That one line...

I've said it before - one of my personal gauges on how good a movie is is if there are any lines that are worth remembering.

If I have no takeaway from the movie, then it's just a so so movie for me. (Unless it's an ultra-cheesy drama/romcom, I'm okay with it - memorable lines or no memorable lines. Hehe!)

My friend Noreen who writes for one of the biggest TV networks back in Manila wrote that one of her dreams is to be able to write a (film?) script which has that one line - that one line which hundred, thousands of people who watched the film will remember.

Secretly (or not so secretly now), I have the same wanting. Hehe!

I am seriously amazed and impressed by people who have a gift with words. That's why when I really like a certain film, I dun quickly get up and leave after the film ends. I would wait for the name of the writer to appear as the end credits begin to appear. I guess that's my way of telling the writer "You did a great job."

Recently, I stumbled upon the trailer of The Perks of Being A Wallflower - a film based on a novel with the same title that will soon hit the cinemas in Singapore.

After watching the trailer, I already knew that I would have to see the film and get the book. I'm not sure when the movie will be showing, but I did get the book today at Kino.

I would have the time for it this Wednesday since I have a few hours to kill at the Kuala Lumpur airport, while waiting for flight to Yangon.

Above is one of the memorable lines from the film/novel.

Can't wait to start the pages.

See you soon, Myanmar...

I finally got my visa for Burma. (Hmm, for this one sentence, I'm going to use Burma instead of Myanmar. The former sounds more exotic. Hehe!)

There were really no plans to visit the said country this year, but a little prodding from MkSurf8 and Chris was all it needed to get me to say yes. Hehe!

The 2011 trip to Ho Chi Minh with these two guys was definitely one of the most unforgettable ever (lol!), so I'm quite sure that the trip to Myanmar would also be a good one.

Initially, the plan was MkSurf8, RKGreg, Chris, Chase plus me. However, Chase had to back out at the last minute because of a work trip.

Going back to the trip, because I took some time deciding on whether I will go or not, I missed the JetStar seat sale. The good thing was Air Asia had a somewhat similar seat sale. The downside (which later turned out not to be so much of a downside) - it's flying from Kuala Lumpur and I'll be arriving in Yangon early evening while MkSurf8, RKGreg and Chris arrive much earlier.

But I'm glad I was able to get the sale.

Next up was getting the visa. I dun really know why I have to get a visa and why I have to pay for a visa, when Myanmar is an Asean member. Anyway, the visa is SGD35.

Initially, I was thinking of going to the embassy myself to apply for the visa.

In the end, I did what MkSurf8 and Chris did. I went to a travel agent to process the visa for me. The cost was about SGD55. It was good enough considering that I dun have to queue at the embassy, I dun have to take half-day off from work.

The travel agent I went to is at Peninsula Plaza (adjacent to St. Andrew's Cathedral at City Hall MRT). I hardly go there. Apparently, as MkSurf8 said, it's the Burmese version of Lucky Plaza.

I gave my documents to the travel agent, and that was it. I just had to wait for a few days for them to process the visa at the embassy.

The Myanmar embassy says that the passport may be collected after 3 working days. Mine took a little longer than that but it was okay.

Just glad to have gotten the visa. Yey!

Can't wait.

Taw Win Oo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
111 North Bridge Road,#02-40, Peninsula Plaza
65 976-55184; 65 6338-6273

Souls of Zen screening...

Hiking buddy Melvin invited me to watch one of the films screening at THIS Buddhist Film Festival 2012. (THIS = Thus Have I Seen). I didn't know about the film fest until he told me. Glad he invited me because it was an interesting event.

The theme of the event was "Open Your Mind." Films coming from 11 countries that reflect the cultural, social and religious aspects of Buddhism were shown. It's the first time the films are screened in Singapore.

The film we watched was Souls of Zen.

It was a documentary on the role Buddhism played in the society and the lvies of the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami catastrophe. The documentary shows how Buddhism played a critical role as the society recovered from the disaster.

It was a very educational film. Learned a bit more about the Japanese culture. Definitely was fascinated and was impressed again by the way of life of the Japanese. In my next life, can I please be Japanese? Hehe!

My take away from the film was a phrase as the end credits began... "It all starts with a desire to put a smile to someone's face... despite the odds."

