Monday, June 16, 2008

And the spending doesn't stop..i bot a 1GB Samsung mp3 pebble player from ky (which she got for free! humph-.-) at 50 bucks...but since during the pc show they were selling it for 59 and i think normal retail price will be even higher bah...=/ but if u ask me, do i reallie need it...? the answer is a NO.

can i complain abt my new laptop...? there's sth wrong w the keyboard keys...some of them dun gimme the symbol i wan, like the @ on the number 2...i got that symbol by pressing shift with the button ( ' ) ....this sux. it's NEW. and the mousepad a bit siao siao...i decided to send it for "repair" this weekend if possible -.- and i am disgusted by the "quality" i get at the pc show =.= i guess i can only blame myself...i am so not gonna buy electronics on my own again!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I think u can reallie get addicted to spending money...:/

Was looking through someone's blog, spotted a nice Coach bag, so i decided to surf a little and found these...



Purely cos it's pink...
disaster struck on thurs~

my dad dropped my laptop cos the laptop was on the cooling pad (it has 2 fans to disperse the heat) so my dad's fingers touched the fan and in response, he dropped the whole laptop on the floor T_T My beautiful (actuallie it's very old looking already) Fujitsu laptop...hai~ the corner was chipped and the screen has a line in the middle...even though the line is not very very obvious...my heart broke when i saw it nonetheless...hai~ that was the first expensive thing i bought for myself...well it's not entirely mine, my dad paid for half of it...so technically speaking he owns it too...i can feel the tension in the room when my dad was recounting what happened, i feel bad that he feels so guilty abt it...then my mum was at the side, "scolding" him...so I din really show much anger/frustration wadsoever...i was silently consoling myself...it's 5 yrs old...disregarding the fact that i only changed the hard drive less than 1 yr ago...it's old, the touch pad is peeling off, the "scroller" in the middle has dropped out...colour at the sides have gone off due to abrasions...

I did consider just using it until it totallie can't be used but it's so depressing looking at the crack T_T anw, i was told that there's a PC Show going on at Suntec...so i decided to go and get a new laptop...i was choosing between NEC, Asus and Acer...and since the NEC one was sold out, i decided on the Acer one...cos it's cheaper than Asus by abt 300 bucks...so i finally got my new laptop, Acer Aspire 4920...free upgrade to 4GB RAM..with some freebies thrown in...and the best part is? it costs LESS than what i paid for the Fujitsu (remember i only paid half of the Fujitsu's cost...) can u believe how expensive laptops were 5 yrs ago??? zzzzzzz...

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

great...finished my jap trip so i can blog on other stuffs now...cos i dun wanna have a non related thing in between the jap posts...hehehe...

anywayz, just watched sex n the city with yx...hmmm...suddenly, i feel like i am seeing vivienne westwood EVERYWHERE when i nv even knew of its existence until last yr...hmmm...a brand that i have not seen being sold in sg, suddenly has imitations found here!! it's so weird...then just a week after i saw the imitation, i saw it on sex n the city (the bridal gown)!

anywayz, the movie is much nicer than i anticipated so i enjoyed it lots...at least it's not purely bimbotic, their conversations are witty and funny...and i like that it also emphasizes on friendship...how many frenz will actuallie travel so far to see u in the middle of the night, so that u wun feel lonely and make sure u are alright...? i was rather touched by that...and to be such close frenz even tho they have their own lives...hmmm...i wonder how many ppl actuallie have that in real life? hmmm...somehow i feel that once ppl start forming their own families, their frenz become secondary and people drift apart cos they wanna spend more time with their families...hmmm...

i forgot to mention...the fashion in the movie...omg...it's like a totallie different lifestyle but it's so cool!! omg...i wish i am able to spend like them when i reach their age...buying a LV bag as a gift...*_*

Monday, June 09, 2008

Day 7 le...final day in Japan...
Weather: freaking good -.- this always happens, that time i went hk, also rain for the first 3 days, last day, bright and sunny! -.-

Mood: i dun wanna go homeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
View from the place where we had breakfast...:)

Yumyum~ :P pancakes(again), scrambled egg, bacon, hotdog, ham, cereals, coffee, porridge...
i think i have gotten used to their breakfast...
After bkfst, we decided to go to the garden to take photos...:P the weather is reallie very good lor...not too cold... the rest of the day is pretty much taking photos of ourselves...hahahhaha:P






I think we can nv find an area in japan without vending machines.......

everytime i see this photo...i feel like i am a ghostttttttttttttttt
Yay!
And a series of self taken photos...we placed the camera at the place where they put the kettle etc...and so happens the backing is a mirror, so we can see wad we look like in the camera and adjust our positions accordingly...ee's a genius to think of that!! hahaha..here are some of my fave snapshots...






