The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Opera Browser
POSTED AT 10:46 PM

I have found something about Firefox that I prefer to Opera. When switching between tabs, the close button is hidden on unselected tabs so that you don't accidentally close the tab when you try to select it by clicking on it.

Batam Cable Ski
POSTED AT 11:38 PM

After weeks of withdrawal symptoms I finally got YQ to come with me back to Batam for another day of cable wakeboarding. Nobody else was game (or free), though, but I wasn't to be deterred.

By some stroke of luck (called a weekday) we were the only ones there which meant that we had the whole cable-ski park to ourselves. What a luxury, because we could pretty much do anything we wanted. It was fantastic, because with no one else zipping around the park the water was really smooth, and I had the luxury to try new things without having to worry about queuing up to go again after a fall.

The lessons were learnt from the last time - I was determined not to peel again, and slapped on the sunblock quite liberally. I also brought gloves to keep those painful blisters at bay.

Quite a fruitful outing, it was. The dearth of competition for the cable meant that I could get quite a good dose of training time, and I was glad that by the end of the day I was pretty confident with riding switch, plus I managed to land a couple of ollies as well. Even a little thunderstorm in the middle of the day couldn't put us off much; we just waited it out and got back to business.

But not without a price. I can feel the aches coming.

Anybody wants to go again?

In and Out
POSTED AT 04:30 PM

I've been bleeding money lately left (Batam), right (2B) and centre (Mambo/LAN) so the new concurrent job is the transfusion that I need badly. It's not too bad: 2 shifts can finance one day at the Cable Ski Park, which IMO is pretty worthwhile.

On the downside it's squeezing me out of all the free time that I had. Hopefully with my superior planning skills I'll be able to balance it out such that I've got enough time to spend my money as well, not to just earn it.

1/4
POSTED AT 01:41 AM

We were released early from work today at 11 due to a rather subdued patronage - a result of a combination of the evening rain and the fact that it was a weeknight. So suddenly we found ourselves with some time on our hands to go out and make the most of the night while it lasted.

What began as a simple supper with my colleagues ended with us at Iguanas with a jug of margarita each, and beer to boot. With such cheap drinks (at 10 bucks a jug), who were we to refuse?

Now I'm sitting at home feeling my head spin and it's taking me a supreme effort to type normally.

You alone can make my song take flight
POSTED AT 01:40 PM

Years of anticipation came to a close yesterday when I went down to the Esplanade to attend a production of The Phantom of the Opera. Ever since I first watched the show ten years or so ago it has always been a part of my life - in learning to play the piano, pieces from The Phantom were those that I enjoyed the most; I've listened to the soundtrack countless times before and recreated the live action of the theatre in my head.

So, as you might imagine, yesterday's production was really special for me. I was thrilled when the orchestra burst out into the Overture that I knew so well - to finally hear it live represented an almost cathartic apex for me.

The theatre was brilliant; I was a bit worried beforehand that our seats wouldn't be the best because we were 17 rows from the stage. But it was perfect - we had a great view of the stage and everything on it. It was my first time inside the Esplanade theatre, and everything looked top drawer.

Having been weaned on the original soundtrack I naturally felt that performances of the original leads Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were unassailable, but yesterday's production wasn't too far off the mark. The Phantom was much more raw and Christine stuttered a bit with her vocal gymnastics, but being live more than made up for it.

Definitely worth every cent of the $132.50 that I paid for them. If you haven't already bought tickets (and there are still tickets available after the extension of the production), I would highly recommend doing so.

Thanks must also go to Reverie for sharing the experience. Great company on a special occasion. Really, it's a dream come true for me.