Took one week off from work last month because the Crown Casino Hotel (Melbourne) invited my family and I over for a short stay. When we arrived at the airport, a casino host and a driver picked us up with the hotel limo. Pretty cool.

The first thing we were greeted with

We were given 2 Delux hotel rooms in Crown Towers. The bed is huge, the TV is huge, the toilet is huge, the bathtub is huge, everything’s huge. I was told that I could take what I want from the mini-bar with no cost involved. I felt so much like being in the royal family

The view from my hotel room

Our stomachs were *rumbling* and that is a sure indication for food! My dad had nice steak, my mum had conservative chinese food and I had bacon and ham pizza. I was told that the service staff there is paid about S$13.00 per hour. Very high standard of living in Melbourne.

The yummy pizza

Dad on phone while waiting for food

After filling up our hungry stomachs, it’s time to hit the streets! Mum wants to do some shopping and dad wants to look around for some more food (yes, he’s never full).

Back alley

Our first destination is… China Town!

The start of China Town

And due to Meiyin’s special request for me to buy her nogurts, we had to pay a visit to one of my parent’s long time friend who deals with seafood. He also sell the freshest nogurts in the whole of China Town. (So meiyin, better take good care of those nogurts!  :P ) 

Mum sitting down in the seafood shop after a long walk

And so the shopping continues…

Came across this lovely Chinese Church

We tried to be intellectual, visited this book store but look at the outcome…

The whole reason on why we wanted to go to Melbourne is actually for my mother’s birthday celebration. We thought it would be nice that this year we could celebrate it overseas.

The birthday cake

Mum pretendting to cut birthday cake 

And so it was a short trip…  

Salutations everyone!
I am back from my Hong Kong & Shen Zhen trip :)
The time there was meant for business but it turned out to be kinda educational.

Everything there was so cheap and the food is absolutely delicious.
Just blindly walk into any restaurant, food court or even road side stall, you will get to taste food that is 3 times better than a Singapore celebrity recommended diner.

Presenting to you Shen Zhen’s 999 Hotel Restaurant

Left: Melvin stunned by the greatness of the surroundings.
Right: Ivan blinded by the glory of the food.

After storing loads of food in our stomachs, we decided to visit the art city. The Chinese are extremely talented, most of the shop owners/artists there have at least a 10 year experience in artistic drawing skills. My dad bought 50 different pantings in view of selling them in Singapore.

Apart from the colourful drawings, we realise that there were also a lot of adorable kids. (Maybe the Chinese don’t have anything much to do there and so they just kept making babies)

Young Mum With Kid

My very own mother carry a special place in her heart for kids. She tried to seduce one with yummy peanuts we bought from the hotel provision store. He was really shy and didn’t dare to approach my mum. We finally manage to get him to stretch out his hands and we were shocked by how dirty it was.

Little Boy Eating Peanuts

Their standard of living there is very low. A foot reflexologist earns only S$1.20 an hour for massaging your foot and still they could live their lives happily. It really made me wonder if we Singaporeans are always expecting and asking too much for ourselves and eventually burning our hearts and minds out.

Little Boy Walking Away Silently After Receving Peanuts

And so we decided to explore further and found 2 kids playing beside a dirty rubbish bin. My mum wanted to distribute peanuts again but one of them got scared and ran away.

2 Kids Playing Beside A Rubbish Bin

Jia Jia mastered enough courage to come towards us but was really reluctant to accept the peanuts fearing that he might be harmed.
 

Jia Jia In His Decision Making Process

Jia Jia Accepted The Peanuts But Didn’t Know What To Do With Them

After 3 mins, Jia Jia Just Stood There Silently Till We Walked Away.

We hid somewhere to peep at him and still we found him standing at the exact same spot motionless. He was so afraid and at the same time shy.

We proceeded back to the shop where dad was purchasing some paintings and found this ADORABLE little girl with her mum. My mother again wanted to feed her peanuts (I know this feeding peanuts thing sound like us going to a zoo and feeding the monkeys :/ ) but she was really shy.

Little Girl Reluctantly Accepting The Peanuts

Tried Getting Her To Pose For A Shot But Her Shyness Took Over

Eventually Manage To Get Her To Pose, Isn’t She Adorable!?

Melvin and myself remembered that Kenneth and Jian Pang of Pandora’s Box is opening a new wine hang out shop in Holland Village (Singapore) so we got the artist to draw them the best gift they’ll ever receive! 

