Asher

Does not get how to use the Tumblr Blog

a-ngoi-ing v2 BETA

We are trying out tumblr!

http://a-ngoi-ing.tumblr.com/

Cousins, I should have invited you, but if not, please tell me!

We should move the blog to Tumblr!

WE SHOULD MOVE THE BLOG TO TUMBLR!!

XIONG WAS HERE.

tar heels

5 August - 7am, terminal 3.

Probably there around 5.00am!

a grebfruit a day...

Awesomeness - just got back from the benny greb clinic:

Without a doubt, the most enjoyable clinic i've been to thus far. He is such an entertainer, and that shows in his playing too.

the only quote i can remember properly:

"bass players, if you're so musical, why do you only have 4 strings?"

LOL.

He is really funny - just wish I could detail all the nonsense he did. made references to world cup as well! haha - talked about how his first recorded practice time felt a bit like soccer, that he kept on hoping that he would "get the ball" (practice the proper thing instead of getting distracted), but kept on losing it... and added very quietly "to spain".

HAHA.

all round nice guy too, even when signing autographs. definitely a welcome sight after the last concert we went to at nexus...

and some insightful stuff too - where you are now and where you will be is a result of millions of decisions you make. "if you practice tennis instead of drums, you will be better than me in tennis" - it all boils down to what you choose to use your time for.

what do you want to be?

i hope they record it as a dvd haha

1 more month.

Till I bid adieu to Singapore - temporarily of course.

Will miss the people - somehow feel that perhaps the timing wasn't the best - but hey ho, trust God we shall!

Xiong is back in Aus - hopefully he'll be updating this blog soon! Sigh - one less agricola-er. NEW BLOOD NEEDED!

(Pain, relief, sadness? JUST KIDDING)

world cup fever

GREAT JOB CALVARY!

weekend

So Stellar Memory finally launched their EP!

And Josh probably had the loudest fan group. Oh, Gabriel too!

Speaking of Gabriel - we watched Karate Kid - just a few of us since many were at the Calvary CD meeting and what not.

After that I headed to the IT Show! Caught some last minute bargains:
The one of which I am most proud of is a new Olympus PEN! Got the 3rd last piece!

kukup!

Just got home from 2.5 days of church retreat. great stuff! albeit too fast - it's probably closer to 2 days? Since we only reached after lunch on the first day, and were on the bus to SG about 4pm today.

Would have loved more time - there really honestly isn't much to see in Kukup and you probably would have a good idea of what the place is like in 2 days, but it was really fun to hang out with the church peeps. Board games, karaoke, food (more accurately, ice cream and bubble tea) hunting, mudskipper intimidation... It helps that the environment was really conducive as well.

Well, we kinda tried to pack things in i guess, so it probably wasn't as chill, but awesome nonetheless! i miss saboteur nights. Don't worry jay and abel, we'll have a real agricola match sometime!

For more pics and videos, check out Facebook!

aunty kat has a blog!!!

http://cookwifemumlife.blogspot.com/

agricola!

first game in a long time - i know. We had family steamboat - with an extremely low cousins turnout. Just vene, alden, audrey and myself. haha!

it was weird not having virg around either :(

anyhow, the match was pretty interesting. alden looked like he had the upper hand till about mid-game. was able to take advantage of a few tactical errors, 44 - 27!

and oh yes, new cousin on the way!!! from aunty kat:

"Hi my dear nephew

Always good to see your updates on FB though I haven't been active lately..Bel is a handful and I'm busy with re-doing bits of our house. I was just looking at your profile pic and seeing that you seem to be the thread that binds all the cousins, was wondering how you could help me update the gang that you guys will be expecting a new cousin by 1 Dec this year. Yes, I'm preggers again, maybe your mum has told you, and it'd be cousin Number 16, I think? I've totally lost count!
But yes, such a grateful testimony to praise and thank God for...it's another miracle given my age and medical history.

Pray for the baby's safety and health.

Meanwhile, may you have fun at school and write me whenever.
Love
Aunty Kat"

WOOT!

Unupdation *?*

So sorry for not informing you people 'bout whats happening in the land down under..because couldn't really think of anything to blog 'bout.

So...With the news of Alden, Mum's going back on Saturday..Yay*?

