yum yum snail noodles (me thinks)

I'm dreaming of nice yummy food...and this is the best puddy can send me... snail noodles...me thinks it looks delicious though she vehemently denies this fact.... in fact, she says it's so yucky...that someone starving to death will rather die than eat this bowl of snail noodles.

Toyota Vios FL

Introduction
Toyota has always been topping the sales chart in terms of volume sold in Singapore. The brand serves as a perfect example in business textbooks teaching students on "how to successfully create a brand phenominon".

Heck, it's so successful that the brand sells for itself. In short, if people are able to purchase cars from a mail catalogue, chances are, most people will select Toyotas without even batting an eyelid. That is how much trust we Singaporeans place in the Toyota badge. As how Borneo's Sales excutives puts it, "Trust is key"

So, what kind of criteria exists in toyota cars that make us Singaporeans trust the brand so much? I'm sure there are many factors involved but for the sake of this review, allow me to list down just 3 prominent factors:

1. Reliability
2. Quality
3. value for money

But wait a minute...no one review cars based on these 3 points(engine, handling, power, ride comfort are the norm), so why am I reviewing the Vios based on this? Allow me to explain:

Toyota Vios has been around in Singapore since the late 2002. And in that period of time from 2002 to 2006, I am sure every single car magazine out there would have reviewed everything about this car in topics ranging from "how many wheels does the Vios has" to "how many screws does it take to assemble the Vios". In short, the Vios is a tried, proven and tested product. It is as reliable as a screwdriver, as wonderful to look at as a bowl of fragrant white rice and sprints as fast as a bat from hell (heh, especially a manual vios...). To write another report on all these is about as exciting as eating a slice of plain bread (You know how plain bread taste like even before eating it)













So, bearing all these in mind, I've decided to write a car review based on what makes Toyota's car so popular. After all, a car review is to ascertain whether the product is up to standard or not, isn't it?

Reliability & Quality

Sadly, the moment I depress the clutch petal, the word quality was already out of the window. The Vios has exactly the same clutch feel as a G8 corolla...and that product was launched 8 years ago. The clutch is stiff and perpeptually springy. I suspect that if you were to drive in the city every day under start stop conditions, you could well be on your way to having well defined calf muscles. And my nightmare was just about to begin.

If you think a zero feel springy clutch is bad enough, try having a zero feel springy clutch & a gearbox that resists slotting into gear. Not only do you get well defined calf muscles, now u can have well defined left arm muscles, thrown in free. I had to desperately move off at 3rd gear because the gear box can't seem to engage first or second (but if you think about it, the engine's pretty good to be able to start off at 3rd gear).

Where is the quality? And if the quality isn't up to standard, where is the reliabilty? And what else unknown might be lacking?

Value for money

Luckily, I did not uncover any other flaws with the car during the remainder of the test drive. Every other components was exactly how a Toyota car should be. Good but boring(not that is bad). The engine is smooth and powerful (must be powered by Chilli padis from the Tom yam soup), the drive train smooth and vibration free, even the cabin is quiet, though not as quiet as it's elder sibling, the Altis.


Verdict
The manual vios is a let down. I really wanted to love it. Yet, the gearbox and clutch is such utter trash that I am prepared not to have it, even if it somehow manages to look like my dream car, the Ferrari F430. This is not what I would expect from a Toyota product. Not at all. At 45K, I would suggest getting the 4AT version instead. At least, the auto gearbox should be alot better and completely eradicates this clutch-gearbox problem, unless of course, you like to have well toned left limbs.

Comforting conversation...me thinks

damsie : jarvis

damsie: u know wat i like abt u?
binks: what?

damsie:many people are afraid to care too deeply for other people. for the fear of being hurt too deeply eventually. they figured tat the less u care, the less painful it'll be.

ie. if u dun gamble, u wun lose.
but of course, human relationships (kinship, friendship, bgr) are nuttin like gambling.

but insofar as i can see ... wary as u are, u habent close up your heart. u still love and care for people around u. u dun shut people out.

and u allow people to care as well. becoz u aren't afraid of reciprocating.
binks:u make me sound like a saint

=======================================

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

most men got a possessive streak.

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

this lambie

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

got a protective streak.

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

ya. If wat i said abt your feelings towards susu is any accurate, u do take it upon yourself to jaga the lil females around u. Eg. susu and pudding.

