Tennessee Line (LIVE at the CMA's 2009) - Daughtry with Vince Gill

I open my lungs to breathe in forgiveness and love
Haunting me now reminders of how I used to be
And on down the road my troubles are sure to follow
Looking out the window, the hell if know where I will go
So I'll just keep on driving

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned?
So this can all end tonight
Tennessee line just changed my mind, well it's my heart I'll follow this time

Who would've known that pride is so hard to swallow
As I rest on the shoulder of a road growing colder
With the trouble I own, should I just keep on driving?

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned?
So this can all end tonight
Tennessee line just changed my, well it's my heart I'll follow this time

I know I must be doing something
Head the other way, back to where I started out
Ask myself if I can turn it all around tonight
And stop living with doubt

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned?
So this can all end tonight
Tennessee line just changed my mind, well it's my heart I'll follow this time

I'm gonna turn it all around tonight at the Tennessee line

Happy Teacher's Day 2011

Every year on the 23rd of September, it is Teacher's Day here in Brunei. The date chosen was actually the birthday of the late father of HM Sultan, the Architect of Modern Brunei. If I was not mistaken, Teacher's Day was first celebrated in 1984 or was it 1985?


A friend noted just recently that a number of my friends are in the teaching profession, I prefer to term them as educators... ^_^


What prompted me to blog about this day is coz I remember that I came across a number of Teacher's Day cards that my late brother's students had given him while he was their tutor. Yes, for someone who did not like kids, my brother was a tutor for a number of years... teaching English... and he seemed to have been a well-liked one too...


I remembered one of his ex-students who attended his memorial said to me: "He had always treated me as a friend more than a student"... that's how he was... always treating everyone as an equal... and fairly too... I hope his legacy as a teacher will stay with those whose lives he has touched in however a small way or short amount of time...

© Bear by DarkDevill

Hong Kong 2011

Decided to go to Hong Kong on a whim when my cousin Kat in Penang asked if I would like to take a holiday there as she badly needed one... had not been out of the country for 10 years... Got a good packaged deal with my travel agent, she works wonders and I love her so... :)


Originally planned the trip for 3 - 9 September 2011 till I realised it would be clashing with Hari Raya... so had departure delayed till the 6th and came back on 13 September... Kat travelled from Penang to HK via Cathay Pacific while I took Royal Brunei there... The hotel was Metropark Hotel Mongkok, located within walking distance of many nice eateries and shopping establishments...


Main objective of the trip is rest and relaxation... with a BIT of eating and shopping thrown in... of course! :p


There was an misadventure the minute we arrived in HK... coz Kat's flight arrived earlier than mine, the plan was for her to wait for me at the airport to go to the hotel together... the hitch was, we did not discuss as to where we should meet... long story short, Kat waited for me inside the arrival hall while I waited for her outside the arrival hall... n the mobile phones with me were not working!


I thought Kat got sick of waiting and caught a cab to the hotel and I was busy whatsApping my friend Francis who would be meeting us at the hotel to show us around Mongkok (good thing the HKIA has good wi-fi connection).. worried that Kat is stuck or lost somewhere in HK... turns out I got to the hotel on the airport shuttle before Kat... it was only when I have checked in that Kat called from the airport... she took a cab and got to the hotel in one piece... Francis was at the hotel waiting for me when I arrived... :)


Anyway, took lots of photos and ate lots too... photos on my FB are testament to that... ^_^ Was glad I managed to meet up with some old college and uni friends... in some cases, its been 20+ years since we last saw each other... did not manage to meet some friends but there's always another trip... =)


Francis was a wonderful friend who went out of his way to show us his hometown and to make sure we are alright to go exploring around on our own... a wonderful host and a fantastic tour guide... though we need to brush up on the power walking skills in order to keep up with him... XD


To summarise my week in HK... the photos tell the story so well... I borrowed some from Francis and Kat... hope they don't mind... =)

Hong Kong Night Skyline

© Francis Wong 2011

The start of our food adventure...

Reminder of someone at home...