Artist With A Decade of Drawing Experience

Finally, it’s time to go home. We went back to Hong Kong, waited for an Airbus and proceeded to the airport.

Home Sweet Home

 Will be leaving Singapore again this 18th Nov 2007- 22nd Nov 2007 to Melbourne for my mum’s Birthday Celebration.
Would love to do some catch up with you before I fly again. Yes, YOU.  :D 

Hello YOU!
It’s time to eliminate those fizzy soft drinks from your life.
Haven’t you heard? Problems like:
-  Type 2 Diabetes
-  Tooth Decay & Teeth Erosion
-  Obesity & Rapid Weight Gain
-  Potential Heart Disease
can occur to one who feeds on those yucky acidic and overly sweet drinks.

It’s time for a transformation for you and your family!
Switch to Green Tea! According to increasing research by scientists, each cup of green tea is more than just a simple can drink. It could very well be your cup of good health!

Weight Loss
In the study at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, green tea appeared to raise metabolism rates and speed up fat xiation.

Cancer Canceller
EGC, a compound found in green tea inhibits an enzyme required for cancer cell growth and can kill cultured cancer cells with no ill effect on healthy cells.

Heart Purifier
They prevent low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from promoting the plaque build-up that clogs arteries.

Anti-Aging
Green Tea contains a powerful antioxidant (a strong foundation that can help delay or even reverse ageing). Tea antioxidants are not only 100 times as effective as vitamin C, but they are also 25 times as effective as vitamin E in neutralising free radicals.

You can grab those green tea at your nearest provision store. I heard that there’s a good promotion now.
Alternatively, I can do you this favour by getting it for you!  Pokka Green Tea:                     12 Cans @ S$9.90 or 24 Cans @ S$16.60 only!  

18 candles, 9 big ones and 9 small ones representing 98 years of exsistance on planet Earth. Happy 98th Birthday grandma. Planned a surprise birthday party for her. Jumpily walked into her room to drop her the little surprise. Before I could open my mouth, she said:”I tried to walk but my other strong leg gave way and I almost fell, now I cannot even stand”.

Daily evidences show that grandma’s time is running out. During this time no one can do anything about it. I cannot help but to know that deep down in my heart I have the greatest responsibility to make her last days the happiest.

Preparing to sing birthday song

Sometimes, you don’t even know if it is selfish to keep on wishing that she won’t go. Seeing her suffer everyday with dizzy spells, eye sight problem and ocassionally pains here and there. I guess this is life, a season to live, a season to die, a season to smile and a season to cry.

Ready to blow the candles

Regardless the outcome, grandma, thank you for taking care of me for all these years. Although I don’t deserve such care, but still you have given me your best. Thank you for being my human shield when daddy went mad. Thank you for your constant worries and love. And thank you for being who you are for me.

It is worth it to walk a thousand miles to see this smile

Happy Birthday Granny!

 God I pray You will save her soul. 

Pain, is it really that bad?
Article Written by: Roy Tan 

“Ouch!”
Our lives revolve around pain all the time, we work hard to avoid it and we rest well to prevent it. Parents work hard to eliminate the pain of seeing their children schooless and students study hard to eliminate the pain of seeing themselves begging on the streets in future.  There are some who try to sleep 8 hours a day to prevent the pain of a failing body and there are some who would feed their bodies vitamins to prevent the pain of sicknesses.

Is pain a bad element that one should aviod?
Or is it an essential in life for us to have so that we can grow?
On the other hand, there is a kind of pain that we cannot avoid, I call it the “external inflicted pain”.

For example:
A. Daniel was walking towards his school bus one morning, suddenly, an old window fell, hit him and caused him to fall into a long coma.
B. Jermone and Leraine had been a couple for a year, they are deeply in love. An unforseen disease struck Leraine out of nowhere and took her away from planet Earth.

Such events are labelled under the category of “Bad-Things-Happen-To-Good-People” and it happens to all of us. Pain is a journey, if it doesn’t break you, it will make you. Sometimes, it feels as though you are going through it all alone, but the fact is, you don’t. Millions of others are also going through pain at the same time together with you.

Avoiding pain unnecessarily will cause you more pain. About 7 years ago I had very bad decays in my teeth (at least 8 of them), I didn’t dare to visit the dentist due to the past fears I had received from my primary school dentist and basically, I was very afraid of the pain as my teeth cannot be numbed. Years down the road the decays grew worse, I started having head-pounding tooth aches and stinky substances started to flow out of my infected gum, still I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to run away from pain not knowing I would cause more harm then help.

