Of EZ-Link Cards & Thick Wallets

As AstroBanana walked past Harbourfront MRT station last evening en route to Vivocity, they witnessed a huge crowd trying to go through the gantry gates. They were wondering why the crowding occurred when they heard an announcement over the PA system:

"To avoid crowding at the gantry gates, passengers are advised to take their EZ-Link cards out of their THICK wallets. They are also advised to tap their EZ-Link cards on the reader first before attempting to cross the gantry gate."

The first part was probably a dig at many of those people who have their EZ-Link cards' effectiveness somewhat negated by the obscene stack of credit cards they carry in their branded wallets. The second part was reading out loud the obvious for those who lack the common sense to figure out what should have been obvious.

Applause for the announcer's brand of sarcasm :)

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

AstroBanana Trilogy Part IId

While Eric Banana was in Japan, he decided that he will ask Astro Girl to be his steady girlfriend upon his return. Considering that they have known each other for only around two months or so then, was it too fast? Well, "fast" is a relative term. Eric Banana was concerned that they may inadvertently fall into the just-friends zone. Also, the longer he procrastinates about something, the less likely he will do it. The success rate will also diminish correspondingly. Ask her, he must. 

Since his strength lies in writing, not talking, he should rightfully leverage his strength and ask her via SMS, IM or email. It would not only be less awkward for both parties but also blunt the impact of outright rejection by Astro Girl. In theory, that was it. In real life, Eric Banana chose to ask her face-to-face though as it was more sincere and probably the right thing to do.

So, quite frankly, Eric Banana cannot recall what the exhibition was all about on that day (read: 18 March 2007). He was trying to find the right opportunity to ask the all-important question - "Oei, siao eh, ai ga wa steady mai?" (read: "Hi there, would you like to be my steady girlfriend?") Somehow, the museum did not present that opportunity. They then adjourned to Su Korean Cuisine at Boat Quay for dinner. Eric Banana was unable to ask the question there either.

After dinner, Eric Banana walked Astro Girl to Clarke Quay MRT station. Time was running out. And things became very hazy. As far as Eric Banana could recall, he asked the question. From Astro Girl's perspective, all she heard was a jumble of words, "Willyoubemygirlfriend?" She didn't say yes. Awwww. But she didn't say no either. She asked for some time to think about it. Phew for Eric Banana.

Two days later (read: 20 March 2007), Astro Girl initiated a meet-up that Friday (read: 23 March 2007). They had dinner at Plaza Singapura and watched the touching Korean movie Hearty Paws (人狗奇缘). And as they walked along Orchard Road after the movie, Astro Girl told Eric Banana that her answer to his question was a "Yes". Yay! 

And that was how Eric Banana and Astro Girl got attached.

Huh? CNY? What CNY?

As far as Eric Banana is concerned, Chinese New Year (CNY) 2009 is virtually a non-event. And he's feeling so even though there are still 11 days more to go. Astro Girl is also of the opinion that there isn't much CNY mood in the air this year. Maybe it has to do with the austere economic outlook. Maybe there is no big deal about CNY in the first place *gasp*.

Actually, what irks Eric Banana most about CNY is the exchange of pleasantries. Sometimes he feels that CNY conversation is like some kind of warped IF logic:

IF person = is single, ASK him when he is going to find himself a girlfriend.

IF person = is attached, ASK him when he is going to get married.

IF person = is married, ASK him when he is going to have kids.

IF person = has one kid, ASK him when he is going to have the second kid.

IF person = has two kids, ASK him when he is going to have the third kid.

IF person = has n kids, ASK him when he is going bankrupt.

Oh c'mon, enough already! Which part of "none of your business" do you not comprehend huh?! And do you really care?!

Nevertheless, CNY 2009 is a significant one for AstroBanana. After all, it marks the last CNY that Eric Banana and Astro Girl will receive ang pow (read: red packets). While Astro Girl dreads the thought of not being able to receive ang pow *erm* EVER from next year onwards, Eric Banana is more than happy to give out ang pow during CNY 2010. Huh? Siao ah? (Read: Oh, has he gone bonkers?) Well, come CNY next year, Eric Banana will already be happily married to the nicest gal in the world - surely, giving out some ang pow is no big deal given that he will be basking in all the bliss and happiness. And *erm*, to be completely unambiguous, "nicest gal in the world" refers to Astro Girl yah? :)

The Pranayama Way To Losing Weight?!

