What's for appetizer tonight? Escargots! Are you not kidding me?

So, I finally had the chance to try out this exotic dish at Jack's Place for my grandmother's birthday dinner. To be honest, I ordered this because I'm not the one paying, my parents are! So heck it- Half a dozen of snails please!

FYI, they ain't cheap at all. The ones at Jack's Place costs $9.50++ for half a dozen.

The dish basically came with two important tools (of torture, nevermind, they are dead anyway) that will greatly assist you in this journey of eating this pesky land snails - Snail tongs (for holding the shells) and snail forks (for extracting the meat).

Finally, it came - six shells filled with nasty black stuff in each hole. Grabbing and holding one shell using the tongs, having doubts whether they taste like rubber or dirt, I gave them a sniff. Ahh, garlic and herbs. Empowering smell. Jeez man, guess I have to put it in my mouth. So using the snail fork, I carefully poked it and try to extract the meat out, fearing that the fragile mollusc would tear, resulting the meat to squirt and splurt. I proceed this step with extreme caution, slow, steady, twisting a little here and there, and out it came.

Without thinking I placed it in my mouth, gave it a little chew, it doesn't taste as bad. My father was probably exaggerating when he said that it tasted like junk. It's chewy, most people said it taste like chicken, actually it's the "bite" that feels like chicken. You know, the feeling when your teeth interact with your food. The after-taste is strong though, I would described it as mushrooms soaked in herb-sauce for a century. To be honest, the taste is still in my mouth, as I typed this - THIS, approximately after 5 hours. (Gotta use Listerine later.)

I would like to try this dish again, perhaps at other outlets. I heard "My Secret Garden" near Bugis serve good escargots.

P.S. Sorry, if this post sounds like a big fuss eating escargots, it's my first-try and just wanna share my delightful experience.

Week 2 of school is ending! And guess what? It's Friday! It's such a blessed day for everyone, after such a long and tiring week, people are finally able to do what they really want to do - be it slacking at the couch, catch a blockbuster-movie, take the kids out, romantic dates, shopping with bffs. People, it's time to reward ourselves!

But.. Uh-oh! That means 2 more weeks till assignment deadline, we are on-track though, doing concept art and finalizing the very last pieces of the story plot. However on-track is not enough, I want to be ahead. Gotta work on it!

On another note, I would be able to get time off starting from tomorrow night. Phew, and another 2 days, it would be another really long week, lectures and projects, God. What a loop it is!

But whatever it is, thank God for Fridays!

Lectures, lunch and FYP(Final Year Project) meetings, that's most probably what my school life is about now.

Now that the FYP deadline is revealed - early February, which would be about 3+ months from this day, everyone have to work extra hard. Oh my, especially me, I have a SIGGRAPH trip to Seoul and probably a Taiwan trip in December, and that would be 2.5 weeks ready to be strike off from my schedule.

Our story-plot is in the finializing process, still adding bits-and-pieces to wrap up the whole story. For the style, we're still researching about it, concept art is not enough, to be honest, I think our group is kind-of lagging behind. Got to work on this.

-

To-Do List

- Update Tutor about story
- Character Design/Concept Art
- Watch movies for research
- Overall concept art

- Email hotel about room enquiries
- Settle accomodation for Seoul
- Confirm Taiwan trip

- Should I go TG outing?
- Romance outing
- Bromance outing

- Photo-shooting trips
- Make a photography portfolio

- Bake a Banana Cake
- Learn to use yeast
- Improve on my sugar toast

DAY 4

The morning sun arose once again, and like all great things, it must come to an end. And that's right, 9th October marks the last day we had in Langkawi. After the buffet breakfast, everyone returned back to their own rooms to prepare for check-out. Alvin/Youling went to do some last-minute shopping at the nearby area, while Victor/Jesline had some rest, the latter was down with sickness during the trip, but I'm glad she had fun, despite all those fevers and throw-ups.

