The Muted Bravado of a SMG: June 2005

Monday, June 27, 2005

Gone Fishin'

Sorry, too busy enjoying life to blog.

Rock cod, anyone?

Friday, June 24, 2005

The new MSN craze!

"i don't wanna get hurt - i just wanna hurt animals in an extremely unfair and one-sided way."

Read this for more information!

Change your MSN information today!

P.S. Thanks to Louis for writing something I can link to, hence saving me the trouble of writing it myself. And thanks to JM, my brother-in-straitjacket, for inspiration for the whole thing in the first place. I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the arse in the future.. haha!

And Kungfu Hustle's lollipop girl is so chio! *heartpain*

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Does this mean I'm not cool?

You're Not a Hipster!
Take What sort of Hipster are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You're actually not much of a Hipster. Congratulations! You may have Hipster style, but you're healthy, you eat right, you have a decent job you enjoy, your finances are stable, you plan on buying a house (if you don't already own one) and settling down before you're 35, you have friends you like, your friends like you, and you can honestly say you're pretty damn happy. Perhaps you should adopt a Hipster and draw them into your perfect lair . . .

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Perth Photoblog 4: Explorations (Updated)

Wah lau time passes damn first here man. I'm like completely behind in all the things I wanted to do.. And now Lester will be arriving on monday and it'll be back to doing guy stuff, i.e. no exercising of brain matter. Ahh well.

Anyway.. this last photoblog of my first two weeks here (or as Louis pointed out, mainly first week, cos I have practically no photos from the second week) is of Perth and Fremantle la. We actually did some touristy things! Haha.

This is Perth, I think. All these shots are from Lewis' camera, by the way. In fact, most all the photos in all the blogs are from his camera. I don't like taking photos/being photographed much la, but evidently Lewis does. Haha. So yea thanks man.

Some artsy shot he took.

Another one. I think he mentioned he liked taking pictures of places he visits. Like architecture and stuff. I suppose that makes sense. Me, I like taking pictures of good food! Or cute chicks. But thats another story.

I like this shot! This was the hotel where the three of us (together with other guys from RI Guitar) stayed in.. 2000, I think. It was a CCA trip.. and it was where we got addicted to Domino's Pizza. Haha. Good memories, there.

Edit: Look what Louis found!

The old photo from the school trip! Can compare that with the current photo! Haha. Look at then chubby me with funny short hair and shades and compare with current chubby me with funny long hair and no shades. People do change with time, huh.

Another shot, but with JM too. Lewis didn't come on this trip, btw. We were guitar, he was NCC. That brother too garang la.

Proof that we got addicted to Domino's on that fateful 2000 trip.. haha!

Of course, we weren't as well trained then la. Look at JM, having trouble with a few slices of pizza. Compared to how much we consume now.

I don't like this shot. But this is the only one of two photos I have of Fremantle town.

This is the other one. Well, whatever la huh.

Edit: Another nostalgia photo courtesy of Louis!

We took more photos in Fremantle in 2000, for some reason. Maybe young kids more phototriggerhappy.

Fremantle is famous for its fish and chips! Me, I don't really like fish and chips -that- much.. I think its cos its too oily. But we ate at the supposedly best place, Cicerellos. We forgot to take pictures before the meal la (Guys eat first think later) so yea theres only some fish and chip remnants on the table. I must state though, that I really think fish and chips tastes better on paper. Though the oil-stained paper makes me feel sick.

So after the big meal, we decided to go climb rocks. Fremantle has these really long rock outcrops.. Breakwaters, I think, to create artificial bays.. Marinas to hold all the rich men's playthings. Louis saw a topless woman sunbathing on a yacht the last time we were here. He didn't this time, and was very disappointed. If you could look really close you'd see the tears in his eyes when he realised no boobies for him that day.

(Thats for being a lazy ass and linking to my blog, LT.)

Anyway it was pretty fun la, except for the fact that I was wearing really thin soled shoes, not realising that we were gonna go climbing rocks again. And my $300 spectacles kept threatening to fall off. Oh we saw a sea lion. Or a seal. Or a dugong or something.

Finally reached the end after.. I dunno, 15 minutes? Haha. Good fun though. And about the only time in the trip where we actually all sweated like hell. Damn hot, man.

Edit: One last blast from the past!

See? Proof that we climbed it the first time, and that we were actually dumb enough to do it again! Haha. JM didn't change though. Looks the same, just bigger. Strange.

Okay thats it! End of the photoblogs. Phew. Nice thing about photoblogging though is that it doesn't involve much thinking.. Just regurgitation. Like history in secondary school! Haha.

Friday, June 17, 2005

Music is forever beautiful

My blog has music! I'm happy.. haha. I'm so easily pleased.

Anyway, I gotta admit I ripped the code of Sandralicious. Yes, I'm so bad at html that I have to copy it from Pretty Blogger Blogs.

Sorry =p

But I have music, and I'm very much content.

I worry, I weigh three times my body
I worry, la di dah di doo.....

