Sometime ago, I brought David along to the Wine Lust Festival at One Rochester Park...

It's back again with a sequel!

Those interested to try out wines from different countries and hopefully buy back some for keeps, the event will be held this coming Thursday...

Vinofiesta! @ One Rochester

3 May 2007, Thursday

7.00pm - 10.00pm

$58 nett per head

Bookings & Reservations: 6773 0070

Email: winelust@onerochester.com

Location Website: www.onerochester.com

E-blast: http://www.onerochester.com/eblast/vinofiesta.html

My sister works there, hence the announcement on her behalf...

Her suggestion: go early, for the buffet (yeah, no more BBQ) starts at 7pm...

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Good news! I got called to do voiceovers again, this time it was to dub in English over some Korean dialogue for a feature documentary series to be aired in the States...

Quite fun! Within two and a half hours, I dubbed 5 different characters, and had to vary my vocal tone and pitch so I don't sound the same...

After doing quite a few voiceover trailers in Mandarin, it was a fresh change recording in English. And now I want to do more English VOs!!!

For the really curious ones, those spongey wall paddings that resemble egg-crates are to absorb and filter out any stray noises so the microphone won't pick them up...

Perhaps I should do up a mini studio booth with padded walls like this at home too!

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I have been spending a lot of time on the computer, recording songs for practice, creating illustrations for fun, downloading stuff for, erm, reference, and posting everything on my blog for posterity's sake...

Yet for all this work I've put in on my computer, I am still very ignorant about lots of techie stuff...

So you can just guess what's the one thing I fear most in the computer world, and that is...

Nitecaps #0012

And lately, my home PC, as well as a laptop I'd borrowed sometime ago for work, have been plagued by this horrible Blue Screen of Death.

Thankfully the desktop is still functional after rebooting, but the same cannot be said for the poor lappie...

Is there no immunity or protection against this kinda stuff???

Anyway, the second thing I fear most would be those awful viruses then...

And a close third?

No electricity...

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MMORPGs in The Simpsons

Okay honestly, I have absolutely no idea what's "MMORPGs" (say Em-Em-Oh-AHRER-PEE-GEEs) until these last two days. It means "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games"...

Well... the only games I ever played online were "Solitaire" (there's no way this could ever be massively multiplayered), "Tic-Tac-Toe" and sometimes "Scrabble", that's it...

Yeah I am a lousy geek, I know...

But I also know that once I started, I will be spending even more time stuck in front of my computer, constantly fighting against the dreaded BSOD (say Blue-Screen-Of-Death - see previous entry), and cultivating a bigger tummy...

But anyways, now I just can't wait for "The Simpsons" movie!!!

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I used to have two cute little dwarf hamsters as pets, sometime during the start of 2005...

Their names were Eeni and Mini...

Nitecaps #0013

Mini passed away on the 6th August 2005, and Eeni left not long after, on the 1st April 2006. Both were buried at the foot of Mount Faber...

I kinda missed them, but they are probably in their own little hamster heaven right now...

I wonder if they missed me too? Have they become cute little hamster angels?

Anyway, I am planning to come up with a series of cartoons featuring "Eeni, Mini & Me" every now and then. I think I'll have a lot of fun with them...

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Again, I chanced upon another fun thing on Devinjay's blog: the new Comic Life for Windows (Beta)!!!

Now I can have some fun creating comic strips easily too!

For starters, I found some pics taken last week with my old pal, Bryan, and decided to try them out on...

... My First Comic Life ...

It's pretty fun!

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Sometimes when life gets too hectic and everything seemed to be adding more pressure, I will take quiet moments off to meditate and balance my sanity level...

Usually, I will do simple breathing and visualisation exercises, picturing myself in positive and calming situations, or flying away to different corners of the world...

Nitecaps #0014

It's a great way to find some inner peace and to put things back in perspective. Many times, interesting, creative ideas have popped up too...

And more often than not, if I listen to my inner self carefully during such meditations, I could "hear" or "pick up" various signs and signals from my guides, often telling me if I were on the right track or not...

But then again, there are also many many forms of distractions from other inner voices...

Or perhaps, I am really going mad...

