *sigh...*I Want!Guess how many golf courses in this area???..........248 Golf courses!!!...PGA!Too bad I didn't spot Tiger Woods doing his swings.The courses looked damn delectable from above. So much so that I feel like taking up golf myself.After the heli ride, which was a first for me. we went shopping.. heh heh.But we didn't go to the Factory Outlet here so.... I didn't shop much.So I sat on the bench and adored the simpler pleasures in life....After the shopping, we were all bus-ed to the office.Welcome to Walton Phoenix!!Here're some of us!The office is airy, bright and it's 35,000 sqft (with new addition). Pretty spacious I must say.Opposite the office is one of the most famous condominium in Phoenix, designed by some famous architect. Sorry forgot his name. Haha.Anyway, nice?..Wahlau.. is that an ashtray on the table???Tsk.. by the way. I've quit!Well anyway, whenever sober.Here's Pisoot's handsome side profile while taking us on a guided office tour.Here's the new extension to the current office.Yes, we're expanding everywhere!There was one portion of the office we were not allowed in or take picture of.The Research & Acquisition team. Apparently very top secret one. Understandable lah.They wouldn't want the world to know where their next target area is.Sshh...We were served Arizona style lunch - or so I thought.Lots of beans and guacamole involved. But it was a welcome change.During lunch, we had to do some work..What to do..???.... working trip right???So I had to listen to the engineers and head of departments sharing their knowledge.Including the Acquisition team. Very interesting though.Here's the gentleman heading the planning team. This team is just as important, they are the experts who plans and rezones for our land banks and convert them into industrial, commercial or residential lands, so that profits aplenty and we can reap >15% p.a like we always have for the past 29 yrs.Yay!After all the information sessions. It was time for us to walk back to the hotel.Not forgetting a pose in front of the office building. Again.. low-rise. All buildings in Phoenix are meant to be low rise. The tallest if I am not wrong is only about 40 storey high and only one or two of them.My room mate Yanying and me...with Phoenix cactus.. They're everywhere and they're huge!What a rear view heh heh..I must say, the hotel was lovely, we stayed at DoubleTree( family of Hilton) in Scottsdale.The pillows were huge, soft and basically - faint-friendly! I concussed very easily!After a power nap, I woke up LATE for dinner!! So paiseh, the whole bus waited for me...Blame it on the bed and pillows..Anyhow, we went to eat the best steak in the whole of Phoenix!City Hall Steakhouse, here we come!Our long table...Our appetizer...!! Lobster tower!My company is seriously so generous! Abundant of expensive food kept on coming!And the steak was probably big enough to feed the whole of Africa.It was juicy and tender!!But it was too much for an Asian tummy like mine..And the selection of desert was just too tempting.. I think I gained 2 kg in Phoenix alone!!!!Phew.. OK that was Phoenix... Next.. we flew to Dallas-Fort Worth - TEXAS!!Oh.. the shopping I did in Texas was just sinful!Cheerios!!PS: In case you're interested to know further about land banking opportunities in US.Email me k!I'd be happy to help... San Fransisco.. with flowers in my hair..(Phase 2 -The Pier, the Gate and beyond Dear Diary,In case you think that SF is all about shopping and clubbing. Pls don't mark Marcelly down as shallow just yet.SF is also about the pier, the ocean breeze and the clam chowder. It's also about the gate, the dainty town beyond and the crazy weather.You just have to make a trip down to the bay, to PIER 39 Well, if you're one of those old skools who must visit HardRock Cafe and collect their T-shirts in every city you go to. Then here's one..The Major of SF is really dang good looking too! So it's worth a visit right? To support the economy such that he gets re-elected again. =).. See how forward thinking Marcelly is??You'll be damned! A carousel by the bay? Why not? Carousel just never loses it novelty, they still shoot MTVs and Korean dramas around bloody carousels!Don't you think my BCBG dress is pretty? Guess how much it was in Palm Springs factory outlet? I got it for less than USD 40.!! *evil laughter*... The Pier 39 was great for seafood luncheon, a bit of touristy shopping and snapping lots of awesome pictures. Look across and there it was.The famous Alcatraz prison.We were contemplating on taking the ferry accross but my colleague Andy said:"Why are we going there, when people were trying to escape so badly?"He got a point, so we just bought its postcards and stayed on the bay to sip yummy clam chowder. Not to forget, we saw Captain Jack Sparrow doing some magic too!He got his daughter to disappear from the wooden basket, for some pennies, .. nothing we haven't seen before.But he was talking funny craps the whole time, non-stop, with pretty good Sparrow accent too, so I think we paid him some bucks so he can replenish his saliva.Funny ideas for shops all around, how's a bullock cart stuck to our chicken rice stall?...There were some circus baskers too.This bunch was from EnglandTheir cockney accent was overwhelming, but their WILD, BLUNT British humours were making us cramp with laughters.So I put some bucks into his little pail.More cars with AWESOME Rims!BLING BLING for a 1920s muscle car??Waitaminute, I also saw one old mustang with a spinner!!Mannn... they know how to up their ante!I want 19"chromed deep dish for my next car!Roadside Seafood Cocktail.. Funny, no alcohol. lol.Ok lah.. the clam chowder better, don't bother buying this one. Unless you like plain seafood meats with ketchup. AH!! One more speciality from SF!You can't buy normal bread here. They're all sourdough!Here's the Boudin sourdough factory/store that supply sourdough to almost all of SF.Sourdough is.. well. you didn't guess wrong.. sour dough lorr!!The bread is yeasty sour but sourish fragrant.. but for me, I was yearning for my normal wholegrain bread, with no sour yeast!Sour stuff aside, Reza picked us up to do more sightseeing.We stopped by some cool houses by the shores.Expensive I tell you, couple of millions at least, don't compare to Orchard rd penthouses lah... But these houses are not affected by subprime so much. These people who own expensive houses got prime rates anyway, not sub-prime ones.Wah.. nice view from the bedroom, I bet.This is the science discovery castle or temple of something, ruins of something legendary in the scientific world..or something.. Bah!! I am crap at describing and naming these stuffs cause they ain't factory outlets.. sorry.Anyway, very pretty lah.. and perfect for romantic picnics!Quality of life is so good there..Sian of having normal lunch? go for picnis? After picnic, cycle around or take the yacht out..Provided the fogs don't come by..What seemed like minutes later, the sky turned bleak.And the evil fog swallowed the Golden Gate Bridge up!!!!But fret not..What seemed like half hour and a short drive through the Golden Gate Bridge later..The fog has gone and the sun was shining again =)Awesome take right?? So arty!! With my 3 fingers dancing with the 3 lines of hair.This was a view from the other side. After crossing the bridge, you will find a dainty town called Sausalito.The houses here are expensive too, as people in US would pay for privacy.. and this town looks and feels like a private resort. There's a burger place that Britney Spears frequents too..Here it is! Dunno how true lah.. Reza say one..Ah.. The pretty roads of Sausalito. Reza had to rush off after Sausalito, so he crossed the bridge back to SF and he dropped us at the best bakery in town.Tartine!Berry bread and butter pudding, chocolate tart with kumquat.Whoa.. sounds like weird stuff? But they tasted heavenly. Very innovative yet yummy desserts.A must to visit again! For dinner, I took the gang to little Italy again and visited the Stinking Rose, the garlic restaurant. Everything also got garlic in it. Decorated by garlic cloves too!Where I can assure you, is the best place to hide when vampires strike back! But blimey it's not a good idea to take your girlfriend on first date here!She wouldn't kiss you good night =) Garlic boiled in olive oil for your bread's companiment??Strangely, it wasn't very garlicky, it was fragrant. Phew.... the asparagus and shrooms bruschetta and the fish was good too.The food in SF has been very merciful actually. My boss declared that he wants to retire in SF.Hmm.. I can consider. After SF, we flew down to Phoenix, Arizona....So you think Phoenix is an empty dessert?? Hmm.. Are you sure? I'll prove you wrong.. stay tuned! San Francisco -Sun, Shopping, downtown and old friends San Fransisco is a name familiar to our ears..In a song, In magazines.. in the history books.Familiar with its friendly short nick - San Frans or shorter still.. SF, the city has its very own charm.I was bursting with excitement when we reached SF.It was a welcome change from LA, the air was different, the people are different, the vibe was different..!We ditched our rented car as SF is public -transport friendly and like HK, it was so easy to walk /tram around the hot spots. And when it got too far, just hail a cab back.SF is a downtown sorta city, car parks are hell to find. La is a decentralised city where you can't roll if you don't have wheels. So, SF is Oxford, LA is Cambridge. SF is HK, LA is Jakarta.What better way to start the day?I met some really really old friends.. and had great American breakfast at the legandary Lori's.Reza and Charles are my primary school friends!!! Back in Jakarta.They were my school mates and we meet again in SF. Aint that awesome?Ok, cheat a bit, Charles lives in Singapore and I have been in touch with him lah.But Reza? That was the first time we meet him in ... 5..10..15..years!!!!!!!!!!!He hasn't changes much. Other than he got much taller.But he can't recognise me at all.Ocht well, what to do. I was a really ugly geeky girl back in school.Here's the 4 of us, Louis, me, Reza and Charles.American Breakfast = singapore breakfast +lunch +high tea+ dinner.I tell you. Can't even finish 1/3 of it and I felt like 100 kg heavy.But it's worth every penny for the ones with hearty appetites.No wonder most Americans are obese. So sad right?Think of the poor kids in Africa.Such extremities..Oh well,let's come back to SF.We found springs blossoms!!! Wow, was I in Tokyo?Anyhow, it was sunny, the streets were lovely, the colours were vibrant,the shops were calling out..and the magic card with the VISA label was still working..What else to do???Shopping la dey...!Here's a huge shopping centre. I love the architecture so much!So much nicer than Paragon plus Takashimaya put together yea?Forgot what this one was called. But its has lots of shops for sure...It contains all the big department stores like Nordstorm.. A & F and Forever 21 were everywhere! And trust me Forever 21 is so dirt cheap there that I refuse to ever step into the ones in Singapore again.Check our them American cars..Hydarulics all. haha.. good for romping or what?SO!! This is where all the good rims >19" get exported to.I think very little go to Singapore.. Tsk.. Singapore cars are so horribly done.Put vynils, LED.. oh biang colours.. soft toys (??).. but the rims still 15".. like WTH..=)Anyway, I realised SF building are very close to the main roads. So privacy and Quietness is a question, But fret not. The fire staircase is so sexy..Ah.. see this staircase is where the hidden boyfriends/mistresses escape when time calls.It is the type of staircase where Richard Gere climbed up to win over Julia Roberts in Pretty Womea.. So romantic right??Back to shopping...We visited Abercrombie & Fitch. Naturally.Because the male models there are chest naked and they are to-die for!!Dont tell Mr Gan but OMG I was dying to touch those bronzed, well-sculpted men!!!!sorry lah no picture allowed in the shops.. dang right?!!More pictures downtown..I think some of these pictures good enough for wall papers..Yay! Love it!We stopped to satiate our cravings for GOOD CHINESE FOOD!!Where else, but China town..SF's China town is the biggest in the world, mind you.Good Chinese food is such a rarity in US!Gosh, La's Chinese food was crap.. oily and bland.. but I suppose that's cause we didn't go to the expensive designer restaurants la..We went to the food courts.. So.. pay peanuts get peanuts right????Other than China town, SF has little Italy, little Japan. etc, But I was sad they didn't have little Indonesia or little Singapore..haha!Here's the bunch touring China town.. I bought some American ginseng for muy dearest clients.The China town is all steep slopes and stoned, uneven pavements. But it was great workout for my butts.Though they are very pert already, I must say..Back to Union Square.. this is where it all happens again! Nice place to just absorb all the worldliness in SF. Big names shouting out from all corners.Victoria's Secret was not escaping my grasp.I spent a bomb there.. but.. seriously.. inviting laces, satinnes, intricate apparels that no one but me will ever see, yet stood at ridiculous prices.. who the hell's gonna buy???Apparently, tonnes of us girls do!!We really wear them to feel good. And when we feel good, we look good and we will be good! So, it's worth every penny!!Anyway, I bought this brasserie that costs 50USD, I though it was