movie review...I Am Legend

The latest show I've watched with my dear is 'I am Legend', starring Will Smith...there's just so many flaws n loopholes in the content of this movie that we feel rather confused at the end of the show about what message the director (Francis Lawrence) is trying to convey to his audiences - there seems to be so many issues in his mind he's trying to squeeze into the whole show, it degenerates the show's credibility, despite having Will Smith on board...plainly speaking, he's trying too hard to impress but ends up showing just mediocrity instead...

1. To start with, how did a retrofitted virus comes into place in the cure for cancer? They are 2 diff worlds..somehow or rather without any elaboration besides the stupid expressway analogy provided by the lady scientist who was hailed for the discovery of the cure for cancer..the virus mutated n became airborne causing a worldwide plague that killed millions...

2. There was a scene whereby Robert Neville (Will Smith) mentioned while working on one of his captured experimental 'guinea pigs' in lab, that the night creatures do not possess any human-like behaviours...which I totally DISAGREE with...the director truly contradicts this point by showing human-like emotions emanating from one of the night creatures...that of anger projected at Neville for capturing one of his kinds, maybe his wife even....not only that, the creature has its own dogs too to train n even managed to manipulate Neville into falling into his trap..neatly showing human intelligence at work...lastly, one of the creatures was protrayed as the leader of the pack, showing evidence of community...

3. The most frustrating part of the movie was portraying a scientist (Neville), having a mental breakdown screaming into Anna's face his doubts on the existence of God & so delusionized into thinking he was the only survivor on the planet, he closed his mind to other options, even if it offers the hope n reality of fact that there are other survivors beyond ground zero who can actually help accelerate his project of finding the vaccine for the virus...can someone pls tell me how one person can find enough vaccine for the world, in a small lab with limited resources..having to worry about his survival every minute of the day...?? It is alright to be hero but pls at least use a part of ur brains for better alternatives...lol

The reason I went to watch the show was because of Will Smith...period

Will Smith acting : 5 stars
Content of movie : 1 star

SHOPPING SEASON!!

Spent my Christmas Day holiday with my hubby on a secret road trip to Malacca, to visit the shopping paradise he promised won't disappoint me....We had lunch at a restaurant specialising in roasted chicken, called Nando's, before heading to the stores n ogle at the variety of selections offered by every shop...the clothes were all fantastically unique and beauuuutifuuulll....bought myself some lingerie, work clothes and casual blouses, a shirt for the man himself, and sandals..my hubby is getting the hang of shopping now...he's crazier than me when we're spoilt for choice - selections ranging from Mango, Quicksilver, The Executive, Bodyglove, Renoma for women ( read: I've nvr been to a Renoma boutique offering selections for women as well.. )....and don't forget shoes!!

Went back to S'pore to buy more shoes for myself from my fav selection - U.R.S Inc, and Americaya...20% discount if bought from OG (Orchard)...my pockets feel badly burnt though...but for all the right reasons...everyone needs some retail therapy once awhile...right?

month of holidays n wet days...

Spent my weekend at home instead of shop for new shoes...cos my hubby went on a holiday with his family, in Malacca...it's been just a day ago yet it feels like a hundred years for me...lol..anyway, instead of mourning away, I enjoyed the company of my cats, especially this small guy featured here...so cute n cuddly, yet so mischievous never failing to capture everyone's attention at home

Anyway, this month I introduced some new food to my palates...n didn't regret even a second of it...featuring foods like Ampang Yong Taufu and Phad Thai from the basement foodcourt @ Tanglin Mall...( read : its a walkable distance from my workplace..)...


Ampang Yong Taufu : 3 stars ( I wasn't really pleased to find out this version had all my selections of veg n meat fried instd of boiled...I still give the 5 stars to the curry version )


Phad Thai : 4 stars ( reminds me of the Malay delicacy called 'rojak'...due to the grouned peanuts served together with it...mind u it's a very filling meal...I would need another person to share this with to finish the whole dish....)

wassup...life's too short to waste ur time away...

