Rainy Sat
November 1, 2008 Leave a comment
A Halloween Afternoon for DBS
October 31, 2008 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Central DBS Branch, Hong Kong) – NOT A HALLOWEEN PROMOTION FOR DBS BANK – A rare scene outside DBS Bank today, hundreds of "officially registered" protesters rallied outside the bank today, shouting slogans. It was quite a commotion – Policemen struggled to contain the crowd…there were lots of onlookers, reporters and photographers. You can feel the anger of these people. Mostly, I feel sad for the bank staffs. They formed a line, guarding the entrance – facing the abuse and discriminating stares from the protesters. Poor banking fresh grads – tough jobs!)
Share this:
Happy Halloween
October 31, 2008 Leave a comment
Theoretically, Halloween should be a "Joe’s" festival (no, I am not Irish). I am a natural prankster, love scary stuffs, hideous and 101% monstrous! In fact, I am a living Halloween character 363 days a year (except my birthday and Christmas). In order to blend in with the world of goodness and justice, I have no choice but to conceal my ugly identity with a "Mr Quite Nice Guy" mask. Seriously, who the hell want to employ a monster-cum-prankster?
Haven’t been feeling the "Halloween" festive mood for such a long time. The last time I celebrated Halloween was back in 1992 (that was the first and only Halloween party I attended ~ at Felicia’s Nanyang Polytechnic ~ the night she casted a spell on me!) Over the past 16 years, the only scary costume I wore was the green jungle camourflage "long 4" by SAF. Like most normal men out there, I am often intrigued (by not fetish) by mesmerising uniforms and costumes. Hot tight red eather vampire suit, skimpy black lacy seductress lingerie and white puffy cotton angel gown. Dun mind those toilet-rolled mummy female suit – provided there is nothing inside.
The younger generation sure love this festival. (More like a really bad fashion festival – of rugged street wear, low budget monster costumes, "going extinct" animal suits and recycled superheroes attires – like Spidy, Batty and Supy…Man, what so scary about my favourite heroes???) In Hong Kong, no matter where you are – you can feel the festive mood. There are giant pumpkins everywhere! Shopping centres, restuarants and even in housing estates! Not a pumpkin fan. I would prefer to carve those scary eyes and smile on our favourite old durian (if only we can do that!).
Elkan had his first halloween party this morning. Creative mummy made him a "CHUA-E" robot suit. Good and original home-made suit! At least, he is unique amongst the plenty of spidermen, supermen, pirates, princesses, mickey mices and vampires in his school. Mmm…didn’t see any Chinese Milk Farmers or Careless Sexpoliting Edison today… Aren’t they the worst breeds of Halloween this year? Perhaps, we should use this day to commemorate the undeserving villians and scumbags (not condoms) of this year.
After tonight, all the monsters will be gone and we be celebrating Christmas!
Mmm…. ohhhhh no……. my monster-in-law is coming back tomorrow! Er..typo…mother-in-law.
Share this:
Wahbiang Blog is 3!
October 26, 2008 Leave a comment
Happy 3rd Year Blogging! (23rd Oct 2008)
October is a month of important birthdays – my mother, my son and my blog.
So fast, another year went by and I am celebrating my 3rd year of blogging. (And thank you all for reading my humble blogs and writing down your comments! – my fan base have increase year on year! This year, I have achieved an incremental 37,000 visits!)
Surely, the past 12 months have been exciting, eventful and beautiful!
Here is the recap:
In 2006, I wrote 94 blogs and received 16600 visitorships.
In 2007, I wrote 97 blogs and received 24385 visitorships.
This year, I wrote 106 blogs and received 37377 visitorships.
This year, I wrote 106 blogs and received 37377 visitorships.
There were sad and happy moments. I had a marvelous time with my visitors. I have met these many precious ones – Kalinda, Shin and Dendy, Serene, Duuk, Juliana, Gareth, Ivy, Joanne, Hovman, Meijie, Uncle Alvin, Kevin, Sherane, Uncle Asty, Chester, Amy & Benny, Leon, Scott and Yiyi, my sister, Qiqi and James, my parents, Stella, my mother-in-law and soon… Chups. And I have sad moments bidding farewell to these whom I missed so much – Francis, Echo and family, Rebecca, Calvin, Alicia, Cousin Yei and Summer, Johnny and Ming, Clare, Steven, Daisy, Lisa, Nick, Franklin & Sally and Hong Ai.
