Caught the Astro Boy movie with Alan, he was all so excited about this movie. We were only able to watch it 10 days after the movie was show as Alan has been working 8 days a week. Yep, he's that busy until March 2010.  :(

Was just going through my really old pictures and stuff and I found this! How sweet!!! :)

I kept these drawings from Jan till this very day...

Back in Singapore soil... meaning... new gadgets.

We needed to subscribe to Singapore mobile number eventually, and since we are getting new numbers, it only made sense to get the mobile phones (with 2-year contract)

Alan has chosen Blackberry Bold as his replacement, while I have continued to stay true to Treo. I upgraded from Treo 680 to Treo PRO.

We miss Bodhi....  :(

We have our first custom-made rings... something to remember our time in Sri Lanka.

These were made at Vogue Jewellers, probably the finest Jewellers in Sri Lanka.

It's always nice to share and convince friends & loved ones that savings is important. 

Rasika's opening a bank account for himself was initiated by me. Yes, I am proud of it. He insisted that he was not able to put aside even a small sum of money and thus, no point opening an account. He has now proven to himself that he can do it if he sets his heart and mind to it.

And now, not only does Rasika have a savings account, he has a Fixed Deposit account too. Rasika is setting aside Rs20,000 to add to his FD quarterly when it matures. (see table below)

In fact, I did that with Elesia as well, she opened a bank account this year & well on her way to ensure that she would continually save her money. In Singapore, interest earned is pathetic but still...having a bank account with savings is important.

Elesia has shouldered more responsibilities since opening the bank account, like helping us to buy electronic gadgets during IT Fair, and giving money to my mother which we send via Elesia's bank account. Elesia, on her own accord, visits my Mom & Irene often... thank you.

Alan's back home & he bought some much needed kitchen appliances from Germany. 

YAY... new toys for Otoko.

Mortar & Pestle is good, but a chopper/blender not only gives better consistency to the end product... it's a time saver. The chopper is definitely the one that gets abused very often. We've killed 3 sets in 3 years.

I have been searching around for a good waffle maker - particularly for making Belgium Waffle.

Alan's found me the perfect one. While I am happy with our first attempt, we will definitely tweak the recipe a little more to get that perfect Belgium Waffle.

Bought for Alan a new laptop - Toshiba M800-E339PW, bundled with freebies (8mp camera & 250GB portable disk)

What I was truly impressed was the no-nonsense sales from the rep (Eric), Branch Supervisor (Janet), & Sam (Manager). They were not just about closing the sales, but meeting my needs/requirement.

Eric & Janet continuously called Morries to check & confirm that they still had the digital camera to give away; and calling Sam to check if they could offer me alternatives... I was impressed because there were hardly any shops with that positive attitude or knowledge of their products.

I was totally convinced when I spoke to Sam, the manager when he came back from buying his lunch. Like Eric and Janet, Sam totally won me over and I closed the deal with him when he offered the 250GB portable disk, which was supposedly 160GB.

A win-win situation, where I got what I wanted at a good price + happy customer; & they closed the deal giving what they felt would still be a small profit.

Thanks Sam, Eric & Janet!  :)

I just need to make sure that I have this on my blog...
Alan and I had two pairs of pants and a vest tailored here, and we were impressed with not only the service but the tailor himself. He knew what he was talking about, and he didn't put the prices up just because we were 'farangs'.

If you are in Phuket, and would like to get suits, gowns or dress tailored... I recommend Mark & Peach. Or, at least you have another tailor shop like Mark & Peach that you can make your own comparison.

I stared at this picture for a long while... I can't believe Alan & I have called this place home for the last 2 years. I looked back at the whole experience of us being here, and what we have done and achieved thus far. I don't regret leaving Sydney, but I do miss the food, quality produce, and our family and friends there.

Our 9th Anniversary today... Alan rang from his hotel room at 5.30am (Colombo time) in Kuala Lumpur, he's flying back home today.

And another great surprise in the morning when I opened up the mail. Hugh, my ex-boss from the U.K., has sent us an e-Card for our anniversary. To me, this is ultra-special....

Thanks so much, Hugh!

Early March 07
Alan drew his BBQ project for the contractor. We finalised the details with one local contractor.

23 April 2007
The contractor started working on the area. Removing one of the palm trees, laying foundation for the concrete slab, etc. etc.

23 May 2007
There was a month long of slow work in progress, and delays, etc...

There were several errors, the supervisor could not read the drawings, and had no idea where and how to start building the structure. Naturally, the workers were blamed for his inadequacy. The contractor had to constantly come in twice or thrice a day just to check and confirm the work done. In fact, the supervisor was rude, and had no respect for the people living in the house. He would simply throw rubbish anywhere, and demanded for tea, cakes, cold drinks, etc... you can almost certainly smell him coming through the gate during every tea break.

4 June 2007
Finally able to see the finished surface

26 July 2007
The project finally completed.

Finally got ourselves a printer with the refillable ink tank system from Bangkok. The printer requires some technical modifications but it saves money in the long run.

Taking pictures on a typical bus from Patong to Phuket Town, cost THB 20 each. Alan was truly patient with me, taking buses around the island instead of spending ridiculous fares on taxis.

Alan has also been eating noodles after noodles for lunch and dinner for the last two days, we are going out somewhere nice for steak - a place call Buffalo Steak House. Let's hope it is good. :)

Rest & Relax @ Phuket, Thailand

That's us after our haircuts @ Central Festival.

Spending a few days here before going to Sydney for Rowen & Laura's wedding.

Really looking forward to seeing our friends & families, but not the cold weather.

Norman bought me this T-Shirt and shorts for my birthday, the yellow LEE T-Shirt is nice, funky and fashionable. And the blue Adidas shorts is comfy and fits nicely.

Norman actually went out of the way to get my gift, he finished work at 8pm and rushed to get the gift and almost missed the cut-off time for water supply for his shower.

Thanks very much Norman, for the thoughtful gift and for your wonderful friendship.

I bought this mobile phone in Bangkok for a SriLankan friend as a gift, I checked so many shops and didn't like anything I saw until this handset came along. I didn't hagger on the price too much as well, which is unusual for me. Anyway, I reckon it was a good buy.

Irene's 39th Birthday today, I'd like to think that she is 38 (born in 1969) but she's comfortable using the Chinese calendar. Alan and I spoke to her on the phone, she was looking/reading books when we called. I told her that she would have to wait till we get home for her birthday presents.

Happy Birthday, my dear sister.

Lots of love - Otoko & Alan.

Was chatting with Jia Jia and wishing her a Happy Belated Birthday - sorry Jiaa! , and we spoke about some of the things she could buy in Vietnam. I remember Alan and I bought 2 of these photo albums that we cherish alot, in fact so much that we haven't even used it.
I have also troubled Jia Jia to buy for me two of those Vietnamese dripping coffee cups, which will be nice when used with ground coffee - very commonly used in Sri Lanka.