Songs & Magix

18th July, 2009 ~ Was invited to a music event by Smith, a friend who is the marketing executive of PoMo, a newly revamped shopping mall at Selegie Road once known as Paradiz. It is a fortnightly event organized by YouthBox. Hamster me who couldn't sing even to save my life, dragged my friend, Nath to the event. Nath's hobby is singing & she is quite competitive in it. She had participated in many singing contests & won quite a few prizes. So, with full confidence, we went to this event. xD

On Stage!


The event was held at the basement of the mall. The stage was quite small due to space constrain.

Event Location


It was more like an open karaoke than a music event. Nath was the first singer & she belted out a lovely Mandarin song which in my opinion, the best effort of the whole event. Well... in a sense, at the event, compared to those kid singers there, Nath can be considered as quite the pro. xD

Singing Star, Nathalia


At the event, we were introduced to Derek, owner of Secret Skills Enterprise, an up-market magic school which provides exclusive course in the art of magic. It also claimed to be the first magic school in Singapore to have their own magic apparels & accessories.

Schooled in Secret Skills! xD


We were shown around the place, introduced to some aspiring magicians & Derek, the Chief Magician illusional-ed us with his magic skills. Magic had always interest & intrigues me, but poor bimbo hamster me just couldn't get the drift of it! Always got bluff! =P

Bluffed by Magix! xD


Inspiring to be a magician? Are you good enough to join the rank of magicians? Find out @ Secret Skills!
Secret Skills is at: #02-05, PoMo, Selegie Road. Contact: 6337 3977.

We have Secret Skills! =P


After all those magical moments, what's more appropriate than to go watch Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince? xD

Harry Potter Movie Poster


The movie isn't any good in my opinion. Plot falls flat, without logic & reason. Very childish storylines with so obvious outcomes. I think this is the worst installation of the whole series so far. I watched it coz I wanna finish the whole thing since watching the first Harry Potter movie so long ago. Maybe I'd outgrown it. Lets hope the final ending wouldn't be a disappointment or anticlimax. Won't be crossing my fingers over that! Well... what to expect of a children story written by a woman? LOL! xD

In Memory of My Grandfather

Wednesday, 8th July, 2009 ~ That's the date my beloved grandpa went to heaven. He is 92 years of age. This is the first time in my life I lost a close relative. People told me I shouldn't cry as grandpa had a long, wonderful & fruitful life, but the silly girl in me grieved & cried many times. It had been slightly more than a week already. Had took me that long to get over it or rather, stable-minded enough to write about it. I wanna put in down in words, the memories of those few days when it's still so clear in my mind. For remembrance, to pay tribute & say a final farewell to my dear grandpa.

A Tribute to My Grandfather


When I was much younger, I stay with my grandparents. Had very fond memories of an enjoyable time in their big house & garden. My grandpa was a very nice & gentle guy, always cheerful, always having a big smile for us kids, always helpful. As kids, my brother & me were very mischievous. When we got into serious trouble, grandpa will the only one who will tried to make our punishments lighter, shielding us from the wrath of our parents. He will be there for me when I feel sad or cried, always managed to cheered me up no matter what. When I grew older, staying at my parents' house which is quite a distance from my grandparents' home, I visited them as much as I could. With much sadness, I watched my grandpa grew older, feebly, unable to move or do much on his own. Sad for him as he had been an active man. Whenever I saw him in his helpless conditions, I cried, but always hiding my tears from him. My grandpa is also a very brave, a non-complaining kind of person who suffered in silence, never utter a sound of pain, never letting anyone see how much pain he had in order not to cause problems or worries for others around him. I found out much later, from doctor's report, that actually, he was in constant pain during the last few days of his life. He kept up the brave front till the very end. We never knew. He will never let us know. That's my brave & gallant grandpa!

The very last pic I'd with my grandpa was taken at my grandparents' home on Lunar New Year, 6.10 pm, Thursday, 29th January, 2009.

Me with my grandma & grandpa


The evening before my grandpa passed away, I remember very vividly there was a bright full moon in the sky. I'd noticed many full moon before, but I dunno why I was intrigued by that evening's full moon. It was very beautiful, especially when I noticed a plane flying by it, silhouetted by the huge bright moon. Was a lovely sight, but at the same time, I felt coldness. Later, immediately after dinner, I had stomach cramp, ache & went to toilet to dump. The morning after, at about 10 am, I received a call from my dad saying that my grandpa is gone, I'd felt no emotion, no reaction. Was like sort of expecting it. Strange thing was, later at the funeral parlor, my dad mentioned that on the evening before, my grandpa had voided all his body's wastes, causing my dad to cleaned him up many times. It was like my grandpa seemed to know that he had to cleanse himself before he goes to heaven. That was the same time I had my stomachache. On the first evening of the funeral rituals, there was also a full moon overhead, this time with a beautiful rainbow halo around it.

