My love...

I was just looking through the blog-patrol of my blogsite when I noticed that there was a link coming from a very interesting source link - a pmilizia blog weblink. Hey.. when did lovey get himself a blog? I saw the site and upon reading what he wrote.. I got a little teary eyed. You have to read it to believe it.. he's such a cutie and a romantic!

You're the sweetest!~!~ Love you lots Pete...

Happenings...

Finally... some rain showers to add some green to the grass outside our place as well as other patches of grass/lawn. It's been so hot and humid that almost all the grass has turned to an ugly shade of yellow. Now... we wait for the rain clouds to clear and blue skies to reappear to match the newly green lawns.

I've been a busy bee.. running around doing odds and ends. My last posting was of Chele and me playing tennis... well, over the weekend... we've been on the move again. We couldn't wait till the weekends... so margarita's night was on Thursday. Chee Ming joined us girl for dinner and margaritas. I met up with Michaela @ Michelle who just got back from Slovakia by way of Prague for a couple of drink and plans were made for Saturday night for us to go out.

Michele got her car back Friday evening from the dealer. Did I ever mention that she got into an accident on 4th of July? No?? Well.. she did :( All is well now and she is thankfully fine and in one piece!. We were just in Rochester that Saturday to help Nancy out at her church's annual chicken barbeque. Knowing us girl.. anything to do with food - we were more than glad to help out!!

We got back in Buffalo the very same Saturday and chilled out a bit before heading out. There were 8 (Chele, Sharon, Sher, Peter, Chee Ming & friend, Hye Yon & Louis - Michaela got caught up with something) of us heading downtown - we were at Skybar dancing for a good part of the night. It was packed but fun. We were all really amused since there was this "professor" looking older man, he looks about.. what... say early 60s? And... he was definitely trying to 'get into' the crowd. Apparently, he was a regular there at Skybar. Let's just say that the 'professor' was not a pretty sight to witness in action... hands in his trouser pockets and attempts to get jiggy with the music and girls or guys around him. *eeewwee....

We didn't make it back home till 3:00 a.m., the girls get to sleep in, but Peter, myself and Hye Yon had to get up early so that we could head up to Toronto in time for Dim Sum. It was Hye Yon's first time to Toronto - Peter thought that it would be great to show her around town a bit. So it was to Dim Sum we went downtown Toronto at Spadina and later, a good part of the trip was at the Eaton Centre. I wanted to get some pants for work - and so did some major shopping!

Monday was back to work for me... and last evening, a few of us at work headed to Elmo's for a farewell dinner bid to Karyadi who is moving to NYC tomorrow. His new job calls for him to be there this coming Monday and he is all packed now with the UHaul ready to head east to the city. I'm going to miss him a lot!! He was the lifesaver to many of my work pc-related crises. But I am glad that he secured a new career and at least he isn't that far away. He's still in NY state and just an hour's flight away! Good luck with the new job Karyadi, and we will definitely meet up whenever I get to the city.

Sporty Sher...

Decided to be active for a change. I usually get home from work, water my plants, decide whats for dinner - cook, eat and be the biggest couch potato/bed I can ever be, seeing that it's summer.

There's a community pool at out townhouse/apartment complex and we have not even been in it this summer.. what a waste! Gotta find that one HOT day and just jump into the water!! And so.. Michele and I got to the nearest tennis court - 5 mins away, off Mill Street and had a go at a game of tennis. It was nice to be moving about for a change.. Peter even teased me if I was actually up for any physical activities! What do you think love? Am I not up to it? We'll see about that when you get your bum here this weekend!! ;P

The 'Giggle-Loop' Fun...

Thanks to Peter for getting me Season 1 through 3 of Coupling last Christmas... I have been converting a lotta friends into Coupling buffs. At one point, I did regular check ups on with new converted fans over certain episodes that we go giddy over at work. So.. ahem.. Peter, where is my Season 4 to complete my Coupling craze?? Sher still awaiting...

The weekend so far...

Just got back from Toronto with Michele & Chee Ming... ate a lot, bought some stuff.. what else is new?! :P We were able to meet up with Mario, Nancy & Mary at their hotel downtown Toronto - the Delta Chelsea. They were spending the weekend in the city - we drove all the way from Buffalo and they drove as well.... the difference? Only a short drive for them since they went on the Fast Ferry from Rochester.