Wong Tai Sin Temple

HSBC Headquarters

Dinner with my friend Kelvin Kam

Dim Sum Lunch with Godfrey Lee & family

Coffee with Maria D Luz

Dinner with Dennic Wan

With Kat Hor

© Katherine Hor 2011

Grouchy Smurf suffered much travelling with me...

Family Update...

I feel this year will be the start of reconnection between myself and my relatives who I barely know though we shared the same last name...


In July, I finally met my cousin Sandra who came back from Canada for her family's summer holiday... I got to meet and spend time with her family... its a good start... especially when we have so many lost years to catch up on... my nephew Shelby and niece Shay are well-mannered... hope to see more of their development as they grow older...


My cousin Edwin just got married 2 weeks ago in Canada... so happy for him and Susan his new wife... Ming, his brother took fantastic photos of the wedding party... 

© A bigger Universe within You by AkuZeku

Crossroads...

A question has been playing in my mind for quite a while now... I don't understand how some treat their friendships and how could they take it and their friends for granted.


Experience of the past few years taught me to appreciate and treasure every single moment I have with my friends... coz you really won't know if that will be the last time you see them, or talk to them or spend time with them... EVER...


I supposed that may be one reason why I am sensitive to my friends' reactions and behaviour with me... lately, I've been wondering what have I done so wrong that an old friend has stopped communication with me totally... does not reply to sms, FB messages nor answer their phone when I tried calling them... its been like this since March this year and its baffling me completely...


The fact that we have been friends for more than 15 years and had always been honest to a fault with each other made it hard to comprehend the sudden silence. What is worse is that when they see me, they have this look on their face that says: What is she doing here? What does she want? and they are always in a hurry to get away from me...


Sure, I had been sick a few times with the flu this year... and I may have infected them unintentionally but I am not sick with contagious diseases all the time... really don't understand...


Anyway, I am a firm believer in not poking my nose where its not welcomed. I tend to leave people alone till they are ready to talk... if its going to take the next decade, so be it... everyone has their own ways of dealing with whatever issues they are facing... 


Just hope its not something that I was the cause of... if thats the case, I rather they tell me so that I can make amends and ensure I will not repeat the same mistake again...

The Ones We Will Always Miss

It has been a few years of personal lost for me and some of my friends... I've lost many members of my extended family in the past 2 years plus on top of my own brother as well some dear friends...


My brother left in February 2010... my friend Adi left in August 2010... on 12 June 2011, my friend Lionel T Tay from WAIC days left behind his wife, son, father and sister to join his other son and mother...


Like all such news, it came as a surprise... his cancer came back after almost 10 years in remission... it shocked many of our college mates for Lionel was a very friendly and funny person... never short of a smile or a joke... a lot of us can still remember him that vividly... his funeral and memorial service was held on what would be his 42nd birthday...


Lionel, Adi and my brother are dearly missed everyday by everyone who knew them... may they rest in peace... they will be forever young...

Lionel Timothy Tay

Adi Yusri Hj Md Deli

Stanley Loo

*** Note: The respective photos were obtained from their Facebook accounts. I do not own them. ***

Singapore 2011

Have not been to the Lion City since 2008 when my bro went with me... this trip was from 30 June till 3 July... had a lot of internal struggle with this trip and decided to avoid the places bro and I visited together 3 years ago... main purpose of the trip is to just rest and recuperate from a few months of stressful disagreements with mum with regard to home refurbishments... 


Stayed at the Carton Hotel on Bras Basah Road opposite The Chijmes and Raffles City nearby... other excuse is to catch up with old friends from college and uni... also to see bro's old buddies...


Managed to meet up with Faridah Ali Chang & Catherine Eaw from WAIC days... these ladies had not change at all... we had dinner at Clarke Quay and had a good catch up... Met up with Stella Pang & Alvin Yap from AIUS days and we were so busy chatting and joking that we forgot to have a group photo taken... Alvin would blame it on our age... :p


Carol and I managed to hangout together both during afternoon tea with Alvin and Stella as well as dinner with bro's buddies; Lewis and Kiek Ching... her sister Sarah and brother TZ joined us too... Got to thank Stella for the afternoon tea and Lewis for the dinner...

