Shermy's 24th Birthday Tea Party

Sherm celebrated her 24th birthday on 23rd Feb - Happy Birthday! I organised her friends and my friends who were also her friends for a little gathering at my place that Saturday afternoon, and it was great!



The big problem I had to get over during this entire time was - to have alcohol or not. Cos I was more used to organising drinking things and drinking parties (or being in them and doing what had to be done), and it took me quite a while to get used to the idea that there was NO alcohol. Strange but true..
So it probably helped that most people knew everyone else, and things got rolling pretty fast - especially since my mom's Bacardi was available for those who desired it.

The highlight of the day was taking my two dogs, October and Jackie out for a walk.. with the whole group of us as the entourage. Yes, everyone got a turn to hold the leash.. And who should show up but Eastpaw in his driving shades looking all cool.. only to drive right by the correct entryway and disappear for the next 5 mins in my sprawling estate that is Seletar Hills. He eventually got to the party and proceeded with a rapturous oratorial speech about needing to canvas funds for the Zoids recommisioning effort (ie. Shermy's Zoids-buying fund). Great effort dude!

It was finally time for the cake cutting, and out came the piece de resistance - Littlefoot Patisserie's Signature Chocolate Lemon Cheesecake. What a beauty it was, with a customised design by Littlefoot himself of a lock and key with the words "Happy Birthday Shermy" on it. The idea of the lock & key stemmed from the very fact that Shermaine never had her coming-of-age 21st birthday bash - she was in Japan at that time, and celebrated it with just her Taiwanese girlfriend then. So this bash was sort of an overdue 21st, with all her NUSKK friends and our mutual friends.


Loretta & Chris indulging Shermy Mouse


Kendo gals - Kat, Ju Yeoun, Sherm, Ting Ting and Kitt


The inside of the signature cake was a surprise - stacked cubes! Not to mention nobody refused a second offer of it =D~ it WAS delicious!


The only shot of the food that we prepared (and gratuitous couple shot!)

I also had some incriminating photos of certain individuals (Justin & Kitt) who wore cat ears as well. I am currently accepting offers for those pieces of evidence. Bidding starts at $5.

And so, thank you all for coming, Shermy & I had a great time, and I believe so did you. =D
I promise, next time we'll have "proper" drinks (I'll need to stock up first).

V-day dinner!

V-day's long over, and this post is long overdue!



What I did - I got Sherm a pendant from this shop at Novena Sq 2 called "Mercury", its a shell + metal flower thing with an inscription on the back, marking the event. Instead of flowers (which are enormously exhorbitant) I got a balloon which she liked, tacked on a soft-toy bear (which had huge rabbit-like feet) and decorated it the way the florists do, thereby making my own floral bear-balloon bouquet which Shermy absolutely adored!


We then rushed over to Bugis where I had a 7pm reservation for 2 at MOF @ My Izakaya. We actually wanted to try getting into Ma Maison, but without an advanced reservation (Sherm can be quite fickle when it comes to long-term food planning), we had a 45-min wait ahead. My Izakaya would do just as well if not better.

I just want to mention before-hand, that the first time we came to this place, we were blown away by the "Japanese-standard" service! Even other so-called authentic Japanese eateries had this tired, fake, bored attitude when compared with My Izakaya. We figured that MOF (Ministry of Food, the organisation that owns this place) really took great pains to instil a certain service standard and behaviour into their obviously non-Japanese staff. The first time I summoned the staff, they were busy but signalled that they had noticed me, and within a minute someone came by with the apologetic nod that you see Japanese people do (or in the case of Sherm, ppl who interact with them). The good service and attention to detail continued throughout the evening and we just felt very 'at home'. I was even compelled to fill up the feedback form telling them to keep it up! And mind you, though the ambience and decor is quite cosy, the prices are surprisingly inexpensive ($9 ramens).

Back to the narration, we bypassed the long queue for the restaurant (all the poor couples who didn't book, tsk tsk) and signalled to the Captain. Strangely enough (and somewhat expectantly - I made the reservation by phone but had called the main branch for lack of the Bugis' branch number online), despite me ensuring that I would get a reservation, I still didn't. Good thing I remembered the guy's name and the Captain (whether I had the name or not) still gave us a seat. PHEW! What great face-saving service. I later checked with her and she assumed the blame telling us it wasn't a problem at all, but giving us the place's namecard anyway.

The last time we ate here, we both had ramen bowls, this time, Sherm ordered a Salmon & Chicken set while I had Zaru Soba + assorted tempura. Oh yes, they have single-serving salads here - chock-full of veggie and salmon/ scallops that even I would be happy to eat! All in all, the meal was delicious and the constant green-tea-pouring by the green staff was consistent and attentive.


Before dessert, I took out the last part of the V-day surprise.. The completed Command Wolf (Kotobukiya). I spent some time posing it and she just loved the look of it!

On to dessert, Sherm ordered a Macha Imo. The combination of red bean and yam paste and the added on dango was a lovely contrast of tastes that blended so well. Tasty!

So that was a great V-day outing (and easy on my pocket)! Thanks dear!
Contact: MOF @ My Izakaya - 63386466
(#02-45 Bugis Junction)

Zoids Assembly Line: Command Wolf

Behold, the almost-complete Command Wolf:




The Command Wolf marks the second release of the High-end Master Model line by Kotobukiya (with Tomy) from the Zoids line. I enjoyed making this piece especially because I couldn't wait to start posing the critter - it is very articulated (I can't tell u how many points there are), and looks great!

The Command Wolf is a fast and agile Zoid, one of the fastest Zoids of its size. Its speed gives it a good deal of flexibility, allowing it to perform in various roles. Command Wolves have been used in strike, recon, and assault operations, amongst others. Its back-mounted weapons turret can detach and act as a separate recon platform, further expanding its capabilities.

~Extract from Wiki

Following the construction of this Zoid, I have decided to acquire some more equipment in order to better refine the look of it. I decided that this will be my new hobby, cos I've always liked model-kit work, I just hated painting among other stuff. However, after discussing with Mark and reading some material that he supplied, I think its possible to do this in my spare time. =) For the Wolf, first thing is to fill in the panel-lines. I'll do spray painting for the next Zoid I build, Wolf already looks great in white.. maybe when he starts yellowing.. lol


Pictures taken during assembly:

Happy Lunar New Year!

Here's Shermy's cold pasta salad made on the 3rd day:


Thoroughly enjoyed by the Boys (Jon & Mark), Jackie and myself. Walloped the whole container that 20 visitors to her house that day couldn't finish! =D

Perth Fishing Trip Write-up

How lovely, Zihao, our trip organizer bothered to do a write-up on the trip happenings, inclusive of the pictures that were taken.

Perth Samson Jigging 20-25 Dec '07

Please do have a read, if not, just look at the pics. There're some really nice ones taken. And see the SIZE of the Samson fish! It's really as Zihao said - drop a jig, crank a bit, and FISH ON! =D~

Ok, want to find out if there was any "Brokeback Fishing" going on? The answer is in the article! =D


Now go read. hehehehe