Monday, June 13, 2005

Perth Photoblog 3: Fishing Fanatics

Just had a huge dinner.. Satay-marinated roast chicken, spiced baked potato wedges, salad with avocado and sweet gherkins.. wah. I think if i lived alone I'd get damn fat cos I enjoy my own cooking so much.. haha.

Y'know I look back at my entries and i talk about cooking so much.. its actually sort of gay. But hey on the flipside, any lady I'm with will enjoy my culinary expertise, I tell you. But on the hand any lady I'm with has to know how to cook too.. Its only right, after all =p

Well anyway. I just started a fire.. so I'm feeling nice and warm now. Also, the half bottle of wine I just imbued probably helped. Which means I can't concentrate on my reading, which is what I really should be doing now.. So, blog lor. Haha.

Anyway, this blog is about the fishing we did. Fishing is fun! We have two rods, one which is mine, and one which belongs to Lester, who'll be joining me here come 20th Jan. We fished in Point Peron, which is this sticky-out piece of land on the coast. Good view on the way there, though.

So anyway, we had to negotiate a pretty interesting route to reach the rock outcrop where we fished from. Gary led us, the first time we were there. We were all slighty shocked at the amount of rock-climbing/bouldering we had to do, though. But it was fun la.. we guys enjoy that sorta thing. Haha. As long as its not really dangerous, anyway.

Incidentally, that long tube on my back.. thats my fishing rod case. I paid $30 for it.. but it was totally worth it, man. I can't imagine negotiating those climbs and stuff carrying an exposed rod in my hand.

Though come to think of it, it was actually sort of dangerous. Check out the breaking waves.. haha. I think if anyone fell he would've been washed out to the sharks pretty quick. Wait I think we knew that. I recall JM being slightly worried. Aiyah, my thought processes are a little foggy now.. The wine is getting to me a little bit. Just a little bit. Mmmm.

Gary, wondering why the hell we're so slow. Can't help it lah, we're just young Singaporean city-slickers. Not used to the rough and tumble of down under.. haha.

I was having a bit of trouble with that spot.. I blame it on my ankle. Just had an ankle operation, after all, its not that flexible yet.. yea =p

Anyway. We got to the outcrop safe and sound! And started fishing proper. Theres Gary teaching JM how to cast. JM picked it up pretty quick, and soon he had the best cast of us all. I think its because hes a bit mad and just enjoys the woosh of the rod as he casts.

(Though I gotta admit I'd like to have a bit of a woosh too.. But I cast pretty far and can get lots of fish, so I'm content la.. haha)

Louis was getting a bite here, I think. Notice the bend in the rod. No catch though..

But at least we got pro-looking fishing shots! Thats Lewis.

And thats JM fiddling with his rod. Maybe a tangle or something, I dunno. Still looks pro, though.

Yea this first day we fished, it was late afternoon, so we enjoyed gorgeous views of the sunset. The photos which have a bit of a golden-brownish tinge, thats cos we pointed the camera lens through Lewis' polaroid adidas (i think) lens shades. It was an excellent effect.. Kudos to Lewis who discovered it! The picture above is not polarised. Still nice.

This view, however, is through the polarised lens. Nicer, right? Or nice in a different, more unique, pro-looking sorta way.. haha.

Anyway we got bored from not catching fish the first day (we figured out why soon). But we found a bunch of blowfish stuck in the tidal pools on the outcrop.. So, boys being boys, we decided to mangle them. Throw rocks on them, that sorta thing.

Oh yea, and stick them through with Swiss Army Knives. Stabbing, courtesy of Louis Tan. Knife, courtesy of me. Knife sponsored by the Singapore Armed Forces. Heh.

Anyway, after we got back I found out off the net that the blowfish are related to pufferfish.. Apparently pretty dangerous. Good thing we didn't touch them heh. Apparently the other guys noticed them puffing up, but didn't point it out to me. Bitches =p

So.. No fish. So go home lor. At least we got nice photos (see above)!

After Louis went back, we had one more fishing expedition.. Caught 2 fish that day. But this old bloke fishing near us, he caught a whole bucketful! I went to talk to him, and figured out his secret.. He used a 3 ft trace line (we used 6 ft.. if you need explanations email me or google it) and he used prawn bait. We were using lures, which didn't work well at all at Point Peron.

Anyway after meeting that old man, we decided to fish again the next day, using his techniques. And since we were fully expecting to catch lots of fish, we decided to make a major expedition out of it. So, we prepared lots of food (guys mah.)! 2 x 6 inch sandwiches each (filled with goodness! Salami, tomatos, lettuce, cheese, sardines, mayo, cucumber.. ooooh). Chocolates (I only eat white). Corn chips. Cans of tuna and sardines.. We were prepared, man.

Oh ya, we brought bait too. River prawns! Not cheap, as I recall.. But worth it, if we catch lots of fish!

So we got there (the climb gets easier and easier the more you do it) and cast our baited lines in the water with baited (heh) breath. Thats Lewis using my rod and JM using Lester's rod. (Lester, if you read this, your rod is good, man. Has a nice sensitive tip.)

