of reunion and farewell dinners.

(asher says this is our ancestor. hmmm...)

ah, so the new year holidays are over. i'm proud to say i only ate a total of 4 peanuts! (not including other tidbits lol) So here's brief summary, with as many photos as possible!

day 0 was reunion dinner at uncle francis'. invited a norwegian friend. i must say he was impressed with the house! lol. jie has pictures of the lo hei, will let her post.

day 1 began at ama's. of course, new year is all about tradition, so we just had to carry on the very singaporean tradition of being late. mee sua with red wine chicken - what a way to start the day! caught a bit of kungfu panda as well.
at this point i would like to introduce our newest member of the family - abel yeo.

(come to think of it, josh is the odd one out here...)

visited dad's side as well. dad was so proud, saying that we cleared all the essential visiting on the first day. haha! rested at home, and visited uncle jack. found a new NUS friend.
then was to another dinner at dad's side. yum. my aunty cooks a mean ngoh hiang! no photos though. afterward was a midnight movie - all's well that ends well. total brain kaput. i would advise not paying to watch it ;)

day 2 saw us up bright and early at the airport. thank God for safe driving by yours truely (especially after driving the kangoo to uncle francis'). what a big group we were! and what a ruckus, at 7am in the morning! hannah didn't cry though, i guess she wasn't sad?
i'm kidding lol!

(she looks happy to me!)

(ah, what are farewells without prayer?)

after a healthy mac's breakfast, it was time to go. we made it over to uncle sam's - there was lion dance! and as usual, uncle joe was being naughty.

(F1? "how i survived lion dance" by lincoln yeo, 2009)

Headed to Josh's. Supposed to sleep, ended up play RA3 with him. Lincoln slept for us lol. Then to eno's for a lil' chill! they have a dog now. watched a christian stand up comedian, ate, played with the dog, ate... you get the general idea.

And now... day 3 farewell dinner for the two @ minori, joshua's (gasp!) treat! overseas people, claim your free treat from josh when you're back! it was crazy - guess our stomachs aren't what they used to be! the next table was weird too - one guy, and the rest (about 8) girls! haha. we had complimentary lo hei, so we spouted whatever japanese proverbs we could think of - wasabi, kamikaze...

(rise of the zombies)

(what's this you sell?)

Ah well. soon only liern, josh, lincoln and myself left.

come back soon!

Realised i haven't had the time to update the blog!

Well...just to recap! Spent a saturday morning at the famous borough market, near london bridge, where you have to eat the 1.50 Oysters. The market sells the best coffee (monmouth coffee), good tea and huge logs of cheese. Ate oysters, a scallop and tried some sausages. Interesting, and will surely go back!

Then had a legal london tour, check out the legal wigs and a picture of Lincoln's inn, the most 'atas' inn for barristers in London. (for the aristocrats in the past; produced many prime ministers)

Finally, went to the Chelsea Stadium once again, after 7 years. It was a cold day, tickets cost 21 pounds, and got to see them score 3 goals! Worth the money, worth the experience! Will definitely go back for another, if i can afford it.

Yang

FAMILY FORCE FIVE FREAKING FANTASTIC!!!!!!

You know, I hardly blog guys, but......

Family Force 5.

Suprise gig in Sydney.

FREAKING. INCREDIBLY. AWESOMELY. BLOODY. FANTASTIC.

Was $15 well spent. Went to the show that night, with a no-name band, New Empire, and Family Force 5, and it freaking rocked. It was crazy. I still have a bad ringing in my ears, and I'm still jigging to the music which I left behind about an hour and a half ago. Its going to be a long time before I get over the concert. It was a pretty small room, but it was an incredible performance, a display of dazzling musicianship and stage moves. The psychedelic awesomeness of the show can be summed up with one phrase; "keytar, a lead singer with hulk gloves, and a guitarist who danced on the bar."

Best thing was, I went there early with a friend, as I was walking down the street, lo and behold, the lead singer of Family Force 5 was sitting there on a bench. So I got to meet him, take a photo, and afterwards, the rest of the band, as they came to meet with him. Nice guys, and an AWESOME FREAKING SHOW.

Bad phone pictures dont do this show justice. Not nearly. Never in a million years.


During their soundcheck.


Concert in full swing. They headbang and dance like nobody's business.


He seriously had silver hulk gloves, and he seriously performed with them on (see, he's punching the air).


Thats the lead singer, Soul Glow Activator, when I met him on the street (awesome); really really nice guy, and AWESOME!

Pre-CNY

Supper @ 168 last night, after XYQ and attending a wake.
Quote of the night: (at my side of the table) ' would you rather be a hot guy or a cool guy? ' - divinia

(what is pastor and cheryl staring at? hmmm...)

Bye bye hannah :(

(she obviously loves her brother)

(that is actually san san's arm, can you believe it?)

(a lil' bit of hawaii in calvary)

Ah yes, introducing the mattress monster:

(me like mattress!)

almost

just missing one or two...

Ahhh~ the good stories bout Ahhh~ Gong.

Yes as the message states:

"The Stories of Ah-Gong"
as told by:Uncle Wee Lee

Story 1:The "Totto Strength"
This story is about Ah-Gong gaining strength when the buying Totto comes. (Ah yes Cor-Yang... the amazing things Ah-Gong can do when Totto is involved.) As Ah-Gong had just finished lunch with Uncle Wee Lee, him and Uncle Wee Lee went to buy the weekly or more like Semi-Weekly Totto. Ah-Gong was complaining of leg pain etc...So Uncle Wee Lee said,"Ok lor...that means you can't go and buy Totto lor." All of a sudden, Ah-Gong ''gained magical strength'' to go buy his totto.