First time my parents tried my cooking from school..Apparently it did better then I expected! *It got an average*

Drove with Uncle Joe....Somehow it was barely scary...contrary to what I always thought, well I got a 'Excellent Begginer' from Uncle Joe...Oh and to Xiong*Thiong?* and Jie Vene, I also did the reverse driving thing =)

Ok time for photos!

Panoramas to be precise =D

My Close Group Of Friends *Not Very White As You Can See*

Took this quite a while back...Over a month ago
Just didn't bother making it into a panorama
The full picture is 9mb so yeah..had to crop some of it out
Still I like it =D

Well thats 'bout all that has been happening so far...until the next time I blog, you people can have dreams 'bout what happens here =D

From:
A Very Contented Owner Of 6 Bobby McFerrin Albums And 3 Season Of Sam And Max

oh my sleeping child, the world's so wild but you built your own, paradise:


well, more dinners as well!

Holidays and The After-effects

One week has passed after the holidays...and its also the first week in which it seems the hardest to get up..considering that I have been in a Late Sleep-Late Wake cycle during the holidays..BUT that is entirely my fault and I take full Authority for it.

So...What did I do during my holidays?

Eat, Sleep, Play, And Family Time!
We also had a barbeque down by the beach with both cells..This is when I actually got to know the kids in my 2 cells *Yes we go to 2 cells, one on wed, one on friday*. The kids played by the beach and the adults....I actually have no idea what they did. We had a Awesome time, 3 of the kids, all 1 year younger then me, trying to push and pull me into the ocean, I won...Then we played cards, Bluff/Cheat *whatever you guys call it* in which I won...Then we played at the beach summore...then we went home..

So...What has happened during the week?
Monday, No school! Lucky me...this was when the barbeque happened.



Tuesday, Was a killer getting up, although I get up at 8 for school, I was getting up at 12 for the past 2 weeks.



Wednesday, We got to leave school EXTRA early because of some meeting the school had during the night, all the preps and stuff



Thurday, nothing interesting happened, except for dinner, with one of the cell group member's house *Divinia's cousins, Auntie Laura's sister* with Uncle Mark and Auntie Violet *Joel was working so...We didn't see him* and uncle Joe. Had an awesome time, played more cards, this time with PENALTY! *I didn't lose of course* Oh...And I got my leavers Jumper.

Friday, Today. First time I wore my leavers jumper to school..it is nice and comfy.
OK nevermind that...But the best part about it is, what I put on it

Isn't it Awesome?

Yes people, a leavers jumper is a Hoodie that is only available to students doing their last year of high school *secondary+jc* and has a customised name for you, the name can be what you chose so I chose this remembering my dear loving family in Singapore...And of course because it means my name with a -ing behind
*A. = Asher, Ngoi=Ngoi -ing=Extra*

And Asher's Driving so far: In my translation from my dads words

Good driving skills except Reversing and parking.

Wish me luck as I'm Gonna have to drive with uncle Joe when he comes back...

stress

ewwwwww...

i know some of the ladies with the ngoi genes will be itchy to squeeeeeeze this computer screen.

of belated birthdays and posts

Was trawling through some albums to see if i missed any important photos before i uploaded new ones, and i found this:

("bak kwa is not pork!")

Well, quite a while back, the cousins (all who were available) surprised ernie-wernie with a cake. san san volunteered (so nice) to help me call ernie and preempt us as to whether she was home, and operation surprise began. unfortunately i called aunty jane and panicked when she nearly got ernie to the phone... but it still was a surprise for miss chang:


Happy birthday dear ernie!

We watched big momma's house that night. mmmhmmm... just something nice about not worrying about the next day and enjoying some downtime with your cousins :)

Post-ORD Depression

The title says it all. There's a sense of miss when I can't walk into the station as one of them anymore. I felt so guilty, I actually went to apply for the SCDF Auxiliary Unit, but don't tell anyone yet. It's what I'll try and do if I have the time to commit.

Anyway, got a $20 NETS Flashpay Card (that says National Service in SCDF and has a cool logo) AND a Swatch Watch for Perfect Attendance. How's that for an ORD goodbye? Also, in the list of presents were cut fingers and a swollen left foot. I think sprains heal faster.

So life after NS begins. So they say, the real world. Sometimes it feels like I've never left. A lot of things that need to be done, daily running schedule (once the leg heals), daily EATING schedule, daily work, meeting up with friends, music projects both church and outside. In about two weeks, things'll kick into full swing and start to get hectic. Very sweet.