My weekend so far.. in a nutshell...

Friday evening... went to Barnes & Noble to get my ticket/wrist band (I was #52) at 6:00 p.m. so that I can get my Potter books at midnight. Thanks to Louis for accompanying me there!! Both of us later hurried to the Italian Festival down on Hertel ave. for calamaries, steak & dandelions, fresh mozarella and gelatos. Sadly... could not fit in the best thing there was there... cannolis!! Had some time to kill before we head back to Barnes and Nobles... so we got a couple of drinks and hung out at Sonoma Grille.

When we did get to B&N, it only took 10 minutes to be done with the whole ordeal on getting the book. Our little book packet came with a Harry Potter poster of Book #6, one of those wrist bands (only this one was green and read July 16th, 2005 - commerating the release of book #6) and some bookmarks. Michele met up with me there to make sure that I got her a copy as well :D
* * *
This morning, woke up.. got ready and Chee Ming came to get us for our drive up to Toronto. Instead of the usual dimsum runs.. we had sashimi & sushies for brunch in Markham. Shopped a bit at Pacific Mall - Michele and I were extra pleased that we had "Tau Fu Fa".

Always a must when in Toronto, we got our pastry fix of egg tarts!! There was a Malaysian restaurant called Satay Rio that was selling "Bak Kua" - Barbeque Jerky, and of course being the nice caring sister and girlfriend.. I got some for Sharon & Peter. I also bought a bunch of DVDs for Peter - classic Stephen Chow, Jet Li movies for his Chinese movie collection series. Before we met up with Mario, Nancy & Mary we had a pit stop to make... I was doing a major stocking up session of Indomee Mee Goreng and Ribenas!!!

Now.. if only I had the time to actually start reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince... I only managed 7 pages since I got it last night!! ;P

Year #6 at Hogwarts...

Will be at Barnes & Nobles before 6:00 p.m. to claim my book ticket. I get to pick up my book at 12.01 a.m. later in the night, tomorrow to be exact. Book #6.. can't wait to find out what happens next!

Ween Nee's wedding pixs...

Ween finally sent me pictures from her weddding... and here they are...

Presenting.. Mr. & Mrs. Vincent Choong...
Ween Nee gave me a heads up on the wedding news.. but then again, a couple of oceans apart as well as a couple of time zones behind did not make planning any easier for Peter & myself to work our schedules out and make a trip home to share Ween's and Vincent's special day. Anyways, I am glad you both got our gifts in time... also, am very glad that Vincent is enjoying listening to the songs on the CD!! Did I turn him hopelessly romantic enough for you? That was the whole point of the CD.... *wink!


The lovely bride with her bridesmaids & pretty flower girl.. from left, Evonne, Sharmila, BRIDE, Diana & Ween's dear friend Ee Ling...


Altogether now...


The wedding toast and wedding cake-cutting...


These are two of my favorite pictures... all my dear friends from high school.. everyone looks happy and most importantly, together. It's been some time now since I have met up with some of the girls.. but seeing them here makes me smile thinking of our times together back in St. George's.
Evonne, Pui Lai, Suveea, Diana, Poh Ling, Sharmila & Ween Nee... hope to see you girls some time in the near future. I am working on getting time off this December to head back to Penang - definitely planning on seeing you all then!!

Farewell my dear friend...

5.20 a.m.
Buffalo Niagara International Airport

A send off of one of the most dearest friend to me.. Wei Loon. He departed for Beijing, China for a new job opportunity. Knowing Wei Loon - he will come out top as he has always done in anything that he puts himself into. I wish him best of luck and lotsa care; and that we will meet up once again!
* * *
I first met Wei Loon here in Bufflalo. We've known each other for more than 3 years.. and in that 3 years, he has been one of the most responsible, cheerful, dependable, fun, understanding, wise and most giving friend anyone could ever wish for...

as a colleague - you know that things are definitely moving smoothly with him around;
as a mentor - he is always patient and find ways to help you understand things;
as the "I.T." guy - you know that any crazy thing that you may have done to your PC - Wei Loon will fix it back to normal;
as a sports fan - he will always be the most enthusiastic fan out there;
as a friend from home (Wei Loon comes from Ipoh) - we rejoice and reminisce of all things dearest to us from home;
as a food lover - we eat and be merry (before we were both busy with Grad school, we would have dinner at least 2-3 times per week), and...
as a friend - he will be truly missed ever so dearly.

