Spending the holidays with TV

Its a super long weekend, thanks to the Lunar New Year. There's nothing much to do as most of the shops in the malls are closed during these 2 days. Thankfully True Fitness remains open throughout the public holidays. Else I will just go berserk at home and spend the whole day watching TV. Been doing that since Sat night, after coming back from Sentosa with Jenn & Eliza. Even though the turnout was poor, it didn't dampen our mood for the day, basking (or baking rather) under the sun, trying to make the feeling ala a vacation in Barbados.

Talking about TV, the latest American Idol series has just been aired. It's definitely one of my fave shows and I will follow through the season most of the time. However after all these years, people are getting jaded with the show and has become less fanatic about it. The series have produced winners with a technically almost pitch perfect voice with powerful lungs. However their star doesnt shine for long, often going into obscurity after an album, and some only after a single. So far, only the first idol, Kelly Clarkson, seem to be the most successful. Ruben Studdard did not make much of an impact like his weight did. Fantasia, with her unique 'Donald Duck-has-a sorethroat' voice has not recover til now. Carrie Underwood is huge in the country charts which is not a mainstream in this part of the world. And who's Taylor Hicks? I don't even remember him releasing a single after being crowned Idol 5th season winner. Jordin Sparks is doing good so far, taking one step at a time, hopefully will have enough air for a second album. And of course the latest Idol, David Cook's light is still on for the time being.

Although all past winners are good singers, their songs aren't just huge enough to be hits. Oh well, I will just continue watching the show. Besides, they have a new judge on the panel to spice up the show. Apart from Idol, there are tons of good shows on TV for these 2 days. In fact, there was a very good one I just watched. . .The Little Nyonya Reunion! Ha. . At least this was far much better than the 3min crap. . .

The End of a Nokia Dynasty

14th January marks the last day that I carry a Nokia handphone in my pocket after I bought a new Samsung F480. The N6288 has served me well for the past 21 months, without any glitch in rendering its services for my communication purposes.

It was a difficult decision for me to switch to Samsung as I had been a hardcore Nokia user, sticking with the brand loyally right from day one. It was a choice between F480 and Nokia E71. The latter did not appeal very much to me thus the decision for the switch.

Nokia ought to be hailed as the 'Pioneer of Mobile Phones'. Back in year 2000, when people are starting to chuck their pagers for handphone, Nokia was the phone that almost everyone own. The N3210 was the craze back then, being the first 'modern era' phone of Y2K. Now, mobile phones have become an essential gadget for everyone. It is capable of performing far complex functions than just playing 'Snake' on it.

9 years on, 5 Nokias later, it was time for me to step out of my Nokia comfort-zone. . Thank you Nokia for Connecting People. . .

The Fever Continues. . .

It has already been almost a week that the finale of very much loved (except for Lynn who hates it) 'The Little Nyonya' was aired. The next few days, local papers featured extensive articles on the show. Besides the report on the staggering 1.6 million or so viewers tuning in to catch the last episode, there were also articles from other aspects that were 'Nyonya-related'. People were interested about everything Peranakan, from the costume to the food. Thanks to the powerful media influence, Peranakan restaurants and shops are cashing in on the fever.

The show made such a huge impact that the producers have come up with a special 3 minutes 'Final Chapter'. I, for sure, will not miss it which will somewhat relieve my withdrawal symptoms. After the final episode, the show became a hot topic over breakfast at the pantry the next day. Some of my colleagues were debating over the ending saying that it was not a 'happy ever after' scene. Who doesn't love happy ending? But if had turned out that way, the show will not be less different from other predictable storyline drama serials.

Anyway, it was really a good show to watch. Mediacorp will have a tough time to produce another drama that will rival the nyonya, or not.

On another note, I can foresee that there will be several 'Yueniang wannabes' at SilkAir Annual Dinner and Dance next month. With the Asian Costumes theme that night, it will be the night of resurrection for Sarong Kebaya!

New, new, new!

It's a NEW YEAR, so I have decided to move my blog from Friendster to here! Friendster has been awesome, but it has become tiring - taking forever to load and numerous errors each time I tried to publish my blog. . .

After bidding 2008 goodbye with a fanfare farewell at Siloso Beach, it’s that time of the year to come up with new resolutions, or perhaps renew your past resolutions which are not fulfilled or even attempt to fulfill. For me, I managed to carry out 4 out of the 6 resolutions made in the beginning of 2008. So I guess that is not too bad.

2008 had been a very exciting year for me. There were lots of activities going on and there were always something to look forward to, thanks to my great friends (and MYSELF) in planning the events. I also embarked on a self devised ‘healthy lifestyle’ program, being mindful of my diet and working out to get into shape. And with the improved fitness, I was able to accomplish things that I thought I wouldn’t be able to previously. I took up rowing, participated in running events and also achieved my first IPPT Gold Award. It was truly rewarding. . .

For 2009, I guess it won’t be any much different from 2008. There are 2 Bangkok trips to look forward to, will try to sign up for more than the current 5 running events and improve on the timings. For now its back to 5 days work week, after enjoying the 2 long weekends in December... And the next closest thing to look forward to is the last episode of The Little Nyonya tomorrow!