In the meantime, check out Sean Harrison's MySpace. He's a new guy I was introduced and asked to play guitar for. Very nice tunes, kinda like Jason Mraz, but in his own distinct way. Doesn't sound local.

Josh

Holidays And More

Wowzers...One term has passed..And quite a bit has happened. As you all know,(courtesy of Cornik tagging everyone ELSE except ME inside a certain post on facebook), I went for my school ball.

In case you are wondering, NO I did NOT have a partner, like the Year Co-ordinator said: Well Asher, If you bring no one, you are responsible for no one...except yourself of course.

So sorry that I do not have any photos, the camera came 1 day late and thus, shortage, reduced to stealing pictures off facebook. =D
*Technology makes photo-snatching Oh-so-easy - Asher's translation of dads long talk on how technology improves convienience*


Well, in other news:

I've been expecting the expected storm, unexpected results of there not being one although clouds are dark grey, and surrounding the whole area *Pretty much as far as I can see, and considering I currently live near the top of the hill, thats quite far* Just had abit of a drizzle here and there

Jie Vene is in Perth! Had dinner with her...twice, but hey, its still better then not meeting her at all. *She tried the duck*

We also went crabbing, but its not net crabbing though, this time, it was Scoop crabbing, where we went into the ocean with flashlights and crab scoops to catch crabs. Caught a few, and then we....
Let them back into the ocean because they were too small *Awwwww*
Oh well, at least we caught some..its the experience that counts.

Wart treatment is due in 12 hours, bracing myself once again for the not-so-pleasant experience.

Oh and I Don't Know if I've said this before: Thanks for letting me listen to downhere Cornik! Im still awed by them

Asher wrote this blogpost at 10:30 pm on the 5th of April, Wart Treatment Happens at 10:30 am on the 6th of April...Spare me please....

update!

Sometime back, we had a cousin's carl's jnr outing @ ECP - plus aunty hazel. i guess there's just something about having a little junk food once in a while. sure its a bit guilt inducing, but oh so tasty. plus, it was cheap junk food, courtesy of vouchers! Here are the photos:

($1.50 for carl's jnr?!)

(should have this more often)

And not too long ago... we sent alden back in. Pasir Ris is a littlleee different now. They added a slip road, but it hasn't solved the car problem! Just look at this:
And this is our dear army boy:

(feeling a little blue?)

Europe II.

Hola! que tal?

Solo travelling during school time is pretty cool. Europe II. Unfortunately, i seem to have lost my camera cable so i can't transfer my photos to my laptop at the moment. So Oxford - London - Seville - Cordoba - Granada - Ronda - Malaga. Kinda packed out scheduled, but the Spanish sunshine is a refreshing change from gloomy England. Will update more once i get back to Singapore, when i have to really start studying for my final exams. Looks like everyone is doing well? Anyway, sometimes i think i am dying from 2nd hand smoke in Spain, but most times, many other things make up for it. Plus my auto-focus button on my camera is spoilt, so its manual focus now. Bah. will update soon. take care everyone!

Yang

Wowzers

Ok many things have happened in the last 2 months, sorry for not bloggin or responding cos im still in the midst of things hahahaha...but as for the last few days, Perth *I mean the WHOLE Perth* has been chaotic, and hilarious at the same time.

Monday: Flash-Flooding and Hailstorm, Damage to Perth is severe, Hailstones sized up to tennis balls. We were not affected, Praise God for that. In fact, on the news, the roads and pavements seemed to have dandruff. Thats alot of hail.

Tuesday: Waited at the bus stop until 9.05(school starts at 9), went home but got fetched to school by Dad, tried persuading him that the flood had damaged the school so badly there was no school(I was lying until...)we went to school, and school had actually been damaged that badly that there wasn't school yesterday. Drove around Perth to snap photos




Today: Woke up at 7 to go to school to sort out things for the School Ball *Yes I am indeed going to a ball*, finally sorted out things after 2 weeks of grueling arguements amongst the Asian boys and girls. Had my all time "favourite" sports. Finally found out how to make a panorama picture (Windows LIVE photo gallery not Windows photo gallery). Uncle Joe is coming for Din-Dins in some time.

