I knew when I first signed up for my own domain and webhosting two years back that this might eventually happen. I had originally plonked down the cash for a plethora or reasons: branding; space for an online portfolio if need be; customisation (beyond what any free blog service offers); space for ads that can bring me some much-needed dough; and just the thrill of having my very own dot-com to call my own.

Two years on, however, it is clear that most of my original reasons no longer stand, either due to lack of success garnering readers, priorities which got shafted or just pure laziness (probably the latter, mostly). The branding and ads never really worked out, since I never got the reader size I was hoping for (although I did make a small-ish amount in the past few months, it wasn’t anywhere near enough to even foot for the hosting bill); I never got down to making that portfolio (especially since my current career trajectory is veering away from writing, which is about all I have a portfolio for); the beauty of customisation was totally wasted on me (I think I changed my template a total of, like two times) and, while having a domain to call my own is still pretty cool, I don’t think it necessarily warrants me spending all that cash just for that. The web-hosting and domain package I got was actually pretty cheap but, even then, it’s probably a wiser (and wallet-friendlier) choice for me to head back to a free service.

Come 11th December, my current contract will be expiring and this blog will be closed down. I will be heading back to Blogger (URL at the bottom!) so it’s not like I’m gonna be gone (not to fret, all your seven readers of mine!). So, whoever you are out there who’s reading this, I really hope you stay with me, even if I don’t have the exceptionally cool and simple “.com” at the end of my URL anymore.

This blog has been an awesome ride but sometimes free really is better.

Adieu!

http://pokemymon.blogspot.com

Uncle: *says something about starting to take chlorophyll supplements for health

Me: “Oh, isn’t that what they use in swimming pools?”

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And just as I realised what I had said and cringed, my mum offered up a zinger of her own:

“Noooooo! That’s the one they use to cover people’s mouths and kidnap them with!”

Family of scientists, we are.

After months of deliberation (exacerbated by the release announcements of new models), I finally decided to get my little bookworm hands on an Amazon Kindle and placed an order last week. And it came on Friday!

Excitedly tried to get the box open but was heavily challenged by the Herculean task of getting the darn tape off (video of my epic fail at the end of the post). Still, my inner masculinity prevailed at the end of the day and unveiled my new toy!

I got the basic Kindle (non-touchscreen) but without ads. Don’t need all the fancy stuff (a la the Fire). Just wanted a no frills but nice and dedicated e-reader.

It really is very small! And light. Awesome.

The matt back is pretty cool and easy on the eyes as well.

Have been playing with it on and off for the past few days and it’s been pretty cool. The web browsing and typing are pretty terrible but that’s not what I got it for anyway. Haven’t started reading on it proper yet because I still have a pulp book that I’m trying to polish off but I’m so excited to try hardcore reading on it soon.

And, just to end this post off awesomely, here’s one of the very first videos of me on this blog, with my epic-fail unwrapping:

I might not have written about it in quite a while but I’m actually pretty fond of taking part in the occasional running event or two (not competitively, of course, seeing as I have all the speed of a glacial flow). Although I haven’t done one in a long time (no time, too late for registration, no running buddies, expensive, other miscellaneous excuses reasons) and I missed last year’s Nike run after going for the first two (down with migraine), I forced myself to wake up at 5.30am this morning, after four hours of sleep, to take a train on a Journey to the East and join this year’s Nike run, We Run SG, at the Kallang Stadium.

Signed up with Wei Jian and, although I did see a few familiar faces from NS and uni while running through the heaving masses, I didn’t actually get to chat with or take photos with many friends, unlike the previous years.

I did get to meet up with Say Wee briefly, though, so that was pretty cool (although, given the weather at that time, it was actually more hot).

I have to say that, honestly, this year’s race was a little bit of a letdown. To be fair, it had its strengths. The registration process was a breeze, as was collection of the race pack. There were plenty of signs during the actual race, too, along with ample water points and very energetic and encouraging marshals. Plus, although the customised t-shirt (with our bib numbers printed on it) and water bottle already more than made up for the registration price, this year’s finisher gift was pretty awesome too (a far cry from the past years’ bracelets and figurines).

Can you guess what this is?

It’s a thumbdrive! It’s kinda huge, the cap is kinda hard to get off and the storage space is only 2gb (which is measly these days) but it still makes for an awesome, unexpected gift, especially since I need one right now. Boy, am I glad I decided to trudge out of bed this morning.

