Autumn 2010 J-dramas

Wow! Just had a look at the list of upcoming J-dramas and had a pleasant surprise :) Saw many familiar actors & actresses in the cast list, and best of all, Shirotan would also be in one of the dramas (though I think he should be one of those calefares again :P). However, I think 小花 would probably be even more excited as many of her idols would be participating in the various dramas.

Below are the dramas (and cast) that I am looking forward to:

1. Keizoku 2: SPEC (戸田恵梨香 & 城田優)



2. Ogon no Buta (岡田将生)



3. Q10 (佐藤健)



4. Juui Dolittle (成宮寛貴 & 小栗旬)



5. Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna (玉木宏 & 吉瀬美智子)



6. Nagareboshi (竹野内豊 & 上戸彩)



There are also a few more dramas such as Himitsu (志田未来), Perfect Report (小出恵介) & FACE MAKER, which seems to have interesting plots but think I will only watch them if I have the time or if reviews are good :P

Looks like I will be very busy for the next few months :)

2010 Movie #23: Inception

My company had organized a subsidized movie event for "Inception" today so 小花 and I decided to go and watch it.

The plot was complex but interesting, and there seemed to be so many things happening at the same time due to the different levels of the dream. It was fascinating to watch how each layer was linked to the other, and I even felt anxious for the characters when their time to return back to reality was almost running out. Overall, we enjoyed the movie very much.

2010 Movie #22: Despicable Me

Today 小花 and I watched "Despicable Me". The story was rather nice and we really enjoyed the 3D effects. The roller coaster scene felt so real that it seemed like we were on the ride itself. The 3D effect at the end credits were also fantastic. Glad that we did not miss it.

I also liked the cute yellow minions, and their actions were so comical that we kept laughing non-stop. There was even a scene where one minion picked up another and shook him and he became a glowing light stick! It was really hilarious :D Overall, a highly recommended movie to watch.

2010 Movie #21: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Today 小花 and I watched "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" in Gold Class. It was really comfortable in the theater and we enjoyed the movie. Some of the scenes were quite funny, especially where Jacob and Edward kept provoking each other and trying to prove that they are a better choice for Bella.

I had initially thought that this would be the last installation of the Twilight series, but 小花 informed me that the next story will be the final one, and it would be split into two movies. Shall look forward to the movies :)

2010 Movie #20: Toy Story 3

I have not watched the previous 2 installments of Toy Story so had no idea of the plot at all. However, this did not prevent me from enjoying Toy Story 3 at all. I thought the story was really good and heartwarming, with funny scenes throughout as well. The feelings of the toys seemed so realistic that it made me wonder if the toys that I once played with felt the same way. I was really touched when Andy gave away his toys to another child, who would take care of them and play with them again.

Now I'm keen to watch the first 2 Toy Story movies as well ;)

2010 Movie #19: Sex and the City 2

小花 had a pair of Gold Class tickets so we decided to watch "Sex and the City 2" as the movie was more than 2 hours long and would be more value for money to watch in Gold Class.

The plot was quite lame, and it was a bit ridiculous to see the 4 main casts frequently changing into different expensive clothing in Abu Dhabi just for the sake of it. However, there were quite a number of funny scenes, especially those about Samantha who kept complaining about her menopause. Overall, a good movie to just laugh at without having to think about the plot.

2010 Movie #18: Killers

My colleagues had a craving for ramen so we drove to The Central to have lunch at Marutama Ramen. However, there was a long queue when we reached there so we decided to dine at Watami instead. The set meals were quite value for money and we were all very full. Later in the afternoon, we had free Haagen Dazs ice-cream courtesy of our company.

Due to the heavy lunch and tea, 小花 and I were too full to have a proper meal for dinner. 小花 just wanted to have some cold dessert so we went to Food Republic. She ordered ice-kachang while I bought a couple of kueh tu tu. We also bought 4 BBQ chicken wings to share as they looked tempting :P After that, we proceeded to the cinema for our movie.

The movie was a comedy but it was also full of action scenes, as the male lead was an ex-killer who is now being targeted himself. The plot was a bit weird though, as almost everyone he knew in his daily life after his marriage was suddenly trying to kill him. However, we still enjoyed the movie as we were not too bothered about whether the plot made sense and just wanted to have a good laugh :)

2010 Movie #17: Shrek Forever After

Today 小花 and I watched the final installment of the Shrek series. We have watched the previous chapters so did not want to miss this, even though some reviews were not very good.

I felt the movie brought across the message "You only learn to appreciate what you have when you lose it". Shrek learnt it the hard way but luckily he had a good ending. Donkey and Puss in Boots provided the audience with most of the laughter :) On the whole, this movie may not have been as funny as the previous installments, but it was a good and heartwarming close to the series.

Desire fulfilled!

After months of researching and reading reviews and waiting, I have finally bought a new handphone - HTC Desire :) Had actually wanted to wait till my contract with Starhub ends in July before switching to Singtel in order to get the $100 off for porting over. However, Starhub offered me a $70 discount and since the monthly subscription is $1 cheaper than Singtel's, and I can enjoy 20% discount as a Hub Club member, I decided to just recontract with Starhub.

Now just waiting for the phone to be fully charged so that I can start exploring it :)

End of holiday...

As our flight home today was at 3.25pm, our tour manager told us the previous night that he would not set any morning call so that we can get a good night's sleep. Therefore, we only went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast at about 9.30am. We even had time to go to the nearby supermarket for a stroll after breakfast.



We reached the airport at around 12.30pm and after checking in our luggage, we went to queue for tax refund. Luckily there were not many people and we managed to get our tax refunds quickly. We then went to grab a quick bite before boarding the plane for Dubai International Airport, where we waited for another 3.5 hours before our flight back to Singapore.






Time really flies when on holiday and now will have to prepare to go back to work again on Monday. So sad...

Italy - Rome

This morning we left Naples for Rome. Firstly, we went to Vatican City and visited the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, as well as St. Peter's Basilica, which is the largest Catholic church in the world. The architecture of the buildings and art collections were truly amazing, and even the ceilings were covered with frescoes.



























After that, we visited the Colosseum. There were a few people dressed up as gladiators for photo shoots with tourists but I managed to secretly take photos of them from far :P Near the Colosseum was the Arch of Constantine, which was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory in a battle.







Later we went to the Trevi Fountain, where legend has it that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome.




We were then given some time to explore the area near the Spanish Steps, the longest and widest staircase in Europe. Just below the Spanish Steps was the "Fountain of the Old Boat", so named because it is in the shape of a half-sunken ship with water overflowing its bows.




After that, we went for dinner before proceeding to our hotel for the night. We were pleasantly surprised that our triple-sharing room was a suite :)