:: amsterdam, my neglect ::

i think that amsterdam is not given enough respect from yours truly.

throughout my stay in the netherlands since 2005, i could actually count the number of times that i've been there. it has nothing to do with the distance (about 50 minutes by speed train, taking MRT from Choa Chu Kang to City Hall is longer than that), or the transport cost (it's fully expendable anyways) and it's more lively and modern than most dutch cities (that's why it's a tourist-trap).

besides the usual tourist haunts of the red-light districts, the coffeeshop where you can smoke weed till you get enough high and more sex shops/clubs, amsterdam boasts fine and wonderful bars and restaurant.

case in point: last weekend, my colleagues 'forced' me to get out of the hague for some drinks and dinner....little did i know that the night out will ended up of me returning at home at 8 am the next morning....and with that...enough said.

here's what i had for dinner at morlang




and pre-club drinks at herengracht bar before i can't recall what happened next ;P


i told myself that i should make more weekend trips to this most-misunderstood city....x

:: fashion trends - how right/wrong are they? ::

disclaimer : i am not a fashion expert, but i do know how fashion works (well, for most times at least). those fashionistas snobs are trend-setters (and so they like to think) and the fashion industry works out trends well ahead for mere mortals like me to just simply follow.

but how many of these 'trends' do people (and major mass-market fashion retailers) actually hit the mark? we all know that the current fashion shows right now are for fall/winter 2008 - and damn it, winter 2007 is still not over....but that's how the industry work. they give inspirations and creative exchanges to designers all over the world on what to 'sell' come fall/winter later on this year?

let's re-cap what was the top 10 fashion trends for fall/winter 2007 from milan, new york and paris fashion shows in 2006, and compare that to what hit the stores really.


personally , i have seen 4 of the top 10 picks which have hit the major retailers quite a bit. they are the 'shiny set', 'long and layered', the soft parade' and 'tone on tone' ...

major retailers like zara, hnm, uniqlo and cos (all which i frequent quite regularly) have stocked up enough influences on those trends. i'm sure other influences are also quite spot-on but it did not catch enough attention from me as i don't see myself wearing those clothes on me.

in all fairness, i think these trends are powerful and influential on its own, and it gives a lot of inspiration and ideas on what kind of clothes to shop in the next seasons to come. if one thing that i've learn to spot on trends was to save me the embarrassment of choosing the colour of the season, the fit and the style of (say, the black fall/winter shirt details). it could be boring, because when you shop, you will see most clothes are similar and one that you are already and you might loose your sense of personal style....

so, if you want to be lazy to know what's coming up for spring/summer 2008, read on....


where are my eighties clothes? x....

:: ban, ban, bang Singapore ::

yes, singapore police has banned the complaint choir from performing in public - just because they have non-singaporean members in the choir!

honestly, this is nothing new, i have grew up with so many bans of music and videos in the iron-city-state-proud-country of mine.

i remembered the song 'physical' by oliver newton-john was banned because of its sexual innuendoes. even a decent song 'i've never been to me' by charlene was edited because the word 'fought' sounded like fu*k".

the F words are used here like nobody's business in tv/music videos, advertisements and in all media possible, which really is a NON-issue. there is even a song here which repeated this line.."i'm from holland, where the f*ck you are from?" - was it offensive? nobody here is bothered at all and it was a hit last summer...

this ban by singapore has reached a lowest low in my opinion, because it is so so lame...i'm not offended by the lyrics and i don't think they are funny too and honestly if they provide a free public performance, i don't even bother to watch...these 'complaints' are stale news...things which i know all along are embarassing 'singaporean' traits....but please, not every singaporeans are like that...why harping same old boring stuff?

if you bothered, click on the video (sucks audio quality though) but the lyrics (which are also lame) are listed below.




We get fined for almost anything
Drivers won't give chance when you want to change lane
The indoors are cold, the outdoors are hot;
And the humid air, it wrecks my hair
Those answering machines always make you hold
Only to hang up on you

When a pregnant lady gets on the train
Everyone pretends to be asleep
I'm stuck with my parents till I'm 35
Cause I can't apply for HDB
We don't recycle any plastic bags
But we purify our pee

*chorus:
What's wrong with Singapore?
Losing always makes me feel so sore
Cause if you're not the best
Then you're just one of the rest

My oh my Singapore
What exactly are we voting for?
What's not expressly permitted
is prohibited

"Ooh"

When I'm hungry at the food court, I see
People chope seats with their tissue paper
To the auntie staying upstairs:
Your laundry's dripping on my bed sheets
Please don't squat on the toilet seats
And don't clip your nails on MRT

Stray cats get into noisy affairs
At night my neighbor makes weird animal sounds
People put on fake accents to sound posh
And queue up 3 hours for donuts
Will I ever live till eighty five
to collect CPF?

