Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Being 'LUCKY'

Yesterday, i noticed a missed call from an unknown number on my mobile phone when i was in the middle of my lecture.
So i sent an sms asking who was it..

Here's the reply i got..

Unknown: Hi Karthik.. Alan here from Prudential.. Remember I caught up with u last night at Tampines..
Me(dots =.='''): Sorry, i am afraid u have got the wrong no..

Unknown: Uh.. U r not Karthik? N u was not at Tampines last night?

Then he called me again..
Ignored the call.. But in order not to let my table shake again due to vibrations, i msg him this..

Me: No no.. I'm not.. I've told u.. Don't waste my sms anymore.. Thx..
Unknown: Oh ok. I sorry abt it.. U have a nice week ahead

Hehe.. Was getting a lil pissed off when he seemed to be eager to contact Karthik.. Refusing to believe that his potential client gave him a wrong number & led him on a wild goose chase..
Wahaha.. So that's how lucky i am.. That Karthik guy randomly wrote a number and it just so happened to be my number lor~

yunn. at 4:26 PM

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Last week, i spent 2 days working as a receptionist... Hehe.. First time being a receptionist..

Thanks Missy Mosquito for this job lobang. She worked there sometime ago as the permanent receptionist is often on medical leave.

There's many different companies in that building, i think they come under these 3 larger companies? I aren't exactly sure.. I also didnt ask much about it as i was going to work for 2 days.

Shan't mention names, see from picture can already =p

That's the view from my desk~
See people without access cards, visitors and courier men, wanna come in then press a button on remote control to let them enter the glass door.
That's the main job of this receptionist hehehe.. Cos few calls come in. And when they do, i usually don't know where to refer them to as those people don't know who to contact. So they press '0' for operator assistance (oh and that's me lor) but i find it hard to help them as i only have a list of the names of employees and their extension numbers, but not the list of what properties they are in charge of respectively.


Fortunately, there's a computer with internet access there. Unfortunately, it's an old computer which works at snail-pace.
Nevertheless, it's better than nothing.. Get paid to surf net =D


Besides, being the remote door opener, i also became the lift operator, heheh like 电梯小姐in the 'olden' times.. Cos the lifts have to be operated using access cards, so i have to ask where the visitors are going and press the lift floor for them.

Fortunately there arent many visitors, just many courier men coming in and out to deliver and collect mail. As many as 3 to 4 times in 1 day... Some are local couriers while some are international couriers like DHL. Sending things to a string of places which seemed so foreign to me. I was kaypoh and flipped through the stack put at my counter, while waiting for the DHL man to come. Finland, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Sweden... Australia, New Zealand, China... Ooh lala.. I also wanna tag along and visit Europe =D

After work, i walked back to Somerset MRT station and headed to Heeren..
Yippee.. Go to my fav HMV store.. Cos that's the only place i know of that stocks up on Jap CDs^^

As the 'monopoly', the prices they charge are well... so steep..
But the thing is, the CDs and DVDs are sold at quite an expensive price in Japan, so for HMV to import them to SG, they have to charge even higher prices.

So don't be shocked by the prices below~

My Tohoshinki aka Dong Bang Shin Ki, sometimes Dong Bang Shin Gi or Tong Vfang Xien Qi's previous Jap album -CD only..
The price? $72..

Their latest Jap single..
Jumon/Mirotic.. A couple of songs only so it's going at $16+
I see that DBSK had a change of hairstyle again.. Keke.. They have had numerous hairstyle changes over the years. But this time round, it's kinda weird.. Esp Xiah's 公鸡头and Mickey's 蘑菇头.. The 2 of them from left.. Can't see much from the picture, cos there were reflective double plastic wrappings on the CD, it's hard to take clear pictures =x

A long time ago, i wondered why the Japanese singers/bands always release singles periodically, instead of releasing full-length releases like what Taiwanese/HK/Local singers/bands do.
I gave up wondering quite awhile back as i grew used to it.

To gain more publicity and amass popularity, by being constantly 'around and about' in the music charts.
To get fans to spend more for less? Singles require lesser time to produce and has lesser packaging.. So it's more cost-effective??