stupid. but this praticular one can be worn 100 ways!! (Cause it has like many different strap holes to adjust to)So I though one way is only 50 cents. (If you divide 50USd with 100 ways). Quite worth it what? Make sure to wear 100 ways lor..We then went to Macy's.. top floor is the Cheesecake Factory. It was bliss!!Best cheesecake in town I must say. Here's the view from Macy's. That's Union Square down there.After wild shopping hours. We walked past a pub in union square that had a sign:USD 2.99 for margarita!!!!So, we couldn't help ourselves.The margarita was really good. Such a refreshment after shopping.And best of all, it doesnt burn anymore holes in my pocket.So, we walked home happy, shopping-high and margarita-high.But something else stopped me...After all these many years!! From the streets of London, Oxford, Singapore and now SF!!The bloody Britsh/French still don't know to spell swear words!!! What the hell is feschuk..But their marketing strategy works DAMN well.. ain't it?One brand you won't ever forget, Great branding move! FCUK what people think la!After resting in the hotel for an hour... Oh by the way, we stayed in this hotel called Britton Hotel, value for money I tell you! So close - by all the great shops and it's cheap!Anyway, yeah.. after resting, I had to go out with more old friends. Yay!!Apparently Reza knows another friend of mind who resides in SF, Prety, she is my childhood friend too. Together they picked me up and we went to eat some fusion Chinese food.Located accross the Hilton hotel, end of the China town slope, House of Nanking is one humble Chinese eatery but there's always a bloody queue!Me and Prety!You guys should try the wonton soup! It was like National Treasure, between the luscious wontons, you can find lemon grass, red onions, tomate swimming in the fragrant soup.Interesting!Their dishes are really innovative. Give it a try if you ever go to SF k!!Try the kongpao chicken also, it's like mixed with rojak. Fusion mah!Yum yum....After Nanking, we went around the little Italy..We walked past the Broadway.. where the red lights district was!!Hmm.. like more posh than Geylang..Sadly, the poorer, black vagabonds roam around the streets of SF at night. Although harmless, they bring fears to us Singapoream tourists. Because we don't have these at home.At first I was a bit freaked out but after a while I got used to it.they should be rather harmless, cause most of them were fully smoked up with all the weed.So I bet even if they try to hit my face, they would miss the face.So I felt safer liao. But I could smell burnt splif almost every corner of the streets in SF.Here's Little Italy. Oh, some of the restaurants have really cute Italian waiters. one particular restaurant will have the cute waiters stripping, dancing, singing for you if it's your birthday (must be a Bday girl la).. then they will queue up to kiss you.They tried to take me there but I shy lah.. I scared I don't wanna go home after that.Didn't I tell you I love bulldogs? I love bulldogs. So ugly it's cute..Anyway, we had Affogato and dessert at a coffee shop in Little Italy.(But seriously, the best Affogato is in Singapore - check out the little bakery/cafe next to Prive (Keppel Island), one of Michel's latest discoveries - Go and order Affogato with honey-date ice cream.. oh heaven!!! I kept coming back!!)FYI - Affogate is thick espresso shot over a scoop of ice cream).After little Italy. We went clubbing!!!Clubbing in SF is so special. LA needs you to be on guest list, needs to be Miss Spears or Hilton.But in SF, you can be whoever you wanna be!! No pretense.BUT!! You need to know where to go!There is a centralised system that appoints a certain hip club to host Asian night every other weekend.Be sure to have this info on hand. Else you will end up in a club filled with blacks, or Latinos, or Russians or whites only. So you'll feel really weird. Well, that's up to you of course, if you like that, go ahead. (Actually I should ask for Latino nights next time.. Aorrrr..)Especially the SPGs... oh they will love angmoh nights. I bet the stewardesses won't go for Asian nights either. No? Sorry. stereotyping again.I am very very yellow, so I like to see familiar faces.So, Reza helped us check the Asian night club that nightSadly, the clubs in SF are very old and run-down. Forget decors like Zouk or St JAmes.. Cool lazer?? Cool toilets? Forget it..!!!They were all like the old Mdm Wongs with cracked floors and rusty railings.But the party was spinning, the people were abviously having a blast!The club was pumping with hundreds and hundreds of Asians; Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and we spotted Singaporeans and Indonesians.Funny, I didn't feel like I was in States. Ha Ha!To top it all, the drinks were dirt cheap, unlike clubbing in Singapore (except St James, which has good - value - for - money bottle offers all the time, I love it!)Anyhow, it was a blast and I am coming back for more!!(to be continued - days in SF never end..) Adventures on the Pacific Coast Highway And off we went..Los Angeles to San Francisco..Speeding through the ocean breeze...One side of the road.. white-washed waves and the blue oceanOne side.. liddle mountains and pretty houses with picket fence.. First stop was the beach town.. Santa Barbararickshaw anyone?? Geez!! For a moment, I thought I was in Phuket! How come got rickshaws one?As good as a beach can get...white clean sands, half naked surfers.. dry air, friendly sun and rocky cliff views.....We inhaled in some really good Santa Barbara air and panorama..Then we hti the road again.. we were on budget timing.Next stop is friendly liddle town of San Luis Obispo.Very small town. A little further from beach but sunny all the same.Apparently it has an airport. Not bad!"San Luis Obispo"Making sure I won't spell it wrongly.We stopped by here for lunch.Very healthy organic cafe.. Wow..felt totally sublime afterwards. We had healthy organic soup and healthy organic sandwich with wheat bread.This town has its own character, it's rather cultured and it's non-pretentious. A bit hippie like but totally basking in warmth. I loved it.When we got back in the car. We had a long, boring ride on the highway, cause we switched to the express highway (not the ocean view one) and we were just playing chou dai di until we reach Santa Cruz. Which of course I WON all the way! Heh Heh.It was almost evening when we reached the next stop, so the ocean breeze was chilly by then. We had to tighten our jackets.Santa Cruz!Santa Cruz was more like a quite portal/fisherman town. A handful of seafood restaurants, seagulls, boats and lazy visitors.And the sunset was just gorgeous.That place was ideal for creating a nostalgic or mellow mood.I thought I explored on my photographic passion. Well, at least I tried.My stomach was making noises by then.We had a hard time choosing an eaterie.I must say Americans have lots of integrity though.We walked into a Spanish restaurant and we wanted seafood.The waiter said :"We do have seafood! But if you're looking for the traditional clam chowder or grilled fish.. then you may want to go to another restaurant, maybe downstairs?"I was so impressed. So much honesty and integrity.I can imagine that if we were in China, the bloody waiter would just say yes yes yes..anything also have!"Hai xian? Mei wen ti! Shi mo dou you!! You ! You! Lai !Lai lai"..Bloody money-hungry Chinese.Lie for money. Anything for money.^_^'the last seafood bistro by the pier'but nope, we didn't eat there. We took a stroll back.. passed the Spanish restaurant with honest waiter and picked one nondescript restaurant which serves traditional clam chowder and grilled fish.Me and Louis, among 3 colleagues, enjoyed a spread of seafood dishes, and I must say..the freshness of these wild catches were incomparable...And that delightful feast marked the end of our half day trip from LA to SF!Ah.. I forgot to mention..We got caught by the police 3 times along the highway.Once for speeding,once more for speeding and not stopping at the stop line..and one more time for speeding, overtaking and tailgating..Lucky the policemen were cute (really! All 3) and friendly to visitors..Hueh heh heh.. Singaporean drivers ah.. tsk tsk...They must be thinking.. bloody Asians should just stick to pulling bullock carts.. Phi's Addictions For my dear friends with the occasional sweet tooth,My babe Bel loves making delectable sweets.Like tiramisu ...and cheeseballs.. What? cheeseballs? What is that?Take a look yourself k:www.tiramisucaravan.comI must say they are addictive and of good value .. it's home-made!If you happen to like any, and thinking of ordering - tell her you are a reader/friend of Marcelly's k, and demand for extra perks. heh heh.. Cold Trip to ICA I've been on a hiatus. I ve noticed. Heh.A fortnight ago, I took a brave trip to ICA and applied for the pink IC. (S'pore citizenship)I was hoping for a warm welcome, a friendly officer who would ask me to point out the good things about Singapore, on why I would like to call Singapore home..Maybe the makans.. the shopping.. the safety.. the strong economy blah blah..Or maybe for me to point out how I envision Singapore, how proud I am of their future plans or some other talk-cocks like that.I waited with clammy hands and headful of wonderful things to say about Singapore.An hour later, I walked into the cold interview room.The lady, probably fifty plus, sat with unreadable face."Sit down" She called. So I sat."So, give me your passport, your IC, your form, your certs, your docs.."So I did. I also passed her a referral letter from someone quite prominent in Singapore, I thought would give weight and help me get the citizenship more easily."Here's a referral letter too"She kept mum and took little notice of it.Then she asked again." You have copies for all these?"So I gave her. One by one."Passport also? Tax statements? 2006 one?""Ok I will go and get that one""Ok, must give also"After about ten minutes."Ok, you go out and make payment. Then we will call after 3 mths and inform you. Also, please come back this afternoon to pass us your 2006 tax statement. We decide from the taxes""Oh, ok ma'am, thank you so much!" Much smiles from me, but no response, naturally.I walked out and smiled at Gan who patiently waited for me throughout the whole ordeal.I thought to myself. "Welcome to Singapore"Bloody straight, dry, stiff, text-booked, meritocritous Singapore.All they see is paper. I should have come with my pyjamas and slippers and my hair rolls, she probably wouldnt have noticed anyway. She hardly looked up.Oh well,. this is how they keep Singapore, Singapore. So be it.Though I wished, she'd at least smiled once.I mean, hey I pay quite a bit of tax last year u know. I make a good citizen, I have good credentials, I don't commit crime, I contribute some laughters and colours, and I definitely contribute into the economy through my crazy shoppings and night crawlings.And I thought you wanted foreign talents? Not just the Geylang type of foreign talents right?Is it such a one way traffic?Ocht well. Sorry. Of course cannot argue with gahmen.So, we'll see in 3 months time then.Gan stroke the small of my back :" Can't believe I am marrying a Singaporean instead"He smiled encouragingly. Livin it big in L.fucken A I went on an adventure to uncle Sam's land. Not only was it courtesy of my bosses and my dear company Walton Int'l, it was also during the lowest US dollar rate in 20plus yrs. It was heavenly..Growing up in cold weathered, much rained England, US was an eye opener to the other side of the West.The old laopok Cathay plane we took landed in HK and then LA. ( Cathay is degrading or something man, the plane was old and the entertainment system was out of date, faulty and it didnt have Tetris! Boo boo... we'll go back to SQ next time.Anyway,.....LA airport is of course not as pretty as our much glamorised Changi airport.But LA itself... What can I say...Welcome to Ell.