The AstroBanana Chronicles

Countdown to... Iron Maiden Concert

2011-02-14T20:00:00.008+08:00

Yes! Eric Banana is finally going to attend his maiden concert tomorrow night.. and maiden, it is going to be indeed... IRON MAIDEN!!

Back in November last year, when Eric Banana found out that Iron Maiden was going to perform in Singapore for the first time as part of their "The Final Frontier World Tour", he decided that there is no way he is going to miss this. But he wasn't too keen to go on his own, so he decided to ask his lovely wife. He knew it was a far shot since Astro Girl hates heavy metal music. The outcome was rather predictable - "NO."

Actually, none of Eric Banana's close friends enjoys listening to heavy metal music, so there was really no one he could turn to. He decided to ask his long-time buddy Vincent Goh - and he would be the first and last person Eric Banana was going to ask. Eric Banana was all ready to attend the concert alone. Vincent's response was classic: "I probably won't enjoy it, but I don't mind going for the experience." Eric Banana is definitely grateful :)

Eric Banana's first Iron Maiden album was a compilation - "Edward the Great". The music grew on him, and he has since bought the entire catalogue of studio and live albums. There are many Iron Maiden songs he likes but if he has to choose one, it has to be "Infinite Dreams" from their 1988 album "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". For "The Final Frontier World Tour", Iron Maiden will mostly be playing their songs from the 2000's rather than those from the 1980's and 1990's. While Eric Banana prefers their older songs, there are some very nice hits from the 2000's as well.

Let the countdown begin...

AstroBanana's First Winter Holiday!

2011-01-08T12:45:00.002+08:00

After a long stressful year at work, AstroBanana decided that they needed a good break. While they traditionally clear leave during the last two weeks of December every year, they would stay within the confines of Singapore as year-end travel can be cutthroat expensive. Well, AstroBanana were determined to take an overseas holiday in 2010. After some discussion, they agreed on the destination - Korea! Eric Banana had never been to Korea while Astro Girl went there in 2005, but during the autumn season. Both of them had never seen snow before so it was to be their first winter holiday.

Eric Banana left the planning work to Astro Girl, who scouted around for a good tour package since free and easy travel was impossibly expensive in December. Her research led her to SingExpress Travel, where they signed up for the "8 Days Korea Ski Discovery + Jeju" itinerary, which includes 6-star accommodation and covers all meals except three. They also managed to extend their trip for an additional three days at a nominal charge.

Day 1: Monday 27 December 2010

"Day 1" of the tour package was mostly non-existent. The flight out of Singapore was scheduled at 10:50 p.m. *zzz*. AstroBanana spent a large part of their day packing their luggage. Astro Girl was the cool one - she packed quickly and efficiently. In contrast, Eric Banana took forever to pack and had to rely on a packing list. Shame on him - between the two of them, he is the more frequent traveller.

AstroBanana reached the airport more than two hours ahead of the flight departure time but realised that the flight was delayed by almost an hour *even more zzz*. It was close to midnight when they finally boarded the plane. So much for the so-called "Day 1" *bleah*.

Day 2: Tuesday 28 December 2010

It was AstroBanana's first time taking a Korean Air flight. To their surprise, it was actually quite good. Service was okay, except that some of the flight attendants were not exactly fluent in English. The entertainment system was great and the movies available for viewing were fairly recent. As always, Eric Banana struggled to fall asleep aboard the plane - this is a perennial problem for him when he is stuck in Economy Class during flights.

Six hours later, the plane landed at Incheon International Airport. And Day 2 began officially. They were given one hour to wash up and "suit on" - put on their thermal wear and get ready their jackets, beanies, scarves, etc - a.k.a. becoming a rice dumpling. AstroBanana's thermal wear of choice was Uniqlo's Heatech, which Eric Banana felt was rather thin.

The first stop was supposed to be Namiseom Island but the tour guide changed it to Everland - South Korea's largest theme park - instead. Based on the original itinerary, they were scheduled to go to Everland on Day 4, which was expected to be more crowded as it was approaching New Year's Eve.

Many of the outdoor rides were not available due to the snow, not that Eric Banana minded - he's not the biggest fan of theme park rides. Still, Astro Girl got him to try the Snowbuster, which is basically a form of sledding. Eric Banana was initially hesistant, but after he tried it, he wanted to go again. Unfortunately the long queues started and they decided to head elsewhere.

There are many parks in Everland but AstroBanana did not have time to cover all of them. Eric Banana doesn't know how some of these parks look like during other seasons, but they looked great during winter. And Astro Girl was a pretty sight in her winter gear against the white backdrop.

AstroBanana somehow spent a lot of time in the Four Seasons Garden, where they saw lots of Christmas trees and snowmen:

AstroBanana joined a queue to take a safari bus ride to see some animals, and it was a very long queue. The highlight turned out to be this little girl in front of them. She whined and cried throughout the entire wait. Surely, it was a new Guinness world record or something -_-" The bus ride itself was swift, during which AstroBanana got to see tigers and bears.

After Everland, the next stop was Yeoju, where they visited the Chelsea Premium Factory Outlets. This was supposed to be on Day 6, but was brought forward as it was along the way to the ski resort. AstroBanana did not have much to buy here, especially Eric Banana, who has been way too spoiled by the super-low prices at the factory outlets in the U.S.

Dinner was smoky BBQ pork, which caused their clothes to stink big-time after that *bleah*. Eric Banana has something against stinky food smells that linger on and on and on...

The tour bus brought them to Daemyung Vivaldi Park, which has four blocks of accommodation - Oak, Pine, Maple, and the newest addition Cherry. Apparently, the tour group got an upgrade and landed rooms in the Cherry block. The stated rate in AstroBanana's room was a staggering 450,000 wons per night! AstroBanana's room comprises a living room with a balcony, a master bedroom with a bed, a smaller bedroom where sleeping mats can be placed on the floor, a small kitchenette and two bathrooms. There was heated flooring throughout. It was a great place to crash after a whole day of fun.

Day 3: Wednesday 29 December 2010

AstroBanana woke up and checked out the view from their balcony:

The first thing on the programme was a gondola ride up to the mountain where the skiing slope for the pros starts. Up they go!

It was super cold at the top, but the scenery was worth it:

Next up was the actual skiing. They spent some time collecting their rental ski equipment which were super heavy. Astro Girl looked fabulous with her ski goggles:

Eric Banana did not enjoy skiing as he has the "left-hand, left-leg; right-hand, right-leg" syndrome. He gave up after falling down a few times. Astro Girl fared much better and enjoyed herself.

After resting for a while, they went to the spa resort. At first, they tried the indoor pool and jacuzzi but decided to venture outdoors to soak in the mineral hot spring pools. It was super cold outside - they started out walking but soon broke into a run. However, once they soaked themselves in the hot spring pool, the feeling was heavenly. Their heads were exposed to the chill but their bodies were kept warm by the heat of the pool water. It was a very relaxing experience.

Day 4: Thursday 30 December 2010

After checking out from the ski resort, the tour group made a stop at Namiseon Island, where several scenes in the famous Korean drama Winter Sonata was filmed. Eric Banana could not relate to them because he has not watched it... yet. Nevertheless the scenery was breathtaking.

A photo with the tour group at the jetty:

After leaving Namiseon Island, the tour group made their way to Gimpo International Airport to catch a flight to Jeju Island. Eric Banana took a sunset photo at the departure gate:

After a bumpy, puke-inducing flight, AstroBanana finally reached Jeju Island. Apparently, many flights into the island were cancelled due to the turbulent weather.

The hotel - Ocean Suites Hotel Jeju - was a reasonably good one although the hotel room was, of course, nothing compared to the one at Daemyung Vivaldi Park.

Day 5: Friday 31 December 2010

AstroBanana woke up to see a storm brewing outside their hotel room, which was a bad sign as they had to spend the day outdoors:

The first stop was to a yellow canola flower farm. Well, it was supposed to be yellow canola but with heaps of snow on them, they ended up more looking like "white" canola:

Following that was Seongsan Illchulong Peak or Sunrise Peak, a land mass that rose from under the sea as a result of a volcanic eruption about 100,000 years ago. The weather was quite okay in the beginning...

... but soon took a nasty turn. It was snowing so heavily that ascending the peak was impossible. Even taking photos was a difficult task.

After escaping the snowstorm, the tour group proceeded to a tangerine farm, where each of them got to pick two tangerines.

It started to snow quite heavily which made the next activity - horse riding - a bit challenging. The horses were reluctant to leave the stable initially but eventually the weather cleared.

Eric Banana sympathised with the horse that had to bear his weight. At first, he thought the horses would be led by someone. Before he knew it, he was galloping away on his horse and hanging on for his dear life.

The weather cleared for a while but became bad again when the tour group attempted to ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Now, Eric Banana is a non-driver, but operating an ATV is fairly simple - just accelerate and brake. Astro Girl's ATV gave her problems halfway while Eric Banana went for a little joyride. The weather became so bad - Astro Girl called it a snow blizzard - that it was practically raining ice pellets which attacked Eric Banana's exposed face like angry ants. Guess the latter has no need for exfoliation this month.

After all the outdoor activities, the tour group proceeded to the Teddy Bear Museum, where there are many, many cute teddy bears on display.

After dinner, they caught Nanta (Cookin'), a very popular musical in South Korea. It is a non-verbal performance that integrates samulnori (Korea's traditional rhythm) with comedy and drama in a kitchen setting. AstroBanana thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

By the time AstroBanana got back to the hotel, they were dead tired. As it was New Year's Eve, the hotel was holding a countdown party at 11:30 p.m. AstroBanana both fell asleep before 12 midnight and slept through the countdown. Eric Banana was somehow not feeling too good.

Day 6: Saturday 1 January 2011

AstroBanana had to wake up early to catch a 9:05 a.m. flight back to Seoul. When they reached the airport, they realised that their flight was cancelled. Thankfully, the tour guide and tour escort managed to get the tour group on the next flight out, which was 9:30 a.m.

After arriving in Seoul, they headed to Lotte World Adventure Park. The tour group were supposed to have Best 5 tickets but those got upgraded to all-day passes. Well, Eric Banana did not remember much about Lotte World. He had fallen sick and taken some medicine which made him drowsy. Eventually, AstroBanana left the super-crowded Lotte World and found a cafe to chill out. Eric Banana literally slept there for three hours. Thanks to his beloved wife who kept him company and made sure he was comfortable.

The tour agency managed to secure hotel rooms in JW Marriott for the tour group. Yay!

Day 7: Sunday 2 January 2011

This day was dedicated to shopping! The first stop was a Korea ginseng monopoly showroom. Well, despite the supposed benefits, not many people ended up buying anything, mainly 'cos the prices were eye-popping.

The action really started when the tour group proceeded next to a Korean cosmetics shop. The women started asking questions, and their shopping baskets became full quickly. Credit cards were swiped without anyone batting an eyelid. To be fair, the prices were really low as compared to Singapore.

Due to popular demand, the tour group made an unscheduled stop at yet another Korean cosmetics shop. Like everyone else, Astro Girl also displayed her shopping instincts. Eric Banana witnessed for the first time how Astro Girl can really spend when it comes to certain things if the prices are right and if they are not readily available in Singapore. He estimated that some tour members must have spent thousands of dollars on facial products.

The subsequent visit to an amethyst factory did not garner too much attention from the tour group. Someone commented that at those kind of prices, she could buy diamonds in Singapore. AstroBanana are not a big fan of amethyst either. Eric Banana personally prefers sapphire. Purple reminds him of *eee* Barney.

After lunch, they went to Shinchon Fashion Street, which is located near a female university Ewha Women University. Things were relatively cheap but quality did not seem fantastic.

The next stop was Kyongbok Palace. which was originally built in 1395 by King Taejo, founder of the Chosun Dynasty. Most of the original infrastructure had already been destroyed due to invasion. What remains today are predominantly reconstructed buildings.

Next, the tour bus drove past the Presidential Blue House. The tour group made a short stop at Cheongwadae Sarangchae, a Korean presidential exhibition center which opened in January 2010.

After dinner, the last stop for the day was Dongdaemun Market, a major shopping area in Seoul. The tour group was given only one hour to shop. Most of them remained within Doota (Doosan Tower), one of the shopping malls. After that, AstroBanana opted to go back to the hotel to rest as they had all the time to shop during their extended stay. Some members of the tour group probably went back to Dongdaemun Market to shop as it was their last night in Seoul.

Day 8: Monday 3 January 2011

AstroBanana checked out from JW Marriott around noon and took a cab to Sejong Hotel, where they were picked up by the owner of their accommodation for the next three days - Seoul Tower Ville.

The apartment was not exactly big or new but the rates were affordable and the location was very accessible - it was a 5-minute walk away from Myeong-dong.

AstroBanana spent the day wandering around Myeong-dong and walking over to Namdaemun Market. The latter was a bore for Eric Banana, so they walked back to Myeong-dong for dinner. After having Korean food for many days, AstroBanana decided to have some western food and walked into a burger outlet - Kraze Burger. Eric Banana was only too happy to sink his teeth into a good ol' burger. According to Astro Girl who has very high standards when it comes to burgers, the burger was pretty good. As it turned out, Kraze Burger has opened an outlet in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands.

Day 9: Tuesday 4 January 2011

AstroBanana decided to venture to some outlet malls today. At first, the train network (Seoul Metropolitan Subway) seemed intimidating:

After a while, AstroBanana managed to figure out their way. Signage and instructions were available in English. They took the train along Line 4 from Myeong-dong to Seoul Station, which they switched to Line 1 to get to Gasan Digital Complex Station. After they alighted, they couldn't figure out where the outlet malls were, so they decided to hop into a restaurant for lunch first. This was when Astro Girl's Korean language skills came into play. She knows how to speak and read basic Korean words, but when the other party speaks too fast, she is sometimes unable to comprehend. Most Koreans do not speak English, so communication can be challenging. The restaurant menu was in Korean. Eric Banana could not understand a single word *bleah*. Astro Girl was able to order a kimbap (seaweed rice roll), ddeokbokki (spicy rice cake) and dumpling ramyeon (Korean ramen or instant noodles) for them. Only the ramyeon survived the speed at which AstroBanana attacked the food:

During lunch, Eric Banana managed to log on to a nearby cafe's Wi-Fi network and google directions to the mall. The power of the Internet never fails to amaze him. After lunch, AstroBanana reorientated their location and managed to find their way to the various malls - Fashion Island, Mario Outlets 1, 2 and 3, and W-Mall. It was a shopping haven but the season was not quite right. The clothes were designed for winter wear and not suitable to be worn in Singapore's hot weather.

After shopping, AstroBanana stopped at a cafe - Tom N Toms Coffee - for their tea break. Eric Banana noticed that after ordering, customers did not have to wait to collect their drinks at a pick-up counter. Instead, they were given a device that will buzz when their drinks or food are ready. Eric Banana felt that this is a great idea and hope it will get adopted in Singapore.

Dinner was at Myeong-dong again - where they had pasta and pizza at Rimini Pasta and Pizza. There seemed to be no lack of dining options in Myeong-dong.

Day 10: Wednesday 5 January 2011

Breakfast came in a white box with green polka dots:

Yes, AstroBanana found Krispy Kreme in Seoul! Previously they were attacking Dunkin' Donuts like nobody's business. Yup, even Astro Girl too, whom Eric Banana has never seen eat a single doughnut in Singapore before. It was Astro Girl's first time eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts and she's lovin' it!

After breakfast, AstroBanana headed for the "arty" Insadong area to get a feel of the traditional culture of Korea. They took the train along Line 4 from Myeong-dong to Seoul Station, switched to Line 1 to get to Jongno 3(sam)-ga, before transferring to Line 3 where they got out at Anguk station. The main street was lined with shops selling artwork and traditional craft, and inside the alleys were traditional tea houses and restaurants.

It was freezing cold that day and Eric Banana developed a ramyeon craving. Astro Girl mentioned that she read from a blog about this restaurant that serves very nice ramyeon in the Samcheongdong area. The directions were as follows: "Direction: Exit 1 from Anguk Station. After you come out of the station, walk straight and then turn right on the second junction. You would see a school on your right hand side. Walk straight and keep a look out at the small alleys on your right. If you see a queue, that should be it. It can't go wrong." As AstroBanana followed the instructions, they were semi-skeptical about locating the restaurant. And *voila* the queue was REALLY there. The food didn't survive AstroBanana's fast attack for photographic evidence, but it was definitely good!

After lunch, they headed for Samcheongdong-gil street, which is lined with hanok (traditional Korean houses) that have been converted to eclectic shops and snazzy cafes:

It was very hard to survive more than one hour in the Korean winter, so AstroBanana were freezing their donkeys off literally. And Eric Banana said it best... "Heatech? Heatech my arse!" But to be fair, the Heatech thermal wear worked pretty well. AstroBanana struggled with keeping their hands and feet warm. AstroBanana had enough coffee so they ventured back to Insadong in search of a nice tea place. They found a quaint teahouse, where they had some warm tea. The complimentary rice crackers were very tasty!

AstroBanana decided to go back to Dongdaemun Market for more shopping. They took a train along Line 3 to Jongno 3(sam)-ga and switched to Line 1 to get to Dongdaemun station. This time, they skipped Doota and shopped around two other major shopping malls - Hello apM and Migliore. Some of these shopping malls are open until 5:00 a.m. - talk about hardcore shopping! AstroBanana did not buy anything much. and headed back to Myeong-dong for dinner. Astro Girl had enough of western food, so they had traditional kimchi stew. After dinner, dessert was at Beans Bin:

Day 11: Thursday 6 January 2011

AstroBanana spent most of the morning packing and left for the airport at noon. The Korea tax refund system was very confusing, and hopefully it was not designed to be confusing to deter tourists from claiming their tax refund. Their flight was 4 p.m. Six hours later, AstroBanana landed in Singapore and ended their Korea holiday :(

AstroBanana really enjoyed their first winter holiday and were glad that their tour package turned out to be great. The tour guide (Jeff Zhang) and tour escort (Steven Pang) were really helpful and entertained the tour group with their sense of humour. AstroBanana also met a nice couple - Vincent and Joanna - with whom they got along well within the tour group. It was funny witnessing them squabbling and teasing each other. And from some angles, Joanna bears some resemblance to Bae Yong-joon, the actor in Winter Sonata.

For Eric Banana, his benchmark is Astro Girl's Happiness Index. And from these photos, she sure looked happy:

Astro Girl is already thinking about their next holiday. Eric Banana is not sure he wants to go to a cold country anytime soon *brrr*.

P.S. For those planning to go to South Korea, you can obtain a Tourist Map of Korea & Seoul and Korea Travel Guide from the Korea Tourism Organization for free. You just need to go to the website, register and submit a request form. AstroBanana found the Korea Travel Guide very useful.

Snowbound

2010-12-27T22:56:00.001+08:00

AstroBanana usually start their year-end break around the third week of December, but this year they are having a late start... Well, they have no complaints though - they are about to fly to Korea (the south one) for a 10-day winter vacation. The temperature there is reportedly very low (-10 deg celsius?!), which will keep their hypothalamus working hard to keep them warm. Believe it or not, neither Astro (Girl) nor (Eric) Banana has ever seen snow, so it's going to be a first-time for them :D

Sent from Eric Banana's iPhone

How to Get Popcorn for Free?!

2010-12-11T22:37:00.004+08:00

AstroBanana had an encounter with the "ultimate" ticket counter person at The Cathay today.

Eric Banana: Good afternoon, I would like to purchase two movie tickets for the 4.45 p.m. screening of "Rapunzel".

Ticket Counter Person: Uh, for which outlet?

Eric Banana gave Astro Girl a glance and rolled his eyeballs. Well, if he's at The Cathay, it should be reasonably assumed that he's trying to buy tickets for a movie screening at The *blardy* Cathay, unless he specifically requests to purchase tickets for a movie screening at another cinema.

Eric Banana: Erm, this one? -_-"

The counter ticket person clicked his mouse a few times and showed AstroBanana the seating plan for the movie. Basically, it was a near full house, with the exception of the first row, which was empty. The other available seats were single seats in sporadic locations.

Eric Banana: I would like to take P8 and P9 (which are seats along the first row).

Counter Ticket Person: Oh, but that's the front row. It's very near to the screen. Do you want to choose seats elsewhere instead?

Eric Banana looked at Astro Girl and repeated his eyeballs-rolling routine. The counter ticket person was stating the obvious. It's not as if there was an alternative, unless Eric Banana and Astro Girl chose separate single seats. Eric Banana was one step away from wringing the counter ticket person's neck.

Eric Banana: It's okay. The first row is fine.