Whenever i drop by HMV occasionally, i'll see new Tohoshinki's jap singles.. Have had a hard time keeping track. Despite the steep prices, DBSK's discs do get sold out easily. There's just too many that i wanna buy, so in the end, i bought nothing. Hehehehehe..
I've liked the Korean boyband for around 3 years. Oohs.. time flies~~~~~ It's been 5 years since their debut..
From Korea, they ventured into the Japanese market with much success =D


I like the cover of Doshite kimi... the title's long i cant remember..

So white and pure..
Just the pretty faces of DBSK.. =D
Taiwan HK Indo M'sia Spore version includes DVD of their MVs and are cheaper as usual..

That's the Japanese version --CD only.. I still prefer the cover of the local version


I happened to spot many singles/albums from Arashi ---took picture of 3 of the singles to show Julie.. Heheheheh.. Nice right?

I spent around 1h in the Jap/Chinese section of HMV in Heeren.. Hehe..
Eventually bought NEWS' single SUMMER TIME.. Listened to NEWS' latest single 'happy birthday', i figured out that i should get that in around 2 months time..
Just for the occasion..

CLOUD's still jap-crazy...

yunn. at 1:47 PM

Friday, October 24, 2008

IF you happen to have 5 min to spare..
Watch this:

関ジャニ∞　無責任ヒーロー



It's an MV of Jap boyband Kanjani8... Hmm.. u must be thinking, ahhhh this must be your latest obsession?!?

Aha.. it's not la.. I posted it here just because i found it really fun to watch.
The tune's catchy and fun too... Typically fast paced, upbeat JE boyband type of song. The 'cha-cha-cha.. or izzit 'ja-ja-ja?' part is silly but funny.

And the truth is, i don't even know the members of K8. I only know Ryo Nishikido, as he's also in my Yamapi's boyband NewS.
One of the members from K8 looked like Matsujun from Arashi with his hairstyle and the black rimmed specs (i've seen Matsujun don those in jap idol magazines =D)
I found out i arent the only one who thought of that as someone who viewed the video earlier on posted a comment there.

Just some entertainment!!!

yunn. at 3:36 PM

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Service with a smile? That can wait.. Set the basics right first...

This post stems from what my mum told me about her recent experience in a 5 or perhaps 6 star hotel --Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa. Before she went for her friend's son's wedding dinner, we were thinking, Shangri-la leh... So famous.. So expensive.. Should be very good hor?? Nyeh..
It turned out otherwise =x

Many of the waiters employed by the hotel for wedding dinners are often just temporary staff, so people don't usually expect very good service from these unexperienced people.
So firstly, their standards are already lowered..

The waiter who served the table where my mum was seated was a young Chinese student.
Young+Student.. So people usually 'open one eye, close one eye' and are more forgiving when it comes to mistakes. But what my mum described was really REALLY HORRIBLE service! Unforgivable!!

There's this steamed fish dish and waiters are supposed to present the dish in front of diners to showcase the whole steamed fish before proceeding to cut them into several large pieces.
What that idiotic waiter did was to cut the fish up before serving to diners. Worse still, he didnt know how to cut it well. So imagine the shock when he put down the plate of mash-up of whatever-not, u cant tell what is it kind of dish in front of them.
If this had happened during a regular dining session, patrons would have rejected this dish outright and demand to see a presentable steamed whole fish to show its freshness. But this had happened during a wedding banquet, so no one made much noise, to give the hosts 'face'.

Prior to this, that waiter wanted to split the shark fin soup into small bowls before serving. But was stopped by someone more senior when he/she saw that he took a stack of bowls from the diners' tables to the kitchen. Laziness???? Then when he thought no one's watching, he sneaked back to the kitchen to cut up the fish in a horrible fashion.

My mum's friend, an english speaker, asked the Chinese waiter for a glass of warm water.
Arent sure whether he understood.. But if he didnt understand, he should have clarified with her or other guests who can help to translate.
Anyway, the glass of warm water failed to show up throughout the long dinner.
And did i mention, those 'lucky' others who had a glass of tea in front of them, had to refill the tea themselves.
WHAT CRAP SERVICE?!?

