:: dirty drawing? not quite.. ::

this reminds me of my college days when we thought that our school logo was 'obscene'....well, dirty minds will have dirty thoughts ;)

:: slimmer thighs, hips and tummy in 30 seconds ::

just trust the quirky japanese...i love it...

:: prinsjedag today ::

today is the day where the queen of netherlands delivers her speech from the throne to joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.

but that is not the highlight.

the highlight is the procession of the golden coach and you can see the photos here...

you see, on the stroke of one, the Queen, normally accompanied by other members of the Royal House, leaves Noordeinde Palace for the Binnenhof, escorted by court dignitaries and a military escort of honour. it's a truly spectacular sight for the royal fans and admirers alike (like me).

but this year, i decided not to go, even despite the sunny but albeit cold weather today. i decided just to say at home in my bathrobe and watched it live on the television.

i had already seen it before, when i first came here in 2005 and the closest photo that i got then was the one shown below.


having lived and work in the hague for more than 2 years now, it's really nice to see so many dutch and tourists alike visiting this lovely and historic city for today's event.

i went to KFC after the procession (tuesday being my chicken dinner night) and i saw a lot of them are waiting for the ministers for the post-senate discussions, and this is just opposite the american book centre where i frequent on a weekly basis.



to me, its not an attraction since believe it or not, i have met so many of these politicians in the hague at the surrounding cafes and bars near to the binnehoft. and i think i am beginning to really feel like a local 'hagueian' after all.

i love it to be at the place where the queens and other important government people walk and move around freely. i even cycle so many times at the route where the golden carriage passes just once and year - and yet, i don't even know and see where my president and prime minister go to their daily office back home in singapore...and its sad.

how i hate the elitist government folks back home...i have seen so many of the government offices and monuments here than i have ever been in all my life back home. we should have a monument's day too...

peace,
x

:: grammar test, it's elementary my friends...::

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

:: happy ramadan ::

"Muslims usher the fasting month" (the headline on the left)

Happy Ramadan to all fellow Muslims!

Watch how the Muslims here (mostly from the Middle East cultures) celebrate it in the Netherlands (in Dutch, of course!)

15 hours of fasting...thanks to long summer still :-)

:: last weekend round-up - Malaysian food festival ::

since i missed it for the past two years, i decided to pay a visit to the malaysian embassy this time. as i never really missed any asian food from singapore, it was still nice to be able to enjoy the familiar cuisines (but terribly expensive..nasi lemak is 25EU while it is only 0.5o cents for the same standard in KL). the food was good, but cold...and the indian summer temperature didn't help either..

the malaysian expats that i met there were nice.
and as usual, i spoke to them in bahasa malaysia, they replied in english!
maybe being from singapore makes them think they we only speak english or mandarin....even when my bahasa malaysia is of united nations standards :P

malaysia boleh!
x

:: I am very happy today...::

Decisions....decisions...decisions...

:: this bothers me ::

when the idea of "the world is getting smaller" is practically taken literally.

if i want to see eiffel tower, i will go to paris - not tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of hangzhou in east China's zhejiang province.

they are trying to make mini paris in china - and it further enforces the chinese are the world's biggest copy-cat where anything goes.

and i thought everybody said that singaporeans have no soul....but this is major! after thousand years of history and civilisation, they are still quite clueless...aren't they? but then i hope i am not bothering the line of stereotyping, but this ain't just right.

peace,
x

ps: picture are taken from reuters

:: this is THE song for me ::

only god knows how many times that i have listened to this song...over and over again.
when i need some assurance, calmness, peacefulness and tranquility, wanting and longing.
while in a plane while it circles up the air waiting for landing, on a long train ride in some unknown places, in the cold hard winter in bed, missing....yearning and looking for the answers to unknown questions.
in my car...driving in the wee hours of the morning...feeling lost and confused.
in all my emotions.
in all my sorrows and joys.
this is the song that does it for me.

this is perhaps, one of the most intimate secrets that i have ever shared in my blog...ever!
x

:: a diplomatic weekend ::

i was at a friend's farewell do last friday.

as the consultate general of the australia embassy in the netherlands, it was time for him to go home after 3 years of glorious and wonderful experience here.

just like so many people that i know here, i met him and his partner from a regular bar. and indeed, there were many familiar faces from the bar - including the owner, Rob, at my friend's party.

as a diplomat, my friend has one of the best addresses in the hague, but nevertheless, it was still a bicycle ride for me, even with my suits on :) he clearly knows his diplomatic skills well and an excellent host - ensuring that everyone has enough drinks, snacks, company, chit-chats, etc.

and then, a stranger came to me and offered his handshake and said "Hi, I'm Stephen..."

not knowing who he was, we spent some good time talking about a lot of things really, like the maiden flight of airbus A380 from Singapore to Australia, the concept of time and space, his last trip home (with the prince and princess of netherland) australia, singapore, etc....

he excused himself and proceeded to 'meet people who he has not met before' and still i have no clue what he does for a living (nor i cared really).

only later i was told that he was the australia embassador here ;-) and people who worked with him said that he's a natural nice guy...a real diplomat...

and i have to say, that i'm very impressed - to experience a true-blue diplomacy at its best, and makes me wonder why some of my singaporean counterparts are still stuck-ups.

diplomats or a pauper, it always pays to make someone happy and be cordial and polite to everyone....everytime.

that was my diplomatic weekend, at its best...
x

:: heroes world tour in singapore ::

two words: 'i'm jealous'

photo courtesy of casual chin, my friend.