BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!

Took several days off to enjoy a nice, peaceful New Year. I guess this is the first time I do not have to work from home, though I did recieve 2 calls, one of which was from the COS, asking me to get 'my fellas to attend a briefing'.

Anyway, went to Europa for a buffet dinner on Thursday night. I'd say the spread on a weekday is a far cry from the sumpteous one on a weekend. The chefs were rushing the dishes, and the patrons themselves were consuming food at a far greater rate than can be replenished. Lesson learnt: Go for ala-carte on weekdays; Save the buffets for the weekends.

Saw Alan at Ang Mo Kio on Thursday morning. He was with his mum at the market.

The Countdown to the New Year went ahead according to schedule, at cousin Ah Seng's place. The spread included finger food, Roast Beef, Stuffed Turkey, Pizza, Assam (Fish) Curry and... wine. Using the new cork screw from Hong Kong, it now takes 4 seconds to remove a cork from a wine bottle.

Started on Maple Story, a 2-D fantasy game that has surprisingly gotten me hooked. Am now a level 18 Magician, after 2 days of slogging.

Meet Benjamin at the lift landing just as I was about to go down to SMU.

Took 105 instead of 156 to the Botanical Gardens and was rewarded with a one-hour walk around the Gardens. Although it is undergoing extensive renovation, much of the Gardens is surprisingly serene and beautiful. At the Rainforest trail, a tree branch snapped and fell on a spot I had just crossed several seconds before. Phew!

Will be booking in tonight.

Not made any resolutions. Have not been making them anyway. Besides, New Year's resolutions only come once a year. What we need are goals and aims, be it long-term or short-term.

The next two months will be rather tiring... lots of Exercises going on.

Happy Lunar New Year in advance!

2005 will be the year of Rememberance/Awareness of Natural Disasters. In the recent Tsunami/Earthquake that destroyed Bandar Aceh, more than 150,000 people are expected to be fatalities. Earthquakes in China of smaller magnitudes occasionally kill more than ten times this figure, but we are not as 'aware' of such catastrophies.