I recently discovered this gem of a vinyl line by Hasbro.
The Latest Additions To Our Home
Apparently, these have been released for quite awhile, now. I can’t believe I missed an entire line of cute Marvel vinyls!!!! Arghh!!!! And now the backtracking begins. *facepalm*
Getting To Know Each Other
At $35 a piece, this line is definitely more for the novelty than its collectibility. But gawddammit, they’re so farking cute, I can’t stand it.
Spidey Wastes No Time In Exploring His New Home
Obviously, these additions are just crying out to be introduced to the little man.
And introduce them we did, lol, with hilarious results. More in another post another day.
Spidey Meets Tristan For The First Time
In any case, we’ve got a few more pieces from this line on order, so there should be some interesting days to come, lol.
We recently introduced the little man to a playmat a colleague (thanks Jacelyn!!) had generously given us.
I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore, Toto...
The playmat is beautifully made! Gorgeous colours and cute little velcro stuff he can pull out and investigate. Love the bee and the banana-looking moon.
While Tristan appeared to be fascinated by the shapes and colours on the mat if held up in front of him, he didn’t seem all that enamoured of it when we put him on it. He seemed more interested in looking at us instead.
Mmm...Comfy...
So we thought, maybe he’d be more interested if we flipped him over.
Mmm...Comfy...
Nope. Still more interested in the thing making weird clicking noises in front of him.
Lol. In any case, we figure it won’t be long before he realises those little things in front of him can be taken off the mat to be chewed.
Synn bought this for me as an anniversary gift a couple of days ago and I’ve been fortunate enough to have an hour or two every other night to play this game.
Having been a big MGS fan since the early days, this supposed ‘Final Instalment’ of the series is pretty much the only reason fanbois buy a PS3.
Do I Look Fat In This?
For me, the other reason is Final Fantasy. But more on that another day.
Obviously, with Tristan around, I can’t game as hardcore as I used to, but suffice to say, I’m still in it, and the controls are easy to pick up having played the previous instalments of the game.
Unlike some others who go round the game as Rambo, I’ve always preferred playing the game the way it was meant to be: SNEAKING. You gotta love that new octacamo suit Snake’s now taken to wearing. The graphics supporting this suit are fantastic. The suit blends to whatever surrounding texture Snake is near if he stops moving for 2 seconds.
Peekaboo.
I don’t always get it right the first few times, obviously. Getting the enemy alerted more of often than not results in scores of enemies getting called to flush you out, so I normally just restart the game (yes, I’m THAT much of a perfectionist).
Snake's New Special Move - Iron Fist Meets Open Crotch.
However, no matter how many times I restart the part I messed up, sneaking around the beautifully rendered environments is a real joy. I’ve absolutely loved how the game engine makes use of light/shadow, sound/silence and movement/stillness to shape the gameplay and this game just gives me more of what I love.
There are some really weird enemies in this game, and the Gekko is no exception:
Mooooo.
They really do moo. I kid you not.
In any case, I’m still only ankle deep in Act 1, and I’m salivating at the prospect of playing more of this solid game.
Synn and I have been practicing taking Tristan out to our neighbourhood malls for some time now, and we decided perhaps it was about time to try something more ambitious.
Are We There Yet?
So off we went to Equinox at the 70th floor of the Swissotel (no less!).
The little man was complaining a little as the express elevator took us up, threatening to give the ears of the rest of the passengers in the lift a solid workout. However, we reached our destination before he could give us a piece of his mind and Synn deftly scooped him out of his stroller to provide the neccessary comfort.
Once checked in at the counter, and shown to our seats, we took in the amazing view:
Synn couldn’t resist taking a couple of snaps with the squirt:
Yo Yo Where's My Bling?
Mmm...Juicy Thumb
We happened to be there at the time when full dress rehearsal of the impending National Day celebrations were taking place. It was rather amusing to watch the water performance at the bay from the 70th floor. Too bad we couldn’t stay into the night to watch the fireworks since ours was the High Tea session.
Speaking of which:
Who Doesn't Love Pizza?
While the main foods were the obligatory run-of-the-mill high tea foods like fried vermicelli, sushi, fried chicken and assorted breads and were rather forgettable, we did get some gems like the fresh pasta and pretty yummy pizza.
Of course, what would High Tea be without scones?
The Scones Worried Who Was Next
Of particular interest were the desserts:
*drool*
Waffles were freshly churned out every few minutes and went great with the ice creams. We got Maple Walnut ice cream and Pear and Raspberry sorbets as flavours of the day. While we didn’t actually try the carrot cake, it looked gorgeous!
I Wouldn't Have Guessed What Cake This Is
There was some fondue to be had as well:
Amazingly, the little man was super well behaved, preferring to chew on his thumb over giving the rest of the diners a migraine.
Sadly, the food was forgettable. Considering that the bill came up to SGD82.00, I would have expected a wider variety of food aside from the carbohydrate class of foods that covered about 90% of the buffet spread. Or at least better tasting carbohydrates. I would rate the quality of the food as 3 out of 5.
But, like Synn said, I guess 90% of the money covers the entry fee and bragging rights to the spectacular view.
After that, it was time to do the coffee joint chill:
Just Me And My Homey
Where we plotted our battle plan:
What Shall We Do Next?
After some mall cruising, we went home, and Synn and I congratulated ourselves for an awesome time out in town, thanks to the stellar performance by our little friend. ^^
An interesting development with infants is that by a certain age, they realise they have a voice, and they will start experimenting with it.
This will include gurgles, coos, squeals etc…
I think our friend is at that age now, and sometimes, a lot of funny/charming moments go uncaptured because either the camera wasn’t nearby, or simply, Synn and I just wanted to enjoy the moment together.
I did recently manage to get a clip of him trying out his voice. He’s still a little fretful from the jab, so he’s not as happy as he normally is. I’m gonna keep trying to see if I can capture a memorable moment.
…and is that the beginnings of a laugh I hear? *grin*