Story 2:The Early morning Laxative
This Story will not be posted until deemed fit by Cor-Yang, who was present.

Story 3:The Wandering Ah-Gong.
This happened just before I went to stay with Uncle Wee Lee for the first time in my holiday, when Cor-Yang was still around. Uncle Wee Lee told me this a few times and to me, a few different versions. During this time Ah-Gong was allowed to go buy Totto...On his own, this incident made Uncle Wee Lee not let him go out on his own, being a caring son. Ah-Gong went to buy his Totto as per normal and next thing he knew, he was in a ''land unknown''(according to him, yes I asked).In fact, he had wondered a few Kms away from the ''Chang-ri-la'' and had fainted due to heat(according to Uncle Wee Lee) and had minor injuries but had to go to hospital anyway to make sure nothing was wrong.

All this is a interpretation of Uncle Wee Lee's stories in my eyes. More stories when I remember or hear.

Asher
Ah-ter
Sio-ter
Pui-ter
Pa-Pui
Lil Burnt Rooster~

Into The Unknown

I was also at Chinatown a few days ago. In fact, I go there quite often now that Chinese New Year season is on. Its wayy too packed in there. Have you tried looking for hydrants amidst stores, people, discounts, advertisements? Yeah, so there.

Can't really find anything to blog about. Just more of a 'I miss december' and having the whole family back. The house is super quiet now that I actually have time to spare zz. Meanwhile, in terms of music, its finally done. A pretty good recording. Still a few things to be corrected, but hey its a decent demo.

I had a drum lesson at chinatown yesterday, and decided to take a walk. I think chinatown is soooo much better than ladies market lah. while the roads may not be as long, i think there is just as many things:
In other news, school is in! tutorials have yet to begin and its beginning to feel busy again. haha! keep a lookout for what's happening in church - lots of things are gonna happen!

(as you can see, most males are incapable of taking photos of themselves)

(back to school blues?)

And ah yes, yesterday took the two ngois out to vivocity to check out crocs (my only free day of the week until tutorials start!) i think vivo might classify as my new favourite hangout. the vivo crocs wasn't as big as i thought it was, so we rushed down to plaza sing, where the duo finally got what they came for; all the way, over miles and miles of ocean and land, to singapore - a pair of crocs.

(a modern day trojan horse?)

(to be or not to be?)

i shalt let the boys take photos of their pride and joy.

Student-friendly London

London is a student friendly place. Tickets for plays, when bought on the day itself, allows students to purchurse the best seats available for 25pounds. So i stand to save over 40pounds and still sit near the stage. Plus museums are mostly free. So its great!

Avenue Q. Dialogue is mature, which is why its R21 in SG. 21st century puppetry in a musical. 20pounds.

Wicked. The behind-the-scenes story of the Wicked Witch of the East and Oz. 25pounds.

Many more plays to watch here, next on the list, Les Miserables!

Other than plays, the temperature reached -5 one day. Not the best of experiences even though i'm fully covered. Other than that, the visit to the Tower of London was a blast! (student discounts once again). Its starting to warm up, and i'm really really glad. But, was able to pick up a 100% cashmere sweater at a sale for 40pounds, so it helps with the warmth.

Church at Kensington Temple is great, with a wide range of songs, familiar songs from 'mighty to save' to 'hosanna' to catchy ones like 'we have overcome' by Israel Houghton. During the worship session, the drummer never stops! Nicky will like the drummer here.

Enjoy the photos!

The White Tower (where the King lived, along with his royal zoo)

5pound fish and chips. an entire cod fish, so can't complain. (at least no dory, unlike SG)

Being a public nuisance

Peculiar Armour in archaic times. Jewel Protection is greatly exaggerated.

Tower of London at sunset. (SLR rules!)

Glad that my room is alive and well. alas, the ngoi diaspora is about to come full circle once more.
Yang

one more into the great yonder.

Ernie Yang Nick Vene Josh JK Lincoln Alden Asher

yesterday was JK's official last supper with family. he's back early to surprise mum! awww. anyway the ngois gathered at our pasir ris hangout to makan the usual crab noodles, kang kong, deep fried chicken wings and all the other dangerous foodstuff:

(the eating never stops)

(pretty colour-coordinated eh?)

haha - unfortunately, due to miscommunication, no one informed the the two brothers, so they were unable to partake of the wonderful supper. it seems the aunties have forgotten that they're big enough to be out on their own ;) lincoln is now a part-time car salesman, so if you have need of any vehicular transport, do approach him.

some other random photos:

(brother and sister tan, spotting dry land ahoy)

(that classic look - the alden)

on another note, school has begun! it's been good to see friends again, and i'm back in my little room. here's to another semester!
and to getting back in shape.

oh, and God, may you have your way.

Day 7: departure

(in my heart, T3 will still be the best...)

back to heat, humidity, and oilier food. the very same day we depart from HK is the day when allan departs for stockholm. that makes what, 3 cousins in europe now? (ok, technically not till allan reaches stockholm). so 5 hours after landing, we are in changi airport again, admiring the hanging gardens and steel roof.
stockholm's weather isn't very forgiving now, but allan is well prepared - not to everyone present though ;)

(mistaken for a HK star or a bum?)

(awww!)

i bumped into audrey as well, who happened to be sending off someone who was a family friend - his mum was there too, and so i called my mum:

(ah... the good' ol days?)

(the niece eating her piece)

Turns out SIA food is pretty good! this is their oriental starter - basically achar with roast duck. mmmm. kudos to the chefs! AND WE HAD HAAGEN DAAS ICE CREAM. in economy class! (does business class get BnJs?)
ah yes, being home means i have my SD card reader. check back on some of the older posts in a few days time ;)