~*/ m | c h 3 L L 3 \*~

woke up at like 11am today.. nice & cool weather to sleep in..now i know why all bears hibernate..haha.. going to Comic Market Today..it's a comic exibition from 29th Dec to 1st Jan..held annually in Japan.. had cup noodles for brunch..and i tell you..it's freaking large serving and taste damn nice! Ernest says he's gonna bring 50 cups back...haha..
Walked to Mitakadai Station to take a train to our destination..and ya..the train map is so complicating...

so Toru got the tickets for us.. nice to have a Jap cousin to bring us around yea! We did not activate our JR pass yet.. will activate on the 3rd Jan..when we go to visit aunt at Hachinohe.. aunt is so nice..she sms evey now and then to see how's Ernest and I doing.. scared that we're not used to the weather..she even bought me a pair of boots! so excited.. i'll take a photo of it when i reached Hachinohe..

Toru and I while waiting for the train.. honestly, it's not very cold.. but i dun understand why pple in Japan are dressed in thick clothings.. maybe they haven't been to freaking hot Singapore yet.. summer all year round!

Reached Shibuya station.. to transfer train..and a even more complicating map..even Toru took a bit of time to 'decifer' it..haha

This is where the annula Comic Market 73 take place.. it's similar to our Singapore Expo.. but this 'expo' is 20 times bigger than Singapore's (according to Ernest).

and it's so so so crowded! almost the whole expo is filled with comic stuff.. and the place is divided into 3 sections...

1st section is for pple who are amateur in comics..they draw up their comics and print them into notebooks... calendars... t-shirts... reminds me of Veron's sister.. hee.. i think she will be making lots of money if she's here! hee~

2nd section is where all the Cosplay are.. pple dressed up in costumes and pose for pple to take photo of them.. it's at the roof-top.. open-air.. freaking cold!

1st trio I see.. so interesting.. i think they really took alot of trouble to dressed up till they look like this! (though i dunno who they resembles).

I took this photo because of the topless guy on the left.. his chest is actually hairy! haha..think he stick some hair there..

i took this because eveyone is taking..there's a huge crowd..so i just went over..

ta da! and this! i told this scary-thingy that i would like the hold his hat.. and he was like "huh"! haha.. think he dun understand what i'm talking about..hee~ so sad that we cannot stay on for long.. coz it's raining! everyone starts to evacuate indoors.. but i manage to sneak into the cos play changing room to take a video of them... not allowed, but secretly filmed them..hee~

3rd section is where all the main publishers of comics.. stayed there for awhile.. and i think this place is very much catered for the guys.. all comic character are girls.. and dressed in short skirts... with abit of panties shown..and pillows cases of "almost whole body exposed" girl comic character were sold.. *duh* if they sell guys, i might buy loh..haha~ *oops*

Ernest wants me to take this with my 7.1 mega pixels camera.. apparently a new comic character that's launching soon...

so hungry.. we went for lunch at about 2.30pm.. and look at the first dish on the Set Menu.. "Mix Fly Set"! it consist of dragonfly, housefly, fruitfly etc... haha... nah, think it's spelling error.. japanese always mixed up "L" and "R"..

I had Japanese Chicken Curry Rice.. nice!

Toru & Ernest looking at the map.. looking at a way to get to Akihabara..i just left it to the 2 guys.. coz.. i went over and look at the map...

totally dun understand.. haha.. actually it can be easily understood lah.. just that i'm lazy.. leave it to the guys..

Akihabara is a place where there are many electronics and comics store... that are like 7 storeys high.. so many things to see..saw my Nodame Animae DVD... Part 1 (episodes 1 & 2) & Part 2 (episodes 3, 4 & 5).. cost $100++ .. i really wanna buy.. but i think i will give it some consideration for a few more days.. hmm...it's only 5 episodes... but the cover is so nice!

Went to look for a "Maid's Cafe" for dinner.. a place where waitresses are dressed as maid..and they actually play games with the customers.. went to a few.. but all long queue :( decided to give it a miss...

Another figuring that Ernest told me to take.. dunno why he like all these.. anyway.. he bought like 3 small figurines from the comic shop.. for his friends as souveniers i guess...

Went back home... reached home about 9plus.. dead tired.. went to 7-11 to stock up some stuff..and came home to sleep.. i watch dvd til 1am.. zzzZZzzZzzzZzzzz~

We're going Ueno the next day.. without Toru...coz i think he needs plenty of rest.. hee~ he don't exactly like crowds and walking around i guess... but i'm so looking forward to the count down party at his friend's place tmr!

And i miss my folks too... wonder what they'll do for countdown.. will call them tmr!

P/S: i think i will go back to Akihabara to buy my Nodame Animae.. coz i remembered what Veron say..haha.. just buy!