There was another film I wanted to watch - One Mile Above. Unfortunately, tickets sold out quite quickly. :-/

I wasn't able to catch what "it" was really referring to, but I thought it was a very nice line.

Holy mother of backpacks...

I haven't been spending a lot on bags as I used to back in the Philippines.

In fact, when I left for SG, I gave away some of prized bags or they're now being used (I hope) by my bros.

For a couple of times, I've been tempted to buy a bag or two here in SG because it looked more affordable all of a sudden. Haha! But I'm proud to say that I still haven't made any bag purchase since I got here.

Uhm, there's a part of me that's just yearning for three specific bags. Once I've gotten all three, I think I'll be content already for at least a decade. Hehe!

But once in a while, you will encounter a bag which really makes your heart skip a beat. Because it does that, you're willing to give up your eat out funds, your clubbing allowance, your holiday airfare (?!) just to purchase the piece. Haha!

The backpack above is from the Spring Summer 2013 collection of Givenchy.

I'm not a huge fan of backpacks, but there issomething about this bag that really draws me to it. Haha!

As friend I-van said, the bag has the ability to be both "patronizing and irreverent." That's the nice thing about it. To me, I also like it because of image of the Madonna.

Being a devotee of Our Lady, I think this is one of the "cool" ways of showing love for her. Hehehe! I can imagine myself queueing for La Pieta next year with this pack on my bag. Haha!

The piece is not available yet. No price info yet as well. But I'm sure it'll be ultra ex. I would need either a miracle or a lot of second collection. Haha!

Holy mother of backpacks!

Yet another cute Tae Sub and Kyung Soo clip... lol...

So just before going to zzz last night, I decided to watch some more clips of Tae Sub and Kyung soo from the Korea daytime series Life is Beautiful.

I think I have an addiction to the two. At the risk of sounding like a teenage girl, I have to say they're really adorable together. Haha!

Anyway, the clip I watched last night had me laughing again most of the time. But I guess the most amusing was the one in the car just after Tae Sub sent off his girl friend Geum Joo at the airport.

Geum Joo the hots for Kyung Soo (who doesn't?!) but she obviously does not have any idea about Kyung Soo and Tae Sub. Hehe. To finally get Geum Joo off his back, Kyung Soo casually mentioned during the drive to the airport that his partner is in Jeju, that he goes to Seoul because his folks are there, and that he also goes to gay clubs in Seoul.

Geum Joo says nothing further. Tae Sub is just as speechless. Haha.

After seeing off Geum Joo, Tae Sub walks back into the car. Kyung Soo has a proud look on his face for finally "getting rid" of Geum Joo.

The conversation above then follows...

It was really cute. Haha! The two didn't really fight, which was great.

I thought the scene was really amusing because that conversation I think is quite common among couples. LOL. How many times have I seen it?!

Very happy three days...

Last night, I got a message from Tey that her flight to SG for work will push through.

Yeeeey! :D

She arrived early this morning and went straight to work.

In the evening, I headed down to Bugis to meet up with her for dindin. I already knew she will want Chicken Rice so we headed to Chin Chin Eating House at Purvis St. Pg Boy joined us for din. I'm glad he still came even if he wasn't feeling very well. (Crazy Singapore weather lately.)

Afterwards, Pg Boy headed back already.

Meanwhile, Tey and I headed to City Hall to buy some pasalubong and to meet up with Manny (who was also here for the same event as Tey's).

Hopefully, I can take Wednesday off so that I can hang with them!

Happy, happy.

I miss pages like these...

It was in the last quarter of 2004 when I learned about the awesome issue that is the September issue (of US Vogue). Hehe!

I can't remember where I was, but I knew I had to get the issue when I saw it. At that time, I was ultra crazy for Gisele (and her "batchmates" Natalia, Daria, among others)

At that time, people (at least those from that billion-dollar industry) were wondering if there would still be supermodels. Not just any model, but a model who can go by one name.

Uhm, you know who they are - Kate, Linda, Naomi, Christy, Cindy, to name a few.

Then came Gisele. Everything was right again. Hehe!

Pretty soon, the next few covers of US Vogue featured models again. The September 2004 has got to be one of my favorites.

Three things - Gisele. Gatefold cover. September issue.

Personally, I really like gatefold covers and editorials. You want impact. There you go. Hehe! (Of course, It's alread a given lah that you need a fantab photo).

Above are some of the fantab spreads that were published 2004 and so on.