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A year and a couple of months ago, I acted in an episode of "Incredible Tales Season 4 - Paper Bride", in which my character had an adulterous affair that resulted in my lover committing suicide and becoming a vengeful ghost...

On the first night of that shoot, we had to do a ritual scene at an old secluded temple near the cemetries, where I "married" the ghost of the lover in the form of a "paper bride"...

For this week's Photo Friday challenge, I have chosen this photo that I took in between scenes...

~ Smoke ~

"Smoke" ~ Edric Hsu
Image Size: 600 x 450 pixels
Digital Camera : Fujifilm Finepix F10

This pic of the "paper bride" was shot as it was burning in the furnace... except we realised the plaster-cast "face" just doesn't burn. Together with the colourful flames and dense twirling smoke, it created a rather eerie atmosphere...

(Click Here For Other Photos Of The Film Shoot)

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As I had promised some friends who are cast members of the following production, here's the poster of the upcoming show that has a multitude of fresh young local talents...

Support them, discover them, by watching them...

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Eeni and Mini were little bundles of joy, at least to me. When they were still alive, they always managed to cheer me up... 

In their individual hammie cages, they seemed happy to be repeating their same routine of eating-sleeping-running-exploring-eating-climbing-eating-sleeping... 

Not sure if they feel the same way though...

Nitecaps #0015 

Of my two little dwarf hamsters, Eeni appeared to be the perpertually hungry one (sounds familiar? heh), while Mini was the more active and hardworking one...

But although they were twin sisters (they were from the same brood), the two of them hardly get along with each other. Hence their separate cages...

I imagine their characteristics would remain the same in their hamster heaven, where they would have endless food and play, and perhaps, endless ratfights with each other...

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... and Cows and Pigs... 

Have you ever tried putting yourself in someone else's shoes? I mean, really?

When given a whole new environment, do you adapt yourself to fit in, or do you change the environment to suit you?

So what could you change? Or do you remain the same as you were born, as you were meant to be when you were born?

Nitecaps #0016

If you have never ever tried putting yourself in someone else's shoes, try it...

Otherwise, stop comparing, quit the complaints and just shut up...

For those who have no idea what this is all about, read this: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,129450,00.html

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I had a mini class reunion lunch this afternoon with Yee Peng, Chan Hon and Fu Chong at Changi Airport's Terminal 2's Fish & Co., before Yee Peng flew back to Beijing...

After that, I hung around with Fu Chong at McCafe for a coffee, before making my way to the gym for a much needed workout. Once done, I went for a haircut, or rather, a neater trim...

I go to the nearest EC House outlets, which charge very reasonable barber prices for reasonably nice haircuts. Everytime, I'll have to decide ahead what kinda style I am going for, and then try to convey that to the stylists...

Perhaps I should prepare a chart for them to refer to...

Nitecaps #0017

At different stages in my life, I have tried out all of the above looks. My current look is really an updated version of Style "e"...

So which style do you think suits me most?

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Just yesterday I was chatting with Yee Peng, Chan Hon and Fu Chong about the perils of working life, and one of them mentioned knowing someone else who'd passed away suddenly while at work...

And then today, Icezworld brought up this topic again, and posted the blog address of a girl who'd also just passed away suddenly while at work:

http://pinkmayflower.multiply.com/journal/item/140

I wonder if they were the same person?

From that blog entry, it was apparent that this poor hardworking girl, May Leong (may she rest in peace), had already heard one of her colleagues collapsed and died from work pressures not too long ago. And she herself was feeling ill after continual long hours of work and constant rush for deadlines... 

But due to contractual problems and her own commitment to doing her best in her job, she'd pushed on... to her early death...

WHY???

It's one thing to work hard, it's quite another to work your whole life away! And these cases are not even "accidents" such as the equally unfortunate victims of the site explosions...

Life is really too short!

For those of you who are hardworking people, please do take enough breathers and breaks, and also go for regular health checks and maintenance!

Nitecaps #0018

Take care, my friends!!!

1 angel(s) visited

Last Friday's class at KMS YAC was the most dismal ever, with a new low in attendance...