Thanks to Ernest's friend Jun Wei.. who fetched us to the airport at freaking 430am in the morning..he's quite good looking wor.. er hem.. ya.. reached the airport at about 5am..then checked in at United Airlines..by then..it's already 530am.. went for BK breakfast..
Ernest.. first time travelling with him alone! just both of us.. stupid.. the guy ushering us to the check in counter called us "Mr & Mrs Tan".. thot we're husband and wife..then i told them.. HE'S MY BROTHER! haha

went in about 610am.. thot of shopping around at the duty free shops.. but nothing to buy..went to poo poo..then time to check in.. 630am.. i brought my lappie..and i actually had to on my lappie at the clearance! Ernest said they're afraid that after i press the "on" button, i would activate the "bomb" ..hee.. just to be safe lah..

had so much food on the plane..and i slept throughout.. 6.5hours.. thank goodness it's businesss class.. i had 3 pillows and 1 blanket...so comfy!

it's 14.2 degrees! reached Narita at about 2.20pm Singapore time.. Japan's 1 hour ahead..

anyway, it's not cold..dun understand why pple are all dresses in thick fur coats..haha.. Brother waiting for bus...

to fetch us to Kichijoji Station..then Toru will pick us up.. it's a freaking 2 hours journey..and the sky turned dark at 4pm! it's almost like night time!

Met Toru and we wanted to walk to his place..but luggage's really a burden..so ya..he treated us to a cab ride! first time in a cab in Japan!

once we entered the cab, it's like $10! it's about $14 when we reached his place :) Ernest bought an inflatable mattress and we spend like 2 hours getting is all ready..while Toru ordered pizza..then set up all the internet stuff for my lappy...etc.. finally.. went out to supermarket to get some tidbits.. cup noodles..drinks...etc..

It's a nice day to begin with..and we dun have any programmes yet for tmr.. let's hope tmr will be a fun-filled one!

P/S: Toru's room is so dusty that i used 4 packets of tissues! went supa to buy more tissues!

Earlier this month.. iris & i were out together and she mentioned about going on a spa holiday. well.. didn't catch up on this spa holiday thingy till 16th..when she finally called and suggested that we go for spa holiday on the 18th! so fast! initial plan was 2days 1night at Bintan.. but my schedule really did not permit.. finally, we figured that Batam was cheaper and that it's more economical to go for a day spa, rather than spending a night there. and..ya.. we got everything settled within a day! thanx to Iris! Decided not to drive coz of parking fee! got a morning call from Iris at about 830am..but me already awake! too eggcited! Drove to her place at about 8.15am and parked my car there.. took photo with Tuffy! my ONLY photo with Tuffy! The night before i was dreaming about Tuffy's tongue being extremely long..and licked my face *wetz* Iris said Tuffy seldom look directly at the camera! I'm in luck!

Iris's dad drove us to the nearest MRT station and we took a train to Habourfront station. Reached at about 10am..got our ferry tickets and time for breakfast! I have to elaborate about breakfast. Dear Girl told me that it was packed from last night's wake. There was too much leftover.. ok.. there was bee hoon.. friend rice and other dishes.. great. i'm totally cool with it! till..she told me.. she didn't bring any utensils *haha* Went to Mac to get 2 pairs of fork & spoon..

Slowly uncapping containers..holding the utensils in her hands, she looked deliciously at the food..
while i stared at the food with such expression.. because... the food is COLD! not cold..but COLD! freshly taken out from the refrigerator 1 hour ago without heating it up! oh man..and Dear Girl told me that she does that all the time! she added Tuffy loves eating COLD food too.. *faintz* i'm ok with the taste of the food.. more concerned about what happens after i eat them.. it's my first time afterall.. but since Iris says it's fine.. i TRUST you girl! 2 cups of HOT milo after that meal made breakfast a little more wholesome *er hem* Ferry will set off about 11am.. we're so punctual! cleared the custom and went up the ferry! it's a sunny day! decided to sit in the air-conditioned part of the ferry!
The ferry ride's gonna take us 1 hour! so we were busy exchanging ring tones.. themes.. viewing photos..and snapping away! there's a tv in the ferry showing "just-for-laughs" and it's really quite funny! haha~
Reached Batam at 12pm..but Batam is 1 hour behind us...so it's 11am there! weeEEeEe~ bright and sunny..took out our shades and wore them..and found the person who's picking us up to MIRACLE spa.. nice comfy car, we got there in less than 10mins.. some ulu ulu place..but nice.. and spacious! presented our invoice, and we're all ready to begin!

