Ho ho ho hopefully

Merry Christmas everybody! Okay, fine. It's past Boxing Day already but who cares! I'm not somebody that's really big on Christmas. I've never really gotten into the Christmas spirit or what not, even as a kid. And now, Christmas to me means Christmas Specials! (YAY BRITISH TELEVISION!) Except the Christmas specials this year weren't up to mark. My favourite television show, Doctor Who, was slightly predictable. It's not because I need to warm up to a new companion but I think the plots, lines and characters are getting a little boring. Hopefully the season will pick up.

 This is unlike Downton Abbey which has disappointed me so greatly that I no longer see any point in continuing with the show. My ship has sunk beyond repair and has now become Charon's boat in the Underworld. It has been a good few years Downton. Thanks for teaching me how to feel but this episode was the last straw. Unless you're George R. R. Martin, you don't go around killing off main characters that quickly. The only reason he can do that is because he has a solid plot to fall back on, Downton, however, doesn't.

Anyway, back to Christmas. It's always a little hard to get into the Christmas spirit for me. The weather is as warm as always. There's no snow and there's not much joy in drinking hot beverages. Where is the joy in mulled wine and hot spiced apple juice in this warm weather? We do have frightful weather but there's no way anybody will say that the fire is cosy. Unless the air-condition unit is named "Fire". Then it would be cosy.

I always watch a couple of movies during Christmas. Whether by myself or with my friends in a Christmas movie marathon, I'll always do it. I've watched a few of them since I was a kid thanks to holiday movies showing on the television and I continue to do so to this day.

Nightmare Before Christmas
What's not to like about this film? I think more than 10 years ago, this film was always shown on Channel 5 or Central (now Okto) past 10pm near Christmas. They seem to have stopped now which is a pity because it's one of those really enjoyable classics. I can see why some kids would be creeped out by it (Hey! Santa came and gave you gifts that would bite you!) but the idea of Sandy Claws and the festivals having their own land always tickled me. I've also heard that on Halloween, they'll celebrate Christmas at Disneyland (with the Nightmare Before Christmas attraction) and they'll celebrate Halloween on Christmas. NEED. WANT. MUST. GO.

Home Alone 1 & 2
This was a holiday staple for me as a kid. It came out around the time I was a kid and I really enjoyed it. I think for a few years all I thought of was how to booby trap my house in case intruders came in. My friends and I all wanted to be Kevin. It plays with the ultimate kid fantasy of being alone without family and yet appeals to the adults with the knowledge that kids can't be left alone. I usually stop with Home Alone 2 : New York. I know they made a new one that's straight to DVD but if it isn't Kevin, it's not what I'll watch. Also the house they used to film Home Alone and the church is still around in Chicago and I really want to visit it someday!

Love Actually

I love this movie! What's not to like? Rowan Atkinson? Colin Firth? Hugh Grant? Emma Thompson? Alan Rickman? EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. I know a lot of people think that the best scene in the movie is this

Okay, it's kinda bittersweet but this.. THIS IS THE BEST SCENE

Unfortunately, this clip didn't show the "Ant or Dec" moment which had me in stitches. Not that the scene above isn't funny. When I first discovered Ant and Dec (Yay Saturday Night Takeover) it took me a really long time to differentiate them...which is really weird seeing how they don't look alike at all. You might've recognised them as the hosts of Britain's Got Talent. They also host a few other shows but I don't think anybody really knows them so..yeah.

So..Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! Enjoy the holidays even if you don't celebrate Christmas and don't drink and drive, drink responsibly etc.

Goodbye to my Blackberry: A Tale of Loss, Love and Dramatics

I've been pretty busy this week...working. I teach at a place that will remain unnamed and please don't ask me how much I earn. I love my job. The workplace is nice, so are the people I work with. I'm very lucky I got this job...which may help me decide my future job which will also remain unnamed.

So there really isn't much to talk about here. Just a mourning post for my dead Blackberry. I'm extremely attached to this one Blackberry because it's been with me for 2 years now. Sadly, it has reached it's dying legs and if you haven't guessed from my Instagram pictures, I've moved to the iPhone camp. Solely because the new Curve has been said to have a terrible battery life...which is what I'm struggling with with my current Curve now.

