The Day I Talk About Random Stuff From The Past Couple of Weeks

1) Mummy's 50th



The day began with lots of drama. First of all, my genius of a dad completely forgot to get my mum anything. So when she woke up on her birthday and found out that he hadn't prepared anything for her, well, you can imagine the rest. Thankfully, she has an amazing son (thank you, thank you, hahahahahaha). Anyhoos, somehow I managed to buy her a present together with my dad (so we can say that he prepared it for her), book her favourite restaurant (Jade Room @ The Fullerton) and ordered a lovely cake, all that in the span of 4 hours. At the end of the day, all was well and we had a pretty enjoyable evening.

Some pictures from the night:









2) Core-Based Trees @ Crazy Elephant



Last Sunday evening, my band the Core-Based Trees performed at Crazy Elephant. It was my first time in singing at a pub/bar and overall quite a good experience. Very different from performing on-stage where you're so far away from the crowd. The feeling's very electric. To all my friends who came down to support us, I just wanna say a BIG thank you! Hope you guys had a great time (cos I did) ;)


Bandmates (from left): Jin (Bass), Chris (Keyboard), Nic (Guitar), Yen (Drums) & me

Other photos from that night:











3) Ryan Tedder ought to be shot



Kelly's latest album, "All I Ever Wanted", came out last week. Like every other Kelly fan, I got my hands on it knowing that I wouldn't be disappointed since it was reviewed by many critics to be her best album to date (supposedly, since she has Max Martin, Howard Benson, Ryan Tedder etc etc attached as the album's producers).

However, I have huge bone to pick with Mr Tedder. The songs that he co-wrote with Kelly sounds all too similar to his previously penned hits. If you don't believe me, take a listen to Already Gone. Sounds familiar? Cos it has the same base as Beyoncé 's Halo! Why? COS BOTH SONGS WER PRODUCED BY TEDDER!!! How bout Save You? What? Oh, it sounds uncannily like OneRepublic's Say (All I Need)? Well, COS IT PRETTY MUCH IS!

So much for originality.

The Day I Talk About Hitting Adulthood

- Warning: Image Heavy Post -

Every February, my schedule is packed with birthdays galore. This year is no different. However, being an '88 baby means that many of my peers are hitting/have hit the big 21, which translates into bigger parties and greater indulgences. I recently celebrated my very own 21st birthday as well as attended several of my peers and I must say, it's been lots of fun catching up with old friends and really memorable.


Kenrick's 21st



Kenrick (being characteristically Kenrick) threw his party at Sentosa. The evening began with a small gathering for dinner at Il Lido and ended with drinks at the Amara Resort Villas. JJ came along for the night's activities and we all had a ball of a time.

My first impression of Il Lido definitely a good one as the food was fantastic and their service was impeccable.







The villa was pretty nice, quite different from the one-room suite where Jevon threw his party a year ago even though it was in the same resort. Money makes a whole world of difference. Anyway, there was more than sufficient booze and balloons at the post-dinner party for all the guests.














*GASP!* - My 21st Birthday



The party was insane. Thankfully it's my last birthday party in Singapore for the forseeable future. Note to self: NEVER. EVER. PLAN. YOUR. OWN. PARTY. You end up running around alot, making sure everything's perfect so as to make everyone feel at home. That said, it was a pretty amazing one. For the first time in my entire life did I actually did have so many people coming to celebrate my birthday with me.

Photos with my guests:


















Also, I got 4 out of the 9 items in my wish-list! Talk about "wishes coming true"! So here's a shout out to all who came: THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! My party wouldn't have been such a success if not for your presence and support. I can't love you guys enough. XXOOXOXO!!! :)

In retrospect, I thought that turning 21 would affect me in a very big way but in actual fact, I feel no difference at all. Maybe age is truly just a number.

The Day I Share My 21st Birthday Wishlist

Due to popular demand, I had no choice but to make this wishlist for my 21st Birthday. Yes, some people still don't know what I want even though they've known me for a really loooooong time. So here goes:

1) agnes b. Lock & Key set



21st.
Legal freedom from parental supervision.
The official age of adulthood.
Ability to vote (in Singapore).
Of age to purchase and consume alcohol (in the US).

This necklace from agnes b. symbolises all of the above statements with a simple combination of a lock and key, and it encompasses all of the responisbilies that come with adulthood beautifully.

2) Bally (Shoes) - Sarne



A white, dark zircon and sand coloured sneaker in calfskin and suede.
Classic Bally with modern touch. FYI: my shoe size is US 7.5 :)


3) Pedro Soft-Supple Leather Messenger Bag



My office bag has been almost completely worn out and I need a new one. This is in my list for purely practical reasons.


4) Pedro Lifestyle Messenger Bag



It's pretty. 'Nuff said. :D


5) Apple iPod / iPhone Dock



One of the many accompanying accessories that used to come with iPods / 1st-gen iPhones that somehow became an optional novelty item that is sold seperately nowadays. Damn Apple and their money-making schemes.


