The 7 Happy Things

Sally has an appointment with a friend today, so I stayed at home. Woke up early in the morning and spent roughly 4 hours cleaning my room. Upside down. Inside out. Cleaned the fan, the cupboards and even the walls.

Surprisingly, I actually threw out a lot of stuffs and my room feels more spacious now. This reminds me of the time when I was in Australia. My last few days in Australia to be exact, when I was packing my stuffs and realized that there were too many things to be stuffed into my luggage bag. So I asked for advice from a friend who travels frequently and she said there are only two rules when it comes to packing up. Rule #1, pack the things you need. Rule #2, throw everything else.

Simple enough.

But ah, if it’s that simple, I wouldn’t have asked for advice. Right!? We tend to keep stuffs that we don’t necessarily need because, who knows, we might need them later on. In reality, we’re afraid of discarding the wrong stuffs. Sometimes we turn the whole house upside down to look for something and THEN realized that we’ve thrown it away :O Ok, anyway, over the years I’ve learnt to just throw stuffs away because more often than not, I really don’t need them :P

However, there are things in life that sometimes we can’t just throw away. Because they are special to us. Perhaps they make us happy. And these things may not necessarily be a physical object. It can be anything - food, music, an event, a person, a place or even a memory.

I have 7 things in my life that I probably can’t live without. And here they are:

#7 Coffee
Category: Stimulant

I’m a coffee-man. A cup of coffee a day keeps the sleepiness far, far away.

Kopi for breakfast @ Hans

#6 Butter Menthol
Category: Candy

Thanks to Jozy, I finally found the ultimate cure for sore throat. And they are only available in Candy Empire @ Vivo City. Go grab yours right now!

Honey-center butter menthols

#5 Beach
Category: Paradise

I love the beach. The sand. The sea. The breeze.

Rainy day @ Sentosa

#4 Metal Gear Solid
Category: Fan-boy craze

Ok, yes, I’m a big Metal Gear Solid fan. I almost bought a PS3 to play MGS4 but a wonderful person came along and poof! Gotta control budget already :P But I’m still gonna get myself a MGS keychain :P They have it on eBay!

20th Metal Gear Anniversary Figurines
Wonder Festival Limited Edition Snake Squares Camouflage Version
Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel & Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops
Metal Gear Solid official novel

#3 McDonald’s McGriddles Breakfast Set
Category: Yummy Food

Again, thanks to Jozy for this one. A few months back, she told me McDonalds came up with this new crappy breakfast called McGriddles and talked about how the combination of sweet and savory just didn’t work. I was curious and went to try it that very weekend. One word - YUMMY! Since then, McGriddles has consistently been my breakfast whenever I go to Sentosa for beach volleyball.

McGriddles :P~
Me happily munching a yummy McGriddles that Sally bought

#2 Magnolia’s Oat Milk
Category: Fresh Milk’s successor

Sally discovered this drink by chance when we went to 7-eleven to grab some drinks. There isn't a word in the English vocabulary that accurately describes how good the oat milk tastes. Run to the nearest supermarket and grab one now. Drink first. Pay later. No regrets. Magnolia’s Oat Milk is the ultimate successor to the fresh milk I drink everyday.

Magnolia's Oat Milk
A row of Magnolia's Oat Milk :O

#1 Sally Siow
Category: Love of My Life

Sally is the nicest person in the whole wide world. And I’m so glad and fortunate to have this wonderful person as my girlfriend. Everything she does for me, shows that she loves and cares for me. Every moment spent with her makes me a happier person. What else could I ask for? Love you, Sally. Love you to the bits!

My darling, Sally
There you go. The 7 happy things in my life :D

How about you?

Cute Stuffs From Sally

WALL-E and EVE
Sally surprised me with a cute lil' WALL-E toy last weekend on a movie date. And there's EVE too! WALL-E is now sitting comfortably on my office's cubical partition looking towards EVE, who is sitting on Sally's partition. Cute!

My First Trip With Sally

Life is a journey of taste & travel
Everything else is a waste of time
Ok. After dating for a month, we finally had the chance for a weekend getaway trip to KL. FUN! :D We needed that break anyway. It’s about time we go to a place far, far away from our so-boring work and the usual stuffs we do in Singapore :D

It was a Friday morning on the 15th of August and I met Sally around 715am at Dhoby Ghaut MRT. We took a train down to HarbourFront Center and had a quick breakfast before hopping onto an Aeroline bus. The bus was, well, just OK. I mean, yeah, it’s double deck and the dude helps to carry our bags in and out of the luggage compartment, but that’s all. There’s no personal entertainment and the food was weird. The seats were quite big but not exactly comfy. Sally also complained that the toilet on the bus didn’t have flush and you’d have to sprinkle water yourself :P Hm. But if they had a flush, the bus would need to carry a big tank of water and you can put small little fishes in it. Nice.