While Eric Banana was in Restorative Yoga class earlier this evening, his yoga instructor extolled the benefits of pranayama (read: Sanskrit word meaning "lengthening of the prana or breath"; in yoga context, breath control). She mentioned that she knew someone who lost 15 lbs (6.8 kg) within a week by simply doing pranayama.

Wah lau eh! How did she do that?! She used the oxygen she inhaled to melt the fats and exhaled them out as vapours ah?! While Eric Banana would also like to lose 15 lbs within a week by merely practising pranayama, his breath control techniques are, sadly, not up to par :( Besides, there is a small technical problem. While the mere act of breathing may seem innocuous, it appears that even breathing is making Eric Banana fat nowadays... which will result in the following:

*inhale* (Eric Banana gains 15 lbs)

*exhale* (Eric Banana gains another 15 lbs)

Oh dang.

Thank You, Celine (& Brother)

Knowing that Astro Girl's hands are a bit on the sensitive side, Eric Banana got her a small tube of L'occitane Shea Butter Mini Hand Cream (1 oz / 30 ml) and  a small tin of L'occitane Mini Pure Shea Butter (0.26 oz / 8 ml) last December. While the hand cream contains other ingredients which her hands are likely to be sensitive to, Astro Girl found the pure shea butter to provide relief without causing further irritation. 

However, that miserable small tin runs out rather quickly so it makes economic sense to get a bigger tin. From the L'occitane website, Eric Banana saw that a bigger tin of Pure Organic Shea Butter (4.9 oz / 150 ml) is indeed available but after checking at the Ngee Ann City outlet, he realised that the Singapore stores have run out of stock for that particular product for several months.

As someone who subscribes to the concept of globalisation, Eric Banana was trying to see how he could get a tin from overseas. As it turned out, he was talking online with Celine, whose brother happened to be in Amsterdam then, so she got him to keep a look-out. And he really went out of the way and bought the shea butter:

Eric Banana and Astro Girl would like to convey their thanks to Celine and her brother for their help. It was really very nice of them :) Thank you!

Thankfully It Wasn't Milo!!

Eric Banana took a step closer to becoming a complete klutz this morning. In his hurry to get up from his seat, Mr Clumsy flicked his earphones off from his ears and with Olympian accuracy, one end inexplicably landed in his mug of water. Wah lau eh! He immediately rescued it and tried to dry it with tissue paper. He then used the hand-dryer in the washroom to blow-dry the affected earphone and the earbud cover. Thankfully, it was just a S$25 pair of Sony earphones, not some pricey one that cost hundreds of dollars. What's more amazing is that it still works perfectly!

On hindsight, actually it was not such a big deal. It could have been much worse. The earphone could have landed in a mug of Milo. That would be so gross! Eeeks!

AstroBanana Trilogy Part IIc

After a somewhat turbulent February, Eric Banana had to travel to Tokyo to work on another project the following month (read: March 2007). The thing with Japan is that it deploys a cellular network that is different from what the rest of the world uses. Basically it does not use a GSM network so GSM phones are not supported. Only some foreign 3G phones can be used in Japan.

By then, Eric Banana was exchanging SMS with Astro Girl on an almost daily basis. He was not using a 3G phone at that time (note: he was using a Samsung E930), so he would not be able to communicate with Astro Girl via SMS while he was in Japan. Unable to bear the thought of having to go through a communication blackout, Eric Banana decided to upgrade his phone to a 3G one and bought a Samsung Z720 Ultra Edition 13.1 before he set off for Japan.

Eric Banana was looking to find some time to shop around Tokyo for a little gift for Astro Girl. As it turned out, it was a particularly intense business trip and he got more than a glimpse of the vibrant Tokyo nightlife a.k.a. late nights of drinking with his Japanese colleagues - Eric Banana could not find any time to shop around at all! Thankfully, he extended his stay by one day, which gave him a chance to look for the gift.

Another of his juniors - "Impossibly" Ashley - was working in the Japan office then, so she volunteered to be his tour guide for the day. They went to several places before ending up at Meiji Shrine (明治神宫) where Eric Banana saw some Japanese amulets for sale and decided to get one for Astro Girl.