The ticket counter person proceeded to process the transaction. For every pair of tickets purchased at Cathay's box office using an AMEX platinum credit card, the cardholder is entitled to a free medium-sized popcorn. This entails the selection of the particular deal on the ticketing screen, which will then be printed on the ticket receipt. What the counter ticket person did instead was this:

Yes, he WROTE "1 free popcorn" on the ticket receipt. (The ticket receipt on the left reflects what should be the right thing to do.) Hey, if that works, anyone can just start writing "free popcorn" on their ticket receipts and get popcorn for free!

Talk about service standards...

Wolf's Eye Long Wallet: Review

2010-12-05T21:15:00.006+08:00

Eric Banana was googling on leather goods one fine day when he stumbled upon an indie leather brand - Obbi Good Label (OGL). The uninitiated may not know but its origin is definitely Singaporean. The term "obbi good" is typically used by local kids to gloat when another kid falls down or gets into some kind of trouble. OGL is an up-and-coming brand which comprises a band of leather artisans with distinct styles of their own - a few of them have learnt part of their skills from Master Soh, the experienced leather artisan who helms 310 Woodland at the Heeren (another of Eric Banana's favourite shops).

While going through the many pictures of the leather products on the OGL website and artisan blogs, one in particular - the Wolf's Eye Denim x Veg Tan Long Wallet - caught Eric Banana's eye. After lusting over the wallet for a few months, Eric Banana could not take it anymore and contacted the artisan, James / Lipsu - a Singaporean who is based in France - and got him to agree to making the wallet.

The original Wolf's Eye Denim x Veg Tan Long Wallet was spawned from James' experiment to combine his two loves - denim and leather. He has been making leather products for a while then - and becoming incredibly skilled at it - and he probably couldn't wait to try out some new concepts. In Eric Banana's opinion, that is what differentiates enduring fashion from one-hit fads. Some people stumble on a good, maybe somewhat popular design and milk the hell out of it. The trend-setters constantly come up with different ideas and stay ahead of the game. No prize for guessing which category James belongs to.

One would think that for an experimental concept, costs should be kept as low as possible since the end-product remains a great unknown. James apparently didn't subscribe to that idea - he took his pair of limited edition Levi's 501 Selvage jeans and *snip* *snip* *snip* cut it up for his project. Yes, admittedly, the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet was for his own use, but it also went to show how confident he was in his own skills. And for Eric Banana's Wolf's Eye Long Wallet, James gamely took to his scissors and parted with another section of his beloved pair of jeans.

The best thing about commissioning a handmade wallet is that customisation is allowed. Who wants to own a wallet that everyone else has anyway? However, when Eric Banana asked James to make the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet for him, he did not request for any design changes to the wallet itself. He couldn't - the wallet was "perfect" in his eyes.

The leather used for the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet is 3-4oz vegetable-tanned ("veg tan") leather, which according to Wikipedia is "tanned using tannin and other ingredients found in vegetable matter, tree bark and other such sources" and is "the only form of leather suitable for use in leather carving and stamping". It looks creamy white in its original form, but can darken considerably as time goes by as patinas form through frequent usage. The darkening process can be significantly accelerated through an oiling + suntanning process as well, although Eric Banana doubts he will go down that path anytime soon as he adores the distinctive colour combination of dark dry selvage denim against creamy white veg tan leather.

Blemishes, skin cuts or even insect bites can often be found on veg tan leather, reflecting the actual condition of the cow hide. The leather artisan has to carefully choose the best area to make his leather goods, but the imperfection is inevitable. Therein lies the true beauty of a hand-made wallet - trying to create a perfect product within the limits of the materials on hand.

The curve proportion on the exterior of the wallet is alluring in a very strange way and must have come after several permutations. James' initial concept was for the denim inlay shape to be that of a wolf's eye (hence the name), but he must have let his impeccable sense for visual aesthetics take over and finalised on the eventual shape. The longhorn concho on the fastening strap injects a cowboy feel to the wallet. The original wallet had a fixed rein ring. James incorporated a rotating rein ring for Eric Banana's wallet and it allows the user much more flexibility when the wallet is used.

The workmanship on the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet is superb - it feels very well-constructed, with smooth burnishing on the edges. The entire wallet is fully hand-stitched with size 10 cream polyester thread, which is unlikely to ever give way in its lifetime. James doesn't scrimp on details - even the zipper for the coin compartment is from YKK. And he imported a fish hook from Japan and incorporated it into the wallet rein at no additional cost as he felt that it will complement the wallet better than the usual trigger hook. Such dedication to the craft is to be commended.

Looking at the interior of the wallet, the internal lining is made of black pigskin. There are 6 card slots, 1 stacked card slot, 1 coin compartment, 2 bill slots and 2 hidden slots The craftsman's skill is evident in the curved card slots, which were all hand cut. And the way he stacked the card slots on top of the other without increasing the thickness of the wallet was simply superb engineering.

For the accessories, the wallet rein is hand-braided using 4 strands of lace cut from 2-3 oz veg tan leather. The end that attaches to the wallet has a small trigger hook while the other end has the fish hook mentioned earlier. The rein holder is made from 3-4oz veg tan leather and sports a smaller longhorn concho, with a heavy-duty stainless steel D-ring.

James is an extremely friendly person and his customer service is superb. He is very responsive to questions and requests. Most sellers are usually anxious to close the deal. James actually told Eric Banana that he was working with Benzak Denim Developers (BDD) on another denim+leather wallet and asked the latter if he would like to wait for the release in case he likes it more. The completed product was sent via registered mail from France and reached Singapore within one week.

Look and Feel: The dimensions of the wallet are 7.5" x 4" x 1". At first look, Eric Banana felt it was rather wide, but after trying it out with a few pairs of jeans, he found the fit perfect. The wallet is quite heavy due to the material. Eric Banana loves the smell of leather on a newly-minted product, and it has lingered on for weeks. For maintenance, James has recommended using mink oil on the wallet. According to him, there are two types of mink oil. The liquid type, which will not darken the leather, and the cream type, which will darken the leather to a certain extent because it contains beeswax. Eric Banana got the cream type of mink oil - he couldn't find the liquid type - and was glad that the end-result was that the darkening of the leather was not significant.

First Use(s): Eric Banana has carried the wallet out on a few occasions and it's a definite attention-grabber, especially with the wallet rein. His friends all love the wallet and have nothing but compliments for it. Eric Banana thinks the wallet presents some complications when it rains though. While water will not do any damage per se, it will stain the veg tan leather, which is a bit of a problem for Eric Banana, as he's trying to keep it in its pristine form. Nope, he's not going to let it go through some dynamic evolution process just yet. Eric Banana doesn't usually keep his wallet in his back pocket when he sits down because he doesn't want to damage the corners of the wallet - but that's for dress wallets. The Wolf's Eye Long Wallet is made of tougher stuff and sitting on it barely does any damage at all.

Final Thoughts: Eric Banana does not regret getting the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet and suffers from no post-purchase dissonance whatsoever - it's his best buy of the year. James was contemplating continuing the Wolf's Eye range while working on the wallet for Eric Banana but decided not to after completing his collaboration wallet with BDD. This means that the Wolf's Eye Long Wallet is now truly limited edition. Besides, the wallet Eric Banana got differs a fair bit from James' version, so it's really one-of-a-kind. U-N-I-Q-U-E. Furthermore, OGL products now come with the logo stamped on them. Eric Banana was lucky enough to get the wallet just before they introduced the stamp.

P.S. All pictures in this blog entry are provided by James.

Unboxing the Wolf's Eye

2010-10-16T23:45:00.001+08:00

A parcel arrived for Eric Banana a few days ago but he was only able to pick it up from the post office today. With much excitement, he tore open the box to find his *precious*... wrapped in an unique packaging, courtesy of James / Lipsu from Obbi Good Label (OGL):

Eric Banana removed the packaging carefully and retrieved the object of his desire - the Wolf's Eye long wallet:

A peek at the interior of the wallet:

A wallet of this quality deserves a more comprehensive review, and Eric Banana will get to doing it one fine day. But he would like to thank James for producing this excellent piece of work. Eric Banana is also appreciative to his friends for chipping in for this wallet as his birthday present. Thank you guys and gals!

One Year Of Being Married

2010-10-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

AstroBanana took leave today for an early celebration of their first wedding anniversary. Yes, amazing but true - it has been one year. Time really passes very quickly. As their dinner reservation was at 8:00 p.m., they decided to do the tai-tai programme and chill out at Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge for high tea.

Dinner was at Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant at Triple One Somerset, which opened not too long ago. Prices were a bit on the high side but the food was not too bad. Well, when it comes to steamboat, if the food is not well-cooked, there isn't anyone but oneself to blame :P

Eric Banana would like to say this to his lovely wife, "Happy 1st anniversary, my dear. Thank you for being in my life and I look forward to the many many years we have ahead."

Setting Priority

2010-10-04T22:49:00.001+08:00

Well, American Express cardholders do get priority...

... at the controversial AMEX Platinum Priority Queue at the Cathay box office.

Eric Banana recently noticed a small sign at the counter that read "American Express Cardholders Get Priority". In smaller print were the words, "Please come up to the front of the American Express Platinum Priority Queue and identify yourself to the friendly box office staff". The font size is akin to the last row of an eye test chart though - legitimate AMEX Platinum cardholders standing all the way at the back of the queue are unlikely to make out the words. And what's with the "friendly" box office staff?!

Also, what if an AMEX Platinum cardholder moves to the front of the queue to identify himself, and everyone in the queue happens to be AMEX Platinum cardholders too (that is, the priority queue finally worked)? It might become a rather embarrassing moment. Eric Banana feels that a DEDICATED priority queue - like the Visa Infinity / Signature queue at GV - would probably work better. Interestingly, Cathay is probably the only cinema that still uses the multiple-queue-multiple-server model. Shaw, Eng Wah and Golden Village utilise the single-queue-multiple-server model for the locations observed by Eric Banana.

PeraMakaned

2010-10-02T23:38:00.002+08:00

AstroBanana had dinner with DGT this evening at PeraMakan, a restaurant that serves delicious Peranakan / Nonya cuisine, located on the third level of Keppel Club. Having read mixed reviews, AstroBanana were at first a little skeptical about the quality of the dishes, but once they started tasting the food, their doubts were swiftly dispelled. In fact, they did not even stop to take any food pictures as all of them were starving. AstroBanana would highly recommend all the dishes they ordered, listed below (description from restaurant's website):

Ayam Buah Keluak: Chicken braised with the black pulp of Indonesian black nuts (known as Buah Keluak)

Beef Rendang: Shin beef braised until it becomes tender in spicy coconut gravy; served with serondeng (toasted spiced coconut)

Sambal Terung: Deep-fried brinjals topped with prawn sambal

AstroBanana and DGT each ordered a different type of soup.

Bakwan Kepiting: Minced pork mixed with mackerel, crabmeat and bamboo shoots, and cooked in chicken and fish stock; served garnished with fried garlic, coriander leaves and spring onions

Hee Peow Soup: Good-quality fish maws cooked in chicken and fish stock, and served with home-made prawn balls, port balls and fish balls; served garnished with fried garlic, coriander leaves and spring onions

Itek Tim: Duck, pork trotters and salted Chinese mustard stewed with tomatoes and blue ginger to make a rich and fragrant soup

Desserts all revolved around the durian theme.

Durian Pengat: Pure durian mousse served chilled with steamed yam and sweet potatoes.

Durian Chendol: Tender kidney beans, topped with shaved ice, gula melaka, coconut milk and home-made durian jam

During and after dinner, Eric Banana got to use his new iPhone 4 for some pictures (enhanced with Plastic Bullet). Guess his Canon IXUS 850 IS will be relegated to the cold palace soon.

In addition to treating AstroBanana to dinner, DGT presented Eric with a belated birthday present - a funky rollerball pen from Troika. Thanks dude!

Wish Upon A Mooncake

2010-09-22T22:51:00.002+08:00

Eric Banana had to fly to Shanghai on a business trip on Monday. To his dismay, his return flight was on Wednesday, which was not only the Mid-Autumn Festival but also his lunar birthday. Joy joy.

He was wondering if Singapore Airlines would dish out mooncakes during the flight but dismissed the notion quickly as "probably only for Business and First Class". Well, to his eventual surprise, all the passengers (yes, even those in Economy Class) got a mooncake (instead of the usual ice-cream) as part of their inflight meals. It wasn't exactly big or particularly tasty, but Eric Banana felt it was a thoughtful gesture.

On a positive note, Eric Banana was closer to the moon than most people on tis' night :P

The Audacity of Some People...

2010-09-05T22:53:00.001+08:00

Eric Banana was forced to be nasty today!

He was at The Cathay box office this afternoon at about 2:15 p.m. to purchase a ticket for a movie that was screening at 2:30 p.m. Naturally, he went to join the American Express Platinum Priority Queue, despite knowing that it was as good as non-existent. Well, the other queues happened to be crazily long. In front of him was a couple who were taking a blardy long time with their transaction. Apparently, they have booked and collected their tickets for a movie that was screening at a later time and they were trying to change their tickets for an earlier screening time. The ticket counter person did not know what the procedure was and had to consult the duty manager. Anyway, they were all taking a long time together doing dunnowhat...

The lady detected Eric Banana's mounting displeasure and turned around to tell him, "This may take a long time. Why don't you go and queue somewhere else?"

WTF?! The audacity! First of all, why did they not book their movie tickets correctly? Okay, so they had a change of mind. Why did they then not change the timing when they collected their tickets? Okay, so they changed their minds late. And being allowed to change the movie timing is not a right either, especially after tickets have been collected. Also, since it's an online purchase, the couple should have gone back to the online booking collection booth to make the change. And, unless they purchased their tickets with an AMEX Platinum card, they should have joined any of the other queues.

Eric Banana flashed his AMEX Platinum Reserve card and said to her, "This is the AMEX Platinum (priority) queue. Why should I have to move? (If you do not have an AMEX Platinum card, then) you are the one in the wrong queue!" Hearing this, the lady just turned back meekly. Which means they did not even book their tickets with an AMEX Platinum card. *pui*

The duty manager was still chattering non-stop with the ticket counter person after the couple left. Eric Banana knows that the AMEX Platinum Priority Queue means nothing to the Cathay folks but he was quite pissed off by then, especially when the movie he wanted to watch was about to start - he had to raise his voice to tell her that he "would like to purchase a (darned) movie ticket", not stand there to wait for her to finish her chitchat.

All Spruce-d Up!

2010-08-17T22:45:00.000+08:00

Eric Banana knows these photos are long overdue. In mitigation, he attributes the delay to his recent laptop malfunction.

Astro Girl celebrated her birthday on 23rd of July. For her birthday dinner, Eric Banana thought long and hard about where to go. After much deliberation, he shortlisted two restaurants - Coriander Leaf in Clarke Quay and Spruce at Phoenix Park - which Astro Girl has not gone to before. As it turned out, Coriander Leaf had some thingy going on so it would be crowded and noisy. Eric Banana opted for Spruce instead. Unlike Dempsey Hill which is overpopulated with restaurants, Phoenix Park is a quaint location where the Ministry of Home Affairs used to be and sits opposite the Bruneian Embassy. Spruce is the only restaurant operating there.

While many people prefer to go for an outdoor table, Eric Banana decided that he was not interested in feeding mosquitoes and chose an indoor table instead. Service at the entrance was... cold. The "door bitch" had her nose up in the air. Thankfully, this proved to be the exception rather than the rule. The waiting staff provided impeccable service throughout the evening.

AstroBanana were led to a table which was pretty close to another table but they did not mind. The birthday girl had a pretty collection of photos behind her. She herself is part of a pretty collection of photos:

Given the mixed reviews, AstroBanana decided to stick to the tried-and-tested stuff.

Eric Banana's starter: Signature Spruce Ahi Tuna Tartar with Ciabatta Bread and Avocado // Eric Banana thought the tuna tartar was not bad while Astro Girl did not think much of it. In fact, she did not think anything of it. Understandably so... since she did not eat it at all. Raw stuff doesn't go well with her. The serving portion is too much for one person but would be perfect for two persons to share.

Astro Girl's main course: Signature Spruce Burger with Homemade Pickles and Harvarti Cheese // Astro Girl simply adores this burger. While not the biggest fan of burgers in general, she does appreciate the occasional nice beef burger. Eric Banana would have gone for this as well but he just had a beef burger at Smoochies the day before. Besides, he had already tried this burger before, during his previous visit.

Eric Banana's main course: Roasted Kurobuta Pork Chop with Japanese Corn, Tarragon and Miso Butter // This came recommended by some people on the Internet. Eric Banana only tried the Kurobuta pork once - the US Kurobuta Pork Loin at the now-defunct Big D's Grill. Eric Banana found the taste of the roasted Kurobuta pork chop to be tantalising but still preferred it grilled :P The winner here was really the Japanese corn. Eric Banana doesn't usually fancy corn, but he ate every single last bit of it on the plate. Yummy!

Astro Girl's dessert: The Spruce Sundae with Valrhona Fudge Sauce and Brownie Bits // By right, the birthday girl should have gotten a slice of cake on her big day. But she had no regrets getting this instead. It was an excellent blend of vanilla ice-cream and fruit sorbet. This really made her day. Astro Girl wondered about the china plate used to serve the sundae though - an interesting oddity.

Eric Banana's dessert: Steamed Ginger Date Pudding with Chocolate Toffee Sauce // Eric Banana really should have listened to Astro Girl and shared her dessert. No, it wasn't that the steamed ginger date pudding did not live up to expectations (Eric Banana tried a spoonful when his friend ordered it during his previous visit and he knows that it is very delicious). However, Eric Banana practically ate the tuna tartar by himself and vacuumed the roasted Kurobuta pork chop in record time. What's more, he ordered a cup of hot chocolate to go with the dessert - it turned out to be a palate overkill.

Dinner at Spruce turned out to be an excellent choice. AstroBanana will definitely go there again, although they wonder if they will be more adventurous and order other items on the menu.

No Country for Queue Jumpers

2010-08-08T22:43:00.002+08:00

AstroBanana suffered an injustice today!

They decided to go to Ootoya Japanese Restaurant at Orchard Central for dinner earlier this evening. Before they even entered the restaurant, they were already made to feel like second-class citizens. They arrived at 6 p.m., and there was a queue in front of the restaurant entrance. There wasn't anyone manning the entrance counter. Some customers have gotten a queue number so they were not in the physical queue. There were only two groups of people in front of AstroBanana. Two guys joined the queue after AstroBanana. After a while, only one group of people was in front of AstroBanana.

When the restaurant manager (the only person not wearing an uniform) approached the entrance counter, the two guys behind AstroBanana suddenly jumped the queue and approached the restaurant manager, indicating that they wanted a table for two. And that was not the worst part. The worst part was, the restaurant manager actually led them to a table! WTF!! Eric Banana was not going to let the matter rest. He gave the restaurant manager a piece of his mind. She apologised and pushed the blame to the two guys. In mitigation, she said, "Oh, we have another table for two persons." Eric Banana concluded that she has missed the point entirely - if it was just any waiter or waitress who perpetuated the queue jumping, it was still okay. She was a blardy restaurant manager - she should have known better. First day at work ah? Sorry wasn't going to cut it. What if there wasn't another table for two persons readily available? Hell hath no fury than Eric Banana on a warpath.

As for the two guys, they were speaking Japanese. Eric Banana overheard one of them speaking in English that he was Singaporean. And their dressing was so... well, they probably thought they looked metrosexual... but they ended up looking more *CENSORED*. Whatever~! Shame on them. For jumping queue, they should be subject to clobbering by a violent mob. *GRRR*

It is evident that Eric Banana is not in the best of moods - he has been encountering bad service throughout the weekend. Prior to this bad experience, he has already busted the balls of FedEx's customer service department and nearly chewed off the heads of Wendy's counter staff.

P.S. Except for the CMI (read: cannot make it) restaurant manager, the food (AstroBanana ordered the hamburger steaks) and service in Ootoya were great.

Singapore Prices for Unlocked Apple iPhone 4 Unveiled!

2010-07-27T08:10:00.001+08:00

A quick flip of Today this morning revealed that the iPhone 4 will be available via the local Apple Store. It quoted an Apple press release which lists the prices for unlocked 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4. The 16GB model will be sold at S$888 while the 32GB model will be sold at S$1,048.

Wow, this means Eric Banana's prediction of the prices came amazingly close. Looking at the lower end of his price range prediction, he was only off the mark by S$20, and in a good way:

16GB iPhone 4
Predicted Price Range: S$908 - S$1,058
Actual Price: S$888

32GB iPhone 4
Predicted Price Range: S$1,068 - S$1,218
Actual Price: S$1,048

The lower-than-expected pricing will probably drive demand higher, and motivate some people who were previously technologically indifferent to switch to the iPhone 4. Eric Banana will wait it out. It doesn't make sense to pay unlocked prices at this point when his mobile phone contract will be eligible for renewal in less than two months' time. Yes, he's a pragmatic Singaporean, and a proud one at that.