Next we move on to Jusco~3 hours of shopping...it's so crazee...my heartbeat was dam fast...and it's just so rushhhhhhh...the place is very big and i just feel like covering the whole area...
We went to their dept store, give SKII 1 last chance...but it's still more ex than our duty free leh!! it's ridiculous, SKII is produced in JAPAN! -.-"
anywayz so we began our ridiculous 3 hours mad shopping! inthe end, i got 2 bags, 1 top, 1 necklace, 1 sunglasses, 1 black criss cross stockings, 1 hairband, their # 1 selling shampoo(Shiseido Tsubaki) and conditioner, 1 Canmake nail polish (so cheap!), 1 shiseido eye curler and 1 red lipstick for my mum...their clothes are stil pretty pricey...a normal tee might cost 30+ 40 sing, with more designs cost as much as 70 sing...tee shirt leh...-.- but the stockings dam cheap!! i shld have bought MOREEEEEEEEE...i wish i bot more make up too but we were running out of time...and in this tour, i very scared to make ppl wait for us...so i din shop much for the make up...recently went watsons to take a look at the price...wah lao! reallie very big diff lehz...shld have bot more!!!! *next time* :P
I have tried their shampoo liao, actuallie in sing also got sell just double the price...it's reallie very xiang...the smell lingers in ur hair...so whole day u can smell ur hair =P hahaha...i think i cannot switch back to other shampoo after trying that...


The supposed Y100 shop...=\ dun we have this in sing??hahaha
Looking at the things we bot!
We wanted to try this for lunch de but shop until no time for lunch...our kind tour mate bot us some donuts after hearing that we have not eaten yet...that's reallie nice!
Last min repacking...packing in my shampoo (definitely more than 100ml!)
Narita Airport~ the section we were in was rather quiet lehz...i wonder why..

Donuts from Mr kind soul...
Waiting ...nothing to do =\




My new shades!
Sunset at take off...



I managed to watch 3.5 movies...finished ps i love you, beauty and the beast, i am legend, monster inc...hahahaha and since the plane wasn't full, we have THREE seats to ourselves each!! hehehe...so halfway thr the flight, i stretched my leg out...dam shu fu...:) one thing is the food has got to be the worst plane meal i have eaten in ages...ewww :(
Oh well...tt abt concludes my Jap trip! yay! i so wanna go back soon!!!!!!!!!!! :D *work hard n save money*

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Day 6 is finally here!!

the Disneyland day!! hooray! (i spent the whole night sorting out photos and uploading them :\)

Weather:gloomy...

Mood:a bit regretting buying the Burberry...but looking forward to DISNEYLAND!
As usual, starting the day with breakfast photos! today got spaghetti!! yum~
pancakes, ham, egg, cereals and coffee but today got more appetite so all is good :)
It was raining in the morning, kinda spoilt the mood a bit...today only 9 in the tour going to disney, the rest is on free n easy (shopping time for them!!) so they dun have to wake up so early as well~ After breakfast, we got on our way to Disney, the new tour guide is from Msia (no wonder she speaks like...us...hahhaha) and she is rather young...so she was recommending some of the rides to us along the way which is good cos at least we know which are the more scary ones...hee...

Reached Disney...pouring T_T
Photo taken by Mr Nice Driver w his umbrellas...:) He's reallie very fatherly cos in the grp also got 1 small boy, then he will like look after the boy and help him adjust his raincoat if it's not covering his face properly, those kind of small small actions which is so attentive and caring :) i like that driver a lot a lot...still waiting for the photo that we took with him to be sent to us :)
The Disney hotel...i wish one day i can stay there leh...with sponsor preferably XP
It would have been a nice photo if not for the umbrellas :(
It's the 25th Anniversary for Tokyo Disneyland! :) still very crowded for a rainy day! and it's a WEEKDAY!! why are there so many ppl????
This is the World Bazaar where the Grand Emporium and all the shops are~ VERY BIG AH...
That's the Cinderella castle in the backgrd~ I love Disneyland!
Inside the shop! so crowded :\ actuallie the crowd kinda spoilt the mood...anywayz we decided to buy raincoats instead of using umbrellas cos opening n closing the umbrellas is such a chore!