With his eye for aesthetics, he quickly picked the prettiest one. Ashley had a look of doubt on her face and asked, "Are you sure you want to get that one?" Eric Banana replied confidently, "Yah, it's the prettiest one." Ashley mumbled in a deadpan tone, "But it's for 安胎 one."

OOPS~! In his obsession with picking the prettiest amulet, Eric Banana forgot to read the fine print. Okay, so the print wasn't that fine :P He then wanted to get one for love but decided against it. They were not even an item so he was afraid Astro Girl might be somewhat offended. He eventually chose one for good health :) He also bought a Japanese doll figurine as a complement to the amulet.

After he returned from Japan, Eric Banana arranged to meet up with Astro Girl on 18 March 2007. It was a trip to the Asian Civilisation Museum to see an exhibition. He passed her the gifts and related the story of the amulet blunder to her. He was rather distracted on that day as he planned to...

A Self-Employed Columnist Is A.K.A. A Blogger~!

Eric Banana was talking to DGT about his aspirations to be a columnist over MSN Messenger the other day...

Eric Banana [23:56] : maybe I should start pursuing my columnist aspirations now...

DGT [23:57] : mmm... why not?

Eric Banana [23:58] : no one wanna hire me?

DGT [23:58] : uptoyoulor Inc.

DGT [23:58] : haha

Eric Banana [23:59] : self-employed columnist huh?

DGT [23:59] : uh huh

DGT [23:59] : say what you like 

DGT [23:59] : when you like

Eric Banana [00:00] : a.k.a. blogger :|

DGT [00:00] : mmm, yes

DGT [00:00] : euphemism

Eric Banana [00:00] : hahaha

Eric Banana can be sure that he has at least one friend who supports his columnist aspirations.

Second Anniversary Since First Encounter

Today marks the second anniversary of AstroBanana knowing each other.

Wow! Time really flies. Two years ago, Eric Banana met Astro Girl for the first time in a cinema. Not too long after, they got attached. One year later, they got engaged. Later this year, they will be walking down the aisle.

According to Astro Girl, January 14 is 日记情人节 (Diary Day). Couples are supposed to give each other a diary, with enough pages to document their love story and plans, to signify their journey together during that year.

Eric Banana can already imagine what he will write in that diary (which he won't be getting by the way):

Day 1: Eric Banana vs Astro Girl. Astro Girl wins, 1-0.

Day 2: Eric Banana vs Astro Girl. Astro Girl wins, 2-0.

Day 3: Eric Banana vs Astro Girl. Astro Girl wins, 3-0.

...

Day 365: Eric Banana vs Astro Girl. Astro Girl wins, 365-0.

He probably won't need that many pages for the diary.

Can't You Just Use The Blardy E-X-I-T?!!

Eric Banana thinks that some people really ought to learn how to read, for they are *obviously* unable to distinguish between "Entrance" and "Exit".

Eric Banana was on a bus (SMRT Service 963) heading towards Harbourfront earlier this evening. The bendy bus was packed, and he had to stand all the way, right between the entrance and the exit in the first half of the bus.

Halfway through the journey, a seated couple was trying to alight, and the guy eye-signalled to Eric to make way so that they could get to the entrance. WTF?! Their distance to the entrance was two times longer than their distance to the exit. Furthermore, there were four people obstructing their path to the entrance versus just one for the exit. Naturally, Eric Banana did not give way. Instead he gave the guy a cold stare and mouthed, "The exit is over there" as he pointed towards the exit behind the couple.

The guy gave Eric Banana a not-so-nice look before he alighted with the gal. Eric Banana wonders what's wrong with some people nowadays. He can understand people alighting via the entrance if the bus is jam packed and they are standing closer to the entrance. However, if it is just a bad habit of convenience, Eric Banana thinks that it's about time they corrected their behaviour.

P.S. To those half-blind bats, Eric Banana would like to point out that to alight, they should just head for the door with the shorter word written on top of it. E-X-I-T.

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

Celebrating The Gift Of Life Now And Forever

As they are both Precious Moments fans, Eric Banana and Astro Girl reached an agreement whereby they will skip the commercialism on Valentine's Day and use the money saved to buy a Precious Moments figurine every year.

They had happily shortlisted a couple of figurines while window shopping... but their plan to buy them was derailed recently as they spotted an ultra-nice figurine which they both liked very much...

... titled "Celebrating the Gift of Life Now and Forever".