Michael Bublé

The girls and I & Peter (thanks a bunch for coming love.. (Michael thanked all the guys that went with their wife, girlfriends, significant others, etc.) was at Shea's Performing Arts Center last night to see the one and only one-derful Michael Bublé LIVE in concert! It only took me a couple of months of planning on which concert venue to go to and when was first day of ticket presales was scheduled. I am glad he made it to Buffalo - saved me the driving :P Even if I were to drive - it would have been well worth it!!

- pix from Hear Ye!


Not only is he amazing for being the young crooner he is.. his performance was awesome! He was comical in between songs - he portrayed to his audience how he would sound like as... an Opera singer, Maroon 5 singing "This Love".. and even a Michael Jackson stint.

- pix from Hear Ye!

Overall.. I am soo planning on attending more of his concerts.. let me see... I know that he is gonna be Pittsburg, PA tomorrow and in Cleveland, OH the next day.. I can still make the drive there :D He's gonna be touring around the East Coast until August before he heads to Aussie in September and later to Europe. I sound like a nut case of a music fan right now.. but I can't help it!! We were seated in the Orchestra in row P (16th row from stage), best seats to view Michael - just look straight ahead.. wished we could have gotten further in front.. but it was fine. Of course.. Sharon and Michele and the rest of the females in the theather all went goo goo gaga over him! Michele was especially drawn to one of the cute saxophone player. Michael performed his last number which was... Song For You.. Michael took off his ear-piece and literally sang without any of his 12 member jazz band. The entire Shea's theather went quiet and was in awe listening to him belt his heart out! Okay.. enough of the Bublé craziness for now... :P

Newlyweds...

July 9th, 2005
Randall Memorial Baptist Church, Williamsville, New York

Congratulations to both Matthew & Alethea on your special day!~!~

Announcing, Mrs & Mrs. Matthew Tan....


Group picture with the newlyweds...
Seated (L-R): Marvis, Amy, Sherene, Adriana & Diane
Standing (L-R): Peter, Freddy, Karyadi, Wei Loon, Alethea & Matthew, Madam Tan (Groom's mother), Mr. & Mrs. Chew (Bride's Parents)


Here are the ladies.. Adriana, Sherene, Amy & Marvis...


More pictures from the wedding... Freddy & his lovely wife Adriana... Peter & myself...

Weekend - last day..

Day 4 - Independence Day (Monday, July 4th):
Last day in the city... all packed, walked around midtown - had breakfast... goodbyes see you soon wishes to everyone...


Byes to the Big Apples for now.. the skyscrapers (our hotel was really close to the Crysler building), yellow taxi cabs, subways, hot dog vendors, dog-walkers, etc, etc.


All checked out from our hotel, planning ahead for future meetings... August is just around the corner... you guys had better come up to WNY so we can head further north to Canada. And pretty please Claire (& Peter)... can't Dan and I both have a pet turtle??! Please...


Dan & Peter... 'nuff said! :D
***

Almost forgot... we found manggis (mangosteen) in Chinatown. Ayu bought almost a dozen or so.. let's just say that it bears a hefty price of US$2.00 PER fruit! Yikes!! I got one for Peter to try, he liked it :P

As Peter and I headed towards JFK... we had a minor delay.. the train we were on made a stop. According to the conductor, there's was fire on the tracks.. no big problem apparently as it was resolved in 10 minutes. Interesting enough, this tough guy wannabe in our train was not what he was all cracked up to be. He was the ONE and only guy in the train who started being panicky! Yeah... very tough indeed!

Got back to Rochester okay.. after we put our stuff down at home.. Peter and I headed over to his friend Steve's place where he hosts his annual 4th of July barbeque get together. On a humid day.. a nice dip in the pool was called for - I dipped me leg in 'de pool :D Stayed for a bit and later proceeded to see fireworks.. a yearly event with Pete's family and his cousins. Peter's cousin Maryanne was visiting from Florida - it was great to see her again!!

