La Dolce Vita

Closing Time

2011-09-22T00:17:00.000+08:00

They cleared the alcohol shelf before shutting down the bar.

I think they don't trust me very much.

There goes perspective.

A Little Perspective Goes A Long Way

2011-09-22T00:03:00.002+08:00

Ever felt in the doldrums? Like nothing's going your way or nothing's happening, everyone's having it better, you're lost, frustrated, going in circle, caught in webs/poison ivy/vines/thorns?

Maybe it's time to get some perspective.

A little perspective goes a long way (in getting clarity).

One of the best ways to gain perspective, I find, is to leave my usual comfort zone and to take a little trip - even a work trip. Packing is not fun, but taking off into the air/ hopping into the car for a long drive somewhere is fun. As the plane takes off, i feel like i'm zooming out of my life - into space - and gaining a different perspective. Literally.

The runway and the airport start to shrink, then you see more and more patches of green. Light leafy green, dark musky green, super dark chlorophyll green. Houses become rows of concrete, you start to see long stretches of road with lines of cars resembling streaming lines of little dots (so small you can't see the colour of the cars). Then you see large bodies of water - could be a reservoir, could be a lake, a meandering river... then you don't see the houses anymore but just a large swathe of green.

Then the OCEAN (yes, i live pretty near the ocean).

Then you rise above the clouds, and are above everything else. Literally.

Then you feel like you're above everything. Figuratively.

It's a good feeling (unless, of course, you are afraid of heights or small spaces. Then you'd probably be very freaked out by now.)

Perspective makes me a bit heady, then it makes everything look and feel so clear. Suddenly, it's not so hard to figure out what's important, and what's not. What makes me tick, and what gives me dread. What matters, and what doesn't. Then if by many strokes of luck, you meet some randomly wonderful people who have led random and wonderful lives, it makes you wonder about the things you sweat about in your life, the impact (real or imagined) of your decisions, and if your worries are justified at all.

And now, as I sit here alone by the bar at Ansara (www.ansarahotel.com), a small but very cute boutique hotel in Vientiane, Laos; sipping a glass of Baileys on the rocks and sharing my thoughts here, while 4 young Laotian hotel staff stand around the hotel front desk watching some video and chuckling to themselves, I wonder...

... when did some perspective hurt anybody?

Gordon Ramsay's Fight Against Shark Finning in "Shark Bait"

2011-09-07T15:39:00.001+08:00

Watched this last night. It's not new, but it still baffles me as to the cruelty of finning. Unlike animals on land, the cruelty of sharks is less visible to the public because you basically just don't see the carcasses. As Ramsay says in the video, it's like going to an African safari, chopping the limbs off a lion, and letting it bleed to death.

Childhood, Imagination and Floorplans

2011-09-06T12:28:00.002+08:00

(drawing not mine, but taken from a website)

As a child, I enjoyed looking at floor plans. I would create imaginary people in my head, and envision them walking through the curved doors, along the paper corridors, in and out of bedrooms, using the bathrooms, jumping into the pool and so on. I had a fascination for interior of homes, building and designing little pockets of cosiness, unique corners, hobby areas. I even created a world inside my personal drawer - the coin holder was a swimming pool, the piled little Minnie Mouse address books were steps to a platform, my erasers were people. I shifted furniture in my bedroom once every 2 months, pulling out the drawers of my work desks, draping blankets over the tables (with the drawers drawn out), to create a little private underpass from the bedroom door to under the bed (and of course, i then slept under the bed - for effect.)

I didn't grow up to be an architect, or an interior designer. Thankfully, my current profession still allows me to indulge in floor plans, design, textures and ambience of areas.

Imagination is such a powerful thing.

I Love Laughing! Do you?

2011-08-25T12:30:00.000+08:00

Hello Fishie Fishie!

2011-08-11T14:33:00.001+08:00

A very happy lion fish just chillin'

Here is the only one good decent picture I took from my two dives in the Maldives last week. The flash of my camera didn't always work - in fact only when I was very close to my subject; which doesn't always work depending on how effectively buoyant I am. I always thought it such a pity that we can never see the full beauty of the underwater world with our naked eye due to the seawater, sunlight etc. Imagine if we could see everything in their pure natural colours!! I hear that's what you get when night diving - but night diving doesn't quite work for (1) someone who's afraid of the dark, and (2) claustrophobic. Both of which, yours sincerely am.

A Peep into the World of Short Memories

2011-08-04T00:10:00.002+08:00

Inspired by SneakyNiki's comment on the previous entry, here are some pictures from my dive today. The site is not great and I only had a regular camera, so pile on the imagination!

Where you going, big fella?

Who comes to disturb my slumber???

Just hanging out with the guys...

Life in the fast lane.

Oh, hello there, Master Shifu!

Sorry to disturb! Don't go!!!

A Fish Market. hurr hurr hurr.

Why do stars up above the world so high get so much attention?

What about the stars under the sea?

Looks like an office building of sorts.

This could be a waiting area for... the dentist?

These Feet Are Meant for Walking - Udhoo Rock, Maldives

2011-08-03T20:16:00.003+08:00

Went diving today! Haven't been in the waters in about 18 months. Thought it'd be refreshing to be swimming with the fishes, and it was. No mobile phone, no emails, no social media, no talking, no listening... just swimming! The visibility wasn't great though, and aside from 2 moray eels, 1 scorpion fish, 1 large turtle and tonnes of maldivian trigger fish and the usual reef suspects, there wasn't anything earth shattering/ water splashing. I hear it's whaleshark season, but I have never been a lucky person.

That's why I think I am destined to have to work hard for my life.

Not that that bothers me though.
=)

These Feet Are Meant for Walking - Maldives

2011-08-03T02:15:00.006+08:00

This is my third time in the Maldives, and it still does not fail to amaze me how turquoise the waters can be and how ridiculous the geography of this place is. What was Mother Nature thinking???

Got stung by jellyfish today - second time in my life; and after sharing my first jellyfish attack from 7 years ago last night!!! The coincidence!!! It first hit me on my calf. I brushed it away, and then it came back to hit my thigh. I just couldn't believe my luck, until the pain escalated. I swerved and squinted into the water, looking for the sonofagun... and there it was, with its rainbow coloured tail shining in the waters like one of those plastic battery operated child's toy.

One upside to the experience though... i found out that the following is true: pouring pee over a jellyfish sting helps to stop the pain.

Thou Shalt Be "Heard"... And Then Seen.

2011-08-02T11:51:00.062+08:00

Recently, I have been exposed to the concept of "social media" alot.. through work, through random discussions and through my recent registration on Google+. Social media, probably one of the most earth-shattering revolutions inh the 21st century, is taking over the world. Or so we think. I'm not sure yet how much we really need it, but it has definitely become a quintessential part of our life and part of how companies do their business.

I am no expert on the workings of social media, but i am undoubtedly part of it. Unashamedly. I blog. I tweet. I check in on foursquare. I wrote my first tripadvisor review last week (though it wasn't published, i think it was too well written to be credible). And I have a Google+ account.

Often, I wonder what draws people to participating so actively in social media. It seems to be a huge generational thing, and basically, it stems from a desire to be heard. Now, what is the correlation between this generation and the desire to be heard? What happened along the years to emphasize this desire? Or have humans always wanted to be heard, but never had the accessible channel? One article described ancient cave drawings as a form of social media. I can understand that, but it didn't have the speed and far-fetching consequences that social media has today. Social media has taken down governments, I'm sure it could take down a brand.

So anyway, this desire to be heard, to share stories, to read about other people's stories, to connect with strangers - where does this desire come from? Is it because the current generation has been so involved in the economic boom characteristic of the last decades, that humans have forgotten how to socialize in person? Do we feel forgotten and forsaken, to a certain extent, such that we seek to establish connection with whoever is willing to listen/read? And blogging! This scream to be heard, to be "somebody" in the cyber universe... it all makes sense to me, but seems nonsensical at the same time. If it's already challenging being heard in the normal human universe, doesn't it seem even crazier to want to create a cyber universe (thus enlarging our TOTAL universe) and attempt to establish a presence?? Very odd!!

The internet used to be a playground because everyone could be anonymous. Yes, the experts and the sneakies could still sniff out your true identity, but by and large, you could take on a handle (nickname) and take on another identity. Perhaps a "cooler" identity, perhaps more goodlooking, more eloquent, more outgoing. But these days, it's actually incredible being anonymous on the internet. Google+ came along and connected all the dots. My gmail is connected to my Google+ which has also connected by blogspot account. And through blogspot, I am connected to my twitter account and flickr account. And through my twitter account, i am connected to Facebook and Linkedin. It is no longer to be humourous on Facebook, critical on Blogspot and professional on Linkedin.

We are trapped in our own doings. The vast, endless cyber universe has us, pardon the language, "by the balls". We are out there, but no where at the same time.

That being said, I still have this blog. So why do i participate so much in social media? Perhaps, I add value. Sometimes with my travel tips, sometimes with tales of adventure, and at one point, i hope to impart some knowledge through this blog.

