:: singapore idol 2006 ::

in the spirit of singapore idol..which i could not care less..until i got an msn message to inform me that hady has won....



ps: the 'original' song that was supposed to be sung by the winner of our first idol last year..is not so original at all....pff!

via tomorrow.sg

:: de ramadan begint*::

* the ramadan begins (in dutch, duh!)

true to its cultural and religious diversity, holland lives up to the expectation.

other than being told in two head-hunted job interviews before that "we are seeking muti-cultural and diverse ethnicity within our organisation and no, you don't have to speak dutch, german or french - even though we ARE a European company, your good English is more than enough..." (hint-hint: singapore employees/companies that still seeking that 'particular' language" bullshit in job applicants).

holland, indeed, does not disappoint in her acceptance and embracing the non-typical dutch majority.

this is my second year celebrating ramadan in holland and, as expected, this year's ramadan is no different, and in the newspaper today, it detailed the ramadan calendar until 2010 - how long to fast because of the seasonal changes.

to all muslims - happy ramadan! there are no frills and food buffet splendour here - just a time for worship and be kind , and to be at peace with one-self.

i will be home, just in time for the end of ramadan - just to include in the material decadence of fat food and shopping - some things never change!

:: ode to summer 2006 ::

it would be ridiculous for me to talk about the summer when i'm back in singapore.

it is only because today is the last day that what-have-been a great summer in the netherlands, that i realised that i have been taking the tropical weather for granted - all those air-conditioning back home at full blast, staying indoors for lunch and avoiding as much sun as i could...

but still, i would not embrace the sun totally when i return home (remember to sun-block people).















enjoying the rides at the fun fair, dutch style!
















dancing on the streets - to the salsa music from the dynamic duo...i love them!















so long berms and slippers.....and remember...it's all about the hips when it comes to salsa...

so long summer.....!

:: a little bit of 'pe-sen' ::

i am not ashamed to admit that i LOVE fashion and shopping - even after the compulsive london shopping extravaganza that has left my bank account well, rather light and my credit card company happy.

so what have european fashion and shopping experience taught me? to start with....it all began with awareness of other european labels and how i have grown to love italian-made jeans.

casual men's labels like g-star, gsus, nudie, energie and diesel have become my perennial favourite but my only complain is that instead of usual size 30, i have to wear size 28...and that is hard because such pieces always come in limited quantities. it was good that the sales folks at http://www.menatwork.eu/chain nearby remembered this special 'need' of mine - and would always reserve a nice piece should i want them.

i must emphasize that i'm not a label-whole (but i do believe in made in italian/france/japan jeans are better in quality and comfort than made in china ANYTIME), and there's always a cheaper alternative in HnM, and Madonna with her recently-concluded crew became the model for this swedish chain, its hard to see why is it not having its stores in asia yet. the goods are cheap (made in china/bangladesh among others), and pretty ok (note: not high quality).

its also interesting to know that i can fully appreciate what autumn/winter collection is all about. with the summer's going away soon...it's time to get something really appropriate clothing (and much excuse to shop) to keep myself warm.

i realised that guess is a rare sight in europe and japan, and this label is already 25 years old! when i was 17 , the only thing that made me aware of this label's existence was anna nicole smith's bridget-badot look-alike poster for guess...and of course, my first introduction to designer's jeans.

i would not comment much about the fashion-sense of the dutch. i believe that singaporeans are not good dressers ourselves, but perhaps it would be a stereotype of mine that the french, italian and japanese are the best dressers that i've seen so far.

with less than a month for my trip home for deepavali and hari raya holidays...i must remember to make a trip to a guess store....and buy this nice pair of lawrence pants :-P



my nephews would be very lucky that i have so many pairs of jeans/pants to give-away...but only if they don't grow too fat.....

:: a itsy-bitsy moment of home-sickness ::

just the other day, when i was taking a train ride from amsterdam (for a discussion on one of the possibilities of a new job) - something hit me.

i was feeling home-sick (just a tiny bit) since i first came to europe slightly more than a year ago.

and what even bothered me was 'the trigger' that made me home sick.

it was not the home-cooked food, family or friends, but it was a song that i was listening from my mp3, and the song was not even english or malay.

it was a JAPANESE song - which made me a song addict.

the idea of this song made me home-sick was worrying.

it reminded me of one of those lonely projects in eastern singapore where you were working all by yourself (without great and sociable team members to talk or hangout with), the long drive home and to work (because of the horrendous peak hour traffic jam at PIE, BKE and SLE) - and how this song, has made me to get away in all that...i even imagined how would it be like if i could direct the music video for it, and what would i do, should i ever get a chance to sing and perform to it....silly, i know!

i guess it transcended beyond that..i guess this song, and other japanese memories made me home sick because of the countless sunday nights of waiting to see japanese dramas over at channel8 and other events which practically centered around MY HOME.

and that made me home-sick! strange idea....but it really did.

and to relieve my home-sickness, i watched the music video of this song countless of times....that made it much better.

:: i miss my old cassettes, do you? ::

:: SNA National Day Luncheon ::

On the same day that I was anxiously waiting to see Madonna in the flesh, the Singapore Netherlands Association (SNA) had organised a buffet-lunch-cum-lucky draw in conjunction with National Day celebration.

It was the first time that I ever attended an event organised by the kind people of SNA.

At the back of my mind, the following thoughts came to mind: “DIE liao…fellow Singaporeans, BUFFET, food, being not punctual, kiasu, snobs, ugly and unfashionable...”

And my mind did not disappoint me….it was all true.

I am not going to comment anything about it – apart, it was just NICE. and let's say i don't think i'm going to miss the fellow Singaporeans here that much though...

don't get me wrong, there were nice people and i guess its too early to say if we are going to share singlish together for a long time to go.

and i'm happy with my own sense of patriotism for my country... :-P

:: my confessions in amsterdam ::

let's face it, the photos that i took during madonna's concert will never be as good as those taken by the professionals - here are the official photos and other great pictures for the greatest event in amsterdam arena on 3rd and 4th september.

but what emotions! the moment she appeared from the gigantic disco ball - the deafening roar from her crowds, the flashes from cameras and mobile phones, the awe, the visuals and sounds...its beyond any description....



















i am choked - i can't write as well as the numerous blogs out there, but i know how it felt - it was exhilarating and i have absolutely no regrets.

it was well above any expectations - it was worth it.

thanks madonna....it's a closure that i seek since i was 11 years....and that is my confession.

:: tattoo anyone? ::

sorry...a bit busy now with my dutch classes, madonna's photos uploads and useless wifi (hijacked!) connection at home...

via tattoo parlour

:: post-Madonna concert ::

IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME.....BLEW ME COMPLETELY!

While I am trying to compose my photos for this...take a look of what this fabulous performer/entertainer/artist did to ENTERTAIN all of us, mere Mortals!

:: ONE MORE DAY::

i will be fulfilling one of my self-actualisation needs tomorrow.

you've read about it here, and how i have listened to her lyrics (ie: advise) here....

i am definitely hope not to be over-awed and ended up in a hospital..wish me luck!