Best part of living close to your work place

Coming home during lunch, lying on the couch and watching current TV favourite




Master chef australia!

And then 1pm comes. Argh.

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Nostalgic beginning - 小虎队&王菲

Caught these 2 clips on Youtube. Incredibly nostalgic. Especially the one featuring 小虎队.

小虎队串烧《再聚首》


I can still clearly remember grabbing my sis along with me at the then Harbour Pavillion and went star chasing. MM was like 10, I was 12.

And this is like one OMG performance by 王菲 after disappearing from the limelight for a long long time. Is she lip-syncing? It sounds like pitch perfect to me.

王菲复出演唱《傳奇》

TV, TV and more TV

We are done with the hilarious Nodame Cantabile. We've been catching lots of Jdrama lately and Nodame is probably the best. Light-hearted and somewhat twisted. Next to catch would be Nodame Cantabile the TV anime series! P prefers Shiroi Haru, the tear-jerker. Fantastic nonetheless, as compared to Kimura's recent dramas (Change and Mr. Brain), these 2 are way better.



With Nip/Tuck back (and new season of Big Love beginning in January!), our stay home days are typically programmes-packed (with unnutritious TV dramas, but who cares).

As Loy Krathong ends

Mdm needs rest badly and is glad that the weekend is finally arriving!!!

The big Loy Krathong Festival is finally over. The town is now back to its somewhat peaceful state (at least the fireworks have stopped) and the night sky is completely clear of Kom Fai. We didn't walk around town this year (the excitement in me probably subsided). For 2 consecutive days, we were enjoying the food and drinks in our garden. Our place is right next to the river, which was swarmed by crowds and where most of the activities took place. We didn't take photos but I manage to grab 2 pics from Wikipedia. These pictures were apparently taken in Mae Jo, Chiangmai about a short 15-20 minutes drive from the city.




Mdm just got hold of 林宥嘉's 《感官世界》. There are a few nice notes from his new album. 《解High人》 just sounds so weekend, just forget the lyrics.



Happy Friday!

PATIENCE is what you need to get what you want

Mdm has been busy lately. First with work, then with Restaurant City and now,



Mdm manage to get hold of the game (full version, pre-launch! All thanks to P aka computer geek). The new Sims has better graphics and is easier to navigate plus playing it on P's desktop is a breeze, everything's super duper fast, details are amazing etc. Our new addiction got us stayed in the whole of last Sunday.

We visited 4-5 development projects and finally had our eyes set on one. The location is fantastic: 1. it's out of town (meaning no jams) and 2. it's only a mere 10 mins drive from my workplace! It's the only developer we know not selling pre-built houses, which to me is a big draw. I need total freedom in choosing the right tiles (colour and size), handrails, space configuration etc. What we do have no choice in is the colour of external walls, roof etc., which is suppose to blend in with the entire project.

Specification & Price
Land Area 280 square metre
Floor Area 181 square metre
Total Price 2,990,000 Baht
Special Price 2,690,000 Baht



These development projects usually come with a clubhouse and security services. For the one that we are eyeing, paying an additional 900 baht/year/person will get us unlimited access to the pool and gym. A single visit to public pools in Chiangmai costs approx. 25-30 baht so this package is worth every penny.

Enough's said, so are we buying it yet? NOT YET. Boo. Unlike other projects, we need to fork out quite a bit of cash (approx. SGD24K) since houses by this developer are not pre-built (I figure they want to secure funds for construction). And we've got to top it up with at least another 25K for furniture/electronics/interior works (which includes my hubby's 50-inch LCD full-HD TV). All in all, we'll need at least SGD50K in cold hard cash!!! You've got to love HDB for what they are doing for home ownership in Singapore. We've figured we'll need till end of the year to reach the mark, and then construction will begin... which means, the house is going to be ready only by next year. OOO... whatever. It's better than having nothing to look forward to.

Watching 红星大奖 from 火星

I am actually quite busy at work. PLUS, I am busy watching 红星大奖 2009.

I lurvvvvvvvvvve 土豆! Updates later!

Even George Clooney is obsessed!

From Popsugar



English English English.

Hmm.

Shane is hot

If you are into lesbian sex, you wouldn't want to miss The L word.

I am not (I think) but I am going ga-ga over it and I am super duper in love with Katherine Moennig a.k.a. Shane the female Chuck.



We are currently at S5E5, meaning we are left with only 15 episodes (P must be incredibly pleased b/c I have been refusing to watch anything else).

My life is comfortable, thank you

I've finally tuned myself back to life in Chiangmai.

Last Sunday was bad. Having arrived in Chiangmai after spending a whole 2-week with everyone back at home, I found myself missing home the moment we landed.