It is also the year when I traveled the most – to London, Taipei x 4, Vietnam, KL, Cebu, Nanjing, Hong Kong x 20s, Macau x 3, Shenzhen x 2 and Beijing – not forgetting Singapore x 3 and Shanghai x countless.
It is also the year of unusual world events – Big snow in Shanghai, Beijing Olympic, Sichuan Earthquake and now the world Financial Tsunami. It is also the year when I moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong. It will be the year when my team scored the best marks for Ogilvy!
Indeed, it is a very very special year.
Here is the list of my 3rd Year Blog. I have bold those that I love so much. Click on them and it leads you right to my archive.
2008
October 21 My Mother’s 60th Birthday!
October 21 A Surprise (22nd) Visitor
October 21 Bye Stella
October 18 Elkan’s 4th Birthday
October 16 Elkan’s Present Has Just Arrived
October 15 Morning Drama
October 12 Francis’s New Girlfriend
October 05 At the Peak with Eric
October 05 Elkan’s Morning Ritual
September 29 Sex & The City
September 28 Beijing Milk & Jam! (Updated)
September 28 Meijie, Macau and Hong Kong
September 15 My New Toy
September 14 A Special Day of My Life
September 07 Bay Watch
September 07 Crowd Wooers!
September 07 Bad Celebrities of Asia
September 05 6 Days in Taiwan
September 04 The August Stars
August 26 Brother 风 Came & Gone
August 22 Brother 风 is Here
August 18 48 Years Later….
August 18 Belated Gift for Meijie
August 12 A Teary Goodbye
August 11 9th August Reunion – Day 1 & 2
August 09 This Night in Beijing
August 06 48 hours to Beijing Olympic
August 06 My 1st Number 8 Typhoon
July 28 "The Days" Movie – Boi is in Town!
July 27 Exclusive Lane!
July 20 Water Boy!
July 20 Dazzling Saturday
July 20 0824 on Fire!
July 20 Stormy Week
July 20 Goodbye "Hai Yue" (Back-dated Blog)
July 13 Leon Meets Elkan
July 13 My Daily Mornings…
July 13 Blah..Blah…Bra???
July 13 My 1st Week and my 1st Visitor
July 02 Running a new race in Hong Kong
July 01 My last 36 hours in Shanghai
June 29 Goodbye Shanghai
June 29 Hotel 13th
June 16 Elkan’s 1st HairCut (by himself!)
June 15 This Week in Pixels
June 15 My 33rd Big Day
June 15 Happy Father’s Day
June 09 An Amazing Gathering!
June 08 House Hunting
May 31 Birthday Lunch
May 25 My last Month in Shanghai
May 19 Black Week in China
May 17 Tracy’s 29th Birthday Dresses
May 04 iPhoto – Fun Shots from my iPhone
May 04 Belated Birthday Gift for Gareth!
May 04 Muah Chee!
May 04 Our May Day Outing
May 04 Turning Points Ahead
April 20 A Beautiful Sunday
April 20 Toilet Creative Copy
April 20 A New Member
April 14 Room-mate Needed
April 14 Mini Curtin Gathering
April 07 The Mist
April 07 My 54th Visitor – Serene Chia!
April 04 Funny Meanings
April 04 Elkan is Back!
April 04 Refreshing Taipei
March 21 Historical Nanjing
March 12 Beautiful Cebu
February 23 My new MBA – MacBook Air
February 23 The Last Day of CNY
February 10 My Big CNY Feast 2008
February 10 Dad’s 60th Birthday Ride
February 07 Joe Chua (1975 – 2050)
January 30 Shanghai – Snow City
January 27 A White Sunday Morning
January 27 A Weekend of Bowling and Reunion Dinner
January 27 Snow Shanghai
January 22 Big Joe Meets Big Ben
January 09 A happy and foggy dreamy birthday
January 08 Elkan’s Coverlooks
January 02 Elkan’s 1st Commercial Shoot
2007
December 31 The last blog of the year
December 31 Make someone smile everyday
December 31 Elkan’s 5m Encounter with the Lions
December 31 My 50th Visitors
December 27 12 days of Christmas @ Shanghai
December 27 And the award goes to…
December 09 Wahbiang Christmas 2007 – "Award Gala"
December 09 Auntie Amy and Cousin "F4"
December 01 "Yo! Bend it like Beckham!"