Binks: And so, the fellowship of the castle, bound by friendship and love, is formed. says:

i'm a watch lamb!

Binks: And so, the fellowship of the castle, bound by friendship and love, is formed. says:

*dons helmets n patrol ard the castle*

Binks: And so, the fellowship of the castle, bound by friendship and love, is formed. says:

*while eating dandilions pudding gave me*

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

u know they are capable of jagaing themselves. but if u can, u rather walk infront of them, just to make sure the roads are clear for them. and when u can't, u walk behind them so u can catch them shld they stumble. it's a.. how to say leh? a somewhat brotherly kind of feeling bah. dunno leh. My 2 pence worth.

damsie - dark clouds looming over castle... says:

but allow me finish my bit on this protective streak issue first.

I say tat's a flaw (though i wld also say it's a virtue), becoz... not everyone expect this depth of concern in a fren. so ... they dun see the impact of their actions on u.

My point is .. u end up getting hurt more easily than the avg person. and half the time, people dun even know.

Ok...here's something different for a change...

Ed: Kevin Carter didnt' directly get depressed due to this picture but of all the violence he had covered in his career as a photojournalist, financial and personal issues, combined.

爱情不能做比较

“我以为，我已经忘了你。




.................................................没想到，那是因为...




.................没见到你。”


Ho ho..thanks Damsie for finding this!

Fellowship of the food

And so it goes, a fellowship of us peeps, drawn by the power of the food, met up at Jackson's place to gobble those delicious food....
















One of the vase caught my eye and i can't resist taking a photo of it (just ignore the bag, it's abit wrong with the bag.)

Old wounds hurts

It has been so long...

Wounds will heal.

Flowers will fade.

Feelings will dissipate.

Yet.

Some memories still remains.

Some feelings still linger.

Some wounds still hurt.





每一夜被心痛穿越

思念永没有终点

早习惯了孤独像随

我微笑面对.

Choco Galore

Nice Choco! Thanks lor^2!
















Choco Birthday cake!

Not only that, I had choco everyday of this week... yet i'm still feeling sad n stressed from work!

But, I still got one block of dark chocolate which I have not open yet...why huh?

















Kenny Rogers! B1 was usually crappy today and he refuses to eat the last piece of chicken wing. And being anti-social, he is not going for tomorrow's gathering! Tsk!

Sigh...

I should be doing work, heck, I need to be doing work...but i've no mood, not one single bit. Sometimes I wonder if it's true, that we are the "sum of our problems" . Maybe it's true.

As before, I said I have problems and it seems they just only add on...

But...it's just me, and you can't hate me for being myself can you?

Yesh, there are things that I shouldn't have forgotten (but i was always waiting for the package to be delievered first, no package, whats the point of arranging something?) Sometimes, I do question about the way I do things, on a subconscious level. It's as if every single step I take have a hidden adgenda that leads to an outcome that was conceived at the back of my mind. I'm not even aware of my own subsconcious thoughts. Now that is a scary thing. How do you trust your mind?

Great minds must be skeptical of themselves, me thinks.

I'm always nice to people and sometimes, I do things that is out of the way as long as the person feels happy, and then i'll be happy. It's that simple really. I like that feeling when people appreciate what I do.

Yet. It's not that simple. Put this equation into the real world and you have a good candidate for chaos theory, hollywood style. Maybe, in this real cruel world, i'm not suppose to think simple. I'm just suppose to run an analysis n create computer models to extrapolate the results to see what is the best path to move on...

What you want may not be what people wants, me thinks.

Yes. I said before, work is forever there, what matters is how you prioritize your time. But, it just so happen that work takes top spot because as soon as we stop working, work will pile up even more. So all I did was to clear as much as I can that best fit the schedule. Yes, it's damn tiring. But what choice I got? I'm not a friggin workaholic. Just that if i don't be one, i'll be in one shitload of work.

Overworked by circumstances, not choice.

P.S: I can't satisfy everybody's expectations of me and i don't expect people to fulfill my expectations of them. Just don't go bouncing off the wall when ever expectations are not met. I'll bite back doubly hard.

I Ponder....

It's 2 am. Save for my throbbing head, I like the night. The night infuses calm to anyone who bothers to appreciate the silence that it brings.