And rarely... okay, sometimes... I wonder if someone feels the way i do about certain topics, understand what I mean, agrees with what i look out for in life, or connects with me on some level. Almost sounds like i'm looking for a soulmate. Maybe that's it. The big question mark as to whether, on this earth of 6.8 billion, there are people like me. Maybe if we met, we would be really good friends.. but for some reason or another, not attributed to fate or destiny, it is not possible.

At the end of the day, we all want to feel special, no matter what our beliefs are. Some of us believe in reincarnation and that we will be around for a long time. Some of us believe that our existence is fleeting and that we are here because we are here, and there is no need to think so hard about it.

While we seek these answers to justify why we are here, i guess we will just continue to ride this BIG social media wave to convince ourselves that we are "somebody" and that we can add value/ make a difference/ make someone's life better via a tip or two.

VERY VERY STRANGE.

The Heart Is Willing, But...

2011-08-02T01:48:00.000+08:00

This must be the lowest point of my blogging life (fine, it hasn't been THAT long).

I have been sitting in front of my laptop the past 45 minutes, thinking about how I wanted to phrase my thoughts, what I wanted to say, where I wanted to begin, and if I should begin, if I will have the resilience to complete a blog entry.

45 minutes later, I have achieved nothing. My thoughts are not clearer than 45 minutes ago, and all I have to present after that 45 minutes of contemplating is...

... this.

I am probably better off in bed. I will try again tomorrow, from hopefully a more inspiring place with more fascinating stories, and ideally with a picture or two to make up for today's disappointing performance.

I have too many labels in my blog entries, it's not possible to classify them in a logical manner anymore. Should I go back to all the past entries and re-label them so that they make more sense?

How Do You Keep At It? The Blogging?

2011-07-31T15:33:00.002+08:00

At some point everyday, I have a strong urge to share some random thought, incident or revelation through this blog, and for a few minutes, I am inspired and raring to go. I think of how I'd phrase my lines, which pictures I will attach and so on.

Then I think of when I can sit down, in quiet and peace, to actually write them down and post them. Tonight, tonight.. after dinner, after the laundry, after I tidy up the mess on the dining table...

Then comes the night, the dinner, the laundry, the almost-tidy up. Oh look, the sofa.. it's beckoning. Maybe i'll take a little break. Maybe watch abit of TV while i'm at it. It's only half past ten, I still have time...

Then it's half past eleven, and I realize I am tired. Shoots, and I haven't showered yet. Let's go shower, then I feel energized and can write that blog entry. I hit the shower, and oh, that's the bed. Oooh... the bed. It's almost midnight. If I go to bed after midnight, it's going to be really hard getting up in the morning. Maybe I can write that blog entry tomorrow.. what was it I wanted to write about anyway? And which pictures? Which thoughts?

For those of you who don't blog professionally but manage it on the side, how do you do it??

Please, be oh so kind, tell me.

Death of My Hotmail Account

2011-06-30T11:24:00.001+08:00

My hotmail account is dead. Someone hacked into it, sent a bunch of spam mail to my friends over the span of a week or so. Hotmail blocked my account, and required me to verify myself so as to reinstate it.

Now, i created my hotmail account EONS ago, before the age of google, before the age of gmail... probably during ICQ times. The security question i created then was this:

First child's middle name?

The funny thing is, i don't have any kids, so god knows what i was thinking at that time. And i also thought at that time that it would be a great idea to set my hotmail in spanish, so as to practise my spanish. Now, the help language is completely in spanish (yes, i'm kicking myself now), which of course, i don't completely understand.

Desafortunadamente, no hemos podido verificar que es de tu propiedad la cuenta de Windows Live ID proporcionada con la información dada.

De acuerdo con el compromiso de Microsoft en proteger la privacidad en la red, Windows Live ID se toma la seguridad de las cuentas seriamente. Pasar el procedimiento de validación puede ser difícil y nuestros agentes siguen guías estrictas de validación antes de autorizar un restablecimiento de contraseña. El proceso de validación se aprueba o no. No podemos darte comentarios sobre si la información de la cuenta dada es correcta o incorrecta. Esto es para proteger la integridad de la Live ID.

He aquí algunas recomendaciones para ayudar a proporcionar información precisa, lo que nos permite garantizar con éxito validar que eres el propietario de la cuenta.

Revisar la información proporcionada para la cuenta y verificar su exactitud.
- Puedes revisar la información proporcionada visitando el enlace dado en correo electrónico "Ayuda de Windows Live ID - Validación de Cuenta e información de Restablecimiento de contraseña". Este correo electrónico va a ser enviado a tu dirección de correo secundaria que nos has dado durante el proceso de restablecimiento de tu contraseña.
- Si necesitas hacer correcciones, por favor, publícalas a través del caso del Centro de Soluciones de Windows Live.
Debes identificar cualquier información faltante.
- Revisa la información publicada e identifica cualquier pregunta que te puedas haber saltado o podrías responder.
- Si necesitas publicar información adicional a preguntas que no han sido respondidas, por favor publícala a través del caso del Centro de Soluciones de Windows Live.
Publica cualquier información adicional a través del caso del Centro de Soluciones de Windows Live.
- Agregar cualquier información adicional detallada que nos ayude a validarte como el propietario de la cuenta, es realmente apreciada.
- Algunos ejemplos de información adicional de la cuenta son:
  - Una lista de carpetas de Hotmail.
  - Contactos de Hotmail o Messenger.
  - Asuntos de correos en tu cuenta de Hotmail.
  - Si has cambiado tu código postal, dirección, o cualquier otra información, danos los datos previos.

Mientras más información brindes a nuestros agentes, mas equipados están para validarte exitosamente como el propietario de la cuenta.

Entendemos el inconveniente que es para ti no poder acceder a tu cuenta y esperamos asistirte con la recuperación de tu cuenta.

So... bravo. My hotmail account is dead. Bye bye hotmail. Bye bye emails from a long time ago (and all my love letters!)

These Feet Are Meant For Walking - Vientiane, Laos

2011-05-25T00:02:00.002+08:00

Apologies for having been missing in action the last few weeks/ months. I have been working my feet and have been doing tonnes of walking! I have so much to share, but not enough resilience and motivation to write about all of them. What is one to do when in such a situation???

Well, I promise to write again very soon, and hopefully with a few accounts of ridiculous adventures and profound thoughts to share. In the meantime, I'm going to continue walking, and I hope you are doing tonnes of walking too!

p.s. make sure you treat your feet well! They are going to carry you along for many years to come!

Positivity is the Elixir of Youth

2011-03-31T15:44:00.000+08:00

Over lunch on my own today, I watched a young gay couple enjoy their lunch at the table next to mine. They were in their teens, looked very fresh and trendy, were cute individuals and looked sweet together as well. I smiled to myself, and thought, ah, the wonderful years of being young and free.

I’m not that much older (or so I wish to believe), but of late, have entered this stage in life when suddenly you have to make very “grown up” decisions. I never thought much about age, and disregarded the social expectations of age-coherent behavior. I remember one time, when I was 27, I was fooling around in the back seat of the family car with my three younger sisters. Dad looked at mom, and said, “are you sure she’s 27?” I found that hilarious and motivating, actually, and secretly was proud to be silly.

Now, I find myself having to make wiser financial decisions (fine, I’m turning 30. No big deal, I hear you say? Yeah I know it’s no big deal, but things just happen you know? What am I to do???), plan a wedding, contemplate career changes and think about family planning. It seems a little surreal. On one hand, I feel empowered and excited about the future, on the other hand, I can’t help wonder if I’m ready to grow up just yet. I still want to learn DJ-ing (and I somehow just cannot imagine how a family woman can be a cool DJ – but it must be possible right? Right???), backpack through the silk route, do fun stuff that only young hip people seem to do. And I wonder, am I missing something? Will it be hard for a married woman, with children at one point, to still be cool, young, fun loving and have time to learn stuff???

All this is probably self inflicted. Who says I need to get married, and who says I need to have children soon? But you see, this is part of that whole growing-up-and-making-grown-up-decisions phase, which bums me sometimes. Being an adult is still more fun than being a kid, i feel. I don’t miss being a student, definitely not having to do homework and study for exams; and i like that i am earning my own keep and can travel when i want.

But I do miss the times when my biggest concerns were how to chase boys around the block as fast as I could, how not to look too nerdy but more hip, and how to hide the pimples on my face.

Daft Hands - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

2011-03-26T23:53:00.000+08:00

Gotta love this!

An Amazing Life with an Amazing View

2011-03-21T22:24:00.006+08:00

Last Wednesday, I woke up bright an early in a small B&B in Central East Bali to this incredulous view. I had arrived at the B&B in the late of the night, and could not see what was beyond my fluorescent light-lit verandah. It was a very cool evening, temperatures were probably hovering at about 15 degrees. We had a simple dinner of papaya curry (try to imagine that!), some local vegetables, the chef's special fried chicken and soto ayam; before a long conversation ranging from movies, to books, to religion (of course), and the meaning of life.

Now, i shall not dwell into the discussions of the meaning of life. It is far too large to be contained in one blog entry, and far too indulgent a topic for me to write about. In a nutshell, i do not believe there is a meaning to life per se, and i justify my existence by trying to be a better person, and to make life more pleasant for the people around me. I think life, is like a glimpse between two dark eternities. There is no beforelife, nor an afterlife. I like to think this way, to be honest. It reminds me of the temporary and fleeting nature of my life. I'm not afraid that i will be no more, but more afraid of not utilizing my life to the fullest.

