Miss Singapore Universe? Or Miss Mother Universe?

Just saw the list of contestants for this year Miss Singapore Universe... for a moment, I thought it was the Most Beautiful Mother contest sia.


Look at their age... so young, yet they were dressed like some middle-age lady... alamak. The dresses and photography both CMI lah...


I think they can scrape the whole contest lah... the standard is dropping every year ever since mediacorp withdrew from the partnership...


This one can be my manager liao lah.


I think I only find one deserved to be in the contest.


But, if the contest is held in conjunction with hungry ghost festival, hmm...we can understand why.

EEEEEks.

By popular demand...

Here are some Australian Football actions photos.

For those of you unversed in Aussie Rules, I won't pretend to be able to explain it all here, but I will try and give you some of the basics. There are eighteen players per side, and it's played on a oval-shaped (rather than rectangular) field. The object of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball between the posts. To pass the ball up the field, you kick to your team-mates who attempt to catch the ball (this is called "taking a mark"). Anyone who takes a mark gets a free kick without interference, however, if the ball is not caught, it's a free-for-all to get the ball and pass it on as quickly as possible. (If you don't take a mark, then you're not allowed to "hold the ball". You must pass it on quickly before you are tackled by the opposition. If you don't relinquish the ball, and get tackled, then the other team gets the ball for a free kick.) There's lots of running around the field, hand passes as well as kicking, and lots of scrambling around on the ground when no mark is taken.

Here's Chris going up for a mark...

...and here he is having successfully taken one (notice the other guy must have mistimed his leap!).

Here's Josh going up for a mark in one of his games. (He's wearing number 40.)

Here's Chris about to kick...

...and here's Josh in full flight.

I hope you've enjoyed these photos and they've given you a better appreciation of Australian Rules Football!

The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina

Title: The Panic Zone

Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Mira
Pub Date: 06/29/2010
ISBN: 9780778327943
Author: Mofina, Rick
Category: FICTION - ADULT: Mystery, Detective, Suspense & Thrillers: Thrillers

"A grieving mother and a relentless reporter pursue a perfect killer.

A CAR CRASHES IN WYOMING

A young mother is thrown clear of the devastating car crash. Dazed, she sees a figure pull her infant son from the flames. Or does she? The police believe it's a case of trauma playing cruel tricks on the mind, until the night the grief-stricken woman hears a voice through the phone: "Your baby is alive."

A BOMB EXPLODES IN A RIO DE JANEIRO CAFE

The heinous act kills ten people including two journalists with the World Press Alliance news agency. Jack Gannon's first international assignment is to find out whether his colleagues were innocent victims or targets who got too close to a huge story.

A CARIBBEAN CRUISE ENDS IN HORROR

Doctors are desperate to identify the mysterious cause of a cruise ship passenger's agonizing death. They turn to the world's top scientists who fear that someone has resurrected their long-buried secret research. Research that is now being used as a deadly weapon.

With millions of lives at stake, experts work frantically against time. And as an anguished mother searches for her child and Jack Gannon pursues the truth, an unstoppable force hurls them all into the panic zone."

I received an ARC of The Panic Zone from the publisher via NetGalley. Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this review, which is my personal opinion upon reading the galley.

The Panic Zone is a fabulous thriller. It has all the elements that I look for in a novel from this genre - a sympathetic hero who is facing almost-unbeatable odds, interesting subplots that weave together in unexpected ways, and an ever-increasing pace towards an explosive climax.

This book is a real page turner! Jack Gannon is an investigative reporter who finds that his determination to uncover the truth puts him in increasingly dangerous situations. As he travels the world in search of sources and information to get to the bottom of a bomb blast that killed two of his journalistic colleagues, he finds that the story is much, much bigger than he could have expected.

Add to this a mad scientist with plans for a drastic solution to over-population, a grieving mother who is sure that her baby is still alive, a terrorist plot, and a human-trafficking ring.

There's action aplenty, and yet I never found the plot confusing. The Panic Zone is a well-written, enjoyable and exciting read.

I highly recommend The Panic Zone as fabulous recreational reading for men and women that enjoy thrillers.

TTT Speak the Truth in Love

is it harder for you to speak kindly or honestly?