Having said all that, however, the route was drably planned this year, with repetitive back-and-forths on the same, long roads, very cramped running pathways (at no point during the entire run did I get to not have to weave in and out of the crowd, avoiding bumping into people and having my momentum stymied due to human blockages) as well as a disorganised bag collection system (despite the fact that I had a tag number and all, the poor fella’ behind the desk had to search for my bag for ten whole minutes).

Plus, they had this very haphazard, cramped pathway leading to the starting point that was messy and muddy, leading to this hot mess at the end of the race:

(And you should see my toenails after I took off the socks. “Barney” wouldn’t even begin to cover it.)

Still, it was a good morning run (with pretty fantastic weather) and I haven’t done such a long jog in such a long time. Felt so good. Plus, I got to witness a live proposal on stage!

I just happened to saunter past the stage area at this point after the race was over (for me) and the emcees (I think it was Utt but I couldn’t tell behind the huge shades) called this couple out, either for doing a lucky draw or collecting their prize or something. And then he said the fella’ had something to say.

And what he had to say? Was right out of a cheesy romcom flick. Something along the lines of “Baby, I’m your prize. And you’re mine. But you’re priceless.” Which was just GOLD. Alas, I couldn’t whip out my camera in time to capture the video of it. Of course, he then whipped out the ring from goodness knows where (did he run an entire 10km with it?!) and that’s when the crowd majorly escalated from excited murmurs to cheers and whoops.

The fella must have been really confident of his success rate or really desperate to pull this on his girlfriend in a so-darn-malu situation like that but congrats to them all the same (yes, she said yes, of course).

So, while the race itself had its ups and downs (although I guess I really shouldn’t complain so much, since the registration is pretty cheap and it was a pretty mega event), it definitely provided a good workout. Of course, immediately after that, Wei Jian and I had this for brunch:

Healthy huh?

Annnnnnndddd…I know it’s been a billion years since I’ve popped by here again. And I do apologise to all those of you who’ve been hanging on the edge of your swivel chairs waiting for me to post up my next amazing entry (Hey! You there! Stop sniggering!). Been packed the past few weeks preparing for two mid-term tests as well as working my behind off at my new job (more on that in a future entry).

So, I’m not gonna promise anything because goodness knows, after breaking so many empty promises, I actually can learn a lesson once in a while but I will definitely try to resume more slightly regular blogging over the next few days now that I’m in a slightly less busy period.

Meanwhile, here’re some pictures of McDonald’s new (well, new at the time I took the shots) Horlicks McFlurry to tide you over:

The McFlurry is actually one of my favouritest desserts ever, what with it being a combination of ice cream (my chief guilty pleasure) and Oreos (another guilty pleasure) and, at one time, awesome peppermint.

Recently, however, some of McD’s efforts at spicing up the line have been, to put it mildly, bombs. The “mudpie” flavour was literally just a McFlurry with the hot fudge sundae…fudge splashed all over it, priced at almost 50% higher. And don’t even get me started on the Strawberry Shortcake one, which was just all sorts of wrong. This new Horlicks one, though, is actually pretty good.

Unlike the others, it didn’t feel like just the usual McFlurry with some random ingredients piled on it that didn’t actually improve it much. Here, this one tastes almost totally different from the Oreo classic, the strong Horlicks flavour making for an interesting (and pretty yummy) treat.

Plus, when I went to get it (there was a one-for-one promotion!), they even gave out packs of Horlicks Malties, which I’m still saving up for a rainy (muggish) day.

Go try it now. Go!

Was pretty excited when I woke up this morning to an email telling me that my Pottermore account is ready, several weeks after I signed up for it. (For those who don’t know, Pottermore is this website that…well, no one knows what it actually is/does. But, since it’s an official site that promises exciting (and cryptic) additional content and surprises, it’s taken the world [well, Potter fandom, which I guess is in fact the world] by storm, running out of its limited daily invites in a matter of minutes.)

So I logged in and, since I was supposed to be studying, just fiddled around a little, clicked on a random sequence of buttons and promptly got lost.

As mentioned, I logged off after a few minutes of random reading, only to find out from a friend that I could actually go take a questionnaire to get myself sorted into a house and get a wand (or rather, as she said, let the wand get me)! So, the next break I got, I decided to log in to try my luck.