(Flooded carpark we happened to pass by *Those ARE cars STUCK in the water)

(This road was warded off, so many cars made detours)

(Isn't it lovely, tree-striping storms and what they do)

And my all time favourite,

Hail-Meets-Windscreen

Well thats all for now, and im sorry bout the essays, I haven't gotten them back from the teacher yet....Will post the moment they come out.

one step closer to manhood

i don't really like using that cliche, but i guess cliches reduce the amount of brain power we have to use, no?


I used to be a lot smaller. and fatter. and i was ahead of my time - look at the plaid jacket guys - HAH! Strange, but Alden still looks mostly the same...

BUT before we unveil the balded cousin (his hair grows fast though, you have been warned)... We had our first cousin's mini-sleepover with audrey:

(kor kor is the most awake - blue elephants ftw!)

(josh joined after his shift - so poor thing, so sleepy - LOL)

(life-changing ban mian)

This is not from the same night, but i just thought it fit in with the whole army thing:

Drumroll please.....




So there you have it. Alden - i should get him to post about his company. bao got so excited finding out alden was in viper, his alma mater. Maybe BAO SHOULD POST.

:)

Its 3:18am

Note:

A lot of things have happened. But it seems like only Nick's been blogging actively. Haven't seen ANY action in Australia from Asher or JK. I still check the site regularly, waiting out for that update from cousins. Anyway, its 3:18am and I'm still awake trying to fix up computer stuff and make sure that my sis has a computer she can use tomorrow to go to work. The last few days have been such a blur. V, if you're reading this, I'm sacrificing my sleep for you (:

Pre-ORD Blues

It scares me that I'm almost finished with NS. You look back and poof, the last 2 years go by. It still feels like yesterday that I started, booking in and that first day are still fairly fresh.

I can still picture all the mistakes I made. My first turn-out alone, I ran furiously and didn't pace myself for a case of fumigation. Bringing a contractor's ladder around the station thinking it was part of our equipment. Mentally, physically challenging scenario drills. Mentally and physically challenging actual incidents.

Yet, given the chance, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

In a heartbeat,

Josh

TAKE HOME CHEF (MOM)

http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/takehomechef/takehomechef.html

With aunty anna around, it seriously feels like some reality tv show.

For the past week or so, I've had something different to eat for each meal, and it has been awesome. Never since atik have i been so pleased with home-cooked meals (sorry mum).

Fingers crossed that the skills remain!

backlog!

Okay guys - actually i have a lot of photos to put up but i think they're too much for one post. So let's start with the most recent and salient event - our dear cousin going into NS!

As usual, what is a send-off without a massive family dinner? Played around with my phone's panorama - guess need to work on getting everyone to STAY STILL. haha. Enjoy:


I had to rush to defu lane to join them right after my finance mid-term, but it was totally worth it, even though they had finished by the time i arrived. i had my own mini- 6 course meal, complete with individual dishes, and the prized crab pincer. would've preferred more chicken wings and tofu, but still, yum.

We also discovered that alden looks a lot like his dad:

And as is becoming a family tradition (at least among the boys), we had our 4 player agricola game (the largest we've had since asher went back). In some sort of early christmas present, Alden was able to beat all of us quite soundly with his unorthodox tactics - his favoured "triple well" strategy.


Even as i write, alden is probably sleeping in his bunk at viper company. take care dear cousin! we are praying for you.

iMum: my hip mum

Those who have seen my facebook - yes, my mother is a proud owner of an iPod Touch! Happy birthday in advance mum - love dad and son.

I guess this is just proof of how endearing Apple products can be. Kudos to the company for designing a hip and trendy product that is capable and easy-to-use. Mum still has a long way to go before you could coin her truely tech-savvy, but this is a first step that would otherwise have not been taken if not for the Apple iPod.

I shall still adamantly declare that the iPod is not the best mp3 player out there, and getting stuck with iTunes is quite nonsense. Especially in SG, where you just simply can't buy songs or movies over the store.

But it is pretty.

(mum, elated that there are korean dramas on youtube)

Apple still hasn't quite sold me on their mp3 players.. i think i now look for convergence, and the iPhone's camera and inability to multitask can't quite cut it, though i must say everything else about it is pretty attractive. I finally gave in after the months of waiting and got a new (old) phone. We shall see how that comes out over the next few months - will i like it as much as i did my N78? Nokia, don't fail me now...

In the meantime, go mum! Lead the charge for a generation of aunties.