Aeroline food - Eww..
We reached Sunway after a not-much-entertainment-5-hour ride. The last time I came to Sunway was around 1.5 years ago? So yeah, it has been a long, long time and things have changed. There’s a new building beside Sunway Pyramid now and there are more shopping outlets than ever. But the really, really cool stuffs are found in the toilets, such as this:

Waterless urinal
Waterless urinal. Press to wash yourself only. Ah, waterless urinal but press to wash yourself? So what comes out when you press? Foam? Powder? Fruit juice? Or a little plastic hand pops out to clean your little hunk? Gross.

And when I went over to the basin to wash my hands, I saw this

You’re being watched!
When you’re at the wash basin in the toilets of Sunway Pyramid, you are actually being WATCHED. There are CCTVs monitoring you washing your hands for crime deterring purposes. Wait. For what? Yes. You read it right. For CRIME DETERRING PURPOSES.

Of all reasons under the big bright sun, they had to install CCTVs in the TOILETS to monitor you washing your hands and that’s for crime deterring purposes?! What were they thinking?! How about all the gold and jewelry shops outside?! What’s next? Are they going to hire security guards to patrol the toilets? Will they arrest you if you used too much soap to wash your hands? :O

We took a cab from Sunway Pyramid and finally reached Boulevard Hotel around 230pm. At the counter, the staff checked our reservation and said “I’m sorry, the room is not ready. Can you wait for 1 hour while we make up your room?”

*Sally and Freaker looked at each other, then looked at the hotel staff*

OF COURSE NOT YOU BIG IDIOT!!!

It was such a stooooooopid question. Check in time is 2pm. It’s already 230pm. We’re both tired and feeling hot. And the hotel staff expect us to wait for another 1 hour?! He shouldn’t even have asked that stooooooopid question! Give us another room-lah of course! Idiot. Okok, relax. Haha. Calm down. Give chance abit. Who knows, maybe that was his first day at work? But seriously, what kind of question was that?! :O

Anyway, we finally checked-in and went up to room 1717. It was kinda spacious and I actually like it very much :D Guess what? We’ve got a king-size bed and a bathtub too. YEY! After a while, Jozy called up to say that she has checked into room 2806 together with her hubby in the same hotel. Cool. But how did Jozy end up in a hotel room at the highest floor? It’s an extraordinary story that involves a naked man but we’ll leave that to Jozy for story-telling :o) *beep*

Sally looking very excited
At 530pm, we went around Midvalley looking for a quick bite before we meet up with my brother, Chiang and his girlfriend, Irene. Sally wanted to eat something soupy and we ended up in TU-LONG Restaurant.

TU-LONG Restaurant
When Sally ordered a bowl of noodles, we realized that the noodles were abit TU-LONG (too long)

TU-LONG noodles! Can cut shorter onot?
After our quick bite, we started to make our way to Asia Jaya LRT where my brother would pick us up. Because we were in Midvalley, the logically shortest way to reach the nearest LRT is by taking the KTM commuter to KL Sentral. So I suggested KTM. Big mistake. The worst mistake in my ENTIRE life.

We reached the station around 645pm, rushed to buy the tickets and went down to the platform. The sign board clearly states that the commuter will arrive at 713pm. Hm ok, not too bad. 720pm. No sign of the train. It was getting hotter. I was feeling very uneasy. And the crowd was getting bigger and bigger. I started complaining to Sally.

That darn train was late. We waited for almost 45 minutes! And my brother was right, I should have taken a cab straight down to Asia Jaya LRT. What a waste of time. I guess Sally could tell that I was really pissed off. She stood beside me trying her best to calm me down. She sang to me. She fanned me with her hands. She gave me huggies. It felt really good, but I was still very pissed off with that hopeless KTM commuter service.

And when the commuter finally arrived, it was HELL. As soon as the door opened, the crowd started pushing. The people in the commuter wanted to get out. And the idiots behind us kept pushing. There were no queues, no controls, no nothing. We’re like refugees from a war-thorn country trying to climb onto a sardine-packed train going to Paradise. What the fart.

And when we reached KL Sentral, the crowd started pushing their way out again. I held on to Sally tightly because I didn’t want her to get lost in the crowd. When we finally got out, I looked at her and she was smiling back at me. SMILING! Ok, fine. She knows KL and the people more than me, so perhaps that’s why she wasn’t bothered by all these things. Used to it liao.

Steamboat :P~
After all the trouble, we finally met up with Chiang and Irene. He brought us down to Klang for steamboat dinner and was kind enough to drive us back :) All the way from Klang back to Midvalley. Good brother eh? :D

Sunway Pyramid
We started off Day-2 with buffet breakfast at the Hotel.