It will be interesting to see how the telcos will price the iPhone 4.

Huh? What World Cup?

2010-07-09T19:38:00.002+08:00

Now that the month of the World Cup - a month where soccer comes first, and everything else, including wives, kids and pets, get relegated to oblivion - is nearly over, it's time to do an end-term report with regard to its impact on the AstroBanana household. And Eric Banana is pleased to announce that it had absolutely no impact whatsoever. Nil. Zilch. In the AstroBanana household, the World Cup is... a non-event. Eric Banana has no interest whatsoever in the World Cup, or even, soccer. Beyond a cursory glance at the scores in the newspaper, he cannot even be bothered to look through the match details.

Quite obviously, Eric Banana is not a fan of soccer. Or any ball game, for that matter. As a young boy, balls somehow connected instantly with his face. He only realised that his team-mates were the culprits after he grew up. Nevertheless, even as a spectator, he finds it painful to sit through an entire soccer match, especially goalless ones. For basketball, at least there's the shot clock to spice things up.

World Cup? Eric Banana would rather spending his time poring over the latest catalogue of Balenciaga or Bottega Veneta :p

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

A Proprietory Present for Astro Girl

2010-07-06T22:06:00.000+08:00

There are still a couple of weeks to go but well, if it's here, it's here. Astro Girl's birthday present, that is :)

It is a Ralph Lauren Proprietor French wallet. Ralph Lauren's embossed Proprietor logo accents the front of this chic wallet, which is crafted in Italy from sumptuous calfskin. It features a smooth calfskin-lined interior with two bill sections, eight card slots and four slide slots. There is a snap closure on each side. The centre flap has a clear ID case, a zippered change section with stirrup zip pull and additional slide pocket. Cuoio in colour, it measures 5.5" x 1.25" x 4".

Well, at least it's not one of the usual *yawn* boring wallets from LV or Gucci. It's also apt in a way. Guess who the real PROPRIETOR behind the AstroBanana household is...

Of DemoGrAPhic Profiling

2010-07-05T21:40:00.005+08:00

Eric Banana was shopping at GAP the other day with the lovely Astro Girl. As he was paying for his item at the cashier counter, he noticed that the sales assistant was keying something into the POS terminal. Apparently, it required input, or rather selection, for Category and Age Group. It's a form of demographic profiling, to allow a better understanding of the demographic composition of customers. The sales assistant selected "Expatriate" for Category and "26-30" for Age Group.

Now, how did Eric Banana end up being an "expatriate"? He sure ain't speaking with no slang. He concluded that the sales assistant's assessment was based on his mode of payment, which was an American Express credit card. Hmmm, presumptuous... besides, the AMEX card is issued locally.

As for why the sales assistant deemed Eric Banana to be in the "26-30" age group, Astro Girl probably explained it best - "He must be blind."

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

The King Is Dead... Long Live The King!

2010-06-20T23:40:00.002+08:00

Burger King, that is. Specifically the outlet at Holland Village. After 25 years - that's an amazing quarter of a century - BK Holland V has ceased operations.

Eric Banana still remembers that it opened to much fanfare in 1985. Back then, going to fast-food restaurants was not an everyday affair. Well, for middle- and low-income families at least. His late mum would bring him there only on special occasions or to reward him for achieving good academic results.

BK Holland V went through two major renovations during its 25 years of operations. If Eric Banana did not recall wrongly, it only occupied the ground floor in the beginning. During its first renovation, it took over the second floor and added an internal staircase. There was even an opening between the two floors, so one could see part of the second floor from the ground floor and vice-versa. This apparently didn't make sense space-wise and was done away with during the second renovation.

Eric Banana finds it amazing how such a popular fast-food chain cannot survive in Holland Village, an area frequented by expatriates. He knows many students like to camp there and study - maybe they are not big spenders. Sometimes business was so bad in the evenings that the second floor dining area was cordoned off. The only other fast-food restaurant that came close to matching Burger King's record was KFC, which started in 1987, but it gave way to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao a few years ago. The other fast-food restaurants, including A&W and what-nots, never left a lasting impression on the Holland Village landscape.The departure of Burger King has wiped out the last remnants of fast-food decadence from Holland Village (Eric Banana doesn't quite consider Subway as fast food). Thankfully, the vacant space will be taken up by another American fast food chain - Wendy's. Interestingly, the Singapore franchisee for Wendy's is the Kopitiam Group. Diversification huh? The first outlet at Lau Pa Sat was reportedly a success though.

Eric Banana wonders if BK Holland V's closing has to do with Burger King Singapore taking over the local BK operations from former franchisee Bon-Foods. Another BK outlet - the one at Liat Towers - closed down recently, and the space was also taken over by Wendy's. Well, luckily for Burger King, it escaped the recent Orchard Road flooding that devastated the area. Wendy's was not so lucky - it was only open for three days before the flood took it out of business with an estimated S$500,000 in damaged furnishings and equipment.

Hmmm, Eric Banana has a burning question though - how come McDonald's never came to Holland Village?!

Deconstructing What Singapore iPhone 4 Prices Will Be

2010-06-18T00:35:00.003+08:00

There has been a lot of speculation on how much the highly-anticipated iPhone 4 will cost when it is finally released in Singapore. Eric Banana was minding his own business just now when he accidentally stumbled upon the Singapore Apple Store...

The pricing for an unlocked 8GB iPhone 3GS has been set at S$748. That set his mind thinking...

Now, just to refresh everyone's memory, the US prices for the iPhone are US$99 for the 8GB iPhone 3GS, US$199 for the 16GB iPhone 4 and US$299 for the 32GB iPhone 4, all bundled with an AT&T contract.

First of all, Eric Banana needs to convert these prices to Singapore dollars. One would be tempted to use the prevailing exchange rate (~S$1.39 per US dollar) but that would be inaccurate. Apparently, Apple uses rather different exchange rates. Eric Banana decided to compare the prices between the US and Singapore Apple Stores using a few other items with the same price points.

4GB iPod Shuffle Special Edition: US$99 = S$148 (Exchange rate of 1.49)
8GB iPod Touch: US$199 = S$308 (Exchange rate of 1.55)
16GB iPod Touch: US$299 = S$468 (Exchange rate of 1.57)

Going back to the 8GB iPhone 3GS, the difference works out to be S$600 (S$748 - S$148). This is the premium for not being tied to a contract ("unlocked premium").

Since the iPhone 3GS is last year's news, it can be assumed that the unlocked premium for the iPhone 4 will be higher, say 25 percent more. This works out to S$750.

Using an unlocked premium of S$600 to S$750, the prices are computed as follows:

An unlocked 16GB iPhone 4 will probably cost between S$908 (S$308 + S$600) and S$1,058 (S$308 + S$750)
An unlocked 32GB iPhone 4 will probably cost between S$1,068 (S$468 + S$600) and S$1,218 (S$468 + S$750)

Are these prices accurate? Nobody knows. But at least they are logically derived. What could change the prices above would be a higher unlocked premium for the iPhone 4. These prices also look very similar to those for the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS without lines (selling for S$1,040 and S$1,240 respectively at iStudio and EpiCentre), which validate Eric Banana's earlier comment that prices of the iPhone 4 will approximate that of the iPhone 3GS.

Also, what will the prices be with a local telco contract? Eric Banana's guess is that if SingTel still had the monopoly, the telco premium will definitely work out to be higher than the unlocked premium. With the competition from M1 and StarHub, there is no motivation for any telco to price higher than the unlocked premium because consumers will gravitate towards unlocked sets. Of course, it is better to avoid paying the unlocked premium upfront because of the time value of money but today's consumers are more sophisticated - they appreciate not being tied down to a service provider, especially one that is not exceptional in its service delivery.

A Look at the iPhone 4

2010-06-12T16:50:00.003+08:00

Eric Banana never thought that he would ever say this... but he is all ready to switch to the ubiquitous iPhone camp. Having held out for the longest time, the introduction of the iPhone 4 has just tipped Eric Banana over to the other - some say, dark - side.

Eric Banana is currently using a Blackberry Bold 9000. And he loves this phone - it was a breakthrough from the boredom of traditional business-oriented Blackberry designs. The screen display is sharp, and the keyboard is one of the best in the industry. Since he keeps his phone on silent mode most of the time, he appreciates the blinking light to indicate an incoming call / SMS / email message. The push e-mail function is excellent, surpassing every smartphone in the marketplace.

Well, it's not all love and no hate though. The Bold 9000's short battery life means it has to be charged nearly everyday. Its low memory necessitates the need to give it a reboot or battery pull every now and then, sometimes up to three times a day. And what irks Eric Banana the most is the darned lousy Blackberry browser - it's forever "Requesting...", "Loading... " or "Requesting Script...". It proxies web traffic via Research In Motion (RIM) in Canada, which means a grand tour around the world before the requested website loads on the browser. This sometimes makes Eric Banana want to flush it down the blardy toilet.

The new product pipeline from RIM doesn't appeal to Eric Banana at all. The Bold 9700 is slimmer than the Bold 9000, which means the keyboard size has to be compressed. The browser remains unchanged with OS 5.0. The rumoured Bold 9800 is supposedly a slider with touch functions. The browser will get revamped with OS 6.0 but Eric Banana has already lost his faith. More importantly, he is not a fan of flip or slider phones, or any phone with moving parts. Not after two encounters with the mobile phone "screen of death". Plus, RIM doesn't have a service centre in Singapore so if his Blackberry malfunctions or gets damaged, he has to bring it to SingTel which will ship it to Canada for repair.

And now presenting the all-new iPhone from Apple...

Name: Contrary to speculations, the new iPhone is not called the "iPhone HD" or "iPhone 4G", but just "iPhone 4". Technically, a 4G network is not fully in place yet. While "4G" could have denoted "4th-generation", it goes against why Apple termed its 3G-capable iPhone as "iPhone 3G" back then. Well, for Eric Banana, "iPhone 4" sounds better than the last version - "iPhone 3GS", where "S" stands for speed. Eric Banana thinks "S" sounds remarkably like... ass. The iPhone is also the only device in Apple's stable of portable devices that has a different moniker for each version. The iPod Classic, Nano and Touch do not (usually) get such a luxury. Maybe the mobile phone market calls for a different marketing treatment to avoid consumer confusion.

Thickness: "Thickness" is really a misnomer here. Apple would rather you think of it as "thinness" instead - the thickness of the iPhone 4 is 9.3 mm as compared to 12.3 mm for the iPhone 3GS - that's a freaking 24% difference. Eric Banana proposes the following tagline - "Apple iPhone 4. Now only 9.3 mm thin. Any thinner and you would have to hammer it yourself." Nevertheless, he thinks that there is an optimal point when it comes to the thickness of a mobile phone. If it gets too thin, it would become unwieldy and difficult to use.

Front and Back Surfaces: As opposed to the iPhone 3GS' curved back surface (EB's note: "Surface" is a much better word to use in his opinion - some reviews use the word "side", which yields the term "backside"!), the iPhone 4's back surface is now flat, so it lies properly on a desk. Eric Banana is not sure if the grip would be comfortable in one's hand but the flat back surface has aesthetic appeal in its clean-cut simplicity.

Both the front and back surfaces of the iPhone 4 are made of engineered glass - aluminosilicate glass - the exact same material used to construct the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains. "Aluminosilicate" is quite a mouthful to pronounce (seven syllables!) but it basically means that it is composed of aluminium, silicon and oxygen. It is touted to be ultra-durable and scratch-resistant, having been "chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic". This means that the next version of the iPhone will probably be adamantium-resilient - Wolverine can have a field day with it using his indestructible claws and there will be nary a scratch. What Eric Banana really wants to know is if he can throw his iPhone 4 (with no screen / surface protector) into his pocket with a bunch of merciless keys - will it survive or will he hear the symphony of destruction? Then again, if the material is really that hard, Apple is essentially arming a significant portion of the population with a dangerous weapon - people may start whacking others with the trusty iPhone as their weapon of choice during scuffles.

Oh, and the material is recyclable too - Eric Banana can now rest assured when he decides to throw his iPhone 4 into the recycling bin in future.

Stainless Steel Band: The stainless steel band surrounding the rim of the iPhone 4 is forged from Apple's own alloy, which is supposedly five times stronger than stainless steel. Eric Banana wonders why it's called stainless steel then. Shouldn't it be called something else like stevium, jobium or applium? Beyond providing structural rigidity, the band also acts as the antennas for the iPhone 4. Hopefully, reception will improve and there will be a significant reduction in dropped calls (the glass back surface is supposed to help to minimise this too).

LCD Display: When Eric Banana first saw the term "Retina Display", he thought that it meant that the new iPhone will come armed with retina-scanning security software. Upon reading more closely, he found out that this refers to Apple's new 960-by-640 pixel screen display, which has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi). (In comparison, the iPhone 3GS' screen display is 480-by-320 pixel.) Each pixel is only 78 micrometres across, making "text remarkably sharp and graphics incredibly vivid". According to Wikipedia, the unaided human eye generally cannot differentiate detail beyond 300 ppi. What this means is that Apple should have stopped at 300 ppi. Even if it goes beyond 300 ppi, the average human user wouldn't be able to tell anyway. The only tangible benefit is technological show-off. Like the iMac, the new iPhone 4's screen has incorporated IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology, allowing the screen to be viewed from nearly all angles. This is a boon for those kaypoh people (read: busybodies) who enjoy peeking at others' mobile phone screens on public transport.

Processor: The iPhone 4 uses Apple's in-house A4 processor chip, the same as that used in the Giant iPod Touch (more commonly known as the iPad). Eric Banana wonders why it's called "A4". When he sees the term "A4", he thinks of the paper size. Thankfully, the processor is not that size. The A4 chip is supposedly more powerful and offers better power management. This translates to faster speed and longer battery life, and supports the multitasking promised in iOS 4.

Two Cameras: The rear camera has been upgraded from 3 megapixels to 5 megapixels with LED flash and HD video-recording function. The iPhone 4 incorporates a long-awaited front camera that can be used to make video calls and take self-portraits, which is definitely a triumph for all the hiao poks (read: vain people) out there.

Microphones and Speaker: Apple has added a second mic to the iPhone 4 to "suppress unwanted and distracting background sounds, such as music and loud conversations". Hopefully this means that people need not shout into their phones anymore.

Gyroscope and Accelerometer: In addition to the existing accelerometer, the iPhone 4 also has a gyroscope to enable "advanced motion sensing, such as user acceleration, full 3D attitude and rotation rate". Eric Banana knows how the accelerometer works but is unable to picture how the gyroscope will enhance the iPhone's capabilities at this point of time. But this is likely to provide the avenue for more interesting games in future.

Video Calls: The iPhone 4's FaceTime technology enables video calls but with a catch... or two. It can only be made from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. Okaaaay.. and over Wi-Fi only, at least for now. Well, basically, given the state of the outdoor Wi-Fi signals in Singapore, this is destined to be doomed to indoor usage until it is enabled for 3G usage. And one would have to find another iPhone 4 user too... it's a bit like the first man with a phone. Anyway, this is likely to change in the future.

Storage: Eric Banana is a tad disappointed that the maximum storage remains at 32 GB. He would have preferred a 64 GB version. It's already available for the third-generation iPod Touch. He speculates that the reason why there isn't a 64 GB version for the iPhone 4 is to maintain the price point of US$199. With so many new features, it would be impossible to price it at US$199 if a 64 GB flash chip was used. The difference between a 32 GB and 64 GB iPod Touch is US$100. That would increase Apple's preferred price by about 50 percent and it's not consistent with what they usually do - keep prices the same but offer a whole lot more.

Micro-SIM: Like the iPad 3G, the iPhone 4 will use the micro-SIM format. Eric Banana doesn't know what the advantages (if any) are, but if mobile phones continue to shrink in size, maybe the normal SIM card would one day be too big - so why not get an early headstart? He hopes that there will be a way, e.g. an adapter, to convert micro-SIM to the normal SIM format for times when he has to use another phone. Yup, no camera phones in military camps.

So yes, Eric Banana wants to get the iPhone 4. While Steve Jobs mentioned in his WWDC keynote speech that the iPhone 4 will be available in Singapore by July 2010, it will most probably reach Singapore's shores later than that. Eric Banana is not in a big hurry. Like most true-blue Singaporeans, he has a mobile phone contract with one of the country's top three mobile service providers and it only expires in September. He is thankful that SingTel doesn't have exclusive rights anymore. Thanks to the entry of StarHub and M1, SingTel wouldn't be able to adopt a price skimming strategy like the way it did for the earlier versions of the iPhone. This means prices would probably be sensible and in Eric Banana's opinion, approximate that of the iPhone 3GS. Remember, there are still a whole lot of people with an existing mobile service contract who wouldn't be able to upgrade just yet. For some people, an iPhone 3G / 3GS meant that they had to break the bank back then, and they are unlikely to have a technological thirst to quench - they would simply wait for the next version.

Eric Banana maintains that the iPhone 4 will not be a fashion statement. Have you checked out the number of people around you who have an iPhone? Even the average uncle or auntie has one. Some primary school kids carry one too. The penetration rate is truly shocking. If you decide to get an iPhone 4, don't be deluded into thinking that it comes with bragging rights. It will be... just catching up with the rest. Eric Banana plans to get the iPhone 4 only because his current phone is failing him and he thinks that the iPhone 4's functions will serve his needs better.

iPhone 4 Lust

2010-06-08T08:06:00.001+08:00

Shhh, don't tell Astro Girl... but Apple has a new iPhone and Eric Banana wants one :)

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

JAAN par André: A Gastronomic Journey

2010-05-25T23:23:00.015+08:00

Circa mid-2009, Eric Banana began to read rave reviews about JAAN par André, the exquisite French fine-dining restaurant perched on the 70th floor of the Equinox Complex at Swissôtel The Stamford. Since then, he has been trying to convince his wife, the lovely Astro Girl, to go there for dinner with him since his AMEX Platinum Reserve card has embedded Feed at Raffles privileges that offer 50% discount on food items for a meal with two diners. It doesn't make sense to go on his own since he will only get 10% discount as a single diner. It makes even less sense to go with anyone else because... well, try telling Astro Girl that Eric Banana plans to go to JAAN without her and see how she will respond.

The impossibly thrifty Astro Girl took a cursory glance at the prices and her eyes went wide open. Eric Banana pleaded his case by saying that there will be a generous 50% discount. But her eyes remained wide open. And with all the intense wedding preparations that took place last year, they basically couldn't find the time. It wasn't until their honeymoon in Bali that Eric Banana finally managed to get his proposition through. He was keen to go to Mozaic, an acclaimed restaurant in Ubud, for dinner while they were in Bali, but Astro Girl was unconvinced by the mixed reviews. To dissuade him, Astro Girl agreed to having dinner at JAAN in Singapore one fine day.

2009 passed and that one fine day was nowhere in sight. In her mind, Astro Girl was thinking of visiting JAAN on a special occasion, i.e. her birthday, Eric's birthday or their wedding anniversary. That special occasion was fast forwarded to today. And the irony is... there is no special occasion at all. Eric Banana read that its Chef de Cuisine, André Chiang, is leaving JAAN in the middle of the year to open his own restaurant in Singapore. A talented chef who hails from Taiwan and has previously worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants, he propelled JAAN to critical world acclaim. It debuted at No. 39 in the 2010 San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards, was named as Asia's 4th Best Restaurant in the 2009/2010 Miele Guide, and garnered the title of Singapore's Restaurant Of The Year at the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence in April 2010. So Eric Banana was keen to visit JAAN before Chef André Chiang departed for good. A couple of weeks ago, he tried to place a reservation for a table at JAAN but was unsuccessful. Last Tuesday, he called up the concierge at AMEX Platinum Reserve Lifestyle Services to secure him a reservation before Chef André Chiang leaves. And the concierge didn't disappoint him this time round - she managed to get AstroBanana a table for today and even confirmed that Chef André Chiang will be working on this day. Very good service.

AstroBanana arrived at JAAN half an hour ahead of their 8 p.m. reservation. This was Eric Banana's first time having French food - he didn't think going to Delifrance and having french fries qualify. The maître d’ led them to a table that was away from the rest of the tables. It's right next to the entrance - not the best of locations - but there is no table next to them either. Privacy! Nope, they didn't get one of those coveted tables near the window, not that they are keen anyway. Astro Girl joked about it being the "50% off" table. AstroBanana were not particularly impressed by JAAN's decor. Its entire ceiling is covered with angled, triangular panels of wave-textured glass. Eric Banana didn't even bother taking a photo.