Peiyi and I finally had some time to sit down to enjoy the sea-view from our hotel room. We(actually, everyone) upgraded it from "Superior" to "Deluxe" just for the sea-view, and for the sake of not letting it go wasted, might as well take some time off, and just look at the sea of Langkawi and Kuah town.

Welcome to Tompy's Room. Sorry, a bit messy.

The sea was literally like a painting. Every thing was still.

Sea-view from Room 615

The clock striked noon, we did our check-out, headed for lunch at Marrybrown, went on a leisure-walk near the famous Eagle Square area. Sun was exceptionally hot, and the whether was quite humid. Everyone was sweating. Luckily, there's shade in a park, and we decided to have a stroll:

A stroll at the park.

We took the boat-ride back and fortunately, it wasn't half as bad. I had my ear-pieces plugged to block out those recurring, monotonous unpleasant sounds. God, I totally hate those noises. We rushed for the coach back to Singapore, our taxi was going at 100km/h and cutting lanes. Thank God we managed to get on the coach (and survived the car-ride.)

Hours later, there we are. Back in Singapore. Home sweet home. I lagged for a few days actually. It's just that my body and mind had to adjust to the sudden change of surroundings. Oh well.

Langkawi trip was fun, it's the first time I travelled overseas without my parents. Yeah, I made some new friends, and I would definitely love to hang-out with them, or maybe go on another trip again. (We were thinking Phuket.) And I do miss the feeling of living under the same roof with my dearie.

Those few days are totally awesome, all thanks to you guys! :)

Poly-life officially starts again tomorrow, after 4 months of internship and 2 months of holidays, although I'd met up with my group members for projects and such in school, 2-3 times per week, the feeling is just different.

School is starting. Officially. New lecturers for new modules, everything will be going according to the time-table, canteens would be swarmed once again. School life. I bet I would missed it when I graduate. Who wouldn't?

(In an average person point-of-view): Hot chicks in short skirts, goodcheap canteen-food, walking around in campus with flip-flops, tons of on-going activities, pocket money from parents, hey! You surely wouldn't get to experience this type of life again, yeah?! (Yes, unless you repeat. I wouldn't like the idea of wasting my life though.)

Having fun aside, this last phase of my poly-life is important - Final Year Project. I'm gonna finish it on time, and finish it good. Not to forget NAPFA too, speaking of that, I actually bought a chin-up bar earlier, which I would most probably install it tomorrow.

And heck the shit. I'm aiming for gold.

Storyline: 7.0/10

Visual Efx: 6.3/10

Sound Efx: 7.1/10

Classic romance-comedy plot - 3 years ago, Holly(Katherine Heigl) and Messer(Josh Duhamel) were set up on a date by their mutual friends, Peter and Alison. The date ended in less than an hour, soon tragic unfolds, Peter and Alison were involved in a car accident and passed away. In their will, the Novak's had named Holly and Messer as owners of their house and the legal guardians of their year-old daughter, Sophie. Reluctantly, the two moved into the Novak's residence to take up this "chore" - to raise Sophie. Things happen in-between, internal-conflict sparks, resolutions, chemistry comes in, love blooms, you know what.

"Life as We Know It" is a sad romance-comedy, that has little parts that will touch your hearts. This 114-minute movie makes you think, it goes deep into your mind and makes you re-wind your memories. Are you like Holly, who's too obsessed in being annoyed at little things? Have you ever been a jerk like Messer? In a situation like Messer, would you choose career over your loved ones?

Definitely worth your bucks. Good for the family, great for friends, perfect for couples to watch.

DAY 3

After a night of partying at Victor and Jes's room, eating junk, talking crap, and laughing till we drop (actually, it applies to Jesline and Youling only), soon it's the 3rd day in Langkawi!

We had more sight-seeing, our gang headed to an animal farm (where I rather re-named it as "Deer Farm", cos' the only animals I saw were deers), and then to the cable car, a star-attraction at Langkawi.

