The Bathroom Songster: March 2006

Jalan jalan time part 2

A few blogs ago, I had mentioned that I found joy in seeing buildings and landmarks that I could recognise in Singapore. And indeed, while on a jalan jalan adventure with Poops one weekend, I found solace in seeing places that were still in its original place...untouched and unmodified(yet). One of these were Holland Village, a tiny little hub of trendy restaurants and bars mixed amidst HDB heartland shops. Like rojak(a mixed up local salad with shrimp paste and peanuts), the crowds that regularly go there comprise of locals, expats, expats that had called SGP home...Holland V. had always been one of my fave hangouts during the teenage years...getting wasted drunk at Chaplins(a now defunct club) and Wala Wala ( still there with its 1 for 1 specials)...All the things fond memories are made of.

A landmark that still remains the same....

Poops enjoying her afternoon tea of Han Cheen Peng(sweet fried dough) and soybean curd(her favorite)

The Singapore National Museum that's undergoing renovations and a facelift

Dunno why...but Swissotel Stamford looks a little crooked in this picture...

The still defunct Capitol Cinema...I remembered watching a movie here on its last day of operation 6 years back...Why haven't they did anything to this place since then I wonder...Probably another heritage site in the making...

Ok...ok this one has nothing to do with the Singapore skyline but I still find it amusing...I guess SGP parents are still immensely proud when their kid gets featured in a big ass poster outside their school for their academic achievements. I just wonder how many bloody hours of tuition and pressure he gets from his folks...SGP parents have a real knack about suffocating their kids academically...In all honesty, I would hate to be Lim Kiat bacause kids are cruel. Imagine the amount of teasing that he faces in school.

Jalan Jalan time at Botanic Garden

The last time I went to the Bontanic Gardens was way way back when I was 10 years old...It was where families would gather for picnics, bring the dog for a walk, search for artistic inspiration or just simply enjoy the lush greenery. All of which is situated right in the heart of busy Orchard Rd(Singapore's main shopping haven). Just like any urban city, it's nice to have a location to zone out from the hustle and bustle of city life. Guess that was one of the reasons why New York has Central Park, Oahu-Kapiolani Park etc...

Ducks-Poopie likes them alive and cute, I like them dead and roasted

Bird of Paradise on the right-Bird brain on the left...

Please keep our gardens clean and let your friggin dogs fertilize our gardens...

Singapore-not so clean after all eh?

Yea..yea...UV is bad your skin!!!

Warm as hell but still managed a smile

Crikey Mate! Whatta beauty!!!

Douzo...please have a dip in the lily pond if you're warm

Dr. Poopie Doolittle polishing up on her Ducklish...Quack

Big dinner at Kuali zhezha restaurant-Yio Chu Kang

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all my Singaporean readers up in Oahu or anywhere else in the world for publishing very 'explicit' material like those below. You fully have my sympathies. Burp. nuff' said...

Singapore is famed for its succulent chilli crabs and pepper crabs along with a million other culinary delights. With its fleshy(yea...fleshy unlike the snow crab crap) Sri Lankan crabs in delectable spicy chilli sauce or pepper crab with its freshly crushed peppercorn sensation, what's there not to love? In short, picking crab up with your fingers and slurping up the accompanying sauce is in short, orgasmic. Yup, orgasmic...Poops and me had plenty of orgasms(not that kind) at Kuali restaurant along Yio Chu Kang Rd. Apart from the crabs, we also had sweet potato leaves fried in chilli, Kuali special fried Bee Hoon( rice vermicelli) and Salad You Tiao. Another great dinner...more to come.

Pepper crabs

Chilli crab

Before...

After....

Animal loving poopie feeling sorry for Mr Crab...

only 3 questions ah?

Woke up 830am this morning to prepare for an interview with the NHB at 1030am.(Thanks to Mom's rooster call because she kiasu and scared I cannot wake up-wah lau,could have sleep in half hour more...)