Love birds at Carlton Hotel

With Faridah & Catherine

Carol

with Carol, Sarah, Lewis & Kiek Ching

with Carol, Sarah, TZ, Lewis & Kiek Ching

iPod Playlist Update

Its been a while... not much notable MVs caught my attention except the following...

BANG YONG GUK (방용국) - I Remember (with YANG YO SEOP) M/V

Lyrics

As well as Super Junior's 5th instalment "Mr. Simple"... my favourite songs on loop are: Superman & Walkin'...

SUPER JUNIOR 슈퍼주니어 'SUPERMAN' MV

SUPER JUNIOR 'Walkin' MV

Not the type who would go buy a physical album but just did that while I was in Hong Kong... :p

Movies Since May 2011

Huhuhu... what a long list it will be I think... a lot of the movies would be the ones my bro would have waited and wanted to watch... being a Marvel fan... even DC Comics... don't think I can get them chronicled properly but I will try... sometimes, it felt like I am watching the movies for him... he is indeed dearly missed... all the time


There's been a good mix of movies these last 3 months or so... lost count of the number of movies I have watched actually... cartoons, action, comedy, horror... yes, horror... hmm...


Let's start with bro's must watch list...

Next were the toons...

The must see one were...

The funny ones were... 

The feel good ones were...

The Asian one was... also known as 'Wu Xia'...

The stupid one was...

The one horror flick that I walked out of half way through... coz it was moving too slow...

Back Log...

Lots of backlog... so many things to do and updates... let's hope I will be able to complete most of them by month's end... the to do list looks like...


Blog about Sg trip
Blog about HK trip
Edit n upload pics from HK
Movies update
Current playlist
Wedding cards & pressies
Bday cards & pressies
Xmas cards
CNY cards
Room spring clean
CGT & tax file lodgement
Baju from dressmaker
Framed teddies
Job applications
Angels we have lost
Bewilderment of the friendship kind
Filing
Orientation with gadgets
Personal shopper update
Family update
FAS


Looks quite a bit... will need to get cracking on the list and no more procrastination... may the OCD begin... hehehe...

Movie Marathon Weekend...

And me is not the kidding... serious... 9 movies in 4 days...


It all started with 2 movies on Friday, 29 April 2011... managed to attend a Cat Show for Charity in between that... :p


Saturday, 4 movies... Sunday, 1 movie... Monday, 2 movies... 


Verdict? 


Thor... Chris Helmsworth has grown up... emphasis on the growing... long way from Summer Bay thats all I can say... :)


Source Code... is interesting to say the least... it involves the viewer to locate the source of the disaster... keeps you at the edge of your seat...


The Last Bladesman is based on a well known Chinese historical figure... Guan Yu... he's also known as Guan Gong... it got a bit confusing from the middle of the movie onwards... Cao Cao not a puppet master? hmm...


Chinese Ghost Story is a remake of the 80's cult classic of the same name starring the late Leslie Cheung... its quite true to the original... except Louis Khoo's beard is so fake...


Red Riding Hood... not for the kiddies... no plot... quite boring...


Fast & Furious 5... action packed and makes you want more... never a dull moment... 


The Ghosts Must Be Crazy... is actually 2 stories in 1 movie... made in Singapore and showcased 'Singlish' very well... and it also reminded me of some of our superstitions... 


Penunggu Istana is a Malay paranormal movie based on actual footage recorded by a group of uni students at Istana Billah in Perak... its an old vacant mansion built by the Mandaliangs who came to settle there from Sumatra... it was too noisy for my liking and my attention was not fully on it as I was distracted by the news on Twitter about Osama's demise...


Movie 1: Thor 2D

Movie 2: Source Code

Movie 3: Thor 3D

Movie 4: The Last Bladesman

Movie 5: Chinese Ghost Story

Movie 6: Red Riding Hood

Movie 7: Fast and Furious 5 - Rio

Movie 8: The Ghosts Must Be Crazy

Movie 9: Penunggu Istana