-Ayy...First, The food........We went to Denny's the moment we touched down, it's everywhere.American food is simply horrid.Chips, nachos, mayo, fried fish, fried chicken, fried potatoes, fried everything..Burgers and burgers..I was wailing for rice!Sorry, I don't eat salad. Like sashimi, it's a no-effort food.No value for money, mang.., I can just pluck leaves from my backyard, put salad dressing and serve it myself.I had this horrrible craving for char kway teow and chai peng when I was in States. I actually dreamed about it and woke up drooling. I think. But noone knows ok?Wendy's, Denny's, Arby's.. same difference...My cousin Nat is now residing in LA, a bachelorete pad with a swishing S40 for wheels. She is having a ball. (Rental of a studio and installment for a car is waaaaayyyyy cheaper than Singapore... like only 4-500 each. We are so screwed here).We managed to meet up in between her busy schedule and it was swell. I miss her so much.We ate more American food in a typical American diner.More grimy oily frieds, but at least they gave me guacamole.I also met up with Ed, my friend Ed is in a different league. He is graduating soon, stays in campus, has a weekend home in LA and a DB9 to match. Ed parties with Miss Hilton and Edison Chen too, or at least rubbed shoulders with, Ocht well..And Ed is cute, if only I were 5 yrs younger...We had some Cuban food.. ah at last, something different.Now.. The Shopping...Guilty as charged.That's almost ALL that we did in LA.First day - Factory outlet in Cabazon (near Palm Springs)Second day- Factory outlet in Citadel..Here we are... 29 USD for a pair of Levi's, 39 USD for a BCBG dress, 29USD for Kenneth Cole heels, 100-300 USD for Coach bags, 1500USD for a Tag Heuer Link watch.Who wouldn't go mad??????I went absolutely ballistic, my eyes had these green lazer thingies and before I knew it, I was a monstrous shopping DEMON.After the second day, we decided that Cabazon one was bigger and better.. so..Third Day- Cabazon again..!!!!!!!!!!Geez... Other than our short tours around Hollywood boulevard and our clubbing session, all we did was to sweep clean the factory outlets!!The Driving--Ah, driving is so unique here... it's left sided and of course everything is completely the opposite to Singapore.We took sometime to get used to the change. Not to mention the many events where we hogged the road or took the wrong lane!Look at the highway below. This is the highway we took from LA to Palm Springs.The yellow poles divide the car pool lane and the normal lane.Car pool lanes are emptier and they are for cars filled with 3 paz and above.The otehr lanes are always packed and anyone else can drive there.BUT!! If you drive a hybrid car, feel free to sweep your wheels across the car pool lane anytime, with or without any passengers...No wonder Warren Buffet and many other Americans chose to drive a Prius.Should we set up something like this in Singapore? I can buy the Civic Hybrid and drive accross CTE with a breeze at 9 am in the morning. It would be bliss. While the rest queue like the cattle.The toilets--- This applies accross States, or at least Cali, Arizona and Texas..Why do the cubicles doors have freaking gaps big enough to pass a sandwich through??????See??? Well, a flattened sandwich at the least!!I was frustrated at first. I know I know, thank goodness at least they provide doors, in China they don't.But still.. It was so weird when the people outside can pop their eye through the gap and adore your bare bottoms.So I stuffed tissues there. Grrr... What an invasion of privacy.Next- The Sightseeing...You know, tourists have to go to touristy places, else you wont get those touristy pictures that people at home will ooh and aah-ed about.We went on a city tour, which I think is a rip-off.We went down Hollywood Boulevard, ya da ya da.. Farmer's Market and then the Venice beach..First stop..Hollywood baby!Here's Capital Records. I was so tempted to break into this building and beg for an audition or something.. But of course, I possess more dignity than that. anyway I am too old to be Britney Spears now..Remember the movie Pretty Woman??Well, this is the exact street where Mr Gere picked up his pretty Miss Robert.Red light district of LA. Then, we just had to stop at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Ohh what a classic take.. there were so many names and I really had to pick ONE to take photo with. So it's gotta to be the Queen herself. I am a huge fan..She is probably the prettiest full-bodied celebrity inside out.Chinese theatre. "Thanks Sid!"Kodak Theatre.. nothing much here, but feel free to take a distant photo of the HOLLYWOOD SIGN.The most famous 9 letters in the whole of LA. I guess.The petrol station below is not just any petrol station.This is were Hugh Grant was caught with his pants down with Divine "the Hooker" Brown.Yup.. that was a tourist moment.Well.. what kind of touristy spot were you expecting in LA anyway.. ??????????????Laugh Factory is where comedians like Billy Crystal and Chris Tucker were first discovered.We wanted to come back to see Chris Tucker on stand-up. But that day, we were shopping til it was too late to go. Shame on us. It would've been fun.This is Stephen Spielberg's ex-house. Not sure what the big hooha is, coz it's no longer his..maybe he downgraded coz his latest Indiana Jones just SUCKED big time.I just had to take the roadsign.Even Sheryl Crow sang about it.. Santa Monica Boulevard huh?This is another rich people area, but probably not as rich n famous as those living in the Beverly Hills.We stopped by Rodeo Drive too... Where the famous-amous-es roam the streets, strut their stuffs, sip chi chi coffee, taste famous chef's concotions and blow their walk-in wallets on designer goods...Even the air here felt more expensive. Everything here was escalated in price, hence we were totally window shopping.What a pity we didn't spot Keanu Reeves with his Porsche or Miss Lohan and her Birkin bag..We were told that they are getting better at disguising themselves.Me and Rodeo Drive. One fine day, I so belong here.Here's the gang, full with touristy looks.My hair flying with the priceless zephyrs at Rodeo Drive.. I wanna feel like an heiress too!!..I used to have at least a luohan fish to inherit one day, but then the bugger died.Anyway, after Rodeo Drive, we had to get our heads grounded. We went to the Farmer's Market and I felt human again.The out door food centre in here reminded me of hawker centre back in Singapore.Only they were selling burgers, chips, pastas and the air was cooler.Nice though.. Philli burger aint bad at all.The Grove, just next to Farmer's market is an al fresco shopping centre, or nowadays they call it life style centre or something. Call a rose, a rose lah..They didn't have factory outlets so we weren't ecstatic. Trust me, after having been to the outlets, you'd feel ripped off shopping at the normal retail stores.We just took some photoes and window shopped.Being the Kiasu singaporeans we are. Since we only had one hour to stop by the Farmers market for lunch, and we couldnt decide between sitting down for lunch, kaypoh-ing around or shopping..In the end.. we went window shopping and da-pao-ed the food to eat in the bus.Tell you the angmohs not very happy with our behaviours. .. heck.. at least I got to visit the A&F shop here.Not only is the shop like a night club/disco . The concept is just amazing. Dark lightings, happening loud music, Sales execs were prancing around, shaking booties, spot lights were on all the featured clothings. And the whole store smelled of their latest perfume. Damn smart!!My colleague tapped on one the sales girls' shoulder and asked:" Excuse me, where's the bar to get drinks?" and she laughed.Best thing is, that the sales dudes are so cute.. they all looked like models, eventho obviously not the so successful ones.. Means the more normal looking ones la..That'll suffice. 6 pecs and all, I was happy. So we took photoes with them.. damn embarrassing I tell you, but heck.. damn cute!Ok.. up next! We went to the beach after lunch!Bien Venue!!! VENICE beach! Not the prettiest beach in LA, but it was a fun-hippie beach, brimming with smiles, sun and normalcy.It lead to Muscle beach, but there were not much naked muscles around that day. =(Just a couple of happy tourists from Singapore.And someone was shoooting MTV, probably not a very rare scene in LA, I'd reckon.We also stopped by the wharf for toilet.but the tourists just had to snap more pictures.I also bought some sweet eats.Frozen banana, anyone ??The shop keeper asked me "Would you like it with nuts?"I just burst laughing and shook my head.Last but not least... my favourite past time.. other than shopping of course..The clubbing..Opppssss..........This picture is not very happening for a clubbing scene huh?Ok basically, the hardly-visible club behind me was a pretty upperty club where Miss Hiltons , Lohans, Spears and the other dong dongs rub shoulders and kiss cheeks.Soooo.. we were not on the guest list and we didn't want to blow 500 bucks on a bottle (500 bucks can buy few Kate Spade stuffs!)Sadly, we had to walk away and go to a club where the normal laymen go.So we walked round a block and found... The Moscow ClubThemed rather dark, cultish and Russian-mafia like, many black eyed punks and funky Mo-hawks call this club home.The decor was pretty nice thou...candelabra, melted wax, bronze cupids..But we totally looked out of place... And the music was not comprehensible. My mind was floating away to the club we couldn't enter.. Damn.. heh.. Should have called Ed, sure he can get us in. But it was a weekday... .. K lah.... at least here the beer was 6-7 bucks..so that was LA, we then took on the road, breathed in the pacific coast highway views, played dai di.. and onwards to San Francisco.Catch up soon!Oh one more thing,, ... I am about to apply for a pink ICI am going to lose my Indonesianship and become a Singaporean!Should I .. Should I not.. Should I.. Should I not??????????Being a Singaporean definitely has its perks, passport is so good (Indonesian passport is worse than toilet paper), govt so supportive etc too and easier for me to buy HDB or landed.But then, I'd lose the chance of being mistaken for a rich Indonesian heiress every again.Other than that,.. well. I've always preferred pink to blue.How? How? How? It's like breaking up with a handsome but poor boyfriend and marrying a rich stable man.. My birfday partiey plan..(expired) Well.. so 2nd of May was my birthday.. I did a birthday rap 3 yrs ago,Re-read for some nostalgia, it was good ok? for an immature amateur!but now I think I am just too mature for that sort of stuff. *uh umm*So I sent out invites to a chi chi party, that took place 2 weeks ago.But I thought the invitation was quite ridiculous, I don't know how my friends friend me.I also don't know how I friend me.INVITATION: (totally expired)Here's the plan for Princess Marcelly's schweet 17th Birthday.Any constructive suggestion/advice pertaining to the plan, put nicely, is appreciated too.3rd May 2008 - Saturday7.30- 9.30pm : Cocktail party at Raffles Hotel - CityView Suite, give my man Gan a call when you reach lobby = xxxxxxx. (pls dont call him for anything else, like a scrub massage/prank calls/indecent solicitation, etc)We will have food and alcohol but feel free to adorn us with exotic beers and healthy organic eats.930-1030- to finish up the drinks and co-ordinate everyone (tell you it's gonna take ages) 1030 pm til late - after feeling 'high' and 'happy', walk accross to Chijmes to crash Imsomnia and Le Barogue.I am refraining myself from booking table in both places. Cause we should do it the US way.Stand up, drink, mingle and dance. No sitting down allowed. That's why we pre-glowed first in the suite. The boo-boo blokes can stay outside the club watch footie, screw you guys! DRESS CODE : Smart Casual. No slippers and berms. We make it a chi chi party laaa.. for me.. you know like those New York Upper East Side parties where everyone dress up effortfully and look constipated..But, we should do the former not the latter.Ok beloved friends,, see you!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait!RSVPPS: No staying over allowed because Eu-tjin insisted (maybe he wants to do a strip dance.. ssshh..), but you are allowed to use the toilets and fantasise sleeping on the luscious bed with Edison Chen (if you're a girl) and Cecilia Cheung (if you're a guy).Also, noone is allowed to look nicer than me. I know all my friends are hot babes. Do dress up to respect moi, but dont look prettier than me ok? Draw a big mole on the forehead or something. sphanks =)-end of invite_________________________________________________-See, that was the plan..But what really happenned --1. was that chi chi party was not me, and I was trodding around like an unglam cow, screaming, jumping on the bed by 10pm.also...2. was that Eutjin was intoxicated and puking by 11 pm and I had to forget about the strip dance already, cause he lay dead like a log, smelling like dead fish til 3 pm the next day.But I still love him. Heh.Photoes up soon. =) SpIN City Macau Winter 2007 I don't like Macau.Maybe that's an understatement, I fugging hate Macau.Maybe I am just suah ku. But it was the first time I spent thousands of dollars without getting any shopping bag to carry home.Guess at least I know how to play the Caribbean stud now. ('know how' means : will still lose money on it but at least can do it in style)So other than donating your money to the billionaires who own the bloody casinos, try to spend time in your fantastical hotel suite. COZ you friggin PAID too much for it at the tables downstairs!!!We stayed at the Venetian...The suite was so blissfully luxurious.. TO-DIE-FOR!I was just like a Princess......and Gan was just like the Princess' gardener that the Princess is having affair with.Kek Kek...The bathroom was good enough to hold a small party at.The Venetian shopping area itself felt like Venice, except we know it's not, there were bloody shops and shoppers everywhere.. and the green green spread.... of gambling tables..EVIL EVIL!Ah and the fake Canal.. not bad for effort. I suppose.I didn't go on the gondolas of course, bloody tourist trap =)And I tell you, you gotta drink in Macau, either to drown your sorrow or to celebrate your newfound wealth.... remember to grab Margaritas.Well, you know that Macau was a portuguese colony, so it's got a fusion culture and that's beautiful..GO OUT of the Casino already!! Breathe some fresh air!! ..Walk around the communities and streets (RUAs) and eat some Portuguese food.. It was my remedy to the mourning over the short death of my bank account. (Ok, I was exaggerating, it really wasn't much, but I could have bought some LV bags with it..damn it!)And if your photographer is sporting enough, pose like you're in Portugal itself :As for food, if you do eat pork, the suckling pig is succulent and Gan was savouring it like a vulture.after he posed for the sweet picture of course.Buon Appetito!!And there were more things with cheese and tomato.. sounds familar???I got fat in HK and Macau, Gan gained 3 kg, but overall, it was swell.I am not going back to Macau, not 'til i have a million to spare at the VVIP tables.I am definitely going back to HK.Maybe next time in winter with more money, more friends and less oysters.But Austin?? I am going to retire in Austin!!Stories from uncle Sam's land very soon. Happy Birthday To Me.. Less coachie OK, I am going to give away the COACH bags to my mom and Gan's mom one each for Mother's day and use the rest myself. =)So, only this wristlet left.COACH brown suede wristlet.