Once, that waiter collected all their used plates and when he came with the next dish, he didnt replace the plates. Baka! He didnt see that there wasn't any clean plates in front of the diners? He expect all the diners to sit in a circle to stare at one big plate of food is it? No common sense hur? Take away le then must replace ya... And he just stood at the side like a statue, beside the storetable packed with stacks of clean plates and utensils. (HOW IRONIC)

What's worse, the case of bad service isnt confined to my mum's table, but other tables where her other friends sat at that night.

Plates of peanuts usually adorn the tables for patrons to munch on while waiting for the dinner to start. But none were in sight. Many of them were really hungry as they set off from home early to arrive at the hotel in Sentosa. It's like the norm and basic courtesy as u know, wedding banquets don't usually (if not, never ever) start on time. So someone from my mum's table asked for one, that got many people from other tables asking how come their table so special? Hahahahah..

Another Chinese waiter was splitting the large plate of noodles into small bowls when a noodle strayed onto the table, he casually scooped the noodle up with his hand and put it back into the bowl nonchalently. Everyone at her table saw it and nobody wanted to touch that bowl of noodles.
Yucks! They have got no basic sense of hygiene! How can they be working in the F&B industry?
And why on earth did the permanent staff not teach them about basic hygienic practices & other essential service attributes and common practices? Bad service will leave many people disillusioned and this is detrimental to the hotel's image.

Oh another quip, there wasn't any feedback forms in sight. My mum said that all would turn up with negative feedbacks if there were any to be distributed that night.
Hmmm.. i guess the waiters had already trashed or burnt or chopped them into bits or tore them into a thousand pieces...

yunn. at 3:02 PM

Sunday, October 19, 2008

School~~

Wanted to blog about school stuff sometime ago.. Been lazy to blog regularly nowadays, partially also because i'm busy..

Tadah! I'm finally here to do that..

Pasta from Mega Bites cafe on campus..
Carbonara.. creamy and cheesy spaghetti opped with chilli flakes.. Which tasted really like chilli ---hot! Unlike chilli flakes from places like Pasta Mania, nydc and Pizza Hut. Shan't ask the chef to put so much the next time =D
Declined to add in more powdery cheese, though i love cheese... well... simply because it's already very cheesy.. Hehe..

This dish's really BIG! As seen in this picture, see the size of the plate compared to the soap bowl and utensils??


And that's Diana eating her tomato and mushroom pasta. This pictures were taken sometime ago, so i forgot the name of the dish =x
I only remember that it's NICE! Sweet and tasty with huge juicy tomatoes that i love..

Recently took some photos with my univ buddies!!
It's the first time we took pics together ever since school term started!
I always like how we can see our reflections in the glass panels so i suggested taking photos there ^^
Diana looked as though she's fading away...
Ohhhh nooooo! Please don't go!!!!!!! *over-dramatising Cloud screams*

Okies.. shall take one with her again.. No more ghostly figure~ Due to the sunlight i guess..


Wanna thank Kai Lin for helping us take the last 2 photos.. just happened to see her walk by on her way home. Hehe.. What a coincidence!~

yunn. at 6:34 PM

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Had my first ever stats test 2 weeks ago~~
Darn slack ahhh...
There's hints accompanying the questions and answers were also printed. I didnt notice the answers there initally.. Hehe.. But when it comes to probability, i think the lecturer shouldn't have provided the answers leh, cos we can trial and error and get the working right.

One interesting thing to note: there's actually 2 parts to the test --Test one and two, focused on diff topics.
But many of them actually took only test one.
After the start of the test, the lecturer peered into the 2 boxes containing the papers and was puzzled as to why, the stack of Test 2 left in the box is much higher than the stack of Test 1 left in the adjacent box. He announced to everyone about it, but nobody seemed to care leh. Not a single one came down to get Test 2.
So at around 9+am, many people finished the test and became restless, i was thinking 'these people must be real fast wor..' i've just finished test 1 and just started on test 2. Micheline told me she thought 'this batch of students must be geniuses' then. LOLs..
Turned out that they are the bunch of idiots who only did half the test.
After the test, the lecturer (talking to himself) 'How come there's still so thick (hand gesture to represent the thickness) left? I said like a thousand times, but nobody seemed to hear me.'
Me (thinking): Oohs, how sad... The feeling of being ignored my beloved students...