Day-2 Yummy food - Round 1
Day-2 Yummy food - Round 2
After breakfast and quick nappie :o) *snort* Chiang and Irene came to Midvalley to pick us up. We went back to Sunway Pyramid for a lunch gathering with my college friends. It was actually very nice because we seldom get a chance to meet :) In our college days, we used to see each other so often but those were the days and they’re now gone :P Nowadays, gathering 5 or more friends requires tremendous amount of effort and planning :P

College friends @ HARTZ Chicken Buffet
And if you noticed, we actually came in pairs

Me and Sally
Irene and Chiang
Alfred and Hong Lin
Pui San and Joo
Greg and Eugene.
Ok, not exactly couples. But it still works :P
After abit of shopping in Sally’s favorite Padinni shop, my brother drove us back to Midvalley. On the same day in the evening, it was a different gathering session. This time was with my ex-colleagues and I haven’t seen them for the longest time in the world! Some of them still work for the same company. Some have left for better opportunities. But everyone still look as good :)

LayKhuan, thanks so much for organizing the dinner ;)

Dinner with ex-colleagues @ Dragon-I
After dinner, Sally and me went around looking for fruits at Carrefour, but we ended up buying a bottle of water, Clorets, yogurt, prunes and… Häagen-Dazs ICE CREAM! Yummy to the max :D My very-nice-and-lovable-girlfriend actually remembered that I had a sweet tooth. Ok, I actually forgot to take a picture of the ice cream :P

On Day-3 morning, we had our buffet breakfast at the Hotel again.

Day-3 Yummy food - Round 1
Day-3 Yummy food - Round 2
Day-3 Yummy food - Eggs
Day-3 Yummy food - Milk and orange juice
And yes, Day-3 was our last day in KL :(

Our ticket back to Singapore
We packed our stuffs and went to the lobby to check out. This time it wasn’t the same big idiot at the counter. This time was even worse. A BIGGER idiot. When I told the staff over the counter that I wanted to check out, she looked at me, then continue doing her stuffs without even acknowledging. She didn’t even say Good Morning. What the fart? Don’t get me wrong. Boulevard Hotel is a nice place. I love the room, I love the breakfast. But the staffs working there are so anal and idiotic that it makes you feel like screaming at them. *SCREAM* Why can’t the hotel staffs show abit of courtesy? Or is this the Malaysian culture?

Relax…

Next trip up, we’ll try some other hotels instead. Cititel maybe?

A 3-days-2-nights trip up to KL is definitely not enough. I actually wished that we had taken an extra day or two off from work and continue to enjoy life. But well, this is our first trip anyway. Hopefully there’ll be many, many more trips in the future!

Sally, I can’t wait for our next trip! Segamat, next stop! ;)

Because Freaker Cares

Written on the sands of Sentosa
When it comes to two person, no matter how close or similar they are, there’re still some tweaking to be made if they were to get together. That’s because everyone is special and unique in their own right. So sometimes the things that you do, intentional or not, may mean something else to your partner. Or something harmless that you did, or that you think is a gesture of love, may upset them.

A man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Here’s an example:

Do you know what is ‘Hong You’? It’s some kind of medicated oil, where you apply on your temple or below your nostrils when you have headache. Apparently it helps to soothe the headache and all. But guess what. It doesn’t work on everyone.

Jozy told me this very special incident during her younger schooldays, where she felt dizzy while taking a walk somewhere, so she decided to sit down and rest. Then came this kind old lady who noticed that she looked pale. This old lady decided to help poor Jozy by applying some ‘Hong You’ below Jozy’s nostrils and guess what. Jozy fainted straight and FLAT on the floor. Taa daa! So much for trying to save someone with ‘Hong You’.

Ok, that was a silly example.

Freaker and Sally @ Sentosa
Anyway, we’re talking about two people here. Sally has been a really, really great partner. We’ve been talking a lot and adjusting to each other’s style - which is really a good thing. I don’t believe in keeping things at heart because it will accumulate and explode eventually. So it is always better to speak out your mind regularly so that things can be worked out.

When Sally speaks to me, I listen to her attentively. I try to absorb as much as I can. Because I take our relationship seriously and every little thing matters. But listening isn’t enough. Understanding the essence of the conversation is equally important and of course, making sure that the things discussed are put into practice.

Sally and her beloved Dao Xiao Mian
As communication is the key, my alter-ego, Freaker, thinks that the boyfriend should not only listen and work on feedbacks, but remember them as well. Yes. All of them. The boyfriend should remember everything said by the girlfriend.

