well deserved break after today

i cannot believe i'm finally done with work.

i rushed out my drafts by 12pm today. feeling accomplished, i was all set, thinking about my trip tomorrow...

alas, upon returning to the office i have been stuck at my work desk replying email after email and suddenly i'm corresponding constantly regarding 3 rather urgent issues... and all i want to do is go home.

but of course, i ploughed on though half my spirit was in holiday mood and now everything is miraculously DONE. well. not completely, but work is done at least until i get the signatures i need to proceed.

oh man, malacca, I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW.

and maybe a good massage if i can afford to splurge. hmm. off to alvin's now, woohoo~!

shopping mania has begun

alas, camper shoes are so expensive (but seriously comfy - my feet sighed with pleasure when i slipped them on) AND ALL THE DESIGNS I WANTED ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN SINGAPORE!

arghhh.




no matter, i met up with the girls and FINALLY after 2 years we had cod soup at the place where xinwei calls 'japanese nazi' - wasabi tei. then we went shoe shopping at zara! here are my spoils:


the leather is super soft. beats blowing $300 on camper shoes. this was $75.






it's springy! and maybe thinking of changing those straps to little ribbons... *yawn* when i find the time to go get some. $40.





i also tried on a pair of golf-ish/oxford pumps at topshop - they're so pretty! but i bought my zara shoes already... maybe another day la. they're really soft on the inside too.

not to mention before this i was at joanna and phebe's private sale collecting 2nd hand clothes in a frenzy. i love these two girls for their generosity man, their '2nd-hand' clothes are mostly worn once, or never at all, and they were selling them at rock bottom prices just so they can free up their wardrobe.

*thinks* hmm, i should hold one together with the cell girls too... perhaps at my place, after service or something. 10th may, what say you, babes?

*kiv*

here's what i got (i'm going to bring everything to japan to wear, teehee):

the pearls and engraved heart were freebies; unicorn $4 (was rachel's).




another freebie.




joanna's skirt peppered with little bows. $8.




joanna's korean tutu skirt, $18. one of my favorites from this haul.




quirky long sleeved shirt with shimmery vest attached. $8.






another korean-ish piece! $8.






phebe's leopard print mini-dress. i fell for the tiny skirt. 3 of phebe's pieces for $25.





phebe's layered mini-dress... can you tell i was zooming in on a somewhat vintage-looking feel? also 3 for $25.




my favorite. phebe's famous dusty rose mini dress. 3 for $25.






joanna's black lace cropped jacket. thought i'd get it since i have a cream coloured cropped jacket. hehe. $5.




really cute shoes in my size!!! O_O $10



and i collected my stockings from a spree... which has a really cute crochet pattern on them! $10



and here's my travelling bag from mango!! :D:D:D $65



what can i say... retail therapy is not a myth?

camper!

now that i've been sourcing for good, lasting, comfy shoes for travelling, i've realized that hey, my shoes are rather shitty and why not pay more for some comfy shoes?

that's when i came across camper...

and who says only form over function? i can have both! :)

these are the ones that i absolutely love:







and my favourite pair - they're called Leia! =)



one pair is about $300. maybe go see later. if not, i can go buy from piperlime, hehe. :D

---

i also found my perfect travelling bag! collecting it this saturday, will take pictures! :D

---
we're all so relaxed at work today; we did some spring cleaning, then we're all now waiting to go bowling at 2pm. maybe we will get to play some cranium before that. yay!

and then when i go home tonight i'm going to play more games with the kids since jac and nel aren't around... haha, and last week my sec 1 girls were all complaining they don't get to play games with the other children anymore. i guess their prayers have been answered! ;)

I CAN FINALLY RELAX

oh wow, there's no way to describe how crazy and stressful the last 5 days were. sleepless nights, shooting out of bed in worry for 2 mornings back to back, and sleeping at 1am (earliest) for 3 nights... waiting for all the ryokans i contacted to reply, making calculations of the best value for money accommodations... and one of the most beautiful ryokans i've ever seen was fully booked forcing us to change everything in 2 hours!!! T_T