Talking about tests, econs lecturer brought up this topic today.
Lecturer: Shall we have a test next week?
Students: No... no... no... (echoes around LT)
Lecturer: How about next next week?
Students: Noooooo...
Lecturer: Just a short test, half an hour only...
*pauses*
I'll put it at the end of the lecture, those who dont want to take, can just leave. I dont want u all to skip lecture just to skip the test.
.... The day before, swallow a housefly then report sick dont come for lecture...

I've no idea where's the link to the last sentence, but it certainly got many people laughing..

Hmm.. i dont quite look forward to the econs test leh.. I dont usually understand his lectures..
Like talking to himself, once he lost directions in the midst of explanations and he rested his head on his hand and stared at his laptop screen. *faints*
Like the guy who sat in front of me, he said 'aiya tia buay tieo ah' (literally means cannot hear in hokkien, though i think he meant cant get the lecturer's idea) and he began spinning a coin to entertain himself.
While Julie and I had our own mini picnic behind. Chomping on tidbits and drinks placed on the bench-like tables. KEEPS ME AWAKE.
Lecturers arent strict about eating and drinking in lectures. So it didnt take long for all sorts of food and drinks to appear on tables. Cups, cans, bottles, packets, plastic bags, boxes...
In LTs, the tables are usually movable while the chairs are fixed. Here in SIM, our tables are fixtures with swivel chairs attached to the tables. I often had to resist the urge of swinging about in the partially movable chair in lectures.

Cloud has problems sitting still sometimes^^

yunn. at 12:32 AM

Monday, October 13, 2008

Just an update..
So sorry my dear friends who'd been visiting my blog regularly and find it devoid of new posts..
I wanted to blog about a lot of stuff, but don't have time to... Kept busy with school, dance and work.. Pardon me..

And when i finally have the chance to touch the computer, i would either be watching jap dramas or find pics of JE boys.. JE stands for Johnny Entertainment --an agency in Japan that specialise in 'manufacturing' young male idols...

Yes, i got distracted by pretty boys yet again~


My Yamapiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!

Posting some of the icons i've gotten from some fangirls' blogs.. They literally live, breathe and dream about JE boys.. Haha.. They make icons, wallpapers, write fanfiction, chat about them in forums....

I've read a few nice fan fiction, but i wouldn't put it up here la, just put some pics for yall to see see..

A brooding Ryo Nishikido... He's a member of 2 boybands ---NEWS and Kanjani 8 (hmm.. don't ask me why, cos i didnt like him long enough to know about all that history)

Ryo and Yamapi~

And this is Ryo and Tegoshi... Can't really tell who is who leh.. The icon pic is so small.. Ahh.. Ignore the words in white if it gives u goosebumps...


Of all these pics, i love the first black and white pic of Jin (KAT-TUN) the most.. So stylishly done~ ETERNAL~~~

And at the request of Julie babe... Jun Matsumoto.. Her fave.. Hahaha.. Too bad i dun have any Arashi photos in my computer... It's filled with rival boybands Kat-tun and NEWS.. LOLS.. Not enough space to accomodate another japanese boyband =p

Weeeee... got to go.. I hope i can be back soon with more posts..

yunn. at 4:40 PM

Monday, October 06, 2008

Superband II finals

Had a rocking good time yesterday night, watching Superband finals from 730-11pm.
大风吹,三月,异世界,兔子~

The 4 finalists battle it out to be the champion of the 2nd season of the show.

Eventually the winner goes to TU ZI aka Rabbit!~ Congrats!!!!

It would have been better to watch them live in action, though i aren't an ardent fan of any of the finalists. Unlike 2 years ago, i was rooting for 迷路兵 =D
Talking about 迷路兵, they released their sophomore album just over a week ago.

Other than 迷路兵, there were other season 1's alumni performing..
I missed Qinobe's unique style of performance, 1 guy will put on a mask and wave a big flag and prance around the stage (to create the super high atmosphere --other than that, i can't think of other reasons why he's in the band) and another (the rapper) will paint his face.