December 01 Design Bazaar (18-19 Nov)
December 01 Beautiful Peak
December 01 My 47th Visitor – Hovman Goh
November 18 EveryDay Elkan
November 11 Weekend with Cousin Alvin
November 11 The Montblanc City
November 11 An Unlikely Duo
November 04 Dinner by Kal & Feli
November 04 The One We Miss So Much!
November 04 Hot Chicks on Wheels!
November 04 My New Properties in Shanghai
November 03 My 24th Love
October 21 The Clown Festival
October 21 Elkan’s 3rd Birthday
Share this:
A Surprise (22nd) Visitor
October 21, 2008 Leave a comment
Minutes after we bid farewell (temporary) to Felicia’s mum and aunt. Ellen Yong (her Lasalle and Perth Curtin classmate) called Felicia for a surprise meet-up! Time flies so so fast, she is already a mother of one 7-month toddler. What a sweet surprise for Felicia – in fact, Ellen just called Felicia last Thursday for a chat. Evil…that phone call from KL must be a pre-trip spot check! Surely, what a good time to meet my monster during the festival of Halloween!
Share this:
Bye Stella
October 21, 2008 Leave a comment
TO STELLA – Silently you came and quietly you left. All alone and very independent. Just days before your trip, your sister was so afraid that you be lost. She said this is the first time you fly solo and was worried you lost your way. I guess sometimes it is fun to travel alone. You get to enjoy a different kind of journey, in your own personal space and world. Looking and observing things in your own perspective.
Small little things you did during your trip left a deep impression in me. Still remember that first second you stood by our door – Elkan yelled and jumped… You concealed your emotion and gave my little boy a big tight hug. When he ran off, I saw the redness in your eyes. Wiping your tears away briskly, you adjusted yourself fast and stepped into the house. I was touched…really. Guess you love and miss my little boy more than we ever knew.
During your stay, we were pretty worried that you be bored. Shopping and bargaining may not be your favourite activities. Still, you tagged along with your old folks. Throughout their shopping spree, you baby-sit my little monster. Even when he accidently gave you that hard punch on your lips, you didn’t even flare at him. Really, you dote on him so so much.
Happy that you spent good personal moments with Elkan at the Disneyland. And happy to know that my boy misses you as much.
Today, we said bye to your mum and aunt (who flew to Taipei)… Elkan cried so badly at the train station. Felicia, Elkan and I stood in front of you, waving goodbye to your mum and aunt. You were standing at the back quietly. From the distance, I saw the same redness in your eyes. And your heart full of affection and love. Yes, it is hard to say goodbye. Or perhaps, it is easy to be misunderstood at times.
So you flew. On your lonely trip back home. Hope you enjoy this short 5-day stay, with Elkan and your family.
Thanks for coming here for his 4th birthday. I am sure he appreciates and enjoy your presence too. (Yes…he always ask for you!)
Thanks for coming here for his 4th birthday. I am sure he appreciates and enjoy your presence too. (Yes…he always ask for you!)
Stay happy and cheerful. And perhaps it is also time to find yourself a good life-travel mate.
Take care, my friend. Come back soon.
Share this:
Elkan’s 4th Birthday
October 17, 2008 2 Comments
My little monster turns 4 today – in the company of his favourite "porpor" and "shanshan yiyi". For some strange twists of fate – this was the 2nd time Elkan celebrated his birthday in Hong Kong (See blog dated 17th Oct 2007: http://wahbiang.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F1900AAD73568D14!2195.entry) Guess this would be his 1st most grand overseas birthday – and one that he would have memories of.
It was a long and eventful day for Elkan! You cannot imagine how our day went..