Wish they'd informed me earlier that the other students were busy or couldn't make it to class, so the few of us need not travel all the way to the venue... *rolls-eyes*

Thank goodness I took the bus route that evening and didn't waste money on cab fare! Still, it's a lot of time wasted...

Anyway, I had back-up plans (literally) for the class, which was to record the backing vocals to the minus-one track for the song they were to perform soon. Thankfully Ah Fu was there to set up the recording session...

Turned out both the girls who were present had problems getting the harmonies right, so I ended up recording my own improvised versions. I feel sorry for the girls and Ah Fu, for it is a real waste of their time as well...

L-R: Ah Fu, Shuli, Leah and Edric

Which was just as well I did the recording myself...

The very next night I was invited to sing for a Mother's Day dinner event, so this minus-one track with my own vocal harmonies came in real handy!

BUT I will not turn up this week if the class is expecting less than half of the students, thank you very much...

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Last Saturday, at the invitation of Abigail Chay and Vivian Tan from the WEC (Women's Executive Committee), I was terribly honoured to perform in a dinner show to celebrate Mother's Day with more than 30 tables of families of various generations...

Besides the hosts Abigail and Yang Guang, other guest performers included retired veteran TV actress Zhang Jin Hua, former local songstress Lin An Ning who's made a comeback recently and 883JIA FM radio presenter Garrick Wong etc. Also present was the MP of Tanjong Pagar GRC Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong...

Okay that's a lot of name-dropping, but I was very excited to be part of the evening's programme. And did I mention there was also a karaoke contest for the mothers among the diners?

Abby also generously invited my sister Alain and her kids, Sheryl and Shermaine, so we got to enjoy the full course dinner too...

Here are the photos of the event...

(More Pics Within...)

Lady Luck was shining on my sister that night, for she won the third prize of a lucky draw, which is a rice cooker! Well done!

Well, I have "choped" it for myself already, since I had given my rice cooker to her last time! Muahahaha!

Anyway, I do wish I could sing more often! It's pretty addictive!

1 angel(s) visited

As I mentioned in earlier entries, I met up with several old friends at the airport...

We were sending Yee Peng off to Beijing where his work is now based, and ended up at Fish & Co. Restaurant at Terminal 2...

Here is a brief illustrated account of our little send-off lunch...

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In the mid-90s, there were two sudden celebrity deaths that rocked the whole world. One of them was Princess Diana's car crash in Paris, and the other, the much beloved songbird Teresa Teng's death in Chiang Mai...

Teresa Teng (Deng Li Jun) passed away after a severe asthma attack during her vacation in 1995, and left almost an entire Chinese population grieving. In her lifetime, she'd given the world many classic songs and films to her name...

One of the people much affected by her unexpected death, was my late Mother, who'd heard the news of her idol's passing while she herself was admitted in hospital for a high fever...

A couple of days later, Mother collapsed during her breakfast, and passed away after a coma that lasted three days...

It was through my dearest Mom that I grew to enjoy Teresa Teng's songs in my childhood, among many other singers...

So, I would like to dedicate today's Nitecap illustration in both their memory...

Nitecaps #0019

Love, always...

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Sigh, after weeks and weeks of on-off packing, my flat is still in quite a state. It's like one step forward, two steps back...

And to make things worse, I am such a hoarder. I've piles of books and clothes all over the place...

Kinda reminded me of how Eeni and Mini used to snuggle up in their piles of beddings and wood chips...

But there's gonna be NO snuggling for me in MY clothes piles...

Nitecaps #0020

And please save those comments on "how to pack your house" or to "just throw everything away"...

I've heard it all before... :S

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'nuff said...

http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/index.html

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What do you fear most?

Why?

http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/index.html

(More Irrational Fears...)

Why?

Why?

Why?!?

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In view of the recent reports of celebrities who'd gotten into trouble with drink-driving, and other similarly critical road accidents, I really wonder if these drivers knew what they were doing after all those alcohol they'd been drinking...

I also wonder if the "Drink Driving Shatters Lives" ad campaign that Moses and I did, that was plastered all over town, was effective at all...

Perhaps, after a few glasses of high spirits inside their system, all these drivers could see in those cautionary ads were something cutesy like...