BUT IT'S DONE! WE HAVE A PLACE TO STAY! check it out:

Tokyo - Sonehouse
Price: 3,040Y per night, for 7 nights

Why we chose it: has the bare minimum, has ensuite bathroom so we don't have to share with other travellers, really cheap, and situated in Shinjuku



Osaka - Carpe Diem
Price: 4,725Y per night, for 2 nights

Why we chose it: accommodation prices are more expensive in Osaka than in Tokyo! which came as a shock to us. this place is also an old restored building and we're getting an entire wing to ourselves with bathroom facilities attached. and it's beautiful and a good price for staying in central Osaka.


(this is the picture of the japanese garden within the compound, taken by a visitor who was staying at Carpe Diem)


Kobe (yes we're going up to Kobe!)/Arima Onsen town - Hyoe Koyokaku
Price: a whopping 19,050Y per night, for 1 night (inclusive of breakfast and dinner)

Why we chose it: Arima is one of the top three onsen areas in Japan and Hyoe is the top resort there. also because we can wear our yukatas and stroll through their town (and it won't be weird). and we get to have crap loads of kobe beef during our kaiseki (traditional) dinner. alvin was positively whining for this to happen. ('I IS WAN MAI ONSENNNNNNNNNNNN... AND KAISEKIIIIII... T_T')

and actually the price is pretty good! the top onsen in hakone is more expensive, less of a reputation (although it's near mt fuji) and they serve kobe beef only sometimes.


(these pictures are from someone else's trip to Hyoe - seems like their dinner is so huge they had to split it up into 3 portions - this is the Kobe beef shabu shabu course. they have another course which is the Kobe beef grill. which one should we have... hmm...)



---

and yey it's time for me to sit back, kiao kah, and let alvin plan the food, hanbin to plan the best and cheapest travelling routes... and er, chuuling to... er...

say yes to all our suggestions?

haha, you slacker!!

Japanese Binocular Soccer

just click play for serious LOL!

btw

this wikitravel page is causing a huge bubble for excitement in me:

Tsukiji

ah, so excited until my stomach's feeling abit weird.

---

time to buy boots, another pair of walking shoes, a nice jacket, tights and a travelling bag. perhaps some luggage as well. AND SUNGLASSES! :D

a chicken and a duck

i got really excited and was thinking of checking out some Japanese theatre performances, so i turned to alvin and asked:

v: hey dear! let's go watch some kabuki!! or the sumo grand tournament!! XD
a: oh! no!
v: =(

what a vehement response.

today, as we were bus-ing back from pasir ris:

a: hey let's go and watch some sumo wrestling!! XD
v: and kabuki...?
a: no!
v: but why???
a: no... no!
v: ???

then belatedly, i realize it's not 'no' he's saying...

it's noh.

v: oh, noh!
a: yes!!!!

alvin patted my head and had a really good laugh.

---

planning for japan is taking its toll on me. not that i haven't had any help - ingrid and alanna both gave me their tokyo/osaka tips, and the four of us travellers had a nice long msn chat to confirm the itinerary that changed in record-time after i met ingrid.

but i find myself waking up incredibly early in the morning with a single thought:

WE CANNOT WAKE UP AT 6AM EVERY MORNING IN TOKYO.

and went back to reshuffle the itinerary. i also want to make sure we pack enough free fun into each day. zzz.

every morning it's like that - I JUST WANT TO PLAN THE TRIP.

oh... but thank God for small miracles. =)

1. i found out about the Imperial Palace guided tour and signed us up! i'm guessing that there're still slots because booking just opened 5 days ago. and the tour is at 10am - same time we were planning to get there AND no area will be under maintenance or closed on the same day! awesommmmme.

2. i have no idea how i did it, but i mistakenly thought that the charming little ryokan i wanted to go to was in asakusa, when we really wanted to stay in shinjuku. although ingrid gave me information for her hostel in shinjuku, by some fluke i googled for more shinjuku ryokans...

