It was a breeze thinking of fun activities for bloggers to do in the museum. It helped that the museum had some really intriguing art pieces exhibiting during that period.

Thrice Upon A Time: A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines was up and I would say that my favourite art piece is Anonymity. It’s a whole series of pictures taken by a witty guy called Poklong Anading. He had random strangers he met on the streets of Manila to pose, holding a small mirror, covering their faces. Then right at the moment when sunlight was reflected on the mirror, he took a black and white photograph. What’s left of the picture is a strangely stunning image of a faceless person sitting on an ice cream cart/holding a bunch of balloons/sweeping the streets etc. Nice. I like Poklong Anading’s interpretation of Anonymity.

I found this picture of Sidney posing with one art piece out of the series I was talking about.  Man holding a bunch of balloons. Sidney submitted this picture for games during the event. Took this pic with his Blackberry and sent it to Hat-py Party Submission. Yeah we made the bloggers run around the galleries to so some fun stuff so they can go home with prizes! Btw nice outfit Sidney and that’s an adorable pose (:

Interesting isn’t it? Go check it out the other art pieces in Anonymity. The exhibition is still on till end of this month! Oh I’m gonna share another picture of a thought-provoking art piece in the museum submitted by a blogger. I love how the flash makes the picture more interesting. If I’m not mistaken, he was using a Samsung Pixon 12, proudly sponsored by Samsung. Picture turned out less grainy than Sidney’s. Not bad at all.

And here’s a lovely shot of the team at 24seven taken with Kelvin‘s Diana Mini and instant Polaroid accessory. Thanks pirate!

So I was helping out at the reception with molemole. Oh don’t you agree that molemole looked so sweet in her cutesy little lamb hat. Wah so hardworking.

Aw shit Kris caught me sleeping on the job.

Having played a role in organising this last minute event, I must say that this party would not have happened if not for National Heritage Board, SAM, Samsung Mobile, Sentosa, SingTel, The Lens Men, Megazip, Wavehouse, Cineblast and Sentosa 4D Magix. Thank you all for coming onboard as sponsors despite the short notice!

Since this was a Hat-py party, guests who came without a hat will be imposed a penalty. They have to wear these ugly party hats!

Fortunately, almost all of them came in funky hats! I got more and more excited as more and more bloggers found their way to the museum because their have such awesome hats! Look!

That’s Chee Chin in his Winnie the Pooh assemble.

The three ladies in kinky wigs and masquerade-ish hats.

Turkey in headphones and a Goth babe

The horny hunk

That’s Claudia‘s mini hat which looks like mine and Lester in his yellow-brown shower cap with a cute-looking pile of shit attached to it. Ingenious idea.

No fancy party is complete with pirates! Thats Jerrick and Kelvin!

Not forgetting our wonderful emcee, Ben who wore a very sweet, pretty spiky green cap!

Jng jng jng… and the winner of the best Hat for the night goes to Feliza! Yeah you’re right. Her partner for the night was the horny hunk mentioned earlier. What a lovely horny couple!

Too bad I did not have time to camwhore with them. Busy! Didn’t even have time to let Nicole try out my glittery eyeliner from Bodyshop. Sorry babe! How bout next week at 24seven’s BBQ for bloggers? It’s happening on a Wednesday, January 13 at Aloha Loyang Sea View Bungalow 6. By the way for those of you reading this, feel free to RSVP if you are interested to join us!

Before I end, I want to thank all the bloggers who made one of the biggest gathering of bloggers 24seven has hosted  such a bubbly affair. You guys ROCK! Oh oh talking about a rocking crowd, I must also thank Black Diamond Ninjas and Only After Coffee for the rocking band performances! No party is a party without good music right?

Yes yes I love my job. Can’t helped it. Social media is wayy cool.
Correction: the people behind social media tools are cool! Yes you, you and YOU!

Pss. Pictures here were all taken by Kris and you can find them here. Thanks Kris!

Yesh I was at Supperclub for an exclusive World AIDS Day event of art, music and dance! Despite the gloomy weather on the outside, I managed to have quite a rocking time with plenty of good food, great company and wonderful music at the VIP chill out room (:

If you remember a while ago, I was spreading the message of AIDS awareness and early testing! A big thank you to all who supported this effort by commenting on the post. Of those who commented, Kuan, Ivy and their partner joined me at the party! Hope you girls had fun! Kudos to the folks from Health Promotion Board and Ogilvy 360º for organising it.