The raincoats cost us Y500 each...which is abt 6.5 sing -.-" i was a bit annoyed cos suddenly i find myself all alone...and i dunno where they went?? hmm..dun like the feeling of being left out i guess...i have serious issues w this being left out thing...not only with this trip but in all sorts of occasions...:\
Apparently they serve reallie nice waffles in the shape of...(guess who?)
.
.
.
.
.
Mickey's head of cos :)

Off to our first stop @ Adventureland, Pirates of the Caribbean ride~~~ sounds not bad...

The queue moved pretty fast, happy happy~

The ride was pretty enjoyable...inside got the characters like Jack Sparrow (i think it is the most well done character...it looks VERY real...esp the eye movements...dam cool~), Captain Barbossa, Will Turner, Davy Jones and those other characters in the different backdrops...got Tartugar (sp?), the jail with the dog biting the keys and the ppl trying to lure it to them...things lidat...and of cos the canons bombing the ships and hitting the water...reallie well done :)
@ the sourvenir shop...
Trying on the pirate hat...actuallie we tot we will be able to find ALL these at the Grand Emporium, so didn't reallie buy much...i got a ring here though...it costs me abt 18 sing i think!! pretty steep for a ring...and i think i din reallie try the size properly, now i think it's a bit big...T_T sadded... but i like the ring lahz...so have to live with it i guess...:P
With one of the ppl working there...:) I like Disney a lot cos i think they reallie trained their employees to be as frenly and polite as possible...and try to meet the guests' requests whenever possible :)

Next we move on to Jungle cruise...it's still raining...so i am bit sian diao...cos it's very cold once u go to the outdoors!!!
Before you board, they will clean the boat and clean the water off the seats...so totful and i can only say 服务周到。。。

The person steering the boat is able to steer back facing the steering wheel...*impressed* and she is very animated, like when she spotted the crocodiles or hippos...hehehehe...so cute~

Gorillas wrecking the camp...
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lions sing tonight...eeeeeeyooooo bombowayyyyy...
(Ewww...lions eating the zebra!!!)
Pokey poke...the men on the pole were able to move up and down, only the jerking movement, not like literally climbing up and down...hahaha...poor things, stuck there foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Elephants playing in the water...we also saw the "crocodile" that surfaces and goes back down in the water, the hippos w their big mouths, deers, red Indians, giraffes and other small small things (i ran out of adjectives) :)
Next we moved on to the Western River Railroad train ride...a real steam train going ard the Adventureland and Westernland...

ALL these rings are bought in Japan~ The one on my right hand was from the Pirates shop :P
Choo choo~~~

Can see our hair very untidy hor...cos of the stupid rain T_T sadz
Signal it's clear to goooooooooooooo
On the train, very cold cos still in the outdoors...brrrr...it's so cold, i have no mood to reallie enjoy the surroundings...

Along the train ride, they have some "animals" like deers and prairie dogs...red Indians in the midst of hunting the deers...their home, a burning hut etc...Actuallie...nothing much in the train ride lahz...thinking back, maybe we have wasted too much time on these boat and train rides...hahaaha...

Then...my own "recommedation" to try the shooting cos only Y200...:)
The gun is dam heavy la!! -.- and in the end i din manage to get any thing -.- sadded...
ZERO T___________T i am blind.

Yes! another cruise ride -.-" Marktwain riverboat...this 1 i tot could have not taken...nothing much also...