AND MY RYOKAN WAS LISTED. omg, it's in shinjuku!! YAY!!!

i don't know how i missed that though.

ah, now to email Spa World. and to look for an Osaka ryokan.

---

A ryokan|旅館 is a type of traditional Japanese inn dating from the Edo period (1603–1868), when they served travelers along Japan's highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner.

Japan Itinerary

it's been crazy!! we knew the promotion through Alanna (thank you so much girl!!) on Thursday, did some crazy-ass leave and pastor approval-asking on Thurs night (alvin's fingers went numb, hahaha!), persistently persuaded Chuuling on Friday morning, then bought our tickets (for 4 of us, yay!) on Friday afternoon.

it's been about a day since then, and we already have a list of ryokans (futon lodging), places of interest, and what travelling passes we're going to get. and it feels absolutely great finding out more and more about Tokyo through japan-guide which is an insane mass of information - was reading through their train systems and discussing travel details with Hanbin and asking Alanna for itinerary tips till 2am in the morning. *yawn*

here's what we have so far. I'M SO PSYCHED!!!!!!! coz we're going to Osaka too!!! *wriggles*

travel dates: 11th - 21st May (yes, we went a little overboard and got a 11 day trip instead of 9. but no matter la, we'll just spend more...)

11th (mon):
arrival at Narita (2:05pm), check into ryokan, travel by walking around the neighbourhood and familiarizing ourselves

12th (tues):
Disneyland (plus Wai and Alanna; meeting up in Tokyo is awesome!!)

13th (wed):
Disneysea! (plus Wai and Alanna)

14th (thurs):
Fish market (morning), Shibuya (woohoo Harajuku and ganguro girls!!)

15th (fri):
Akihabara + cosplay cafe (Hanbin's requirement) + no pantsu shabu shabu (also his suggestion *shudder*)

16th (sat):
though there're no more cherry blossoms, it's FESTIVAL WEEKEND!!! i wonder if i can wear my yukata. hmm. ANYWAYS, it's Sanja Matsuri day!! :D Info here.

17th (sun):
er, free day? maybe more festivals (since the Sanja Matsuri lasts from Thurs - Sun), or shopping...

we wanted to go to a capsule hotel but i think we'll scrap it.

18th (mon):
OSAKA via shinkansen (bullet train)!! perhaps onsen-ryokan (hot spring stayover! with lunch and dinner whee!)

19th (tues):
Osaka aquarium, Osaka castle, all the touristy spots for 2700 yen!

20th (wed):
more touristy spots for the same 2700 yen!

21st (thurs):
temple sale if there's time, then shinkansen back to tokyo-narita, then HOME!!

expenses -

airfare - $475
accomodation - around $53 per night, 10 nights + splurging at an onsen-ryokan = $650
food - $20 per meal, 2 meals a day for 11 days = $440, rounded up to $600

travelling is a bitch, see 2 plausible plans below:

1. 37320 yen (~$566)

11th-14th:
tokyo day pass (1580 yen x 4)

15th - 21st:
JR rail pass, which allows us on all JR lines (incl shinkansen, subway, buses) fr 7 days (28300 yen) [3 hour shinkansen ride from tokyo to osaka and back again included]

additional: osaka 2 day pass (2700 yen)

2. 35970 yen (~$545 plus we save on accomodation for one night which makes savings about $70)
11th-17th:
tokyo day pass (1580 yen x 7)

travelling overnight from tokyo to osaka via bus (8 hours) - 7610 yen

18th - 20th:
osaka day pass + 2 day unlimited pass (850 + 2700 yen)

21st:
shinkansen back to tokyo (13750 yen)

ALTOGETHER THE ESTIMATED COST (EXCLUDING ATTRACTION FEES AND SHOPPING) IS

...

...

$2300!!!!!!!!!!! ALREADY!!!!!!

thank goodness the Burberry's Blue Label collection this season is not eye-catching to me at all. *phew*

ok the next update will be when i settle which ryokans in tokyo and osaka specifically, and consolidate the fees for all the attractions.

google is my best friend. =)

the land of godzilla

I'M GOING TO TOKYO!