Morning…
I took leave today to attend Elkan’s birthday party at school (organised by his play-school). Things weren’t going smoothly as what we wanted. The party had just started and poor Elkan cried + vomitted in front of his class. (okay, that wasn’t cool at all…) His teachers were shocked and rushed to assist him. Elkan just kept crying and crying. Afterall, he was one of the 3 birthday stars today and he was kinda out of tune. Or what a smart way to get attention. All his classmates were staring at him…
The children went outdoor, played games and sang songs. Felicia and I (plus 3 other parents) joined them. We then came back to the classroom to celebrate birthday for the "October Kids". Elkan was lucky as today’s his actual birthday. So, the 3 October birthday boys stood by the big birthday cake. His classmates sang birthday song and the birthday boys cut the cake together. Guess what? Within seconds after eating his birthday cake, Elkan cried again and ran to the trash bag to vomit. (Okay…another commotion in the class).. He kinda ruined his own morning party, I thought.
Guess what, 2 pretty girls came up to Elkan and comforted him. (Wow…how charming he is). One pretty Indian and one demure Japanese girl. Mmm… my boy is pretty popular in his class. Check out his "girlfriends"!
Afternoon…
Stella (our 20th Visitor) flew in this afternoon and arrived at our house at 1pm. Elkan opened the door and was very happy to see his old "ShanShan Yiyi". He jumped and screamed when he saw Stella. However. his true colour revealed 5 seconds later. What a big contrast to his earlier affection – "Yiyi, where is my cashbox toy? huh…what? You didn’t bring it over??? Ai yah…" He whined out loud, pout his lips and walked away. (Spoilt Brat!)
Just then, his favourite "Uncle Leon" called from Xiamen to wish him "Happy Birthday". I have no idea what 2 of them were chatting… haaa…just got a feeling they were both in their own chicken and duck conversation.
At 1:30pm, we went out for a quick dim-sum lunch opposite my house. Elkan wasn’t feeling very well. He had a slight fever. So, we decided to let him take an afternoon nap (while the ladies went out shopping).
Elkan slept until 5pm and woke up crying. He walked to the toilet and started vomitting (again!). I took his temperature – my gosh – it was a high 38.3 degrees! Felicia, Porpor and I walked him to the nearby clinic. (Of course, another drama took place inside the clinic – you know how hostile Elkan can be towards the doctor or nurse)
Evening…
After a couple of "cold-showers" and medications, Elkan’s fever came down at around 7pm. We decided to go out to celebrate his birthday. We then picked up Tracy from the office and headed for the peak. By then, Elkan had fully recovered – he was yelling, running and screaming like normal.
Dinner was great… and Elkan had his 2nd birthday cake of the day. Porpor handed him a couple of hongbaos (from my mum and Aunty Amy) plus 2 presents (and a hand-drawn card) from my sister and Qiqi. (Qiqi even called to say hi!) Next, he opened 3 big presents from his old Daddy, Mummy and Auntie Baybay. And those were his "most-wanted" gifts – gems that he has been eyeing for months!
This must be Elkan’s most dramatic and happiest birthday! (He even got an Hongbao from my colleague, Alice!) For me, it was eventful and tiring. It is certainly good to be Elkan – he has nothing to worry about. Right now, he has his big present sleeping right beside him. Tonight was his first night sleeping with his favourite porpor. For me, it was my 1st night sleeping outside in the living room. (and many nights more to go…)
Share this:
Elkan’s Present Has Just Arrived
October 15, 2008 Leave a comment
After more than 8-month seperation, Elkan is finally reunited with his favourite "Porpor". 3 hours ago, my mother-in-law and aunt touched down in Hong Kong. They will be here for a couple of weeks – just in time for Elkan’s 4th Birthday celebration this Friday! And of course, they brought along all the goodies (from my Auntie Amy and mum too!) Next, Auntie Chups and Stella are on their way too…
Share this:
Days Away from Home
Singapore Blog Awards Finalist 2013
Singapore Blog Awards Finalist 2010-2012
Proud to be part of the Singapore Memory Project
點擊這裡: 我的中文版博客
THE WAHBIANG BLOG 