Besides Kuan, Mariko, Kelvin, Victor, Claudia, Diana, Justin, Nadnut, Nicole, Darryl, Hisham, Jayden, Kamen Rider and other interesting peeps. Electrico was there.

I still prefer Maroon 5. But having any rock bands in the house always make a good party and partying for a good cause always rocks! Supperclub’s King sized beds with plush cushions is very comfy. Not to mention the many servings of Shepherd pie I had that evening.

Jack and Rai performed Pixelated, a song dedicated to World AIDS Day 2009. As what Vic said, this song reflects the need for more people to “look at HIV/AIDS through pixelated eyes so Learn more about HIV/AIDS to protect yourself and your love ones and show your care and concern for people living with HIV.”

Here are some lovely pictures of me and my peeps.

Claudia, me and Vic. Thanks dude for the pictures!

Vic was showing off his geeky specs! I must try it on!

With the geeky specs, I tried to do a wink here with my left eye. fail. lol.

By the way, a graffiti was created by graffiti artist Killer Gerbil near the entrance, driving the message to paint our life right with bright, striking colours!

Remember. Your Life. Your Canvas.

Also present at Standing Sushi that evening was Barry and Fin. We had so much fun dining at this cosy sushi bar! By the way it was dinner time so there were chairs for us to sit on. However, expect no chairs during lunch time! This is a standing sushi bar remember?

(:

Before I get on to the food, I must introduce Howard! He owns this unique bar! Does he look familiar? Recall and tell me where you saw him before! You must had if you’ve watched Channel 5 years ago. Heh

OK Howards’s recommendation. First dish is the Chef’s Special (Sashimi platter) $25.00. It’s very fresh! And the thick chucky slices of shashimi spells H-E-A-V-E-N.

Look at the juicy orange balls of goodness!!! Is your tummy growling now?

Wait wait. There’s many more coming! Here’s the Nigiri platter that has Maguro $2, Sake Toro $2, Hamachi (a type of yellowtail) $4, Aburi Hotate $4 and Shime Saba (Mackerel) $3.

Out of the five, I like the Saba (Mackerel) best! Special instructions from the chef to eat from the lighter taste to the stronger taste fish and not to dip the Aburi Hotate (Scallops)/the one with pinky paste on top of it on soy sauce. It was very useful to have the chef checking on us all the time to see if we are treating the sushi right.

Hey I’m sure you’ve tried Unagi, freshwater eels. Behold here’s the Anago $6! Salt-water eels that are slightly less rich and oily than the unagi!

The anago was simmered to perfection! I fell in love with this exquisite eel sushi at first sight. The problem was how to chomp it down in just one bite. Well, we’re suppose to eat sushi in just 1 bite right?

The deep-fried chicken nuggets, Tori Karaage $6 had a good crispiness to it. I thought that this would make a great snack for pa to enjoy with a can of beer over a golf programme on TV.

(:

At first glance, the Salmon Yuzu Yama-mayo yaki $15 looked like a Hong Kong-style fried toast with condensed milk drizzled on it. Haha. No this is a big piece of flaky and moist grilled salmon! Yummy.

Are you a fan of tofu? If yes, you’ll be pleased to know that the Agedashi Tofu $5 had a slight crispiness before giving way to a sogginess as it absorbed the Dashi Broth which had light notes of the Kombu (Kelp) and Shoyu (Soy Sauce).

One of my favourite! The Mix Kinoko Foil Yaki $10 was AWESOME! Mushrooms lovers alert! A good mix of Shitake, Enoki and Shimeji mushrooms glazed in a secret special sauce which the chef won’t tell and we just can’t figured out what is it. This is a must-try.

I’ve always been a fan of smelt fish. But most of the time, I would order komochi shishamo (grilled smelts with roe) instead of the fried version which was what we had this evening, Shishamo age $8. The fish was coated with a layer of fried batter so unlike its grilled brethens, this fried fish can’t greet me with its mouth gaping open.