And the fish bit! And bit! And bit! I would have pictures of them biting but we were too busy catching. Anyway Uncle Gary and Aunty Dolores came over to visit us mid morning, and Aunty Dolores helped us gut all the herring we had caught by then. Those seagulls just had a huge feast on the fish guts. Yea, the bloody patch was the site of the gutting.. Heh.

So anyway, by the time we stopped fishing we had caught 29 herring! And thats excluding the ones we let free cos they were too small.. Apparently theres laws against bringing home small fish. Well, whatever! We got lots of fish anyway! Though all the fish we caught were like before lunchtime.. Way I figure it, the fish only feed in the morning, so thats why we'll only catch them then.

So, we enjoyed the fish we caught for dinner. Yay!

Makes me happy just looking at the photos.. Haha. I just wish the rain would ease up so I can go fishing again without being worried about caught in a storm.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Perth Photoblog 2: Culinary Escapades

I AM DAMN BLOODY COLD. You may have noticed theres now a Perth temperature thingy at the sidebar, underneath the Flickr badge. If its below 15 degrees, i'm freezing my bloody ass off. And that doesn't even take into account windchill.

Last night I met this old bloke, hes a friend of my hosts. Well, as we all know, heat opens up your pores and cold closes them up.. thats the principle which saunas work behind, after all. So basically he convinced me that I should try have a warm shower, followed by a cold one.. apparently he does it all the time and its working wonders for him. So I just tried it out lah. Now your question is.. does it work? Well, I don't know if it works, but I have a sneaky feeling over here, the cold water closes up your pores by turning into ice in them. Bloody hell it was like being doused in ice.

Alright, enough whining (for today la haha its still gonna be bloody cold tmr, and two days from now, and ....).

On to blog proper!

Before coming to Perth, we had decided that we'd do lots of cooking. For the guys who don't usually cook, its a chance to pick up some much needed culinary expertise.. y'know, to cook for the girlfriends or as a technique to get a girlfriend. So, we planned to devote quite a substantial amount of time to cooking. It didn't really work out as planned (we were too busy doing other things, like watching dvds haha) but we still managed to cook on a couple of occasions.

Of course, guys being guys, we had to have a few unhealthy meals la. This would be an example of that. Basically, its some left-over hamburger patties, doused in sauces and grilled with sauteed onions. Damn bloody good. But I think most girls would feel their arteries start clogging up just looking at the dish. Heh.

So we also made other stuff. Heres JM happily mixing a bowl of cream pie filling.

And here he is, happily filling the pie crust with above said filling.

Louis is happy too, taking credit for other people's work (HA! EXPOSED YOU! =p) (I'm just kidding! Louis is indispensible. Besides, he has lots of Tim-tam Orgasms.) (Or at least he did. Its been nearly two weeks since he went home with the twenty packs. I wonder how many there are left.)

We used whipped cream in the filling. We also have strawberries. So Lewis made the obvious connection.

While waiting for the pie to set, I decided to make some Anzac cookies. I don't know if its cookies made to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp, or whether the cookies were their combat rations. If the latter, damn they have it pretty good. Anyway, one of the guys, I don't remember who, suggested I make them in the shape of s**t. So I did.

Incidentally, thats the Chicks Dig Me t-shirt.

S**t cookies in the oven. Well I suppose my batter was too moist la. Think I overkilled on the margerine. So as any baker would know, the cookies ended up looking normal. Disappointing.

But on the flip side, our Strawberry & Almond Cream Pie was bloody gorgeous!

And tasted damn good too =)

We made two, for Aunty Dolores' BBQ-cum-birthday-party. Everyone said it was damn good. Although it was a bit too sweet la. (If we made perfect desserts, we'd be making big bucks working for hotel cafes.)

I mentioned it was a BBQ birthday party, right? So, BBQ means.. RAMLY BURGER! Louis making up for lost time here.

And me, BBQing up a storm. I found out the hard way that Ramly Burgers are bloody hard to do. Those Ramly Burger sellers have incredible technique.

And JM assembles the burger, complete with.. well, everything.

The Ramly Burger is complete! A work of beauty. Though we decided the two patties was probably overkill. Too much meat, maybe.

I didn't think so, though. But I got strong carnivorous stomach la. Powerful like lion. And also Lewis and I shared a burger.. haha. Too much food that night la.

Okay thats it. We also made tiramisu that turned out very well, but thats in Lewis' camera. And we also made snacks like baked potatos with herbs and butter. And cayenne-pepper spiced egg mayo. And I don't remember what else. But no more photos, so too bad =p

Sensitive Medieval Gentleman? Super Macho Guy? Sub-Machine Gun? Silently Mad Goonybird?

: Name: Đirestraits; Location: The East, Singapore

Yet another guy hurling his trash all over the great rubbish dump of the universe. (Well not really. Just trying to fill each space, really. Unfilled blanks make me feel rather uneasy. Like they're going to swallow up the world or something.)

View my complete profile

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from direstraits. Make your own badge here.