So, made myself nice and preppy, wore my suit and tie, and embarked on my long-awaited interview with the NHB. Dropped off at Clark Quay station, realised the place has changed(in terms of more buildings and decor) quite a bit. But all in all, everything stays the same-for example the river water color still same lah. Made my way to the 3rd level, saw a big sparse space with the usual cubicles, but looks really cool with the minimalist interior. First impression was that it was similar to being in a library-pretty quiet. Also notice the female dominated workforce...(where all the boys work?) Anyway, sat on the comfy couch for a short while and finally was ushered into the 'judging room'.

In the judging room sat 3 interviewers, with me sitting in front of the panel...Somewhat like American idols getting judge by Simon, Paula and dawg(the black guy whateva his name is...) So people who know me or who had worked with me know that I'm a sorta guy that makes and entrance and WOW the crowd....So, instead of the usual good mornings and such...I went in and "AAAALLLLLLLOOOOOHAAAAAAAA...." Alamak...I think I shocked the hell outta them lah...anyway I think I made quite a first impression. Thus began the interview. Here are the 'all too challenging questions'.

1) "Tell us a little about yourself?
2)"What is it like in Hawaii?"
3)"Anymore questions for him?"

Presently, I'm incredibly puzzled by how exactly they will be going about choosing the right person for the job with these ambiguous queries. Secondly, I seriously think that these guys have not been taught how to interview people. Lastly, as I left the interview, I was wondering to myself if I did get the job-what the hell was I getting myself into(based on the interview itself)....Aiyoh.

Shouldn't they be asking questions such as:

"What qualities do you think make a great customer service provider?"
"Describe a time when you made a decision or solved a problem which required a great deal of technical expertise?"
Describe a time when you had to communicate procedural information a diverse audience at work or school?"

Anyway, I stay here scratching my head after that episode. The infrastructure might have changed dramatically over the past 5 years...However, apparently some other things just haven't.

Back to the good ole days of sing song, play mahjong

I actually forgot how much I missed all my old buddies until Saturday where me, Poops, Noni+wifey and B got together for our long awaited jam sessions at some pub called 'Actors'. We used to jam together quite a bit cuz Noni+dad had a bar bizness...Noni's dad had a band too... Ok...I admit not having the talent of playing any instruments apart from maybe the triangle and the maracas....but at I could croak good enough...(My peeps in Hawaii would know I do a darn good Elvis)...

So yeah....though most of us are like approaching(or had already approachED) the 30 mark of maturity, we still had our youthful enthusiasm when it came to having fun...And the night was a blast. Cheers to more fun times...

The ladies were actually going wild and throwing their panties in the background....

Our coolest Ahpek guitarist...He cycles from Potong Pasir till Boat Quay...

Me getting that live band 'high'....

Me+Noni doing a duet,NO! IT WASN'T ENDLESS LOVE BY DIANA ROSS...

Poops reminding all the girls to keep their paws off her MAN...meow...

Jalan jalan time...(Rediscovering Singapore)

Being back in Singapore saw many changes to the cityscape, along with new places to eat, new places of interest etc...It comes as no surprise because the Lion City is all about change and renewal. People (or should I say our govt.) love to renovate old buildings to make them look new, or as they say here: " Eveything must look and make clean-clean..." But, on yet another of Me and Poops' jalan jalan(Burari) tours, I was thrilled to came across places that I've recognised and retained its old school charm.

Poops and the 'ONE-PRICE' store at Emerald Hill...I've always wondered what the price was or what they sold, however time and time again when I visited this old school shop, it's always closed.

More shophouses that are made 'clean-clean'. Usually rented out to bars/restaurants/ offices and such...

Poops and the famous bak chang(pork rice dumplings) in Joo Chiat(my old hood)...They've been there for years ever since I could remember...And Joo Chiat is now also famous for something else, I'll update that in the blogs to come.

Poops still fascinated by the hanging clothes poles with wet clothes drying...I would be too if I wasn't from here. Singapore to make use of every available space lah...

Last but not least...something all guys do when we go shopping with chicks...SNORE. This was at DFS Singapore I think...We're not so different after all eh?

