POP Oh !!!!!!!! So ... the last post was like just before I entered BMTeeeeeee. Now I'm out (like FINALLLY) ... And got a GREAT posting too (but this may mean [TOUCH fucking wood] that there is a possibility of me GAINING WEIGHT !!!!!) Dad attended my parade, was supposed to be with my cous, but he bailed out LAST minute.... wasting away one tix .... The best part of the parade was, I would fly off to Shanghai the very next day :P haha. (my dad calls it "part 2 of the parade")

This was taken at Suzhou (some town near SH, known for its water villages) I'm wearing my "matrix trenchcoat" on top of 3 layers of clothing .... cause the temperature then was like freaking below 10degs. (having less body fat also means my resistance to cold has gone down. Seriously, I'm not joking, and I have realised this for a fact).

We originally booked a tour with Chan Brothers, but because I had to leave before the intended 10days was up (due to army...), we decided not to follow the tour till its end, so as not to waste time travelling and going to places which are not as scenic/ exciting as we would like it to be. Also, we already knew SH at the back of our hands which made me question my dad's move to book a tour to SH of all places haha.. He even commented that his friends would laugh upon hearing that he followed a tour group around SH. We did inform the tour guideS that we would be leaving after 2 days, but what really pissed my dad off was their constant referral back to the subject of payment which included the days we did not tour. They did not bother to ask for more details like what time or where we would leave ..... So on the morning of the 2nd day, we just packed up and left. Took a train down to SH from Hangzhou. Tour agents SMSed my dad about the outstanding payment, and he refused to reply to the msges, and we were officially listed as MIA !!! Chan Brothers contacted my mum and filed some police report stating we were lost in Shanghai.

We were eventually "found" (or more like my dad was) when he used the tour agent booked tickets to get back to singapore after 10days [by then I had returned to SG on my own]. Issues were resolved at the airport and happy ending.

XMas 2008
Anyways, this years XMas wasn't as "festive" as it was in previous years for me. (my friend says that I owe it to age and NS). Xmas also reminds me of a stupid/ sad incident in my life on this very evening 2 years ago. .... . which added on to the sianzation of this years celebrations. ..

XMas eve was spent with family and relatives at my relative's place for a gathering/ xmas party. The food was not too bad, I got to give them that. Ate some white coloured wrap which tasted like seafood, but did not look like one, although it was still awesome (my other cousin can vouch for that as he liked it too). Then there was turkey and wine and fried Rice etc. But the "problem" with these gatherings, is that after dinner, nothing much happens.

Adults go on with their talks on politics and finance (this year's was probably one of the most "exciting"for them due to the sudden and dramatic changes in world's financial status). The children (or young adults) will then cluster together and do their own stuff. There isn't really much bonding time in that sense, other then during dinner (which isn't also tt strong as we just sit around and eat). But I guess, from talks with friends that my family is not the only one with this "situation". Perhaps its just in the culture of asian families to gather over meals (like reunion dinner) and not do other stuff like participate in games/ activities together. Anyway enuf of that....

Xmas was spent with Kiwi and JX at JP2. We wanted to watch Australia, but bailed out when we checked that the show was 3hours long and the next available timing was at 9pm ..... cause transport home would be an issue, and I had to go to "work" the next day. We then decided to just eat a nice dinner, and I got them to eat NYNY (I've been like dying to go there for some time now, particularly after I saw people at WC Plaza eating NYNY whilst eating at SIAM Kitchen on the 2nd floor last month).

Another eatery I like is Xin Wang HONG KONG kitchen (now we all know that they(Hong Kong) don't just produce good girls haha....)

I ate this fish rice thingy, whilst my friend at the Mui Fan. Both good, though I thought the mui fan was better. Best of all however, was dessert.... OMG .... red bean ice ! took a pic amidst the eating, as you can see/ notice, they bother to layer the ice and the red bean, so that after you have eaten the outer layer, you do not end up with just tasteless ice shavings.