700 metres above sea-level, have you ever wondered how high is that? Gravity on earth - 10m/s. 700/10 = 70 seconds. If you'd jumped off platform, you get to enjoy 70 seconds of free bungee jumping before you ascend to heaven. Cool? No wonder Jesline was crying all the way up, but we're all grateful that she suggested this ride, even when she didn't quite like the idea of sitting in a cabin hanging on a steel wire.

Splendid view.

Not to mention that the air is damn fresh too.

Padi field! Had an awesome guide, who showed us around, and explained the process of harvesting rice, interesting plants (one which smells like petrol) and the uses of herbs. Tongkat Ali! Who needs that anyway?

Peiyi and I head to the bitchbeach, while the other 4 went to admire sea creatures at the Underwater World. Langkawi really live up to it's name as the Paradise Island, the beach is endless, the white sand beneath our feet is powdery, not to forget, the clear blue waves - I marvelled at this beautiful scenery - God's creation. How great thou art.

The Supers walked hand-in-hand down the beach, collecting sea-shells, letting the waves rush into our feet, without realising, the skies turned into a beautiful hue of orange - It's like those drawings we used to draw when we were kids, the sun hiding behind the hills, the sun is setting. Romantic.

I say, let's marvelled at God's creation.

It's so dinner-time, when we had a spread at a seafood restaurant in Pantai Cenang. Butter prawns, steamed fish, lemon chicken, sambal kang-kong, hotplate toufu, and hot steamed-rice. I hope I didn't miss out any food. It's the last dinner in our Langkawi trip (but it's the first we had a proper one). Oh! And the size of their tiger-prawns! The size of your forearm, they are totally as big as lobsters! "Country bumpkins", the locals might've thought when they saw us looking so excited at the sight of the prawns.

We headed to the hotel soon-after.

Storyline: 7.9/10

Visual Efx: 7.3/10

Sound Efx: 7.8/10

Let yourself go, eat, pray and love. After an unhappy marriage, which ends up in a divorce, Liz Gilbert(Julia Roberts) decides to embark on a journey round the globe to find herself.

Iron Man, Toy Story, AVP (Alien VS Predator), Phobia, but "Eat, Pray, Love"? A romance comedy? It's so out of place, and I don't even remember the last time I watched this certain genre. What's come into my mind? Mushy stuff, flowers, wedding-ring, girl cries, slaps and good-byes, and then find another guy, with little chance of re-union with the old, and the whole story repeats itself.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Despite the poor ratings for "Eat, Pray, Love", I absolutely love this film, a full 2-hours of masterpiece, perfect real-life story, perfect screenplay (Julia Roberts is totally awesome), and the perfect ending.

Watch this movie, you won't regret it.

DAY 1

Stepping down from the ferry, seems like the greatest thing I ever done that day. After the longest 90 minutes of my life, watching the darn clock dangling at the front ticking my life away, Jesus Christ!

Finally.

First stop - Jetty Point. We got into our rented car, a 7-seater Toyota Avanza, with our dear driver, Alvin driving us around (safely) in an unfamiliar island. Our hotel is our second stop, after settling the checking-in of rooms, we headed up for a rest. A well-needed rest (and bath), 12-hours of journey time, can't be more draining than that, huh.

We went to random places after lunch at KFC, Snake Sanctuary (where the only audience is the six of us. Pathetic, I know.), stopping at places to admire the beautiful sceneries, and shopping the rest of the day away. Although there's not much seriously, typical products, nothing interesting, but wait, a can of beer for RM1.80(SGD$0.75)?! Holy Molly. Our hotel fridge is so gonna be stocked (and not finishing everything in the end.)



Time for bed!

DAY 2

"RINNNGGG RINNGGG! RRINGGGGG!" Thanks for the wake-up call, Victor! Dear yippy is still sleeping, so might as well take a bath first. At the hotel restaurant "Flamingo", there's a huge spread of breakfast buffet waiting for us, and there's this really interesting "Egg Bar" that serves quite a variety of eggs - omelette, scrambled, sunny side-up, and the 6 of us totally spammed on this. Eggilicious!