I have yet to see a like photos like this again...

Tsundoku...

I came across this word on one of those random bloghopping moments.

Haha! I had to take note of the word because I could very well relate to it.

In my case, it's not so much books but the magazines. I've a bunch of unopened issues of VMan.

Every time a new issue hits the bookstores, I have to go get a copy because I'd like to see the spreads. VMan is one of the best, if not the best, men's fashion magazine I think.


When I reach home, I just place the new issue on top of the previous issues that are still waiting to be opened and read. Haha!

It might sound strange, but I actually like to "prepare" for reading magazine issues that I love. I have to be in a relaxed environment, preferable a cafe, with nothing else in mind, so that I can spend the next few hours going from page to page. Hehe.

Just to be clear, I only do this for two magazines - VMan (which comes out once every three months) and the September issue of US Vogue.

And I know one other person who does this though I'm quite sure there are many more like us. Hehe!

Just some random blah...

Sunday night din at MOF...

Sunday night dindin at MOF. :)

Tori Karaage and Udon. Gyowza. Seafood Hot Stone Rice Bowl.

If you're in the mood for some yum Japanese, if you want to take your time going through several pages of menu with a lot of Japanese food offerings, you must go to this restau then.

Oishii desu ne!

MOF@My Izakaya
Tampines Central 1
#04-15 Tampines 1 S529536

Day trip to JB... again...

It was a rather eventful uneventful day.

Today was the schedule of the first of two visits to my dentist in JB for the crowning procedure.

Because of the massive jam at the Causeway the last time, I missed my appointment and had to resched it to today.

The big surprise was that dental clinics seem to be doing well in JB. I dunno if it's because Malaysian do really take care and spend for their dental and oral health or if it's because there are Singaporeans, or foreign workers like me, who choose to make the trip to JB for more affordable dental care.

Seriously, crossing the bridge from Singapore to Malaysia slashes my expenses for dental care by half.

Anyway, my appointment today was at 12 noon. I planned to leave hours as early as possible.

Before heading to JB, I passed by the St. Anthony of Padua church in Marsiling to attend Mass for the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Initially, I was thinking of catching the Mass at St. Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok but it was too early. 6:55AM lah!

I was really grateful to find out that St. Anthony had an 8AM Mass. It was perfect for my sched.

Thanks to gothere.sg, I found my way to St. Anthony quite easily. It was my first time to go to this church and it is actually closer to my place and more accessible compared to St. Mary. However, I love the latter because there's one priest - Fr. Derrick - who always gives a good homily. (Of course, the aesthetics and the fact that this church has AC are also plus points. Hehe!)

Following Mass, I took the bus to Woodlands MRT to meet up with Pg Boy. He could've slept over at my place. But since his flight last night arrived quite late, he just stayed at his side of the island.

I am literally in a long distance relationship. Haha!

After finishing breakkie at Toastbox, we were set to go. When I asked Pg Boy if he had his passport, a shocked look registered on his face. I thought he was just teasing, but then it turns out he really forgot his passport. "It's okay. Never mind lah," I just told him.

He was really bummed out that he forgot his passport. It was quite early so we just agreed that he can just go back to get his passport, and then meet me at the clinic in JB.

Yes, yes. It's me already! Hehe! Minsan lang naman. :-P

Pg Boy took the train back to the East. I headed to the bus interchange and prayed that everything would go well.

Thankfully, it did. The bus arrived early. There was no jam at the Causeway.

Oh, the only delay was the immigration clearance. Previously, I could go for the automated immigration clearance queues for citizens, PRs and foreign workers. You can just scan your passport and your fingerprint and that's it.

Now that I have a new passport, I have to queue for the one with the immigration officer along with all the other people exiting Singapore. Ugh! Took so much time. Haha! I'm already starting to be spoiled. Sheeesh! Haha!

Anyway, I still arrived at JB very early for my appointment. With almost two hours to kill, I stayed at Starbucks at JB Sentral accompanied by the US Vogue September issue and black coffee.

By 11:20, I left for the clinic.

I'll write about my dentists and the dental clinics separately. They deserve a post of their own. Dr. Steven Phun of Advanced Dental Surgery is my dentist for the crowning. Dr. Wong from Wong Endodontics was the one who did my root canal. Both are very good!