And then came Monday. Monday was worse. Not only that I haven't gotten over the part about being away from everyone else, I have to prepare myself for work (which is getting dreadful). I got home in the evening to a dog that looked nothing like ours back at home. Seriously, I felt like crying out loud.

I hate dealing with these emotions whenever I return from Singapore. Everything here is fine before homecoming. I have gotten used to the place, the people etc. I rant about work (occasionally) but me being me and work being work, where ever I am, rants about work will never stop. At times I thought, maybe deep inside, I am a city girl and that's the kinda life I am missing. At times I thought I am missing the people back at home more than the place. And then again, there are moments that I thought it is just the familiarity that I am missing. I don't know which is which but I do know I have made my choice and I want to enjoy my life here as much as I can. I would still be home and home will still be there for me.

There are largely 2 separate camps that people generally fall into when discussing about my life here in Chiangmai. One the "You traded the wonders of city life?" and the second being "Oh! You rich-ass Tai Tai".

The first camp pisses me ALOT. I wouldn't want to argue about this but not everyone would like to be you, if you know what I mean. If you don't, then it's the "you" who work your ass off to sustain your colourful lifestyle and thought that it is the only one wonderful thing for everyone on earth.

And for the second camp, sorry to disappoint you. First, I am NOT a Tai Tai. Second, we are not living in a mansion. Although we do live on a property that is huge and in a rather desired location in Chiangmai standards, it is old and is very run-down. And, my husband drives a very old car.

Life is actually satisfying and there is nothing much we have to worry about here. And frankly, P's family is doing well. Affordability is not an issue but my FIL happens to be a rather thrifty and modest man. And, he actually still calls the shots.

Only this is true about my life here.

O Brother, Where Bart Thou

With emotions running high, this is unquestionably the best GG episode EVER. Blair's love declaration almost got me to tears.

Check out the disheveled Chuck

OMG.

The next new episode of GG won’t air until January 5, 2008. A long wait it is but that's also when Mdm will only be back in Thailand! So ya, it's rather well-timed I suppose.

By the way, I have a feeling Ed Westwick a.k.a. Chuck Bass will make it BIG.

Because... I say so!

Rollercoaster Tycoon

I cannot remember how long ago was it that I hadn't stepped out of the house at all over the weekend. I was so carried away by RCT that I wasn't doing anything else. Not surfing, not blogging, not watching vids etc. I even skipped jogging.

Now that's what I call addiction. It's worse than chocolates cos this addiction will never get you fat.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Our first excursion with my baby (that runs on battery)

















=)

P said the photos looked amateurish and we still have a long way to go. Hmm, it's ok LA. Mdm's not intending to go pro anyway. I had fun yesterday and I thought our new baby did in some way spice up our life. The photos were huge (like 3mb per picture) and I spent some time scaling them down last night. We took a total of about 200 pictures and managed to cut the number down to 100 after selection (which wasn't difficult since some photos made no sense at all). It's crazy. There was talk yesterday about getting an external hard disk (depending on whether this fever is going to last) considering the huge size of photos and the never ending movies, tv series, games and reading materials we are downloading everyday.

Our last visit to the zoo was in 2004. It was horrible then. The animals looked starved and the zoo looked ill maintained. It looks much better now. I don't think it is intended but visitors can get really close to some animals. As in really close. The hippopotamus managed to swim to the side and rest his face on the wall. Some kids were wailing when the hungry hippopotamus opened its mouth, attempting to get fed. If I wanted, I could have placed my hand in its mouth.

Our trip to the zoo was cut short by the rain. We ended up in the market behind our house, took some random pictures and headed home for dinner. If I have not mentioned, I really like Warorot Market. I think it is a must visit for all tourists.

By the way, I think my abs are developing. The pilates sessions are working! Mdm went back to excluding rice from my daily diet and I have dropped almost 1.5 kg in the last week. I know I don't look much different but it's psychological, remember?

A day of Spore

So, we finished the whole of Gossip Girl Season 1 last night.

Our craze today is this. Tadah!

Watch him laugh and dance, it's hilarious. Creating weird creatures in Spore is super fun and we are looking forward to the launch of this game on 7 September 2008. =))

Gossip girl for gossipy me

I think I am addicted to Gossip Girl. We watched 6 episodes yesterday, all in one day. And guess what, I dreamt of Chuck Bass last night!!! *Puke* It's good that Gossip Girl Season 2 will be out on 1 September, meaning it's not going to be a long wait for me! Yuppie!

Mama Mia is out in the theatres today, which is wonderful cos the trailer looks good plus I really like Colin Firth. We haven't been to the movies lately (I think Mummy 3 was the last we saw). Anyway, there are no interesting ones that can't be missed.