Yes it’s very tasty. Mmmm MMM the stomach is so stuffed with fish eggs! Another reason why I love Shishamo is that it is one of those fishes where you can eat them from head to tail! DIEEE fish BONESSS

A dining experience at the Standing Sushi Bar calls for the appearance of the standing sushi, Tamago Nigiri $6. Cute,standing, chubby fellas! haha.

Now that’s alot of food right? Check out how full our table was! Haha But no worries we did not waste any food!

Howard recommended a few of the Sake brands they have here and we’ve tried a few too. You can catch the culprit that made Claudia a little woozy here. Hey do you know that technically one doesn’t drink sake with sushi before or after the meal. Well apparently since they are both rice based, they do not complement each other and therefore should not be consumed together. Which is why green tea is a great option with sushi or sashimi. Anyway my vote for drink of the day goes to the cool and smooth Asahi beer! SLurps Aaaaaaah. Goes really well with the California roll $6.

Kampai!

Thanks Barry and Fin from Standard Chartered for the dinner! Good deal for Standard Chartered cardholders because you guys get to enjoy the 15% cashback everywhere you dine in Singapore!

Now, how to enjoy this deal? Just register via SMS “GET15 16-Digit Card Number” to 78722 before 31 December 2009. For example GET15 4508128456789000. You just need to spend at least $500 per month on anything, not just dining, to be entitled the 15% cashback on your dining expenses.

Sigh. My visit was barely a week ago and I miss Standing Sushi Bar already! :/

Standing Sushi Bar
1 Raffles Place
#B1-02B OUB Centre
Singapore 048616
Monday – Saturday
11:30am – 10:00pm

Disclaimer:
Standard Chartered Bank is a client of 24seven. Although Barry and Fin paid for the dinner, this post is not an advertorial by Standing Sushi nor Standard Chartered Bank. I wrote this post because I loveeeeee everything I ate that evening and I know I’ll get killed by my readers if I don’t share about the 15% cashback. You guys gonna like ‘WHY NEVER TELL US?’ Pss do note that this promotion is only valid in Singapore. Lol. Don’t go asking for cashback in Malaysia k?

(:

Our guide was LTA Foo Yiing Kai, a former Fire & Rescue Specialist and presently an Senior Officer. Pss. He has a gold badge for IPPT! Impressive! LTA Foo Yiing Kai was also deployed to Sichuan when international help was needed for the earthquake disaster. He’s exactly how I would imagined a fireman to look like! Suave, muscular and manly! Oh la la. Haha. OK come to think of it, all of the officers there fits the bill too! Perhaps it’s because they were all oozing with passion for their vocation. That must be it. Don’t you agree that passionate people are extremely sexy?

Well it’s no laughing matter to be in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). This is not an occupation for the faint hearted. Besides providing fire-fighting, rescue and emergency ambulance services and mitigating hazardous materials incidents, these guys also formulate, implement and enforce regulations on fire safety and civil defence shelter matters. We are talking about a dedicated team that respond to all types of life-threatening emergencies round-the-clock.

They actually sleep in their uniform and are ever-ready to grab a pole, hop on the fire-fighting vehicle and leave the fire station in 1 minute after the alarm bell rings.

After giving us a really informative special-guided tour with exclusive entry to some of the off-limits areas to the public, LTA Foo Yiing Kai shared a heart-wrenching story with us of how he once rescued a toddler from an accident scene. The terrified baby girl actually clung on to him like a koala baby, refusing to let him go because of the trauma she suffered. He had to leave his team at the accident site and accompany the baby to the hospital. I can’t imagined how bloody the scene was. The little girl’s mom was on her way to the hospital for a check-up. They were in a cab and apparently the cabbie took a wrong turn. When the stupid cab driver made a u-turn ILLEGALLY to get to the ride side of the road, a lorry ran over the cab. Luckily the mom and baby survived.

High chance that the firemen had to use this super loud and scary saw to rescue the mom who was stuck at the back of the car when they found her. The roar of this heavy machine (which he lifted effortlessly) was deafening.

After the tour, I kinda got inspired to join SCDF as a part-time fire woman. Oh look! I had loads of fun trying out the equipments!