$85Remember to bring these wristlets during lunch time and leave your bag in office. It's looking more and more like an office girl staple in Raffles Place. Be hip! Get one!On the contrary, I have to lug around my big salesgirl bag everywhere I go, especially lunch! Cant ever leave my brochures behind. So..I just need one wristlet for this following function:"You know how the girls find it so frustrating to change bags? Coz then you need to move your mini ipod, your thumb drive, your lighter (if you smoke), your pens, your bank account password ding-aling, your lipgloss, your name tag..So, that's what I did to my wristlet, I fill it up with all the above, so when I need to change from my brown to red to black to beige back to red bag, I just need to take out my wallet, wristlet, handphone and work stuff. Sorted!!! AM I smart or what.. no lah. I am sure many of you thought of that too. Or maybe Only I have so many barang2."SO, I keep one suede one. Sorry, nicer than any of the above, at least to me =) And I gave one to mom, she use it to go West Mall and market. Though I told her it's too expensive to bring to market.OKie.. email me : marcellys@gmail.com COACH bags from States Hi Hi!!These are for the girls and for the guys who'd like to buy their girls something they might think it cost you a bomb but actually it's a fraction of the price.I am back from States and there, my eyes went crazy wild while shopping.. cause it's so much cheaper there. Shopping can br very very dangerous. Let me tell you this.So I ended with too many bags from Coach and Kate Spade. I brought back a total of more than 15. Crazy I know.I gave away some and already used some. But geeezz.. I have a mountain at home.So I am selling off a couple of them.Small Coach bag, brown - S$278 Think they're selling 400 plus in Spore.Great for chi chi dinners and dates.Blue/Silver pouch - $ 198This they're selling something like this for 300 plus here.Great for clubbing. You can't actually get the suede collection here (So I was told, dunno how true)..But these are small COACH wristlets, Full suede-RED $ 78 .And, Brown signature collection - $78-(update: SOLD)Dear friends, if you are keen. Email me at marcellys@gmail.com . PS: I am using all the Kate Spade loots. . Leaving Las HongKong My last day in HongKong could pretty much summarise WHAT are the popular things you can do in HongKong..First, you should go look up your family. Well, maybe your auntie, or uncle, or cousin or grandaunt or gramma... whoever it is.. better look them up and go for a family lunch.Come on I am sure if you look up and down your family tress, you'll find someone who live in HK!You know, flesh and blood comes first..Of course, it's even cooler if your other half and your best girlie are there with you too.How picture perfect.. my grand aunt, uncle, auntie, uncle, cute lil cousin or is it niece.. geez.. i am losing the tree. (You should roughly know who is who laa..) then Sandy and Gan..Lovely afternoon indeed.And then, the girls should go to the saloon, actually the guys too.We went to the roadside ones, any cheap ones with those swirling blue red stripes in a tube that actually DOES NOT make me feel like doing something with my hair, so I still dont know why it's there.Anyhow.... Man, they're good and they're way cheaper than Singapore.I highlighted and cut, wash..bloww..... about 40 SGD.. damn it.. Singapore salons are frikking rip offs.. I never go to one here..Sorry if you're a hairdresser.. You guys are pirates here!*sigh..* -- (the happy type).... i look so chioooo... !! ala those HK lians with blondish rebonded-looking hair.. But you know it doesnt last on me.. I cant maintain sui-ness. In two days the hair is curley wurley wavey with split ends again.. I am such a cow.After you got your hair done up sui sui.. stroll along the main streets at Causeway bay, Mongkok, Central.. window shop a bit and try to spot stupid shop names, trust me theres many..You know that the Taiwanese, Hongkese, Chinese are never really superb with their English. well..So, here's a respectable shop that sells clothes and no bra. What a sham!After you laugh at their English (spot menus in restaurants too), then take lots of pictures with the cutest guy you can grab there.I grabbed Gan. ........ Oh I look so pretty in the piccccc!! (not a frequent incident, y'know)Seriously, HK guys not as cute as you think, not all of them look like Andy Lau, Arron Kwok or Edison Chen (not that he's from Hk, we all know that he is Canadian and now we all know he's pretty endowed.. oh yay.....yummy, but since he is such a hot topic and a hot... eh anyway, my friend hung out with him in LA club a fortnight ago.. basket, me me me...)In fact, a lot of the HK guys look like Jackie Chan.. so.. yeah..On the other hand, Gan is always the cutest for me anyway, sorry biased.After you grabbed the cute guy, get him to one of those traditional, super unglam, road side HK eateries.No roof no walls even better..If you have a jolly old friend who can guide you and the cute guy, even better.Here's Paul.. ah even better if he looks silly enough to eat..Check it out man,, we were sitting in front of someone's garage.. that's damn cool lah.. Forget the restaurants, roadside food here is good, plenty and unpretentious... oh well. how to not be anyway..Don't forget the damn cheap beers. That blue girl beer brand (*shrugs) also not bad.... It goes well with foods you cant really find in Singapore.So, here's GIGANTIC oyster with lotsa green innards (dunno if thats the shit, intestine or brain.. or.. just some moss..). The oyster tastes funky, mushy, slimy...but after 3 fat ones I wanted to jump the Gan.so I think it's worth the eeek.After you have filled your tummy, it's time to sing it off.Go KTV, drink less so you're not so stupified and you can show off...HK people can't really sing but they think they really can, so it's a good chance to show 'em what we have or what we don't have..Well at least dont pretend that you have if you dont have..Nevemind me.Too much oyster. Interview: What's the Flyer like It was a grand afternoon at the Mezzanine @Hyatt, the blonde-wannabe was wearing a Zac Posen's tight, ruffled blouse and a not so matching tight culotes with bell bottoms, probably her cheap Yoga pants. She looked like she almost exploded from her clothes, but she just returned from States, maybe she gained a pound or two over Wendy's, Arby's and Denny's.And.. So, we chatted over white chocolate Macchiato and to-die-for maccaroons.Paparazzi: So, Miss Marcelly, you went on the Singapore flyer last week? Self-made socialite: No. It was 2 to 3 weeks ago. Please don't make things up.Paparazzi: Arr..Are you sure you really went up there? Not just one of your "high" nights?Self-made socialite: BASKET you!! I took photo of the bottom of the wheel, will that suffice?? %^&*#$!#&*@@Paparazzi: Ah well, maybe your friend passed you this photo. You can't be too sure!Self-made socialite: BASKET you!! Ok fine, here are pictures of me and my colleagues. Inside the capsule. Paparazzi: With your colleagues?? You're a socialite, how can you have a job?Self-made socialite: Ppphhh, whuteva. Look!! I am always hanging out, doing cool stuff with my colleagues and not being stuck in the office anyway, it's not a job! It's a lifestyle.Paparazzi:: Alruighty Missy, you can call a rose a rose. So how was the flyer.. Ocht.. you got some cocktail with the trip.Self-made socialite: Oh yeah.. it kinda tasted bad.. but it got me a bit high. So it's OK. It was an extra 30 bucks you know?Paparazzi:: Can't believe you paid almost 60 bucks to get on the flyer..You must like it a lot.Self-made socialite: Err,,, seriously? If my boss didn't treat us for it. I wouldn't get up there til like, another someone paid for it for me.Paparazzi:: Oh, you're bloddy cheapskate.Self-made socialite:: Oh, you shuddup! 60 bucks worth for half hour on a wheel? I can buy 2 shoes! or 2 jugs of beer! Would you go up yourself? You cheapo reporter.Paparazzi:: *grunt grunt* But how was the view?? Nice right? Self-made socialite:: I must admit it was, I can see the whole Marina area. But I couldnt take photoes properly, the glass window would bounce off my flash. It was crap!Anyhow, I was rather tipsy by the time we got 90 degree up. So, the view was quite a blur...It looked something like this.. Ha ha..(Seriously, the view was really nice from up there.. if you're a sucker for that kind of thing, the money is worth it and it is only romantic if you bring your other half with you, Gan wasn't there you see... I was a bit bored. My colleagues were talking about work.. sianzz..)Paparazzi:: Oh man.. it was a blur. SO what was the most reliable thing on the flyer?Self-made socialite:: Oh I think it was the alighting bit, I was running like hell to find my man Gan, he waited downstairs for me, I was running late for an appointment.*pengz* Honkonkong3 I am backkkkkkkkkk form a longgggggggg trip.Geez.z. I realised I am so behind.. before even start on my Us trip. I havent even finished on my Hk and Macau trip. I write loust diaries.. I think my diary woudl fire me.So here's a quick run through of 3rd day in HK..I was running late (as usual) to meet my babe, a dear client, old friend and old Oxfordian classmate, May.The babe is high flyer ok.. one of the smartest babes I know.Typical HK dim sum place, overlooking the great waters, cityline and adorned with the dim sum push carts.After that, we went to Stanley market.. near where the expats and the tycoon and Jackie Chan.,. etc. liveGosh the houses there ridiculously expensive. Just like Sentosa Cove.I saw Pizza Express and I quickly took photo of it, the Oxford branch of Pizza Express was where I spent about 8 months working as a waitress.. where I charmed people, got big tips and also poured wines over people's head, broke some glasses.. and told some rude Korean girl to take a hike and shove it up hers..Ah the nostalgia..This bay area has very scenic spots to take photo.. but you know I am not a sucker for this kinda stuff. I am one for clubing spots and shopping..But we took photoes nonetheless, coz I was doing the bloody touristy thing.Gan and me.May and me.A poor dying fish. Someone was fishing at the bay. I was tempted to throw the poor little fella back into the sea. But the fishing man may start to curse at me with Cantonese vulgarities.Please dont fish or hunt. Whats the point of obtaining joy over a dying other living being?Hor?After Stanley's, I went to see my Grand Aunt. yes she lives in Hk. Godoness, I have a global extended family that I hardly meet in my lifetime. Sad huh? Hurry someone invent a teleport.Me and Grand Aunt..@dinner.----Hk is good for night life... so we definitely didnt miss it out at all...Lan Kwai Fong..here we come!!The party area has nice buildings.. well. done up pubs etc.., but a stone's throw away would be another torn down blackening apartment with undies hanging outside the windows...But we were looking pretty gooddd..SHEESH!!! DAmn crowded can????It's like putting a full Kallang Stadium audience in the stretch of Muhammad Sultan in Singapore.and clubbing in Hk is a lil different. If you wanna go to hip clubs.. you GOT TO BE on the guest list.Well, naturally, so full of connection as I am (heh heh), May got us in fine =)The club was called Prive (private in Frnech me thinks).., just like my friend Michel Lu's new restaurant in Keppel Island.It was so private that the sign was only on the floor.. and nowhere else.We had to ask people.Tsk... so Prive for wadd...Here da people queuing...We definitely had fun... da people drinking.. da people dancing.. da people flirting and talking...Heh..And here da people DRUNKing afterwards.......Arggh.. I never look pretty in after clubbing pictures..Tarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Dear Diareee Heloo. I just came back from a 3rd world country with 1st class tycoons and gazillionaires.That is Indonesia.I was in Jakarta and Palembang. It was exhausting but fun and uberly enlightening.I will be boarding the Singapore Flyer on Monday evening, courtesy of my boss =)And on Tuesday I will be flying to the Unites States of A.I suppose I won't be writing to you for sometime. But I promise many good stories when I am back.xoxoCelly Love 'em or Hate em but you can't beat 'em I am really talking about the US of A.Goodness, I have such strong interests in current affairs.. oh well.. yes, I have been researching even more since I am a consultant for North American land investments and I parked so much money there. But i have always been fascinated by the USA. For their ingenius ways of winning.But this entry is purely my own opinion..I did blog controversially about the US before..if you wanna read about the Gulf War...Ach well.. that was some silly