It's sweet, funny and semi romantic. Dont expect to shed a tear, but expect a 1.5 hours of smiling to yourself in the cinema. Plus that guy is so damn cute.

Image from hpility.blogspot.com

Totally loved the typical Taiwanese filming style. Seems a lot more nostalgic and more sincere. Even the music video for the theme song was out way before the movie went into theaters.

Sometimes I wish out school days in Singapore was that old school with all the wooden tables and blackboard.



Bottom line - go watch it. This is one show I'll probably keep saved in my harddrive or in my dvd collection.

A tiny hideout in CBD area. They themed this food court so well that I just sat there thinking to myself  'what really was the markings of my childhood days' while slurping in a $3.20 Hokkien prawn mee. This was the scene (with more dust) when our parents were kids, a whole generation before economic development came in.

The old Singapore theme was really amazing and very well did (if there was such a word). Tucked in the first floor of a very developed icon in Singapore. The flooring of the 'shops' and the old posters and signboards, vintage bicycles all very 1960s old Singapore.

Singapore kids nowadays only know 7-11s, Bubble tea and playstations.


Drinks here were a little bit more expensive then outside. Just because they retained all those drinks that came in bottles. They even served drinks in that little colored tin cup. I had the soya bean, but on display were FnN bottles of colored soda drink.

I overheard some aged adults conversation over how those little tins brought back memories.


Bird nest the old traditional style, sold in little aluminum containers with long scoops. $1.50 for a small cup and $2 for a larger cup. I find this utterly amazing because I really never experienced it. Actually bought a small cup to pack just because i was curious how it really was.

See? the past can be fun.


The most pretty things where that little antique shop at the side selling old items. Everything in that tiny space had a price tag, and on every price tag was a two digit number hovering towards a three digit. And some of those items had a clear three digit number, no where near hovering near a two digit.

Many of these items would have looked awkward on its own. Purchase one and it will be the social outcast among the rest of your furniture. That is why sitting in its own generation of family looked so nostalgic and perfect to so many.

It is time we keep some old stuff behind. Store them in boxes under your bed or at the bottom of your closet. You will never know when trash like this would be worth something at a vintage store.

Imagine in another 30 years. They would start to emulating the mama-shops i grew up with. Those not so fancy tailor shops with their old electrical sewing machines. Those neighbourhood stationary shops with 20c tikam turning toys machines standing outside. The old buses and the machines that dispenses those tiny little ticket stubs that we fold into hearts. Floppy disks, old computer monitors. Phonecards. Blackboards. Even worn out wooden canteen benches.

Did you know that the word 'orchid' comes from the ancient greek word which means 'testicles'. Imagine how a feminine looking flower could have been named after some manly parts.

The world orchid conference have been an interesting little show put up. The only country in the world who have hosted it twice, last time being 1963 (i think). And through the whole week and half prep work, I think I have stuffed my brain with enough things about orchids from the show.

Two weeks of countless OTs and at the end of the whole show, i still think that orchids are acquired taste and I still dont understand how an overdose of 1000 over species of orchids is going to make one look distinctive different from the next. Still not a full admirer of orchids.

There are some interesting orchids in the show that people have constantly been asking questions of. #1 on that list is - 'Where are the chocolate smelling orchids'.

They are called Oncidium Sharry Baby, are common in Singapore as a hybrid and emit this awesome chocolate/vanilla smelling scent in the day. You can actually purchase them in pots for $10 - 20. They are available in few slight color variations and can easily be grown in Singapore.

Sharry Baby

Interesting orchids are a plenty at the show. Most of them are so prized by their owners and cost more than tens of thousands for a pot. But some of those interesting ones that appear on the newspapers are so popular with the visitors. This is 'Lady of the night', looks a little bit like some not-orchid-species and it emits a smell in the evening and through the night.

Brassavola species or 'Lady of the night'

#1 landscape design display - Thailand with their mount of fresh orchids in a rainbow of stunning colors.


Slipper orchids are popular with everyone. There are more than a few hundred of species of slippers in the show. Some of them are boot orchids. Slippers usually get photo attention coz Singaporeans think they dont find it common. Coz they dont sell in the common nurseries often.


On Thursday morning, I could have spent a good hour at home deciding if i should go in 2 hours earlier to get a tiny peek of Elton John or should I spend that 2 extra hours of the morning resting from a late night (11pm?). Decided to go, coz seriously how many times in your life you get to see Elton John live in person. I think the last time he came was a while back and he might jolly well be 6 feet under before he comes to Singapore again.

So checked in at 10am, and spent a good 5 minutes finding the perfect place to get a photo. Managed to find this little spot beside B and a few other colleagues where the red carpet rolled. In full frontal view of the red carpet.


E.J's time of arrival was right on the dot. In rolled the Mercedes carrying the family into the loading bay. I guess the main entrance from the main drop off point would have gotten too much attention. So loading bay it was. The number of security on duty was enough-a-plenty.


Then in walk our knight in all his track suit glamor and sunglasses fit for a star. Ushered by our very own D.T. Blame the blur photos on their very high speed walking and the lack of a fast auto focus on my LX3.