The gun-like hose handler was so heavy! How can they hold on to this thing for so long while fighting fire? No wonder their arms looked so yummy sturdy!

Oh that’s the Light Fire Attack Vehicle or more affectionately known as the “Red Rhino”, a formidable well-designed vehicle which could maneuver into every corner of a HDB void deck! Woah, it looks small but it is equipped with a hydraulic system for rescue tools, a water mist gun and a water monitor.

You know, it was amazing to see so many families spending their Saturday morning at the fire station! Kids were running around in firemen helmets and attire, playing pretend. These mini fire-boys/girls were so adorable! I strongly recommend parents to bring their kids to visit a fire station! There’s a few fire stations around the island. Just pick one that’s near you. Visiting a fire station a fun activity for both kids and parents to do on a weekend. Plus, they will get so exhausted by the end of the day, you can enjoy some quiet time with your spouse alone. Have some wine and laugh over your kids’ hilarious stunts at the fire station.

OMG I had so much fun! A big thank you to LTA Foo Yiing Kai for broadening my knowledge on your occupation. Don’t you agree that the peeps at SCDF are unsung heroes who we remember only in times of need? Perhaps in time, more will acknowledge the efforts put in by SCDF to protect and save lives. You can start by finding out more about what they do here or even drop by a fire station and talk to one of the friendly officers. If you’re lucky, they may stay long enough for a chat before the alarm bell rings!

(:

I’m so pleased with my experience at the Central Fire Station that I shall end this post with a whacky picture of me taken by Andric! Thanks aaandric de blondee for the nice shot! The building totally rawks! I mentioned earlier that it’s 100 years old, remember?

Disclaimer: SCDF is a client of 24seven. This post is not an advertorial by SCDF. I wrote it because I really enjoyed myself and I want share my awesome visit to the Central Fire Station with my friends!

This is the Eevon-the-photographer shot by Geng Hui. Thanks Geng Hui, I like this pic alot!

The purpose of this visit is to discover fun places and facts of Singapore in light of the contest by S’pore Discovery Centre called SG Tidbits 365. More info about the contest here!

This group picture was taken at the Clementi Railway Track, Our last stop. Before that we were at Dairy Farm Park and Bukit Timah Hill.

It was a dewy evening
The muddy trails were soft

There was a fresh scent of greenery
and life whizzed by the moment

I thought I heard squirrels are scurrying back
but perhaps I was wrong
for the trail was mostly silent
if not for our chatters and laughs

I enjoyed the stillness of hiking
We were aware of the scenery along every hidden path

I breathed the scent of nice fresh air
I saw clouds form shapes within the skies
I smelt the flowers with my nose

No real dairy cows but
I saw two black bears play

(:

Out of the forest,
we chanced upon an abandon trail

We trekked the unkempt path and took a chance
The way across this old bridge seem peculiar, different and strange

It must had been the caramel-grained face of the rusty bridge
or the gushing waters from the river beneath it
for my senses danced as I walk upon the rustic tracks

As I navigated the old train tracks that made up the rusty bridge
I thought that this was a fabulous photo-outing
A good start for many more to come

(:

So yay, off to tapas bar we went on a sunny Wed afternoon. This place is a die-hard supporter of social media junkies. Have you been to Zsofi Tapas Bar? If not, you should.

Yes Mole Mole here deserves a TIGER!

Dunlop Street is just a street away from Sim Lim Tower. We booked the 2nd floor! Lovely pictures and frames along the staircase.

Oo check out the graffiti on the wall. Pretty arty-farty right?

According to Chris, a suave gentleman from Zsofi, today will be the last day the white wall at 2nd floor will be available for projection. WHY. Ah-ha. The 2nd floor is gonna be a boutique gallery. Hence, the walls will be adorned with artistic paintings! You can have your beer, chill and buy paintings off the wall. How cool is that?

BTW time for group picture! Krisandro, Claudia, Mole Mole and I played around with the camera before setting up the area. Haha. I love my wacky team!

Claudia and Ben can’t decide who should have the Tiger. Lol.

Guests who came early/on the dot had some fun chilling out at Zsofi‘s out door balcony. I like the setting.

My special ladies from Hill & Knowlton! Thanks Mariko, Debs and Xiu Wen! You girls are sweethearts!

