Whirlwind Visit Back Home

Phew... now I'm safely back in Singapore after a lightning-fast visit back home. So here's a recap of what I managed to do:

Saturday, Sept 22
Took off quite early and landed at 9.30am Jakarta time. My parents and my brother and also his fiance all went to pick me up, because they had arranged to have dim sum lunch with the relatives in Jakarta. And also we had to pick up my brother's passport form the travel agent.
Not surprisingly, the traffic jam in Jakarta is as usual, bad. However, that day was a particularly crazy day, because it was a "Environmental/Car Free Day". So what the government did was close up some parts of the road for cars..... which only makes the cars go to other roads, which ultimately creates a total chaos. Now you can see for yourself how smart the Indonesian government is....
So finally we only managed to reach Bandung at around 6/7 pm. Didn't go out for dinner because my brother's fiance was quite sick.

Sunday, Sept 23
Today we did something quite out of the ordinary.... something touristy... we visited the Tangkuban Perahu mountain. It's a volcano just outside of the city (about 1 hour drive), and I think it's still active.

I actually don't remember when was the last time I went there. Must be in the 80s... haha. So it was kind of a nice experience. We went down the track to the crater (it's a moderately challenging track even if you're reasonably fit.... but no climbing or anything... just that there's no proper steps). Down at the crater you can actually see steam hissing, and some bubbling sulfur water. You can even cook an egg there if you want to (it takes approximately 10 minutes). Me and my brother even took a mud foot massage and dip our feet in the sulfur water natural pool.




In the evening we went to a restaurant called The Valley. A few years back it was "the IT place" in Bandung. It's up in the hills, so you can see the city lights from there. But now it's not as popular as before because there's much more dining options in the city.



Monday, Sept 24
First thing in the morning : go to the dentist. As usual I didn't have any problem with my teeth, just some regular cleaning up. After that I went to see some old high school friends who are available that day. Also went to buy some DVDs (a MUST thing to do.... US$0.50 for 1 disc!).




To be honest, I feel quite out of place when I'm talking to my old friends. The thing is..... all of them are doing business, and not working class people like me. So all they talk about is business, and I don't really understand nor interested in those things. Well, I'm glad I'm not staying in Bandung.... I don't think I'm really cut out to be a businessman. I'd rather try to enjoy my somewhat boring job here. Haha.

Tuesday, Sept 25
Well, my flight back to Singapore was at 5pm. BUT... that means that I have to be at the airport at 3pm. The bus ride from Bandung to Jakarta takes 3 hours, so I had to take the 12 noon bus. And from my home to the bus place takes about 30-45 minutes. So I left home at 11am. So there you go..... one day gone just to travel from Bandung - Singapore. Very inefficient huh?


So, that's that. Back to work now....

MTV VMA 2007

Last night I finally managed to watch the entire broadcast of the MTV VMA 2007, and I think it's amazing! Well, a lot of people may say that MTV is now full of black people and hip hop artists. Which is kinda true, but hey, the only constant thing in life is change, so.... I say embrace it instead of resisting it :P

So, let's start the gossip session
1. Britney Spears - well you all know what happened. She opened the show with her new song "Gimme More", but she was far from enthusiastic about it. I heard news that she was upset by some remarks before the show, but that's not an excuse for a professional, world-renowned performer! Also, she's really out of shape, which is understandable for a mother of 2, but she really should've thought of that before deciding to wear just bra and panties. The song itself is quite OK.... very Britney...

2. Chris Brown (with a surprise Rihanna appearance). Wow, this kid is really flexible. I mean, damn he can dance! His voice is just so-so, but his performances are amazing! And speaking of Rihanna.... she's everywhere! First she won "Monster single of the year" for "Umbrella" (ella, ella, ella....), then she performed with Chris Brown, and then another performance session with FallOut Boy, then go back to receive Video Of The Year award.

3. Kanye West - MTV actually took over the whole Palms Casino in Las Vegas for the show, and they have 5 separate rooms that partied simultaneously. The main stage, Kanye West party, Justin Timberlake (JT) & Timbaland party, FallOut Boy party, and Foo Fighters party. Kanye West rocks! Actually I'm not sure why I don't have any of his songs by now.... hmmm must put that in my reminder haha.

4. Linkin Park - Wow! Very very good..... btw they are coming for a concert in Singapore in November, but I don't think I'll be going. It'll be too crazy for me haha.

