Birthday 2013 with Friends

My blog is perpetually updated in a "Throwback Thursday" fashion. My birthday was in May, I wrote a post in July on celebrating my birthday with my family and only now do I update the second part of my birthday celebration with friends.

For those who have missed the first part, here it is.

I don't care if I'm repeating myself, I would say it over and over again. There is nothing in this world that is worth achieving more than the love from family and friends. I could not be any more thankful for all the wonderful people in my life especially during times when there are lots of challenges to cope with. Being around with people you love who love you is one of life's greatest blessing.





~*Dinner with Evan at Saveur*~

Saveur is a restaurant that offers quality French cuisine to the masses at affordable prices. Saveur aims to serve her own interpretation of French food, bringing French cuisine to everyone using local products at down-to-earth prices. Thus, bringing a whole new gastronomic experience to all.

It would be my first time dining at Saveur and so I readily agreed to have dinner there when Evan suggested the place knowing how I'm always on the look out for decent French cuisine in Singapore.




For appetizer, we shared the apple infused port wine Foie Gras. As Foie Gras is an acquired taste, I was only glad that Evan didn't love it as much as I do so I ended up with more to eat.




Both of us chose duck confit for our mains. The duck confit was $10.90! Where could you find such affordable and delicious duck confit at that price?




I forgot what this was but I think it was the side dish.




For desserts, we shared Textures of Citrus which was a tad too sour. I was expecting refreshing burst of citrus.




We also shared the Chocolate and Hazelnut dessert which was quite delicious.




We had our gelish nails done at the same nail parlour on separate occasions. Evan was the one who recommended me to the nail parlour she frequents. I love her long nail bed. My short and stubby nail beds often do not do justice to the skills of the manicurists.




Thank you for the birthday treat, Evan! *muax*




I was sick on that day... like really sick just before the dinner. I nearly "white out" (when I'm on the verge of blacking out, I usually see massive pink or white instead of black) in the toilet when we were waiting to be seated. Fortunately, normality fell into place soon after I got over the wave of nausea and white-out phase that I managed to enjoy the dinner and catch up session with Evan after that.

[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s.]





~*Dinner with Colleagues at Kko Kko Nara*~

It was a joint birthday dinner celebration with the April, May and June babies. We had Korean cuisine at Kko Kko Nara which is famous for their Korean Fried Chicken. We ordered a little too much food for 8 of us. I don't think I could ever survive 3 days in Korea as my taste buds are not really attuned to Korean food. Kko Kko Nara has a 4-star rating on a few food review website but I didn't find their food to my liking. The fried chicken was really good though and I would revisit this little restaurant just for their KFC aka Korean Fried Chicken.




After dinner, it was time to open our presents. Here is an obligatory shot of the birthday babies with our presents.




Here is the anigif of me opening my present as Jac simply took too many pictures of the process.
[Aside: I cringe whenever I see how crooked my teeth look from the side that I'm contemplating fixing them with braces. Am I too old for braces?]




Ask and you shall receive... I asked for a Valentino perfume --Valentina Acqua Floreale. I love how my colleague specially printed a picture of a cat to write down the names of all who chipped in for the present.




Taken from my instagram, this is a perfect example of a perfume that I fell in love with its bottle before its fragrance.




Same goes for Cat, who had many photos of her opening her present that an anigif would summarize it well.




She got a Hello Kitty swarovski pen. I'm not a Hello Kitty person but I must say that the pen is really cute!




We were amused by the Hello Kitty charm.




Sock Yee also received a swarovski pen.




A group shot of all of us before some parted ways.




The rest of us proceeded a few streets down for desserts before calling it a day.



[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s.]





~*Dinner with VIOS at Brussels Sprouts*~

It was a joint celebration for the May and June VIOS babies at Brussels Sprouts which is cosy and casual Belgian bar and bistro set up by Belgian celebrity chef Emmanuel Stroobant. People usually go there for their mussels with a variety of serving style and the extensive selection of beer. From the decoration on the wall, you could instantly tell that mussels are their speciality.




Kh and I thought we were early but we bumped into WL and Byng just around the vicinity. Belle is really growing up into a pretty little girl. No longer is she a baby anymore.