We started off with washing our feet in this machine.. so soapy and bubbly! i went first..then iris.. then..that's where nightmare begins!I simply can't describe the 6 hours of SPA in words! because..i really can't! it was all filled with laughter... screams... squeels... shouting... talking... from the both of us! haha~ you see.. the beds were like side by side..and we were instructed by the masseurs to remove our clothes.. with only the black disposable panty and shower cap on.. for that solid 2 hours.. these are the phrases that filled the room.

"DON'T SEE AH!" "LOOK THERE K!" "DON'T LOOK!" "WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING AT NOW?" "I'M LOOKING AWAY!" "DON'T WORRY!" "FACE THE WALL!" ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

that sums up 2 hours-the other pictures are all censored!Facial's next.. Iris started facial first.. that's why i could take this photo! i didn't opt for "Medicure & Pedicure" treatment... but i see Iris in such comfort..i added that as well! hee~ so professional! this is the first time SO MANY black heads were remove from my face WITHOUT any EXCRUCIATING pain! thumbs up! while doing facial, another lady did my hands and feet.. moisturising them.. manicure & pedicure..and the best of all...my cracked heels miraculous became so smooth!
Simply satisfied with it! We did our hair treament and foot reflexology after that..and finished everything at about 5 plus..almost 6! then.. we thot our package included a seafood dinner at Golden Prawn Restaurant.. but apparently, it was kinda miscommunicated -sad- we were chauffered back to the ferry terminal and we got our return tickets ready.. then, we walked to the Megamall to have our very own seafood dinner..
ordered...Fish...Baby Kailan...Sapo Tofu...Prawns... and obviously, too much for us to finish! and halfway to finishing my carrot/apple juice, i found 2 flies floating on surface of the juice. Immediately called the waiter. Wheak.. the no-common-sense-waiter had the no-common-sense-brain to say that the 2 flies flew in 'themselves'. I think, the flies had MORE common sense than him. The price of the dish on the menu was printed wrongly too.. heck.. we accomodated to that..and it's so freaking "tickle-my-armpits" funny when he served us our first dish, he said that he made up for all the hassles by serving us personally. like we care which tommy dicky harry is serving us.. we just want food!

Nevertheless, we got back to Singapore safe & sound! and it was indeed a fun-filled spa session.. with the presence of Iris of course!

A friend told me that.. if someone comments that you haven't changed much the last year compared to this year, it's not something to rejoice about.. you SHOULD be different.. and of course.. for the better.

Family...
I'm glad that i've spent more time with my family THIS year than LAST year. REJOICE!

i've been staying out since 19..and it's this year that i meet up with my family more often to dine together.. and even went for holiday to Taiwan & Hongkong.. it's really a rare chance that we can go on holiday together as all our schedules' so different. Also, i interact more with cousins and relatives...aunties..uncles.. and even meet up with my Japanese cousin Toru.. we chat regularly on msn..updating each other on what's going on with our lives... once or twice a month, i'll go over to nanny's house on sundays to eat lunch.. then laze on the sofa and just fall asleep there.. it's so cosy..

In year 2008, i must spend time with family and relatives..and also, to go on a holiday again! this time with my own family, with my maternal grandparents..and close relatives.. dad says he's gonna form a tour of 20 pple.. 20 family members + relatives! so cool!

Self-Improvement...
I'm glad I've achieved more THIS year than LAST year.

I completed 2 songs for my Piano Diploma..Scarlatti and Mozart.. working on Chopin now and finally Bartok.. then.. all the best to me.. hoping to finish up my Dip by Sept 2008, if not Feb 2009.

Started Violin this year too! Doing my Grade 3 soon.. tsk tsk.. really tough..

Did Japanese also!.. went for JLPT 4 2 weeks ago.. now i can read Jap and speak Jap! not that fluent yet lah..

Started Organ lesson with Iris.. er.. 1 lesson only.. have to find time next year.. Organ is so cool! i always thot that my rhythmic sense is not bad til I see iris play the organ.. oh man.. so cheem..

will continue to strive on all these! to add on, gotta renew my First Aid cert, my NROC cert, my NCAP hours.. *pant*

Financially...
I'm glad i earn more THIS year than LAST year, but i also spend more THIS year than LAST year.

which is bad.. i really spent too much this year.. going holiday and buying stuff.. i will DEFINATELY control my spendings in year 2008! to kick off, went to get myself a savings plan.. insurance..

well, i will try to maintain my earnings in year 2008, and save more.. will not be changing a new car so soon... will not be such a spendthrift..

Health...
I'm glad that i am healthier THIS year than LAST year.

at least..my exercising routine is more regular..and i i lost 3 kg this year.. yeah! will continue to exercise.. i'm concerned about my health rather than my weight.. coz weight can't determine how healthy you'll be.. of course, cannot be too fat lah.. i've done all the necessary check ups and i'm 100% healthy! Thank God!

Relationships...
I'm glad that i manage relationship better THIS year than LAST year.