*chorus

Singaporeans too kiasu! (so scared to lose)
Singaporeans too kiasi! (so scared to die)
Singaporeans too kiabor! (scared of their wives)
Maybe we’re just too stressed out! (even the kids)

"Ooh"

Old National Library was replaced by an ugly tunnel
Singaporean men can’t take independent women
People blow their nose into the swimming pool (and pee too)
And fall asleep on my shoulder in the train

Singapore’s national bird is the crane (the one with yellow steel girders)
Real estate agents’ leaflets clogging up my mailbox (en bloc, en bloc, en bloc, en bloc)
Why can’t we be buried when we die?
No one wants to climb Bukit Timah with me

*chorus

There are not enough public holidays
My neighbor sings KTV all night
Wedding dinners never start on time
My hair is always cut shorter than I want
Channel 5 commercials are way too long
Why do men turn bald?

At first it was to speak more mandarin
Then it was to speak proper English
What’s wrong with my powderful Singlish?

People sit down during rock concerts
We have to pay for tap water at restaurants
ERP gantries are everywhere
But I can still see traffic jams on the road
All the bus stops have tilted benches
Cannot access playboy.com

*chorus

:: stranded in dutch winters ::

so,......
i couldn't get any confirmed flights until thursday.
and i couldn't
get away from the office next week.
which only means that i will only be flying back home to singapore on valentine's day, only 1 weekend!
but still it will be better than nothing, and at this rate, i can keep my quarterly tickets and let it for someone else to use instead.....
any takers? ;-)

x

:: Men's 10 Worst Fashion Sins ::

It takes a no-brainer to know that these 10 are so, so wrong:

• Pants that are too long/too short
• White socks with dress shoes
• Mixing patterns
• Ties too long/too short
• Stained clothes
• Waists that sit too high/too low
• Scruffy shoes
• Wearing handheld devices on your belt
• Over-layering
• Mismatched belts and shoes

from Forbes.com

My #1 pet-peeve is the picture above (i don't care if you have a Macbook Air, iPhone, dildos or other fancy gadgets...you are not impressing anyone, get it?)

:: for you, a thousand times over...:::

i have just watched the kite runner movie tonight and the cinema was not-suprisingly, a full-house. and boy! the movie didn't disappoint, and having read the book twice (once with audio book in my iPod), my tears just could not stop flowing...which was not embarrassing for some reason as many in the cinema were sniffling too :) and my personal circumstances now (i went with the movie who is 'my kite runner' ...makes it even more emotional somehow)

i wanted to wait and watch this back home in Singapore (due to afraid that there will be no English subtitles for the Afghani and Pakistani dialects, but luckily it was 'defaulted' in the movie)...and of course the more expensive ticket prices here :)

this was one movie where i would recommend to everyone - you just need to watch it once. even if you have read the book before, the timing of the movie i felt was just nice. the cinematography was superb and the casting (especially the young hassan, ahmad khan mahmoodzada who won the critics choice award 2007 for the best child actor) was excellent and i can't wait to get my hands on the soundtrack.

just like the book, it didn't fail and it kept my spirits up and i do feel a lot better now.

ps: i hope to be back on this week for a short trip for family and chinese new year with friends (and of course to catch the sun)... after that, i think i will be terribly busy at work shutting between the hague and london :(

x

:: send the clouds away ::

i have not been 'chatty' this month, as evident from my lack of any updates lately.
after all the 'highs' of december and lots of party and fun at the start of the new year, this month is depressing personally for me. i shall not dwell about it (i've never been public about my personal life in here anyway), but let's just say that 'when the lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes'.



other than that little bump, things are very much good for me, especially when career is concerned, i'm going to move to a new project which will mean more traveling globally and a personal challenge of new role and responsibilities. so i don't really understand why do i get depressed a lot, until i realise that i might be suffering from SAD also known as winter depression. i like to stay in the house, do not go out at all (other for grocery shopping) and my apartment is a total mess. i will be lazing around whole day in my bathrobe, laying on the couch watching tv or in bed reading...

with all the gloomy and darkness surround most of the time, it's not suprising that 40% of the dutch feel more depressed in january than in other months. if not for my weekly routine of going to the gym, i think i would have ended up being more depressed than ever before. fortunately i'm not suicidal and i have started to pick up the pieces (including change the blog look a bit) and booking for a flight home to singapore soon and get away from this c**t weather, even thought it will just be a week before i return.

ps: do not listen to amy winehouse when you are having the blues...x! you might ended up taking crack

:: my lustful object of desire ::

apple did it again ..ahhh...

:: achter de vuurwerken ::

hier voor de nieuw jaar...maar vuurwerken zijn bizaar voor mij sinds het is illegal (hehe) back home..

ik moet nederlands praten voor 2008, meer en meer...

you've guess it..i must polish up my terrible dutch...x