We ordered mussels served in Asian style Laksa gravy, cream style Fromage Bleu, clear style Vin Blanc... and I can't remember what else. They all look the same in photos but each  of them are so delicious in their own unique gravy. You could refer to this page to check out the different serving styles. All mussels are served with free flow of fries too. I could just sit there and eat mussels the whole day.




Or course we did not just sit there and eat mussels the whole evening. We had other food to share like the yummilicious portobello mushroom, Belgian chicken wings and various meats.




I stole some sips of Kh's 1 pint huge-ass Hoegaarden which could match his beer belly.




Let's play Spot the Difference! Jerm simply found joy photo bombing my photos with his hands. You would think it was accidental from the way it looked but no, he purposely stuck his arm and hand in.




Kh's beer foam moustache




Left: From that evening onward, I decided I really prefer Stella Artois to Hoegaarden.
Right: I had wanted the apple beer but it was out of stock. The cherry beer wasn't that bad except that on some occasions, it tasted like Panadol for kids with a dash of notti alcohol.




Random shots






I looked like I wanted to kill SL.




Maybe I should not call this a random shot. It was so contrived how kh sneakily stole this shot with Belle.




Jully and me as the June and May babies respectively. We felt that Belle looked really cute peeking out from the table edge.




Time to sing the birthday song and cut the cake. The staff added in more volume in the singing and lots of extra cheers and whoops and claps.








The soon-to-wed couple.




The VIOS boys are really such clowns. It's so hilarious how Jerm and Kh were fighting to get into the picture and spoiling the gals' shot...




yet acting like they were really part of the whole group shot.




When we realised that the decorative frames on the wall could be detached, we had fun with them.






I reckon the boys had more fun than us.






VIOS gatherings always come with a theme and it is up to the individuals to dress accordingly. Kh and I would usually religiously follow the theme. FLOWER was the theme for that gathering so I was clad in a dress with big red flowers.



Outfit of the day:
♥ Red Flower dress which was a gift from Karen
♥ Sheer Romance bikini worn under
♥ Long Champ bag


It was my first attempt wearing my hair in an all-up pouffy fringe style. I tied up my 2nd day curls to the side to complete my look. For someone who is a noob at hairstyling and not having enough volume for bangs, I'm pretty satisfied with the final result.




[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s and Canon S95.]





~*Dinner with the F4 Gang at Antoinette*~

I had an advanced birthday celebration with the F4 gang which is another treasured group of friends. I blogged about the dinner meet-up here.





~*Current Updates*~

I suffered from diarrhoea for a day and a night during my work trip and suppressed it with some medication which worked like a charm for the next few days. When I came back, I was expelling from both the top and the bottom. My favourite doctor diagnosed it as food poisoning. I had 2 days of MC but returned to the office for half a day to clear some important stuff. I've been feeling lethargic every day that I fall asleep almost immediately dinner/ supper. Today is one of the rare occasions when I'm back to my owl-like self and being able to blog.

Edited to add:
Thank you all for your lovely comments on my past few posts. I always enjoy reading them. Do check back on the posts where you left yours as I've replied. I will visit your blogs during pockets of free time.

The Truth and Half-Truth about Photographs

[This is a scheduled post.]

A picture paints a thousand words. Of which, how many are truths, how many are half-truths and how many are convoluted lies?

~~~

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this iconic Pulitzer prize winning photo from the Vietnam War featuring a naked little girl running down the road. It was photographed by photographer Nick Ut in 1972.



[Source: SunSentinel]

On June 8, 1972, South Vietnamese planes dropped a napalm bomb on Trang Bang, which had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Kim Phuc joined a group of civilians and South Vietnamese soldiers who were fleeing from the Caodai Temple to the safety of South Vietnamese–held positions. A South Vietnamese Air Force pilot mistook the group for enemy soldiers and diverted to attack. The bombing killed two of Kim Phuc's cousins and two other villagers. Kim Phuc was badly burned and tore off her burning clothes yelling, "Nóng quá, nóng quá" ("too hot, too hot").

The photo above left me a deep impression. A few years back when I was doing research on wars for my materials, I wondered what happened to that little girl. At that time, there wasn't much news about her and so I always assumed that there was this possibility that she was no longer around.

I'm so glad to come across this article which my friend shared on Facebook. I was smiling as I read her inspirational story.

This little girl is Phan Thi Kim Phuc. Kim Phuc, now 50, lives near Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two children, Thomas and Stephen. She has currently dedicated her life to promoting peace and providing medical and psychological support to help children who are victims of war in various countries such as Uganda, East Timor, Romania, Tajikistan, Kenya, Ghana and Afghanistan.

The writer has done an excellent write-up and interview with Kim. I do not want to reproduce the whole article here on my blog so please click on the link to read her inspiring story. I will however, reproduce a quote which I can identify very much on my blog:

"Forgiveness made me free from hatred. I still have many scars on my body and severe pain most days but my heart is cleansed. Napalm is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness, and love are much more powerful. We would not have war at all if everyone could learn how to live with true love, hope, and forgiveness. If that little girl in the picture can do it, ask yourself: Can you?" -- Kim Phuc, 2008