Recently, together with Koks and a good friend who resides in the godforsaken land of the vikings, we came to the conclusion that the best life strategy is summarized in 3 alphabets.

E, D and F.
Eat, Drink and F**k.

The funny thing is, when my companion and I were discussing about the meaning of life in the darkness of Central East Bali, he mentioned that life is about relationships, good food and wine. That struck me. Maybe there is some truth in this EDF life strategy. Maybe we're really onto something here. Maybe it could really work. I thought about it for a few days, and wondered... how about family? That falls under relationships... how about travels? how about.... music???

So now, I've revised it to the TMFED life approach... and it's pretty exhaustive i find. What about work and professional success? I am still struggling with that one, it always elicits mixed feelings... but perhaps that is merely a means to achieving the TMFED way of life.

At the end of the day, perhaps that's all that matters.

Buat Blog?

2011-03-14T22:42:00.003+08:00

I got a small shock when i opened my blog today. Instead of the usual "Create a Blog" on the top right hand corner, it said "Buat Blog". For a moment, i couldn't understand what that meant. And then, ka ching! I'm typing from my room for the night in the exotic island of Bali, and "Buat Blog" is Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesia's national language) for "Create a Blog".

We live in a very very connected world.

Talking about a connected world, the recent catastrophe that has hit Japan is most heart wrenching and devastating. In this part of the world (Asia Pacific) near the "ring of fire", earthquakes are not uncommon. It's more of the recent consecutive series of earthquakes and tsunamis in recent history that is disturbing. I do not remember growing up to read or watch the news about widespread devastation, of people dying in the hundreds of thousands, of villages or parts of a country being wiped off the earth (yes, i know, in Africa, shit happens all the time, but that's another bitter story).

I remember the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 which hit Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka really badly. I remember sitting at my work desk, and watching the death toll rising exponentially on live news feeds. After it surpassed the 50,000 mark, my little brain could not fathom the scale anymore. It just seemed like a hell lot of people. Poor people. Poor people who couldn't afford to live in better areas.

Then there was the earthquake in Szechuan Province, China; and the earthquake in Christ Church, New Zealand. Oh, and let's not forget the eruption of Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia.

And now, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In our daily pursuit and obsession of the latest technological developments or material acquisitions, it is extremely humbling to be reminded that we are and will always be at the mercy of Mother Nature. That at the end of the day, most of what we've been concerned about, do not matter; and we're back to the basics and the bare necessities.

It's a sad sad time. My thoughts are with our fellow humans in Japan, and the helpless in Libya, and the hungry in Africa, and the exploited in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and China....

... there's no end.

The New Starbucks

2011-03-10T10:05:00.001+08:00

Starbucks' new logo without the wording "Starbucks Coffee" around the green lady.

It's kinda clean, and certainly opens up new boundaries for the company to go into other product lines aside from coffee. Not sure i'm a big fan of the green insulating sleeve, though it does look younger than its khaki predecessor.

(please excuse the mess of wires in the background. i could have moved it, but was too lazy.)

Indochine Kitchen » Eggplant with Chili, Sambal Terong

2011-03-10T00:21:00.001+08:00

Holy Macaroni!! The pictures on this page got me salivating at midnight - NOT GOOD.

Indochine Kitchen » Eggplant with Chili, Sambal Terong

...but, but, but, it looks so totally amazing.

*note to try out asap!*

Kick Ass Beef Goulash

2011-03-09T10:32:00.002+08:00

Feeds 4 adults.

Ingredients:
1 kg of beef cubes (or the original recipe asks for horse meat *gulp*)
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp of paprika (or more if you like it hot!)
1 tbsp of cummin seeds
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
2 tbsp of tomato puree
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1.5 litre of water
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
1 tin of peeled tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, based on personal preference

- Marinate 1 kg of bite-sized beef cubes with 1 tbsp of all purpose flour, 1 tbsp of paprika, 1 tbsp of cummin seeds, some pepper and salt.
- Brown the beef cubes in a heavy based pot (I use my trusty Le Creuset) in 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, for about 8-10 mins. You will find that a sticky brown paste will accumulate in the inside of the pot.
- Add 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar, scrap the brown sticky stuff off for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp of tomato puree, mix thoroughly for a few minutes.
- Add 1 litre of water and a vegetable or chicken stock cube. Bring to boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally to ensure beef cubes are not burnt, and that there is sufficient water. Add more if not.
- Add a tin of peeled tomatoes (or fresh juicy sweet ones, if you find them. Probably those you can get on vines, but darn they are expensive!)
- Simmer longer if beef cubes are still too hard (they should break/ disintegrate easily). Another 30 minutes should be fab.
- Top with fresh cut onion rings and serve with baguette.

Best eaten the day after! You can batch and freeze for those lazy nights in too!

Top 15 Things to Do - Five Years Later

2011-03-08T17:36:00.002+08:00

I wrote this in an old blog in November, 2005; about what I wanted to put time aside to do:

1. Spend some time each week to sketch, paint, draw or colour.

2. Write my collection of short stories.

3. Spend at least 30 minutes everyday reading my books

4. Improve my wardrobe.

5. Create collages of various themes.

6. Take pictures of strangers.

7. Pick up acrylic painting or interior designing class.

8. Enrol in tennis class or ashtanga yoga

9. Hold my own art exhibition in due time.

10. Make Christmas Cards (need my art box from home...ART BOX!!!)

11. Write emails to far away friends

12. Get at least a glass of wine/alcohol a week

13. Visit cafes and bookstores and stationery stores

14. Make friends outside of work

15. Be happy and mad.

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

5.5 years later, and I'm still hoping for the same things.

That probably means:

a) I know what I like, and I know what makes me happy.
b) I am just so lazy I keep procrastinating and haven't made any of the above happen.

Hello Belarus!!!

2011-03-08T15:47:00.002+08:00

I have readers in Russia and Belarus??? How marvellous!

Time Froze in Galle, Sri Lanka

2011-03-08T15:38:00.003+08:00

Galle is like a town frozen in time. The old town is still reminiscent of its colonial days - charming architecture, vintage cars, antique clocks.

The First REAL Post of 2011

2011-03-08T14:42:00.005+08:00

My last blog post was a little strange, a little funny. I remember thinking I had the perfect thought and the perfect blog entry in mind to kick off 2011. But after those few paragraphs, I thought I could do with a short rest. I stood up, walked to the couch, and didn't get up till 2 hours later!!!

Now, you may think, okay, here's an alcoholic... but no. That was the most amount of alcohol i consumed this year so far. Oh wait a minute, then there was the hen party, and there was some serious drinking there too (and too many accidents involving half a dozen champagne glasses, a stool and bandages...)

The year has been relatively eventful so far, and in more good ways than bad. 2011 is going to be a big year of changes, I can feel it - for me and for a lot of people around me. Besides turning the big 3-0 (which seems to scare everyone, i'm not sure how terrified i am yet), Koks and I are planning a huge party, our friends are planning huge parties, new family members etc. It's all happening.

So amidst all that preparation, all that pinot noir, and all the celebrations, we are now in March, and almost done with the first quarter of 2011. Where did all the time go???

I have, however, put in a lot of thought into what 2011 will be, for me. 2011, I hope, will be the year of:

- Ballroom Dancing, more specifically Waltz

- Diving (but we will realistically only have time in the second half of the year.)

- Baking (this is a tricky one, because i'm also trying to watch my weight, don't know how i'm going to marry the two!)

- Europe (2 visits to Austria and 1 visit to Greece planned!)

- Newspaper Reading

- Jazz songs on the Sax

Hmm, that doesn't look so bad does it?

What will this year have in store for you?

2011 - Year of Discovery

2011-01-28T21:21:00.002+08:00

HAPPY 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, yes, I know i'm kinda late. I have been procrastinating and wondering how best to write the first blog entry of the year. What should I say, to you and to myself? Something inspiring to kick start the year, something poignant, something significant?

After 8 glasses of pinot noir within an hour, I somehow feel that I am ready to make that entry now. Maybe the magic is in losing the strictness of your thought, and just saying what you feel. Perhaps it is indulgent, possibly unpractical... but who's to say what really matters in your life, and what really makes sense?

*passed out*

Stop, Take a Break.

2010-11-16T19:07:00.001+08:00

Ohai-o-gozaimas Tokyo!

2010-10-22T21:42:00.002+08:00

I have finally made it to Japan - have read, watched and heard so much of this intriguing country but never made it till now. Koks and I just spent a week in Tokyo, and it has been nothing short of intriguing and eye opening. I can't wait to share some of my findings, observations and travel tips here! Konichiwa!!

It's back to the 'pore tomorrow afternoon, and just a few more weeks before the end of the year (and the reemergence of the Starbucks Christmas drinks! WOOHOO TOFFEE NUT LATTE, come to mama!!!) Two more trips till the arrival of 2011 - Sri Lanka and the exotic island of Bali, and one life changing event *gulp*. The rest of the year will be busy, but in a good way, which is great.