And you know what, Mdm is in Thailand for one full year already! I can't believe it that I have survived a year here, away from home and in a totally different environment. Mdm is happy that I am coping rather well. The past year wasn't easy and I think that the hardest part has yet to come (the part where you start to have a lump).

Mdm is glad that after 6 months, I still love my job

We have been downloading Supernatural season 2 for a week now and it seems like it is going to be stuck at the 50% mark forever. So smart Mdm is looking at alternative options. The quality is obviously going to be much worse than DVD files, but I CANT WAIT ANYMORE! Tudou loads so much faster than Youtube. Plus, the quality is better. And tonight, we will have episode 1-4 of Supernatural season 2. =))

Condiment dish using bone china by voonwong&bensonsaw.



Very interesting. This design is very practical, especially in Thailand (considering the number of condiments Thais use in a single meal).

Mdm got a very positive reply from my professor this week. He's cool about making a trip down to Chiangmai. Although the school's paying for the air tickets, accommodation (which is sadly, on campus), transportation and meals, we are not paying him a single cent for his consultation work. I know he's currently involved in multiple projects and I kinda feel bad about not being able to offer him a better remuneration package but on the other hand I'm very excited about getting him here.

I am in my current job for half a year now. Frankly, sometimes it gets very frustrating when things are moving so slowly at work. There doesn't seem to have any urgency in what-so-ever. The pace is uber relax. Anyhow, working in the academic field exposes me to people who are very passionate about learning and education. I am introduced to many who place the benefits of others before themselves and think not in terms of individual monetary gains but welfare of the students and the community. At least, even when things are moving slow (or sometimes not moving at all), but when it does it is satisfying to find yourself part of something meaningful.

Cost of raising a kid is not the real problem

Jake Gyllenhaal in the screen adaptation of Prince of Persia

He looks weird. IMO, Clive Owen or even Mr Wolverine would look better. Maybe they are too old for the moves. Anyway, PoP is one game that I sat through, watching with great enthusiasm while P was playing it. So, the screen adaptation has to be good.

Mdm is looking forward to Tropic Thunder!



I think it's going to be screened in the Thai theatres pretty soon. =))

I digress.

So, as announced, there will now be four months of paid maternity leave instead of three and childcare leave will be extended from two to six days a year. When I saw this in the news, I was thinking to myself that as and when we are ready to have one, I will put on my life jacket and swim back to Singapore.

Anyway, as usual, it's hard to satisfy everyone. This being the most ridiculous one that I have seen

Give grandparents recognition in this 'shared responsibility'


And this second
The cost of raising a kid in Singapore is THE problem.

Frankly, I think we are asking AND expecting too much from the government. If young couples can own a car, have residential property, enjoy frequent dine outs and pamper ourselves with expensive treats, we got to admit that we are simply too selfish to trade the colours in our lives for a baby in the pram.

High cost is a problem for everything, but it didnt stop us from owning a car.

Mdm's potentially fearless child

This is cute -- Kids Do The Most Outrageous Things.

How many calories do you burn a day?
This means I have to consume less than 1500 cal per day. In addition, I have to burn 200-300 cal by exercising. It seems so much harder now than before. Mdm is afraid that Mdm will become obsess in wanting to shed off that 2 extra kilos.
___

We have been watching Supernatural for the past few nights. It's not as good as Prison Break nor Heroes but it's interesting nonetheless. Some episodes actually scared the shit out of me.

When I was watching the series, I thought that the fear for paranormal was most probably instilled rather than a result of experiences. And just yesterday while dining at the foodcourt, I saw a dad with a rubber spider in one hand while feeding the kid. When the kid turned his head away and refused to be fed, the dad moved the spider closer. I am not sure if this is the way I would like to Tarzan-train my kid and I thought that the kid would most probably develop some kind of insect phobia. I was just thinking, if I introduce paranormal to my kids, along with insects, wild animals etc. when he's really young and make him believe that they are the nicest creatures on earth, would he then become fearless?

Thank God it's ... Friday!

Isn't his voice just cool.


____

I'll be making a trip to the hairdresser's tomorrow cos I have found my inspiration!



It just keeps getting shorter and shorter.

Except for my planned visit to the hairdresser's, Mdm is up to nothing this weekend. I'll just hibernate at home or catch some hk drama. Forensic Heroes II is out and it's all over D-addict now. =)))

Mdm's in love with Thai rocker!

Cheap MTV I know, but the song keeps ringing in my head!

Alone on a saturday night

P's out attending some function with FIL. Mdm being mdm, is staying at home. Since this afternoon, I've been catching lotsa shows on Youtube and in the meantime, googling on new hairdos and blogging. Speaking of multi-tasking...



Mdm's current hairdo is kinda inspired by this look.



And I am getting bored. But then... I saw the tousled look!



So cute.