Eng Kian and Samantha's Wedding

It was Eng Kian (SG's Navy friend) and Samantha's wedding at One degree 15 Marina Club at Sentosa, and it was my first time attending a wedding there.

The solemnisation was held at the terrace overlooking the boats at the berths and the pool, while the dinner was held at the Constellation ballroom, which was new, warm and nicely decorated. Eng Kian works there and his guests were mostly club members that he knew or worked with.

The dinner was simple and usual, with the wedding march-ins, cutting of cake, pouring of champagne and photo-taking. The friends at the table we had were an entertaining and fun bunch, and we enjoyed chatting together.

Meeting up with old friends in Shanghai

The world is never too big, and too small.

Met an old friend on board the plane enroute to Shanghai, and took the opportunity to meet up with 2 friends (Koh BL and Freddie) who had been expats in Shanghai for more than 5 years already (haven't seen them since then). Also met another (Bryan) who was posted there 2 years ago. Well, I kept myself busy indeed during the recent trip.

I think the last time I met Simon was probably in a classmate's wedding that we attended, and that was probably at least 8 years ago, and it was a pleasant surprise to see him on the same plane to Shanghai. It's funny how people don't actually change a lot after secondary school. They still look the same!

As for Koh BL, Freddie and Bryan - they all looked really the same as before - though they all say that they have put on weight since they left Singapore, and of course, the kids have grown up.

It was a heart-warming meeting up with old friends and catching up on common friends/happenings. Here are some pics from our dinners together.

Endearing moments with Ethan & Sophie

Sophie is very attached to Ethan in school. She looks for him sometimes, and here are some endearing moments of them together, caught on camera by Teacher Angela.

My First Trip to Shanghai

Went on board SQ826, and took my first business trip to Shanghai. Met 2 familiar faces on board the plane - one was my colleague, and another was my long-lost secondary school friend. It was a pleasant surprise to catch up with both of them.

I writing all this in the past, so that I get the dates right. I travelled on the 13th Jan (Sun), in a 7.30am flight on seat 43D. Surprisingly it was quite a full flight even though it was a Sunday morning.

Reached Eton Hotel in Pudong New Area, and checked into a fantastic room. Insisted on non-smoking rooms, and so, I had twin beds instead of king-sized bed, but I'm not complaining 'cos the room is so big! Cost was RMB980 +15%tax. Cool yah?

Met up with my ex-boss (Koh BL) and his family, went sightseeing around Yu Garden, as well as Super Grand Mall (Pudong), and saw The Bund from the Pudong side. It was a terribly cold day, and I was not dressed for the occassion. Literally shivered and chattered my way through the evening. Spent a nice warm dinner at Din Tai Fung restaurant, and thereafter, adjourned to Koh's place to chat. The children entertained us with their beautiful piano music, and Koh also made a guest appearance on the piano! The younger boys also did a self-composed rap, which was really fun and creative. I enjoyed the time spent with all of them.

More pictures of my trip in my Flickr album.

Professional haircut for Sophie

We often heard 'complaints' that Sophie looks like a boy, and so, I finally decided that Sophie should have a professional haircut.

We went to Junior League at Vivocity's Toys'rus, and as you can see, she didn't fuss a bit. She was really serious about it, and kept a straight face throughout. It was really funny to see her stay so still and so 'fierce' looking through the 15mins or so. She was really adorable!

Sophie at the Pool

Here's what Sophie did at the pool. She stood for a long time, happy to walk around and bend over to play with the water. She enjoyed splashing water all over.

On Board a Chemical Parcel Tanker

This is one of our biggest ships in the fleet for a chemical parcel tanker. It is called the "Stolt Invention" (name of ship), and it was at the dry-dock at Jurong Shipyard for its usual maintenance and yard repairs. The yard is really a crazy place, with all sorts of equipment and stuff lying around, and people wearing hard helmets, in long overalls (except me, the crazy one in a short sleeve t-shirt).

I took the opportunity to go take a look, as the superintendent was making a trip there, and he could show me around. It is a 37,000 ton ship, and is about 10-12 years old. It travels around the world, and is in Singapore for about 20 days for the whole works. I understand that when a ship is at the yard, they can spend from a range of about S$400k to S$1 mil for ship repairs and maintenance! Imagine how much the shipyard earns! Wow!