Sitting at my desk, looking out into the dark but star-less night, with the cold breeze gently caressing my weary AND throbbing head, I pondered...

I pondered about the generations that have come and gone, the people before me of yester-years, of history, wine and song. The past is but a memory etched into the forgotten realms of our brains. Of regrets and sorrows... Nay! The past does not contain regrets nor sorrows. It is we, the present culprits that colours our memories with feelings, desirable and undesirable alike. It is we, the present that shape our past, and continue to mould our future.

We are the singualrity of our path.

PS: If you do not understand what I've written, do not fret.



Neither do I =)

This paragraph in a Reuters article sums up my feelings...

Excerpt taken from Reuters.com :

Singapore agrees to admit globalisation foes
Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:50 AM BST

"Analysts said the meeting was turning out to be a public relations disaster for Singapore, which has spent about S$135 million (29 million pounds) on the event, hoping to showcase its financial industry and tourism appeal.

Instead, the world press has focussed on Singapore's restrictions on free speech and right of assembly.

"It is a PR disaster. It represents a certain blindness on the part of the Singapore government towards matters of public opinion, which can be traced to the fact that they are so used to ignoring it," said Singapore political commentator Alex Au."

=========================================

There is a hokkien saying that comes to my mind:

" zo lang ai kiang dio ho, mai gei kiang"

literal translation: Be clever but don't act clever and end up doing stupid things.

I really really only have one word for this whole IMF preparation.

"Facade"

Food glorious food

Braised duck rice at.... Pasir Panjang there...can't rem the place name though.... yummy...















Ajisen at Airport on Sunday....and i ate Naruto favourite!




















sigh...I can't rem the name of the place...something soba @ paragon.... ps: the duck is nice...heck, in fact everything is a culinary delight, save the bowls and utensils...not that hungry yet....















The desserts were good...green tea tofu with vanila ice cream and the wheatballs with the dunno-what powder and green bean.

But the best treat I got was the appetizer.... the sound of a F430 spyder starting up...in the underground carpark....

that. is. absolutely. heavenly.

Gawd.

A week in Summary

If any of you peeps realised...my previous 2 entries are without pics and at an unearthly hour. And in anticipation of more unearthly hours...i've stocked up on food in my over head drawer earlier this week... hee hee
















And as one of our partners is retiring...we had dinner at The Pines last night, complete with KTV and drinks. Dinner was very good. never see Shark's fins in so big pieces and neither have i eaten Foie Gras ...so... erm...shouldn't have eaten Foie gras... it's cruel!















And the above picture was before I walked around with the chivas bottle in my hand(ok ok...kidding... you can't drink straight from the chivas bottle anyway)















Received this post card from France! Ho ho...ok...i've checked, it's actually made in Austria (points at a tiny corner of the card)

All I can say is....

Bitte...zeichne mir ein Schaf!

Doux !

Sigh.....

Ok....Sometimes....I really shouldn't drink too much... I think i had 2 glasses of beer, 2 glasses of whisky coke, 1 shot of whiskey neat, 3 glass of very nice red wine and a finale of a glass of whiskey with water...

yet.

Troubles don't go away. Problems remains.

But it was fun while it lasted.

Advice is free but that doesn't mean advise freely

"Running feels awful, but it will let you live longer...so, life will feel awful, but at least it will last longer."

The first time I read this on the company's website "Quote of the Day", I re-read it again to see that I didn't misinterpret it wrongly. I didn't think so.

My interpretation of this Quote is as follows:

Run if you like an awful life and an awfully long life

Honestly, who on earth, will seriously advise you on that?!? And what kind of strange advise is that? Totally puzzling and extremely mind boggling that an advise will tell u that running can make your life awful... the person who wrote this must be a 180tons lump of fat.

Wierd.

A blog is to say things....

A lot of things happened recently. Things that happened in the past happened again. On top of new developments that leads into the unknown. And work is not exactly smooth sailing.

But who doesn't have problems? Big or small. Everyone will sure have their problems. And I have to deal with it on my own.

But.

Not because I want to.

But because I have to.

Since everyone is doing it...I should too....

This...I might have to admit....

Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Thinking

You are: Objective, honest, and credible Intellectually curious, with many diverse interests More inclined toward ideas than people Fiercely independent and unapologetically unconventional

What's Your Personality Cluster?