~~~

Another Pulizer Prize Winning photo that caught my attention would be the Saigon Execution by photographer Eddie Adams, 1968.



[Source: SunSentinel]


When I first saw this picture as a student, I was horrified by the atrocities of public execution. I also read that the man was executed right on the spot without having a trial.

Imagine my total shock when I finally discovered the truth as an adult just a few years ago. The Internet is such a treasure cove of information to which we must be able to discern and sieve truth from rumours.

Extracted from ListVerse with modification from me:

This is one of the most infamous photographs ever taken. The photographer Eddie Adams would later regret being on the scene at the time, because his photograph would go on to destroy the lives of the gunman and his family. He is Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, a Major General in the South Vietnamese Army, and the National Chief of Police.

What you don’t see in the photograph is the reason Loan was executing the prisoner. That man is believed to be Nguyễn Văn Lém who is also known as Captain Bay Lop. He is a local Viet Cong officer who had been operating a gang of murderers bent on killing all the local police officers in that area of Saigon. He was responsible for arranging the drive-by shootings or hit-and-runs of dozens of policemen—and if they themselves could not be attacked, he targeted and murdered their families instead.So when he was finally caught and brought before Loan, the Chief of Police calmly unholstered his revolver and shot Nguyễn Văn Lém in the temple, killing him instantly.

Adams had no idea what he was about to photograph. He claimed that this picture destroyed all American pro-war sentiment.

Taken out of context, the photo seems to evince a senseless act of brutality, which explains why it was later used in support of the moral argument that protesters made against the war.

The photo depicts  General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan  arm outstretched, shooting a prisoner who looked like a civilian, though he was actually a Viet Cong guerrilla. The picture was front-page news and ultimately won the Pulitzer Prize for spot photography. Eddie Adams later said that the picture didn't tell the story and that he was sorry he took it.

The reality is that the shooter (General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan), was executing a ruthless Viet Cong assassin, who was leading a team that had targeted the general himself. The ruthless man who was shot had beheaded people, been caught in the act of gunning down policemen, and killed the family of one of General Loan’s friends. That doesn't necessarily justify what Loan did. But when stripped of context, it looked like someone from the South Vietnamese national police gunning down some helpless guy, and that was not the case. Bay Lop was the leader of a sophisticated assassination team that was attempting to knock off all the top leaders [of South Vietnam], and General Loan was on their list.

A few years back, I spent quite some time reading on all the atrocities and brutalities of the Viet Cong and Bay Lop. Some of the descriptions of the killings were so graphic in nature that I could imagine the scene as I read the words. I personally feeel that the Viet Cong and Bay Lop deserved to be shot a thousand times over. In fact, such quick execution by gunning him right at the temple is letting him go too easily.

This photo truly leaves us with a powerful take-home message:
"Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths." -- Eddie Adams

~

Sometimes as I look through my own photos and photos of others, I do see how a couple of pictures could depict half-truths especially when the photos do not match my knowledge of incidents, issues and people.

Do feel free to share with me your take on this. I would love to hear what you have to say.

~

Edited to add (12 Sep 2013):

Dear all,

Thanx for taking the time to pen me your insights. I'm amazed when I read all of your comments from my email app on my phone coz the comments look so long and full of wisdom in them. I really enjoyed reading what all of you have to say. It's inspiring, enlightening, and I find myself being equipped with new knowledge.