The session with Kevin begins! Kevin’s talk is very useful to anyone who wants to know more on engaging different users in the social media space. Kelvin, not Kevin has a really great summary on Kevin’s sharing. Do check it out and digest it while I shall show you some pictures!

We have lotsa wonderful people in the crowd! Did I mentioned already that I love my job?

That’s me and Kevin! I think he will make a really good social media lecturer at NUS! CNM quick grab this talent!

Well since the event is about social media, I shall share a little about this emerging tool for PR/advertising.

I’m sure everyone (at least those who were at the event) is now aware that Facebook is NOT the answer to every social media campaign. Why? Well, certain media are more intimate and more appropriate for certain types of communication. Thus, we need to consider how private and intimate the communication should be. Should it be exclusive? If so what is the best tool to use? Also, does the campaign needs a higher level of synchronicity? If so, which tools allow real-time communication?

So it seems like we are getting better at discerning which social media to use. In fact, most of the time, the perceived and actual properties of a social media tool determines just how the campaign could possibly be run! In other words, we’ve become too obsessed with the tool rather than strategies in engaging users of the tool!

Here’s where Forrester Research’s approach to social media comes in.

The P O S T (1. People , 2. Objectives, 3. Strategy, 4. Technology) methodology is extremely helpful! We should really start by mulling over the strategic choice and use of social media by our targeted audience.

People are strategic not just in how they select the media, but also how they use the media. We should digest different aspects of the user influence i.e. user characteristics (gender, age, experience with medium) or user motivations (some people seek affiliations/company while others seek meaning be it in life or self-understanding) before moving on to the form the objectives and strategy of the campaign. Remember, technology comes last!

Isn’t it logical that various aspects of users influence how we can choose and use specific social media tools? Well, in essence, social media is really all about people. A lot of care is needed to run a true social media campaign. Which is why I think that short-term campaigns are sucky! They don’t value-add the community in the long-run. People who join these groups don’t form real relationships. They just come and go. You want friends like that? Pretty sad right?

:/

Before I end, I shall share this interesting article by a Web Shaman. This article will shed some light on how to work magic on blogger engagement.

OK Enjoy! And thanks for reading through this very long post!

I had posted the link to RSVP on my Facebook and we have a full house! WHoppie! If you are coming, YAY! See you later at Zsofi Tapas Bar!

No you don’t have to do any tedious stuff like create a video, take photos or write stunning posts about anything. You just need to vote for my group’s submission!

My lovely group (as you can see in the teaser poster below) are giving up TWO slots for one winner to bring his/her friend along to the trip with us! GOOD RIGHT?

We are a bunch of really really fun and happy people. Check out my pretty pink hair! HEHE. I dyed my hair pink for the contest you know? *grins* ok ok it’s a wig!!

Eh this contest ends on the 23rd of October 2009. Don’t forget to vote for my group’s submission when the time comes! I will announce on my blog/Facebook/Twitter once the video is posted. Meanwhile, be a fan of Dove Go Fresh Challenge Facebook page first (to vote for us, you’ll need to be a fan first).

Don’t worry if we don’t win, we’ll still give out a mystery prize to one lucky supporter.

Don’t forget to wait for my update when the video is posted. Then you can VOTE VOTE VOTE!

Be prepared!

So the plan was Baby parked his car at Harbourfront. Then we took the mrt to Clarke Quay!

Eh guess what? Hooters, ‘The Fun American Neighbourhood Restaurant’ had a branch at Clarke Quay? Didn’t know that and Adam Sandler came straight to my mind when I saw that restaurant. WAH I actually remembered that movie he starred in 10 years ago! Anyone remember Big Daddy? I remembered watching it with sis and we were laughing our heads off. 10 years. OMG 10 years. My random memory never fails to amaze me.

Tsk. Clarke Quay is really quite beautiful. Right? Shall drop by more often for drinks.

It was a 15 minutes wait in queue to get across Singapore river on the free river taxi ride. The river taxi was not bad. we passed many Singapore’s famous landmarks. My favourite would be the Asian Civilization Museum! oh and the Fullerton Hotel. Lovely.

So the beautiful flyer greeted us along with screeching vroooms that sounded like bees humming in louder magnitudes as we alighted at Marina Bay dock.