Nippon Cosplay

It has already been 2 weeks since we left for Hawai'i....how time flies eh?

Like most jobseekers out there, you do not have much of a choice but to play the waiting game with your potential employer...They might call, they might not, you might get an offer, you might not etc....and on and on...So, with that much time at home, might as well put it to 'good' use right?

ooooo...split ends!!!!

My "why? not happy ah?" gongfu stance

AIEEEEEE!!! Who ate my Cha Siu Bao!!!!

Quit dreaming you maggot!!!! AAAAAAttention!!!!

Prone position minus the ants, bugs, rocks, vegetation, bullets, grenades.....

Private Poopie reporting for duty SIRRRRR!!!!!

botox anyone?

A recent walk to Rivervale Mall led me to a startling discovery...Botox injections and treatments were readily available to the Sgpean public in the HDB heartlands! Now all the vain AhMa and AhPeks can get their faces smoothened out with a mushroom jab! Wow. To the extend on how trustworthy and qualified these doctors are I have no clue....but I'd rather opt for the edible sort of mushrooms and fungus.

Ouch.

please mind the gap.

Okay...Okay...I know what all of you've been thinking....where the hell did Markie disappear to from the world of blogging? I fully realise all my 'fans' out there have been waiting impatiently for updates and stuff, but yeah...MOVING FROM ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER ain't easy. It's only now that i finally starting to ease myself back into the Singaporean rat race, and still-I think i need a hell of a lot more time to adjust. The usual complaints about the humidity and 'kiasu' Singaporean mentality aside, I only now have begun to realise Singaporeans actually speak friggin bad English over here...like, real bad....I'm no advocate of the Queen's English, but hey... at least form a sentence that the layman might understand(especially Poopie who's Japanese and SGpeeps for some reason still approach her in Mandarin)...I think there's too many Mainland Chinese whores recently or somethin'. But anyway, the very latest issue that's bugging the hell outta me ever since being back is "PLEASE MIND THE GAP".

For my fellow SGpeans...you probably are immuned to it by now. For the past 1.5 weeks I've been back, I might have heard it being broadcast over and over again on the MRT(Singapore subway system) for nearly 154,004 times. Ok...I'm merely exaggerating the statistic but it almost feels like that many. Ok, maybe I'm insensitive to the well-being of my fellow SGP commuters, shit...insensitive? JUST TAKE A BIGGER STEP TO AVOID THE that 0.25inch GAP BETWEEN THE TRAIN AND THE PLATFORM....DUH. Anyway, enough said. I've got this feeling I'm gonna hear for a long time until I can afford a COE(a piece of paper that allows you to buy a car)

Below are just pics me and Poops took around Singapore. More coming in the near future, but it's such a pain to upload them with my slow internet connection at the moment- no harm...for my fans out there...I'll do it. Laterz.

Poops going round the fountain of wealth at Suntec city 3 times for good luck..

Satay after the third day of arrival...Tiger beer on the side.

ADRIAN, THIS ONES FOR YOU MAN!!!!

Experiencing the speedy and convenient MRT subway. PLEASE MIND THE FRIGGIN GAP!

Different Kuehs(Local style cakes) and

BakChang(Rice Dumpling with assorted fillings) from Joo Chiat

I know...I know...more food...4th day i think...Mutton Murtabak and Mutton Chop. Sedap Nia...

Munch on Brunch

The Halekulani hotel probably has one of the better brunches in the all of the Waikiki hotels. Poops and me were graciously invited to a delicious brunch today. It was delicious but if only a little too early(930am). Didn't help that I was also resting a mild hangover from the night before. Oh...ok I better keep my mouth shut and not complain because it was Mr. Low's treat...Big Mahalo Mr. Low!

Following pictures are black and white to give it that feeling of reminiscence. Also because I just discovered 2 days back that my camera could take B&W photos too...coolz. The photos came out great, but some of them I left them in full color because I thought it would be such an injustice not to....anyways enough of cock and bull...enjoy