Of course, I promptly forgot that the username was some unique thing the site gave me (instead of my default one I use for many such non-valuable-info sites), entered my password wrongly a gajillion times in a row and got locked out.

Bummer.

I fondly remember when Borders opened its first (and arguably most famous…I mean, I didn’t even know Parkway Parade had one till I randomly visited the mall one day last year) branch, all the way back in 1997. As a bookworm brought up in a land where the biggest two book store options consisted of a mega-franchise that focused more on stationery and horrifying assessment books or a way smaller chain with a limited range, no store aesthetic and sometimes grimy books (since it focused more on renting books than selling them), Borders Singapore represented something never seen before – an overwhelmingly large store size; a (then) impressive range of shiny new books; comfy, inviting decor; soothing music; friendly, knowledgeable staff (as opposed to the “Oh, whatever we have is on the shelf *lazy wave of hand in general direction*” I’m sure most of us have experienced at some time or other at one of the others) and a cafe – it wasn’t just a big book store (definitely not this way, at least), it was an entire experience.

Although bigger, flashier (and more well-stocked) chains later opened up and the increasing bustle of teenage/adult life left me with less chances and time to visit it, it’s still always held a special place in my heart (much as, cheesy as it sounds, a first-love). I might have gone to Kino for its incredible selection but that didn’t mean I didn’t hop into Wheelock Place every opportunity I got, if just to visit a place that held awesome (if not terribly distinct) memories.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was blind to its decline since its heyday. Even before its parent company in Australia declared bankruptcy (although the Singapore branch maintained their autonomy, there was nonetheless this feeling of uncertainty amongst its customers or, at least, me), the branch had obviously seen better days. The shelves were half-empty, the range pitiful, many of the available books in decidedly un-mint condition and it seemed that the store runners had abandoned any effort of keeping the place up. And, although its recent closure was attributed to a rental dispute rather than bankruptcy and it could be that it could return someday, it seemed as final a nail in the coffin as anything.

So, to Borders Singapore, it’s been a wild (if ultimately anti-climatic) ride, man. I’ll miss you.

Saw this banner for Breadtalk’s egg tart promotion whilst out gai-gai-ing today and I thought it was totally cute. Totally the Tan I’d vote for.

Today’s Magic: the Gathering Daily Card of the Day segment was pretty much the most awesome one ever.

…which prompted this following conversation with Wei Jian:

Totally, right!

Ok, not exactly (although that is totally Wolverine’s predecessor. I mean, check out those knuckle claws!).

It does have a more gorilla-ish ‘spirit’ual successor though…

Geddit geddit? I am damn funny, right?.

Sources of photos: Magic Cards Info

[eta: Ok I went to do some research on Alliances storyline and it's disappointingly gorilla-free. Still, I realised that Simian Spirit Guide is a timeshifted version of Elvish Spirit Guide. And guess which set Elvish Spirit Guide was originally from? *insertNOWAYMINDBLOWNgifhere*]

A couple of days ago, as I was heading out (no doubt to some happening party or something like that because I’m such a wild child eat), I saw this little notice that had been slipped under my door:

I actually did a double-take to make sure that I was reading right and that water supplies were going to be cut (or rather, “interrupted”) for five whole hours. In modern-day Singapore! Ok, I have to qualify that I’m not actually whining or being all #firstworldproblems about this. I was just surprised because I don’t remember something like this happening to me in recent (or even not-so-recent) memory.

Still, while it wasn’t a water-rationing exercise like in the days of ol’, the nett effect (that I wouldn’t have water to use at home for the few hours before I headed to church on that day) was the same. So, when the day arrived, I rushed to shower at 12.45pm and filled up a large bucket of water for washing hands/mouth/face/feet (hey, beggars can’t be choosers).

And then, satisfied with my amazing ability of forethought and preparedness, I sat back to relax and eat and do whatever else it is I do at home, safe in the knowledge that I’d have water if I needed it…only to discover on every single try in the next few hours that the water supply wasn’t cut.

After that, I spoke to my mum and she was all, like, “yeah you didn’t know, meh? It probably meant intermittent interruptions, not a total cease.”

CHEY. The pail ended up feeding mosquitoes only (don’t worry, I poured it away as soon as I could, cleaning my toilet in the process, so you don’t need to get all NEA on me!).