So what's the problem? Just buy right? Well, the main issue was the price tag. As it was a special edition to commemorate Precious Moments' 30th anniversary, and production was limited to 5,030 worldwide, it was a bit on the pricey side. While Astro Girl agreed with Eric Banana that the figurine was very beautiful, the Ministry of Astro Girl (MAG) was very unlikely to approve such an extravagant purchase.

In the end, Eric Banana worked out a deal with the MAG top honcho. To buy the limited edition figurine, Eric Banana has to agree to not buying any more Precious Moments figurines until they move to Punggol. This was partly due to the lack of space at Eric Banana's current flat, but mainly because the limited edition figurine is that expensive.

Eric Banana did manage to plead for a special concession to get one more Precious Moments figurine before the ban is enforced. This next figurine is an absolute must-have and will be featured when they buy it. (Note: Any sponsor out there who is interested will be most welcome :P)

By the way, the limited edition figurine is #2,028 of 5,030 :)

From Bananaman To... FATMAN?!!!

Eric Banana was watching the Batman Begins DVD with Astro Girl last weekend. In one of the scenes, Bruce Wayne explained why he adopted the persona of Batman, "Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies share my dread."

Eric Banana turned to Astro Girl and advanced on that particular line of logic, "I am scared of becoming fat. Wouldn't that make me... FATMAN?!"

Astro Girl's only reaction was to laugh hysterically. Aiyoh, that girl really has no sympathy for superheroes, even the one whom she is going to marry soon. Okay, Eric Banana decided that he shall not follow Bruce Waynian logic. He cannot picture a superhero hurling *erm* fats at his enemies. He shall stick to being good ol' Bananaman :)

Where Got So Much?!

Astro Girl moments may be legendary but Eric Banana does have his moments from time to time too, as seen below:

Astro Girl (asking one of her perennial questions yet again): Dear ah, do you love me?

Eric Banana (replying to the question for the nth time): Uh huh.

Astro Girl (with the follow-up question): Orh. How much do you love me? This much?

*Astro Girl stretches her arms wide open like the Precious Moments figurines*

Eric Banana (replying in a nonchalant tone): Huh? Where got so much?! You take the ruler and measure the figurine's width - it's 12 cm at most. Even if you multiply it by two, it's only 24 cm lor :P

Astro Girl (flabbergasted): Hrmph! 讨厌! 你给我记住!

Eric Banana did manage to get Astro Girl to do some measurements - his love is measured at a grand total of 22 cm :P

     

Priority Queue, My Arse!

Eric Banana has had enough with so-called priority queues. If it is a queue, call it a queue. Don't slap the "priority" descriptor on it to mislead people!

The priority queue in question that got on Eric Banana's nerves was the American Express Platinum Priority Queue at Orchard Cineleisure and The Cathay. Well, both cineplexes are popular with movie-goers and long queues can often be spotted at the box offices. The exclusive benefit for AMEX Platinum cardholders *theoretically* allows them to use the priority queue to reduce their waiting time and purchase their movie tickets quickly.

Now, that is all good, if only the darned priority queue works...

More often than not, the counter serving the priority queue is not open, which means AMEX Platinum cardholders have to join the main queue(s). Having to do so probably do not make them feel like they are getting any form of priority. And when the priority-queue counter is open, it serves non-AMEX Platinum cardholders as well, which means legitimate AMEX Platinum cardholders have to queue behind those who should rightfully not be in the queue.

The annual fee for an American Express Platinum Credit Card is S$300 and it cannot be waived. Eric Banana thinks that as a whole, the benefits and privileges are worth that amount of money and he is fine with paying the annual fee. Yet, whenever he is in a so-called priority queue (assuming the counter is even open in the first place), he loses out to those people who pay cash (and do not need to pay any annual fee whatsoever) and those people who use some other credit cards (and pay less annual fees or get them waived). Seriously, Eric Banana cannot profess to be too pleased about this situation and he cannot imagine other AMEX Platinum cardholders to be any happier either.

