summing it up (thanks jolene!)

the ideal clock for the home

this is a great functional and decorative piece for the house! from gizmodo:

i wanna go home.

an update on the house! the floors have been ripped up and replaced with... boards?





















no, these are ceramic tiles.

hohoho, easy to mop. and the effect is gorgeous!!! i'm totally digging it. :D

the state of the house right now - an absolute mess:

















this is our list of what we have and what we need/already have:

sofa
side-tables x 2 (decided)
bar stools x 2 (pending)
dining table (bought)
dining chairs x 5
coffee table
balcony chairs x 2 (have an idea)
balcony table (have an idea)
chandelier (bought)
pendant lights over our bar counter (bought)


so, after avatar 3D (which was utterly mind-blowing), alvin and i popped into 'i wanna go home' to have a look-see.



















i really, really love that grey one-seater. i kept bugging the salesperson to see if they had a 3-seater of that design. time to disturb our designer haha.

i just simply marvel at how our furniture shopping hunts are always so fruitful. everytime we go somewhere, we see loads of stuff that'll fit into the home, and is within budget.

these are the other stuff that have caught our eye so far:





















and what makes me smile is how we started out with 10,000 different ideas for the home (modern contemporary? vintage? cottage?) but as days went by, alvin and i somehow funneled our mutual likes down to the whimsical.

we have a beautiful decorative lamp-tower, a side table housing a silhouette of a tree, a 'where the wild things are' movie still (merry xmas, alvin!), and a very simple, but beautiful (and cheap) lamp-shade instead of a chandelier.

if you asked me for what style our house is going for, i'd say modern with a touch of enid blyton.

:)

---

oh we've also pretty much decided on our electronics, thanks to chinling's family. i love your parents, chin! they're such sweet people. :)

we've put down our deposit for a fridge, a panasonic viera 50" (comes free with a 32" LCD!), front-load washing machine (so we can stack a dryer on it in future, just in case), a cooking hood (i have an inclination to say fume hood) and 2 ceiling fans.

we've also been really blessed when it comes to our audio equipment. i thought alvin was the particular one among us both, but apparently i'm the nitpicking sort. we scouted around adelphi twice, the first time to try out er... i can't remember the names actually. let's call them A (alvin just woke up from his nap, and told me they're the Focal Domes), KEF, italian french-ones, tannoys and anthony gallos.

first trip was not very fruitful; we tried the As first. as the salesperson put in the Phoenix album (which was our test album for all 5 speakers), i remember i was trying to pull a chair from some corner of the room. when the music started i started in shock. gosh, that is some kind of power! i just put down my chair and grinned like a fool.

we got the quote (gah! not cheap!) and left to try the KEFs, but they were somewhat lacking in power... and i felt the highs were a little sharp. it kinda sounded like what you hear at Best Denki/Harvey Norman TVs running movies ridden with explosions. ugh.

end of day one. alvin also mentioned that the As were using a super high end amplifier which means, the sound quality i heard will never be available to us because there is no way we're getting an amplifier that costs $10k. siao. (er, i actually know someone who spent this much on an amplifier... haha, the nut.)

1 month later we came back coz our designer was pushing us to get things done (thanks... and sorry :p). alvin had been reading the speaker forums so he had an idea of where to go already. we went for the french-ones first, but on the way we passed by the anthony gallo shop... which is always closed. everytime we go to adelphi, it's always dark and empty. which sucks coz alvin really wanted to try them out.

never mind, french-ones here we come.

nothing much to say here; i didn't like them at all. i had such high expectations coz alvin was saying that the forums were full of praise for it. sorry, it doesn't do anything for me at all. moving on to the tannoys...

but one thing i have to mention... the shopkeeper was really friendly, no nonsense and easy to make deals with. i really liked his open friendliness. so we returned to get our Denon 3310 amplifier from him when we came back from taiwan 2 weeks later. :)

the tannoys were almost there. we were also inclined to change our subwoofer to a 3rd party sub because the bass was very much improved through it. and improving the bass means improving its power minusing the "ceilings and walls rumbling" effect. like those types you hear at Best Denki/Harvey Norman. ugh.

yes i have a vendetta against such speaker systems.

the price came up to quite a bit, but still... i guess we could top up from the budget set for us. sigh... not very comfortable with that though.