As expected, the treatment was done by a little over 1. When I stepped out of the room, Pg Boy was already there at the waiting area reading his book. Really glad to see him there.

From the clinic, we walked over to Taman Sri Tebrau for our usual massage and lunch combo. Lunch was at Lucky Seafood Restaurant. Massage was at Fizzio Massage.

Afterwards, it was back to the Little Red Dot.

Surprising how the entire day was gone with just a few activities. Hehe!


St. Anthony of Padua
25 Woodlands Avenue 1  Singapore 739064

6368 3804

Raclette night...

Thursday night was raclette night with MkSurf8 and Chris.

Over the post-run breakkie last Sunday, MkSurf8 told us about the Eat-All-You-Can Raclette promo at Wine Connection. We (including Ian) all agreed to go and try it out.

Unfortunately, Ian had to back out because of work. I messaged Mon, Coly and Tipsz to check if they were interested. Too bad all three had already made plans for the night.

So it was just the three musketeers last night. Hehe!

I'm not sure if I've tried raclette before. Hehe! But if you're a cheese lover, you must certainly head down to Unity Street for your raclette experience.

It's kinda cool. You have your own small pan where you place a slice of raclette cheese. Then, you place the pan on the raclette grill and wait for the cheese to melt.

Afterwards, you pour the melted cheese on the potatoes, bread or cold cuts.

For $29.90, you get unlimited raclette, cheese, salad, boiled potatoes, cold cuts, and bread.

To make it an even nicer experience, you should order a bottle of wine to go with the cheese. I've decided to significantly cut down on my alcohol intake (gout issues) so I just had a glass of rose wine.
Wine Connection
11 Unity Street
#01-05/06 Robertson Walk
Singapore237995

As Chari said, Nespresso thoughts...

Hehe! I saw this on the Facebook wall of a friend.

I thought it was nice and worth sharing.

A bunch of friends are wondering how come I always wake up so early even on weekends, and how come I always seem to be in some sort of activity when everyone else is still in bed asleep or lazing.

Here's an answer I guess. Hehe!

Life is short. I want to stay awake most of the time.

Can have my long sleep when I'm six feet under mah. Haha!

Tuesday aftie at the Phil embassy + PS Cafe...

Took the afternoon off today to head down to the Philippine embassy.

After six long weeks, my new passport is now ready for collection. Yey! =)

For fellow OFWs in the island, here's some good info in case you dunno. You won't be asked to leave your old passport while the new one is being processed.

Initially, I wasn't too happy about the thought of leaving my passport with the embassy. What if I felt like heading out of the city on a weekend? Or what if I needed to fly out? Anyway, it was really great that I get to keep my old passport while the new one was prepped.

From Holland Village, I took the bus heading to Orchard and alighted just across St. Regis. I was contemplating on taking a cab going to the embassy from the stop because it was extra hot that afternoon.

I ended up just walking since it wasn't that far. I thought to myself that maybe if I walk at a glacial pace, I wouldn't sweat too much.

Dead wrong. Haha!

When I got to the embassy, I was already sweating like crazy. And if you've been to the embassy... hehehe. :)

The good thing about heading to the embassy on a weekday is that it's not that crowded. There may still be a crowd but they're usually there for other stuff I think (OEC, etc.)

I waited for less than an hour before I finally got my new passport. Yey!

With hours to kill before meeting up with some OC volunteers, I decided I'd hang out at a cafe to cool myself and do some things. I brought Stefan with me so he'd be really helpful.

From the embassy, I decided to just walk back again to the main road. There were two Starbucks branches and a CBTL nearby, but I found myself walking towards Palais Renaissance.

I figured I'd reward myself a bit and have some me-hohol time at P.S. Cafe.

As I'd expected, it wasn't crowded at all. I got a table and for the next two hours, I did some research on a possible project. It was good that there weren't that many people. The wait staff didn't have to kick me out. Haha!

By 5 plus, I decided to leave PS Cafe and do some more walking. I made the mistake of ordering a slice of carrot cake and it was damn huge. Haha!  So to lessen the guilt, I walked to Orchard and then to Somerset. Haha!

Nice me time afternoon.

-Ber months are here...

It's September already.

Wheeeee!!!

For some reason, I always feel the happiest around this time of the year. There's just something about things once the -ber month kicks in.

Maybe because it means Christmas is just around the corner? Haha! Still too early for that though.

Yey! Yey!