Okay, Eric Banana will try to list and explain the food items they had but he could not remember most of what the waiters had said. The online menu would be helpful but it's the 2009 version and it doesn't explain everything either, so Eric Banana is going to count on some online research. He also apologises if the photos are not up to par - he was basically in a "snap and eat" mood.

Instead of Menu Degustation (read: "tasting" in French) (S$240 per person / S$390 with wine pairing) and Menu Découverte (read: "discovery" in French) (S$200 per person / S$340 with wine pairing), Astro Girl decided to opt for "Menu Dévoreur" and "Menu Gourmandise" instead. Dévoreur is French for "devourer" which refers to Eric Banana. Gourmandise is French for "gluttony" which refers to Eric Banana too. Astro Girl knows Eric Banana's hearty appetite too well when it comes to eating so she decided to spare him the lean portions in Menu Degustation or Menu Découverte and go for à la carte. They both had a long day and decided to skip the wine as alcohol tends to make them sleepy.

The menu introduces Chef André Chiang's style as "Distinctive French Nouvelle Cuisine". Nouvelle means "new" in French. Wikipedia describes nouvelle cuisine as "an approach to cooking and food presentation used in French cuisine that is characterised by lighter, more delicate dishes and an increased emphasis on presentation, as compared to cuisine classique, an older form of French haute cuisine."

AstroBanana started with some grissini in parmesan cheese and squid ink flavours, served with an unknown dip (the Google audience is divided between eggplant dip and baba ghanoush / goat cheese dip). Grissini means "breadsticks" in Italian but they are really more like breadTWIGS in Eric Banana's opinion. Astro Girl commented that the squid ink ones tasted better. Eric Banana was like, "Really? Like I can tell the difference. They are way too thin!"

Next up is a complimentary amuse-bouche, which means "mouth pleaser" in French. According to Wikipedia, they differ from appetisers in the sense that "they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef's selection alone, and are served as an excitement of taste buds both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking." AstroBanana's amuse-bouche is Raspberry Sangria, Lemongrass Jelly and Amaebi Simply Seasoning with Lime. This is also offered in the Menu Découverte. Ama means "sweet" and ebi means "shrimp" in Japanese.

It was at this point that AstroBanana had the funniest conversation of the evening.

Eric Banana: Dear ah, how do you find this entrée?

Astro Girl (referring to the raspberry sangria sorbet): It tastes like cough syrup.

Eric Banana (who had an expression like -_-" now): Erm, behave yourself. Otherwise, I won't bring you out for nice dinners in future.

Astro Girl: But it really tastes like cough syrup! Don't you think so?

Eric Banana: I wouldn't know. I forgot how cough syrup tastes like. I have not been sick in two years remember?

At that point, Eric Banana was glad that Astro Girl was whispering. If the chef had heard it, Eric wouldn't be surprised if the place turned into a scene from the House of Flying Daggers. He found the taste of raspberry sangria sorbet... interesting. Astro Girl could be biased since she's not a big fan of anything that's raw, sweet shrimps not withstanding.

Astro Girl's entrée: Seared Live Scallops "à la plancha", Heirloom Ancient Tomato Panaché and “Mojito” Sorbet (Noix de Saint Jacques pôelés "à l' Anciennes, Sorbet “Mojito”) // AstroBanana did not find the scallops particularly outstanding - they were a tad too salty - but loved the tomato panaché.

Eric Banana's entrée: “Creations of the Moment” Foie Gras in Multi Textures, Accompanied with Baby Herb Salad (Déclinaison de Foie Gras “Création du Moment” Accompagne une Salade d’Herbes Fraiches) // Foie gras is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. The foie gras was prepared in three ways. The first creation was foie gras pâté served between two thin wafers with a compressed fruit slice. The second creation was foie gras jelly (it had a texture like chawanmushi) with truffles and a sweetish filigree (not unlike caramelised sugar) over it. The third creation was baked foie gras. This was Eric Banana's first encounter with foie gras and he absolutely loved all three creations, especially the last one. Astro Girl has tried foie gras before but she didn't like it then. Besides, she doesn't like poultry organs in general BUT.... this was excellent according to her.

The greedy couple ordered a total of three entrées. The chef suggested serving the first two first, and having the third entrée as a separate course.

AstroBanana's third entrée: Grilled Tuna Belly “Otoro” on an Aubergine Ratte Potato Tartine, with Smoked Basil Oil and Aromatic Charcoal Powder (Ventrèche de Thon “Otoro” Grillés, sur une Tartine de Pomme Ratte, Basilic Fumé et Poudre de Charbon Aromatique) // Otoro is the fattiest and best portion of the tuna, found on the very underside of the fish. From pictures he saw on the Internet, this entrée supposedly only has three slices. Perhaps the chef knew that AstroBanana were going to share the entree, so he thoughtfully evened out the odds and provided an additional slice so that they could each savour two slices. Eric Banana felt that this was the best tuna he ever had. It was probably as good as it could get for tuna; everything else would have seemed like cat food.

Astro Girl's main course: Marble Goby Baked in Salt Crust, “Étrille” Crab Bouillon and Its Crispy Rissole On Truffle Polenta "Crèmeux" (Filet de Goby Cuits en Croute de Sel, Bouillon d’Étrilles, Polenta Crèmeux à la truffe) // Astro Girl found the marble goby so-so while Eric Banana thought it was okay.

Eric Banana's main course: Oven Baked Japanese Wagyu, Summer Asparagus Poached in Brebi Milk with Toasted Almond Dragée and Truffle Egg Marmalade (Wagyu du Japon Grillé à la Plancha, Feuille de Quinoa, Asperges Poché au Lait, Gratiné aux Dragées) // This was the first time Eric Banana tasted Wagyu beef and he simply adored it. He requested for it to be done medium rare, which is probably the right way to enjoy beef of this grade. It literally melted in his mouth. Astro Girl, who doesn't like beef steaks, enjoyed this tremendously too.

Eric Banana was served something else with this dish. He couldn't quite figure it out what it was. His Google search led him to conclude that it's probably wagyu beef steak tartare, a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef.

Astro Girl's dessert: Vintage Chocolate Spice Ganache with Milk Marmalade Ice Cream (Chocolat Grand Cru des Caraïbes, Ganache Épicé, Glace à la Confiture de Lait) // Astro Girl likes anything chocolate so this dessert went well with her. Eric Banana found this okay but preferred his own dessert.

Eric Banana's dessert: Snickers Version 2010 // Eric Banana called this the deconstruction of a Snickers bar - the chef used the ingredients of a Snickers bar to reinterpret his own version of a chocolate dessert. Great!

After dessert, AstroBanana were basically too stuffed to eat anything. A complimentary petit fours was served. According to Wikipedia, a petit four is a small confection generally eaten at the end of a meal (e.g. with coffee) or served as part of dessert. Eric Banana could not remember what the waiter said about the petit fours. His Google search revealed that they were most likely almond financiers, crème brûlée macaroons, white chocolate-coated popsicles with strawberry and earl grey infusions and dark chocolate strips with Pop Rocks. Pop Rocks is basically carbonated candy which creates a fizzy reaction when it is sucked in the mouth.

Conclusion: Dinner at JAAN was a gastronomic journey. Not all dishes were great, but even those that didn't "make it" were good by any standards. Each dish was delicately presented, a picture of perfect harmony. Each ingredient played a role, no matter how small. Eric Banana described the meal as tantalising his taste buds fully. He finally knew why the food portions in French fine-dining are minuscule. Having too much of some food can result in deadly consequences. Eric Banana's medley of foie gras, otoro and wagyu beef was probably not the best of ideas for his health. It's a miracle he didn't get a heart attack. The cost of dinner ended up being somewhere between the prices for Menu Degustation and Menu Découverte but the Feed at Raffles discount made it a super good deal. AstroBanana would like to thank Chef André Chiang for a most wonderful dinner. Unfortunately, this is his last week at JAAN. They wish him all the best in his new endeavour. They also wonder who will be taking over at JAAN...

Update (6 Jun 2010): According to Chef André Chiang's Facebook page, his last day at JAAN was 27 May 2010. JAAN has not announced his replacement yet, and the online menu remains the same (Hmmm, misleading?). Today's newspapers revealed that Chef André Chiang's new establishment will be at New Majestic Hotel - where the defunct Majestic Bar used to be - along Bukit Pasoh Road.

Update (8 Jun 2010): According to Swissôtel The Stamford's website, JAAN par André is now back to being just "Jaan". Still no news on who is helming it. A new "Spring Menu" has been uploaded - it features the S$58 set lunch menu, and the menu degustation (6 courses at S$200 and 8 courses at S$240). No mention of à la carte dishes. The menu offerings are still largely the same as those under Chef André Chiang's reign.

Update (13 Aug 2010): According to ST Life!, Jaan has announced a new chef - 36-year old Swedish chef Ebbe Vollmer, who has previously worked for 18 months in London's Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (3 Michelin stars). He has been in the industry for 20 years.

Yoga 4...ever

2010-05-20T00:03:00.000+08:00

Eric Banana has just completed his fourth year of yoga practice! In the past four years, he has taken 277 yoga classes under 37 instructors, spending a total of 18,795 minutes in the yoga studio. That translates to 313.25 hours. If you can't picture how long that is, just think about spending 13 full days in the yoga studio. On average, Eric Banana spends 3.26 days (78.31 hours) in the yoga studio each year, for an average of 1.5 hours per week. Not too bad, you say.. but he has really slackened for the past two years, he says. He has just intensified his yoga practice - targeting to do about three classes each week - after signing on for another two-year package. He just hit a new monthly record this month - 13 classes - which means, for the first time in four years, he's paying less than S$10 for each class.

A lot of people think that Eric Banana must be super flexible by now. Well, contrary to popular belief, the answer is no. Eric Banana is still bound by the limitations exerted by his body. He was not very flexible to begin with, especially when it comes to forward bends. He is further hampered by his back and knee problems. That's why he has not really moved to doing the advanced classes. Then again, yoga is not about perfection. It's about knowing your limits, and doing the postures to the best of your ability.. within those limits. Of course, Eric Banana didn't know all these since Day One, and he has sustained silly injuries after going beyond his own limit. But now, he knows better.

A close friend introduced him to yoga as his running days came to a sorry end. It put him on a journey of discovering his body and relaxing his mind that still works wonders for him today. Eric Banana hopes he has many more years of yoga practice ahead of him :)

Immunity Challenge

2010-04-12T12:43:00.001+08:00

Eric Banana survived his immunity challenge! Not the Survivor-type, but one laid down by Astro Girl. Eric Banana was lamenting about how he has stayed flu-free since July 2008 when Astro Girl commented that he may actually have a real chance of falling sick if he stops taking Vitamin C capsules every day like there's no tomorrow. The initial challenge was to go without Vitamin C supplements for two weeks, but Eric Banana managed to stretch it by another two weeks. His mysterious immunity streak continues...

A friend offered another perspective: "If everyone around you have succumbed to flu, and you are still okay, it can mean only one thing - you are the flu virus." To that, Eric Banana says, " Thanks yah." *glares*.

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

Six Months Of Being Married

2010-04-09T23:36:00.001+08:00

9 April 2010.

AstroBanana have been married for six months! No big deal, you say. Well, it's not six decades or even six years. But hey, it's never easy for two persons to live together, even if they are very much in love. Being in love is one thing - living together for the foreseeable future is an entirely different ballgame. By the way, cohabitaion doesn't count. Besides, some couples don't even stay married for six months *oops*.

After getting married, AstroBanana have begun to discover more and more of each other's flaws and peculiarities. It's like watching Discovery Channel. Those little things that went undetected (and undeclared) previously. Those exact little things that make them get on each other's nerves and ignite the spark for verbal conflict. Being as headstrong and stubborn as they are, they don't always see giving way as the first option. Sometimes, Eric Banana would get mightily frustrated and resort to physical violence - devastating moves such as punching Astro Girl's fist with his face and whacking her elbow with his ribs. That would teach her a lesson and show her who the real boss is around the house. Joking aside, they have come to realise that it's very important to have patience with each other. And they do talk things out. Okay, maybe not immediately but they do eventually. It's okay not to reach total agreement but at least they agree to disagree.

AstroBanana also realised that they tend to pick up each other's habits, mainly bad ones. It's interesting how they become more similar in behaviour as each day passes by. Their thoughts have become more aligned somehow - except on fundamental things like how he needs to acquire everything he sets his eyes on and how she complains that there is absolutely no more space for additional junk in the house.

Hey, marriage ain't always a pretty thing but neither is singlehood. Eric Banana is content to be married to the lovely Astro Girl. What, you think he wants to whack her elbow with his ribs again?!

Three Years Of Being Together

2010-03-23T22:44:00.004+08:00

23 March 2010.

On this day, AstroBanana celebrate an important anniversary. Time really flies - they have been together for three years... with many more good years ahead of them :)

As today is a weekday, AstroBanana decided to have an early anniversary celebration last Friday. They had a sumptuous dinner at Les Bouchons, a quaint French restaurant along Ann Siang Road that dishes out gigantic portions of western food with free-flow french fries. It was DGT who introduced them to the restaurant a while ago.

Of course, as usual, Eric Banana was ready with a surprise present for his beloved wife - which he presented to her last Thursday... a Seiko 5 Automatic ladies watch (model: SYMJ03K1). Eric Banana couldn't find the exact picture online but here's how it looks like (except the real thing has a hexagonal textured black dial):

And yes, Astro Girl was surprised... and she likes her present :) She likes Seiko watches but would almost never get one for herself.

Contrary to popular belief (read: Eric Banana is popular, and therefore his belief is... ), Astro Girl is capable of delivering surprises. Eric Banana received the cutest present ever yesterday evening - a Precious Moments figurine from its Disney series...

... titled "Friends Help You Find Your Way".

Actually, Eric Banana spied this figurine a few months back but found it way too expensive. Precious Moments' Disney-themed figurines are priced exorbitantly. Knowing how much he likes it, Astro Girl decided to get it for him. According to the retail assistant at Precious Thots, this is the last piece and the figurine is sold-out elsewhere. A quick check at the Precious Moments website showed that it was not available anymore. Eric Banana is glad that he received this figurine while it was still available :D

Silence Of The L.A.M. ...

2010-03-23T21:02:00.004+08:00

... where L.A.M. stands for "Life After Marriage".

Some people would argue that "life after marriage" is an oxymoron - for them, there is no life after marriage =/ Ignoring what those cynical detractors might say, AstroBanana are proud to say that they do have a life after marriage, although it would appear that it has transformed since they got together three years ago.

During the dating phase, their life revolves around spending as much time together as possible. Full stop. Romance rules the day. And night too. During the engagement phase, their life revolves around spending as much time together as possible WHILE juggling a myriad of wedding preparations. Joy joy. During the marriage phase, their life revolves around spending as much time together as possible WHILE adjusting to a whole new world. A huge chunk of their weekend time are now taken up - or rather, devoured - by household chores and family time. This leaves them with less time to watch movies and window-shop. And before they know it, the weekend has passed and it's back to the daily grind...

Typically, weekday evenings zoom by rather quickly, no thanks to their long working hours. When they are not headed for the gym and yoga studio respectively, Astro Girl and Eric Banana spend their time watching DVDs together. AstroBanana have been obsessed with the Get Smart television series from the 1960's, entertaining themselves with the antics of Maxwell Smart (Don Adams), 99 (Barbara Feldon) and the Chief (Edward Platt).

As each episode is only about 25 minutes, it is highly watchable, despite the fact that Astro Girl becomes impossibly sleepy when her bedtime draws near. They have watched an amazing total of 112 episodes, or the equivalent of four seasons, so far. Regrettably, they only have 26 episodes, or one season, left for their evening entertainment. They would need to plug that gap somehow.

Eric Banana spends significantly less time on his laptop nowadays, which explains why he has not blogged much in the past few months. Instead, he is reading a lot more books than he normally would. Considering the huge number of books he owns, it's probably a good effort towards making sure that it's money well-spent. He would have to find storage for his rapidly-expanding "library" though. A viable solution might be an e-reader. At one point of time, Eric Banana was sure he wouldn't be getting an e-reader. However, when he was in Scottsdale last year, he happened to walk past the only Sony Style outlet in that area - and got a touch-and-feel on one of the e-readers. Eventually, he ended up buying the Sony Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600; red colour):

Like many couples, AstroBanana have been inflicted by post-wedding fatigue. Many wedding blogs get abandoned after the wedding itself - this blog nearly faced the same fate. AstroBanana have been trying to recover from their extensive wedding preparations. Besides, one should only blog when he or she feels like doing so, and not because he or she has to.

Well, AstroBanana wouldn't get to rest for long - they would need to start planning for their new flat soon...

AstroBanana Wedding Actual Day Photos: The 9 Frames Series Part II

2010-03-10T23:39:00.003+08:00

Here are the photos from the AD evening series:

AstroBanana Wedding Actual Day Photos: The 9 Frames Series Part I

2010-03-10T22:03:00.106+08:00

And yes, after four long months, AstroBanana have finally gotten their act together - they just finished selecting the photos for their wedding album. Well, it sure wasn't easy to pick 40 photos from a humongous total of 739 photos that were taken by 9 Frames Photography - 410 by Gilbert Chua and 329 by Simon (the second photographer). And these 739 photos were those which made it to the final cut. Who knows how many were left on the editing floor :|

Included in this blog entry are photos from the AD morning series:

Eric Banana Wonders...

2010-03-05T09:35:00.002+08:00

... if he should resume blogging on uptoyoulor.com.

Not that it matters, but what says you?

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

AD Photos Soon!

2009-11-05T14:51:00.002+08:00

Yay, AstroBanana will be collecting their AD photos tomorrow! Hopefully, they will turn out to be okay. If they are nice, they will be shared on this blog. Watch this space!

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

Planning Your Wedding Dinner 101

2009-11-03T13:33:00.000+08:00

On the road towards AstroBanana's wedding, Eric Banana alluded to a separate blog entry about wedding invitation and the banquet guest list. While the wedding is over, he has not forgotten about the outstanding entry.

Save The Date: To avoid, or rather, minimise having people who *could* have attended your wedding if they have known about it earlier (how early? maybe 2000 B.C. or something), it would be ideal to send a save-the-date mailer to all the people you plan to invite at least six months before the wedding date. It doesn't need to be a physical mailer - it could be in electronic format (e.g. SMS or email) or communicated verbally. This will help them to mark down the date and plan their supremely hectic schedules around it. Of course, things do sometimes crop up at the last minute, making them unavailable all of a sudden. And some people may conveniently forget because the time interval was too long. But at least, nobody can accuse you of not telling them earlier.

Plan The Guest List Way In Advance: The guest list is the first obstacle to the wedding dinner. In order to find a wedding venue, the wedding couple needs to estimate the number of tables they need. To do that, they need a preliminary feel of how many people they want to invite. The number comes from the guest list.

Ask First Before Sending Wedding Invitation Cards: It's polite to ask someone whether he or she would be able to attend your wedding before giving him or her an invitation card. Many people have received invitation cards for weddings they are unable to attend - and following practices, still give the wedding couple an angpow (often in reduced amounts) as a token. This can be avoided if only people ask first. A good way to ask is via instant messaging - reach out to a wide audience of people at different times.

Avoid Red Envelopes: Red envelopes may seem like a good idea... right until you try to write on them. They also tend to nearly double the postage cost. The local rate for standard mail is 26 cents. If the envelope is of dark intense colours, the rate goes up to 50 cents. In fact, SingPost recommends using white or very light-coloured envelopes and avoiding (dark-)coloured envelopes.

Avoid Lunar 7: The seventh lunar month is a black-out period for wedding invitation cards. The elders believe that it's inauspicious to dispatch invitation cards during the Hungry Ghost Month. It's prudent to take this into consideration especially if the wedding date falls right after the seventh lunar month.

Mail The Invitation Cards Two Months Before The Wedding Date: To avoid people being double-booked on your big day, it's better to be kiasu (read: afraid to lose). This will also allow time for mail delay, unlikely as it is in Singapore.

Dispatch In Batches: The wedding guest list will never reach a perfect state. If you plan to have a complete wedding guest list before you start mailing the invitation cards, it may lead to unnecessary delays. It is probably better to mail the invitation cards in batches and work on a percentage-of-completion basis.

Write Your Return Address On Back Of Envelopes: This may be cumbersome but it's a good way to see if the wedding invitation cards reached the intended recipients. Sometimes, the guest may have given the wrong address. Or you may have copied it wrongly. Running a postal code check helps but is not fool-proof. It can detect errors in street address but not in unit numbers.

Try To Confirm Guest Attendance: After sending the invitation cards, it is good to check whether the guests will be attending. To be more indirect, you can start by asking whether they have received the invitation cards.