a little uncertain, needing to pee and tired out from our hunt, i told alvin, 'ok give the anthony gallo shop one last chance before we leave. if it's not open, we'll just take it as a sign la, that it's not for us, and we'll make our decision based on the rest tonight, k?'

we hit the loo, and i thought about God giving us a sign. i laughed to myself thinking, oh what a shocker if it's open... we just went there 20 minutes ago and it was pitch black. like the many times before... well, it'll be a nice surprise if God does one of his 'you challenging Me?! I'll show you!' moves.

we went back to the shop. and what would you know? it was open! HAHAHA. this was the fifth time we were poking around the shop, and THE LIGHTS ARE ON, FINALLY!

once the speakers started playing, alvin's eyes and mine lit up. *DING!* this is it. these are what we want. the sound is just so darn sexy. the fit between us and the sound is just so right.

this was all God's plan, for sure. (i still laugh to myself when i think about how fateful it was) the speakers are small but packed with a punch, it had power, the bass was kicking, they're pretty, they have them in white and they can reside flush into our false ceiling. the price was also alright for the kind of quality, as compared to the tannoys which i was rather reluctant to fork out extra for.

and the couple... ARE CHRISTIAN! somehow they figured out we were too, and gave us a christmas discount on our wires and free audio planning for the house. they're super duper helpful, and have already met our designer plus given us the goods. *hearts*

all is well and good. :D

pet peeves

i really don't like it when you are late, then rush me later on.

timely

just as i was at the brink of despair, i get an organizer with verses for every month. and on the cover there're two bears in a basket - very badly photo-shopped but it says 'Bears All Things', which is a snippet from Corinthians.

awww. :)

(oh hey! it's manufactured by elim-art... does it have anything to do with the elim church that alvin's mom mentioned? interesting.)

many things have gotten to me recently, church news, the growth (or not) of my cell groups, the immense amount of work i have to clear before i leave in a month, the increasing expenditure of the new house, and most of all... the uncertainty of the wedding date.

it's gotten so bad that alvin had to counsel me twice this month, and sound me out before i lose it completely. i get urges to stop going to church and cell group, and not working, just so people will stop demanding something from me all the time. i need time alone, and i need time to myself.

but today as i was giving the altar call at our christmas party, i looked at the children with their eyes closed and their palms open... warmth came back into my heart. then it made it easier for me to see that it's great that i have a job of my choice waiting for me in a month, i have a beautiful house nearing completion, and a fiance that loves me even when i am acting out like a crazed nut.

this is my christmas miracle, and christmas is now christmas because it's happened in my heart. :)

---

*gasp* i just saw the backcover: 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself.' mark 12:31

that's the verse i was planning to use for the year! *heebie jeebies*

the 5 days of getting an iPhone

this was supposed to be titled 'the 12 days of getting an iPhone', like the 12 days of Christmas? but i gave up. 5 days is enough of utter sian.

--------------------------------------------------------

on the first day:

omgomg i'm so excited... *turns it on* wheeee... okok. tread. slowly. hmm... lemme try to get on the internet.

(it's so preettyyy XD)

...

i can't get online. why. why why why.

so i get home and try to download applications through wifi. ok, i need an iTunes account - but of course! sure, why not... types in email address for verification.

*keeps refreshing email account*

no email?! why? why so long? why why why. *refresh x 100*

makes mental note to call m1 to check if 3G's been activated and whether they gave me my $100 rebate yet.

went to bed with a headache.

on the second day:

called m1, got 3G activated (you mean they don't activate it once you get the phone? strange!), $100 rebate is done... iTunes application still pending.

oh! the verification email is in! yippee. *click*

"itunes is not supported in your country."

ah... bugger. here we go.

after 2 hours, my headache came back, and i gave up - asked hanbin for help.

'are you using hotmail?'
'yar.'
'don't use hotmail!'
'what the HECK?! it's not like they didn't say cannot use hotmail!@#$% why was there no notification or warning?! tmd waste my time only.'

i change to gmail, and got the verification email straight away. i click on the link.