stuff =)Bear in mind that each time I write political account, I don't have stacks of research papers in front of you. Purely opinions of what I think is happening and if possible, a bit of wit and zest, har har..cause you know, most of the time, media paints whetever picture they want to paint, whatever the real truth is. The 'truth' is painted by whoever has the money and is getting the money.Since everyone has differing opinions, there is no right or wrong until it is one day proven and experienced by self, similar to faiths actually. So.. let's just take it with a pinch of salt.. and in the case I get into trouble, (which is not very likely.. cause you know I am so full of shits , they'd understand)... then I guess I know I am probably right..So I don't care if I am right..but I am gonna empty my brains now..Issue #1 - The Cold War then and the Cold War nowGo and watch the Charlie Wilson's war. I mean we all know that the Russians had to go down because they were to big a threat to the US economy.Sneaky and smart as the US were, they started the cold war and they won it. By camouflaging themselves and by being at the right time, at the right place, placing money (guns, tanks, resources at the right hands.., they beat the Russians.. now they are no longer a threat.. Well much less of one anyway. Though some unfinished business become something else but that's another story.The Cold war was then. Now it has shifted slightly to the South of Russia? Hmm..I don't see why people are making such a big fuss over China's 'booming' economy.Yes yes.., many tall buildings now.. less kampung (though geez.. numerous empty unleased apartments that little buyer would take over..). business thrives.. more China millionaires..open to the world..more trade.. index growth in 2007 showing is China incredibly overpriced now..because I think it was 20% truth and 80% hype..You know people right.. they like it when the news kanna goreng.Of course they are growing, who isn't? The whole world is growing. I am just saying it is not as rosy as people are painting it.China is heavily dependent on US and the Europe for business.One day, Mattel decided to discontinue one of its toy line as it was no selling well or it wasn't passing the QC... a couple of factories in China closed down and thousands of people lose their jobs. Ok no worries.. got other lobangs..They can move to some clothing factories that get paid pennies to make a certain Polo Tee with a horse sign on it.So, labour cost in China per shirt - $1material cost in China - $2various overheads in China- $2shipping and other logistics -$2- - total cost $7ooppppss... It reached the stores and it cost $78Sorry, forgot to mention.Mr Polo Tee gets $25 for royalty, his company's expenses and overheads (investors' dividends, salaries, office lease, shop lease.. blah blah..) $36, tax to US govt $10Hmmm... that's just a polo tee.. should I go on about iPods?Who's getting the real money. Seriously.Every one dollar China gets for a piece of product, how much does the mother company get?You do the math. And you think China can beat them one day? Very long way to go lah. They are not even civilised/ well -mannered enough to be ready to live in a first world country..Of course China has the most people in the world, we all know that and one day they might just one day dominate and all of us will have small eyes. But if you think they're damn powerful now.. let's look at the stats..GDP for 2007 -1 United States 13.79 trillion2. Japan 4.346 trillion3. Germany 3.259 trillion4. China 3.249 trillionThat's another 10 trillion more to go. No lah.. not yet. Taking over Germany should be anytime now. Japan is in some serious threat, I must say. Look at Japan's Nikkei, I haven't an index graph flatter than Kate Moss' chest before.But taking over the US. Hmm.. long long way..But now that you see everyone kinda watches the world blur by and see their money shrinking in the stock market. People also start to read series of 'shocking' news of the economy of the world..I would say.. relaxx...patience.. it's just part fo the process..- I just received emails saying that you shouldn't be buying sandals made in China either, the chemicals will corrode your skin. Oh, don't buy some toys made in China either, poisonous and some contain some sex drug (what a sicko)..Oh.. also.. Warren Buffet has pulled out his fortune out of China you know ya? Sorry, time to go somewhere else but thanks for ride, Warren might have said. The world has 'goreng' ed it well, many has benefited and now it's time to go somewhere else...Oh, don't support the Olympics either, they're no civilised to the Tibetans.Oh geez.. don't get China made medicines and diet pills .. like SlimTen . Oh wait.. don't buy the chickens from China also.. they said got bird flu!!.. Oh.. don't buy the eggs from China too.. they're fake. OH MANG! DANG lah!! What can I buy from China now?I wonder what sort of reputation they are getting for their products. Oh, it broke after a week, is it made in China?Hold on.. that's not true.. Of course you can buy made in China stuff, else you'd be deprived and naked.But please buy those with foreign label, one that says maybe Billabong.. or Ralph Lauren.. or GAP..or Coach..or Microsoft.. or Apple... they sure pass QC and you don't need to doubt the quality knowing how stringent they are with QC. Last but not least, this way, at least the bulk of the money still goes to some deep pockets in the West.I really can't imagine feeling shiok buying a very good quality leather bag with intricate tasteful design, with a 'NIAOBAI' written on it. Branding dude.. China needs a Brand manager, along with a quality and ISO manager.But maybe it will improve in time, but they better catch up. Of course, there's no stopping for these giants to go to Vietnam or Indonesia to outsource their products though. Especially if their quality is continously bad and prices keep rising. One day, Africa could be more utilised too.Let's talk about human stats in China, it used to be an overwhelming percentage growth, but thanks to the one child policy, it is way under control (in fact a little too under control), now there are 6 China man to one China woman. I wonder how they are to reproduce properly.But in terms of volume, no worries... still billions of them.. and they get rich..But then again,..The rich Chinese who become instant millionaires have packed their bags and moved to Canada, US, Singapore and Australia to live. Bye Bye China. Bye bye smelly toilets and dusty streets. I'll come back for holiday.OK I am totally generalising.. beg your pardon.You know I actually loved going to Shanghai. I was there so many times, shopping and eating, drinking free beer..but also busily getting diearhoea and breathing problems. Move to Shanghai? I'd say no thanks..Today, I read about Tibet feud again.. Oh just what the hell are they thinking. leave the poor tiny place alone lah.. peaceful people.. in peaceful country, .. and they have no oil!! let alone shoes or hair for goodness sake Leave 'em alone already,If this jeopardises the Olympics, they're screwed. China is at the edge of the cliff. Be careful."Sports and Politics should be 2 separate entities"... as quoted from ST today, well, when you're talking about a world event that size, how can there not be politics. Everything is politics.Pull out your money out of China already, buy US.Issue #2- Subprime what Subprime.Incredible as you may think, but for huge economies like US, it is healthy and necessary to 'cleanse' their economy once in a while. It's like the carbon cycle to the environment..They need to go around a cycle and reach a time where everything is low.. where money can flow in again from outside, ...Also, where the low dollar can help them pay off some loans.. at low rate.. yay...Let's see if the trick did it.Temasek and GIC flowed gazillions of dollars into US, our country's precious precious reserve flowed into Citibank, Merrill L, US property, lands, funds. The Arabic moneybags followed suit and I am sure many others did, non-disclosure. So, who has power over who now??Hmm.. I have a friend who is cocksure that the US will fall, then I think he should plan on moving out of Singapore. We have so much at stake there. Ar.. how can it be possible, the world will fall when US falls. No more McD, no more Starbucks, no more Microsoft, no more Apple, no more outsourced jobs, no more films.. (sobs..), no more Hollywood..(sobs...).. no more jobs.. no more money..Look left and right.. US companies are everywhere. Can't deny that.A kampung will only become a town when Mc Donalds step in.And goodness knows why McD's main business is real estate and not FnB.So now, half the world, (including out tiny little country's sovereignity) parks a big bulk of their lifetime savings in US. Imagine this scenario:"Hello.. I need a bit more help for this current project.. can you pull some strings? ... Hmm.. is that so??.,,,, But you invested so much in us, your people at stake too, ... you know.. you gotta help.. else.. you know.. it may not be so good for either of us.. oh.. uh huh? Oh, yeah.. that'd be good... Thanks!"Hey!!! It's just good business, ain't it.Well, 9% p.a Citibank coupon ain't bad at all for GIC, and when the sub prime, 'recession' is over, of course property prices will rise again, and with so much more capital now..Citi will be in the pink of health again. It's just a cycle.. money in.. money 'out', money in..We should have all predicted this subprime coming long ago.How can you give bleeding unqualified/semi-jobless/not-so-rich people loan for house?? On top of that, give them high interest with exponential growth too.. chey, I also know one day they cannot pay liao..No need economist to study.Good business tho.., but of course bo pian a bit of people hurt on the way.When actually, money only flowed from one hand to another during recession. How could it evaporate into thin air?Oh, Why Bleedin' Good Business again?Let me summarise in my signature crude way....Ok.. first of all, these smart, rich fellas in the institutions thought : "let's give out more loans.. (hey that's what banks do!! You think they make money by giving you 0.25% p.a?? NO! They earn by giving charging you 4-24% interests on your loans!)SO.. ok.think of those people who can't buy house cause they don't qualify for the 'prime' rate.. let 'em buy."Sure?" .. Yeah.. "Sure.."Let em buy.. Let the developers pocket the money. We give out the loan.... but.. aha! Let's give them extra interest... so that you know.. maybe they work harder to earn more.. haha! that'd be funny.. but no worries.. you know, cause in the event they can't pay up the loan..(which I think they can't anyway.. we slowly increase the rate k?...)... , we then take over the asset!! Win-win situation.Genius ain't it? In the meantime, let's get this amazing ROI from the sub prime mortgages, and let's sell them to the rest of the world.. we can get cut from it, leverage, expand and lend out even more!! How's that??So, for many many years, these poor people struggled to pay their home loans which went up like the Himalayan curves, and many rich people got richer accross the globe pocketing the good business!Finally, the inevitable came.. and the people got tired. One by one gave up trying to catch up with the rising interests and one by one lost their houses. The bank saw it coming.. ok time to take over the houses... oh now, it's slightly lower value liao.. it's ok! Will go up again.. We just write down.. it's ok.. Ocht!! our stock drops faster than a tart's knickers on a Friday night... it's ok!!! We can buy more! Oh.. wait waiitt.. we get more moneys flow in again, I am sure that THEY will support. They all want a 'piece of me'. (And they said Britney knows nothing about politics)And They did, who wouldn't? Having a stake at the world's biggest economy, coming in at the lower points?Even the princes of Arabs would mortgage his yachts and palaces to buy Citibank shares. (not that it happened, of course, he has extra money for this.. duh)Oh dear.. looks like it got a it overwhelming. Oh dear, lots of people accross the ocean in Asia lost so much money.. oh why their index follows our index?? Why do they follow us so much? Oh poor thing. But no worries..hang in there..We gonna cut the rates.. we gonna start all over again. These people can rent houses for now or move to cheaper places and buy cheaper houses ... move to Texas, Phoenix or something..(duh.. else what? They stay in the trees?? these people earn, just not enough to catch up with our interests..) , but this is temporary, soon they will be fine.. Slowly, we're back in business again.. Slowly.. but surely.. we will loan again...