I spend time with different groups of friends.. used to neglect them.. but now, i make an effort to try to meet them once in a while.. this year, i'm glad that i actually met up with NP lifegaurds.. and of course, the folks..still maintaining our regular meet ups.. and Iris! i see her more this year..and i'm so happy about it. and in year 2008, we're going Batam for SPA every month! (gee~).. Veron..my Drama/Jap/KTV sis! and QC.. my can-talk-about-anything-under-the-sun friend.. and Weijin... my impact sweet supplier! i'm totally pleased that God has blessed me with friends like these!

Spiritually...
I'm glad that when i knock on God's door THIS year, He said "Come in, my princess!"

Thanks God for Alvin, for sharing so much with me.


I'm gonna make a difference in Year 2008!

Finally..the long awaited gathering..NP Lifeguards! woah~ there are many members lah..just that, we're the closer few.. Met at Clarke Quay's TCC.. nice and cosy.. met up at about 6pm and chatted all the way til 11pm! haven't met some of them for freaking 4 years! *er hem*

We had a good time catching up with each other, and gossiping about other members who were not present of course! haha.. and had a great time bitching with the girls! Too bad..Jess came too late.. but glad that she actually rushed down from freaking CHANGI!
From Left to Right : Me.. Lynn.. Charmain.. Jesslin

Lynn's my ever-so-faithful partner during lifesaving.. there were only 2 girls at that time.. that's both of us..haha.. so we took turn saving each others' lives! she was my victim and i was hers.. and how i often wake her up in the middle of the night like 2am to seek for her help.. for helping me lie to my mom when i stay over at a certain friend's place *oops*

Charmain's our junior! but we clicked so well..that we can bitch about everything.. she's my best 38 partner! haha.. oh..and she's with Jason for 6 years already! *er hem*

Jesslin's from my batch..but different group..she was doing lifesaving 1,2,3 then..while the Lynn & I were doing BM.. she's a workaholic! please take time to rest dearie!
From Left to Right : Jason, Gilbert, Gary

Jason...is Charmain's husband lah.. and oh.mi.gosh... he developed breast over the past 4 years! his chest used to be sooooooo firm! Charmain kindly permit Jason to be an exihibit for Lynn & I to *er hem*... oh man.. it was then..we realised that his chest were not there anymore.. but don't worry dude! i'm sure it'll be back!

Gilbert.. was our lifesaving captain! think because he has already obtain whatever certification there was.. and.. very organised.. his academic results are like all distinctions! *faint* ya.. and he usually partners Gary during lifesaving..haha

Gary... dun see his size like that.. he's the fastest swimmer amongst us all! He's freaking fast! i really dunno why.. he's one of those i often meet up.. and glad that he's doing well~

I really miss these guys.. and we're gonna meet up regularly for swimming sessions yeah?! it's been a long time since we swam together! I swam a few months ago with Gilbert & Gary.. but the rest... 4 years! oh man.. we M.U.S.T swim at least once before 2007 comes to an end!!!

Before...

After...

Good progress! after... 2 days of practising! hee~

Anywa, FYI, QC has totally no background in piano playing.. but well, he can play the flute! so..it's quite amazing.. i'm impressed too! then again, he practised 30mins a day.. for 2 days.. and that makes me think..that i SHOULD also start to practise my piano and violin for 30mins a day..(that makes 1 hour) *argh*

Easier said than Done *BiSh*

Took this at Takashimaya... the models behind..their skirts are all bears! red bears.. and black bears!

At the bottom of the HUGE Christmas Tree at Takashimaya..(caution:high voltage)!

These 2 pokies are complaning about my photography skills... say i'm lousy..hmph! it's not me..it's the lightings..

Veron says QC's lips are so super red! like..he puts on lipstick! haahaha~ i think my photography skills not that bad mah.. the picture above looks "warmer" than this one..

Veroni grabbing a big red baLL! she seemed to have this thing for grabbing something red..refer to the photo right below..she's grabbing something red too! hee~

Ribbon.. ya..we all have our "solo" shots.. and i think we're crazy.. took like over 70 photos in just 1 or 2 hours!

and that's QC solo.. with red lips.. we told him to stand in a more "manly" pose..this one not bad lah.. Hee~

weeEeeee~ another Christmass tree... outside Paragon if i'm not wrong..

3 of us.. outside Paragon.. the person who took this photo focused on the Christmas tree..not on us :(

the backdrop behind is moving..and it happens to be at this shot..nice!

There..you see what i mean by..she likes to grab something red..M & Ms..

This is an "expensive" Christmas Tree! the Christmas decos hung around the trees are...Braun Buffel's signature "bull"! all shiny gold in colour! even the supposedly "star" at the top of the tree is also a gold bull!

19 more days to Christmas.. more photos to come!~