OH YEAY the itunes page is open! i see a popup box that says, 'iTunes has to be opened with an application. please pick one from below:'

now what's this? i tried one of the options. nope. another? nope.

meanwhile, hanbin tells me about getting a headphone jack and port cover so i don't trigger the indicator, coz you know, singapore is so humid the indicator turns pink whether or not you dumped your phone in the water WHICH VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY.

tmd leh cheh.

i try for another hour. by this time, hanbin goes awol so i turn to lennel.

LENNELLLLLLL!!!!

he painstakingly guides me through... and eventually we figure out it's because i'm using Firefox and not IE.

wow. seriously?! compatibility issues? first with hotmail and now with firefox?!

this is the point where all the talk about wonderful-awesome-intuitive-easy-to-use apple comes back to me - AND LOSES ALL CRED BECAUSE I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS AWESOME AT ALL.

as my rage rises (see, i've wasted at least 5 hours just trying to download apps, and i'm not even done yet).

so i get my account. then i learn how to sync iTunes. then i start playing and downloading apps until i end up with a headache. also, why is my batt draining so quickly??

then i try setting a custom ringtone. wow the online guides are useless coz they guide you halfway and leave you dangling. i get to the point until i convert my m4a to m4r... then, nothing. nothing appears in my iTunes.

ok enough grappling with this software for the day. i crash into bed with another migraine.

on the third day:

oh my goodness why are there so many settings i need to configure just to stop my 3G from draining my batt?? T_T

i pass the phone to alvin because i just cannot handle anymore. he tries some settings and it kinda works so i leave it as that.

and then he helps me with my ringtones. apparently i need to cut my ringtone to 25-35 seconds otherwise it will not appear in iTunes for me to sync. *breathes* ok fine, alvin edits it for me then he tries to sync it to my phone which caused this message to pop up:

'each iPhone can only sync to one iTunes software. would you like to erase all data from this iPhone?' (not the exact same message, but something along those lines)

at this point even alvin let out a frustrated sound, and called iTunes stupid. oh and his itunes at home is linked to alvin's mom's iphone.

he emailed me my ringtones.

when i got home i synched it and seeing how i had a moment of success with customizing my ringtones, i decided to load in a nice picture to use as my wallpaper! :D

wait. you mean i need to sync this too?!

which means i need to create a folder, then paste my photos inside, open itunes, and then find the folder and sync it.

summary so far: i need to go through itunes for EVERYTHING. as compared to all other phones where you can simply 'copy' then 'paste'.

i'm sorry, i really wanted to give apple a chance, but this is just ridiculous. i'm sorry lennel, but i kinda snapped when u mentioned (though tongue in cheek) that all my problems will be gone if i'd just bought a mac.

how is this different from the time when everyone was complaining that microsoft was becoming a monopoly? isn't apple just doing the same thing when things only work if you get the full set from them? get their computer, oh sorry i mean a MAC coz "macs are not computers, they are cooler" *rolls eyes* and itunes that work on safari and what else?

on the fourth day:

i revert to using the basics because i am exhausted. i cannot handle work and the iphone issues at the same time, i might throw my phone at someone and kill two birds with one stone.

on the fifth day:

i think i will spend the next few days reading the online apple guide. together with alvin.

Me Loot From Taiwan

most of them bought, some of them gifted. it makes me tremendously happy to gaze at my stash... so much so that they're all still lying around in visible areas of my bedroom. like my bed.

VOILA!


clothes/socks/make-up bags/random neckrest etc from shilin and wufenpu
















the sweetest (and most expensive) bunny ever - a gift from alvin (after i used my puss-in-boots eyes on him)




my cute arnold palmer bag!




crap loads of accessories and hairbands from ximending


















memorabilia from wuling



random last minute products from Watsons:




and MOST IMPORTANTLY: the accessories for my NEW PHONE in 3 years.



guess which phone i'm getting next? ;)

all i want for christmas

is this!! it's so cute!!!

there's a correlation

(thanks to hanbin who made the observation.)

.:hanbin:. says:
this will be the third time
that u missed the finale of amazing race
cos u r overseas

Ms. Moo says:
TMD
WTH
hahahaha
seriously??!?!?!
OH YAR
SHIT MAN
TMD
WHY WHY WHY
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
when is it?
14th?
i'm comin home.......
OH WAIT NO
NEXT WEEK!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

it's time! XD