Upon landing on the border of the F1 race track, we need to pass through tight security checks and guess what! They confiscated our goodies from Candy Empire! Geez. The security guy placed our yellow bag at a corner and said it will be left there at our own risk.

Was kinda worried it will be missing when we return. Bought 2 boxes of Willy Wonka Gobstoppers for sis (I only had 3 free tickets! Sorry babe. Bring you to some upcoming concerts next time) and 2 boxes of Arnott Shapes, Cheese flavour for pa.

Bad idea to go shopping before F1.

Luckily our mood was distracted when we saw this spectacular bend straight after the security check. It was spectacular! OMG we were so freaking near to the track! Can actually feel the ground move whenever a race car zoomed swiftly passed us. Can you see it?

Going…
Going..

And it’s gone!!!! haha. SUPER FAST!

We hurriedly made our way to the flyer! Excitement runs high with the F1 race going on at the background. Yay we are going on the largest ferris wheel in the world!

The capsule changes colour and can you see the nets?? Yup. Just in case naughty kids like fifi/audrey goes suicidal. lol.

How the Marina Bay Circuit looks from the flyer?

Lets zoom in.

Now you see it…

Now you don’t!

Hehe.

Well our capsule wasn’t full and it was very comfy. I didn’t know that it was rotating in a clockwise direction. Each complete trip lasts approximately 30 minutes and we went for 2 rounds!

Oh the flyer is so lovely! See how it changes colours. Blue!

Then peachy! sweet.

haha there were lotsa branding! Esp from Singtel!

Oh Gillette was also running some ads on the flyer TV.

The view on the flyer was fabulous! Really enjoyed the panoramic night view of Singapore’s bright skyline at the peak. Took lotsa shots of the familiar buildings all around me. Ah not sure why but I just have this feeling that it wouldn’t look as nice in the day. Singapore at night is really different. In a positive way.

I guess most of the random lights coming from the skyscrapers were from people who are still working/watching F1 in their offices. Heh. It was kinda obvious from the top that street lightings were inefficiently used. No wonder Singapore is infamous for light pollution. I remember my astronomy tutor mentioning about Singapore street lights being not environmentally friendly. Hmm. More about that next time.

For now, do enjoy my shots of Singapore from the flyer. I had loads of fun taking them. Felt quite refreshed looking at Singapore from the top of a giant observation wheel. Indeed, I’ve never looked at Singapore in such manner. Never thought this part of the island will look so stunning at night.

Brilliant.

As I was busy taking pictures. My two boys were watching the race on the TV in the capsule.

I’ve no idea why whenever I joined them, the screen became…

NO SIGNAL!

Haha. Nevertheless, I must agree that the Singapore flyer has the coolest view and is definately the hottest place to be!

We only had 1 complaint! The organisers ran out of ear-plugs! BAH

whyyyyyy! See lah! Because of that I had to keep doing this the whole time when I was on the ground!

Come to think of it. It seems like I enjoyed the flyer more than the F1 race.

Especially so when I brought home the most interesting compass ever.

A pictorial compass suits me best.

I had a great night!

Thanks ? and bro!
Thanks SG Flyer!
Thanks Ben!
Thanks 24Seven!

With this pass I’m entitled to:

3 Day Level 1 Access
3 Singapore Flyer Flight Tickets
2-Way Boat Service (Clarke Quay <> Singapore Flyer)
Access to Entertainment Zones
Redbull Energy Drink

We’ll take MRT to Clarke Quay and hop on the boat service! It’s the River Taxi! I’m quite looking forward to the boat ride across Singapore River, Singapore’s most famous river. lol. Eh this river bears significant historical importance ok.

By the way, a Limited Single Day pass to watch F1 up in the air on Day 3 (27 Sept) actually costs $188. Well, the cheapest deal from the Singapore Flyer is Day 1 (25 Sept) at $58. Day 2 (26 Sept) is $98.

Of course, if you have extra cash, go for the 3-Day Party Package $688 per person which is selling fast.

If you are interested, more details here.

This is going to be a great weekend! Going to hold a moon cake gathering at my place with girlfriends on Sat! Then F1 with Mr.Ong on Singapore Flyer on Sun!