Of course, Eric Banana can easily complain to the cineplex box-office manager and create a huge scene. But that is mightily childish and it will not solve the problem either. The box-office manager's primary concern is to ensure that cinema patrons are served as quickly as possible. If an "exclusive" portion of the population have to wait a bit longer on some priority queue, too bad. So it's really AMEX's fault. In negotiating for a priority queue, they should have worked out a deal whereby the priority-queue counter is always open and serves only AMEX Platinum cardholders. This reminds Eric Banana... if the person manning the counter tells you that there is a discount for AMEX Platinum cardholders, please do not embarrass yourself by flashing your AMEX Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Gold Credit Card. Therefore, to the blind man queueing in front of him last night, please refer to the visual identifier next time (Note: Eric Banana could not find the exact picture):

And Eric Banana also thinks that AMEX should work on its feedback channels. Currently, cardholders can only either send them a snail mail or call them on a toll-free hotline. Eric Banana is so not going to kill trees and blow postage on snail mail or waste time talking to people who are not able to do anything over the phone. So what the hell happened to the email option?!

It's Cheap Plastic After All

Once upon a time, platinum credit cards were very prestigious and "by invitation only". Even holding a gold credit card was considered "wow". Fast forward to the present... credit card tiers have been diluted. Gold credit cards are no longer "in". Platinum credit cards have lost their lustre too. Almost every other credit card is a platinum card now. While some banks' platinum credit cards require a minimum annual income of S$50,000 to qualify, there are many which require the cardholders to earn only S$30,000 per year. In Eric Banana's opinion, it is easy to classify a credit card as a platinum one - just add a few so-called privileges that nobody really uses and charge a much higher annual fee.

Eric Banana cannot understand why some banks still attach a minimum annual income of S$50,000 to their platinum credit cards and call them "exclusive". If someone earning S$30,000 can easily get a platinum credit card from Bank A, why would anyone earning S$50,000 (assuming they are in the right mind) want to get a platinum credit card from Bank B? To those people who are ignorant about this kind of thing, they will consider both cards to be the same - just platinum credit cards. In addition, Bank A would probably waive the annual fee readily for its platinum cardholders too. In all likelihood, Bank B's credit cardholders will probably not feel very exclusive.

But no matter whether a credit card is branded as a gold, platinum, titanium or even adamantium one, it is really just made of cheap plastic. After an amount of time, the outer plastic layer will tend to peel off, making the card look fugly. It looks more uh-peeling than appealing. Eric Banana hates those credit cards that start to go into peeling mode after a year or so. Using these cards to make payment is akin to using soiled notes. Damn no class.

Maybe credit card companies should invest more money into developing credit cards that truly reflect their "prestige" instead of wasting time on marketing bullsh*t.

I Love You This Much!

After being forced to "fly aeroplane" on Astro Girl (read: 放她的飞机) on Valentine's Day in 2007, Eric Banana *finally* got to spend Valentine's Day with her the following year. Yay! It was their first V-Day together as a couple.

V-Day may as well be called C-Day. "C" for "Commercialism". Many guys will give their girlfriends, fiancees or wives a bouquet of red roses on V-Day despite the exorbitant prices. They are probably expected to do so, unless they want to be given the cold shoulder by their partners. In all likelihood, florist-entrepreneurs can make all their profits on that one day and afford to close shop for the rest of the year. 

Now, Eric Banana is not a flower person. He doesn't mind flowers but is not a big fan of them. He was prepared to shell out a lot of money to buy roses for his beloved Astro Girl but decided that it was probably not practical to pay a ransom for flowers which will wither in no time. To anyone who suggests buying plastic flowers, Eric Banana says, "不要害我!"

Taking a page from Astro Girl's *erm* book of practicality, Eric Banana decided to get something more practical for her. After evaluating several options, Eric Banana ended up at Precious Thots. And what caught his eye was...

... a Precious Moments boy figurine aptly titled "I Love You This Much"!

Like most girls, Astro Gal likes to ask Eric Banana two perennial questions - "Do you love me?", followed by "How much do you love me?". Eric Banana wanted to get the Precious Moments boy figurine for Astro Girl so that she can see it everyday and be reminded of how much he loves her.

Anyway, Eric Banana was about to buy the boy figurine when he saw...

... the girl version of the Precious Moments figurine! Gosh, both figurines looked so cute that Eric Banana eventually could not bear to just buy one without the other... so he bought the pair for Astro Girl. (That was also when he knew he had to marry Astro Girl so that he could see these figurines every day in future, but shhh, don't tell her that! *LOL*)

By the way, Eric Banana could not remember where they went for dinner on V-Day but it was definitely not some posh restaurant. And they did not watch a lovey-dovey movie either, unless you consider Jumper to be lovey-dovey...