Made a short clip featuring the photos my frens & I took ( courtesy of Mingzi's digicam )together on 1 Dec 2007...when we were enjoying great fresh seafood in a Muslim restaurant in Chai Chee...Had a great time catching up with my colleagues back from micro lab...
rating : 4 stars


Christmas is just around the corner and you can really sense the festive ambience everywhere you go.. even right up @ the workplace...almost everyday the doctors will buy some cakes and food for the lab staff...the richest logcake ( and expensive too )I've ever tasted my whole life is this logcake, which leaves a funny tingling taste at the end of your tastebuds after every bite - a fusion of peanut butter, bananas, milk choc and white choc... I remembered trying my very best not to puke halfway through my piece, forcing a smile once awhile....

One thing I love about Christmas is the month of great shopping deals..!!! whee..!!! Bought some pretty expensive things these few months...from my Nimbus shoes, to my Acer lappy, to the Triumph lingeries, to fine dining and great clothes...not forgetting...shoes!! my next target... :)

Spent the whole freaking day with my hubby after work yesterday...guess where? In car workshops..!! Freaking 6 hours straight!! Spent waiting for those guys to fix my hubby's car which is starting to fall apart... which is understandable considering it has suffered for 3 years working hard n being opened up many times by the car surgeon himself..lol..anyway, this afternoon I forced him to make up for the hours I spent with him doing practically nothing much constructive yest...under my own terms...hehe..

my weekend...

Time always seems to fly very fast whenever I'm with my loved one - my hubby...recently, we went to Sakura International Buffet Restaurant for our dinner and to rate the quality and variety of food there with our tastebuds....Yes, there is a selection of food to choose from - sushis, steaks, soups, fruits, salads, etc...but most of them were not hot!! I would unabashedly say I've tasted better from Seoul Garden, and such...
ratings:

variety = 3/5 stars
quality = 2/5 stars

My latest mission is to learn to play a game called 'Warcraft', starting from the basic one...so I can put my hubby's skills and tactical startegies to the test...considering he already beat me in psychomotor skills n IQ level (read : at least my body is more lean n tone now...lol..) ...currently getting the hang of the game, and still just in the Human campaign...will do better...no doubt about that, despite my busy schedule and the tonnes of books I have to finish reading by the end of the month...( my reading mission is to finish at the very least 3 great books every month.. ) Wish me luck!! :)

great news!!!

Guess what's new??!! I bought myself a beautiful lappy, Acer ASPIRE2920Z whilst buzzing around the SITEX fair held at Singapore Expo last Saturday, 1/12/07....which means I will be able to spend more time surfing the net and research on anything...anytime....anywhere!! Isn't that great..? It has the basic tools to allow me to surf smoothly, enjoy great online games, and even to do video conferencing...( can't wait for my hubby to buy a webcam so we can chat online and be able to see and hear each other's voices..) read : despite the fact we see each other every day, almost 24/7...lol...thus, the great news is I will be able to update my blog more often and learn more new things to be more IT savvy!! ( read : my goal is to be able to build my own website...from scratch...that will enable me to close sales or open online businesses in the future..lol...dream on liz... )

And the latest book I've read....is by a great teacher, mentor, father, guide and living example to all our future generation...is Rafe Esquith...'TEACH Like Your Hair's On Fire'....a great book for all teachers and parents to pick up and try the strategies, tried and tested by the man himself for so many years....to make our children today more civilised human beings, yet in a fun manner....it takes a great deal of hard work though...but all in all, worth every inch of effort at the end of the day...

I especially love the very fact that this guy wrote this book in such a simple manner, yet brimming with content....the small quotes and phrases he inserted within every chapter makes the content more meaningful, rich and palatable to anyone with the thirst of knowledge every moment of the day...someone like myself... I relate the most to the chapter on 'reading for life' because every single word written by Rafe is true and has made me who I am today. I can't help smiling reading this one, cos it is so ME..( An excerpt taken from the chpt 'Reading for life'...)