Away to No Man's Land

I will be away for a work trip to "No Man's Land" where the only buzz over there are that of the mosquitoes... and other bugs.

Don't ask me where No Man's Land is for if I told you, I would have to kill you. It's a classified mission (Yeah, just let me be lost in my make-believe world.) There would be limited access to the Internet-- there would/might be no replies to emails, messages, posting of Instagram photos, sending of Candy Crush lives, playing of Scramble games...

Blog-wise, I've crafted a scheduled post just so that I don't see cobwebs here when I come back a week later. Thank you for all the lovely comments on my past 2 posts. They always put a smile on my face. I will get back with the replies and visits when I'm back.

Have a lovely mid-week!

Instagram Snapshots ~*August 2013*~

Hello September! August passed by so quickly and I know you wouldn't even stop longer for tea that very soon you would whizz by as well. Taking a break from travel posts, here is a summary of what happened in August.





~1 August 2013~
Throw back Thursday. Taking the road less travelled.




~2 August 2013~
Thanx dear friend Viv for sending me such a cute kitty cat wallpaper. It's so cute though the apps would be covering the kitties except for the last page. I would have designed the wallpaper such that parts of the cats stick out from the outline of the squares like a head popping out or a cute little paw.




~4 August 2013~
Bro-in-law's meow meow just like a boss. The hub's voice in the background went "why are you taking the (cut off portion: stupid cat?")




~4 August 2013~
The gelish this time is growing out pretty smoothly with edges that stay put. Unlike the last time where the edges are flipping upwards from the bottom which made me wanna peel them off, I would slowly cut them away and avoid the harsh filing and soaking off for this round. BIL's meow meow lends a great orange furry background for these shots. (Check out her tongue!)




~5 August 2013~
Sunday doodling. Mega Moody Monster wanted to draw something which would allow me to unleash the nasty monsters within. I ended up practising drawing with black pen and with controlled strokes, the negativity in me slowly simmered down. (Credit: I referenced the overall back view of the girl from somewhere and modified the rest to fit my theme.)




~7 August 2013~
Had nice home-cooked food by Daddy and now we are enjoying coffee liqueur with vanilla ice cream for dessert. All the liquor is at the bottom of the mug. Yummy. Taste like super super thick Bailey's Irish Cream. What a perfect end to a hectic short work week and a warm welcome to the looooong weekend! I've never in my life had a 4-day long weekend since I work on weekends for my previous jobs and I'm feeling really happy now.




~7 August 2013~
Went to pick mum up just now and she rummaged her bag saying that she had something for me to eat. I told her I was very full. Then she fished out this packet of bak kwa and said it was for me and the hubz to share. So cute! Heart-shape bak kwa. Lidat also can ah?




~8 August 2013~
Throw back Thursday. Daddy and Mummy in their couple tee. I have a slight aversion towards couple tees. Ok... they must not be exactly similar; slight variation in print or colour is fine. This is the best couple in their couple tee ever!




~8 August 2013~
Had a nice chat and filling lunch just now and thought I could survive with just supper later. But I'm HUNGWEE now. Hmmph...




~8 August 2013~
I side stepped from my intended path of meeting my gal pal for lunch when I stumbled upon NOISE Singapore exhibition at ION. An initiative of the National Arts Council, Noise Singapore is dedicated to making "noise" about the creative talent of young people aged 35 and below. I like this exhibit: "It is from a blank space where ideas are infinite." This sounds just like my tag line. =p Unfortunately that of late, my mind was simply a blank with no ideas.




~8 August 2013~
Hanging quotes at Noise Singapore exhibition. I know which is my favourite. How about you?




~9 August 2013~
Clad in our national colours on National Day for a feast of Singapore food. For my American and Canadian friends, "colour" is spelt with a "u" coz Singapore uses Standard British English. Don't ask me why I use the "z" instead of the "s" for other words though. I'm not good at standards.



~9 August 2013~
Local cuisine for dinner on National Day--chicken rice, white chai tau kueh (carrot cake), char kway teow. Officially full!