Be Prepared For Last-Minute Changes: There will definitely be last-minute changes. Things happen. And they are not always controllable. Instead of getting frustrated, just try to roll with it.

A Great Wedding Speech!

2009-11-02T22:21:00.006+08:00

While AstroBanana were having dinner with DGT last Friday, Eric Banana managed to obtain a hard copy of DGT's draft speech during their wedding dinner. They felt that it was a sincere, wonderful and humourous speech and decided to share it with the readers of this blog. Although DGT said he improvised during the actual delivery, the draft captured the essence of the content. An improvised line that was not in the draft went something along these lines... "I don't know whether it is my bow-tie or my jacket but some of you mistook me for one of the hotel's staff. I would like to clarify that I am not part of the hotel's staff!" Poor DGT - it was a newly-tailored jacket too.

--------------------

What a wonderful evening! There is absolutely nowhere else in the world I'd rather be tonight than here in this moment with all of you. I have the honour - as Eric insists it is - of giving a speech tonight. I have had the privilege of spending some time with them - this speech is my report.

Let me start briefly with Eric. Eric gained notoriety in The University for: (1) his unique collection of dragon and skull rings which are always on display on him; (2) his infamy as a fearsome critic - he has an unnatural talent for poking holes in any presentation or document and driving said author to tears; and (3) his incurable sense of corniness. But whatever you say about Eric, he is a loyal and well-meaning friend. He is unstinting in his concern for his friends in need and has been a great help to me, together with Astro, when I started my own company. I have come to realise that Eric thinks in binary when it comes to friends - you are either a friend, or on what he affectionately calls his "hit list".

I remember the pre-Astro Eric as he struggled through so much personal difficulty with his family in coping with the loss of someone very dear to them. I vicariously felt his loss, frustration and uncertainty as he also struggled to find his professional direction at first. I did not sense a personal peace in Eric, not even after he was offered by The Corporation and sped through its ranks - not until he met Astro. I have never seen a more content, radiant and sure Eric than when he is with Astro.

Enough on Eric - Vincent would have spent enough time blowing Eric's horn (probably under duress). And so I will speak of Astro. I must confess that I wasn't sure what to make of Astro when I first met her because we spoke little. But I found myself liking her more and more every time I met her. My admiration for her (and my admiration for Eric, for that matter) has grown over the time that I've known her.

Astro is at once beautiful, unassuming and gentle. She is always dignified, kind, generous and thoughtful. Astro also has an amazing achievement none of us can ever put on our resumes - taming that deranged madman we call Eric. And to her credit, she has put up with Eric's strange cast of friends (self-deprecating gesture to self) with an uncommon grace. She is in every sense of the word, to me, a lady. They say that a man marries a woman for who she is and that a woman marries a man for who he can be, or rather, who she wants him to become. I'm sure Astro has some grand future value in store for Eric.

With the two of them, 1 + 1 > 2. They are beautiful as a unit. They have a quiet and subtle understanding between them. And tonight, we - we happy few - have the great privilege of starting the two of them on a special journey.

I want to close with a wish and a toast. I wish, deeply and truly, that everyone of us here tonight has found - or will find - the unity, understanding, affection and love that Eric and Astro have for each other. A toast - let us with all trueness and sincerity, toast a long and happy life to Eric and Astro. God bless you both.

The First Three "Official" Photos of AstroBanana's Wedding AD...

2009-10-29T00:15:00.000+08:00

... are not of the bride. Nor are they of the groom. Granted, it was merely a "sneak" preview from Gilbert's blog... Nevertheless, AstroBanana cannot help but be a tad disappointed. Maybe they are not good enough to be featured in his blog :| Oh well, hopefully the rest of the photos turned out okay. Featured in the following photos is Eric Banana's niece, the super-cute Yuxuan:

Considering how active Yuxuan is, and how camera shy she can get sometimes, these photos turned out to be really good, especially the last one. AstroBanana are keeping their fingers crossed for the rest :)

Operation GDL

2009-10-28T00:59:00.001+08:00

With regard to AstroBanana's 过大礼 (guo da li) process, Eric Banana will try to blog as much as he can since he doesn't know or understand all the rituals and procedures. AstroBanana's parents and relatives helped a lot in this aspect.

For the wedding cakes, Astro Girl's parents requested for traditional ones, so Eric Banana ordered them from 锦泰饼家 (Gin Thye Cake Maker), an established name in making cakes since 1964. Different dialect groups have different practices. As Astro Girl is Teochew, the wedding cakes to get were 伍色糖 (wu se tang). According to Gin Thye's website, 伍色糖 are traditional wedding gifts from a Teochew bride to her relatives. 伍色糖 consist of 豆沙饼 (dou sha bing), 明糖 (ming tang), 豆闰 (dou run), 豆槓 (dou gong) and 老妈糕 (lao ma gao). Eric Banana wonders what they are made of though. Even one box was very heavy, as if the cakes were cast from stone. It must have been, what, at least 2 kg each?

Letting the photos speak for themselves, here are what the groom's family presented:

And here are what the bride's family presented to the groom's family in return:

Post-Wedding Blog Gadget Update!

2009-10-27T22:12:00.001+08:00

Now that the wedding is over, it's time to update the gadgets on the left side of this blog! So the outdated information will be archived in this blog entry:

INTRODUCING THE CAST
Solemniser: Mr Phang Tai Heng, JP, BBM(L), PBM
Best Man: Vincent Goh
Xiong Dis: Danon Gabriel The, Voon Ee Huei, Francis B.
Jie Meis: Fanny Chang, Katherine Chong, Celine Tan
AD Coordinator: Danon Gabriel The
Banquet Emcees: Joel Teng, Celine Tan
Banquet Reception: Sabrina Foo, Celine Tan, Katherine Chong
Why haven't YOU signed up yet?!

NOT FORGETTING THE CREW
Bridal Studio: My Bridal Room
Bridal Studio Coordinators: Abbie, Linghui
Make-Up Artist: Dily Ng
Pre-Wedding Photographer: Danon Gabriel The
Bridal Photographer: Weijie
AD Photographer: Gilbert Chua / 9 Frames

SET LOCATIONS
Outdoor Photoshoot Locations: Hyderabad Road, Changi Boardwalk
Banquet Venue: Antica Ballroom, Orchard Parade Hotel (Club Chinois)

PROPS
Engagement Rings: Tiffany & Co.
Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co.
Si Dian Jin: Soo Kee, Lee Hwa

Operation AC

2009-10-26T22:53:00.001+08:00

AstroBanana had their 安床 (an chuang) and 过大礼 (guo da li) on 27 September 2009. According to Long Shifu, the auspicious timings for AstroBanana were 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., so Eric Banana woke up at 6 plus for the 安床 ritual. He placed the new mattress on the bedframe and covered it with a new red bedsheet. Basically, the ritual is to bless the nuptial bed and entails placing four different types of fruits (one each) on the four corners of the bed, with a pineapple, a huat kueh (read: 发糕) and an ang pow (read: red packet) containing $12, $120 or $1,200 in the centre of the bed.

Actually, there is strictly no single standard operating procedure for the 安床 ritual. If you ask 10 different people, you are likely to get 10 different answers. That is, assuming their answers are not "I don't know". In some wedding forums, the discussion gets really weird though, as Eric Banana observed. Like getting a boy to roll on the nuptial bed. One extreme version suggests getting the boy to pee on the nuptial bed *hmmm* - and the bride-to-be was exclaiming she doesn't want to sleep on an urine-stained bed. Erm, okay.. Nobody does :p Another bride-to-be related about hearing from some folks that the ritual involves putting a rooster and a hen under the nuptial bed and seeing which one comes out first - this will determine the sex of the couple's first-born child. The bewildered gal had a problem - her bed was a storage bed so the chicken ain't walking out anytime soon.

Eric Banana speculates that some skewed versions of this ritual boil down to some couples (and their parents) wanting to give birth to a boy for their first-born child. Some are a result of deeply-rooted customs and beliefs. Some are a figment of the imagination of people who have either nothing or nothing better to do.

Thankfully, Astro Girl was very clear-headed. She told Eric Banana, "You already paid good money to consult a professional. Just follow what he says and get it over and done with. Why you want to bother with what people write in the forums?" To that, Eric Banana can only meekly agree - that's why she's The Wife yah? Who in the right mind would want to go against the mistress of the Banana household??

Playing Catch-Up!

2009-10-26T22:41:00.001+08:00

In the weeks prior to AstroBanana's wedding, the couple was basically swarmed. Too many things to do, too little time. As he was also very busy at work, Eric Banana did not manage to finish blogging about certain issues / events such as the 安床 and the 过大礼. Some of these entries have already been composed but stayed in his Blackberry for the longest time. Eric Banana will try to finish blogging as much of these as possible. The honeymoon photos will have to wait though - 345 photos to go through! So if you see outdated entries, don't be too surprised - it's just catch-up time for AstroBanana :P

Will The Real Wedding Surprise Please Stand Up?

2009-10-25T13:11:00.001+08:00

You may have read about how Astro Girl supposedly stumbled on her wedding surprise some time ago in this blog. Well, it turned out to be a clever decoy engineered by Eric Banana. He pretended to let her find out about the canvas print so that she will let her guard down and not expect anything on the AD but the master of suspense saved the best for last. (Sounds familiar?) During his speech at the wedding dinner, he presented Astro Girl with her real wedding surprise...

... a photomosaic comprising 5,000 tiles and measuring 23" x 33.5". The original picture was taken by DGT. Eric Banana converted all the photos used in his wedding montage into black and white before using them to assemble the photomosaic with AndreaMosaic. And quite truly, he meant what he said to her - "Whenever I see you, I see not only you... I see myself, I see us."

Astro Girl's reaction? Let's just say she was really touched and surprised - Eric Banana has never seen so much tears of joy before :)

P.S. Eric Banana would like to thank DGT for helping him to print and frame the photomosaic.

AstroBanana Wedding Actual Day Photos: The DGT Series Part I

2009-10-20T00:27:00.011+08:00

The full set of official photos from AstroBanana's wedding actual day (AD) will be available sometime in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, these are some unofficial photos which DGT took on that day.

Two brothers and three sisters posing with their angpows:

Vincent the best man with his shades:

AstroBanana walking the walk and talking the talk:

AstroBanana gamely posing for the photographer in their bridal car:

AstroBanana returning to the bride's house:

The sisters posing for a photo together:

Eric Banana talking to double-agent Celine a.k.a. Trojan Sheepo:

Katherine helping with the video camera:

Some random shots of AstroBanana before, during and after the tea ceremony:

AstroBanana in a group photo with their brothers and sisters:

Thank-You Note

2009-10-11T23:28:00.001+08:00

Before AstroBanana set off to Bali for their honeymoon tomorrow, they would like to pen a quick thank-you note to the following people (in no particular order). Eric Banana was supposed to deliver the thank-you speech during the wedding dinner but he fumbled due to lack of time for preparation.

Their family members and relatives - for all their tremendous help and useful advice in the wedding preparations, especially on the traditional customs and rites.

Fanny Chang - for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme; for helping to transport the bridesmaids by driving (She had to navigate through a very bad traffic jam along Lornie Road); and for helping out to man the reception counter during the wedding dinner.

Katherine Chong - for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme (She put in a lot of effort for the gatecrashing materials); and for helping to man the reception counter during the wedding dinner.

Vincent Goh - for driving Eric Banana all the way to Sembawang to collect 20 heavy boxes of traditional Teochew wedding cakes (they must have weighed, what, 2 kg each?) and two traditional wedding baskets; for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme (in his zealousness, he even got into a car accident - thankfully, he was not the party at fault *phew*); and for helping out during the wedding dinner and giving the best man's speech (Eric Banana is grateful - although he did offend Astro Girl inadvertently by saying a couple of wrong things).

Sabrina Foo - for helping to man the reception counter during the wedding dinner (she wore a yukata - a summer Japanese kimono - and got a lot of attention).

Celine Tan - for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme (she thought of some funky ideas for the gatecrashing session - Eric Banana is still regretting his Trojan Horse, or rather Trojan Sheepo tactic); for helping to man the reception counter during the wedding dinner; and for being one of the emcees for the wedding dinner.

Joel Teng - for being one of the emcees for the wedding dinner (he did a fantastic job, although Eric Banana wonders how it will be if he was designated to address the guests in Mandarin).

Danon Gabriel The - for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme; for helping to take photos for some segments; for helping Eric Banana with the "ultimate surprise", and helping out during the wedding dinner and giving a very nice touching speech.

Voon Ee Huei - for waking up very early on the AD to help the couple with the day programme (he helped Eric Banana a lot during the dance segment of the gatecrashing session); and helping out during the wedding dinner (he was in-charge of accompanying the wedding solemniser prior to the wedding solemnisation ceremony).

JP Phang Tai Heng - for taking precious time from his hectic schedule to officiate the wedding solemnisation ceremony for AstroBanana.

Abbie, Ling Hui, Weijie, Uncle Quek and the nice folks at My Bridal Room - for all the great help they rendered the couple over the past few months during their wedding preparations (at one point of time, AstroBanana spent so much time at MBR that it was almost like their second home).

Dily Ng - for transforming Astro Girl to a stunning beauty with her excellent make-up and hairstyling skills.

Gilbert Chua and Simon from 9frames - for all their effort in capturing AstroBanana's most important moments on the AD (hopefully, the end product will turn out to be good).

Eric Tan, Alec Tan, Wee Hao and the excellent service crew at Club Chinois - for all their advice, attentiveness, initiative and flexibility; hence making the wedding dinner a great success.

Raymond the bridal car driver - for accommodating the couple's requests and last-minute changes.

All the guests who attended AstroBanana's wedding banquet - for showing up to share AstroBanana's joy and displaying overwhelming generosity in the ang pows for the couple.

Hopefully, AstroBanana did not miss out anyone's name. If so, please do not begrudge the couple. They are really appreciative for all the assistance they received :)

The AstroBanana Bridal Photoshoot Part II: Outdoor Shots

2009-10-11T11:37:00.000+08:00

The outdoor shots were taken at Hyderabad Road and Changi Boardwalk.

The AstroBanana Bridal Photoshoot Part I: Studio Shots

2009-10-11T11:28:00.001+08:00

For those who didn't get to look at AstroBanana's wedding album on their wedding day or were unable to make it for the wedding dinner, here are the pictures. Thanks to Dily for her excellent make-up skills and Weijie for his outstanding photography. All outfits and gowns are off-the-rack from My Bridal Room.

Overcome He Must.. Overcome He Did

2009-10-09T08:22:00.001+08:00

This is Eric Banana, reporting from the front lines. He has overcome the Hot Gates and successfully fetched his bride, the lovely Astro Girl. He had to go through a quiz, where he failed to answer a few questions about Astro Girl. He still cannot believe that Astro Girl's favourite colour is blue :(

Sending Celine to the enemy lines was apparently not the best of ideas. She was the mastermind behind the dance segment - which was a big challenge for the groom and his band of brothers.

The last obstacle was to sign an agreement :) Thankfully, it's mostly do-able *phew*

Astro Girl looks absolutely stunning today. Eric Banana just looks tired. They are on the way to his house now... and they are stuck in a bad traffic jam :(

Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

It's Today!

2009-10-09T00:30:00.001+08:00

AstroBanana are getting married today! While Astro Girl went to dreamland a couple of hours ago, Eric Banana is still kicking his blanket on his bed. Four more hours to wakey-wakey time... the Bananaman has better get some shuteye...
Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!

All Tied Up

2009-09-27T23:31:00.000+08:00

For his evening outfit on the actual day (AD), Eric Banana's original plan was to match it with a scrunchie cravat. Then he thought about it - and decided to buy a bow tie for good measure. A proper black silk one - none of those clip-on crap that come in funny colours offered by the bridal studio.

At first, budding fashionista DGT suggested that Eric Banana should buy his bow tie online and recommended a pretty good website - Beau Ties Ltd. The online store carries a wide selection of bow ties and Eric Banana was about to order a bow tie... when he realised that the shipping charge for international orders will amount to at least US$25. The only way to rationalise such a purchase would be to do a bulk order but Eric Banana doesn't need that many bow ties (although they do carry other stuff like neck ties and coordinates as well) and he has no time to assemble a "purchase consortium" (or what some people term as a "spree"). In the end, Eric Banana gave up the idea and bought a simple bow tie from Takashimaya S.C.

Buying the bow tie was the easy part. Sometimes, Eric Banana just exhibits his classic male shopping pattern brazenly to shock the sales assistants with the speed in making his purchase decision. DGT was concerned that Eric Banana may struggle with tying the bow tie and asked him if he wanted to get the sales assistant to do a demonstration. The confident Eric Banana said that there was no need....

... and promptly regretted his stubborness once he tried to tie the bow tie around his neck back at home. Actually, tying a bow tie can be quite confusing for a first-timer. The attached instruction sheet was not very helpful. Looking at a few diagrams on the Internet didn't help much also. After a long while, he managed to tie the bow-tie but it was done wrongly. It didn't help that he has two left hands either :S It was only after watching the second online video that he finally got it right.. Phew! The end-product was not the most beautiful of bow ties but it sure beats having to put one's tail between the legs and run back to the sales assistant for help :P

To widen his styling options on the AD, Eric Banana also bought a black skinny tie. He already realised that tying bow-ties is not quite the same as tying a normal tie. Doing one after the other can add to the confusion. For skinny ties, it makes more sense to go for the four-in-hand knot. Eric Banana thought he knew how to tie a four-in-hand knot. But somehow, he has never really tied one - he usually goes for the windsor knot. Besides, he doesn't need to wear a tie at work, so it's hardly surprising that he lacks practice in this department. Oh well, this was not a problem that the Internet cannot solve. A Youtube video later, *voila* it's done :)

Okay, let's hope Eric Banana won't forget his newly-acquired skills on the AD...

2 Weeks To Go!

2009-09-25T12:32:00.002+08:00

25 September 2009.

After one whole month, the Hungry Ghost Festival finally came to an end last Friday. With that, AstroBanana were able to despatch their invitation cards once again. (Most elders think it's a bad idea to give out wedding invitation cards during the seventh lunar month.) Finalising the guest list has been one long nightmare - so much so that it will warrant a separate blog entry on its own.

Eric Banana took a quick stab at formulating the schedule for the actual day (AD). After a while, he found it hard to work with fixed timings. Somehow, his project management instincts kicked in - and he started to add duration, predecessors and successors to the equation. And suddenly, things began to make more sense...

On Sunday, AstroBanana will have to 安床 and 过大礼. By next Friday, they would have to confirm the final number of tables with Club Chinois. They are then scheduled to go for their final fitting next Saturday. Final fitting sounds very definitive - as if AstroBanana (or rather, just Eric Banana) would have to stop eating and maybe even breathing until their AD is over.

Of Organic Food & Escalating Prices

2009-09-21T23:19:00.000+08:00

While AstroBanana were at Ngee Ann City this evening, they decided to have dinner at the newly-opened Cedele by The Bakery Depot located in Basement 1, where Delifrance used to be. Interestingly, Cedele chose the entrance with less human traffic as its main entrance. Maybe there is less space constraint on this side. As AstroBanana perused the menu, they realised that there has been a change in some of the menu items. Not all changes were deemed to be good. More glaringly, the prices have also gone a bit north.

Wow. While AstroBanana think the food at Cedele is quite nice, they feel that the new prices have gone beyond the reasonable range. AstroBanana do recognise that organic food tends to be more expensive due to the ingredients used but charging higher prices just because they can is not. It's not like AstroBanana cannot afford that extra few dollars but they are not interested in helping profit-driven companies make even more money.

So, no more meals at Cedele for AstroBanana from now onwards. Okay, maybe for that occasional slice of carrot walnut cake...

3 Weeks To Go!

2009-09-18T23:55:00.000+08:00

18 September 2009.

Only three short weeks remain before AstroBanana are united in eternal bliss. Somehow, the countdown clock seems to have intensified once they started to count down in terms of weeks. Eric Banana has been so busy at work that he has not accomplished much for the wedding preparations last week. He did manage to finalise the wedding montage last weekend though. The wedding montage was created with Adobe Premiere Elements 4. After generating the AVI file (which came up to a monstrous size of 1.91 GB), he wanted to create an iPod Touch-friendly version. The usual conversion software he uses was unable to convert the file successfully. He then realised that Adobe Premiere Elements 4 was able to create a compressed version for iPods and iPhones. The compressed MP4 file was only 62.1 MB in size.