Little duckie we saw...and they fly damn low...O.o almost bang into us...hahaha
The roller coaster!! we were on our way to try it out when i chickened out and cos the rain stopped ppl were SWARMING towards it...scared!
Hmmm...another mailbox...we do enjoy taking mailbox :P
This is where we stood to eat the chicken drumstick that ee bought...(it's very big and nice...yumz~)

After that we went inside to get some warmth...inside the shop, we saw a family suiting up in western clothes, they have 2 girls, both quite young, the younger one was holding a corn but she kept looking elsewhere, so the photographer used the mickey mouse soft toy to get her attention, and it worked!! hehehe...she looks VERY CUTE...fat and cuddly...like silly silly and clumsy.. in her own way :) kawaii~

We proceeded to stay in the shop playing ard w the rifles and "knives" and other rubbish things...hehehehe...


It's supposed to sit on the table edge...:P
Rain stopped!!! raincoat OFF!
Off to the next world, Critters Country!!!
After that becos the weather has turned for the better, we decided we can move on to more "adventurous" rides...so come this water slide thing...it's very short but very steep...
anywayz, we ALL tot there's ONLY this part of the ride with a drop...who knows inside got a few times -.-" the first one caught us by surprise i guess cos we heard ppl screaming...and we panicked...but it's too late, we were alr on the ride...hahahaha...anywayz after the first drop, there's another one with a double drop...*scared* esp cos it's in the dark, u can't see wad's reallie in front of u..The ride is actuallie abt getting the rabbit home or sth lidat but i have NO mood to look at how cute they are at all cos i was panicking...hehehe...actuallie the props were quite well done also lahz...and very cute lor...but reallie...no xin qing to admire it...hee...the last drop was short but very steep! scary...
Hehehehe...i think this photo is dam funnie lah!! look at ee leaning on someone's arm!!! and YZ looks scared...kekeke...everytime i see the photo i always laugh out...:P

After the scare that we got, time for some food to settle our nerves...:P
that's our lunch~ amazing lo...we survived on a few bites of the chicken drumstick and this for the whole of the day O.o hee

We tot we have a lot of time so we spent quite a long time at the "Critters" world...and we decided to go for the canoe ...which also can be skipped lahz...but at least the guy helping us to canoe is cute...hhahahaa...and with and without him peddling really got a BIG difference...anywayz i think he was introducing the things along the "river" but in Jap -.-" catch no ball...hahahha...and when he is peddling, we started to slack...poor guy~

Then we move on to my fave land, Fantasy land! where all the princesses live...

Becos it has stopped raining, the characters started to come out, we saw the characters for Peter Pan, Captain Hook...this fox below is from Robin Hood though...hee...we had to "fight" w the kids...so paiseh...but i wanna take photo w them mahhhhhhhh...


Carousel as usual...how can i give it a miss :P


Cinderalla castle!!

Meow...dun ask me wad's w me and my meow...i reallie dunno...hahaha...
This scene is so familiar...2 yrs ago at HK disneyland...i did the same thing, put on the hat, snap snap, put back the hat...hahahaha
I like Japan's weather, it's so suitable to grow beautiful flowers!!!
Another place where my mum will go wild...hehee
I am a 1 eye monster!! u notice our hats matches our clothes?? i only realised it now when i looked thr the photos!

Becos we saw almost EVERYONE wearing something on their head, we had to join in the fun! so we decided to go and buy sth...at first i wanted to get the clip ones...but i guess being the lazy me, hairband works better for me :) but now that i think back, i would have preferred to get the cat hairband i tried on earlier...more like me i feel...meow?hee...

The Japanese are so onz lah...even the guys have sth on their head...in fact, i saw quite a few w the minnie hairband i was wearing! and they have clips with like Donald Duck's hat, or shrek's ears, Stitch's ears, etc etc...lots of varieties...when i look at the ppl there, they reallie make me wanna be younger when i was abt 16-18...just the right age to enjoy Disney...:)

Btw, Japanese's fave Disney char is ...............Pooh-chan! followed by Lilo and Stitch then only Mickey Mouse...hahahaha...Good for Yz lah, since she loves stitch so much...Jap got a lot of stitch things :)

Anyway they have a fast pass system, for all the rides, they have different timings to use the fast pass, so we can go and take the pass much earlier and as long as we use it eithin the specific time, we dun have to queue too long...much more efficient and u can plan ur time better...we need to use the entrance ticket to get the fast pass and after getting one, u cannot use ur ticket to get another ride's fast pass for another hour or so i think...pretty well worked out system...