5. Alicia Keys - She looked amazing when she first appeared at the beginning of the show, but what's up with the crazy hairdo when she's performing? The new song is not great either.... and halfway through she switched to sing "Freedom" by George Michael..... for unknown reasons. (I mean, huh???)

6. Shia LeBouf - well he didn't perform (thank God). I just want to comment on his appearance. I didn't watch Transformer, so I can't comment on his acting skills, but.... everytime I see him I just don't see why people like him so much. Last night he appeared with a mustache, which is just ridiculous. And his comments are sooo lame. Plus the winner for the category he presented (Fergie - Female Artist of The Year) was not there, and his reaction was just..... unproffessional. I know that he's only 21 and inexperienced, but that's just bad. Or maybe I'm just judgmental. Whatever!

7. Beyonce - she also didn't perform but receive an award for "Earth-Shattering Collaboration" for her song with Shakira (Beautiful Liar). My God, she IS curvy (especially in that dress)!

8. Finale - Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, JT - The show closes with a combined performance from those 3. Each of them performed one song, then they sang 1 chorus of "Give It To Me". Now that's what I call world class act! Each of them has their own style and strength, and they're all good!

Overall.... very very entertaining. Well there are other performances that I didn't write here... there's just too many, and if I don't remember it the first time, then it's probably not worth mentioning :P

(not so good) Vibrations

Before I move on to the next topic, just want to state for thhe record that there has been 2 earthquakes in Indonesia within the course of 12 hours and we, here in Singapore, felt the tremors.

The first one happened last night at 7.10pm. I was at the cycling class in the gym at that time, so I didn't really feel anything. I was already shaking on the bike :P

The second one was this morning at 7.50am. I was just about to get up from the bed when suddenly I felt my bed shaking, and not in a good way, if you know what I mean :P
But I didn't ran out like crazy. I tried to ignore it and just sit down there waiting. So after about 1 minute or so, it stopped, and I went on to take my shower. Didn't really feel any more shaking while I was in the shower (not sure if there were still tremors then).

Now I'm already in the office, and hopefully there's no more aftershock....


Update at 3 pm : Another one happened at 11.40 this morning..... so I just went for an early lunch :)

Not as easy as you think

I'm not sure why but I always have the inspiration to write a post whenever I am in a cycling class at the gym. Haha...

Anyway, today I want to talk about being a group fitness instructor. As you may have known, I am a faithful follower of the Les Mills exercise classes since I joined Fitness First back in 2004. And I've encountered many different instructors... some are good, some are not so good.
Yesterday I was reminded that in order to be a good instructor, it's not as easy as it seems. In my opinion, the requirements are:
1. Reasonably fit body - well, you have to be an inspiration to the students. Nobody will want to be in your class if you look like 2007 Britney Spears (sorry, it was just too easy hee hee)

2. Strength and stamina - if the instructor uses a 2 kg weight and the student uses a 5 kg, isn't that going to be embarassing? At least you have to use above average weights/load. And you also need to give out instructions while you are doing it. So you can't do it if you're breathless...

3. Standout voice - some of the instructors I encountered before just doesn't seem to be able to stand out from the music, so that's bad, cos you can't hear the instructions

4. Good sense of rhythm - since all movement are based on the music, so you have to be able to feel the music and let the beat guide the movements.

5. Good memory - also, you need to know when the music is going to change, which movement goes with which song.... and that's not easy, cos every quarter they release a new set of songs, and you can't possibly have the same songs in every class.

6. Outgoing and friendly personality - Well, this is just the icing on the cake... the one that separates the good ones and the great ones.

So, that's it. The 6 requirements to be a great group fitness instructor, according to Stefan. Amen. Haha.

Notes about absolutely nothing

Well, you can probably tell by now how much workload I have in the office (3 posts in 1 day? hmmm....)

So, this post is titled "Notes about absolutely nothing". What does that mean, one might ask? Let's see... well it's about..... nothing! Hahaha.

Oh, I know! Let's write about.... Britney Spears! Have any of you seen her performance on MTV VMA? Oh my God! What happened to her? Well kids, now you know that money doesn't buy you happiness (nor sanity, in this case).

What else? Work-wise.... well, a lot of things has been changing.... I have a new boss now. A german lady named Orla. She's my new idol haha.... she can be really serious when it comes to work, but at the same time friendly and funny to everyone. My title has changed to. Now I'm "Regional First Choice - Performance Measurement Analyst". Well, let's just hope a longer title doesn't mean longer working hours :P
Also, the whole team will be moving seat sometime next week, and I'll be sitting right next to Orla. Now that will be interesting....