The final product for the wedding montage was very much in line with Eric Banana's original vision. And he did everything himself at zero cost. More importantly, it has been approved by Astro Girl! Yes! *wheeee* The only way to get a first-hand viewing of the wedding montage is to show up on time for AstroBanana's wedding banquet. Members of the working committee can get an exclusive sneak preview =)

1 Month To Go!

2009-09-09T23:51:00.001+08:00

9 September 2009.

Amazing but true... only all of ONE month is left before AstroBanana tie the knot. They recall a time - not too long ago - that they had over a year to go before their wedding date. After today, they can no longer countdown in months - they would have to countdown in weeks.

Over the past month, AstroBanana has tied up some of the loose ends. Eric Banana has gone to Astro Girl's house to 提亲. Preparations are underway for the items required for 过大礼. They have finalised the design and layout for their wedding photo album. Astro Girl has picked her tea dress for the actual day. She only went through less than ten outfits this time. The bulk of the invitation cards have gone out but some have yet to make their way to the mailbox. A lot of progress was made on Operation HI (Read: Home Improvement) but that will be saved for a separate blog entry on another day. They have come to an agreement on their honeymoon plans - these will be discussed separately too.

The 过大礼 will take place on 27 September 2009. Same for the 安床. The final fitting date has been set as 3 October 2009. There are still many things to do and AstroBanana are trying their best to do them while having lots of fun at the same time... but right now, what Eric Banana needs to do... is sleep.

A Sneak Preview of AstroBanana's Bridal Photoshoot

2009-09-08T23:08:00.001+08:00

AstroBanana went to My Bridal Room last Sunday to review the design and layout of their wedding photo album. As they went through the post-production photos, they suggested a few changes to the designer. While there were some changes which the designer did not think were feasible, he still sportingly did a mock-up of how each suggested change might look like and explained why it didn't work. For the rest of the changes, the Photoshop whiz kid basically made them on the spot with a few clicks of his mouse. This saved AstroBanana from having to make another trip to MBR on another day. AstroBanana also received a soft copy of the original photos as well as the post-production photos there and then, so yes, the photos ARE available.

Nevertheless, AstroBanana have decided to post the photos from the bridal photoshoot on this blog only after their wedding dinner, although Astro Girl did agree to let Eric Banana post ONE photo, so here goes...

For those who are interested to see how the photos turned out, you can view the wedding photo album at AstroBanana's wedding dinner :)

A Surprising Turn of Events

2009-08-30T11:02:00.000+08:00

For the past few weeks, Eric Banana has been secretly working on a plan - getting a surprise wedding gift for Astro Girl. Given his penchant for luxury glitter, could it be some precious gem from Tiffany & Co? Or a branded bag from say, Hermès? Well, Eric Banana is still serving a ban imposed by Astro Girl prohibiting him from shopping at Tiffany. As for Hermès bags, Eric Banana's income has not reached astronomical heights yet. Not that Astro Girl pursues these material things in life anyway. She's Little Miss Pragmatic after all. She finds her joy in simpler things. For Eric Banana, it was a long struggle to find her something that is touching and meaningful...

Well, the fact that Eric Banana is openly blogging about it now suggests that it is no longer a secret. Yes, Astro Girl has managed to somehow ruin her own surprise. Eric Banana was planning to present the surprise wedding gift to the love of his life on their wedding day, but things don't always go according to plan...

The surprise gift is a 20" x 34.3" canvas print of an iconic photo of AstroBanana, the very same one that greets all visitors to this blog itself. This photo was taken last year by up-and-coming photographer, Kenneth Ong, who has gone on to set up his own photography outfit, twenty4frames photography. AstroBanana observed that his photography skills have been steadily improving since then. Keep up the good work, Kenneth!

The canvas print was done by Brilliant Prints, an established Australian canvas printing company that has set up operations in Singapore in recent years. Their website provides a lot of information on canvas prints and reassures potential customers with quality guarantees that provide absolute peace-of-mind. In fact, one doesn't even have to pay upfront. Eric Banana was very comfortable placing his order with Brilliant Prints and he must say that he is very pleased with the professional service and prompt turnaround time provided by Dylan Vo and his team. More importantly, the final product turned out to be a masterpiece. Given that the shot of AstroBanana was set against a black background, they were surprised that even the finest hair details were retained after it has been printed on canvas.

Hmmm, you may be thinking now that Eric Banana's wedding gift doesn't involve any work on his part - the photo was taken by Kenneth and the canvas printing was done by Brilliant Prints. Well, Eric Banana did do something although it's not immediately apparent. Kenneth and DGT were experimenting with ring-light effects when the photo was taken, so the end-product had the ring-light effect manifesting very obviously on Eric Banana's spectacles. This marred the photo to a certain extent. But Eric Banana really liked this particular photo a lot - they were both sporting very vibrant smiles and Astro Girl looked extremely cheerful. As such, he decided to work on removing the ring-light reflection on his glasses. This involved working several late-night shifts to weave some Photoshop magic. As for Astro Girl's image, let's just say she doesn't need any more editing to make her look better :P

So how did Astro Girl ruin her own surprise? Eric Banana arranged for the Brilliant Prints courier to deliver the canvas print to his house on Friday evening... when Astro Girl decided to show up at his house to help him to dismantle his single bed. Someone knocked on the door and she opened it... uh-oh, bye bye to surprise :( The original surprise, that is. The surprise took on another form because Astro Girl was absolutely surprised when she opened the door to see the courier holding a blown-up picture of Eric Banana and her. Yay!

The canvas print will be displayed in AstroBanana's private gallery a.k.a. their room :)

UNIQLOed

2009-08-16T23:50:00.002+08:00

When UNIQLO first reached Singapore's shores in April, its outlet in Tampines 1 was swarmed by large crowds, with hordes of people actually queuing to enter the store. Wah, so popular meh? At that time, Eric Banana could not understand what the big hoo-ha was about. After all, when AstroBanana were in Hong Kong last year, they did visit a UNIQLO outlet and while he felt their apparel were reasonably nice, he wasn't like, wow, overwhelmed. Hence, AstroBanana were not struck by the UNIQLO fever.

Four long months passed before AstroBanana stepped into the UNIQLO outlet at Tampines 1 last week. It was a quick visit as it was getting late and they were worn out from shopping at IKEA Tampines so they did not buy anything. As they swung by ION Orchard this afternoon, they decided to visit the newly-opened UNIQLO outlet. Surprisingly, it was not as crowded as they thought it would be.

AstroBanana like what they saw today. Finally, a brand with a proper line of apparel to fill the fashion GAP (pun intended) in Singapore while staying reasonably priced and affordable. Astro Girl managed to get a couple of tank tops and a pair of denim shorts. Eric Banana thinks they are all nice (mainly because he helped to choose them - he loves shopping! - but of course, the politically correct answer is, "Astro Girl looks nice in everything.") As for the living symbol of consumerism himself, he picked up a classic biker jacket from UNIQLO's new Neo-Leather collection of luxury synthetic leather jackets, which is part of its Fall/Winter 2009 series and made its worldwide debut in Singapore - yup, even ahead of Japan (by about two weeks). Yay, Eric Banana finally owns a leather jacket! Okay, so it's faux/synthetic leather but it's pretty lightweight compared to a full leather jacket. It's also much more affordable. It's supposed to suit Singapore's tropical climate but actually Eric Banana seriously doubts it - jackets and Singapore are like mutually exclusive. One needs to have a severely impaired hypothalamus to wear a jacket in perpetually hot Singapore.

Now, to complete the ultimate biker look, all Eric Banana needs is a flaming skull and a chain whip...

Operation TQ

2009-08-14T21:43:00.001+08:00

In less than a day's time, Eric Banana, accompanied by the elders in the Banana clan, will go to Astro Girl's house to propose marriage. Wait a minute, hasn't Eric Banana proposed to Astro Girl like a long time ago? Well, that was 求婚. This is 提亲. The essential difference is that 求婚 is the guy proposing to the gal and asking her to marry him while 提亲 is the guy going to the gal's house and formally asking her parents for her hand in marriage.

Actually, after Eric Banana proposed to Astro Girl last year, he did meet her parents over dinner where he was supposed to ask them for their consent to marry their daughter. Except that he did not really ask. For every yes/no question, the possibility of a "no" answer is 50 percent. "Uncle, Auntie, will you consent to our marriage?" What if the answer was a flat no? So, Eric Banana took the witty way out and informed them instead that Astro Girl and he were planning to get married in 2009. Smart right?

Hmmm, the inevitable is not called inevitable for no reason. It cannot be avoided. Eric Banana would now have to 提亲, during which Astro Girl's parents would tell his family what they want as part of the marriage. These "terms and conditions" usually follow the traditions and customs of the bride's dialect group.

The curious Eric Banana wonders if 提亲 constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. Eric Banana could be offering to marry Astro Girl by going to her house and asking her parents for her hand in marriage. Acceptance will take place when her parents give their consent.

But it could be an invitation to treat. Astro Girl's parents make the offer when they state the "terms and conditions". The acceptance follows after Eric Banana goes to her house again, bearing gifts according to the "terms and conditions".

Okay, please wish him good luck. All he is going to bring is his cheque book :p

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2 Months To Go!

2009-08-09T14:03:00.001+08:00

9 August 2009.

Happy birthday, Singapore! With the arrival of National Day, only two short months are left before AstroBanana's big day.

In the past weeks, AstroBanana have been intensely preparing for their wedding, especially during the weekends. They have finalised and collected their wedding invitation cards. These will go out soon. The guest list is becoming to look like a guest list. Unfortunately, some people have already indicated that they will not be available on that day.

As for their wedding album, they have completed the selection of photographs and are waiting to review the design and layout. The impatient AstroBanana managed to bring forward the review date from 5 September 2009 to 30 August 2009.

On the home improvement front, AstroBanana have bought their bedframe and mattress, which will be delivered in end-August. Eric Banana still needs to do a lot of packing but that plan will have to be aligned with the purchase of some new furniture. They intend to get three pieces of furniture from IKEA but one of them is currently not in stock :( Sianz. They are not sure whether they want to wait for all three pieces to be available - it could take a mightily long waiting time.

The 提亲 and 过大礼 dates have also been set - they fall on 15 August 2009 and 27 September 2009 respectively. AstroBanana have also gotten down to filing their Notice of Marriage with the Registry of Marriages. The e-payment portion was troublesome though.

Oh, today is also the day when Ee Huei and Ying Chien hold their customary wedding. Congratulations to the couple :)

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AstroBanana Get Their IKEA Catalogue 2010! And It's HUGE!

2009-07-30T23:26:00.001+08:00

Two days ago, AstroBanana received an invitation out of the blue via a comment on this very blog itself. Apparently, it was posted by "Karen" from IKEA Singapore who invited them for the media launch of the Singapore edition of the IKEA Catalogue 2010. After verifying that it was not a hoax and that there really is a “Karen”, AstroBanana accepted the invitation happily and showed up for the media launch at the Botanic Gardens this evening.

The theme of the launch was tied to nature, which explained the venue. As AstroBanana approached the reception counter, they were asked for their namecards, probably to verify that they were really members of the press. In such a situation, Eric Banana’s first instinct was to turn around and make his escape. Fortunately, an IKEA staff member recognised them and went, “Oh I know who you are.. you are Eric Banana, and you are Astro Girl!” Then some other staff members also seemed to kinda recognise them – “No wonder you look so familiar.” Hmmm... Anyway, AstroBanana got to meet Karen , who is IKEA Singapore’s Assistant Manager for Public Relations. She was a really nice and friendly gal!

The event started with a presentation by Lars Svensson, the Country Marketing Manager for IKEA Singapore. As he talked about the upcoming catalogue, he mentioned how some Singaporeans are really excited about it… and to AstroBanana’s horror, they saw their faces on the screen - it was a screenshot of their blog. Lars was trying to illustrate that bloggers’ opinions do matter in today’s context - as it turned out, a colleague in IKEA’s headquarters in Sweden had come across AstroBanana’s entry about the upcoming IKEA catalogue and alerted the folks at IKEA Singapore, who then decided to fulfill their wishes by inviting them for the media launch. Lars also quoted an extract from Eric Banana’s blog entry (the second last paragraph).

Next, AstroBanana got to preview some of the new products in the IKEA PS collection. Each product was placed next to a tree species. During their short walk in the Botanic Gardens, they got to find out more about the tree species from Jenny Chua, a horticulturist who works in the Botanic Gardens. After Jenny’s introduction at each juncture, Lars gave a good background on the new IKEA PS products.

Of course, AstroBanana took the opportunity to take some photos with Karen and Lars:

Since every IKEA staff member they met seems to have read their blog, AstroBanana would like to thank them again for inviting to the event and making them feel at home. Congrats on a job well-done!

And yes, AstroBanana are now the proud owners of a jumbo-sized IKEA Catalogue 2010 (limited edition, with only 1,000 copies in print) and they get to read it two days before the rest of the general population.

To get a feel of how big the jumbo-size 2010 catalogue is, here's a picture comparing it to the normal-size 2009 catalogue:

In addition to the limited-edition catalogue, AstroBanana's event passes will also allow them to obtain a one-time 15% media rebate on their purchases in the month of August. Whee!

Eric Banana really did not expect IKEA to contact him. Astro Girl was really funny though - "How come you blog so much about Tiffany but they never invite you for any media launch?" Eric Banana's only response to that - "Business too big and too good liao lor."

A Sneak Preview of IKEA 2010 Catalogue

2009-07-27T00:44:00.001+08:00

Eric Banana is not a "waiter" - he hates to wait for just about anything. It goes without saying that when he found out that the IKEA 2010 catalogue will only be available on 1 August 2009, he started to get really restless. And when he gets restless, he starts to find ways to reduce that mounting internal dissonance - in this particular case, getting his hands on a copy of the darned IKEA 2010 catalogue will most certainly help...

... and help it did, even if it's the faraway U.S. edition, and a virtual copy at that. After all, it can't be all that different, can it? Hmmm...

Eric Banana has been a fan of IKEA catalogues since he was a kid. Somehow, flipping through pages of amazingly well-taken pictures of Swedish furniture is a therapeutic experience. It's something IKEA has mastered to perfection, never mind that the material and design of some of its furniture are suspect.

IKEA's online catalogue is also a joy to breeze through as it has no or minimal lag. The Straits Times Interactive should take a leaf from this technology. Reading ST Interactive via its E-Reader is a big pain in the donkey. By the time it finishes loading a page, Eric Banana could probably finish reading ten pages on the print edition.

After a quick flip of the U.S. IKEA 2010 catalogue, Eric Banana has ascertained that the IKEA furniture he is eyeing have not been discontinued. Yes, IKEA has its own way of detraining unsuspecting consumers' home furnishing plans by discontinuing certain product lines. And very often, some of the popular items will be temporarily out of stock or oversold. Interestingly, there is no way to make a reservation order for a particular piece of furniture. Business too big and too good liao ah?

On a side note, Eric Banana spotted something funny in one of the IKEA stores today... a gal was using the IKEA measuring tape to *erm* measure two of her vital statistics. Hmmm, maybe checking out the furniture wasn't really what she was there to do... She later turned to her male partner and screeched in an irritating voice, "YOU DON'T KNOW... YOU DON'T CARE!!" Well, Eric Banana doesn't know and is unlikely to care either, but he was half-tempted to make the connection between unidentified hard object and her cerebellum.

As Time Goes By

2009-07-17T23:50:00.009+08:00

Eric Banana took the day off work today and stayed at home. It has been a giant pressure cooker at work for the past few months and some decompression was in order. Astro Girl had to work in the morning but joined him to chill out together in the afternoon. Sick of going out all the time, they decided to watch Casablanca at his house. His boss lent him the DVD sometime last year, but somehow they only got to watching it today. Maybe it was a misconception that old films will bore them to tears.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, Casablanca is a beautiful movie that featured a stellar cast - Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. It won three Academy Awards in 1943 - Best Picture, Best Director and Writing Adapted Screenplay. Eric Banana was captivated by the movie - after all, he's a romantic at heart. He could see why it was considered one of the greatest film classics of all time. That infectious "As Time Goes By" tune is still twirling in his head. (Side note: Eric Banana was also captivated by Ingrid Bergman's timeless beauty - that got him in a bit of trouble with Astro Girl. Oops!)

As they did not feel like travelling to town, they decided to grab their dinner at Holland V, settling for Yoshimaru Ramen Bar, which just opened a few months ago. Interestingly, Yoshimaru Ramen Bar is operated by Jumbo Seafood. He ordered the Shabu-Shabu Pork Ramen while she went for the Toasted Garlic Ramen. Surprisingly, both ramen actually tasted quite good, although hers had more flavour. They will definitely go there again.

It was a simple yet enjoyable day for the two of them. If only more days are like this day...

Harry Pottery

2009-07-16T23:06:00.001+08:00

AstroBanana watched the latest installment of the Harry Potter movies - Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince - this evening. It was a screening that was specially for Mercedes Benz customers. Thanks to Eeky for passing them the tickets :) Thankfully, presenting the movie ticket was all one needed to do to gain entry. If asked to show his car key, Eric Banana was ready to say that he left it with his chauffeur. Well, he figured that no one would be too impressed if he said he took a Merc cab to the cinema :P

It was the first Harry Potter movie for Astro Girl and she found it quite okay. Eric Banana has not read any of the books but he has watched all five previous movies. Maybe the interval between each movie was too long - Eric Banana always found himself struggling to remember what happened in the preceding movies. That is what happens to people who watch too many movies.

Eric Banana is looking forward to the grand finale but they had to go split Book 7 into two movies. Joy, joy.. more waiting :(

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From 97 To 52

2009-07-12T23:52:00.007+08:00

AstroBanana went back to My Bridal Room today for Round 2 of the photo selection process. Somehow, they ended up taking much more time than they did during the first round - 3.5 hours versus 2 hours!

They systematically went through all the 97 photos shortlisted in the first round and managed to whittle them down by 45 percent to 53 photos. From that point onwards, it became very difficult to weed out any more photos. The highly disciplined Astro Girl wanted to reduce the total number of photos to 33. Eric Banana was simply holding on to all 53. In the end, they cut another nine photos to bring the tally down to 44. Astro Girl gave up the 8R table-top photo and the 24 pieces of 4" x 5" photos that were part of the original package to exchange for two additional photos. That worked out to a top-up of 44 - 33 - 2 = 9 photos. That would have cost them $9x. Abbie tried to persuade them to add more photos - a top-up of 12 photos (for a total of 47 photos) would have cost them $12y, which is only $120 more than $9x. Furthermore, Abbie was willing to round the figure down to $(12y -40). Eventually, she convinced them to increase the total top-up amount to $18z (which is $160 more than $12y) and offered them another five more photos (for a total of 52 photos) plus the re-inclusion of the 8R table-top photo. By then, AstroBanana were already very tired. Eric Banana was fairly okay with the final top-up figure as it was two to three times lower than his mental budget. As for Astro Girl, *hmmm* she was last spotted looking for other corners to cut :|

So the question is - "What are the values of x, y and z?" :P

The design and layout for the photo album will take about 1.5 months. AstroBanana have arranged to review the design and layout on 5 September 2009. Hope the end-product will turn out to be nice :)

Fly, Butter Fly!

2009-07-12T00:09:00.007+08:00

Astro Girl received a surprise from Eric Banana this evening...

... a sterling silver butterfly brooch that was fashioned after the original riding pin worn by Arwen in the LOTR movie. Eric Banana had planned to get it for Astro Girl one day but that day came earlier than expected as he thought of a possible use for her. Yes, "paper weight" is a good answer. "Projectile weapon" is another good one too.

The only problem? She doesn't seem to quite like it. Oh well...

3 Months To Go!

2009-07-09T21:51:00.006+08:00

9 July 2009.

Wah, only three more months are left before AstroBanana's big day! In the past month, Astro Girl has gone for her second fitting and trial make-up, and AstroBanana have had their bridal photoshoot. It was done over two days as it was raining the first time round. Not wanting to spoil their outdoor photoshoot, they adjourned it to another day, and the end-product turned out very well. Too well, in fact. AstroBanana are facing a headache trying to select the photos - right now, there's a huge top-up risk.

AstroBanana had their delayed food tasting session last weekend, and their parents met for the first time. Originally, they did not plan to make any changes to the menu. However, after some deliberation, they decided to change a couple of the dishes. Also, having found their wedding solemniser, they are able to officially file their Notice of Marriage from today onwards.

There are still many many things to be done. AstroBanana will hopefully shortlist their photos from their bridal photoshoot this sunday. They need to work on the guest list for their wedding dinner. They also need to print the wedding invitation cards. What else? Argh, so many things, so little time!

Wedding Solemniser Found!

2009-07-08T22:08:00.006+08:00

Come tomorrow, AstroBanana would be able to file their Notice of Marriage with the Registry of Marriages. Actually, they are being on the kiasu (read: afraid of losing) side of things because they would be filing at the earliest possible date. Then again, it makes sense to get some things done as soon as possible because there will be many other things that demand their attention in the next three months.