Scarlett performs in a week at the Fort Canning Green!!! Can't wait!! It'll be for a charity event presented by Action for AIDS. We're always up for contributing to a good cause!

Iron Cast Goodness in Little India

2010-09-29T18:12:00.007+08:00

I love iron cast pots because they look good, come in various delicious colours and retain flavours like nothing else in this world. I know this because after much contemplation, I got myself a 24-inch Le Crueset a few months ago, and I have been using it almost every weekend ever since.

It. is. divine.

And everyone who likes cooking should have one!!!

Thus, I was delighted to hear about the opening of Cocotte at the new Wanderlust boutique hotel (sister to New Majestic and 1929) on Dickson Road, off Jalan Besar in the Little India heritage area. Best way to get onto Dickson Road is via Jalan Besar, and the white heritage building is hard to miss.

The restaurant came across honest and sincere - no elaborate dinner ware or table decorations, but some rather adorable interior design and ornaments. Aside from the usual ala carte menu, there was a well priced lunch menu and specials for the day.

To respect the privacy of the other diners in the restaurant, i did not take a better picture to show the interior, but it was small and intimate, with perhaps about 60-80 seats tops. But i did however took a picture of this very funky ceiling lamp, which reminded me of a spider!

Then there is the quintessential open kitchen, which does not quite work for Chinese restaurants I was told due to the amount of stir frying that is done. The open kitchen wasn't that visible unless you were sitting in one end of the restaurant, and the small window didn't exactly encourage you to stare. But the line of coloured iron cast pots on the shelf did enthrall me endlessly.

And now, yes, i know, the question on your mind is, "how is the food?" and I must say it was quite a delight! I did not hesitate to try the Croque Monsieur (in remembrance of the wonderful days in the land of Liberte, Egalite et Fraternite), but i think it was a tad bit too thick and dry for me.

However, my companions had some amazing fish and steak et frites, and the desserts were pretty awesome. The next time i visit, i'm keen to try some iron cast pot dishes - which i reckon ought to be what they are really good at.

It's such a delight to find a restaurant with character, and located in a culturally rich area!

I need to bring along my better camera to take better food pictures!

New Kid On The Block

2010-09-17T15:13:00.003+08:00

There's a new kid on the culinary block! Review to come shortly!

A Very Pretty Lunch

2010-09-14T14:11:00.002+08:00

This week, Kathl and I promised to eat healthy and exercise so that we will feel better about ourselves and feel better for our upcoming project. Yesterday, we shared a lunch of smoked salmon and bagel (with cream cheese - yikes!) and chicken quesadilla; and for dinner, i fell victim to some korean beef rice in a hot stone bowl and 2 pieces of pan fried gyoza. *slaps forehead* Good food is my weakness, and I'm currently lacking the self discipline!

Today, i was determined to continue with eating healthy. With Sali and Jsiy, we strolled to Toast (very well kept secret, i tell ya!) and each had a sandwich. Our meal was so colourful, I thought I had to take a picture. They make it easier to eat healthy!

Top Left: Jsiy had a roast chicken sandwich on toasted ciabatta and a caesar salad with chicken (he was a little flabbergasted to find that the roast chicken was shredded and mixed with a ton of mayonnaise...)

Top Right: Sali had egg and watercrest on toasted white bread, and a side of sweet potato salad.

Foreground: That's my Masala Chicken Wrap with Mango and Romaine Lettuce, a side of roasted pumpkin and tofu salad, and a fresh juice concoction of Apple, Carrot and Celery. YUM!

Eating healthy takes effort!!! It would have been cheaper and easier to grab the nasi goreng around the corner.

Inspiracion, Espiracion

2010-09-09T15:55:00.003+08:00

Dear Lord,

I am starving for some inspiration - for my life, for my work, for my art, and for the way to view the world and everything around me. Please teach me how to find the time, motivation, love, artistic capability and resilience to make my dreams come true. I will be very happy. Super happy.

Your Little Tomato

Handicapped

2010-08-02T10:47:00.001+08:00

My inability to throw tantrums and whine is a handicap, a weakness.

Please, Help Save The Dolphins

2010-06-04T10:33:00.002+08:00

Malaysian Kampong Girl in the Sound of Music

2010-04-20T16:30:00.005+08:00

Instead of looking like this...

.. I'ma look like this...

The Malaysian Kampong Girl hits the alpine nation! How will the Ever Polite people deal with Baba Malay (a dying unique language of Malay combined with Hokkien)??

"Eh Kawan! Orang Putih!! Awak jia pah bueh?"

Stay tuned!

7 blooms and lasting!!!!

2010-04-18T13:49:00.002+08:00

Well done, Miracle Orchid Plant! You're looking great!

3 Blooms Now!

2010-03-19T11:33:00.002+08:00

Real Life Wilderness Explorers

2010-03-18T17:27:00.005+08:00

Over the weekend, 2 boy scouts knocked at my door sometime in the late afternoon, while i was exploring my Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Mini (what a beautiful thing it is!).

I hesitantly glanced through the peephole, and decided to ignore them because (1) I was feeling evil, (2) I was convinced they were going to try to sell me something and (3) I have been conditioned by this unfeeling and ill mannered environment. Koks was rushing around the apartment, and was getting bugged by our rapping monkey doorbell, so he opened the door, told the boy we didn't want anything and shut the door.

"Oh no, i feel kinda bad now. The boy was quite adorable," said Koks.

I pondered for a second, and went to open the door.

Me: Hi, how can I help you?

Boy: Hi, good afternoon. I'm a boy scout from XXX school, it is job week this week. Is there any household chore that I can help you with?

Me: *bursts out in laughter* What can you do???

Boy: I can help you throw away newspapers, or sweep the floor.

Me: Oh my god, you're like Russell visiting Mr. Fredricksen in Up.

(Boy 2 joins from neighbour's apartment)

Boy 2: Oh! Your son is a boy scout too?? (kiddo, do i look like i could have a son your age, you @#*^%#*&^%#)

Me: No, i mean Russell from the movie Up, who goes to visit Mr. Fredricksen.

Boy 2: We have a Russell in our Boy Scouts Team too!!

Me: *rolls eyes* Okay, come in come in. Let's find you something to do.

So I let boy 1 and boy 2 (now known to me as the 2 Russells) into the apartment. Of course, the apartment was spanking clean, and i wasn't going to let the boys destroy that. So i got them to put my freshly cut flowers into a vase (Boy 1: We have to cut the stems at a slant, so that the flowers can absorb more water) and water my plants on the verandah (Boy 2: I had to be careful when watering your plants so as not to flood the roots. Do you know the roots could rot that way and die??).

Thereafter, i gave them each a cup of apple juice (with aloe vera bits, of course), signed their job week cards, gave them 10 bucks each and sent them on their way. What a lovely surprise it turned out to be! It kept me smiling (and laughing inside) for the rest of the Sunday and made me feel good to play Mr. Fredricksen for a while. It's great to be able to help a stranger, particularly when they are kids going out trying to learn how to earn money!

The Green Murderer and a Miracle

2010-03-15T17:55:00.005+08:00

I admit, I do not have green fingers. I have tried to grow plants at home, but to no avail... I can't and don't want to count the number of green friends I have massacred over the years.

...sniff... it's too painful to recall.

2 Christmases ago (i.e. 2008), I received an orchid plant from Kathl as a gift. And i thought to myself, what a lovely plant... oh no, I'm going to kill it. I carried the pot home, excited and apprehensive at the same time. It was in full bloom at that time.

I witnessed, as days went by, the gradual degeneration of the plant, and it left me torn and devastated. I watered it, i spoke to it, but nothing seemed to work. The stems turned brown, the leaves fell off. Even ants began to make its roots home.

Then one day, the neighbouring plant toppled over its stand (i suspect it's the white fat cat loitering our stairway!) and fell out of its pot (and died, of course). Some of the soil from the pot accidentally crumbled into the pot holding the orchid plant. I didn't know how I could possible remove the soil without hurting its roots, so i left it there.

Strangely enough, my orchid plant began to show signs of life... A new bud of leave sprouted out of the parched stem... then another, and then another. And they began to grow and grow and grow. This gave me a renewed sense of motivation, and I got more diligent in watering the plant. Twice a week, a pinch of fertilizer for each watering.

Last week, a miracle happened!! Flower buds grew out of the plant!!! It went beyond showing a sign of life, but a desire to enhance its existence with blooms! Blooms!!! Who would have thought??? Since then, I have been checking on the buds everyday, speaking soft words of tenderness to them, egging them to stay strong and to grow.

Yesterday, after a day out, i came home, and lo and behold.

There was a flower.

A flower!!!! The plant made it!! It escaped the crutches of death, clawed its way back, and bloomed!!!!

I can't wait for the other buds to open and lend me a new lease of life!!!!

Starring.... in the Movie of Her Life

2010-03-07T18:56:00.002+08:00

The Sartorialist's posted a picture today of a gentleman on the streets of Milano, with the header "Starring in the Movie of His Life". How brilliant!!! The picture is great, of course, effectively and magically capturing the moment (the gentleman was definitely well dressed, God bless him); but Scott Schuman hit it on the nail with the header.