"1. Have you ever secretly read under your desk in school because the teacher was boring and you were dying to finish the book you were reading?

2. Have you ever been scolded for reading at the dinner table?

3. Have you ever read secretly under the covers after being told to go to bed?

My students and I agree that if a child answers yes to all three questions, he or she is destined to become a reader for life. "

( rating = 4 stars... educational yet entertainingly humorous...)

what I've been up to nowadays...

Hmmm... basically not much time to do anything else after work...except hanging out with my hubby...either running, swimming, weight lifting in the gym or just reading books together, sipping a steaming cuppacino at McCafe....so..nt much time to spend on the comp surfing the net or to update this blog...the latest book I've read so far is 'The Devil Wears Prada', by Lauren Weisberger...


It is quite hilarious and enjoyable to read...truly bringing the reader to the hard reality of life that despite graduating from universities, we graduates still have to vie with one another for the limited jobs available to us( most of the time...not really getting to do what we really have in mind..) and that patience, hard work and perseverence counts to get you where you really want to go...as for the case of the character in the book, she had to sacrifice time with her loved ones for her unbelievably demanding first job....and decided to finally make a life-changing decision that might ruin her future, but it turned out otherwise in the end....great book to read !! ( 3 stars )

HAPPY DEEPAVALI!!!

The latest movie I've watched is the 'BEE MOVIE', by Jerry Seifield...it was hilarious, brimming with witty jokes only adults can catch...was truly enjoyable for stressed up ppl like us working our ass off most of our time...however, it a very predictable movie with little content in storyline...a good first attempt by Seinfield in the animation world but can always do better...

rating = 3 stars ( not much intellectual stimulation to look forward to, but a great movie to just stretch your legs n relax to...)



Today marks the celebration of a new year for all Indians all over the world...so wishing everyone a happy deepavali n may the year to come will bring great joy to us all!! Was invited by Aunt Rajamah to celebrate the joy of Deepavali at her place, with the rest of the microbiolgy lab team ( used to work with them back at arc..), had great food and laughter, reminiscing those good times we had...really missed those crazy lots!! Looking forward to an outing with the micro gang again to celebrate one of our lot's b'dae... :)

Work at gleneagles hospital has been manageable, but will be trying to have a glimpse of our the workflow is like in immunology dptmt whenever I get the chance, since that will be my next destination for training sooner or later...other than that, most of the time hanging out with my baby doing workouts in the gym n continue our running regime...truthfully speaking, it is quite hard to pick myself up again to run after the recent 5k, n making time for running n all...but there's always time for improvement, n I'm doin my best to stay in shape currently.... :)

book review....

The latest book I've read so far is from Jodi Picoult - The Pact...regarding a teenage couple who have shared most of their lives together since birth they were as 2 sides of the same coin...they grew up together..becoming from childhood playmates to lovers up to discovering sexuality together...resulting in the girl becoming pregnant...leading her to suffer from depression and thus having suicidal thoughts as she also once a victim of sexual abuse...I feel that she was rather selfish to keep the truth from her bf...and not to give her loved ones the opportunity to show her what true love is all about...great book..I love the scenes in court best, the points both prosecution n defense team brought up help us see the possible different angles of what might have happened the night of the suicide...the bf was to be convicted for first degree murder of the gf...the legal repercussions and emotional suffering by families of both parties...which boils down to one question at the end of the day...how far will you go for your loved one? because for this young guy named Chris, he went as far as helping his gf commit suicide to end her pains...despite not understanding why death is her only solution...n feel like dying of pain himself with every second of guilt n confusion caused by her decision...

rating = 5 stars ( exceptionally heart wrenching n overflowing with suspense yet full of space for intellectual stimuation )...( read : great for nerds like me!! )

My current reading is...



( 5 stars )
One of the greatest book I've read in my entire life! Extremely nerve-wrecking and exciting...love the twist revealed near the end of the book...looking forward to the show for this one...quite sad though that this is the last Harry Potter book...great lessons for people of all ages to learn from...the meaning of true love and sacrifice...not everyone is strong enough to portray the values Harry showed in the last book...superb book!

selamat hari raya to all muslims!!