1 year ago, I decided to take that step of faith to face my fear. The condition was so bad that I had to undergo IV Sedation. I had 4 root canals, 1 extraction (while Dr Neo was pulling out that tooth, I woke up in the middle of the sedation) and countless drillings. Altogether I spent close to S$10,000.00. Now I’m perfectly fine and it feels good to have overcome that fear.

Ultimately, certain pains are unavoidable and certain pains shouldn’t be avoided. If you know how to filter them out correctly, I think you’ll be on your way to becoming a better person.
Only U Carry Happiness!

Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Meee-eeee…, Happy Birthday To Me!

Stepember 3rd 1984, a boy by the name of Roy is born. 23 years later, a mini party was held in his house.

They had nice food, played Mahjong, Chinese Chess and Settlers.
Special thanks to all who took the effort to make / buy nice dinner!

Now… for the presents!

Thank you Ruby for risking your life and taking your time just to make your way down to JB to grab those 2 precious box of Dunkin Doughnuts!
Appreciate it a lot.

Thank you Ivan for the most expensive wallet that I ever own in my whole 23 years of my life. Gucci Brown Leather Wallet, wow. It’s the thought that counts and your present really show the thoughts you have towards me.
Appreciate it a lot.

Wow wow wow,  a Guess watch! My watch’s battery went flat on the same day itself. I love the sleeky design. Thank you for taking the time and effort to shop for my presents and also thank you for choosing such a nice and expensive Guess watch.
Appreciate it a lot.

How many people would have the chance to ever carry a S$249.00 bag from RAOUL? All thanks to my brother Melvin!
Appreciate it a lot!

Now when I walk on the streets I must be extra careful.
And also I would like to remember all those who have been there for me. I give you my deepest respect and heartfelt “thank you”.
The journey is indeed difficult and it’ll get more difficult by the days, but, with your presence, things are much easier.

Happy Birthday To All September Babies!

2 weeks ago I received an invitation from Kovit Ang, a top stylist in Singapore, to Zouk for a fashion show featuring his new line called ‘Made To Measure’. Finally the day has come! Preparations were made and our hair stylist Robin (Creative Director, Salon Esprit) was again activated to make us look as presentable as possible.   

Ivan Zhong (Chief Administration Officer - Royal Culture Corporation), Robin, Me, Melvin - Salon Esprit

We had a speedy dinner at Kenny Rogers(Great World City) and awhile later a decision was made to hang out at Zouk’s “Wine Bar” before the show started. We had no idea it was a “1 for 1″ special, so we ordered 5 different drinks and in the end 10 cups was served by the waitress followed by a shocked look in our faces.

Me, Mildred, Ivan, Josephine (Lana’s Confession Operations Manager - Pandora’s Box), Melvin @ Zouk’s “Wine Bar”

It’s time! It’s time! The fashion show was about to start! We made our way into Zouk and was greeted by an overwhelming partying crowed. The stage was set and the models were all ready to fluant their stuff. There was so much excitement, so much anticipation…

Runway -Ready For Take off

It has been one crazy fashionable night. All thanks to Kovit for the special invitation, we’re looking forward to see you back at TuniK soon. And by the way, labels from TuniK that were featured in HardWareZone Mag (Aug Issue) was styled by Kovit himself. Feel free to grab a copy for viewing pleasure.

It’s been a journey
Special thanks to Sara Ann K.
Sara, without you, we’ll be far from where we are right now.

That’s all folks! The team signing out -

(Mildred *waving* from behind the camera)

Cheerios!

Singapore Idol 1 Finalist(Top 4) Daphne Khoo made her way down to TuniK to pay us a warm visit.
Daph, formerly the lead singer of West Grand Boulevard, was a host of Idol-On-Demand, an online programme for Singapore Idol and has released a few unofficial singles, one for Idol-based show and Shooting Stars. She was also one of the contestants on ‘The Dance Floor’ in the group called Snaap! And this coming December, she is going to release her first album! Congrats Daphy!

Me & Daphne Khoo

 If you get to meet her in real life, you’ll see a lovely, adorable and quirky girl filled with a sweet sense of humour. Not forgetting that ‘rock angel’s’ voice that comes with the package.

Melvin, Daphne Khoo & Me