Nitecaps #0021

Thankfully for me, I don't drive...

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The theme for Photo Friday's challenge this week is...

AMBER

"Amber" ~ Edric Hsu
Photo Friday Entry #47
Image Size : 600 x 450 pixels
Digital Camera : Fujifilm Finepix F10

This Amber pendant was given to me by my sister Alain some years ago. I never wore it, as I think it looks much better on the wall... 

I just love the way it catches the sunlight...

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With more and more prices going up, you'd come to expect the same for service standards, right?

It's easier to expect a blue moon...

Nitecaps #0022

In either case, we'll probably be taken for a ride...

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Inspired by the wonderful "Savage Chicken" cartoons by Doug Savage, here's my little tribute to his greatness...

Nitecaps #0023

I've plenty of room for improvement and practice, but it's a really fun way to look at life...

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Today is a special day. Not only is it Mother's Day, today is also the 12th-year death anniversary of my dearest mum, Mdm Irene Tan...

(...Mum...)

And so, for Mother's Day, as well as her death anniversary, I dedicate the following illustration to my dearest Mum...

Nitecaps #0024
I love you, Mum
and this is how
I shall always
remember
you
...

Happy Mother's Day!

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This afternoon, my sister, her kids and I visited Mum's and Dad's ancestral altars at the temple...

There was some ritual ceremony happening as we arrived, and we saw mediums dressed up as the Black and White Demons of Hades (Hei Bai Wu Chang), and other deities...

It was pretty interesting, but it was also pretty crowded, but finally we managed to get in and paid respects to our late parents...

Well, you can't really see my parents' ancestral tablets from here, but the main thing missing in this picture is my younger bro, Eric, who couldn't join us...

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For this week's Illustration Friday challenge, the theme is "Citrus"...

Rather than giving the obvious, here I have my dwarf hamsters, Eeni and Mini, again...

They might be twin sisters, but when they were still alive, they'd often just get into such a sour mood and refuse to get along with each other...

CITRUS - TACIT 'R' US

Nitecaps #0025 

"Tacit 'R' Us" ~ Edric Hsu

And yes, there IS such a thing as an "Ugli Fruit"...

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Everyday for the past three years, I'll drop by the coffeeshop downstairs for a cup of Kopi-O Gah Dai (black coffee with extra sugar) for brunch, and a bag of Teh (milk tea) to go with my dinner...

Perhaps that explains my tummy now. But that's another story lah...

The point of this entry is that, as of last night, this favourite coffeeshop of mine has ceased operations and will move on to its new premises at Jalan Bukit Merah by the end of the month...

So, being the friendly regular customer that I am, it's photo time!!!

That's me above, with the folks toiling away day and night at my favourite coffeeshop...

And this is how the coffeeshop looks like now...

S12 Coffeeshop - Closed

I am pretty sad to see them go, also for the reason that my Dad used to hang out here for his Tiger Beer A LOT before he passed away...

Anyway, I hope they enjoy success in their new premises, and that the next coffeeshop operator taking over will give great coffee and wonderful food stalls soon!!!

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This is coming from someone who knows nuts couldn't care less about Formula One racing being brought onto our already congested streets...

Except that it involves a lot of expensive cars and noisy reckless drivers...

Nitecaps #0026

Neither do I care about the other 3 "F"s...

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The latest craze in reality game shows these days, well, at least in Singapore, is "Deal Or No Deal"...

But I wonder... why the need for all those metal briefcases just to contain different money values within, and why the extravagance of having a gorgeous female model standing next to each of the briefcases?

Not that I'm complaining... after all, those ladies do seem to be pretty smart girls... 

At least the contestants, so far, seemed to be pretty outspoken, appeared to be having a lot of fun AND they are making serious money (five-figured sums are pretty serious in Singapore context, okay!)...

Well... anyway, this is my take on the show...

Nitecaps #0027

Hur hur...

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Somehow or other, I have yet to catch any of the "Spiderman" movies...

It's not true that I am not a fan - I am!

But I kinda didn't feel the need to catch them in the cinemas...

Still, I think Peter Parker is one cool hero!

Not sure if he can keep that cool though, under other circumstances...