The festive of Hari Raya marks the end of one month of fasting by Muslims...all those times you get to break fast together with your loved ones- be it in posh restaurants or ur humble homes - gives you the opportunity to have the same short term goal with them; to overcome all feelings of hunger and thirst and go through daily life activities as per normal...and celebrate the victory at the end of it all...

The most prominent change most Muslims will experience is weight loss...mine was quite drastic..I weighed from 45kg to a measly 40kg...which caught my loved ones' attention, but hubby's adoration..lol...can't wait to resume my running and workout regimes again...yeah!

shape run 2007 outcome...

Finally...the outcome of Shape Run...I wasn't part of the first few runners of course...but the cert was simple with a humble timing of 38min and 5 sec( read: it was better than I expected cos I trained for 40 min..)...will try to improve my timing for next yr's run...

a week more before hari raya! yeah!

Phew!! Can't believe how fast time flies by me nowadays...been busy working my ass off at gleneagles, being trained to handle the blood bank section at the lab...it was nerve-recking initially, with ppl calling you last minute for blood and blood products, demanding it urgently, prompting u to act fast to make all the necessary arrangements to ensure the patient does nt die in OT cos of insufficient blood to transfuse....

The good news is I just graduated from blood bank, n will be learning slide reading (read: to the dismay of my colleagues who believed it would be impossible to teach me from scratch considering the hectic mornings...)...all in all, fasting month teaches me to strengthen my faith and be a more patient person...nt only that,I learnt how precious time n blood is...( read: currently the centre of transfusion medicine is experiencing low blood supply..so pls donate blood..! I can't though cos I'm underweight...lol )

On a lighter note, one of my tuition kids shared with me her experience playing an Korean online dance game called 'Audition'...curious as I was, I surfed the net to find out more bout' it and was hooked!! it's really great practice for ur psycho-motor skills...I just loooove such games!! :) it involves great chinese tracks and beautiful choreography!

What I've been up to nowadays....

Fasting month has begun and it's sapping away the Muslims' energy faster than any other months in the year...it's understandable, but no excuse for not going through our daily lives n activities as normal...May all the Muslims persevere together in remembrance of the poor n our prophet Muhammad...



My current read are 2 books : Letters from Iwo Jima ( by Kumiko Kakehashi )...war from the Japanese troops' eyes...which inspired Clint Eastwood's film...it's more like studying literature n history...rather like reading up on a dcumentary on past events...very inspiring n touching at the same time...lots of valuable values can be learnt from the commander's character, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi - a loving husband, father, yet a well-respected commander due to his superior experience n skills in war techniques, yet so humble at the same time...the book shows the sweet n moving letters he wrote to his family....letters so different from the other soldiers out at war...



Another interesting book I'm concurrently reading is 'You Can't Have Him - He's Mine', a woman's guide to affair-proofing her relationship...by Marie H Browne who co-wrote this book with her daughter...an essential book for all women who already have a soul-mate n wanting to preserve her long term relationship or marriage to a guy...how to maintain the spark n fire in the relatinship, n add more spice to it...maintaining a very happy n fulfilling relationship for both partners...




My current project is glass painting!! Had several motifs in mind, bought the essential glass paint colours I had in mind...all the necessary resources are available...just left putting everything together on a normal-looking scientific flask to make it look more appealing n designer-like for modern vases...thought of selling them too if everything went smoothly...started trying out my designs already...so grateful my hubby is supportive of my crazy ideas...

Especially to my idea of designing our personal scrapbook...which I feel is the hardest project...but will try to put things beautifully together despite being busy working...lol...

Shape Run 2007!!

