Ubin Dogs

One of the nicest things about spending a day at Ubin is the laid back charm of the islanders, from the human inhabitants to canine residents. And whenever I am there, I usually go ga ga over the friendly dogs. Some of them do actually come right up to the basketball court where we usually meet and they are usually rewarded with a nice round of head rubs and pats. Even dogs that are relaxing by the road are never wary of strangers, and welcome affection. Which I usually give in large amounts, seeing that its been a long time since I have a dog to love.

The two pictures were taken about 8 months apart, showcasing 2 of Ubin's nicest looking resident dogs. The black and tan one is only a wee puppy, but already, he's so cute and goofy looking. He's got a brother who's brown and white, and no prize for guessing - their owners (the bike rental shop across the road from Ubin restaurant) have named them 'Blackie' and 'Brownie'.

I didn't see the brown boxer-like one last Saturday. He usually hangs out by the first rental shop. He's anotehr looker for a mutt. All brown and good musculature with a boxer like head and muzzle. And aloof. I like! Hope to see him again the next time I visit.

Guess who...

...drinks the manly Boddingtons and who drinks the gu-niang Corona?

Fresh lime juice and chicken curry rice followed by cornetto ice-cream. Lovely afternoon wasted. lol. The picture's not very good though. Off focus. Pity.

Applecow and Dachsie go to Spinelli

It all started when Otterman sent a mass mail informing all and sundry that he has been evicted from his cubby hole in the museum and will probably spend the next couple of months setting up a make-shift office at the Science canteen.

I sent him an email telling him that parking his butt at the Spinelli outlet at the spanking new University Hall might be a nicer thing to do. He replied that he hasn't checked it out yet, and was too lazy to. So here I am, blogging about it.

I didn't want to appear sua-koo, taking pictures like some country bumpkin, so applecow unknowingly became my partner in crime. I had asked her along to diffuse the embarassment of going by myself and taking loads of pictures. Mingko couldn't make it.. saved by having to set up the stage for BEJC at 4pm. Narrow escape for her!

So for the benefit for Otterman and whoever else, here it is..


The new counter staff.

Nice cushy interior without the madcap bustle of downtown outlets...you gotta love the high ceiling too.





The opening special.... $2 for a latte!



Applecow cunningly distracts the counter staff while I lurk around, taking pictures.



Must...resist.... temptation...



Poseur shot...at this point in time.. applecow must have been kicking herself for agreeing to come along. At one point she actually said "I shouldn't have brought you here the other day in the first place!" But I later found out that both of us are actually a source of continual embarassment to our friends, so I guess we're ok together. lol



It ends, and we're giving it two thumbs up for the cheapo (limited period only!) latte and super cool ambience. The caffeine didn't help me much.. I still dozed off (for just a little while - I swear!) at the BEJC meeting.

OMG!!! This is so uncanny!

Especially now that I've got the lab all to my lonesome self this week (everyone else is in Tioman...)

mmm... Kitkat!

Lookie here! Weird and wonderful kitkat flavours from the Land of the Rising Sun! This one's red bean ice...courtesy of Seiji who saw my modest kitkat collection uploaded on Flickr. I'm wondering how this tastes like.. but there's only 1! Oh! The agony... think I'll just keep it for a while...

See it up close.

A sad sight

Just a year ago, I wrote about my beloved hundred steps.

I walked past it today and its become like this.


I'm absolutely gutted. Little things like these makes up for me, what it means to grow up here. I have a nice picture of a whole flock of MGS girls coming down the stairs, taken for our school year book in 1985 or 1986. The reason why I remember it is because my sister was one of the little girls in it. I'll see if I dig it up and post it soon.

Ecolab 2005

Ecolab 2005
Originally uploaded by island_girl.

The annual ecolab convocation party last night was a success, and we didn't expect anything less! Daisy even flew back from Bogor where she works for the occasion.

The only people missing from the picture, unfortunately is my boss, Peter, the one who made it all possible. NNK was on her way back from Seattle, visiting her Godma, R is somewhere out in Perak giving limestone hills there the once over. Z the ever busy one, was stuck in a meeting.Otterman, as usual...was out cold due to his chronic flu. And he took the key to Peter's room with him too! It was a good thing LG was still in the office went I ran up, all wild eyed and hyper asking for the transponder to SR2. Else the party grub will only be chips and alcohol.

Next time!

More pictures here.

Phwoooargh!

Phwoooargh!
Originally uploaded by island_girl.

This one was taken in Okinawa, November 2003.

No questions about it,Churami Aquarium is the bestest in the world. I could have sat here all day watching the flurry of activity in the tank.... schools of mantas, eagle rays, 3! whale sharks, nurse sharks, pelagic fishes..... its a shame I didn't stay as long as I would have liked.... I will definitely go back.. just so that I can take in this view again.


English review here.

Leaf monkey gathering

Julian and I caught in a sacrilegious act - drinking wine from liang teh glasses! Not that the monkey house didn't have any proper stemware... we were too cool for that :P.