Aren't we all... starring in the movie of our lives???

So if you were the director of the movie of your life, how will it look like? What's the setting, the mood, the pace? Will it be cinematic? Will it be more Quentin Tarantino (mine will be for sure, with all my morbid thoughts and bloody dreams!), Roman Polanski, Steven Spielberg, Danny Boyle, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, Pedro Almodovar... or Tim Burton??

What will your story be like? Who will be the protagonists and the supporting actors/ actresses? Oh!! And how will your soundtrack sound like (that's a thought!)? What will the storytelling be like?

Koks and I had an interesting conversation in the car today (between dropping of Marrybrown, getting our travelling backpacks and Macdonald's Nuggets..), about believing in that nothing is impossible. We are lucky to be in the position where we have options, and are able to achieve what we set our hearts on. We genuinely believe that the world is our oyster, and that the only limiting factor or obstacle to us making the movie of our lives a blockbuster, is ourselves.

I hope to always have this attitude, yet to have my head sit firmly on my shoulders.

There is not that much more meaning to life!

What do you see?

2010-03-05T15:51:00.002+08:00

Heartbeat

2010-02-28T01:42:00.006+08:00

Where you stand, where you are, that's what your life is right there, regardless of how painful it is or how enjoyable it is. That's what it is. - Taizan Maezumi

Have you ever listened to your own heartbeat with a stethoscope? I have. Last week, Rubberface came home with a stethoscope, and taught me how to listen to my own heart. After much figuring about (Rubberface chastised me for not knowing the accurate location of my heart), I finally heard myself (literally, listen to your heart!).

Dum dum...dum dum... dum dum..

Wow, I said to her, that's what's keeping me alive.

In that moment, a revelation hit me. That life can be very simple and uncomplicated, but so fragile at the same time. At the end of the day, it's more important to keep your body healthy, and to keep that heart pumping. When it comes to the human body, strange things can happen without reason. The heart is not operated by chips and wires, can't be broken apart to analyze and put back easily. For some reason or another, it can just stop. No heartbeat, no pumping, no blood.

If the heart doesn't beat, there's really no need to sweat all the other things. It doesn't really matter.

Sleep has evaded me the past weeks, while vivid, weird and morbid dreams have taken over. I can't remember if I was terrified in those dreams, but I wake up recounting every scene, every feeling I had and wondering why I could have dreamt of myself swimming through marshland clogged with severed body parts and dead dogs, being chased by skeletons in black robes, and running/ flying/ fleeing down flights and flights of stairs.Maybe i should try sleeping on the other side of the bed or drinking less water before bedtime...

Being Happy

2010-02-23T14:58:00.003+08:00

I was happy, i knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize - sometimes with astonishment - how happy we had been.

- Excerpt from Nikos Kazantzakis' Zorba The Greek

How happy are you, on a scale of 1-10? If you're not at a 10, why not? What are your pre-requisites for a 10? Is it achievable, does it require adjustment? What about spontaneous moments of 10? Do you have them, or remember them?

When good things are happening, when you're experiencing happiness and contentment, let go of your bitterness and just allow yourself to be happy.

It's okay to be happy, and we don't always need drama or justification to be so.

Future, Woven of Dreams

2010-02-22T11:30:00.004+08:00

The old world is tangible, solid, we live in it and are struggling with it every moment - it exists. The world of the future is not yet born, it is elusive, fluid, made of the light from which dreams are woven; it is a cloud buffeted by violent winds - love, hate, imagination, luck, God... The greatest prophet on earth can give men no more than a watchword, and the vaguer the watchword the greater the prophet.

- Excerpt from Nikos Kazantzakis' Zorba The Greek

Wow

2010-02-20T02:59:00.002+08:00

Wow....

I am tired, I feel like I have just completed a 3-hour run... not that i really know how that feels, but i imagine that to be pretty exhausting.

I'm not even sure i remember how it feels like to run for 30 mins...

Scarlett just wrapped up our first gig of the year, and the numerous weekends and nights of rehearsals paid off. I am bowled over how many of our friends came to support us, and to share this beautiful evening with us. We are not professionals, and we have day jobs.. I don't even know for sure how we found the motivation and energy to gather everyone for the practices leading up to this gig. I am enamored by the Scarlett girls, and I am overwhelmed by the love we received tonight.

What have we done, to deserve this?

February seems to have started on a much better note than January. A much anticipated long weekend trip to Phuket was balm to the frayed nerves, and it seems the Year of the Tiger promises good things to some of us. It's great, i think... considering how 2010 started. After chatting with some friends tonight, I realized that I wasn't alone in having a bumpy start to the year!! Guess it makes swimming in s**t easier when you've got someone swimming with you with whom understands how s**ty it is to be swimming in s**t.

*Sneezes 6 times*

WHOA... that's flu a-callin'!!!

Brilliant Ideas, Brilliant Minds

2010-02-04T17:44:00.004+08:00

I spent a big part of today looking at some very inspiring websites, such as The Cool Hunter (www.thecoolhunter.net), globorati (www.globorati.com), The Sartorialist (thesartorialist.blogspot.com) and Garance Dore (www.garancedore.fr). Inspirations come in so many forms, and through so many channels - it feels great to be inspired.

While chatting with Niks Biks today, I suddenly had a mind image of a person lost in the middle of an ocean in chopping seas, struggling to stay afloat. It's thundering, it's dark, and the sea was of a blue so dark that it was almost black. And suddenly, he/she sees someone else who was also lost and struggling in the waters. There, in the middle of vast nothingness, the situation created instant soul mates out of the two persons, bonded by desperation and hope. It is easier to hope when one is not alone.

Immediately, I penned down this inspiration, and I will strive to write a short story out of it. If not, just an account of this fictitious experience of my actors.

And now, i have another inspiration to start something very VERY exciting (among the million other things that I'm currently doing... saxophone, yoga, greek lessons, scarlett... or and of course, work!) But i have a good feeling about this, so i'm going to continue to grow my seedling of inspiration for Project "Let's Go", stay tuned!

I've Gut a Feeling

2010-02-02T21:57:00.002+08:00

Hello February! God, i need to improve on this blog writing. Penning once a month can hardly justify maintaining a blog. It's not that I don't have thoughts that I'd like to share, but i just have so many things going on that I find sitting in front of my computer writing my blog a luxury.

So anyway, recently, there's been a lot of talk about gut feelings.

"Go with your gut feel."
"Listen to your gut, what is it trying to tell you?"
"Trust your gut feelings."

Since when did gut feelings become reliable? And what do people without gut feelings do? How do they make their decisions? I've always had a hard time finding my gut feelings, because i'm weighing pros and cons, and thinking good and bad. On the contrary, i find gut feelings highly suspicious... i see it more as an emotional response masking itself as intuition. Wait a minute... is intuition and gut feeling the same thing? I don't think so. I think intuition is informed, but gut feelings are not. Intuition is backed by some rationale most of the time, but gut feelings are always more of a gamble.

Then again, in this uncertain and unpredictable (arguably) world, maybe all we have are intuition and gut feelings... and a belief that at the end of the day, everything will be all right and be for the best.

Je Te Presente... 2010

2010-01-15T01:25:00.003+08:00

I wanted my first blog entry for 2010 to be meaningful, and to start the year on a good note. Resolutions, travel plans, ambitious undertakings, unadulterated optimism, timelines. I thought I'd give myself some time to formulate my thoughts, before I put them down. Just so that I mean it.

But that didn't really happen.
What really transpired was... 2010 came and swept me away before i could say "Avtio 2009". It hit me like a gigantic wave, took me under, knocked the wind out of me, blinded me, flooded my senses and left me disoriented.

2009 came and gone, and I waved it a big goodbye. It was an interesting year, and provided me with several professional highlights. I led an important project and did well in it, and moderated a panel at a prominent conference in the industry for the first time in my life. What was valuable to me was that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and proved something to myself - I can succeed in what I set out to do.

2009 also marked the longest time I've spent living in one city in the last 6 years. It was frankly a little unnerving, and I fought the temptation to pack my bags and leave again. Knowing that I can grab my humble belongings and move anytime makes me feel free and more in control of my destiny. In 2009, I also had to make some tough decisions on the personal front. Some of which made me proud, and some pained me enough to rob me of sleep. All of which are life learnings for me... all necessary I hope.

So I guess, 2010 isn't going to wait for me to get ready for it, but it is definitely ready for me. Aside from a much anticipated 5-week long discovery vacation in Spring to where the heart wants to be, I don't know what 2010 has in store for me. I hope what it has brought thus far is not a sign of things to come! I'm beginning to think that I am growing weak with age, and I sincerely hope for a simple year without too many complications.

Soon, it may be time to pack my bags and move again. I am getting too comfortable, and my roots are going too deep for comfort... not forgetting to mention the feeder plants. I'm making them healthy, and I like to watch them grow. But they are tightening their grip... or are they?

Bring it on, 2010! But if you could just wait a second, while I grab my fins and kick my way back on the surface first...

The Angels are at it again!