End of weekend !!

Weekend.. continued...

Day 3 (Sunday, July 3rd):
Peter and I were scheduled to fly out on Sunday at 3.30 p.m., however, after much persuasion and sweet talk from Claire.. we switched our flight to the following day.. this means we don't have to rush around going from one point to another. We also managed to get a room in Manhattan (on a holiday weekend!!) for the night as we were leaving for the city with a detour to Jerry's house. We met Jerry at White Plains and he brought us to his home in Spring Valley. I have not seen Jerry for almost 2 years.. I think.. he left UB around 2002. I was thrilled to see him again!!


Jerry holding on to his girlfriend, Andrea's cute 'lil dog. Andrea just moved back to the city about a week ago from Chicago, but she was out that weekend camping in Jersey with her family. All three of us met when we were in UB and I have known Jerry since the first semester I arrived in Buffalo.


Here's Jerry and myself - his little Princess..


It was also nice to see Fifie & Roger (Jerry's mom & dad).. they have been asking for some time now on when am I going to visit.. and so, I finally made it there! After catching up with Jerry and breakfast over at the Dejean's (Fifie make the best scrambled eggs!!), Jerry drove us lot to the city. He couldn't join us in the city since there was going to be a small family party (which we were all invited to) going on at home. Missing you already Jerry!!


Back in the Big Apple... we checked in to our room at the Crowne Plaza at the United Nations on 304 East 42nd Street which was only a couple of blocks away from Grand Central Station.


At the Grand Central Station is where we met up with Dan and underground we went on the subway to Central Park North. We made it on time to meet up with Catherine, Sally and Helen for an afternoon in the park where there's a jazz series going on.


Now we can just sit down and enjoy the jazz band playing in the background!!


Catherine & Sally looking relaxed... and to their right.. Ayu, Claire & Dan. There you go closing your eyes again Claire! Open eyes wide, silly!!


Here's Claire with her eyes open and Ayu. On the other picture, there's Helen trying to finish her thoughts to Sally while Catherine keep snapping pictures of us in the train.


Now that our party is complete.. all 8 of us headed to Chinatown for dinner and walked around Chinatown for a bit.. did not manage to meet up with Sharon and her friends but we know that they were closeby in Little Italy.

End of Day 3!

Weekend - continued...

Day 2 (Saturday, July 2nd):
After a good night's rest.. we started the morning with pancakes. Thanks to Pete & Dan for making pancakes :D Met up with Catherine and Sally and we headed off to brunch/lunch (yes.. right after breakfast!) at Tigin's (nice Irish bar/restaurant that serves a mean brunch menu).


As you can see.. there was a color code going on with the girls. Peter couldn't be happier to be fed again... carefuly lovey.. don't want you to balloon up to the size of a walrus!! *muaks...


We don't want to miss the boat no.. yacht no, the schooner!! Hurry up with the pose Claire!


We made it on board!! We set sail for Long Island Sound.. taking in the breeze and rays of sun creeping through the clouds. There were a couple of small educational stations which we took turn going to. We learned a bit about sailing, the ecosystem around Long Island Sounds and preservation that's going along the Sound. At one of the stations - next to learning about the marshland around the Sound, we got a little too acquainted with "pickle grass" and later fresh "seaweed"!


We all did a pretty good job hoisting up the sails... alrighty crewmates.. smile for the camera somemore!!


Here's a picture of everyone together and one of the Mount Holyoke women... smiling bright & pretty!
* * *
Ayu arrived in Stamford as we finished with our yacht-cruise... about time she caught up with us for the weekend! Later in the evening, dinner at Sakura where we feasted like there's no tomorrow.


The girls wanted sashimi and so we ordered The Love Boat to share and I also ordered soft shell crab rolls. YummY!!


Dan couldn't join us today since he was away at a friend's party... so Peter was assigned as head of the table being the only guy present. The girls thought that he was just oh sooo cute!! After dinner, we headed to a couple of bars to continue with the day's theme = chilling!!

End of Day 2!