A couple is able to file their Notice of Marriage as early as three months before or as late as three weeks before the solemnisation date. For AstroBanana, that means 9 July 2009 at the earliest (3 months expiration date) or 19 September 2009 at the latest (21 days notice period). Before they can file their Notice of Marriage, they would have to find a solemniser first. This involves poring through a list of licensed solemnisers (which include religious leaders, grassroots leaders and Justices of the Peace), invite him/her to solemnise their wedding, send him/her the completed Solemniser Consent Form and obtain his/her signed consent either via fax or in person.

After some discussion, AstroBanana decided to invite Mr Phang Tai Heng, JP, BBM(L), PBM, who agreed to solemnise their wedding. Yay! Actually, they have met him before - he solemnised Ee Huei's and Ying Chien's wedding last year. In addition, online reviews about him are mostly positive.

Next, to file that Notice of Marriage...

A Taste Of What Is To Be Served

2009-07-04T23:26:00.006+08:00

AstroBanana had their food tasting session at Club Chinois this evening. It went okay, except for some minor fine-tuning needed for a couple of dishes. Anyway, the food quality was probably as good as it gets. A lot of people commented that the food served during the actual wedding banquet will usually not be as good as the food served during the food tasting session. AstroBanana focused on savouring their food today because they won't get to eat much of it during their actual wedding dinner.

Astro Girl: So what do you think of the food?

Eric Banana (in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone): Me? I am a vacuum cleaner lor. I don't think, I just eat.

Astro Girl (lost for words): ...

Today was also the first time Eric Banana's father met Astro Girl's parents. Thankfully, it was nothing like the Ben Stiller movie Meet the Parents II. Then again, Eric Banana is no Gaylord 'Greg' Focker either. Hmmm, silence can be deafening sometimes though...

From 392 To 97

2009-07-03T23:32:00.010+08:00

AstroBanana went to My Bridal Room this evening to choose the photographs for their wedding photo album. Hmmm, they seem to be going there quite a bit these days - today was the fourth time within two weeks!

Anyway, Weijie took a total of 392 photos of AstroBanana from the studio and outdoor photoshoots. As they went through the photos one by one, AstroBanana could see that Weijie is an outstanding photographer. The photos turned out very well even before any editing. Of course, credit must also go to Dily for her excellent make-up skills.

Actually, it's not difficult to take great photos of Astro Girl 'cos she's very photogenic in the first place. Eric Banana, on the other hand, is not photogenic at all - it's therefore an uphill task to take good photos of him. A colleague who saw a picture of Eric Banana in his wedding outfit would disagree though - she commented, "其实你蛮上镜的。你真人没那么好看。" (Read: "Actually, you are quite photogenic. You are not so good-looking in person.") *BLEAH*

AstroBanana spent two hours selecting the photos they want. They managed to weed out about 75 percent and shortlisted 97 photos (36 outdoor; 61 studio). As part of their package, they are entitled to 33 poses for their album.. To avoid any top-up expenditure, they would have to weed out another 64 (or about 66 percent). Tough task. While Astro Girl is adamant about not topping up, Eric Banana has already cleaned his neck and gotten it ready (read: 已经洗好脖子准备被砍).

They will go back to MBR on 12 July 2009 for the second round of photo selection. Wish them luck.

AstroBanana Got Shot Again!

2009-07-01T22:20:00.008+08:00

And yes, AstroBanana are finally done with their outdoor photoshoot!

When it rained in the afternoon on Monday, Eric Banana was concerned that the weather for the week will be unforgiving. He was also concerned about his karma points. Yesterday morning, the weather forecast on the NEA website didn't bode well either - "Showers with thunder mainly over northern , eastern and western Singapore in the afternoon. Partly cloudy at other times." As it turned out, it was AstroBanana's lucky day - it did not rain. Guess NEA was Not Exactly Accurate after all.

The contact lens curse struck again as Eric Banana faced major problems putting on his contact lenses, resulting in an unnecessary delay. He doubts he will become a big fan of contact lenses in the near - and distant - future. AstroBanana ended up taking a cab to My Bridal Room, where Dily worked her magic on Astro Girl.

Astro Girl - Hairstyle #5, Wedding Gown #2

After they got ready, AstroBanana and Weijie then set off for the outdoor photoshoot. They reached their first stop - HortPark - at about 4:30 p.m. It felt more like Hot Park! When the weather is too good, it's sometimes not a *erm* good sign either - AstroBanana were perspiring like mad. They next skipped over to Hyderabad Road, which is just nearby. Weijie made AstroBanana go through a lot of poses and took most of the shots here. When they left to set off for Changi Boardwalk, it was already 6:00 p.m.

They reached Changi Boardwalk at 6:45 p.m., just in time for sunset. By then, AstroBanana were already very exhausted - the long journey didn't help. A huge cloud was blocking the sun, which meant no sunset pictures for AstroBanana :( Thankfully, a while later, the cloud decided to go play somewhere else, allowing Weijie to take some pictures of AstroBanana with the sun setting beautifully in the background. The photoshoot ended at 7:30 p.m. after Weijie took some shots of AstroBanana lying on the beach. They managed to get back to MBR slightly after 8:00 p.m.

At the end of it all, AstroBanana wondered how a typical couple could survive both the studio and outdoor photoshoots all in one day. They did theirs over two days - and they were damn tired on both days. Hopefully, the photos will turn out well!

'Til The End Of Time

2009-06-28T00:13:00.005+08:00

Eric Banana came home this evening to see a surprise early wedding gift for AstroBanana - it was from his brother Francis and sister-in-law Minhui. The present is *drum rolls* a Precious Moments figurine from its wedding series...

... titled "'Til the End of Time".

As a result of buying the limited-edition figurine in January, AstroBanana have temporarily banned themselves from getting any more Precious Moments figurines. The only one Eric Banana wants to get is not from the wedding series. Well, this is probably the only appropriate time in their life to get a Precious Moments wedding figurine so if they don't get it now, they are unlikely to get it in future.

Thanks to Francis and Minhui, AstroBanana are now the proud owners of a Precious Moments wedding figurine. They have excellent taste too - it's one of the better-looking figurines in the series, and the only one where the bride wears a real fabric veil.

Thanks bro and sis-in-law!

The Beautiful Weather Today...

2009-06-25T22:29:00.002+08:00

... is one day late really. It irks Eric Banana that they could have their perfect outdoor photoshoot if the weather was this good yesterday. Okay, maybe Eric Banana needs to be less evil so that he will not be at the receiving end of bad karma taking the form of uncooperative weather. With a bit of luck, the weather next Tuesday will be beautiful too :)

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AstroBanana Got Shot!

2009-06-24T22:11:00.002+08:00

A dark cloud loomed over AstroBanana this morning, threatening to derail their bridal photoshoot plans. To complicate matters, Eric Banana encountered problems putting the contact lenses onto his eyes - maybe they were too dry. After all, it was only Day 2 and he has not adjusted fully yet. When he finally succeeded, he was close to being late. By then, the light drizzle has stopped, allowing AstroBanana to at least get to the bridal studio dry. Eric Banana took a cab and reached there first, followed by Astro Girl. They met up with Dily who proceeded to give Astro Girl an extreme makeover.

Dily is very skillful and experienced, and gave the couple many useful tips. They felt very at ease with her and liked the make-up and hairstyling she did for them. When she was done, AstroBanana changed into their respective outfits and waited for the bridal photographer, Weijie, to arrive at the scene.

They started with the studio photoshoot. Weijie gave the couple many pointers on how they should pose. These pointers sounded simple - turn the face, tilt the chin, twist the neck, smile, smile more, don't smile, and so on - but AstroBanana struggled a fair bit in comprehending his instructions. Some of the poses were challenging too! AstroBanana are so glad that they practise yoga regularly. As for Weijie's photography skills, AstroBanana will comment after they see the final product =P

The weather turned out to be really horrible. It rained throughout the day. 讨厌的长命雨! With the lousy weather being such a spoilsport, AstroBanana's outdoor photoshoot options became extremely limited. Eventually, they decided to postpone the outdoor photoshoot to another day instead. If nothing goes wrong, it will take place on 30 June 2009 - with Alexandra Road and Changi Boardwalk as the tentative shoot locations.

And now, presenting some exclusive behind-the-scenes pictures!

Astro Girl - Hairstyle #1, Evening Gown #1

Eric Banana - Hairstyle #1, Evening Outfit #1

Astro Girl - Hairstyle #2, Evening Gown #2 (to be worn in the evening on AD)

Eric Banana - Hairstyle #2, Evening Outfit #2a

Astro Girl - Hairstyle #3, Evening Gown #3

Eric Banana - Hairstyle #2, Evening Outfit #2b (to be worn in the evening on AD)

Astro Girl - Hairstyle #4, Wedding Gown #1 (to be worn in the day on the AD)

Eric Banana - Hairstyle #2, Wedding Outfit #1 (to be worn in the day on the AD)

After the photoshoot, AstroBanana were really tired. Yes, despite not going for the outdoor photoshoot. Dinner was a brief affair - all they wanted to do was to go home and zzz....

First Contact

2009-06-22T22:35:00.006+08:00

After he knocked off from work (or was it "got knocked off by work"?) this evening, Eric Banana made his way to the Optical 88 outlet at Plaza Singapura to collect his contact lenses. The optician, Dennis Tham, got Eric Banana to wash his hands thoroughly with soap before he briefed the latter on the supposedly easy process of putting on the contact lenses.

Theoretically, Eric Banana understood what Dennis was saying. The practical part was... a little more challenging as he embarked on the grand task of putting on his first pair of contact lenses. Eric Banana started with his left eye and... after a long while, he was still at it. Wah lau eh! Frustrated, he then asked Dennis if he has ever encountered anyone who did not manage to successfully put on contact lenses. The latter's reply was no. No? How can it be? Eric Banana was quite sure that he would be the first one to break the record... when all of a sudden, he managed to successfully place the contact lens onto his left eye. His right eye took a *erm* longer while since he used his right hand (his master hand), which was kinda awkward. Nevertheless, he succeeded eventually. Yay, clear vision without spectacles! :)

Mission accomplished? Well, not quite. There's still the even grander task of taking the contact lenses out. Dennis said that the removal part is much easier - just pinch the contact lenses out with the thumb and index finger. Erm, like how? After the world has abandoned him and moved on, Eric Banana still could not get the contact lens out from his right eye. Dennis - bless his kind soul - even went to the extent of demonstrating the process of putting a contact lens on his eye and removing it. Seeing that Eric Banana's right eye has turned all red, Dennis offered to end his agony by removing them for him. That was awfully nice of him but Eric Banana declined politely - he was not about to let another person's fingers touch his eyeball. After much difficulty, Eric Banana finally managed to remove the contact lens from his right eye. He then proceeded to remove the one on his left eye with relative ease. Okay, maybe Eric Banana belongs to the rare group of people who are not fated to wear contact lenses.

For reasons unknown to Eric Banana, he found himself popping the contact lenses back onto his eyes at Dennis' urging. This time, it was faster. It had to be, since the first attempt took something like between eternity and forever. The removal process was also faster.

At the end of it all, Eric Banana was extremely grateful to Dennis who was very patient and helpful. He will try putting on the contact lenses tomorrow morning. With some luck, he can pop them in before lunch time. Maybe he should start trying to put them in now so that he can get a super early headstart or something.

Oh, and Eric Banana cannot believe he spent 1.5 hours stabbing his own eyes just now >.<

Eyes, Eyes, Baby!

2009-06-21T19:26:00.016+08:00

In the prelude to their bridal photoshoot next Wednesday, AstroBanana had to make a trip to My Bridal Room yesterday to get some things done.

Previous trips have revolved all around Astro Girl so the limelight was on Eric Banana this time round. Eric Banana can only vaguely remember that he started to try on some suits. Exactly how many and how they looked like were a huge blur as he tried to recall exactly what happened. It was as if Astro Girl conspired with the MBR folks to make him go through the ultimate life-"changing" experience :|

Before he could make a decision, the make-up artist, Dily Ng, arrived and it was time for Astro Girl's trial make-up. Haha, so the limelight was on Astro Girl after all. It was the second time Eric Banana has seen Astro Girl with such heavy make-up, which prompted him to ask her, "Excuse me, have you seen my fiancée around?" after Dily was done. :P Eric Banana still insists that Astro Girl looks better with no or minimal make-up. In Dily's opinion, applying light make-up equates to not bothering with applying make-up at all in the first place.

After the trial make-up, Astro Girl started to try on some more gowns before she finally chose the outdoor wedding gown and evening gown for the photoshoot. Linghui also took her measurements to alter the gowns to fit her. By the time Astro Girl was done, she was already very tired - it didn't help that she had to work that morning.

The attention was switched back to Eric Banana as he went back to trying on the suits again. He was contemplating the all-white look - he looked okay with a white jacket - but when he tried on a pair of white pants, he decided that it wasn't such a great idea. White is not a flattering colour after all - at least not for a budding fatso like him. Eventually, he decided to pair the white jacket with a pair of black pants. Linghui said that there were previously three guys who thought of this combination but they changed their minds eventually. Undaunted, Eric Banana decided to add a black vest to the equation. He will wear this combination on the actual day. For the evening, he will switch to the all-black look. In addition, he will wear another suit with a mandarin collar for the photoshoot.

For the upcoming photoshoot, Linghui asked Eric Banana to take out the lenses from his spectacles so there will be no reflection. Erm, so how will he see? "Wear contact lenses lor." But Eric Banana has never worn contact lenses in his entire life before. Furthermore, his eyes dry up easily. And he won't have much time to adjust to the contact lenses before the photoshoot. "How about just wearing the specs without the lenses?" Well, Eric Banana's eyes tend to become very small when he doesn't wear his glasses :( Haiz, if only they have informed him way ahead so he can at least have time to experiment with contact lenses.

Dily also gave Astro Girl some advice on her hair so she went to dye and trim it today. She hasn't had any luck with getting a suitable pair of shoes though. Eric Banana's contact lenses will only be available on Monday, so he has to collect them after work tomorrow, giving him a grand total of one day to adjust to his contact lenses. Tough task. Although Uncle Quek assured him that it would be okay without contact lenses, Eric Banana is not too keen on the idea of having squinty eyes for the photoshoot. To a certain extent, AstroBanana are disappointed that these issues have cropped up at the last minute. It would have been easier if they have had more time to prepare...

A Yoga Resolution

2009-06-10T19:55:00.002+08:00

Despite the immense workload he has nowadays, Eric Banana has decided that he will try his best to go for his yoga lessons regularly. Given that he pays a three-digit amount for the luxury of attending unlimited classes each month, under-utilisation just doesn't make economic sense. While it's difficult to embark on an exercise routine, it's probably even more arduous to maintain it in the long run. And his recent acute arthritis + pulled ATL did not help things, although it would seem that his ankle problem is under control for now. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Besides shaking off his natural (read: sleepyhead) instinct on Sunday morning, Eric Banana is trying to squeeze a weekday yoga class back into his life. Well, he does need an excuse to bail out of the office before the sun sets. One day beats none.

While he nearly died during last Sunday's Hot 1 class, he secretly aims to take more Hot yoga classes going forward. It's an excellent way to detoxify one's body. Eric Banana also hopes to start running again. No long-distance aspirations there - just short jogs every now and then. For now, it's one step at a time.

In case you are wondering about how random this blog entry seemed to be, well, Eric Banana was just trying to while his time away before his yoga lesson commenced :p

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4 Months To Go!

2009-06-09T22:24:00.005+08:00

9 June 2009.

Like a ticking bomb, time has passed like nobody's business. Fortunately, there are no wires to cut. Nor is there a CHEE-BA-BOOM at the end of everything. Or is there? Hmmm. Anyway, in the past month, AstroBanana's original timeline seemed to have taken a life of its own. Dates started to skip happily all over the calendar. The best laid plans apparently do not exist.

The bridal photoshoot was rescheduled from 30 June 2009 to 24 June 2009. With that, the date for the second fitting / trial makeup rearranged itself before settling at 20 June 2009. The date for the food tasting session took a big leap from 7 June 2009 all the way to 4 July 2009.

Since the beginning of May, work has seized Eric Banana and thrown him upside down. By the time he finished work each day, he was too tired to do anything else, much less work on his wedding preparations. Hopefully, this madness will stop by the end of June. He doesn't like this feeling at all.

AstroBanana will be able to file a Notice of Marriage as early as three months or as late as three weeks before their solemnisation date. Not the type of people to leave things to the last minute, AstroBanana plan to go for the earliest option and do the filing on 9 July 2009. They are currently looking for a solemniser. Hmmm, where to start?

When Schedules Conflict...

2009-06-07T21:36:00.001+08:00

According to AstroBanana's wishful thinking, they were supposed to have the food tasting session for their wedding banquet today. Well, as it turned out, it did not take place today. In case you are wondering why... which part of "wishful thinking" do you not understand? :p

Unexpectedly, coordinating the schedules of the Banana Clan, the Astro Clan and Club Chinois almost qualified as the plot of Mission Impossible IV. A few dates were proposed but somehow when any two parties' schedules were okay, the other would invariably have a schedule conflict. Maybe AstroBanana should have taken the restaurant manager's ba zi (八字) into consideration as well back then *hee hee*.

After much effort in her Herculean task, Astro Girl finally managed to fix the date of 4 July 2009 for the food tasting session. Kudos to her!

Eric Banana (in an observant tone): Hmmm, 4th July is Independence Day leh.

Astro Girl (not sure where the conversation is going, but unwilling to entertain any more rescheduling): So?

Eric Banana (cheekily): Erm, so we can feel FREEEEEE... to eat :p

Astro Girl (rolling her eyeballs): Whatever.

Incidentally, the food tasting session will mark the first time AstroBanana's parents meet each other. Hope everything goes well *gulp*. In this regard, Meet The Parents would be the ultimate scaaaary movie

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Just Another Random Sunday

2009-05-31T21:05:00.002+08:00

Eric Banana kept up the momentum from last week by going for not one, but two yoga classes this morning. Actually, attending Sunday morning yoga classes really boils down to having discipline and not allowing oneself to invent excuses, or conjure ailments for that matter. Hopefully Eric Banana will not be forced to break his routine anytime soon.

In addition to his usual Yin class, Eric Banana decided to do a Hatha class this morning to derive some yang energy. Geez, was it "yang"? Eric Banana thought they said "young" :P It has been a while since he did a Hatha class, considering his ATL headache. Okay, technically it's an ankleache but you get the point. Today, the yoga instructor talked about the fourth chakra - the heart. It was the first time that Eric Banana has seen a yoga instructor draw and write on the mirrors in the yoga studio. Cool! She even shared an interesting phrase with the class - "What makes us human is the strength of the heart." In case you are wondering, she's not quoting any great yogi. Not unless you consider John Connor a great yogi :p

In a way, Eric Banana is glad that he went for two yoga classes today. After all, he did gobble a fair bit during buffet dinner at Zhou's Kitchen in Jurong Point last night :s And that is a fine (under)statement. Then again, whatever benefit that was accrued through the two yoga lessons today was swiftly vapourised by lunch time, no thanks to Ichiban Boshi. For the record, Eric Banana categorically denies having consumed any tempura ice-cream. AstroBanana did scale down their dinner portions though before they start to balloon so much that it's enough to fly them to the skies.

The shopping malls along Orchard Road were impossibly crowded today, not surprisingly so since the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) has started. AstroBanana did not chance upon anything they fancy. It could be because they were half-hearted about plunging themselves into the heart of crowds gone crazy.

Anyway, AstroBanana cannot believe that their long weekend has zipped past so quickly :( They are already looking forward to their next break, however short it might be.

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Prawn Noodles Bliss

2009-05-24T11:55:00.002+08:00

After nearly three years, Eric Banana finally got to doing his first Pranayama/Meditation class. While he feels that Pranayama is generally beneficial, he doubts that he's going to lose 15 pounds in a week through intense pranayama practice (a benefit extolled by a yoga instructor some time back) anytime soon. Especially not when he ate this right after his class:

Yup, Thye Hong Fried Prawn Noodles at Food Republic - yummy!

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Eternity Ring & Perpetuity Ring

2009-05-16T23:37:00.007+08:00

While AstroBanana were gallivanting in Orchard this afternoon, they decided to make their way to Tiffany to collect their engraved wedding bands. Okay, enough with the mystery - so what exactly did AstroBanana engrave on their rings?

Well, they decided that simplicity is the best. Instead of the full wedding date, they opted to include only the year - 2009. Playing with the timeless theme, she chose "ETERNITY 2009" while he went for "PERPETUITY 2009".