The 5k run was easier than the 10k I ran last year except the terrain isn't as smooth as training on the stadium tracks....I gave my best shot to give my best timing to beat next year....maybe I finished in abt half an hour...( read:my thunder thighs slightly sore now...)..the runner's kit was fantastic! From beauty n health vouchers to products as well as a beautiful sling bag( everything costing $1000 worth of value )...the nike shirt given to us was cute n pretty..( hopefully my pic will turn out fine...unlike last yr when they snapped a shot of me running with a cramp..lol ) Would need new shoes for new races though cos I can feel my Asics wearing out...

A beautifully written romantic song I will melt to....n I can listen repeatedly, n repeatedly without getting myself bored to death...lol

my holiday so far...2 more days to go...

On Monday,3 Sept 2007, my hubby went to the Army Open House again, as planned earlier, in the morning just to get us tickets to 2 rides...so after work, we rushed to Pasir Laba camp to enjoy our rides...ours were in the evening, n we got the opportunity of a lifetime to ride on a Bronco..( read : even though we prefer getting our butts on the LSV, light strike vehicle )...the last ride was on a tunner in a simulated journey into the aspects of war...steps taken, how they have a short briefing before n after the war, we get to see upclose all the diff tanks fire blanks..( it was very noisy n heart-thumping, even with ear plugs on...) all in all, we were very satisfied with the whole experience... :)


We enjoyed a movie called the 'Ratatouille' at Vivocity...I will personally give it a 4-star rating...beautiful features, some wise lessons to learn from the movie, but quite simple and predictable content( about a rat with a passion to cook n managed to live his dreams despite the fact that he's just a rat... )..thus, the best animation award I will still give to 'Meet The Robinsons'...which when compared to, is a gorgeous artpiece containing invaluable family values...a notch above the rest...!!

The rest of the days we went around finding different kinds of items to buy to make a personal scrapbook of our journeys through life together, right from scratch... :) I learnt a lot...it is a painstaking process to put together a beautiful scrapbook..so many things to think of....

Tomorrow will be the day...Shape Run 2007!! So nervous!! My goal for tomorrow will be to get the best timing I can get for my 5k run...

looking forward to my whole week of holiday!!!

My whole week of annual leave starts next wednesday, n currently I have a lot of things in mind to spend the week together with my hubby...yesterday after work, I rushed to Pasir Laba Camp with my hubby to join the crowd in the Army Open House...it was fantastic but quite large n u need to walk around alot...to make it more exhausting, it was a very hot day...we went there hoping to get on the rides but to our dismay the rides were already full house at 11am..(read : we were there at 2pm)

Thought of trying our luck again after work on monday( the last day of the open house..) I was the one suggesting to go to the event cos I would love to experience the atmosphere my hubby went tru for his national service days...we got to take some beautiful pics upclose of the high tech gadgets anyway...( apache / chinook / slv )


After that I went to meet up with a group of frens for dinner at Al-Sheikh Restaurant...we had a great time together, especially taking neoprints ( again ) at Bugis....the food wasn't that fantastic to me but the serving was enormous, but we got to dine in a cosy corner of the restaurant...the whole place sounded more like a canteen than a restaurant after that..lol

Something interesting to share though...discovered a drink called Bavarian Beer, but it was supposedly 0.0% non-alcoholic drink...so does this mean Muslims can drink beer on Earth already? Cos from what I learnt from my religious classes, Muslims will only get to enjoy halal beer in heaven...only God can make us the halal version...lol...???

life is not a bed of roses nowadays...

Considering having to juggle 5 kids ( 4 sitting for O-lvls tis yr )to teach personally every week, reading up materials ( self-study ) from scratch to update my knowledge on haematological concepts to understand better what's going on in the stat lab (gleneagles) I'm working in right now, as well as keeping in shape (running at least twice a week with a slot of gym), and spending valuable time with my hubby left almost n time for me to go online to update this blog...hehe..the latest thing I did to myself was to cut my hair short n went for a complete rebonding!!

My current read for this week is rather interesting.."the new Conspiracy Reader", a compilation of articles by experts of conspiracy theories spanning the world's headlines everyday...who will make u crack ur brain n open up ur mind to look at a certain topic or discussion from another perspective...ranging from terrorism issues to paranormal to science n even warfare technologies...