(geez. of cos we gotta!). we start low.. and prices will go up again.. and ah.. yeah the future may not seem very bright to you. But it seems so for us.Ocht! Some buddies support us from accross the oceans, more money on our side now. We have even more support now. Yay. Anyway, we accross the globe are waiting for opportunities in US to park into. (I personally see millions flowing into US real estate from Singapore through my company, every month. It's amazing. People are seeing the value, Singapore may be at the peak now, it's selling time (though noone wanna buy), but for US, it's buying time!! ). OK, back to US.Noone from overseas wanted to buy BearStearns today. I think it's because of the feng shui. How can we buy into a bank with BEAR on it. Bear market is just not good.Don't worry, BS is safe now, JP Morgan big bro bought over, right pocket to left pocketWait a minute, our dollar is pretty low now.. let's pay off some country loans to maybe the Japanese and some others (You know that US borrows shitloads of of money and roll it). Let them eat the low dollar...perfect timing.Oh dear, seems like now Boeing is finding hard to trade with us, our dollar is too low. How how? Ask them to lower the Euro la!! We need to pay off some loans first..Aye, many people in Europe cannot do business with us as well as they used to!! Hmm..how about, ...Stay low for awhile? How about we drive these buggers out of business first?? *ding* C'mon, we're like, the biggest consumer in the world. We perservere for a while and when they're under water, let's buy over!!Oh, wait a minuteee.. that China is now having trouble with Tibet.. what are they trying to do??Should we help? I mean we funded so many hospitals and civilisations accross so many third world countries. We are the big brother. We should help Tibet.. should we??Anyway, I really don't think China is ready to host the Olympics. You know that all of us were never gonna let it happen anyway right?? Our athletes are gonna fall ill with bird flu, smelly toilets.... there will be bad sanitation.. bad manners.. and the thing they've been doing to tibet is just mean lah.. even the Premier is SOOO mainland China he dares to accuse the Dalai Lama like that..Sigh... Hmm.. you know.. when others see crisis.. we see opportunity.What do you see?---HAHA!! I can't believe I thought of all those. Sorry guys.. I am very very imaginative.. It may make ridiculous sense.. but I enjoyed every bit of it. I think the US is total genius! They will go long way.. we shall see. I stand on my point. A couple of years from now, things look would ridiculously better. The best investments are long term. These sort of disturbances are just part of business. Opportunity creating.OK!!!! Before I get arrested... Most the above are of course fictions.. purely my own weird imaginations..Don't believe a word of it. Thanks!!! Selamat Jalan! Haizz....This Selamat bugger.. He must be the most famous person in Singapore right now. (In case you don't know.. tsk tsk.. , he's a JI terrorist prisoner who escaped the detention vicinity)Seems like his posters are overtaking Britney's or Fiona's posters, US recession headlines or even Malaysia's election headline.. now it's all about Selamat....He is More famous than me and he doesn't even have a blog...I think.It's Selamat everywhere..!!!!MRT, buses, lifts. staircasess.... even toilets... eh.. Hello!!! I want to do my business in peace laah.. why you remind me of him?Sad lah.. he's taking over our lives..he's done it again.. either by setting some terroric plan.. or just by escaping so that he 'terrorises' your mind...You must have seen the cute picture of him in different disguises..it may just come in useful you know?Who knows? He could be the auntie selling your tempeh in the market.. or the uncle selling kacang puteh... or that ah lian dancing next to you at Este bar..come.. must learn... we catch him together..I received this email telling me that Selamat must be in Malaysia by now, cause the causeway to JB has a big sign saying : " Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia".. Very farnee you guys..Anyway, if you play DotA.. you will understand if I say that Selamat must have a blink dagger..he blinked through the walls... that or he windwalked out of the cell..still windwalking now... Damn smart I tell you, he's got a lot of manna..Ok, Singaporeans,, we must hold on together.. print out the above picture and bring it everywhere you go.. keep a lookout...and if spotted something that MAY resemble him.. then immeeelllyy call 911.. like the poster say.. don't kay kiang cho hero..later he kicks you with his limping leg, you might explode. HK2008- Me and Ah Gan- Day 2 HONGKONG we're here AGAIN!!This is our 2nd day story... Today is the day we are out on an adventure.Adventure to our inner nostalgic childhood cravings...I dressed up ala Hong Kong La Mei, complete with revealed navel and mini michellin belly. Heh heh.. can't help but gain a bit of weight in HK, you know.. all the cheap beerr.. supper.. wantons.. duckss... pork ... more pork..dessert geez...How do the HK girls stay so slim, they must be reverse bullimic or something..Before we set out to the far end, we had lunch. At Max's famous Wanton mee.A bit more expensive than the normal fare, This one has whole prawns inside the wantons, nice springy noodles and for goodness sake I am not a food critic.Anyway it's at Central and it's quite famous, so probably good idea to tell people you tried it when you were in Hk or something like that lah..To be more IN, you know.We then boarded the MTR that headed to DISNEYLAND!!!!Yay, fret not my friend, if you are not a Disney fan.It is not a pre-requisite to enjoy the wonderland.Though of course, me, myself, and I am a TOTAL Disney fan.I grew up watching Donald Duck and singing all the princessy songs. I still do nowadays! Even more so after visiting Disneyland. I just bought the Disney princess collection CD to Gan's dismay and started singing them in our car... he wasn't very happy though, I think.Check out the MTR.. It's got Mickey's face all over, at the handle, at the window..AND HERE WE COME!!Ta ta ta ta....I know that for some, Disneyland is no biggie, especially HK one. It's way smaller compared to one in SF, Paris or even Tokyo.For me, it is a big deal OK. I love Disney and I have never been to Disneyland before this HK trip. So pardon my kampungness.Bear with me ok...Here's Mickey on top of the whale in Pinocchio's story.ANd me happy as clam.Here's Gan and me and Mickey's face again!!Be prepared to see a lot of these 3 faces.There's an old charm about the area. Dainty cars make great show offs here.We boarded the tram that toot-toot-ed around the place. HK Disneyland is rather small, mind you. I have been to much bigger theme parks in Blackpool, England but they didn't have Disney songs played over the PA system. What a boo boo.The dumbo ride is a classic. It is also a bore if you've been on it like umpteen times.Jakarta has theme park too you know? Dufan- Dunia Fantasi. So they had dumbo too. I have been on it so many times when I was wee, and and I grew sick of it already.so, we watched the shows... The shows were amazingly entertaining.For this Philharmagic, we had to put on 3D glasses. And boy, yes it was very 3D.I really felt like Donald Duck was spitting on my face, made me siam and realise it was just a 3 D trick and so I looked stupid. By the way they tricked all your 4 senses cause my face got really wet too. They had water sprays at the front seat targetted at your face. Very smart la. That or I am just easily impressed.Awww so hammsemm laaaMust remember to check this one out k..After that, Gan had to stop for food. What else could it be?? The man EATS!! with capital E.We orderred some dim sum and they were sucky.I guess Disneyland is good for many things, but not the place to go for food lah, obviously.Gan still gobbled them down anyway..I posed in front of more 'castles '. You know I am still that little girl at heart who wishes that she is a princess in a castle, wearing lavish gowns with layers, laces and sparkles... waiting for her prince charming...Sorry, I am a sentimentalist.. Those fairy tales still move me. I think I might tear when I tell bed time stories to my kids next time.There was also a parade going on. Pretty ladies made up to be princesses. Ah.. this I cannot be conned. They took away the meaning in fairy tales for me.Somehow, they tried to make it real and seem really fake, make me realise all over again that they were just wishful thinkings.Eu-Tjin bought ice creamss... And guess what?More Mickey's head!!! I tell you ah.. this is baddddd.. This is like teaching the kids to eat Mickey's head... argh.. How can they shape it as Mickey's head?TSK TSKIt's like cartooniballism.. I don't agree. I am very whimsical. They should stay fantastical and not in my digestive system.Ahaa.. Future world.. We went up for some rides..A car that is led by and more or else stuck to a bleeding guide panel in the middle.It's so annoying to drive. It's a kid's ride lah. What to do. I shouldn't even be in it. But since I failed my Advanced theory, ..I have to be contented for now...I am sure Gan agreed... sigh.. even I worry of the day I get my license.At 8 pm, There is the fire works and illumination show at the main castle. This was one of the snapshots... It was breathtaking, at least for me. I think Gan was quite happy too. Though I was making the most noise.This one is nice. =).. Awwww........We then went to the Disney Souvenier Store like any other conned tourists, but I guess we gave in anyway.. since y'know I am not a tourist every day.So we walked in and found many souveniers to buy... So so so many...keychains, soft toys, fridge magnets.. we spent a bomb there..But we found these head bandss... so cute right??Look at Mickey and Minnie getting wed.. hahahahaa...This entry is cute to even my own liking. Mang, hahah..This is the scene along the Disney street, at night. Hmm..Thinking back, it's quite nostalgic actually. The whole day there, I was like on lala land.. So happy to be in fairy tale.. But guess it's now time to go back...to the real world.So we took the traing back to meet Sandy at CauseWay Bay.. for dinner.We went for the HK cart noodles.Here's pretty Sandy posing for the cart noodles.So fun ordering it! You can choose many veggies, meat and spare parts to be put in your noodle.I choose spare parts like intestine lah.. blood lah.. but Gan is anti-spare parts for some reason..But his mom is so totally proud that he is so, which means that he has a healthy diet.After that we went for dessert....In HK, please keep your left tummy compartment empty after dinner, because you need to go next door to the dessert shop and eat some fattening but irresistible desserts.So, please... save space... seems like in HK, this is a trend.SO, of course Gan was more than happy to gobble down the dessert.There are so many to choose from, from the more angmoh pai one...Mango crepe wrap.. to the more CHeena one.. like pomelo and mango or the tang yuan and muachi..Anyway......Upon being well fed.. We staggered home and slept soundly.. It was another fulfilling day in HK..was looking forward to my 3rd day.. What to say..What to say... Dear Diary again,Geez.. it's been ages since I wrote a blog entry.It's been gazillion years since I wrote an entry properly.It's funny how I thought back that this was supposed to be my personal diary.Which of course, become very impersonal (duh.. it's online!)Then it took off because I used to write some funny, clever (or not so clever) stuff.Thousands of people read it and blogging became a career, which of course does not pay.Not in monetary terms anyway. But it has given many wonderful friends, lobangs and even clients.And I do realise that my blogging career is dwindling recently.I think it's a chicken and egg thing. I saw the comments going away, I thought the readers are going away (even Gan doesn't read it anymore!! That lazy mustard!) and I though, well... why am I writing so much for then?I met a couple of people the last few months who complained :" Why are not updating your blog..?"..Honestly, I am not so sure why. But perhaps many other things have taken precedence over my vainnes (@publishing my life online).. like DOTA and work. (what else could it be, right?)Then again, today I had one of those virtual lightbulbs above my heads (ala cartoon, ..eureka.. geddit?). Oh scmuck... this is my diary after all, I should write whenever I have stories to tell.It's not that I don't have stories to tell, I just seem to run out of energy to blog about it, by the time I finished laughing about it and telling a hundred other people about it over lunches or coffees or drinks.Before you think that I am going around the bush (which I think I am), what I am trying to say is that I actually miss blogging, I miss having confessions and audience.So, I am just gonna start by writing about what I've been doing these days.Well, of course I have been working, I fly over to Jakarta more often as I am handling more and more clients over there, the metropolitan which is built to fall.I have also been an avid DOTAer, very amateurish and a little annoying (especially when I make so much noise at the cybercafe, whilst Singaporeans.. you know, are very well behaved, even while playing DOTA). I think I should cut down on my swear words and exclamation marks. They started giving me the iffy look (argh.. screw them!)I have also been commuting between the West side (where mom lives) and the NorthEast (where Gan lives). I am guilty of bringing shirts I don't know how to iron (but my mom of course skillfully knows how to) from NorthEast to West side and carrying packets of Indomie from West to NorthEast, because I just can't be bothered to bloody cook. So far, the best meal I've prepared for my husband-to-be is Indomie KARI AYAM with a slice of cheese melted into it. He doesn't seem to mind so far, perhaps his mom would think I am causing all his malnutrition, which is of course, absolutely bollocks, because Gan looks like he is overfed.See, I can cook. Just don't tell me to cut vegetables, carrots, garlic for half hour beforehand. I would either cut myself or fall asleep doing it. Some people feel that's therapeutic or someshits like that.. see I can't even spell the bloody word, let alone feel it. It's just damn boring.I don't do housework for the same reason. It's bloody boring. (But of course I am trying to change.. see I have to be a little housewife one day...