"Eternity" is synonymous with "perpetuity" - both words represent infinite duration or existence - but in Eric Banana's mind, there is an added twist. Sitting on Astro Girl's finger, the "eternity" ring will remind her that love lasts forever. The "perpetuity" ring on Eric Banana's finger will probably remind him of the same thing but let it not be forgotten that "perpetuity" also means an annuity payable indefinitely. Oh, and isn't there some truth in it? :P

On a separate note, AstroBanana are glad that they decided to collect their rings today. It turns out that their favourite Tiffany sales rep Dorothy's last day is tomorrow. If they have gone some other day, they would have not been able to see her again. As usual, she attended to them with a ready smile. As they watched her tie the white ribbon expertly around the famous little blue box, AstroBanana realised that it was the last time they will see her do it and actually felt a little sad. Nevertheless, they would like to thank her for all the great service and assistance she has rendered them and wish her all the best in her future endeavours. From AstroBanana to Dorothy: "You will always be in our memories."

AstroBanana Have Received Their First Wedding Present!

2009-05-16T23:03:00.001+08:00

Their wedding may still be over four months away, but AstroBanana's first wedding present has already boarded a plane from New York and flew itself to them in Singapore, courtesy of Eric Banana's junior, Chee Sin. Thanks dude!!

The present is a bronze-like statuette of two mermaids holding a clam shell that has dried flower buds on it:

Too Much Of A Good Thing Is Bad

2009-05-16T22:49:00.001+08:00

While Eric Banana adores Japanese food, he has arrived at the conclusion that having too much of it within a short period of time, say four times within a week, is a baaaaad idea. Talk about food fatigue!

It started with AstroBanana going to Shimbashi Soba at Paragon last Saturday. They both ordered the Paragon Soba, which comprises warm tempura soba and chilled oroshi soba. Eric Banana prefers the Paragon Soba to the usual set meals because whenever he goes to Shimbashi, he would rather place his focus on the soba - and nothing beats trying both warm and chilled soba in one go. Oh well, who needs an excuse to be a glutton anyway? :P Tally: one time in one day.

Two days later, Eric Banana bought his intern lunch at Shinobu Dining (the former Yuzu-Shimizu Japanese Restaurant) at PSA Building. Surprising, there wasn't much of a lunch crowd. Tally: two times in three days.

On Thursday, AstroBanana finally got to trying the food at Wasabi Tei - which is located at Far East Plaza - with DGT after several postponements. DGT was right - the food was really good. However, there is always a queue, the waiting time is fairly long, the place is small and cramped (not to mention the food smell that lingers on one's clothes after the meal), and the service is so-so. To Eric Banana, the eating enviroment plays a big role when he wants to enjoy a meal. Tally: Three times in six days.

Yesterday, AstroBanana met Celine, Joel and Song for dinner at Sun with Moon at The Central. It was a belated birthday celebration for Song and an early birthday celebration for Celine. The original plan was to go to Ma Maison instead. However, when Eric Banana called to make a reservation on Monday, it was already full :( Strong dinner crowd despite the recession. Tally: four times in seven days.

Eric Banana thinks he will stay off Japanese food for the time being before he starts to develop japfoodphobia :|

The Ultimate Flotation Device :P

2009-05-10T15:12:00.003+08:00

Eric Banana doesn't know what's wrong with him but when he read that a recently-recaptured fugitive swam across the Straits of Johor using an "improvised flotation device", the only thing that came to his mind was this:

AstroBanana Get Their Bean Bags!

2009-05-10T14:19:00.002+08:00

Okay, Eric Banana knows that this blog entry is way overdue but here it is!

It all started with Eric Banana browsing idly on shopstyle.com one night. He was about to go to bed when he spotted a nice black-colour Ralph Lauren Large Polo Player Canvas Tote Bag and decided that he must have it:

Oddly enough, Ralph Lauren itself doesn't carry the graphite/silver combination but Macy's does so Eric Banana ordered it from Macy's through ComGateway instead. Yay? Well, not exactly. A few days later, Eric Banana found out that Macy's rejected the order for unknown reasons. Hmmm, Eric Banana has used ComGateway to make purchases from Banana Republic and Kate Spade without any hiccups so he is not sure why it did not work with Macy's. Kena snubbed!

Sorely disappointed, Eric Banana tried to look at other sources. His Internet search pointed him to blog shops and sprees but he did not feel assured enough to make a purchase. Well, the scaredy cat is not about to pay good money to buy counterfeit products. Eventually, his web idling led him to L.L.Bean's website. He spotted a few bags which he thought look okay and decided to make a purchase from there instead. Commendably, L.L.Bean accepts international credit cards and ships orders to countries worldwide. Okay, so International Airmail takes two to four weeks but hey, who's in a hurry anyway? There is an International Express option as well but it costs more.

Anyway, AstroBanana's "Bean" bags arrived last Saturday. Hurray!

Here's what Astro Girl bought:

It is a red-trimmed L.L.Bean Boat & Tote Bag made in Maine using heavy-duty 24 oz. cotton canvas and signature double-layer base and handles. Its reinforced flat canvas bottom and overlapped seams double-stitched with nylon will not rot or break. It is so tough and rugged that it can stand on its own. Astro Girl went for the Medium size (12"H x 13"W x 6"D) and opted for Regular handles (6") and a zip-top (not depicted in the above pictures). Oh, don't underestimate this bag - it was featured as a "must-have" in either The Lucky Shopping Manual or The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style (Eric Banana cannot remember which book he saw it in - both books are currently with Astro Girl.)

In addition, Eric Banana gave her a charming Leaping Labs Boat & Tote Bag as a lil' present:

It is a variation of the regular Boat & Tote Bag but has a screen-printed graphic that wraps around the tote. It comes in Large size (15"H x 17"W x 7.5"D), and has regular handles (8") and an open-top.

As for Eric Banana, he ordered two large zip-top Hunter's Tote Bags:

The Hunter's Tote Bags are made from a tough 1,200-denier polyester shell with a thermoplastic interior coating that is both highly durable and highly water-resistant. Its overlapped seams double-stitched with nylon won't rot or break. An extra layer of polyester reinforces the bottom. The Large size measures 15"H x 17"W x 7.5"D. The colours Eric Banana picked are Advantage Max 4 HD and Olive Drab. Only the first one has arrived - the second one is still on the way.

The best thing about the four L.L.Bean tote bags? Well, you can buy all of them for the price of the Ralph Lauren tote bag :P

5 Months To Go!

2009-05-09T22:30:00.004+08:00

9 May 2009.

One month passed really quickly - there are now only five more months before AstroBanana's big day. Eric Banana has more or less finished shortlisting the wedding music list. Now it's over to Astro Girl for review. Eric Banana has also begun to gather his wedding dinner guests' mailing addresses. On Thurday, they went back to the bridal studio to revalidate Astro Girl's wedding gown choice. Today, they brought their wedding bands back to Tiffany for engraving. As for what will be engraved on their rings, it will be revealed when they collect their rings.

June will be a busy month for the couple with the food tasting, second fitting/trial make-up and bridal photoshoot. Eric Banana was originally supposed to travel on business so he was shuffling dates and rescheduling appointments pertaining to their wedding preparation. As it turned out, he does not need to travel after all. However, they plan to change the photographer for their bridal photoshoot so they still need to reconfirm the dates.

Gowns Redux

2009-05-09T22:21:00.001+08:00

On Thursday evening, AstroBanana went back to My Bridal Room for Astro Girl to try on *erm* even more gowns. Well, it's common for a bride-to-be to cast doubts on the wedding gowns she has chosen and whether it is really the best of them all. Abbie had to go off early that day so another coordinator, Linghui, attended to them instead.

Five wedding gowns later, Astro Girl decided to try on the one that she chose originally. (Haha, she actually didn't recognise it at first.) And guess what? Her choice remains the same. But this time she is more convinced that the wedding gown is the right one. Previously she was simply giddy from the euphoria of trying 21 wedding gowns in one go.

As for evening gowns, Astro Girl tried on a couple but did not change her mind about her original choice. She did pick one of the evening gowns she tried previously for the photo shoot though.

All this while, Eric Banana kept mostly quiet. He felt that Astro Girl's original choice of wedding gown was an excellent one. Then again, he was quite tired from work that day.

Without a doubt, Linghui must have been thinking, "讨厌, 这对男女真麻烦!" (read: "Oh what a delightful couple. I adore them to bits!") Ok, that was just a joke :P She was very professional and helpful. AstroBanana would like to thank her for her help :)

Grilled Chicken Foldover 2004 - 2009

2009-05-05T23:29:00.002+08:00

Today was a stressful and frustrating day for AstroBanana on the work front. It must have been particularly so for Astro Girl because she actually suggested going to McDonald's for dinner. Wah~! Nothing extraordinary, you say? Well, in the past 25+ months that AstroBanana have been together, Eric Banana has never heard Astro Girl agree so readily to settling for a McDonald's dinner. Not today. Today she just wanted something "sinful".

And nothing is more sinful than what McDonald's has to offer. It used to have some semblance of a "healthier choice"in the form of the Grilled Chicken Foldover but somehow Eric Banana could not find it on the menu just now. A quick check with the website confirmed that it has been taken off the menu. Silently but surely. Hmmm, so much for a so-called "milestone". It's true! The McDonald's Singapore website lists the introduction of the Grilled Chicken Foldover in Dec 2004 as a milestone. But apparently the Grilled Chicken Foldover saying bye bye wasn't milestone-worthy enough.

Anyway, Eric Banana has always wondered why it's called the "foldover" instead of the "bendover" since they essentially mean the same thing. He would have loved to hear people say, "And I would like to have the Grilled Chicken Bend-Over, please~" to the McDonald's cashiers and see the latter try to maintain a straight face. It does sound kinda wrong though. Oh well, at least McDonald's has decided to stop pretending that it offers healthier alternatives. After all, Singaporeans don't go to McDonald's for healthier alternatives - they just want their fattening burgers that scream S-I-N-F-U-L out loud. Actually, most people don't even go there for the burgers - think french fries and ice-cream instead.

Pulled ATL :(

2009-05-01T21:25:00.009+08:00

Following his acute arthritis attack a few weeks ago, Eric Banana has been on the road to recovery - even managing to make his return to the yoga studio - until he was derailed again on Monday :( He knew the pain will only escalate if he delayed treatment so he decided to see the doctor. Pinpointing the exact pain spot, the doctor concluded that Eric Banana must have pulled his ATL. Huh? Simi ATL?

For reasons unknown to Eric Banana, he did not ask the doctor what ATL stands for, except that it's an ankle ligament. A quick check on Google revealed that ATL stands for anterior talofibular Ligament, which is the most frequently sprained ligament in the ankle.

Sigh. Eric Banana has decided to abstain from yoga and running for the time being although his doctor said that it is fine to engage in those activities. Then again, his doctor never thinks any ailment is serious. To him, everything is "small matter". Until a patient actually lies face-down on the floor without any sign of life, it will be classified as a "small matter". The eternally-optimistic doctor. It probably pays to think positive because the doctor looks damn young although he is not damn young. Either that, or botox works wonders :P

Hmmm, Eric Banana can do with some mutant healing factor right now.

Half-Burnt Labour Day

2009-05-01T20:11:00.001+08:00

Yes, it's a public holiday in Singapore today - Labour Day - but Eric Banana's perfect grand plan to sleep until the cows come home did not quite materialise, unduly disrupted by a conference call that was scheduled at an unearthly 8:30 a.m. Wah, siao ah? (read: "The sanity of it all amazes the poopoo out of me.") Guess the grand plan wasn't that perfect after all.

Unwillingly but certainly, he dragged his donkey back to office this morning, his eyes merely two slits on his face. And it certainly didn't help that the conference call eventually overran by an hour :( Thankfully, his boss decided to be merciful and delay the work to be done until Monday, which happens to be a proper, wholesome working day too. Sounds healthy huh?

It seems that a curse is developing around Labour Day for Eric Banana - at this time last year, he was happily roasting his Labour Day over a campfire in the mountains of Taiwan, courtesy of an ill-timed SAF100. This reminds him of the curse of Valentine's Day a few years back, when he would be inadvertently forced to spend it in some foreign land every time 14 February came around.

Anyway, Eric Banana is moving to another role at work, which promises to be an absolute excitement *yawn*. In addition to a whole new world of tidal wavy work, he also gets to keep some of his current work. In short, it's a losing proposition - 1.x job for 1 pay. Hopefully, he will dig his way out of this sometime in the near future. Oh well, it's better to have 1.x job than no job during such hard times. Better to be "entrenched" than to be retrenched.

One big plus though is that his travel geography has been upgraded from "regional" to "global" again :) *whee* It's been too long since Eric Banana travelled anywhere on business.

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Holland V Completed The Major Banks Grand Slam!

2009-04-18T23:47:00.004+08:00

Walking along Holland Village earlier this evening, Eric Banana observed that the renovations at the new Citibank branch are almost done. While Citigroup is almost going under globally, the local operations are apparently lucrative enough to fund the opening of a 21st branch at a high-cost location. Well, Holland V is not a cheap place to set up business in. Many have tried over the years. Not that many are left today though.

Wah, that would also mean that Holland V has kinda completed the "Major Banks Grand Slam". DBS, UOB, OCBC, , HSBC, Standard Chartered and Maybank already have branches in Holland V. With Citibank's entry, the *erm* fellowship is complete. Outside of the CBD, it's probably a first. Eric Banana cannot think of another location in Singapore with so many banks closely bunched in one area (100 metres radius).

Got so many banking customers in Holland V meh? Oh well, Eric Banana doesn't quite care - he shall be thankful that banking amenities in his backyard are so adequate and accessible :P

Kate Spade Part II

2009-04-10T23:50:00.007+08:00

And yes, Astro Girl's second Kate Spade bag finally arrived today!

It is a Kate Spade Charlottesville Small Darla cowhide leather handheld tote with zipper closure. It has an interior zip pocket and double slide pockets, and sports custom baton rouge rose print on faille lining, 14-karat light gold-plated hardware and ksny blind embossed signature on body. Grass in colour, it measures 9" x 9.9" x 3.1".

This uber-chio bag was first spotted by Eric Banana, who managed to convince the impossibly thrifty Astro Girl to buy it. Haha, most guys can't wait to stop their partners from buying bags. Eric Banana is the exact opposite. Anyway, back to the bag, the shape and size are just right, and the colour is eye-catching a.k.a. outstanding without being outrageous. Although Astro Girl already has a very nice Kate Spade tote bag, she knew deep inside her heart that she couldn't give this a miss. Well, to Eric Banana, different bags serve different functions on different occasions.

As to why AstroBanana do not buy Astro Girl's Kate Spade bags from the local boutiques, they do not quite like the attitude of the sales staff, who seem more interested in the art of ceiling appreciation. Besides, buying online at the right time is a cheaper option, even after factoring in the shipping costs and GST.

Eric Banana: So, any thoughts on your new Kate Spade bag?

Astro Girl: It matches the other one.

Eric Banana (puzzled): It does?? How so?

Astro Girl (in a cheeky tone): They are both tree colours - one green, one brown :P

Eric Banana (lost for words): ...

P.S. Kudos to DHL for making an exception to deliver on a public holiday.

6 Months To Go!

2009-04-09T23:44:00.004+08:00

9 April 2009.

There are exactly six months left before AstroBanana walk down the aisle. Nothing much has happened in the past month, except that (1) they have decided on what to engrave on their wedding bands, and (2) they have paid the second deposit for their wedding banquet at Club Chinois.

They will next review their guest list. Some names will be dropped *ahem*. Some names will be added. It may be a bit early to launch a "Save The Date" campaign but this type of work does take up a fair bit of time.

They need to start waking up their ideas!!

Acute Arthritis Is Anything But Cute

2009-04-05T23:31:00.004+08:00

Eric Banana's left ankle condition took a turn for the worse this morning - it was so painful that walking was near impossible. Even placing his foot on the floor was unbearable. O-U-C-H. Maybe his left ankle is protesting against his ballooning body weight.

Anyway, according to his family doctor, it's acute arthritis of the left ankle. Basically, it's some form of joint inflammation. The cause is unknown at this point of time. The doctor has prescribed a short course of COX-2 selective inhibitor, which is a form of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that directly targets COX-2, an enzyme responsible for inflammation and pain.

Eric Banana hopes that the pain will go away soon; otherwise he would have to go for further tests to determine the cause for the sudden onset of acute arthritis.

A-cute arthritis? It's anything but cute lor :(

The Girl With Mutant Eyelashes

2009-04-04T22:27:00.002+08:00

The Bananaman was minding his own business onboard a MRT train yesterday evening when he spotted this girl with mutant eyelashes just as he was about to alight. Wah, her eyelashes were ridiculously long - they must have been like 10 cm long or something. Right then, Eric Banana wished he was Eric Scissorhands because all he wanted to do was *snip snip*.

Okay, that was just plain evil but Eric Banana has not understood - and probably will never understand - why some girls put on false eyelashes or eyelash extensions. Apparently, the longer eyelashes accentuate their eyes and make them *erm* more kawaii (read: cute) or more princess-y (read: whatever). (Following the same logic, girls should put on nose hair extensions to accentuate their noses. Hahaha.) But it's such a labourious process to apply the eyelash glue/adhesive and put on the false eyelashes. Eric Banana is sure the application of eyelash glue part must have led to numerous accidents before. Then, there is also the removal process, which is not as bad but not that simple either. All that amount of work to end up looking like... Mutant Eyelashes Girl :|

Thankfully, Astro Girl doesn't put on false eyelashes and is not interested in them at all :)

Sympathy For Mr Banana

2009-04-04T18:23:00.001+08:00

For no rhyme or reason, the Bananaman's left ankle started hurting yesterday. He thinks it's a sprain but he doesn't know how it happened - he did not slip or fall; neither was he involved in any strenuous physical activity before that :( Maybe he kicked the wall in his sleep or something.

Anyway, the pain worsened this morning and the ankle became slightly swollen. As a result, Eric Banana can barely walk now. Even standing poses a challenge. Although he went to see a Chinese physician earlier, he is not feeling any better except that his ankle is bandaged like a rice dumpling now.

Haiz. Maybe Eric Banana is not as forever young as he imagines himself to be :( Anyone wanna spare some sympathy for Mr Banana?

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Which Is Worse? Bad Service Or No Common Sense?

2009-03-29T22:00:00.003+08:00

The skies were not smiling at AstroBanana this afternoon after they finished watching Confessions of a Shopaholic. Deciding not to brave the rain as it was a rather heavy downpour, they walked around and did some idle window-shopping. Stepping into a certain outlet that sells a particular brand with a swoosh, Eric Banana spotted a small pouch which he took a fancy to and took it to the counter for payment.

After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime at the counter, he finally got the attention of a female retail assistant. Another male retail assistant also emerged at this time. Apparently, they were helping two customers to look for a certain item in the storeroom while leaving the rest of the store unattended. The male retail assistant even went on to use the barcode scanner to scan the price tag of the other customer's item in Eric Banana's presence. Whoa, Eric Banana just became invisible. Just because one of the customers was a Caucasian male, so he deserved priority service?! Oh please~ the other customer, a non-Caucasian, went to the extent of asking whether there was a further discount for an item that was already marked down at 40% off *eyeballs roll*.

At that point of time, the female retail assistant spotted the pouch on the counter and asked Eric Banana the ultimate obvious question: "Are you making payment for that?" And that would be a no - Eric Banana was merely posing with the pouch at the payment counter and taking up valuable space while denying others of a chance to make payment. Sensing Eric Banana's impending fury, the retail assistants had the common sense to serve him first.

Okay, maybe it was a bit premature to comment about their common sense then. Within 30 seconds of leaving the store, AstroBanana had to make a u-turn and head back for the store. Apparently, Mr. Smart Genius had forgotten to remove the security (sensormatic) tag from the pouch. The security sensor alarm did not go off when they left the store but gave a low whimper when they re-entered. Wah lau eh~! Had Eric Banana not checked the merchandise, he would have triggered the security sensor alarms at all the subsequent stores he went to. And he sure did not fancy the idea of having to explain himself to the security personnel for someone else's mistake which arose due to the latter's utter negligence and possible stupidity. Also, how do you explain stupidity?

"Oh, he's stupid. 'Nuff said."

Sing For Joy With Each New Day

2009-03-26T23:44:00.006+08:00

The latest addition to AstroBanana's Precious Moments figurine collection is...

... titled "Sing for Joy with Each New Day".

What? Another figurine?! Well, technically AstroBanana did not purchase this figurine per se. It is an exclusive figurine that came along with their 2009 Precious Moments Collector's Club membership. Stocks only arrived this week, so AstroBanana collected the figurine after dinner earlier this evening.

Eric Banana thinks it's a rather cute figurine, except that it probably won't symbolise Astro Girl. The representative figurine of her would *erm* be still sleeping away :P