But then again, is it really practical? Does any boyfriend in this world ever remembers what the girlfriend says? Anyone? Hands up now. Nobody. That’s right. It’s not practical so don't be ashamed. That’s why Freaker today decided that there should be a more formal way of recording and organizing whatever the girlfriend has to say, once and for all!!!

Which is .. *drum rolls*

Which is basically to ask the girlfriend to fill up a feedback form and pass it back to the boyfriend for reference and archiving. Is this a great idea or is this a great idea? Yes, you don’t have a choice because it is a great idea.

So now, Freaker proudly presents…

THE FREAKER PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK FORM!!! *bling bling*

Here it is.

Feedback form - click to enlarge
Eh, Sally ah, if there’s anything we just discuss it privately. Ok? Don’t fill up too many forms. Ok?

See ya for breakfast tomorrow. Haha.

Loving Sally

I’m back.

It’s been awhile :P For those of you who have been asking why I stopped writing, well it’s not because I gave up. Rather, I’ve been spending a lot of time with that special someone, so I didn’t have time to sit down and write. Uh, yes, I actually need to sit comfortably, relaxed and peaceful without any distractions, before I can start writing anything :P Yes, yes, I know I need more practice :P

Sally
It’s been roughly 3 weeks since I started dating Sally. I could still recall that very special day, when I nervously asked her to be my other half. My heart was pounding. The things I said were all messed up. I couldn’t think straight and I felt excited all over. The feelings were so intense; so overwhelming that I almost wanted to stand on my chair and scream on top of my lungs!

Sally looked at me calmly and gave me a reassuring smile.

And when she said yes… My life changed.

Hand in hand
Loving Sally has definitely made me a happier person. I felt lighter now, more alive. We’ve been spending a lot of time together, nurturing our relationship. Just hanging out with each other, without doing anything special in particular, is more than enough for me. Because just being with her fills me with love :)

We also believe that talking to each other can help to improve our relationship. Not just plain, superficial conversations, but open and honest, heart-to-heart talks. We set goals for ourselves and lay out plans for our future. I don’t believe in miracles, so no matter how confident we are, we still need directions. We still need to adapt to changes in our plans. We still need to face the many storms ahead of us. And we definitely still need to strike that darn TOTO and we will one day!

Blek :P
When we started dating, I realized that I've changed. More precisely, my lifestyle changed. When I was single, I used to spend a lot of time camping at home. I rarely go out because I hated the sun. I go out only for work, sports or if I needed to buy something. The rest of the time will be spent in front of my laptop playing computer games. Even my housemates commented that I played too much :P But, what else can possibly be more interesting?

Then Sally came into my life and I started spending more time with her instead. I became more active and started going out more often. We even wake up earlier on weekdays to catch breakfast together before starting work. Healthy lifestyle eh? But please don’t ask what we eat :P I spend less time at home and more importantly, I finally realize what good food really taste like! I mean, OMG! WHAT HAVE I BEEN EATING FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS!? I’ve been missing all the good stuffs in life! :P

*drools*
Another thing that changed in me, is my priority in life. If it hadn’t been Sally, I would be sitting in my room now, with a PS3 and LCD TV in front of me, playing MGS4 like a madman. These would have cost me a fortune. And this blog would be non-existent :P In fact, earlier I told everyone that it was inevitable, that I’d eventually get my hands on the PS3 once I get my bonus. Simply because there’s nothing else that I’m concern about except entertaining myself. Heh, looks like Sally can change the inevitable!

But the good thing is my priorities changed. PS3 is no longer relevant. For me, our future is far more important and I’d do anything, whatever it takes, to make it work. I knew that her priorities changed too, because we both agreed that the rainy days are just ahead of us, and we should start planning our savings together. And the very things we do now, will directly affect our future.

Me and Sally @ Sushi Tei
For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been meeting some of Sally’s close friends. I guess this is part of the dating tradition, where you bring your partner for meeting-the-friends sessions. All her friends were friendly and accepting. Most of them do have good sense of humor too, and is somewhat similar to Sally’s style. Imagine going out with a bunch of Sally Siows :) But it’s actually fun :P and I’d be happy to hang out with them again in the future.

I managed to introduce a few of my friends to her too, but the actual meeting-the-friends session for Sally will be on our upcoming KL trip. I’m SO looking forward to it! And I think it’s important that we’re able to spend some quality time together and doing abit of traveling. For this trip, we’ll be meeting some of my college friends and ex-colleagues, most of whom I haven’t seen for more than a year. I guess it’s about time we see each other again, because friends do make up part of our lives :)

My best friend, Adam
So yes, that’s Freaker and Sally doing their lovey dovey stuffs 3 weeks down the road. Heh. But of course, there’s more to come and I’m sure this relationship will go a long, long way.

Love you Sally. Always do.

See ya at Vivo City later. Haha.