Nitecaps #0028

One particular series of movies I will not want to miss, however, is the "Harry Potter" one. It keeps Eddie, my Inner Child, alive!

Just wish they'll stick closer to the books though, but I'm still happy with the visual treats so far...

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This one appeared to have a racial slant to it, but it wasn't intentional. It just happened to be so...

Nitecaps #0029

Ah, stereotypes...

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On Monday evening, I was walking past Raffles City Shopping Centre and found a man down on his knees and busy sketching something on the pavement in coloured chalk...

Julian Beever at Raffles City Shopping Centre

He'll alternate between the scribbles and getting up to check his artwork through a camera that's mounted on a tripod...

There wasn't much else there for a while, so I left. On the way back about a couple of hours later, his amazing artwork had taken its form...

(Click If You Wanna See How It Turned Out)

Those keen to check out this amazing artist's portfolio of street art and murals, do visit his website: http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever...

Cheers!

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Every now and then, there will be a party that involves dressing up in fancy dress. What do you do when you run out of ideas?

Nitecaps #0030

Woohoo, this marks my 30th Nitecaps entry! That's one cartoon per day for an entire month! *pats myself on back*

Now if I could be as diligent in doing my housework... LMAO

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One of the latest Taiwanese indie band export, Sodagreen, will be making its way to Singapore for a series of promo concerts in a few months' time...

That's good news, as I am a fan of this unique band and most of their songs and MVs. Almost all their songs were written by the talented and quirkily androgynous lead singer, Wu Qing Feng...

My favourite Sodagreen song is still their "Little Love Song"...

And tonight, I've tried using my home PC once again to record two different versions of this lovely little song...

My Alto Little Love Song 

My Baritone Little Love Song

And again, please pardon the makeshift recording sound and sometimes "off" timing. The double-compression during the recording and uploading process kinda warped the final products from what I had intended...

But oh well, till I get proper facilities, please bear with me...

For best results, do listen using headphones or earphones on both ears...

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Wondered what happened to Eeni and Mini on the way to the Fancy Dress Party?

Check this out...

Nitecaps #0031

There's just no accounting for taste in dwarf hamsters...

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As it's popular to have trilogies these days, I thought you might want to find out what happened when Eeni and Mini arrived at the party... 

Nitecaps #0032

Guess our little friends didn't find out more about their party beforehand...

But oh well, for the sake of charity, they got a pair of Shrek ears each...

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Been catching all the current and past episodes of "America's Next Top Model" lately, for no other reason except they are pretty fun and entertaining...

But of course, not everyone seems to think so...

Nitecaps #0033

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Sometimes being too relaxed in life might not be wise. You might just waste away...

Nitecaps #0034

Sigh, back to my housework...

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Those familiar with Taiwan illustrator/author Jimmy Liao (几米) would also know one of his works: "A Fish With A Smile" (微笑的鱼)...

More info here: http://www.jimmyspa.com/en/newsdetail.asp?id=48

I just chanced upon a nice soothing song from the soundtrack, sung by Gu Hao (古皓), and wish to share with you...

I wish I could get a copy of this animation film... 

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This week's Illustration Friday's challenge theme is "Signs"...

And since today was the grand finale of "American Idol" and the winner had been announced, I've decided to marry the two topics together here...

* SIGNS *

Nitecaps #0035

"Signs" ~ Edric Hsu

Yes, it's all in the stars...

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This week's new Photo Friday challenge theme seemed easy but it took me a while to find something suitable and truly relevant...

I refuse to simply post any photo that might fit the topic, and prefer to stick as close to the theme as possible. Otherwise, where's the fun and challenge?

Anyway, here it goes...

FUTURISTIC

"Futuristic" ~ Edric Hsu
Photo Friday Entry #46
Image Size : 600 x 800 pixels
Digital Camera : Fujifilm Finepix F10

The above image was taken in November last year at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre's "Singapore 1:1 City Exhibition"...

It shows a scaled model representation of "Henderson Crossing", which is a futuristic looking timber bridge that's currently being built to span Mount Faber Hill and Telok Blangah Hill, pretty near where I live...