Welcome to Table Topics Tuesday! It's hosted each week by Shannon at Welcome to the NutHouse! To participate, simply click on the button above.

This week's question is intriguing. I find it hard to write light-heartedly about this one. I've always believed that it's best to speak kindly and honestly, but it is very hard to accomplish.

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Is that always true?

"The truth hurts." Is it sometimes important to speak honestly, even if it doesn't seem kind?

I'll be very interested to read the other posts on this topic linked to Shannon's blog.

For me, it's easier to be kind than truthful. I'm sensitive, and I know how much words can hurt, so I try not to say things that are hurtful. But I don't always succeed. Sometimes I try to be clever and funny and don't think enough about how the other person might feel. I've put my foot in my mouth as much as the next person.

I'm not an argumentative person. I'm not likely to tell you that I think you're wrong, even if I do! I do have passionate opinions about various issues, but in a group situation I'm not going to cut you down and rip your opinion to shreds. I'll just listen quietly if I don't agree, until there is an opportunity for me to say something positive.

In close relationships, it's important to be honest. For me, I need to feel very safe with someone in order to open up and speak honestly. I can talk to my husband Chris about anything. I have a few other friends that I also share very honestly with. For other people that I don't feel as safe with, I tend to hold back.

Thanks Shannon, for the chance to psychoanalyse myself!

What about you? Is it easier for you to speak kindly or honestly?

Really hate doing reports...

I really hate doing reports. =(
Anyway, the pic was taken during the opening last week. All the Interns from Mechanical Engin and Materials Engin!


Requested the communications department to send me the opening video, so as to present to my prof tml... 不好意思啦... 小弟 is involved in the video... haha.


My role was a junior mechanic... getting trainings from senior mech.

Okay lah...stressed. Go back do my log entries... sianz.

Adeline's 21st Birthday with Chong's Clinic

Celebrated Adeline's 21st yesterday together with Chong's Clinic staff... also a farewell session for Sabrina and Suhui.


Adeline with Daniel...cousins. Was at AMK kbox...


Adeline with Suhui...


Suhui and myself... listening to those '屋顶' and '爱你不是两三天' , reminds me those days with Kailun and Suhui for our talent-time competition.... that was like... 10 years ago sia. And songs like '龙卷风' reminds me of sec 2/4 gathering chalet... time really flies... we are growing old!!!


This...was really a candid shot. Hahaha... I S.W.E.A.R~ Dr Yuen and myself was laughing so hard after this pic was taken! LoL.... and trying so hard to prevent Deborah from deleting this photo from my camera. LoL.



Suhui took photos of Dr Yuen and me secretly sia... stalker. Hhaha... anyway, thanks to Dr Yuen for the KBOX outing sia. It was really expensive man...


LoL... Dr Yuen said this is the photo which depicts Chong's clinic ' 七公主 ' , as in mediacorp seven princess... So who's Fiona Xie or Joanne Peh? Hahhaha....


Alrights...back to my internship log entries... but there's a thunderstorm now... maybe I should catch a nap sia.

Sunday Family Footy

Here's a picture of my hubby Chris ready for footy.

He plays Aussie Rules for the Central Coast Phoenix in the AFL Masters (over 35s) Competition. For my overseas readers - yes, that's really what they wear to play Australian Football - short shorts and a sleeveless "jumper" and no padding whatsoever. We breed them tough down here!

They play every second Sunday at 10am, and normally we just let him go and have a bit of "male bonding time" while we go to church. Today, however, we decided to make a family day of it. It's been a long time since I've watched Chris play footy, and I was proud to see that he still has the skills! I thought that Josh might enjoy seeing his Dad in action, and he did make a point of noting the number of goals that Chris kicked. Most of the time, however, he was running around kicking a ball with the other kids that had come along, or playing with the dogs that had been brought along. There was a lovely family atmosphere, and lots of cries of "Good one Dad!".

Alana spent her time reading Tommy Sullivan is a freak by Meg Cabot - she's a girl after my own heart!

As we were leaving, I ran in to a guy that I went to school with! How funny! He plays for the Phoenix and has two sons that play footy for one of junior clubs on the Central Coast. His older son plays in the U14s, his team plays against the team that Chris coaches. His younger son plays in the U10s in a team that plays against Josh's team. So I'll be sure to run into him again soon. What a small world it is!