anw, we alr took a fast pass for the Haunted Mansion so we didn't have to queue too long...:)
Actuallie the haunted mansion, is not very scary but i must say the EFFECTS are very very well done!! the ghosts dancing, floating ard at the graveyard etc...very cool...if not for it being too dark, i wish we can take some photos :) the seat that we were on, can rotate so we might turn to face a ghost or sth...catching us off guard...hahhaa..but ok lah reallie not scary...:P


U see the "parking" lot behind, those are for prams!!! OMG...they nv fail to amaze me...the best thing is ppl are reallie ok with putting their prams there and not worried that it will go missing or wad....it's that kind of trust...like the society is so, for the lack of better word, safe that you trust that no one will take ur things, they can be so 放心...i dun think we can do that here can we? even shopping trolleys need to come equipped w the coin system to make sure ppl return the trolleys to their proper places...let alone put ur prams somewhere while u go and enjoy some ride...needs more time i guess...

Then we wanted to go to take another ride when they started the parade at 3pm...at first we were thinking we can watch at night, but in the end we also stood at the side to watch finish the whole parade...

very pretty all the props...
The parade started with Minnie Mouse in pink...
The different princesses, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty...
Jungle Book...
Winnie the Pooh and friends, the Tigger has its tail tied to the tree, and once in awhile, it will reallie jump off the "car" and back...wooooooo...
The neglected Eeyore...but here i tot it looks rather cute :P

We went into a shop after the Winnie the pooh ride, then on the walls and beams, they put the things that the characters said, then for eeyore, he said "Thank you for noticing me..."(sth lidat)...sounds so sad lor...plus the same item, if it's with eeyore instead of pooh, piglet or tigger, it costs cheaper cos lower demand...hhahahaa...sadz
Lion King...:)
Captain Hook!
Peter Pan...and he's atuallie standing on a swing...and the ppl standing on it have to keep swinging...hahahaha...but looks nice lahz...
Lilo and Stitch...and so qiao, the line of parade stopped to let ppl take photos etc and the characters dance to the music...then lilo n stitch's car stopped right in front of us...lucky yz...hahahaa...

Pinocchio!
Dumbo the Elephant behind!
the 2 clowns are just swinging and rotating up there...very scary looking...
The 3 little PIGS...ahahhahahaha...SO CUTE!!!!!!!

The Invincibles~~~~
Monster Inc...hehe...

Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear and Woody~ with the aliens O.o hee
Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, Donald, Pluto~
There is a person each in the ball, so they have to keep moving as the ball rotate...tiring job but they made it look easy :P
Chip is missing, that's Dale! and gf?? I love Disney! they are so into details, look at the small balls on the pillar, they have the faces of the Disney char, that one is Tramp from Lady and the Tramp...cool~~~~~~~~~~~

Alice In Wonderland theme restaurant :)
It's a Small World ride~




It's a small world afterall, it's a small world afterall, it's a small world afterall, it's a small, small world...
The ride is very well done lehz...u have diff countries and nationalities, the music will change according to the surroundings...eg if we reach the Thailand part, the music will have a Thai flavour to it...:) The characters were also designed very well, all the "dolls" look very CUTE...just very interesting to see, i wish i have another pair of eyes lor...up on the ceiling also got things, left and right also got...they even have the Jap version of the song...hee...cute cute...
Then we went on to take Snow White ride...cos the queue is moving very fast, so we din have to wait very long...b4 i got on the car, the lady told me to be careful of my minnie hairband...then 3 of us were like thinking...why?? is the ride scary and she scared i will drop it cos i move too much? *scared* anywayz i did take it off in case...wadya know? it's REALLIE quite scary...not that there's any sudden drops or wad...but cos the car moves quite fast, then the scenes with the witches actuallie quite scary, plus the sound effect i guess...all 3 of us were a bit taken aback by the "scariness" of this ride...hahahaha..
Then we go to take the Pinocchio ride...hehehe...the lady told me the same thing abt my hairband!