6) Bose SoundDock iPod Speakers



My stereo has officially retired from every single one of it's functions (yes, including the basic radio function) and I am currently resorting to blasting my music from my Mac to lull myself to sleep at night. Not very energy efficient you see. Which is why this would be a great addition to my room.


7) Diesel DZ7043 Watch



I don't own many watches, but I've been eyeing this baby for quite awhile now.


8) Nintendo DS (Gold)



I've always wanted a Gold DS. But my search has been pretty futile cos it's the limited Zelda edition. Nevertheless, it'd still be nice to have one for my birthday if some kind soul manages to find one for me.


9) Western Digital - My Passport Studio



This 500G portable hard-drive is not only sleek and compact, it's also formatted for use with Macintosh systems. With this, I won't have to worry about not having enough capacity for the backing up of all my photos, videos and songs.

And last but not least, the most important thing that I want is...

10) BIRTHDAY CARDS!!!


Keeping my fingers crossed. ;)

Footnote: In case you're thinking that all the gifts that I want are too extravagant, let me remind you that this is my birthday wishlist. The operative word being wish. Heh heh.

The Day I Discovered Kidz Bop

Remember the days when we had nice, simple, I-love-you-you-love-me-BIG-HUG entertainment off the simple but useful invention called the television when we were little? With the advent of the internet, YouTube and the exponentially increased percentage of celebutard-wannabes (no thanks to the cultural epidemic known as reality television), an entirely "for children only" website that's pseudo-MTV has arrived!



Welcome to the age of Kidz Bop, where children also have the opportunity to dress up, video-whore and become instant online superstars! Check out their video section. They've even got music videos of the latest Top 40 hits, featuring an all-children cast with their all-new re-recordings of popular songs such as "Pocketful of Sunshine", "Breakaway", "Take You There" etc etc.

Ok, my sarcasm ends here.

In my opinion, this brings scary to a whole new level. Somehow I can only imagine paedophiles enjoying this "delectable" selection of child-prey. Parents in this day and age should be really careful about what kids are up to online. Portals like these may be fun, but also pose as a high risk platform for predators. I wouldn't ever allow my kids to be put at such risk.

My parents should be thankful that we didn't have broadband back in the day.


Blair does not approve.

The Day I Have New Hope

My very own "Treaty of Versailles" has set sail. The hope that was lingering beyond the horizon has now surfaced and I can see again. 15 January. A new home for the new year.

Tick tock tick tock. :)

The Day I Talk About The Frustration With My Current Predicament

Some of you may know that I've been moving into my new house for quite awhile. You may wonder, "Why is Justin still moving after so many months? The hell is wrong?" In actual fact, by "moving" I meant "moving" the boxes that were packed from my en bloc back in August into my new house. I haven't actually moved in for good and obviously haven't started staying there yet. Truth is, I can't. Therein lies my frustration with the entire fiasco.

Here's what's been happening and why I'm being driven up the wall:


1) The Constant Delays

Construction of my new place was planned to begin in March of this year, but no work had begun until June came rolling by. Being 2 months away from my impending displacement from my old home in Lorong Chuan, I knew it was impossible that the contractor could be able to finish the A&A on time. At that point of time, we had signed a contract stating that my new place was scheduled for completion by the end of October.

Before we knew it, it was already the end of October and the house was still a mess (the roof wasn't even up yet). So we were once again promised that work would be completed by mid-November (after my ORD). That day came and as expected, we still couldn't move in yet. The contractor/engineer/whoever the fuck was responsible for this shit) had not even signed up for our water and electricity permits. Then came and end of November and now, it's already December 17th.


2) Crashing with Extended Family

Ever since the en bloc, my parents and I have been staying with my grandparents (who share their house with my aunt and 2 cousins). Imagine this: We are now sharing a three room condominium, with each room progressively smaller and more pathetic than the next, and there are only two toilets (of which only one is a common toilet because the other one is reserved only for use by the geriatric couple). Six people, one toilet.

To make things worse, I'm sleeping side by side with my parents on two mattresses (which we join together to make one slightly bigger mattress, and have to pack up to put it into one corner of the room every morning after we wake up) in the smallest of the three rooms. I'm not a claustrophobe and already I feel like a caged animal. I wonder how I would be able to deal with this if I was actually claustrophobic. This is why I actually preferred staying in camp more because at least I had a bed of my own there. So much for ORDing.


3) A House Is Not A Home

Even though the new place is mostly done up, it is still inhabitable due to some unapproved permits which the people in-charged of are not doing anything about (or if they are, I have yet to see any action taken nor have I heard any updates about it). This, coupled with the fact that the interior design has not been done (ie the yet-to-be-built build-in wardrobes, dry kitchen, wet kitchen cabinets) makes it absolutely impossible for my family to stay there at all. So yes, I may be able to step into my new house, turn on the lights, run the tap, but it's only just that: a house.

This fuckery has caused me to be unable to spend my final Christmas in my own home in Singapore before I depart for the US next year, and now it seems like my final Chinese New Year (for at least the next four years) may be affected too. Honestly, I'm too tired to think about the minute details now.

I guess my Christmas wish for 2008 won't be coming true.