2009-12-02T14:57:00.000+08:00

EWF Tonight

2009-12-01T09:59:00.001+08:00

Let's Groove Tonight at the Boogie Wonderland... A Fantasy, 3 months after September... the venue will be set on Serpentine Fire, even After The Love Has Gone.

Growing Old

2009-11-30T23:20:00.002+08:00

One of the perils with growing older is that you start getting afraid and you have fear, because you have more to lose. When we were younger, we didn't have much so we didn't risk much. As a result, life was simpler, decisions could be made quicker. You only really had yourself to think about.

As you grow older, you invest more in relationships, in careers, in decisions. Life starts to get difficult as you find yourself weighing the pros and cons of every situation, every option. Then you start to have people you really care about, which make decisions less likely to be selfish because you actually have to think about the people around you - how your actions may impact them, and if they may actually know you better than you think.

Being an adult has its perks, like having your own apartment, traveling solo, making your own money and creating your own destiny (of sorts). But it definitely doesn't get easier.

Look At Me

2009-11-24T14:01:00.002+08:00

We all need someone to look at us. We can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under.

The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public. That is the case with the German singer, the American actress, and even the tall, stooped editor with the big chin. He was accustomed to his readers, and when one day the Russians banned his newspaper, he had the feeling that the atmosphere was suddenly a hundred times thinner. Nothing could replace the look of unknown eyes. He thought he would suffocate. Then one day he realized that he was constantly being followed, bugged, and surreptitiously photographed in the street. Suddenly he had anonymous eyes on him and he could breathe again! He began making theatrical speeches to the microphones in his wall. In the police, he had found his lost public.

The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless host of cocktail parties and dinners. They are happier than the people in the first category, who, when they lose their public, have the feeling that the lights have gone out in the room of their lives. This happens to nearly all of them sooner or later. People in the second category, on the other hand, can always come up with the eyes they need. Marie-Claude and her daughter belong in the second category.

Then there is the third category, the category of people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark. Tereza and Tomas belong in the third category.

And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers. Franz, for example. He traveled to the borders of Cambodia only for Sabina. As the bus bumped along the Thai road, he could feel her eyes fixed on him in a long stare.

- Excerpt from Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"

Unspoken Words and Guilt

2009-11-19T08:49:00.004+08:00

Without lifting his head from the pillow, he turned to her and nearly gasped: the grief burning in her eyes was unbearable.

"Tell me, Tereza, what's wrong? Something's been going on inside you lately. I can feel it. I know it."

"No." She shook her head. "There's nothing wrong."

"There's no point in denying it."

"It's still the same things," she said.

"The same things" meant her jealously and his infidelities.

But Tomas would not let up. "No, Tereza. This time it's something different. It's never been this bad before."

"Well then, I'll tell you," she said. "Go and wash your hair."

He did not understand.

The tone of her explanation was sad, unantagonistic, almost gentle. "For months now your hair has had a strong odor to it. It smells of female genitals. I didn't want to tell you, but night after night I've had to breathe in the groin of some mistress of yours."

The moment she finished, his stomach began hurting again. He was desperate. The scrubbings he'd put himself through! Body, hands, face, to make sure not the slightest trace of their odors remained behind. He'd even avoided their fragrant soaps, carrying his own harsh variety with him at all times. But he'd forgotten about his hair! It had never occurred to him!

Then he remembered the woman who had straddled his face and wanted him to make love to her with it and with the crown of his head. He hated her now. What stupid ideas! He saw there was no use denying it. All he could do was laugh a silly laugh and head for the bathroom to wash his hair.

But she stroked his forehead again and said, "Stay here in bed. Don't bother washing it out. I'm used to it by now."

His stomach was killing him, and he longed for peace and quiet. "I'll write to that patient of mine, the one we met at the spa. Do you know the district where his village is?"

"No."

Tomas was having great trouble talking. All he could say was, "Woods... rolling hills..."

"That's right. That's what we'll do. We'll go away from here. But no talking now..." And she kept stroking his forehead. They lay there side by side, neither saying a word. Slowly the pain began to recede. Soon they were both asleep.

- An excerpt from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being

EARTH WIND AND FIRE!

2009-11-18T17:14:00.001+08:00

EARTH WIND AND FIRE!!!

We've got on a date on 1st Dec!!! I'm putting on my dancing shoes, and you old farts better put up a good show!!!

La Vida es Sueño

2009-11-13T18:24:00.004+08:00

La Vida es Sueño - Pedro Caldéron de la Barca

Sueña el rey que es rey, y vive
con este engaño mandando,
disponiendo y gobernando;
y este aplauso, que recibe
prestado, en el viento escribe,
y en cenizas le convierte
la muerte, ¡desdicha fuerte!
¿Que hay quien intente reinar,
viendo que ha de despertar
en el sueño de la muerte?

Sueña el rico en su riqueza,
que más cuidados le ofrece;
sueña el pobre que padece
su miseria y su pobreza;
sueña el que a medrar empieza,
sueña el que afana y pretende,
sueña el que agravia y ofende,
y en el mundo, en conclusión,
todos sueñan lo que son,
aunque ninguno lo entiende.

Yo sueño que estoy aquí
destas prisiones cargado,
y soñé que en otro estado
más lisonjero me vi.
¿Qué es la vida? Un frenesí.
¿Qué es la vida? Una ilusión,
una sombra, una ficción,
y el mayor bien es pequeño:
que toda la vida es sueño,
y los sueños, sueños son.

The Nasi Lemak Story

2009-11-11T15:30:00.005+08:00

I have always loved a good satisfying dish of Nasi Lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk). From the hearty portions from dedicated restaurants, to the little coconut leaves packed with goodness at the street stall... Such a simple dish of rice, peanuts, deep fried ikan bilis (small anchovies), cucumber slices and the all-important sambal.

Nasi Lemaks were a staple diet for me growing up. Even now. I remember vividly an incident in junior school when i was 10 or 11. I spent my allowance of the day on a steaming plate of Nasi Lemak at a food stall. The plastic plate was orange (and they usually have burnt marks on them, strange), and the utensils were soft silver metal.

I held my precious plate of Nasi Lemak with two hands, and walked cautiously towards the benches. Just as I took another step forward, a little boy (shorter and younger) ran into me and knocked the plate out of my hands.

The next few moments unfolded in front of my eyes in slow motion.

The orange plate slipped out of my hands...

... it flipped over like a failed frisbee...

... my steaming nasi lemak flew through the sky...

... the rice grains took flight...

... the ikan bilis followed in earnest...

... there goes the peanuts...

... the blob of sambal...

then Silence.

I didn't hear the items land, but then it was just there. My allowance Nasi Lemak, all over the floor. The boy looked up with me, with fear and desperation in his eyes.

I was upset. I was angry. I had no more allowance, and my Nasi Lemak was on the floor.

I stared at him with anger welling in my big wide eyes. He dropped his gaze and then ran away. There i stood, in the awkward divide between the stalls and the benches, with the remains of a Nasi Lemak on the floor at my feet and a hundred pairs of eyes on me. I felt lost, embarassed, angry, sad, helpless.. all in one big mixture of emotions. I frankly just didn't know what to do.

The vendor lady called out to me, and told me it was okay before swiftly dishing me another plate of Nasi Lemak. Her generosity was touching, but at that time, it all happened in a daze. I took the new steaming plate, walked past the forsaken predecessor and tried to pretend like nothing happened at all.

Sowing Seeds

2009-11-10T12:03:00.002+08:00

Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by excessive anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. In the original Greek, παράνοια (paranoia) simply meansmadness (para = outside; nous = mind). Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state.

Downsizing

2009-11-05T00:27:00.004+08:00

As I walked home in my 4-inch (thankfully comfortable) purple heels, I decided that it is time to downsize.

Downsize?

Why downsize?

What am I going to downsize?

On the contrary, it is now increasingly easy to upsize. 50 cents more for a bigger pack of fries and a larger cup of coke (on that note, I hate fastfood with a passion), 2 dollars more for an extra 100ml of fabric softener, 1.50 more for that little extra of something, anything, everything. The environment of the blessed encourages us to consume more and more and more and more.

Buy more to save more, doesn't matter if you don't need more.

You never know when you're going to need some.

So where shall i begin to downsize? I have a few ideas.

1) Eat Less

I'm not 18 anymore, and I am no longer doing 40 laps at the swimming pool every alternate day and showing off a lithe and svelte body. Fact is, my metabolism has slowed, and I'm sitting on my ass all day only working my lungs and my fingers. I shouldn't be eating as much as I used to, and it is time for me to start watching what I feed my body. I shouldn't be skipping breakfast, gorging at lunch, and indulging at dinnertime. I don't really need the appetizer to tease my palate or the dessert at the end to clear my palate. And I definitely don't need to be paying an arm and a leg for meals that often.

Eat less and eat healthy.

2) Buy Less

Okay, there are many reasons a woman can come up with to justify a new pair of shoes, a new dress, a new belt and so on. Fact is, no matter how many new pieces we buy, there is NEVER enough clothes to wear, never the right coloured shoes and bags to match, never the right outfit for the mood of the day. If I had been more disciplined, and acquired classic pieces that never go out of style which can be mixed and matched, I would not have needed to buy more. I don't really need to have a new dress for every party, every event and every wedding (which recently, are as frequent as every break up, so why spend all that money?). I don't need to be constantly buying gifts for family and friends just because they could like it or that it could be a nice thing to do. I also don't need to be sponsoring or paying for stuff for others that often. I am sure people won't hold it against me.