Also true... (in a way)

Your Ideal Relationship is Serious Dating

You're not ready to go walking down the aisle. But you may be ready in a couple of years. You prefer to date one on one, with a commitment. And while chemistry is important, so is compatibility.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

My fav! (but..got people kenna seduced by me meh...i think all run away more like it ho ho ho...)

Your Seduction Style: Au Natural

You rank up there with your seduction skills, though you might not know it. That's because you're a natural at seduction. You don't realize your power! The root of your natural seduction power: your innocence and optimism. You're the type of person who happily plays around and creates a unique little world. Little do you know that your personal paradise is so appealing that it sucks people in. You find joy in everything - so is it any surprise that people find joy in you? You bring back the inner child in everyone you meet with your sincere and spontaneous ways. Your childlike (but not childish) behavior also inspires others to care for you. As a result, those who you befriend and date tend to be incredibly loyal to you.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

I like this very much... like I have always wondered..."If I lead...will you follow?"

Your Birth Month is January

You are a natural leader who is able to stand up when no one else can. Strong and powerful, you tend to overshadow those around you. Your soul reflects: deep love, fascination with life, and a distinctive persona Your gemstone: Garnet Your flower: Snowdrop Your colors: Black, dark red, and dark blue

What Does Your Birth Month Mean?

Sinful Friday and Luxurious Saturday

It was quite a bad week for me... but at least I'm glad when there is a chance to unwind, I have good company to unwind with! Hence, Friday was a sinfully delectible assortment of sharp tastes (nasi goreng), slippery delight (char kway teow) and fiery starches (Indian Rojak)















Of course, that alone wouldn't be complete without a nice cup of "tea" complete with gentle piano wafting you to cosy dreamland...




















As you can see....3 different types of alcohol and soft drinks....making it a total of 9 different drinks... logically, you can have volka green tea, coke volka, 7-up volka in both blackcurrant and vanilia flavour, not to forget the whisky... my favourite? volka coke (blackcurrent). Simply delightful!


And for the first time in my life, I've finally sat and driven a Lexus RX-300 similar to the picture shown below:













First Impressions
Lexus has taken America by storm ever since the they penerated the American market back in 1990. Targeted at the luxury car segment, Lexus is well known for it's quiet ride, smooth engine, a 100% backed Toyota level of quality and tons of creature comfort thrown in. At a price that threatened the fundementals of the luxury car segment back then. Of which the RX300 was part of their lineup in the late 90's.

As a car that has always been marketed as a luxury SUV, i'm pretty sure that in urbanized Singapore, 100% of these RXs will never get their rubbers dirty. Hence, it was really never designed and engineered to be a SUV at all, more like a luxurious cruise liner, like SuperStar Virgo of the land. The only thing SUV about this car is that it has an electronically controlled 4wd, which you can never interfere with, stop short of literally smashing the ECU.

From the exterior, you may be deceived into believing that the car grith requires getting used to but once on the road, you will soon find that this luxury cruise liner feels as small as any other 1.6l saloon. It really is that easy to drive. The best part of it? You sit tall, and that, can't be a bad thing.















Power Overwhelming
Sporting a 3l V6 engine with Toyota's VVT-i technology, century sprint is dispatched under 10 seconds. But, like all SUVs, the size and weight of the car drops any pretext of "sportiness" as the engine struggles to get the car moving from stop. But once on the move, the RX accelerates rather quickly. However, power delivery is linear without those "in-your-face" shove that threatens to splatter wine from your lordship's wine glass in his face everytime you accelerate.

On road, the car absorbs bumps and road irregularities well, even though the car is running on 18" rubbers. The car element is it's cruising ability. On the highway, it glides effortlessly and wafts you from place to place in soft luxurious leather cocoons. All this in quiet comfort that makes your conversation feels loud even at the softest whisper.

Driving through the 99 S-bend, the car feels suprisingly composed around the bends, and maintains it's composure with minimal amount of body roll no matter how many twisty bends you throw at it. It really is that chuckable, for it's size.















Creature comforts
This car is feature laden and the list goes on, just to name a few:

• Auto HID headlights
• Auto rain sensing wipers
• Optitron guages
• dual auto climate control
• cruise control
• 5 speed auto with manual overide
• auto dimming rear view mirror
• Electric seats

Verdict
It's a car that achieves what it is, a luxury marque. It drives and handles reasonably well, all in luxury comfort that leaves it's occupants feeling refreshed even after a long journey. Yet, I can't help but feel that it lacks a certain something...an X-factor. The car feels too sanitized and clinical. An engineering tool more than picasso's drawing.