Avon Moisture Therapy Spree

i lost my chapstick at the last clubbing experience so my lips are really wrinkly and peeling like crazy right now.

it's so bad that alvin has to keep slapping my straying hands away from peeling my lips.

i cannot do without my Moisture Therapy, and i can only get it from the USA, through ebay and in bulk, so i was wondering...

do YOU want to try this chapstick? since i'm thinking of getting 3 tubes (SO I WILL NEVER LOSE IT AGAIN!!!!! I WILL PUT IT IN EVERY BAG I HAVE!!!!) i may get one lot of 5 or 10, depending on your demand.

here's the review.

here's the ebay seller i'm buying from: Ms. Jesus-saves (lot of 10)

here're the rough calculations on how much one stick will cost:

Price of 10 chapsticks: USD8.99
Shipping: USD3.65

Total for 10 sticks in USD: 12.64
Cost of 1 stick in USD: 1.264

so depending on the exchange rate, the stick can either cost between SGD1.99 to SGD2.05.

shall we just round off and say $2.00? that's damn cheap!

ok let me give my own personal review. i've been using it for very, very long; since the days before i even started spreeing - one tube lasts me forever. it's got a very faint fresh taste that i really, really like... and you know how some lip balms make your lips flake after awhile?

this one doesn't! which is great. and most importantly it has spf15!

---

if you want one stick or two, just drop a message in my comments box k? don't worry, you'll only pay when i pass you your stuff.

this spree (haha!) will close this Friday. since we're all pals u can search me out on msn to ask me as well. thanks babes!

:D

the travel bug

one of the best things about alvin is that he's a fantastic travel buddy. i swear, we'd never get bored with each other - there's always too much to laugh about when alvin's around.

we're on msn now, thinking of the places we'd love to go. here's a list of our preferred destinations once we tie the knot:

1. Japan - i'd love to see the cherry blossoms, and try all sorts of food in hokkaido. i know i would love Japan. (honeymoon choice #1)

2. New Zealand - this is Alvin's favorite place in the world. we will probably backpack. (choice #2)

3. Bali - as a cheaper alternative for a honeymoon spot. (choice #3)

4. Europe (part i) - Italy, Greece, Spain

5. and omg how could i have forgotten!! AUSTRALIA!!! definitely, brisbane, eh? ;)

and here's a list of our preferred destinations only after we have children:

1. USA - because i haven't been there. my places to visit are simple: 6 flags, disneyland, las vegas (for the Phantom!!!), new york (just a few days will do), san fran and FACTORY OUTLETS.

2. Europe (part ii) - Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany (their cobblestone streets are solidly ingrained into my memories), France

i'd also love to see the northern lights, africa and egypt... but i guess only when there's extra cash la.

throat's exploded!

great. on mc right now.

but the day's always better when you start it off with good CAKE! =)

musica!

i was going through my feeds and saw yuhui got a nice pair of headphones for her 21st!

which reminded me of my half-want to get a pair myself for long-wear. my ie8s hurt my ears after approximately 1 hour because of their clunky shape.

NOT THAT I WOULD SELL THEM OR ANYTHING, OF COURSE. they are still very much 'my precious'.

but it'd be nice to have a pair of headphones because they're non-intrinsic/intrusive, and may provide comfort and a large soundstage.

to cut the long story short, alvin appealed to my aesthetics and showed me this!

click here it is not spam.

and i made these!









honestly, i'd only wear the last one coz i'm not exactly very adventurous in my design skillz (what if everything looks like crap!!!) but girls, this website is so for us man.

especially to nel (who saw it and went ARGHHHH TEH PRETTINESS!!!) and jolene. and maybe yuhui if you're interested - alvin says the sound is comparable to the ATH-FC700. :)

but that being said, i won't be getting this because i want these!!



the cups are quite large, so hopefully they can engulf my ears in them, and block out the noise. and the reviews for these are pretty good (according to alvin).

maybe one day when i have the time to try them out and WHEN i have money...