This phone, has been with me all over Europe and I didn't lose it once. Lots of people get their phones stolen because...let's face it, we put it in our pockets. I think it was a miracle that I went to 4/10 Top 10 pickpocket destinations in the world (some of them twice!!!) here's the complete breakdown and actually didn't lose anything. Except probably my dignity due to certain antics by my bro but that's redeemable. And I've been facing that problem for more than a decade already. I didn't even get hustled...which I'm very proud of. I'm extremely paranoid when I travel. More so than usual so if anybody who reads this ends up travelling with me and I end up being a pain in the ass, I'm sorry. BUT IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

My phone, although expensive in Europe (Had to pay extra for the Blackberry plan even if it already came with a data plan...which is better than my current plan here -.-) saved my ass so many times with Google maps. The battery life is amazing. I could go an entire day without charging it despite using Google Maps, FB, Twitter, Whatsapp etc and still have some spare battery left at the end of the day. It has been dropped from great heights...and survived. Been used to do last minute Google searches to figure out what certain foods were on the menu. Entertained me on 4 hour bus rides so I could go for concerts etc. It has been with me through the highs and low of my travels and in that time, I really grew to love it. And all my 200+ photos I took with my terrible phone camera would always make me smile.

To my dear Blackberry, I will miss you and the power of BBMs. Your amazing battery life is a stunner. And the qwerty keyboard. That was amazing.

If anybody from Blackberry wants to give me a free phone, I WILL ACCEPT IT GLADLY. (Mostly because I'm using my dad's old iPhone. If it ain't broke, you don't need a new phone. But kids, don't listen to me. The economy needs you to spend)

...what a filler post.

Jersey Boys & The Hobbit

I'm actually going out a lot this week. Yes, three times a week is a lot by my standards. My idea of a perfect life is to have a fast internet connection while holed up in my room and have ready access to good food. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem feasible so I'll settle and make the best out of my current life.

So on Tuesday, my friends (Peng, Des and Bri) and I caught Jersey Boys. We actually bought tickets really early and had very good seats. This is of course, way before our respective schools emailed us about the student discount but we did enjoy the early bird discount. Better than nothing right? That is not a bitter statement at all. Nope.

Before that, we had dinner at Hoshino Coffee. You can find it in the new wing of Plaza Singapura on the 3rd floor. You should get there early because the queues are ridiculous. I really like Japanese food. Sometimes I think 'like' is an understatement. Hoshino Coffee is from Japan and it's pretty popular there. They specialise in hand-dripped coffee. We went there...and drank no coffee. So if you're looking or wondering whether the coffee is worth the queue, you won't get it here.

This was the last hand-dripped coffee I drank. And I spent nearly 20 minutes queuing for it. I don't think it was worth the 20 minutes but I did enjoy it. Ask me about tea, I'm better at that.

Monmouth Coffee near Burrough Market 

Please look at the queue. 

Back to Hoshino. We tried a couple of dishes. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of everything (sometimes when the food comes, I'm too impatient to take a photo) but I enjoyed myself very much. The food was superb. We paid about $23+ per person (not inclusive of coffee. Or drinks) and it was the perfect post-exam treat.

Omu Rice with Shrimp, Mozarella Cheese and Tomato Cream Sauce

That was what I ordered. The rice was perfectly cooked and the egg was light and fluffy. The best thing about it was that the cream sauce was not too creamy and was easy to stomach. 

I think the best dish to try there would be the Fuwa Fuwa Hoshino Souffle. It's a savoury souffle with rice at the bottom and a foamy egg of sorts on the top. It's a little hard to describe...mostly because I was too busy stuffing myself with it. It was definitely something new. I think my friends and I were all a bit skeptical about it but when it arrived, we had no qualms about it. 

We also had the French Toast 

It was pretty pricey for French Toast ($9.80) but it was SO WORTH IT. I can make French Toast but it's definitely not something of this quality. The bread was soft and the cream on top was not too overpowering. (That's not ice-cream btw) We chose to have it with maple syrup and it was perfect. I'll definitely recommend this. And I know some people will baulk at the price. I mean, $9.80 for fried bread(?!?!?!?!), but I think it was worth every single cent.