AstroBanana Trilogy Part IIb

That night (read: 28 Jan 2007), Eric Banana made an attempt to up the communication tempo by asking Astro Girl via SMS whether she uses MSN Messenger or any other instant messaging (IM) client. He figured that this will give them a chance to communicate more as SMS is quite restrictive in terms of message length and frequency. Okay okay, the truth is, Eric Banana has fat fingers and he hates to type SMS :( To his disappointment, Astro Girl's reply was... no. (Eric Banana's note to self then: Geez, who doesn't use IM in today's world?!)

Four days later (read: 1 Feb 2007), Eric Banana did something very uncharacteristic - he asked Astro Girl if she would like to go out with him for dinner on Valentine's Day. A girl whom he had known for 18 days and met only twice. Well, his thinking at that time was like this: He would be sending Astro Girl a clear message that he was interested in going after her. If Astro Girl said yes, it would mean that there was (some level of) mutual interest. It would also mean that she did not have a boyfriend or a suitor she fancied (a.k.a. potential competition). After all, Astro Girl is a pretty and attractive gal so it was not unreasonable for Eric Banana to expect that there were many guys going after her. 

Anyway, Astro Girl joked about Eric Banana wanting to get ripped on Valentine's Day and gave a tentative yes, with confirmation in two days' time. On 3 February 2007, Astro Girl confirmed that she would be available on Valentine's Day. Wah, Eric Banana was so happy he nearly leaped for joy. That would have caused quite a tremor! 

After rejoicing, Eric Banana sat down to tackle his next problem: Where to bring Astro Girl for dinner on Valentine's Day? 14 February 2007 was a Wednesday, which was a working day for both of them. Eric Banana was prepared to be ripped off for dinner on that day - he was more interested in finding a suitable dinner place that had good food and nice ambience. He made some calls but to his dismay, many restaurants were already fully booked :(

Four days later (read: 7 February 2007), Eric Banana's boss (simply known as The Boss) solved the problem for him. Nope, The Boss did not lend his private yacht to Eric Banana. On the contrary, he put Eric Banana in a difficult position. The Boss mentioned that there was an important upcoming project in Egypt and wanted Eric Banana to go to Dubai, UAE to help in the project planning from 12 to 16 February 2007.

Eric Banana (devastated): Do I really have to go to Dubai for this? But I got to know this nice girl recently and have just asked her out on Valentine's Day. She will hate me forever if I cancel the date.

The Boss (with zen-like calmness): Oh congrats! Well, I leave it to you to decide whether you need to go to Dubai for the project. But the guys there can do with some assistance from you.

Eric Banana (without even thinking): I decide? Okay, I am not going.

Wah, sibei champion hor? Despite that, somehow Eric Banana found himself being convinced eventually to make the trip. "Joy joy," he thought to himself. "I just got to know a wonderful girl who agreed to go out with me on Valentine's Day and now I am about to cancel on her. She is so going to hate me to the core..."

He summoned his courage and decided to call her. A SMS would have seemed insincere and curt. He half-expected Astro Girl to be really upset and not want to see him for the rest of her life... To his surprise, Astro Girl was very understanding. She did not blame him and said that they can meet for dinner some other day. In fact, on the previous day (read: 6 February 2007), they have arranged to go out that Saturday (read: 10 February 2007).

Saturday came quickly. The plan was to have dinner at the Pepper Lunch outlet in Ngee Ann City and watch the Korean movie Once in a Summer (那年夏天) at Orchard Cineleisure. Prior to meeting Astro Girl, Eric Banana decided to buy a lil' present for Astro Girl to express his apologies for having to cancel their Valentine's Day dinner date. He ended up getting her a Braun Buffel keychain from the boutique in Mandarin Gallery. The date went well, they had drinks at Coffee Club after the movie and he got to send her home after that. Oh, she liked the keychain too :)

Before he set off for Dubai, he obtained Astro Girl's email address so that he could correspond with her in case his mobile phone did not work over there. Eric Banana then went to Dubai, did what he was supposed to do, and came back to Singapore. It was two days before the Lunar New Year. Both Eric Banana and Astro Girl were busy with visits during the first two days of the Lunar New Year and only managed to meet on the third day (read: 20 February 2007) to watch Letters from Iwo Jima. Astro Girl surprised Eric Banana with a present this time - a pair of Van Garie cufflinks. Eric Banana was delighted with the present, except that he had no use for them at that point of time - there were no French cuff shirts in his wardrobe then.