This model design won RSP Architects the Merit Award in the "Southern Ridges Bridge Design Competition", but I'm not sure if the actual construction is based on this design...

It would definitely be way cool if so, but we shall see, sometime in the near future...

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I have not done a proper group meditation session for a very long while now. I am pretty used to doing my own solo meditation (a simplified but still effective version) at my own time...

So last night I decided to try out a group meditation organised by a fellow blogger, Jason, and made several other new friends there too...

It was a pretty exhilarating session (for me), and the energy connection and flow were really strong...

Everyone felt differently as each has his/her own personal issues and other stuff to go through, but the following was what I experienced throughout the hour-long meditation...

Meditation #001

I'd sketched the above immediately after the meditation ended, and tried to retain as much relevant information (to me) as possible... 

I won't explain the whole thing now, as some parts of the experience were rather personal in nature...

But even when we'd finished and gone for supper, I could still feel the tingle of healing energy flowing throughout my entire body...

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Just ten days ago, I blogged that one of my favourite coffeeshops near where I live had moved out and the place was sold to a new owner...

See here if you missed it: http://merman13.livejournal.com/180897.html

And whadayaknow, before I could even finish clearing my own wardrobe space, the major renovations at that coffeeshop had started at full force, and everything was knocked down and removed...

Check this out:

Above pics taken on the dates stated...

And finally, the brand new coffeeshop reopened for business today! Talk about efficiency!!!

Okay, so the owners and several stalls like the Economic Rice Stall, the Dim Sum Stall, Western Food Stall, and soon-to-be-added Malay Stall and Tze Char Stall are brand new, but my all-time favourite Roast Pork Stall, Hainan Chicken Rice Stall, Prawn Noodles Stall are still there... Phew!!!

It's 24 hours in operation, but I am not sure which stalls would really open for supper yet...

For now, I will try to get used to the new unfamiliar taste of their Kopi-O...

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Mother Nature is always full of surprises, and the miracle of the day is probably this...

Nitecaps #0036

Wonder what's coming up next...

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After over a month of diligently posting my "Nitecaps" cartoons, I have decided to add another feature that might save me some drawing time, especially for days when I have little time to spare on the computer...

And this new feature is, surprise surprise... Quotable Quotes...

So here's the appropriate quote of the night...

Nitecaps #0037

I just came back from a birthday gathering, with a huge late dinner and several plastic cups of alcohol in me. So I think I shall be asleep soon, even though I might seem to be wide awake...

Ouch, I'd better just sleep...

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Sometimes it's hard to determine what is a good joke and what is just pure rubbish. Some people enjoy corny humour while others might prefer cutting edge wit...

But which is which?

For me, it's anything goes, and sometimes the punnier the better...

In fact, back in my Music and Drama Company days, I was the reigning Corn King (Babes Conde was the Corn Queen), so I had ears years of experience...

I think it's rather fun to play with words, doncha think?

Nitecaps #0038

Okay okay, I promise the next cartoon will be a proper cartoon. Will try to restrict my Quotes to weekends or when my brain juice is in shorter supply...

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I've been eating lots and putting on weight for the past few months. So for the last couple of weeks, I made sure I go through a proper work out routine every other day...

And this evening, and I think I am beginning to see some good results already! Yatta!!!

Nitecaps #0039

And NO, there will be no photo evidence. Don't even ask...

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Today, my friend Bryan's pet bird Dodo, originally believed to be a male Lutino Peach-Faced Lovebird, laid an egg...

So Dodo turned out to be female after all!

And since there wasn't a mate around, we guess nothing much will come out of that lovely egg...

Nitecaps #0040

Look out for more of Dodo and Bryan's other pets Chichi and Nono, as well as other familiar pets, in my future cartoons...

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To all Buddhists and all who love and respect Buddha...

I wish you all...

Nitecaps #0041

I give thanks to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha...

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Yesterday, the Singapore Changi Airport's newest Terminal 3 has completed building construction and is now ready for interior fittings...

More details and photos in the links above...

It was also announced that this new T3 will be officially opened for business on 9th January, 2008...

However, not everyone is up-to-date with the news...

Nitecaps #0042

And nope, this T3 will NOT star Arnold Schwarzenegger...

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