Full Moon Night


During the 3 days of the funeral rituals, I'd strange feelings that my grandpa was beside me many times. While asleep at the place, my brother told me he dreamt grandpa came to hug him. On the third day, after the sea burial which my grandpa had wished for, I went back to my room in the late evening. When I opened the door, I noticed a moth in the room. It flew in a circle & suddenly zoomed passed me out of the room. Silly hamster me screamed & cried. Was frighten out of my wits! Fortunately, my soulmate was there to calm me down. My room's windows & door were closed all those days when I was away at the rituals. How did that moth get in?!? Local folklore tells of soul of the departed coming back as butterfly or moth to bid a final farewell to those they love the most. Was that my dear grandpa telling me goodbye?
Those happenings & connections might sound ridiculous, but still... Whatever those incidents might implement, in my heart, my grandpa will always be one of my favorite person in the world. It is said that time will heal anything. Now, whenever I look up at a beautiful sky or a bright full moon, I know where my grandpa is, always caring for me still. I'm glad he's in a better place now. Farewell, my dear grandpa. May you rest in peace. Whatever future journey you might take, will be a blissful & happy one.

In closing, I would like to thanks all who had supported & consoled me during one of the saddest moment in my life. I am very grateful for all your kind words, deeds & prayers.

Blue Solace

Mascot Parade

Saturday, 27th June 2009 ~ Went down to Ngee Ann City, a big shopping mall to view the Mascot Parade which was organized by SHINE. Reached the venue by 3 in the hot afternoon.

Me is Hengbok Mascot! xD


I dunno how you define mascot, but I guess anything & everything goes. Characters from many types of shows ~ anime, cartoons, old Japanese monster movies, sci-fi movies, children shows & so on.

Posing Mascots


With so many colorful, prominent & fascinating characters around, so many photo opportunities! xD

Japanese Hero & Monsters

More Japanese Monsters


And jumping from old Japanese movies to futuristic Star Wars!

May The Force Be With You!


Ain't that little Darth Vader cute? xD
And I dunno how that Ultraman was captured by StormTroopers. Guess he was no match for the evil empire. LOL! xD

There's a stage which featured some dance, fashion shows & demonstrations, but I wasn't paying much attention to them as there were too many distractions offstage.

Happenings on stage


I believe the bottom pic in my above foto is of a Muay Thai demonstration, a form of boxing, Thai style. Anyway, the characters offstage are much more interesting. xD

Greenie & Mousie with a little hamster me! xD

Orange Hair, Purple Dinosaur & Tiger


While I wasn't paying attention, I was kidnapped & tortured by Joker. Requested help from Ironman & Batman, but to no avail. I suspect they all belong to the same gang... waiting for their turn to abuse me! xD

The Marvel Gang


Luckily, sexy Cat Woman was around & rescued me. xD

Hamster Girl & Cat Woman


At the event, I was asked many times to pose for picture by many people. Do I look like a mascot to you? Hengbok Mascot? LOL! =P
Was posing for a pretty girl when King Kong chased her off & tried to grab a piece of me! HELP!!!

The Beauty & The Beast


Was again rescued, this time by 2 gorgeous Transformer Girls.

Transformers never look so good! xD


So dangerous was the situation that I'd to engaged bodyguards.

My SWAT Team! xD


It was well that I'd bodyguards coz as the afternoon was hot & temper flared easily. Saw a passer-by being assaulted by a gang of normally nice & cute mascot. Guess he must had gone too far, poking fun at the mascots in their heavy, hot & steaming costumes. xD

Mascot Rampage!


Alright, the above is just a joke. The real story is, this guy was going around fanatically trying to take pics with every mascot around. Most of the poses he asked from them were to abuse him. Don't ask me why he did that for. For all I know, he might like S&M. LOL! =P
In such events, there's another kind of rampage. The Otaku photographer horde. Their locust-like swarming are always triggered by the present of pretty girls, especially onstage. There would inevitable be an onslaught of every kind of cameras, all pointing their lens toward the target. Cellphone, iPhone, point & shoot, DSLR with long super telephoto lens. I just couldn't understand the need of a 300mm lens when the subject is less than 3m away. Maybe they want pics of her nostril hair?!? LOL! xD

Pretty girls & the Otaku Swarm =P


Actually I don't mind the photographers swarm. Well, as my soulmate, a former pro-photographer, used to said, it's sort of a compliment to pretty girls, no? At such events, after putting so much effort into your costume, dressing up with all the works, if only your friends want to take your picture, but no one else want to, won't that be an entire waste of effort & doesn't it indicate one thing? How many times or how many photographers want a girl's pic is the indication of how pretty a girl is. And that's the fact of life!

2 pretty & very popular mascots


Note: More & bigger pics can be view in my album.