--I write this down.. just in case you know, Gan decides to read my blog again)How do I try to change? Well, I do hang the clothes and fold the clothes.. see this is not as boring as the rest cause I get to be creative. I try to hang and fold them in record time each time. Not that I really time it. I just decide if it feels faster than the last time I did it.Of course it resulted into a few arguments where I left some clothes in the machine and when I didn't hang them up properly (I never really understood what Gan means by properly.. hang means hang right?? He seems to be talking Greek to me about the amount of space from clothes to clothes and clothes cant be hung while crumpled... geez..problem la.. no room for creativity.. just like this little island.. a bit of creativity and you get fined or fired..or ostracised from society.. of course, they must mean the bad kind of creativity.. but the good ones.. well are not very appreciated.. like my eccentric Law essays in NUS.. No A plus.. just a lot of question marks.. eh!!!.......)That's that.. what else..Wow.. didn't know that's almost a whole page long.. too bad blog doesn't do word count. Else it would have been fun knowing how long an essay I've written for the day. Maybe there should be a blog judge. As in someone who marks blog. Give me my result please.. how well I fare today?? You want meritocracy?? I give you it lah!Before I seem to have something against the system, I better stop. Cause I am totally fine. You know, must appreciate what you have here.. stop your nonsensical remarks about us having too many ERP gantries or rising taxi fare.. you complain endlessly then move to Pakistan lah...So, before I get deported.. I must go on..I have also been travelling a lot. And even more so the coming months.Jakarta and Palembang in March, LA,SF,LV and Dallas in April, Jakarta and Bali in June, Jakarta again in July and September..Geeeezzz... by just thinking about them, I feel homesick already.Well, I am really looking forward to my US trip, not only because it's paid for (company biz trip cum holiday.. y'see?), but also because I have never been to the US. I spent a lot of growing in the other side of the world where people eat kidney pie, speak with funny accent and throw up their dinner after the pub closes.I really wanna see for myself if Americans are really as fat as they say.. Of course , when we look at glitzy magazines, they look frikkin slim and wrinkle-less, merci merci to Dr Botox and Dr Liposuckcion. (must be spelled that way, since it's about sucking your fats out)Other than that, I wanna go shopping. I heard the COACH bags are frikkin cheap.. Agh.. then how come they're ripping us off everywhere else. But ocht well, Coach, Kate Spade, Polo RL, Tommy H are on my check out-list.I will refuse to buy anything from Victoria Secrets though. I just don't think it makes sense, paying so much for a piece of cloth (not even very much of it), which were cut and swen together somewhere in Indonesia and my brother's friend's dad is getting all the profit.Not that I have anything against them of course, they're very lovely.. with their swanky McMansionS, Yachts, PJ (private jets..cough cough)They're lovely! I just don't think they need my charity..Plus, geez.. who's gonna know if I am wearing VS or Triumph or some bargain brands underneath? If they're Comfy, don't give weird VPL, camel toe or loose rubber or weird cone-shape, then good enough la..Not like I wear them outside my shirts and pants. See.. this is where I am really smart. I save money for the outside clothes.. where it matters.. where people can SEE and oggle..Some hearsay about wearing nice sexy lingerie for your boyfriends..? Agh. what a myth.Don't be fooled by those evil marketing gimmicks.. They are just to make yourself feel goooood.It don't do naught for the guys.Guys are the last people who take notice about what brand of lingerie you wear. Most of the time, they won't even notice what colour or cutting...blah blah.My man won't even notice unless I point it out to him, scream at him and BLATANTLY ask for opinion. Still, he would shake his head.. "Why waste time and money for all these? Gonna take 'em off anyway."See, I am not trying to promote anti-branded-bra campaign or someshits like that. I just prefer spending my money on real clothes that actually cover your body (that's the real objective right?????)I don't even buy that many jeans. It's very acceptable for someone to just have 2 or 3 pairs of jeans and black pants, they are staples but.. They all look about the same anyway.. for Goodness sake. Better buy more tops and jackets and blah blah.. People will notice if you wear the same jacket everyday of the week. But it's acceptable for jeans.. hey.. lazy to wash mahh.. you know jeans can last a week without washing right? (For some reason, it is less succeptibel to dirt and dust.. see still clean...) Voila!Today I sound like I am writing some trashy new-age girly novel. Or maybe a ranting column in Cosmo or Vogue. Geez.. maybe I should apply for the position.Next time, I better write cleverer (such superlative? better be.. so cute!) stuff like on politics, economics.I maybe hopelessly unacademic in these fields..(so what? f**k those meritocratic people.. they are frogs under a TONG sampah!)...BUT... but I get more than my fair share of kopitiam talks on them..first hand noe? hey.. what to do? My friends and clients are very very the atas and highflyer one you know? I don't need to know what or how.. I just need to know who to ask from. Sorted.Who needs to go to school? I can write any bashing essay about any politics, current affairs and Econs.... tremendously WELL (which means interesting.. not necessaily accurate.. but somehow makes sense..)Blah blah blah.. more ranting.. ok enough for today. back to work..Love,CELLLLLLLLLLY HK first day- me and ah Gan Me and Gan flew to HK end of last year to blow off some valves and blow off some savings.We had the honour of staying at Sandy's cosy lil' abode. The babe works for alibaba.com in HK.Here we start the adventure...The corridors in HK apartments are much narrower.From outside, most of them don't look better or newer than HDBs, but they have more character.Apparently they don't see the value in hiding the A/C compressors. They were all out on display.Ugly, blackish, dirty or old.. they do add to the character. But I think wah lau.. put some effort to hide it a little la at least!And the post boxes are green.The flats are much smaller for the same price, Sandy's 2 bedroom is located near the MTR on the HK island and it's 600sq ft. Cosy size but in Indo, we call it the 4L home. 4L = Lu lagi lu lagi.Which translates to You again You again.We ride the MTRs like good citizens. We noticed that EVERYONE, well almost everyone, is holding a Nintendo DS and totally engrossed in his own world. DS sales must be good in HK.The weather was a tad chilly and we were happily wearing clothes we couldn't wear in Singapore.wollen sweaters.And knee high boots..And we feel so at home. HK rocks. I would love to move here for a while, but I would still go home to Singapore after a few months or years. Nothing like our little sunny island.Hi snice in the winter/autumn but during summer, the weather's a byatch I heard. Plus the dust and the pollution, I think summer in Singapore much better.We had lunch at Central and I noticed that everyone was watching a TV serial in the restaurant!!Like machiam cinema lidat!I had shark meat ball, frgrant and a refreshing change.Gan and his huge portion of noodle.The bugger gained 3 kg in HK.My mom kept asking how come he looked so fat when he came back to Singapore.We then went all the way to the West side of the island, to the ulu-er area. Tung Chung.The place has favtory outlets with great bargains for shopping. It was a must.We shopped til we dropped!Here are the shopping bags.. before we got a few more bags from Giordano. The T shirts were less than 5 bucks Sing, each!My Kate Spade bag was on 30% off, his Bally wallet 50%... I see why they call HK the shopping haven.We then took the bus to Discovery Bay/D bay.Where the angmoh expats live, among other chi chi Hk residents with cars, cause the place is so ulu. You either take ferry or bus.The houses there STILL do not hide their A/C compressors. But at least they try to camouflage them by painting them the same colour...hmm..Around the estate, they can choose to commute with buggies.The D bay itself was beautiful.It was a central place for eating, entertainment, etc.It also overlooks the Disneyland.So at night,, they can peep at the fireworks every 8 pm from the the bay.The breeze was blowing us away..It was just so romantic.Gan and me tried the mediteranean restaurant and orderred kebab dishes.The portions were huge.It was good stuff!!We then took the ferry accross to the central area, to meet Sandy and her colleagues.Here's my new KS bag.. Loved it.When we've reached the other side, the scenery changed totally. They were all skycrapers and luminous lights filling up the night view of the cityscapeNice too.. But it looks like Singapore leh. Singapore cityscape is just as beautiful you know? I was looking over the padang from the 30th floor of the Raffles Swisotel. Very nice!We then met Sandy and her colleagues. All of them are Singaporeans who were working in HK. They all missed Singapore food so badly that they were willing to pay exorbitant prices at this Singaporean restaurant!The oyster omelette, the kangkung belachan, all costs about 50-80HKD each (about 10-16 SGD),the horlicks and teh peng were like 25HKD which is 5 SGDbucks each.. I say: Siao AH!!The chilli crab was probably was most worth it cause its pretty ex back home too..Poor stranded Singaporeans... tsk...Me and Gan refused to order or eat a single thing they served there. I don't think we were being cheapo.. We were being smart and efficient. he hehWe then walked around the Central area. It's supposed the CBD of HK. With all the expats hang outs and MNC offices.But I see that the houses are still the same.With brasserie and underpantie hanging outside the windows too.Totally got character la..We then vistied the road side eaterie. Oh yeah.. now we're talking, good and cheap. 2+ SGD for a miniscule portion of wanton mee. But at least it's nice and rather filling. And we didn't feel so ripped off.After that little pre-supper,we went drinking at Sahara, a mediterranean hang out @Central. and that's why the photo stopped coming, I couldn't remember to shoot anything other than the alcoholic drinks.Mang, the beers in HK are dirt cheap though, especially if you go to the 'kopitiam' or the road side stalls or supermarkets. In that chi chi places, it is reasonable. I would say, still 20% cheaper than Singapore's chi chi places' beer prices.For someone who drinks more than he eats or travels, like ah-gan. I think he should move to HK, the 20-50% discount on 50% of his monthly expenditure (alcohols) is way worth it.Aite... so that was the first day story.Stay tuned for 2nd day. Calling the Clan Any of you play Dota? Frozen Throne?I am so hooked on it. Back home in Jakarta, we (me and Gan) go to the cybergames cafe everynight.But I don't know how they do it in Singapore. Battle.net is it?Anyone keen on hitting the cyber cafe? Maybe the one in The Cathay?LEt me know, I think Dida is dying for Dota kakis as well. il Lido baby Taking a break in Singapore used to revolve among:moviesmakanshoppingmore makan..club..more makan..Now we can sail away for a few hours with uber posh yachts, which nibbling on tantalizing canapes, sipping on champagne.. watching the sun sets and the Sentosa's fire works..and then more makan on the yacht.. Singaporean just cant live without ample makan-ing.My nice and loaded boss treated the division to a day at the Il Lido..We sailed off from one15 the Sentosa Marina yacht club..Hmm... the yacht club is well glassed and well built... althought the scenery around it is not fantastic.. at least for the time being..It's filled with condos.. under construction. Sigh....I suppose it would look way better when they're all completely developed.But the yachts were gorgeous......And the water was clear and turqouise...No sewage or funny smells too..ANd here we are.. ready to savour all of 'em.....I was looking around the docks, the yachts seem really exorbitantly pricey..Maybe I can start off by buying a little plastic sampan like the one below..Heh...We boarded the lovely Il Lido and posed.. hey we don't get to do that every day you know?The yacht is little floating and roaming house.. it has balconies, sun decks, rooms, dining room, kitchen, storage room.. man.. we can sail for months..Here's the master bedroom..The master bedroom has 2 toilets and a 40 inch LCD TV..We were playing tabooo there..Then here's the second bedroom..It's a trapezoidal shaped room/bed... it's tiny but it's cosy enough.Here's the captain's deck... it's not called the cockpit is it? cocks don't swim, they fly..so maybe it's the duckpit.Here's pretty Jo, the sky and the sea breeze...We packed ourselves on the top deck and played drinking games..We had freeflow of beer and champagne all day long.. lovely eh?After we got a bit high.. Some started swimming..The yacht stopped at a neighbouring island.. Lazarof island or something.. it was pretty, with clean white sands.. hey... bet you didn't know Singapore has nice, untouched beaches eh?SO.. here's my thigh. the sunset and the Lazarof island off Singapore..Imagine! There were people there.. some company was having a team building session there..Not that untouched after all, I suppose.But it was amazing to find a spot like this in Singapore. I really wouldn't have dreamt it.We also thanked our boss by pushing him down to the sea and get him soaked up...Hahhaa.. Here's him drying up..We then drank some more, watched fire works, had dinner, played more stupid games.. played taboo..and before we knew it.. it was time to go back to land and back to reality....We left Sentosa one 15 at 6 pm and we returned at midnight...It was a trip of sea breeze, sea water, sun set, fire works, champagne, luscious dinner served by Il Lido (a chi chi Italian restaurant in Sentosa), great company and that marvellous, chi chi indulgence ....Lovely........Buena Sera, Il Lido...! Grazie mille.......