The other dessert we ordered was the single pancake souffle. It tasted exactly like McDonalds' Hotcakes. Except more expensive. And thicker. 

After that, we rushed to MBS to catch our show. Jersey Boys was one of the musicals I wanted to catch in West End but I didn't have enough time to do so. I was glad that I could catch it here but was also a little wary about the quality of the production. The last musical I watched in Singapore, Wicked, was lacking. I enjoyed myself certainly but after I caught the West End production, (let's not compare Fiyero because I saw Matt Willis from Row 1 in London and my inner 12 year old did not handle it well) the quality was definitely different. 

I really like musicals. I really really really do. So for those not in the know, Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Sadly, not a lot of people know them nowadays. I, however, listen to a lot of classic rock so naturally, I was excited about it.  This is my favourite song

Naturally, when they sang this in Jersey Boys, it was my favourite bit. They didn't butcher it and did a very fitting tribute!

But there's one song that everybody definitely knows from them. 

Other than the Heineken commercial from all those years back, this song has appeared in numerous movies. Even Heath Ledger sang it.

The musical was fantastic. Great tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I am very glad it didn't disappoint. Please go catch it! I was a little annoyed when the people around us were asking what the cast were saying at various times because of their strong Italian accent. (They're Italian Americans) I'm not a good indicator of whether it was a really strong accent because I understood them with no problems and I can understand most accents. It can be a turn-off for some people but please, don't let that stop you. The musical is funny and the songs were well-sung.

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Also, as the title suggests. I just came back from watching the Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey. I've been waiting for this movie for so long. Don't worry, I won't spoil anybody. You might want to go away if you've not read the book before. Peter Jackson did not disappoint me at all. And I'm very glad that they decided to split it into 3 movies. The ending was good and the pacing was just right. I think the best moment for me was when Bilbo and Smeagol were having their riddles contest. (This is not a spoiler because it's in the book1!!!!) To be honest, I was a little worried that it would be a rushed thing. By rushed I mean that they only exchanged a single riddle back and forth. It was my favourite part of the book and I was very happy they went into it in detail.

If you've not read the book, no worries! It's basically a movie set before The Fellowship of the Ring. We all know Bilbo got the Ring by the time FOTR rolls around but the Hobbit shows how he got it and his adventures. You know the red book Frodo writes in that belongs to Bilbo? That's basically the contents of the movie. Whatever Bilbo was writing that we don't really see in the first three movies.

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Today, my ballin' bro left for L.A. I'm going to miss her so much ): Technology's great now but I can't wait for her to get back. We have so much fun together. Why? This is what we did in Paris Disneyland.

GONNA MISS YOU BRO ):

2012

I decided to start a blog again and I think my first post should be my reflections on 2012. It's December (!!!!) and quite honestly, this year passed by so much faster than the rest. Mostly because I had so much fun the first half of it.

I grew up a lot this year. Being away in a foreign country alone does it to you. I've definitely become more independent and understood myself a lot better. Thanks Mum and Dad for giving me this opportunity! And every year, I always learn about the most important people in my life. And why they're the most important. This year is of course, not any different. 

Other than my family who have supported me throughout this year, my best friends are what helps me with life. I had such a terrible semester in university this year. I was suddenly thrown with more work than I was used to (did almost 0 work for 6 months HOLLA!) and more classes. But my best friends really stuck by me. 

When I came back, I made quite a significant change in my life but they really helped me through it. Other than their constant encouragement, they kept dragging me out for good food (I kid, I asked and they agreed), made me laugh and gave me something to look forward to without fail. They listened to me complain about school, about the people in school, about the people outside of school, the lack of sleep, the lack of good food etc. 

So for saving my ass countless times when I was in England, for coming down to Europe earlier to ball with me, for always making me laugh, for baking for me and for being with me whenever I was down and out, love you guys (:

In all our years of friendship, we've never fought with each other. We do bicker over ridiculous things but it's all in good fun. I've never met anybody who can even remotely compare to them.

Also, honorary mention to 

for being there for me all the time. It's possibly one of the most puzzling friendships that has ever happened because none of us knows how it started but I am glad it started anyway.

And when I say this, I mean every single word of it. I don't know what I'd do without them.