But at least I managed to catch a photo of their little baby boy Zachary in full view, carried by E.J's partner, David. He has way more hair then all those photo on celebrity gossip sites.


This is the orchid named after sir E.J - Doritaenopsis Sir Elton John. This photo below, is the exact pot which was handed over to E.J and the exact pot which he carried out of the show and probably the exact pot which would sit in his house somewhere in UK months from now. 


I think I am probably the only person who have photo of THAT EXACT pot. haha. There were many other similar pots which were on sale, but none of them was touched and carried by the very Sir E.J.


Then there was a little speech made by E.J to thank us all and share his little family with the rest of the press standing there.


and just in case you missed that photo of me on the Straits Times. click here. I know. I have the lamest bragging rights.

I love all these interesting concepts of marketing all over the world. And there is just one concept for it - Funtheory. There are many marketing, advertisement and awareness campaigns that draws of people's interest for fun.

Spotted this cokacola advert posted by someone on Facebook today. Thought it was an amazing idea. I would hop on a friends shoulder just to get a 2 for 1 bottle of cola.



Then I remembered that a while ago, I have seen a few Volkswagen Adverts on similar concepts. Some of these videos were popular for a while.

What took 4 days to set up took just one hour to tear down and packed into boxes to be carried back to the nursery. Its amazing how fast workers can rip a perfectly beautiful display up and shipped it back to its home in boxes and crates. Well organized to pack them according to species and sizes.

Manage to get some cut flowers and a handful or Spanish moss back home as celebration for the whole show. Not to mention that glass of moscato comms provided me during my after shift break. All in plain celebration.

I even managed to dapao back the Madagascar signage from the World Map centerpiece as a souvenir. I kept thinking to myself that the word Madagascar is cheerful and its a happy word to sit on my office table.


My two very hectic weeks of getting Orchid action is finally over. Marked it's ending at 11pm tonight with a taxi ride home in aching feet and sore lower back. I just did a full 16 hour shift today. I've worked more than 65 hours of OverTime in the last two weeks and I'm so looking forward to claiming them soon. Too drained out.

Have tomorrow free to rest but Tuesday is unfortunately laden with a whole day of meetings. Really tempted to take the whole damn week off.

Good night and blog again later.

I'm in the papers in PRIME NEWS today!!! Not just in any news photo, but in the same photo as Elton John. You can only see 5% of me but come on... its in the SAME PHOTO AS ELTON JOHN IN SINGAPORE'S MAJOR NEWSPAPER PRIME NEWS

Just saying


Have been crazy ass busy like nothingness running the whole visitor services counter. Have been spending every day since last Tuesday at the show running around on my feet. I have been doing night shifts all week till 10 and I barely have enough time to sleep to recover for the next day.

After this whole thing, I will have enough off in lieu to take till I drop. The hours of OT i have is beyond words and my usual calculator. Dint even have the time or mood to blog about the whole thing coz I'm too tired. More physically than mentally.

Every part of my back aligned to my spine is aching off the hooks, my neck has been stiff for 5 days, my lower back ringing in pain for 7, and my left mid shoulder twisting itself in agony for the last 2 days. Not to mention my half my left toe has been numb since last Thursday and even after foot reflexology I still cant feel it.

I think I might have snapped a nerve. Just keeping an eye on it everyday to make sure it hasnt turned purple and I dont have to end up a toe amputee. IM SERIOUS. Its getting pretty bad and mentally distrauting to know that you have stood up so much for one VIP rehearsal practice to have your toe left feeling numb - for more than a whole week.

Ok. Will blog when I am rested enough.

My little online purchase of a whole new collection of replacement notebooks arrived last week in the mail. Three whole moleskine notebooks, all still wrapped in shiny new plastic. I finally understand why people have moleskine addictions, why these addicts spend 20+ bucks on 192 pages of paper. Its because they are so nice and compact and perfect to touch.

And apparently, buying them online is way much cheaper than at stores. Tangs and Kino sells them at $26 per lined pocket. NBC and some other private stationary stores sells them at $24+. Then just by going online, your purchase can be reduced to $20 on moleskineasia , or even lower at $14.78 from books depository.

One pocket sketch, one red pocket lined, and one Kyoto city for that little trip i will plan next year

Went down all the way west for the long awaited house warming at Lixin's after a tennis morning with LiHui at Dover. This house warming is 3 years late and finally got organized coz baby Foong is on his way to the world in 6 weeks.

First of my peers to have a kid. Can't believe JC was 8 years ago. Attended her wedding 3 years back before I left for UK, and now I'm at her sweet abode in Jurong for a house warming, a house she has already settled well into for 3 years and remembered she forgot to invite us coz she was 'busy unpacking'.


Damn shiok, one whole afternoon of talking about babies, pregnancy, school and trying to get Siting to make up her mind about her wedding which is in 2 months time. She is getting married in 2 months and have no idea what she wants out of it.

Anyway, I've got to say that the house was HUGE for $380-ish k. If it is even possible to get a house that size now it would be utterly amazing.