~10 August 2013~
Chi cats left their paw prints in Venice. That's our hotel-- Hotel Galleria in the background. New post about Venice up on my blog. http://iamjolene.blogspot.sg/2013/08/summer-in-italy-venice.html?m=0




~11 August 2013~
Sunday sketching. Trying my hands at contemporary fashion illustration. This is just a concept drawing with colour pencils and would look a lot better with water colours and digital enhancing but... I'm not an art student schooled on those techniques.




~15 August 2013~
Throw back Thursday-- The freezing walk in Central Park, NYC made warm by the people I love in winter 2009. I miss those happy times... I miss you...




~15 August 2013~
A regram from mmintmintmn. Anyone else feels like this too?




~18 August 2013~
Black pork gyoza (something new) and BBQ pork cheek (our usuals) for starters at Santouka. Shiok!




~18 August 2013~
Our usual set at Santouka-- Shio ramen small, salmon rice bowl and accompaniment of pickles, chawanmushi, salad. Officially super full. Can't even finish a small bowl of my favourite ramen now.





~19 August 2013~
Chi cats left their paw prints in Florence. Taken from Piazzale Michelangelo with Florence city centre as the back drop. New post about Florence Part I up on my blog. http://iamjolene.blogspot.sg/2013/08/summer-in-italy-florence-part-i.html?m=0




~20 August 2013~
A super duper spontaneous lunch with my other family... my favourite gals!




~20 August 2013~
In preparation for a work trip to mosquito land, I had 4 vaccinations on the same day. 1 oral, 3 injections. I've never experienced jab that caused this much of 酸痛 (aching pain) since I was in Primary 1. The typhoid one on the left is bruising up while the tetanus on the right is becoming as painful as the left. Can't sleep coz I can't sleep like a mummy for the whole night without turning.




~22 August 2013~
The birthday gal almost forgot that we were meeting up for her birthday. Love you gals. It's back to 三缺一 again.




~22 August 2013~
Bird theme "bird day" card for dear friend.




~24 August 2013~
It's been a tiring but very happy week meeting up with 3 different groups of gal friends on week days. Spontaneous lunch, birthday, farewell... Bon voyage to my dear friend, Sam! Gambatte ne!



~24 August 2013~
Guess what @tifducky @gerrachong and I are going to do at 11:11pm? Nope, we are not gonna eat cotton candy.




~25 August 2013~
After about 3 hours, this was the result of our Poke Poke Craft. @tifducky and @gerrachong finished faster than me coz I was snapping photos of the process as I went along. Verdict: Poke Poke Craft requires loads of patience.




~25 August 2013~
My poke poke pig! It's so furry... Hahaha... I dunno how to tuck those fur in with the felting needle. The hubby is so insulting. When I happily dangled poke poke pig at him, he said it looked like a bat. I explained to him how difficult it was to shape the head, the ears, the snout and the nostrils from felt and how tif and gera said it's a job well done. He replied, "It looks like a bat lor. It looks like that decapitated bat I found. -_-||| It's a pig colour. It's a pig snout. how on earth does it look like a bat???!




~25 August 2013~
Craft night-- Felting a Pig. It's really intriguing to see how fluffy cotton candy material could be poked till it transform into a pig with a simple tool called a felting needle. Haven't thought of a name for my pig. It shall just be called "Poke Poke Pig". Does it look like boy boy or girl girl pig?




~25 August 2013~
Poke Poke Pig looks spiffier after his fur cut. I couldn't tuck the stray felt in and had to resort to trimming them. On a separate note, @tifducky and @gerrachong's other halves gladly accepted their gifts, praising them for their effort. My other half gave me 101 reasons like why it's an ugly pig, it's a bat, it's a pinky pink bat, it's too round, it would be flattened in a week if put into his pocket, it doesn't match his keys... and after a night and a day, he grudgingly accepted Poke Poke Pig. I don't think there would be any more overdose of Poke Poke Pig photos after this.




~29 August 2013~
Throw back Thursday -- Mum's birthday 2009. We would be celebrating her last year of being in the big FIVE this Saturday though she doesn't look a day older. And yes, my family poses stupidly for photos too. It's not just me.




~31 August 2013~
Mummy's birthday at Morton's. The menu is personalized with her name on it.




~31 August 2013~
Happy 59th birthday to Mummy!




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