We had the Kilim boat ride for today, where it would take us around the north-eastern part of the island, exploring the bat cats, fish farms, the crocodile cave (but too bad it's closed, because of the high-tide), and this really open-water area where we could see what Langkawi are famous for - eagles, soaring into the blue sky and feeding near the water surface.

Kilim Boat Ride! Definitely worth the bucks!

Beautiful oceans, fascinating rocks and islands, not to ever forget the cool winds that messed up everyone hair.

Ohh, and I'll gladly be your driver for the day.

If I remembered correctly, we had Kenny Rogers for dinner. I ordered the Tangy Chicken Pasta. Totally wierd taste, I bet it's cooked in a way to suit the residents' palates. But I cleaned out the plate in the end, yeah. Had supper party at Victor and Jes's room, before heading back to Room 615.

"Welcome to Langkawi, Spiderman!"

It was an awesome day, the 7 of us had a feast for our eyes, lots of sight-seeing and interesting river-tours, admiring the sunset at the beach. After a scrumptious seafood dinner at the Pantai Cenang district, just a couple of minutes walk from the beach. We were heading back to our 7-seater Avanza (with the sexy whistle-like lock-sounds), when I heard someone welcomed us on our 3rd day there. Peiyi and I were wearing our Superman couple-tees (Spiderman?) by the way, but that's beside the point.

Langkawi, the Island of Reddish-brown eagles, a natural paradise with swaying palm trees, endless sandy beaches and cool-blue ocean waters. Not with a single doubt, that one must visit this lovely tropical island at least, once in a life-time. Although the 12-hours bus-and-ferry rides from Singapore, kind-of "killed" everyone, it's definitely worth it.


Langkawi: Beach on High-tide (Captured w/ iPhone 3GS)

(To be continued.)

I remembered I did this a while back then, and now here's another 8 facts you might want to know about me.

1. July 15 marks a special day for me. I'd never forgot how nervous I was when I tried to grab her hand, actually the scene is still qutie vivid in my mind. We started this relationship ever since that day. Thank God for blessing this and what's more to come. And, she's none other than Yip Peiyi.

2. "Bromance" - A close but non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men, a form of homosocial intimacy. Made up of Waiyuen, Zhirong, and the Chan brothers, Timothy and Thomas(myself), we talk and share everything under the sun. They are like my brothers, and yeah, we're that close. Long live bromance!

3. I have high hopes for my future, not necessarily only in money terms. Just one thing for sure: I'm definitely not gonna waste my life away.

4. My favourite food includes Sirloin Steak w/ Good Ol' Black Pepper and MOS Burger corn soup. Good food is better than sex.

5. I have a wierd sense of smell, when I was a kid, I smelled almost everything before I touched them. And, I can smell things that people can't. Plus, I absolutely hate the stench of carparks.

6. I have a mild case of claustrophobia, it's possible linked to my hyperactiveness when I'm young, I don't sit well at a single spot.

7. I hate to get touched at my throat.

8. The sound of sport-cars(F1, not included) make me excited. My fourth dream is to own a Lamborghini Murciélago or a Ferrari F430. Or a more realistic choice, a Mazda RX8.

Storyline: 5.9/10

Visual Efx: 7.1/10

Sound Efx: 7.3/10


Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

I say, let's just face it, a 5-year could predict the storyline, the script is terrible, and the plot is just plain weak, the only thing that they did right is putting Will Ferrell on the spotlight. Together with Mark Wahlberg, they are totally ready to kick some ass. Their acting chemistry is unrivalled and it brings their humour to a whole new level.

The jokes (mostly, crude and sexually-explicit) are kind of lame, but it gets into you. "I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!" - I admit it's stupid, but the whole cinema was roaring with laughter.

In conclusion, definitely not the best movie of the year, but I would only recommend this if you want a good laugh (and spare cash.)