---

wah lau. yesterday damn paiseh.

we were just done unpacking at dennis and dellia's new place and about to go home but alvin had forgotten his water bottle, so i sent zhixiong, yvonne and lennel down the lift first while i waited for alvin.

the poor boy was so tired out - rushing to the dentist, discovering some potentially horrifying dental news (we shall see in a week), rushing to work, then going straight from marine parade - NUS - simei to help the Tans move house.

(while his girlfriend was at home nursing/napping away a headache. it. is. not. a. hangover!)

alvin was working so hard the entire day, and since i felt really bad for not being there with him for the moving like i was supposed to, and SINCE WE WERE ALONE IN THE LIFT, i decided i should show some appreciation!

'bebbie! good job today!' *throws my arms out wide for a hug*

alvin was so tired he couldn't move so i leaned on him to wrap my arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze.

then...

i realized...

we're only on the third floor.

this is an upgraded lift.

the doors

have

glass panels...... NO!!!!!!!!

*DING* 'FIRST FLOOR.'

on the outside, lennel, zhixiong and yvonne were completely like this -

:O

and on the inside, my face (i was still in the hugging position) was like this -

-_- (shoots.)

as the doors opened zhixiong and yvonne just started laughing their heads off while lennel was like 'uh, uh, uh... *damn paiseh want to laugh but dunno what to do smile*'

DAMMIT!!!!

GAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhHHHHHHHHhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

fun at tampines 1

oh, what a wonderful day! i cannot believe i am THIS crazy about a heartland mall... but tampines 1 is great. and i had such a wonderful time with mummy!

my mom and i strode through the first floor checking out solitaire rings at sookee and lee hwa, where we swopped ideas on which type of rings we liked (she offered me her wedding ring!!! O_O only coz she cannot wear anymore la. and it's the matt kind of gold that i like. haha, yay! and she also offered to be alvin's advisor because '我很会选戒指'. alrighty!)

we were just being washed along with the crowd, since the mall just opened on thursday, and we wandered from store to store. it was ok i guess, the toilets were clean, they were a lot less 'ching-chong' (as xinwei calls it) than the shops at iluma (actually... the mall name iluma also very beng man... 'eh ai ke iluma mai?'). they have outfitter girls, BAKERZIN! (:D), springfield, dorothy perkins and topshop/man... and then this really cheap (maybe for this weekend only) shop which i don't know the name to.

and of course they have uniqlo, where my mum and i spent 20 minutes queuing just to get in. yeah, i dragged my very reluctant mum in. but it was all cool, coz i bought a polo tee ($30) and 2 short sleeved shirts for $7 each, for alvin! so cheap. and also a pair of skorts and a scarf for myself. :D:D:D my first scarf!! it's so japanese. heeheehee.

by the time adrean came to meet us for dinner it was pretty late (we'd spent too much time at uniqo, oops), so we went over to sushi tei for a quick bite. mummy was all 'eh don't eat me dry ah.' after our combined efforts to whine and get her to pay for our meal. *snigger*

really! just think about it: a 23 year old and a 26 year old standing at the entrance of sushi tei, pulling at their mum's hand and going, 'please la mummy, please please the food here is very good, please please please please *puppy eyes*'

well, it could be one of my last opportunities to whine to my mum, so might as well la huh?

but the food was only ok. my excitement over the food choices only came after dinner. thank goodness for my mum.

there was this manpuku japanese place that is of the same concept at shokudo but having unsatisfactory experiences at shokudo has made me think, 'i will wait and see about this restaurant.'

my hyper craziness came when we went to topshop. we strode past this place called Say Cheeze and i noticed they had this glass display for their... what's that? cheesecake? hmm... over the glass panel writes 'Say Cheezecake' -

*CONNECTION IS MADE*

(secretly thanks God i will never have to go all the way to great world city just to have a good slice of new york cheesecake anymore.)

then we went to basement 1 where...