=)We'll be back! 2008 is a good numberr I spent the last few hours of 2007 playing Monopoly with Gan and my good friends in Katong.We then ran to East Coast Park to watch the ships flare up their emergency crackers, almost late for the countdown.. Not one of us was shitfaced and I was just nicely pinkish, done by a can of beer and liquor-ed tiramisu.I don't know if we are getting old, borin or wiser.. or maybe it's just a time-out from the crazy life. It felt good though. I think we are just normal people who get tired from having delirious nauseous parties.We were sober... though my friends think I was not. but I was.And we were having lots of fun and lots of laughter.. what a whale of time.We hugged and wished everyone a fabulous new year..So here're more hugs and wishes:"HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!"May all your dreams come true and all of your days are filled with abundance of joy, good health and fortune!!Cheeriosss!!! All da dramas in our life Yesterday, I watched The O.C season 3.The drama sucker that I am. I was almost immediately quicksanded into a whirlwind of emotional rollercoaster and I was hooked again.Dramas are wicked, serious.The Cohens is a model family, with twists and problems which are very real in our own daily lives too.. I love watching how the father speaks of wise words and how the family sticks together..Then the neighbour's wife married a rich tycoon who died and left supposedly lots of mulah..suddenly the neighbour's hubby came back.. perhaps eyeing for the money and proposed again to his ex wife.. then they realised the will was invalid cause rich tycoon was broke..then the neighbour's wife got kicked out of the palatial mansion..and moved into a street trailer wearing her Manolos, driving her own U-Haul..and the ex husband cum husband-to-be did his disappearance act again... then the daughter got caught for shooting an ex-con.. then the wife got into rehab for drinking.. then there's always that bad egg trying to act out their con artist stunts.....then the son got into trouble again...LOVE IT LOVE IT! So drama.. I did a slight reality check.. From very rich to very poor - checkedFor getting conned by con artists - checkedDisappearing of the husbands - checkedThe comeback of the husbands - checkedBig family fighting over money or will - checkedWell, I guess, we have other more exciting dramas that the O.C didnt think of. ha ha!The never talk about bomoh spells and voodoos that those evil Medusas catapulted onto people's husbands..I would say more than 60% Indonesian husbands (rich ones).. are affected! Those evil medusas use to be mainly the local Indonesian ladies and now the mainland Chinese ones are infesting rapidly too.Tsk. Tsk. I have seen one too many.But then again, without all these dramas in our lives, I guess life would otherwise be utterly boring. We will have nothing to learn about.So, I suppose I ain't complaining. I am just cherishing. I forgot to mention about the lovely moments too actually. In between the dramas.There were many and they were heart warming. When people kissed and made up. ..When they realised integrity comes first.. when two people realised how much they loved each other.. when a family realised how important it was to stick together... And we do live by these interludes. They are the skeletal structure that keep all the dramas together.Me and my mom actually received some enlightening wisdom from those Korean dramas..for example, there's always that evil 3rd party and it's never a one sided fault. That two people should self-reflect.. how we got so annoyed by those 3rd party biatches.. but actually, they are quite pitiful also... And we should look at things objectively! but K dramas seem to be running out of plots. after watching so many, they all seem to have similar startings and endings.. I think The O.C was a fresh change for a while. But K dramas are still better than HK dramas, some really can't make it.. like that Angela what, some HK actress. I can't stand watching for more than 5 minutes. On a lighter note, I just boarded the il Lido yacht, and visited HK and Macau.I am gonna upload the pictures soon, once I can find the bloody USB cable... O' ye famillia de felicitas The trip back home to Jakarta had mixed feelings attached to it.My family gathered around the ICU room where my grandma was. She had a stroke a day before me and mom arrived.We cried and everyone cried. Cried til the day she was freed from the hospital 2 days later.We then cried at the casket parlour and we cried again at the funeral.Nothing lasts forever, this I know. Where there is a meet up, there is a parting.Inevitable.It's just that it was too fast, too rushed. Just a month ago, granny was in Singapore, touring Sentosa with us, watching the fireworks.My mom's mom has left us. It scares me. One day my mom would have her turn and I teared. I don't think I ever want my mom to leave me. I am selfish that way.Everyone else's moms can follow to the rule but my mom is an immortal. Period.Thinking back, the people who cried the most at the funerals, with non-stopping black faces and bad moods were actually the ones with piles of regrets.Regrets of not doing enough. Of not giving enough. Of not showing enough. Of not caring enough.I want to make sure that I give my best to my parents and those I love the most, before it's ever too late. It starts now.Jackie once said that I can't be an O - blood type. Cause I am not Mother Theresa. I am not that generous to society.Yes I am not, I don't give to the whole world or to the whole of Africa.I am an A+. I only give the best to my family.And I am standing on my ground.On another octave, dad was there all the way. From the hospital to the end. He supported us like the father he is and the husband he was.But now that dad is back in the picture. I guess there is light in the other dimension.We all missed dad. He wants us back. We want him back. But we know that we should all take it slow. We told mom to go slow, make friends first.We all giggled, they seemed like they were just starting to get to know each other all over again.Maybe at my wedding, people'd be asking: " Are they back together?"And I might just say :" Well, they're close..maybe they're dating.. "I think their love story can be converted into one of those K-drama series.My mom started comparing her own drama to the K drama and drew some wisdom. She seems to understand the big picture more. How misunderstandings, pride and anger were always the WALLS separating couples who actually loved each other. And there's always that annoying 3rd or 4th party in the drama and they are always the ones we throw pillows at.Very good. K Drama is good stuff.Anyhow, I missed dad already. Dad introduced me to a few potential new clients too and I think I am ready to break into the Indonesian market soon.I went home, spent a bomb on everyone's flight tickets and the hospital bills and funeral proceedings but I managed to close a few deals in Jakarta. So it's okay.Dad is supportive. In that one week, I talked to dad more than we ever did in the last 3 years. It was splendid.All 5 of us actually spent a whole day driving around Jakarta, from granny's house to the shopping mall, to Krispy Kreme eating donuts, to shopping at Giant, to having dinner at my aunt's Penang Restaurant.We are back as a family and we know, from his eyes, from his warmth. We know he missed us and loved us.We know.And we all pray for the best. Whatever it may be. The skies today are abit sombre looking.I just received shocking news from Jakarta. I will be flying back tomorrow afternoon. Just bought the tix online an hour ago.Looks like the clothes packed are rather dark coloured. I am leaving so much work behind.But I think I better stand by my family.'Nothing lasts forever..' Halloween 2007@Zouk This year, participants for Halloween get a little more creative and daring.There were more skimpily and scantily dressed little women with sequinned lingerie peeking our and a lot A LOT of thighs. Perhaps Halloween clothing materials are pricey.But somehow, they had enough materials to make wings to be put on their backs and block everyone's right of ways.I enjoyed looking at them too. Curves everywhere. But sorry I didn't snapshot those images. They were too mezmerizing I forgot to take out the camera.So, I have the more "Halloween" kind of pictures. The girls were more fitting for "Playboy or Penthouse" parties.A cross between a Rouge ninja and a suicide bomber from Iraq.8/10My lovely brother dressed up as cute Japanese boy. 9/10 (biased one)Fresh from the Getai festival. Not bad idea also. No need to dress up twice.Seen before.. so 6/10Chinese ghosts, complete with the ghost reverend... parked their butts at the pavement. Not very glam.But maybe it's the theme. Also seen before. So 5/102 ThaiKatz, me and my bro.A pair of Thai ladyboys.. complete with 'boobies', lots of thighs, catty make up and tomyum accented English. Very rara and very sporting. 8/10.Anyhow, it was a bad experience, we couldn't even enter Zouk. It was packed to an unhealthy limit and those girls' angel/satan/whatever wings were blinding everyone else on the way. Literraly. By slapping all over our eyes.We need Zouk II. Someone franchise??Sigh..So how scary was halloween, really??I think my Mr sushi smiley man is scarier.I am going on a yacht tomorrow, courtesy of my lovely bosss!! Thank you bossssssss!!! We love you!!!The yacht will leave ONe15 Marina, full with Il Lido Italian buffet dinner on board, wine and the sea zephyrs... we are going to ..........Kusu Island...Well, can't expect a Phuket or Bali in Singapore, can you?DOn't complain lah.. free trip. I heard he paid a hefty 300 bucks for each of us, and there are almost 20 of us. I think my boss is damn loaded..=0...I am also going to HK and Macau end of November. With Gan.It's good that we are going for long holidays together for first time. See if we can stand each other!!! Haha...It's out first anniversary next week.. wonder what he has up his sleeves.. *HINT HINT*Speaking of suicide bomber just now.. Achmed is the coolest suicide bomber ever. Jeff Dunham is a genius.. GO WATCH!!!!!!!!!!! Weddings and Reunions For the past few months... Gan and I have been hitting the North South highways a lot,wedding after weddings.. seems like it is TIME. Heh. For our turn I mean.Anyway, Gan just loves the highway. That's the only chance he can rev his car up. Bah!Anyway, might as well speed along the N-S highway. Cause even if you don't.. they will still fine you for "speeding". Sorry sir.. you went at "121 km/h".. WHAT??Might as well go all the way at 200 km/h and pay the same fine.. "Sorry sir, this time you sped at 121 km/h"...Again ah?? Your camera jammed or what?Anyhow, going for Teik Wynn & Joce's wedding was reallllly fun.It was like a uni reunion as well. It's been ages since I met up with some of the Oxford geniuses, it was fun fun fun.Here are some pictures..Me Darren and GanMe and Tse Wen, hysterically laughing.I can't remember why though.Tse Wen is an uber bachelor, talented, cute, nice and super smart. Email me for quotation. =pVoila. all the smart asses. =pCongrats to TW and Joce !! (middle)Me and Jeremy.. checking the ang pao?? HAHa.. no lah..I don't know what we were looking at so intently.You know, Gan impressed me again there.Among all the Oxfordians, he felt totally at ease.And when they were reciting their college names one by one at the groom's room after the party."Exeter college..", "Jesus College", "Balliol..." me: " Pembroke College"..Gan simply recited with a big smile :" Inti College".The rest laughed with him. He is totally comfortable with his own skin, and that's damn sexy.There's no reason whatsoever that he should feel inferior. Because Gan is damn smart anyway, He holds a University of Coventry honours degree. And I believe he is just as smart as the rest. If he were lucky enough to be given a chance to study at Oxford, he'd probably make it there anyway. We all know that. And he is so confident, humble and he is so human. No gimmicks. Gan is the man!!!And personally, of course I think he is the cutest. TODAY I FAILED THE BLOODY ADVANCED DRIVING THEORY TEST!!#$%&^*^&(&*(&^^%%!!!!!!!!!!!1I KNOW A LOT OF YOU PRAY AND WISH THAT I CAN NEVER DRIVE ON THE ROAD TO MAINTAIN SAFETY!!PLEASE OWN UP!!!!Brrr.. =p