But after the Snow White ride, this is very mild...:P
They just happily park their prams here :P
Off to TOON TOWN!! i like this as much as Fantasy Land...
The reason i like it so much is cos all the buildings inside is so cute and cartoony :D




The shop~



Minnie Mouse, i would love a photo w her...but too many minnie mouse hairband wearers ard~ hahahaa...and i wonder why their minnie mouse wears pink n not red~?
Poor Goofy, everyone was crowding ard Minnie and no one wanna take photos w him T.T so we 3 kind souls decided to take photo with him...he very poor thing lor...he even went behind the crowd surrounding Minnie and look ard...then when Minie approach, he backed away like scared of her and the crowd lidat...ahahahah so comical~
Dun bite my ear!!! :(
Minnie's House...

Minnie's sofa~
Fire place, radio, armchair :)
Fridge full of cheese! so mousey eh~ hehe
Wah, Mouse paradise!





Ink and Paint~ there's a blot of ink on the floor!!
Chip And Dale Tree House!!

The mini train rollercoaster...heee...VERY long queue~

Daisy's ship~
SO CUTE!!!! one of the 3 "little" pigs...SO CUTE SO CUTE!!!! i feel like hugging it now that i look at the photo!!
Pretty Jap gals :) i like her skirt (the one on the left)

Donald Duck spotted!!


See the fish in the tank! looks so silly~
We wanted to go to Mickey's house to "meet" him but the queue is TOO long T_T
thinking back i think we reallie spent too much time at the critters country and western land T_T sadz...i wanna meet MICKEY~!
Next to Toon Town is the Tomorrowland...
Vroom vroom! but i very coward, i chose to sit with YZ instead of driving alone...haha...i am a coward~~~if only we had the time, i would have gone for second round :P
We wanted to go for Space mountain BUT the fast pass timing is for 8+ which is past the time we need to leave...so sad...and the queue was very long (wad's new)....so we had to give it a miss T_T sadx10000000...we went to the MicroAdventure instead...the theatre w 3D effect...hmm...i still think the shrek one at the universal is the best :)
Then we went to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters...the same one at HK Disney...fun fun! :) Shooting is fun~
With our FastPass, we went for our last ride of the day...Pooh Corner~
It's different from the one i took in HK Disney, this one has no rails!! i dunno how it is done but it's reallie cool, we will rotate our positions etc and the things are different lor...got one part, the whole floor will bounce cos tigger is supposedly bouncing~ hehehee...cool~

The place is very very crowded!! in the end i din buy anything :\

Buying popcorns, they have different flavours at different carts, this one is Chocolate!
Y1100 for the box w popcorns i think...ex sia but the box damn nice lah! :)
Night time liaoz..






The Penny Arcade! I dunno wad they are for but i love them!


I feel like an auntie w that popcorn tub -.-
Balloonies~
After that was mad shopping in abt 40 mins...cos VERY SUPER DUPER crowded...it's almost as tho i am back in HK Ocean Park, squeezing w ...the you know whos...b4 i knew it, i was alone ...hmmm...actuallie i am ok with it lahz but i got very pissed when i realised i shld have gone over to the other side to look at the cookies! ARGH...everytime i think abt it i get so pissed!! I wanna get those cookie boxes!!! ahhhhhhhhhh! :( it pisses me even more when i know that the other 2 went there w/o me...nvm, i have been sulky on and off the whole day anywayz...so there i was sulking all the way while waiting for them to meet me at the hotdog place -.-"all the way till i got on the bus ...still complaining abt my cookie box -.- hai~
Nvm, we finally reached the hotel~ hoorayyyyyyy!! it's very big wor and very nice :) By then, i alr forgot i was hungry :\
My God, i reallie 不顾形象...to post such an ugly photo of myself -.- anyway the main point is that we are eating hotdog AGAIN! =.=
Finally we got to drink our Choya...but errrrrrrrr...not nice lor T_T i only drank 2 mouthfuls...
My popcorn T_T SO MUCH...how to finish ah.................?
BUT! miracle happened, 2 of us finished it unknowingly while watching tv! u know u just take and eat like on auto pilot...and just voila~ GONE...hahahahha...that was reallie very amazing~ (pardon my uncombed hair ...)
In the end, 2 of us were so tired, we both fell aslp in front of the tv, i tried to stay awake le...but the next minute, i opened my eyes, the tv is off and i still have my specs on...hahaha...(so similar to wad happens at home~~~)
Yup..Day 6's pretty much lidat...but i think i might have left out certain details here and there...time flies...almost back for a month le...i seriously wanna go back again...soon i hope :)