THEY HAVE CARL'S JUNIOR!!! *clappy clappy*

AND...
OMG
IS
THAT

RIVE GAUCHE??!?!??!??!?! PATISSERIE??!?!?!?

*zooms in for the strawberry shortcake*

(secretly thanks God i will never have to go all the way to taka just to have strawberry shortcake anymore.)

then i turn around while waiting for the lady to pack my cake - wait, that sign... being blocked by the pillar... the font is so familiar... is it... is it...

"-pillar-KUEKUE"

OMG IT'S KEDAI KUEKUE ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH!!!!!!!11!!!

*zooms in for the red bean kue and er, the rectangular green paste with rice*

(secretly thanks God i will never have to go all the way to terminal 2 just to have my kueh-fix anymore.)

this whole discovery of all the fantastic eating places that have opened a branch at tampines 1 happened in the space of only 20 minutes. it's some wonder my stomach didn't explode in sudden gastronomical want.

and yay. i have plenty of reasons to go to tampines now. :D

---

oh yes i almost forgot. a somewhat private joke:

1. i met jeric at tampines 1. (the coincidence!)
2. he was wearing his uniqlo shirt.
3. guess how i knew.

ingrid, nel, aileen and colin should know. teehee.

the delicious headache

Good Friday was spent pretty well; early morning rushing around like a mad woman preparing for the kids' event, finishing by about 2pm.

HANBIN I AM REALLY GLAD YOU CAME DOWN TO HELP!!! thanks again. :D

after the event we (ingrid, nel, hanbin and jacqueline) adjourned over to my place for some board games and to wait out the pouring rain (note to self: it always pours in the afternoon on Good Friday. always. it never fails. i'm sure God is reminding us about Jesus' sacrifice. or someone is seeding the clouds. hmm i'm sure it's the former though.).

but before we reached the games room, something really strange happened as we walked through the gates of Changi Rise.

h: eh vivien where's the fat cat?
v: oh somewhere there (gestures in the opposite direction from where we were headed). but it's probably quite hard to find... it only comes out at night.

i turn to continue walking, and turned back after a few paces to check if everyone was following...

LO AND BEHOLD, HANBIN WAS PLAYING WITH THE FAT CAT!

wha... where...?1??!/1

v: eh! where did it come from??
h: i dunno!

then after awhile...

h: I MUST HAVE SUMMONED IT.

-_____________-"'

have i ever shown you pictures of the fat cat before? here they are:









and now, as evidenced by ingrid and hanbin's 'WAH IT'S HUGE!' expressions, this cat is proven NOT to be an urban legend. people always don't believe how big it is... esp since it's so elusive.

after dragging everyone away from the monstrosity (it sank its teeth into my thigh after manja-ing me. it's a conniving and sly cat. *scowl*) we hit the games room and started a game of saboteur.

i'm great at the game. because i'm a true blue saboteur... sabotaging my team mates at every turn because i am

1. clueless
2. reading the wrong signals
3. second guessing everyone's moves WRONGLY.

yeah after 3 rounds everyone had relegated me into the 'stupid' corner. *bawl*

let's try again next time ok? :D

---

at 7pm i met up with the girls again (aileen, nel and ingrid) for our first ever girls' night out.

FWAH IT WAS AMAZING. interesting how we've been in the same cell for ages but have never gone out for some fun at night. we need to implement this whole chill out session more!

we were all dressed up and made up AND IT'S SO REFRESHING TO SEE OURSELVES IN SOMETHING OTHER THAN SHORTS AND JEANS!!! because everytime we meet it's either at church or at our teens/kids cell groups. aiyoh.

1. STEAMBOAT/CHICKEN RICE DINNER oh man. so good. and so HUNGRY because most of us only ate a teeny bit during the kids' good friday event.





2. dressing up means we should go hit some nice place to chill, no? MOET, HERE WE COME!! we went to swissotel to have some of that Moet promotion - $88 per bottle!

i love champagne now, thanks to Mel, Xinwei, Angel and gallery hotel many years ago. woohoo!

