Anyways, gotta find something else to do..... ciao!

Don't forget to wear your HappySlip!

Hey.... just want to give a quick intro to a YouTube star.... HappySlip! If you're interested, just search happyslip in youtube and boom, there she is.

Highly recommended to watch when you are feeling blue (at least I'm always giggling or laughing out loud when I watched any of the videos).

I (heart) Australian music

One of the good things that I get from my stay in Melbourne 2 years ago (wow, has it really been that long? hmm) is that I get to hear and know a lot more Australian singers/music. And I just love 'em! For example, in my opinion, Australian Idol is definitely comparable to American Idol, and at times it's even better!

I was suddenly reminded of this when last week I think to myself "Hmm, since my boss (who is based in Sydney) will be coming over for a few days next month, maybe I should ask her to get me some CDs that are not available here". So before I did that, I searched the internet for the titles of the CDs. So I went on to search if I can get them myself without bothering my boss. And I managed to get A LOT. Here's the list of the albums :

1. Darren Hayes - This Delicate Thing We've Made
Well, he's one of my favorite singers of all time.... ever since Savage Garden came out back in 1997 (I remember I first heard of them during my first trip to the US). Now his music genre has changed greatly, but still..... me likey :)

2. Missy Higgins - On A Clear Night
I've mentioned her before in my last post in my "Music Review" page (I've never update that page anymore, and I don't intend to.... just write everything here). Her voice and music style is just so unique. Two thumbs up!

3. Damien Leith - The Winner's Journey
He's the winner of Australian Idol 4, and definitely one of the best. This album contains mostly his performances during Idol, and they are GOOOOOD. His voice is just like recording quality even when performing live. I haven't manage to get his 2nd album, though... so I may still need to get it via my boss.

Another notable rising Australian band is Sneaky Sound System. I heard them during the Live Earth concert last July. But so far I only like some of their songs..... the rest are just not my cup of tea.

Coincidence?

I'm getting a headache just thinking about what's going to happen this month end.

First of all, some time back my brother has already announced that he's flying back to Indo for a vacation (together with his girl, Sarah) on Sept 16-28. So my parents already asked me to come back together with him. But unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I can't leave my office between 10-20th every month. So I planned to go back on 21-28 Sept.
Then about 3 weeks ago, suddenly I heard news that there will be a "Global workshop" related to my work on Sept 24-28 in Ohio, USA. I was quite excited then because I thought that I will need to attend that. However, after a lot of discussions and politics in play, it was decided that only my boss (Lily) will go there. So I thought... well that's ok because I'm planning to go back to Indo anyway. But then............

I kinda knew that it's gonna be difficult to get approval from my boss because we are the only 2 people doing this job! When she's not available, I'm supposed to cover for her. And vice versa. Ideally. So.... since she will be in USA on that period of time, she does not approve my application. And I can't go back later (when she's back from USA) because my brother is going to Singapore Sept 28-Oct 1; and I need to be here to show him around.

GREAT! JUST GREAT!!!

So now I'm negotiating with her if I can go back maybe just for 3-4 days before. Haven't get the reply yet, though....

Well, that's one thing. Another thing that suddenly pops out is... a friend of mine mentioned that he has an empty room for rent. So I'm going to check it out later today. But the thing is.... if I take the room, the rent is going to start Oct 1. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem because if I am going to move out from my current place, it will be at month's end too. BUT.... as mentioned earlier, my bro's coming here! Exactly on the same date!

AAAARRRRGHHHH!!!!!!

Too much things are happening at the same time..... a little bit too coincidental, don't you think?

You Can't Stop The Beat

Just want to mention some good movies that I have watched lately....

Bourne Ultimatum - very good action packed movie. Good closure of the whole series. You know when people often say "this movie is not very good.... too much talking, too little action". Well, this one is exactly the opposite.... action all the way from start to finish.

Hairspray - love it! BIG in many ways... the hair, the stars, the music, John Travolta as Edna hahaha. I haven't watched the real musical on stage, so can't really compare, but I really enjoyed this version. If you don't smile after watching this, then something's really wrong with you :P

Ratatouille - another excellent offering from Pixar.... good image quality, good storyline too. Although, when you really think about it, the rats in the movie are more intelligent than the humans (they can understand what the humans say but not vice versa). But then again, you're not supposed to think about that.... just enjoy the movie as it is :)

Next stop....?? Well, nothing specific in mind, but hey, it's Singapore! There's ALWAYS a new movie in the cinemas every week :P.