Lucify's the japanese virtual kei influenced rock band, i remember them donning heavy makeup and super nice outfits. The vocalist (i rmb him slaughtering a few songs in the competition in 2006) sounded good now^^

When Qinobe and Lucify joined forces to sing an Energy's song, it's super high (^o^)
But the stage's really small and looked cramped when all of them went onto the stage. Haix, when the show started, i was thinking 'this season, the organisers got little budget is it? How come they hold the finals in the mediacorp studio instead of indoor stadium this time round?'
Okies, after talking much about the first season Superband, time to talk about the 2nd season 'newbies'. Hehe..

The band兔子, an all-girl trio led almost all the way in the popularity rankings and went on to win the competition. I wanted to put some of their cute photos here, but the official superband website dont allow people to rightclick and save pics.. But in order not to make this post look boring without pics, i checked out the contestants' blogs to kope some pics^^

Their round nerd specs, mushroom haircuts and colorful coordinated outfits =DD
I like the drummer (centre), cos i find girls who can play the drum well uber cool~ The only gripe i've about them is they don't sing that well. However, they are young and there's surely room for them to improve in future..

Next up, is 异世界aka Yi shi jie or just YSJ for short..

One pic says it all, they're similar to Lucify in terms of music influence..
But more nice pics wouldnt harm right?
LOLs..

Sam and Kenn aka Kei.. Kei's face look exceptionally white.. Or did Sam just get a tan? Hehe..


They have the most interesting outfits in this season of Superband..

That week's theme was retro.. I reckon they looked a lil funny~
But what made me laugh was the caption written by Kei (the one with the hat)

From left: Mr Minute, Chucky, 18th Century Composer, Auntie, Circus Lion Tamer.

I love Kei's unique hat!!! SO COOL!~
He said in an interview 'I didnt borrow it from a policeman, neither did i steal it from somewhere, i got it from.......'
Darn i couldn't catch the rest of the sentence either cos my tv set's speakers are cranky or it's cos he was just mumbling to himself.

Whee.. Spot the difference!~
Kei was trying to be creative and did something to the original picture above..
AMAZING wor!! Wonder how he did it^^
I'd love to watch them perform 2 more songs, unfortunately they were eliminated in the first segment of the grand finals.. Nevertheless, i like both songs they sang, a super HIGH song called 抓狂--don't ask me, neither have i heard of this song before.. And 'Waiting For You' in the unplugged segment. Prior to the 2nd song, i was wondering (perhaps everyone else too) how the heavy metal rock band can carry off a slow soothing song. It's a lil weird watching them sit down in a row (instead of jamming & jumping about) and vocalist Kunio played the guitar while guitarist Kei sang the majority of the song. Hmm.. i think Kei sings better than Kunio leh.. Got more 'feel'.. Hehe..

Cos Kunio's weak vocals & poor diction had been the most criticised part of the otherwise strong band throughout the competition. *dodging stones from Kunio's fans* And one of the judges think likewise and asked a surprised Kei whether he would be singing for the next 2 songs & looked disappointed when a dazed-lookin Kei shook his head. Well.. Think i'm getting more & more pro-Kei already~~

Then as for 三月 --i like vocalist Fion who has an unique alto voice & she could carry off rock tunes really well^^
Haiz.. But they got eliminated together with YSJ. Didnt get a chance to listen to 2 more songs =x

As for 大风吹, i don't think they belong there in the first place.. Hmm.. You know what i mean.. *dodges again for flying pots and pans from 大风吹's fans*
Quite surprised that they got through to the final stage.

Kkz, i'm running out of time, shall cut the post short, lest i wouldn't be able to finish it today~~

The BEST PART OF THE SHOW
When Mayday came onstage as Superband's ambassadors =DDD

Absolutely brought the house down with 孙悟空and离开地球表面.. That's what they call 天团^^
I still remember watching Mayday once many years ago.. It would be a real good experience if i can go to their concert... *dreams*
阿信!阿信!阿信!阿信! Yipppeeee~

Cloud decides to end the post before she starts rambling on & on..

yunn. at 4:12 PM