Eric Banana was not the only one who received a present. While he was in Dubai, he arm-twisted his junior ("Rah Rah" Rafidah, who was working in the Dubai office then) to bring him around so that he could scour for a present for Astro Girl. He was still feeling very apologetic for having to cancel their appointment on Valentine's Day He hunted for something unique to the emirate and eventually settled for a small glass bottle containing sand of seven different colours, with each colour supposedly representing an emirate in the UAE. The coloured sand formed a picture of camels on a desert. Eric Banana even customised it by having Astro Girl's name translated to Arabic and including it in the picture.

Ultimately, the Valentine's Day date that did not happen had little impact on them and they took more little steps forward...

Picture Imperfect

Everything was going too well for Eric Banana this morning. Well, almost. He woke up on time despite sleeping late last night. He did not get a tummy upset. The bad hair day was away on holiday. The bus arrived promptly. He felt like he was in a film set - picture perfect. But he was not expecting...

... the blardy aircon to be down in the entire Tower A of Ngee Ann City. (So much for being a top shopping mall along the prime shopping belt of the nation.) It was akin to a gigantic hot yoga studio with only one glitch - Eric Banana did not sign up for Involuntary Suffocating Hot Yoga this morning!

Hopefully, the aircon in the yoga studios is working or it's gonna be a stinkfest. The last time Eric Banana encountered a hiccup during morning yoga was when the building's fire alarms went off while he was doing some challenging yoga asana. And he sure did not like that.

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

Saturday Morning Yoga

It has been a while since Eric Banana went for yoga in the morning. In fact, it has been so long, he cannot remember when the last time was, no thanks to his short-term memory.

Saturday morning is not his usual timeslot. But it would seem that his favourite yoga instructor has shuffled her schedule a bit, so he has decided to adjust accordingly.

The mattress flip last night seemed to have helped his back a teeny-weeny bit. He was quite worn out by his effort to clear Mt. Eric yesterday. Think avalanche. Hopefully the yin yoga session later will do him some good and not kill him.

It's a lovely Saturday morning and a great start to the weekend. Enjoy yours too :)

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

Wedding One-upmanship

In planning his wedding, Eric Banana has scoured the Internet for information over the past few months. His research took him to many wedding planning sites, wedding blogs and wedding forums. Comparisons of AD banquet venues, honeymoons, wedding bands and the likes are plenty. Eric Banana has observed that some brides-to-be and grooms-to-be have a compulsive need to compare with others and assume ostensible superiority by so-called "out-doing" them. Eric Banana has termed this childish behaviour as "wedding one-upmanship".

Of course, it is perfectly okay to find out what other couples are saying about the banquet venue you are interested in booking or the bridal studio you plan to engage. That is all legitimate. But stealing other people's ideas and claiming them as your own is not ethical. After all, if they have shared their information, but you have not, and you go on to "out-do" them, you have an unfair information advantage. So the shame is on you.

Eric Banana can imagine what some people might say to him:

"What, your wedding dinner is held in a 4-star hotel only? Oh, nothing lar.. we are just holding our wedding banquet in a 8-star hotel ah!" (Eric Banana's retort: There are no 8-star hotels just yet. And luxury hotels are becoming unsafe recently. Better buy more insurance.)

"Oh you are getting married in October. Oops, we are getting married in January! Earlier than you." (Eric Banana's retort: What's your hurry? Shotgun ah? Oops!)

"Your bridal car is only a normal sedan? Ours is a brand spanking new convertible." (Eric Banana's retort: So I suppose the convertible will spank your donkeys and save me the trouble?)

Anyway, Eric Banana detests wedding one-upmanship. He truly believes that there should be some extent of originality wherever possible. For that reason, he has decided not to blog about certain things until his wedding with Astro Girl is over.

Eric Banana's sidenote:  This is the 100th post for the AstroBanana Chronicles. It took 71 days to hit 50 posts. From there, it took another 151 long grueling days (WTF!) to reach the 100th post.

When Blueberry Croissant Met Strawberry Ice-cream Cone

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a blueberry croissant. Yup, you read that right - a blueberry croissant - and he sat nicely on a display shelf in a confectionery shop. At first, he was just a normal croissant, not unlike any other croissant that came out from the oven. He was all buttery and crispy *mmm*.