Buy less and buy good.

3) Procrastinate Less

End of year is always a time to reflect, a time for melancholy, but is not an excuse to get lazy. I have been too comfortable and so, have been procrastinating more and more, and getting lazy, finding excuses. Oblivious to myself, I am wasting my life when I get lazy, and the laziness seeps into many aspects of my every day. And when I sleep less, I get up earlier, and I then will have time for breakfast and won't gorge at lunch or indulge at dinner.

This also cascades down to: Sleep Less and Laze Less.

4) Dream Less

I am a dreamer, and my dreams motivate me. But dreaming should not distract me from focusing on what's at hand. If I don't focus on what's at hand, I don't move forward, then the dreams remain as dreams. So with dream less, I don't mean stop dreaming... but focus more as I keep a check on the dreaming.

Focus more, and make the dreams happen, so the nett dreaming becomes less.

5) Talk Less

Last (for the moment) but not the least, it won't hurt to talk less and listen more. When I talk less, I will also be less visible, and maybe then, a little less expectations and responsibilities, and more time to focus on what's at hand (see above). Maybe I have been missing out people, things, and changing situations. Talking less will help me to be more aware of my surroundings, get off the radar a little, and turn my attention inwards (which is what we all love to do at the end of the year)

Talk less, listen more and be more aware.

People don't always need to know what you're thinking and you don't always need to get the answers right away.

There, by top 5 downsizing plans that shall start tomorrow. I'm excited about them!

Soy + Latte = ?

2009-11-04T17:44:00.003+08:00

I tried a soy latte once, and thought it tasted weird. So when presented the opportunity today, i decided to give it another shot. Maybe the last one just happened to be a bad one. Maybe the soy milk was bad. Maybe.

The soy latte arrived in a latte glass, just like any other lattes I've had. I took a hesitant sip, and my face crunched up in agony.

It still tasted odd.

It just doesn't make sense. I love soy milk, I love lattes. I could drink glasses of them every day and not get sick of it. I use soy milk in my morning cereal, followed by a latte. I have a latte after lunch, sometimes even after dinner.

So why is it that when you combine soy and latte, the concoction is so odd???

Sounds a little like people, coming together, trying to make a relationship work. Girl is great, guy is great. But together, not so great. And you can force yourself to drink the whole glass (I did! I thought perhaps, it's a matter of acquiring the taste...), but you may then just be marked for life and never give it a shot again. But on the other hand, if you never added soy and latte, you would have never known how it'd taste. Then you could try to adjust the amount of soy, and the amount of coffee, till you reach the magical proportion.

Or maybe, you should just continue to drink your soy and latte separately. Keep the soy with the dough fritters and the cereal, and the latte with the choc chip cookies (and the trusty toffee nut syrup!)

Breathe in, Reconnect

2009-11-02T22:57:00.004+08:00

Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Imagine the stream of fresh air cascading down the back of your throat and filling you up with clear, untainted air.

Hold your breath, clear your mind, and focus at the point between your eyes.

Release your breath in a slow steady stream, empty your lungs, feel your stomach collapse.

Wasn't that cleansing?

At the end of the day, all of us should spend a few moments just focusing on our breathing and to reconnect with ourselves. With all that chaos attacking our senses everyday - on the streets, from the TV, from the radio, from our ipods, in the office, at restaurants - it's easy to lose touch with oneself.+

Then before you know it, the day is over.

It's the end of the year... an even more poignant time to reconnect and to refresh!

Starbucks Christmas Drinks are here!!!

2009-10-30T17:57:00.003+08:00

Wait...

No... it can't be...

Hang on, what's....

The Starbucks Christmas Drinks are here... already?!?!?!?!

Despite the grim reminder that the year is coming to an end again (we always say that when it's this time of the year), i'm happy that the Toffee Nut latte is back on the menu. That drink kicks ass and is hella addictive. I doubt it does too much good to your waistline and sugar levels, but man.. a sniff of that thing zips me somewhere else! To toffee nut heaven where it's winter and cold, and i'm in cuddly winter clothes, sipping a hot cuppa toffee nut latte, rubbing my hands in glee otherwise and waiting for presents!

It's conditioning. Like how they always play the same jingle before news time on TV, and you just know it's time to settle down, sober up and get depressed (most of the time anyway). Starbucks Christmas Drinks have the same impact. Time for the year end reflection, gift shopping, tree decorating and resolutions making!! Man, 2010 is coming?!?!? Weren't we all panicking about the Y2K millennium bug not too long ago?

The weekend is also here... Going to try to make dinner for the fam tomorrow. Will take some pictures and share!! only if it turns out well!

i have no inspiration

2009-10-29T22:18:00.001+08:00

It's great to write... draw... sketch... imagine things, situations...

But right now, I have no inspiration.

I wish i could just put my fingers on the keyboard and write a funny blog entry that will demonstrate my very attractive personality and infectious sense of humour. But it's not quite happening.

something needs to happen, or i need to do something. the inspiration has to return!

It's Raining...

2009-10-28T11:10:00.005+08:00

It started with heavy grey clouds, looming in the sky above our heads... then little drops started to fall, teasing pedestrians and plants alike.

drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop

RUN!!! RUN FOR COVER!!

Now i sit at my desk, looking out of my window, and the drops become lines. First hesitant, now relentless.

I like rainy days... even better if i'm home with a mug of hot toddys.

Missing Autumn in Europe

2009-10-27T11:06:00.004+08:00

It's raining outside, and it feels damp and fuzzy. This kind of weather reminds me of gloomy wet days in Europe... when it was nice to cuddle at home with a hot cuppa, or to stroll through the gardens inhaling the fragrance of wet grass and soggy tree bark.

I miss Europe. I miss the changing seasons, the smell in the air, how people furnish the insides of their apartments. I miss discovering new places around the corner, hearing my heels click on the cobbled streets. I miss struggling with a language, making cultural mistakes and learning from them, going into the supermarket and not finding things, getting frustrated.

I miss hopping into the train at every long weekend or long break, and heading to a new city, new town, visiting a castle, trying new cuisine.

Losing Track and Focus Again

2009-10-26T23:36:00.002+08:00

Family and friends are always telling me how i try to do a million (and one) things at the same time. A few days ago, shortly after returning from a series of work trips, i was telling a friend about my day - work, 3 loads of laundry, a few episodes of grey's anatomy (how did it take me so long to get hooked on???), transferring pictures from my camera to the computer, and downloading apps for my new ipod touch.

She paused and said, "how do you do so many things at one time?"

Another time, i was impatient and started griping to another friend. She replied with a straight face, "not everyone multi-tasks like you".

Mom, i can now officially announce, that you have trained me well.

Lately, I have been craving for quiet time... to write, hopefully to start drawing/ sketching again, to read, to reflect. I think it will be great to have an antique writing desk, customized writing paper, stationery. If i put aside a few hours to indulge in writing, I wonder what i will produce and how long it will take to find the writer in me again. I used to write alot of stories, my own poetry, made up my own realities and fantasies. They kinda died as I grew older, or were packed into a box and stored in a dark corner of my secret creative mind. I tell myself, i'll bring it out again... when i have time. But when i have time, i turn on the TV, i meet some friends, i go for yoga... just everything aside from writing.

Then there's oil and acrylic painting.
Learning Greek and Italian.
Picking up Tennis (got the tennis racket! just don't know how to use it! YET!)
Practising scales on Monk.
Losing weight.
Motivating myself to run (it's not true that getting fancy running shoes will motivate you).
Getting back into my regular swimming routine.

There is just so much to do.

Christmas is coming soon. They have begun to hang Christmas decorations around, which is rather extreme in my opinion. The cab driver thinks that it's the malls way to entice people to start shopping earlier. So imagine my shock when i found myself wondering whether it really was time to start Christmas shopping. Truth be told, the idea of Christmas shopping has always enticed me. Drawing out the recipient list, thinking about appropriate gifts, planning the gift budget, looking out for the gifts, wrapping them up and giving them away. It is really just an excuse to be shamelessly nice... to people we care about.

Nothing much planned this week. Probably good to get some yoga lessons into the routine. Also need to have more discipline with regards to eating healthy. Not getting any younger! Gotta start taking better care of ourselves!

Birthdays, Family and Friends

2009-10-22T00:00:00.003+08:00

I love organizing birthdays... of everyone else's but my own. I find making birthday plans for myself very indulgent and selfish, but when else to focus on myself if not on the anniversary of the day when I was born? On that thought, instead of celebrating my birthday, I should be celebrating my family and friends - people who have made a difference to my life thus far, and who have loved me and allowed me to love them back.

I have had a very charmed life, with no tumultuous tribulations or trials. It is something I do not take for granted, as I know that i am largely a product of being in the right place at the right time with the right people. If i were born in Sumatra or in the indian slums, I will not be sitting here today, sharing my thoughts while i sip on my new favourite drink of hot toddys (good lord, this stuff is good!! why has no one ever shared it with me???) So life is good to me, and I promise to be good to life.