Missed the opportunity of a lifetime last week (read : due to work commitments) to follow my family n relatives to Batu Pahat in Malaysia to visit some relatives there and to provide some financial contributions to those in need...life back there is very simple...n peaceful...n the most beautiful part I missed is joining the gang hiking up a hill ( almost 1000m high )to enjoy bathing under a beautiful waterfall..( everyone didn't make it to the top however..lol )...but made it down down with bloody legs (sucked by leeches!!!muahaha!!!)n they enjoyed small waterholes along the way...here's one of the vids taken while they were trekking uphill Sri Medan in Batu Pahat (Johor)....

work hard, play hard!!

Despite being away from work for almost 3 days nw, I'm still working hard with my hubby to keep my body in shape n build up my stamina for the upcoming 'Shape Run' nxt month...can't wait for the real event to start, considering the great gift packs n health vouchers amounting to almost $900 that I'm gonna receive after completing the race, as well as a certificate of participation n my bib to keep for memory sake...hehe...worked so hard in the gym especially( 2 days ago), that I can still feel my muscles aching til now...my legs are still good though, no aches whatsoever...

Been trying to keep up with my readings as well as read up on haematology concepts before I go back to gleneagles tis friday...the concepts are quite tough considering there's so many ranges and figures u have to memorise, keeping in mind the stories told beyond those figures...so as to be able to explain to any doctors quering for interpretation of results later...Most importantly though, been spending LOTS of time with my loved one - my hubby!! slacking arund hard, but we reminded each other not to forget our goals n the achievements we have planned to complete by the end of each day....

almost a week off work!! yahoo...!!!

So happy since today is the beginning of my days off work- in the lab, but still giving personal tuition as per normal...days working in gleneagles is very interesting cos I'm still in the learning phase mode...more still to learn, n even borrowed a haematology txtbk from a colleague..(read: posted to haematology departmt)...discovered a laundry service there which I find cool, and a snack bar!! ( my fav spot back @ arc lab )..have to come back to arc lab (the main lab) to do late shift though...very tiring doing processing n gram reading...(as I normally take charge of serology n urinalysis section)...

Anyway, sooner or later I will be taught how to handle the blood bank deptmt ( the most stressful n nerve-racking section!! )...swell...when the going gets tough, the tough must get going...

Went to chill out with my friends yesterday after half-day work n slacking with my hubby @ the library..(my colleagues back @ arc..) til quite late as they said they missed me as they won't be seeing my face going back to the main lab until 2 weeks later...went for dinner @ 'Secret Recipe'- the food is 2/5, n the service is quite unbearable considering the waiter dropped my fren's orange juice into her lap, n very slow service....

went by foot to bugis after dinner, just to take pictures in neoprint!! we had a swell of a great time...followed by hugs of friendship at the end of the day....going out with my family for lunch later @ 'Eatzi Steakhouse' before teaching tuition, n go running with my hubby, n continue with another session of tuition at nite....life is so hectic..
(A short, blur video of our family @ Eatzi Steakhouse..)

life must go on as usual...

Just lost a loved one - my grandfather, on the 23rd of Aug, when he fell down n died instantaneously...the doctor confirmed the cause of death as due to congestive heart failure n ischaemic heart disease..easy said..heart attack..my whole family will be holding several sessions of prayers recital these few days...including today itself- in remembrance of all our loved ones who have gone...

Latest news - will be posted to Gleneagles Hospital Stat Lab coming wednesday, but have to come back several times to ARC lab to do late duties...due to insufficient staff capable of doing the late duties...will be buying lunch for all my colleagues as a token of appreciation for all the times they have taught me new things in the lab...

On a lighter note... watched 'The Simpsons' movie...it was fantastically hilarious!! expect to laugh off your seats!! :) but the content was thin though...the humour was almost in every second of the show... great cartoon to relax your minds n destress...!!