Somehow, the baker accidentally dropped some blueberry jam on the croissant and he transformed into *ta-daaah* the amazing blueberry croissant. The other croissants saw this and laughed at the blueberry croissant for "turning blue". They did not want to play with him.

The blueberry croissant was very sad and lonely. He did not like to be ostracised :( He started to talk to himself and sing sometimes too.

One day, the blueberry croissant was minding his own business when... (Don't ask how come the blueberry croissant did not get eaten or decay - a lot of amazing things can happen in a story yah?) ... he spotted a very lovely shade of pink from a distance:

And there she was, *erm* the beautiful strawberry ice-cream cone. (Again, don't ask why the strawberry ice-cream was scooped onto the cone but did not get eaten or melt - just read the story, will you??) It was love at first sight for the blueberry croissant. He has never seen anything so beautiful. The strawberry ice-cream cone was a little cold at first, but soon warmed up to the fun-loving blueberry croissant. 

However, the confectionery shop was hardly a safe place, especially for a yummy-looking blueberry croissant and a delectable strawberry ice-cream cone. So the couple decided to make a "jailbreak" and escaped to the Land of Everlasting *erm* Confectionery. They got married and lived happily ever after...

Okay okay, so that was a lame story. Is it not obvious that Eric Banana is totally not keen about clearing Mt. Eric?! Anyway, the blueberry croissant and strawberry ice-cream cone are actually pens which double as fridge magnets. They were given to AstroBanana by Ee Huei and Ying Chien a few months ago. Thanks!!

Yao Gwee Buay Koon: A Most Vicious Cycle

It looks to be yet another sleepless night for Eric Banana so he decides to review his die-die-also-must-slim-down plan. He may not be a pre-cog but Eric Banana can already anticipate a few problems. To slim down effectively, Eric Banana would have to cut down his food intake. A common piece of advice is to have frequent small meals instead. Well, Eric Banana has certainly increased the frequency of the meals, only that the amount of food remains the same. In fact, it seems to have increased. Definitely not a good sign. Don't ask him how he figured that out. He must be some boy genius.

In addition, as he battles his insomnia at night, he becomes hungry, which causes him to eat. But one should not sleep immediately after eating. So he waits for two hours, at the end of which, he becomes hungry again.. and no prizes for guessing what happens next. The lack of sleep also increases his propensity to put on more weight.

The equation then calls for Eric Banana to exercise more. He should really go to the yoga studio more often. And it has been a while since he ran too. Unfortunately, his knees are giving him some cause for concern, not to mention his pre-existing condition. And to make things worse, Eric Banana becomes hungry easily after exercising, which means he will eat... hence negating whatever positive effects that his exercise sessions would have yielded.

Eric Banana thinks he needs to seriously rethink his plan. 

2009: A New Year, No New Beginning

It is the first day of 2009. Astro Girl managed to go to the gym this afternoon, bringing her a little step closer towards fulfilling her New Year resolution. Eric Banana's preoccupation with Mt. Eric and the light drizzle (a.k.a. his blardy lousy excuses) put a spanner in his plan to attend a yoga class.

Eric Banana did make it to town eventually - to have dinner with Astro Girl after her facial appointment. The shopping malls were rather crowded. AstroBanana got a tad pissed off by inconsiderate people who walked as if they own the road, especially parents who haphazardly steamrolled other people's feet with their baby prams.

Talking about inconsideration, a cashier at Ngee Ann City's Watsons closed the counter while Astro Girl was in the queue. That particular branch adopts a Multiple Queues-Multiple Servers system which meant that Astro Girl had to rejoin a queue at another cashier counter to pay for her item. Eric Banana was two steps away from filing a complaint but Astro Girl stopped him. Nevertheless, he still feels that unless it is a Single Queue-Multiple Servers system, cashier counters should not be allowed to be closed arbitrarily until all customers in the existing queue have been served.

The day ended pretty early for AstroBanana as Astro Girl has to work tomorrow. Don't envy Eric Banana though - he has to deal with a particularly tricky section of Mt. Eric tomorrow :(

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

ABC Gets A New Look!

It's a brand new year so The AstroBanana Chronicles gets a slightly different look!

Okay so it's essentially the same, except for that huge picture of Astro Girl and Eric Banana. Well, better than nothing right? :P