wondering how we managed to keep our appointments in the past without handphones.

it's time to start scrutinizing resumes again.. and comparing them.. and interviewing the writers..

been church-hopping for the past few months. first it was because we're not sure which church we like best, and we also wanted to survey the choir groups to see if we'd like to join one of them. after a while we are now used to the flexibility of church-hopping habit - attending saturday sunset mass to be able to get up late on sunday mornings or attending sunday mass if we have something on on saturday nights.


I kinda miss singing in a choir, though. with real practices. maybe it's time to settle down.

saturday - tried to 'organize' a small lunch gathering which didn't materialize. also helped out a friend to 'organize' dinner gathering with lukewarm responses. *so much for deciding to stop pointing myself as an EO*.. but then we decided to proceed anyway. had claypot rice for dinner at nearby coffee shop. it was either so popular or they were just slow, but we waited like 30 mins for the claypot to arrive. it's quite nice, but as usual, the dark sauce used was the kind that is super dark but not sweet at all. dinner was then followed by citadel game. this time round we finished the game, and it's not even midnight yet.. next was a round table gossip session accompanied by a basket of mangosteens and a bag of duku.

sunday - watched harry potter and the half blood prince at downtown east. m1 was having a 1-for-1 movie ticket promo but it was fully redeemed for the day, so we used our cathay movie voucher. surprise, surprise.. given the monotonous storyline and the showtime which was quite late, I didn't doze off at all! I guess I've heard so much complaints that the movie's super boring, so I came in well prepared :)

ok. so I've now been there and done that :))

being in the vicinity and my stubbornness for not heeding the bad reviews I've read, we had dinner at white tangerine cafe located at paya lebar kovan CC. they had both indoor and alfresco dining area. a few boardgames were also provided. there's supposed to be live music as well.


we ordered baked rice and specialty pasta. baked rice arrived first. after a while, we inquired on the whereabouts of the pasta. the waiter went frantic, checked our order on the stacked receipt and called his cook who was serving food at that time to get back to the small kitchen. my seat was facing the kitchen directly so I observed the cook came back to the kitchen and quickly prepared the pasta. three minutes later, voila - here came the pasta.


both baked rice and pasta were mediocre at best. we had to ask twice for ice water as well. and it was priced at 30 cents a glass. we were not told anything about them charging for ice water. or maybe I missed it when reading the menu.


indoor cafe ambience was alright. music was loud but still acceptable. the only nuisance was from one of the tables at which 5 teenagers were seated - 4 girls and 1 boy. OMG they're super loud, playing games, cards and whatnot. we quickly finished our food and left. won't be back.

been thinking of trying this bakmie stall at IMM bagus foodcourt since I read about it in a mailing list. so finally this afternoon we headed down all the way to IMM for a bowl of noodle and its fried wanton (pangsit goreng)..


we ordered bakmi with beef balls - one bowl with fried meatballs and another with boiled meatballs ($3.90 per bowl). plus the fried wanton with dipping sauce for side dish (80 cents for 3 pcs). the noodle was served with boiled vegetables and chicken meat - indonesian style.


on its own, the noodle was good. but what enticed me here was the remark that it tastes like bakmi GM, one of the famous noodle in Jakarta. thus I couldn't help but comparing the noodle with bakmi GM's.


so, comparing it with bakmi GM, IMM's bakmie was too thick, wanton's too thin, and dipping sauce was not sweet enough. the most authentic one must be the beef balls.




went to daily scoop cafe for dessert afterwards. enjoyed warm waffles with butterscotch pecan ice cream. loved the pretty mural on its walls. one of the many interesting quotes there: "life is too important to be taken seriously."
=)

organized a small reunion for ntu-ce friends at chili's this evening. as usual, although everyone's just a click away, we only meet up when somebody we know is in town for a visit. besides special occasions like weddings, of course.


after several rounds of facebook messages, sms-es and ym chats, finally 10 of us were able to make it to chili's for dinner.


chili's does not accept reservation. we arrived quite early, requested for a table, and were given handphone-like device that'd beep when a table's available for us. we were told to wait around 40 mins, and the funny thing was that the device was usable only within 2nd floor. luckily we wandered around only for 15 mins before the thing beeped. we promptly settled in and waited for the rest to arrive.


since the portion was generally huge, we shared the food. I lost track of all the items ordered as I was seated at one corner. managed to snap only the dishes at my side: tostada chips, chili sauce, classic nachos, triple play, crispy honey chipotle chicken, and fajitas.


tostada chips and the drinks were refillable, perfect for sharing :) classic nachos came with sliced jalapeno on top, and guacamole dip. triple play was a starter item consisted of boneless buffalo wings (too salty and too sour), chicken crispers (so-so) and southwestern eggrolls (not that nice - springrolls would be nicer). the best item would be the honey chipotle chicken that came with corn and fries.


service was really good. the waiters were polite, friendly and attentive. and the bottomless items were really bottomless, they served the drinks regularly. the only hiccup was when my friend asked the waiter to pack the rib bones for their dogs at home - plastic bags came but the bones were thrown away.. =)


all in all it was a great gathering at chili's.




as the night was still young, we proceeded to the nearby dempsey hill for a cuppa. most cafes were packed, and we finally managed to get a small table for 7 at dome. it was my first visit to dempsey hill, and I was quite impressed. it was really different from other common destinations - lush greenery, open space. I guess I'll return one day.

thanks for reminding me on the secret of life.

Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.


Second Glance - Jodi Picoult

tried house of soto at east coast road. I first heard about this eatery from my weekly magazine, and this afternoon I decided to test it out.


first impression wasn't that great. the place was located next to a few car service shops which were occupied by parked vehicles. it's difficult to maneuver around the parked cars as they're tightly packed. we went it, chose our own table, and sat down, wondering what should happen next. after a while I walked to the cashier and requested for the menu. the lady (I guess she's the owner of the place) told her waitress off for not keeping eye on customers. then the menu came.


they have quite a lot of variety in the menu, I was tempted to order ayam kalasan. there were also gado-gado, nasi uduk and several others. but we decided to stick to the specialty - soto. we ordered soto ayam, soto betawi, ice soda lychee and ice timun. before the main course came, we were given complimentary biji salak - sweet with generous coconut milk.




both soto ayam and soto betawi were superb! flavourful - no condiments needed, although they provided slice of lime, chilli, sweet soy sauce, salt and pepper. they're packed too - the soto ayam came with perkedel, shredded chicken, boiled egg, tang hoon and thinly sliced fried potato. the soto betawi came with tender beef cubes, sliced tomatoes, fried potato in bite size and emping. not to forget the fried shallots and spring onion. impressive!


although the bowls did not look that big, they were quite filling. especially after we had our drinks. the ice soda lychee and ice timun were nice too, refreshing. the ice timun had slices of red paprika too - I was wondering initially whether it's paprika, tomato or red chilli.


as if we're not full enough, there's still another complimentary item - banana fritters with chocolate sauce! wow.. I guess they're really trying to woo customers to come back. I will.. :)

sdlc. effort estimation. approvals. centralized repository. self-study.


with every step, you climb another mountain
every breath, it's harder to believe..

this year's general election is much better than previous ones. I opted to vote through post by indicating it in a website, and then again through sms. today I received the letter, ready to be marked and sent back to the embassy. hurray for the convenience :)