3. one bottle of champagne wasn't enough for ms. aileen the alcoholic so we sped down to WineBos and took advantage of the buy 2 get 1 free promo for some Moscato!



it was pretty funny how quickly we finished the 1st bottle, and when we asked for our next bottle the person serving us was pretty incredulous. 'SO FAST???!'

-sheepish-

then again for the last bottle, he looked at us like we were fiends. oops.

by then we were laughing like hyenas and slapping the table and giggling and giggling... well, at least i was. and although i was still walking straight, i didn't see the 'gents' sign until i was done and came out from the loo.

and aileen saw it! then she was so evil because we were playing 'i have never' and she had to say 'I HAVE NEVER WALKED INTO THE GENTS AT WINEBOS BEFORE.' and then i had to drink!!! evil, evil!!!

eh to my defence, the sign was VERY SMALL. and both booths looked the same lor. -_-

by the time we left the wine bar i was pretty um, happy. it was 1am i think? aileen left for home, but the night has not ended!! WE HEADED TO CHECK OUT SOME CLUBS. well, i had my dance skirt on. why not right?

butter factory was closed (or has it folded?) so we walked along the river down to clarke quay. wow the place was filled with peeps which brought back memories from my really old clubbing days.

in the end we picked rebel because zirca was playing house/trance (ugh). the music was pretty okay in the start, and we started to get into the groove until.........

WE WERE ENCIRCLED BY BOTAK BOYS.

sheesh. not cool at all. i was observing them and realized that

1. none of them can dance. at one point, ingrid was laughing at some boy behind me so hard we had to leave the club. and apparently some other person was dancing like a chicken behind nel. *FAIL*

2. all of them are out on the prowl. girls come within their dance floor radius, they turn around and start dancing behind them though they're completely ignored. at one point some idiot tentatively placed his hand on my hip which earned him a very quick tight slap on his hand and my especially-used-in-clubs glare. idiot got scared and stepped back, giving me back some personal space.

sigh, BOYS. WHY ARE U WASTING YOUR TIME HERE JUST TRYING TO DANCE UP BEHIND SOME RANDOM STRANGER? U. ALL. ARE. STUPID. you'd be much better off channeling your efforts into cleaning up your act and getting yourself a girlfriend, please.

after awhile it got too much because as ingrid said, it was like in kennysia's blog plus we got fed up with the crowd and the increasingly techno music. hello?? what is happening to hiphop??

i miss dr dre. and missy elliot and the likes. :(

we escaped to China One laughing at and imitating how terrible the guys were dancing at rebel. at china one it was good! the live band were just finishing up Dakota by the Stereophonics as we entered (darn!) and they were really revving up the crowd and getting them to sing someone a birthday song. i was getting a little sleepy by then so i stretched on my chair and closed my eyes. upon opening my eyes...

THERE WAS THIS STRANGE MAN THAT WAS RUSHING TOWARDS ME WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN FOR A HUG!!!!!!!!

i was all, 'arghhhh!!' and stuck my hand into his chest to stop him.

random man: OH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
v: it's not my birthday
rm: oh i really like you
v: thanks! goodbye!
rm: oh but i really want to say happy birthday to you!
v: that's... sweet. but no thanks! bye!
rm: aww i'm really sad now...
v: hah... you'll get over it. goodbye!

end of conversation. i thought i held up pretty well there. if this happened a few years ago i think i'd be stammering and choking on my words in shock. then later in the night, we suspect the same person has been going around the club to random girls for numbers. DUDE. DESPERATION IS ALL OVER YOUR FACE. not attractive at all, man!

but then, yar la. go clubbing ma, what do you expect right? *shrug*

the night wound down pretty soon after that, and we grabbed our bags and cabbed home. maybe the next time we just grab some kickass wine and nua at someone's place la.

to everyone who's up to date with How I Met Your Mother:

'i'm too old for this stuff.'