I remember commenting on the way back that for S$160k, it's more bang-for-buck than, say, a BMW 3 series, and wondered why would anyone even buy a 3 series when they can have the bigger RX for the same kind of money?

Perhaps, it's precisely because a BMW is like picasso's art, an expression in form and motion, rather than a cold and emotionless precision engineering tool the lexus is.

Put it simply in another way, would you rather pay S$160k for a very expensive veneer caliper or for Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon?

Love Language

Pud. send me a link over the last week which I had only time to do it now...

http://www.greaterquest.com/LoveLanguages.asp

and my results are as follows (whatever they mean):


Score
3 Love Language

2Words of Affirmation

9 Quality Time

0 Receiving of Gifts

10 Acts of Service

8 Physical Touch


How to interpret your Profile Score:

Your highest score indicates your primary love language. Your second highest score indicates your secondary lovelanguage. If two scores are identical, you are bilingual (you have two primary love languages). If the scores of yourprimary and your secondary language are close (for example, 10 & 9 respectfully), it indicates both are important toyou. Whatever a significant other does to express love in either of these languages will get emotional points with you.The highest possible score for any language is 12.

Having a clear picture of your primary & secondary love languages will explain much of your past behavior Think backover the past and ask yourself "What have I most often requested from significant others?" Chances are your answerwill lie within the scope of your primary & secondary love languages. You have been requesting that which would meetyour deepest need for emotional love.

==============================
er... so what does that mean for me arhz?

A Fairy Tale (Spoof Version)

Upon coming back home, I read 3 consecutive blogs in succession and they were all...well bordering from sad news to somewhat sadder news...so, in respond to all these postings...me decides to blog a funny blog...and make the world a happier place to live in...ke ke ke...



















Disclaimer : Taken off mycarforum

可惜不是你

这一刻突然觉得好熟悉
像昨天今天同时在放映
我这句语气原来好像你
不就是我们爱过的证据

差一点骗了自己骗了你
爱与被爱不一定成正比
我知道被疼是一种运气
但我无法完全交出自己

努力为你改变
却变不了预留的伏笔
以为在你身边那也算永远
仿佛还是昨天
可是昨天已非常遥远
但闭上双眼我还看得见

可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔

那一段我们曾心贴着心
我想我更有权力关心你
可能你已走进别人风景
多希望也有星光的投影

努力为你改变
却变不了预留的伏笔
以为在你身边那也算永远
仿佛还是昨天
可是昨天已非常遥远
但闭上双眼我还看得见

可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔

可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔

感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能温暖我胸口
================

有时想起了往事， 真的可惜不是你陪我过这一生。。。

果然如此，爱与被爱不一定成正比。。。

而我只能 感谢是你牵过我的手,

和我走过生命的 一部分。

Cheese al Plat

Did a once in a while cooking and these are what we got....

Oven baked sambal Sting Ray, Sambal kangkong and erm, well, stir fry chicken. yes, the photo is blur so, it's nothing much to look at...















For Desserts, we had Cream cheese and waffles with longan
For Drinks, we had Scotch Whiskey on ice and also with coke. oh, whisky with coke is fabulous...
















It's fun to cook...because when we are working, it's quite hard to savour homecook food especially if your entire family is out working...so, once in a while, it's wonderful. Really.

Drinking "Tea" again!

Ok...sometimes...after a long day at work...it's nice to chill out to unwind...so decided to go Tango at Holland. And it dawned on me that i've been having some form of alcohol everyday since wednesday... =p















Tequila lime! with fries...

Yep, I know that my post have been pretty "shallow" of late...well, it's because, I don't feel like blogging to dense stuff...me wanna keep it light n 'fluffy'. Easier on the brain =)

Buffet Lunch & Corona Beer

heh, lunch at M-hotel for our KAM 6 training... almost barely miss it as I needed to rush off half way to go meet with one of our clients...but... i guess I made it! keke...















Pre Weekend chill out at Holland V. Decided to drink Corona beer as that was what i drank in Oz...but this time, i didn't have the luxury of having 6 slices of lemon in the beer...hahaha... beer with lemon is nice =p