This has been an eventful birthday. It was a great day professionally, and i had dinner with part of the family and Kokopops in Fragrant Harbour, which was small, intimate and cosy - just the way i like it. That was followed by a long weekend in the Upper Seas, being very well taken care of by a friend. All birthdays from now on will be spent away on vacations!! Why have i never thought of that before??? Combining one of the most impt times of the year with one of my favourite activities???

Cowrie Shells Sing at Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa

2009-09-04T01:49:00.011+08:00

I visited the Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa 2 days ago. The resort just opened its doors about a month ago, but has since then generated much media hype (watch out for the resort on the cover of October's Conde Nast Traveler! First resort ever to be on the cover!).

The water villa was gorgeous, with an oversized hammock over the water on the deck for you to lay around with plush pillows. Need a break from that? Sip on a glass of champagne under the humongous umbrella while you watch the sun set on the blue turquoise sea at your doorstep (literally).

Loved the bar, which opened up to reveal a Nespresso machine, capsules, bottles of alcohol, tea, glasses for all uses and the quintessential mini bar. Like a magic box, with treats in secret compartments! We all love secret compartments! I'd like a bar like that too!

The bedroom was large, with a long work desk, ipod docking station with bose speakers placed at various points in the villa and of course, floor to ceiling windows to take in the view. Connected to the bedroom via a long corridor is the bathroom, with two vanity sinks, a large bathtub (with complimentary bath salts no less!), shower and toilet, and an open air rainshower to wash all those worries away (don't worry, there's a catchment area under the shower so that your soap duds don't just wash into the sea!)

I was very tempted to try a treatment at the Chi Spa and discover which "element" I am. Turns out i'm "Fire", because (1) i love spicy food, (2) i like the colours red and white, (3) i am at my best in the evenings and (4) i don't like dry weather. The cowrie shell treatment came heavily recommended, so i thought i'd throw my cares into the Maldivian wind, and let Chi bring me to Shangri-La.

Treatment rooms were housed in individual villas, with private changing and shower areas. The session started with a consultation with my very friendly and attentive Nepalese therapist, who duly explained what it meant to be of the "Fire" element (apparently, it could be seen also in my face shape and hair). While she explained all these to me, my feet were pampered in a warm floral soak, followed by a gentle salt scrub and a coconut milk wash (Heavenly!). She then led me to the bed and covered me with a silk blanket - no jokes. On top of the silk blanket, she added a large bath towel so i layed snuggly under the layers.

A gentle face masage ensued, after which she placed a small cowrie shell on my third eye (slight above the spot between your eyes) and massaged my forehead with it. Next, she held two large cowrie shells next to my ears, and sang me a Maldivian folk lullaby while i listened to the hollow waves in the shells. At this point, i was in love and goosebumps were crawling all over me. It was out of this world!

What happened next was indescribable (best way to know what i mean, would be to try it yourself). From my shoulders, she gently pulled the silk blanket off me in one long motion, without dislodging the bath towel. The soft silk carressing my body felt like waves and hands running over me, which was erotic and comforting at the same time. I heaved a huge sigh of resignation to the higher powers, and was convinced that the session couldn't get better than that.

Hot coconut oil was used during the massage, complemented by the cool but hard surface of the cowrie shells which were used to knead my need areas. It was very interesting as the shells were less intrusive than elbows and steel thumbs, but almost as effective. At certain points during the massage, she placed a large shell in my palm, as if to assure me that the shells knew what they were doing and that they were reaching out to me (by then, they could have convinced me of anything and everything).

(Great body, but not mine.)

90 minutes went be too fast too soon, but left me relaxed, impressed and very much in love.

The evening ended with a fine grill dinner by the beach, with a glass of Australian Chardonnay. I was spa-ed out, and happy on the inside out.

I slept like a baby, naturally.

Dolphins in the Maldives

2009-09-02T20:03:00.011+08:00

I never knew turquoise, till I arrived in the Maldives 2 days ago. Never have I seen waters so clear and so blue, I am almost convinced that I can drink it straight from the ocean and quench my thirst.

For the first time in my life, I saw dolphins in the wild. Not one, not two, but at least a hundred of them. They swam alongside our boat, performing graceful stunts, teasing us with front and back flips, putting up a show in appreciation of our disbelieving applause. Such beautiful and adorable mammals!That's them swimming along us, responding to our claps and calls.

That's one of them caught in the act!!! How cool is that??

And since it was a sunset cruise, there must be a shot of the warm sunset. The sun took its sweet time to roll over the horizon, tantalising us with a glorious splash of colour.

What a beautiful introduction to the Maldives! Hello dolphins! Thank you for the great show, I look forward to seeing you in the waters in a couple of days.

Inspirational Friends

2009-08-24T13:36:00.003+08:00

I thought I'd start my blog with an inspirational quote today, so I googled "quotes+inspiration" and there were pages of it. The sea of inspirational quotes seem to vast for me to explore, so I thought I'd use something closer to home.

Inspirational friends.

I am lucky to be surrounded by inspiring and talented friends from various walks of life. The educational system I've been through, unfortunately, have filtered me through to meeting largely people from certain educational and social backgrounds. I am aware that it is not a representative sample, but that makes me extra grateful of my circumstances, family and friends.

Life is unfair, and I have been on the greener side.

B for Bummed

2009-08-22T21:29:00.003+08:00

Scarlett is having an open jam session tonight, and i'm so bummed that i can't be there. Kokopops is down with a bad bout of food poisoning, and can't tend for himself. =( I'd feel very bad if i leave him alone at home. BUMMED!!! The girls must be having a great time. Can't wait to see the pictures from the BYOB party, where everyone's dressed in something/ someone starting with the alphabet "B".

Well, B for Bummer.

We hate food poisoning.

So it looks like this will be a very slow weekend. Guess it was a good decision to bring the work laptop home so i can get some work done since we won't be leaving the house much. One more week on my current project. Not sure what is coming next, but not sure if i need to know right now either.

Koks and I are planning on a 2 month road trip next year, to travel overland from China to Austria and then maybe a month on the Greek islands. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Haven't gone on a real vacation this year, and I'm missing being out in the world and feeling alive.

Can feel my bi monthly existential crisis coming up... funny, it seems to come in the same cycles as my projects. Wonder if it's time to take a break, but not sure where to go or what to do!

GGGAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Courtesy and Gurkhas

2009-08-19T09:27:00.001+08:00

This morning, in my usual morning hustle (today on wobbly heels), I was slightly startled by someone who appeared from behind the lift landing. He chirped "morning", while i scurried past while feebly attempting to put on a big smile on my face. Shortly after, i realized it was the regular worker who clears the trash in the public bins.

I am quite disturbed and ashamed that I didn't reciprocate to his morning greeting, because suspicion crept up faster than courtesy. Recalling the days in Europe, we'd greet everyone in the same building, be it on the stairs, at the lobby, at the bicycle stands, trash room, bus, bakery etc. People just don't do it here. I don't know if it's the lack of basic courtesy (like how the pregnant ladies and the old folks almost never get a seat in the bus), or that people are taught to be suspicious and wary above everything else.

I resolve to look out for him from now on, and give him a huge "morning" to brighten his day. Emptying trash all day can't be much fun.

Drove by a cop truck load of gurkhas today on my way to work. Yum. =)

Dawn and Dusk

2009-08-18T22:41:00.006+08:00

My two favourite times in the day, are dawn and dusk.

Dawn is the period of time when the earth slowly awakens, colours start to reveal themselves in gradual intensity, blue sneaks into the skies, street lights turn themselves off, you start to catch whiffs of dew and the morning mist, people brush their teeth with their eyes closed.

Dawns are great for setting out on vacations, journeys, holidays and adventures.

Dusk, on the other hand, is when everyone starts to loosen up, people get off work, childen get off school, ties loosen, cars flow out of carparks, buses hiss at bus stations.

Dusk are great for evening walks with the dogs, for changing from shoes/ heels into flip flops, for people watching, for reflection.

Dawns remind me of road trips my family used to take when we were young. We'd get up at an ungodly hour of 5 (usually, my sisters and i would be so excited we wouldn't have slept a wink anyhow), get showered, dressed up, and we'd pack the car and leave by 6:30am. Weeeeeee!!!! Holidays! And you have the entire day/ vacation/ journey/ holiday/ adventure to look forward to.

Nowadays, dawn means "Darn it, gotta get up for work!" and the occassional "all right, let's really try to do this nature trek today....zzzzz...."

Dusk is always a time of reflection for me. Usually, the realization comes at around 5pm, after which thoughts of "what should i do after work today" run through my multi-tasking brain as my fingers continue their own tap dance on the keyboard. Tappity-tap. The decision to exercise after work is always a hard one, but usually a great one on hindsight. As i bade my goodbyes, and step out of the tinkling door (someone at some point thought it a great idea to hang a wind chime on the door), i reflect on what i had accomplished that day, if i could have done more, done less, if i have made good use of my time in the office. Walking through the throngs of people on the street, i ponder in my head if i should smile at strangers, not make effort, look friendly, or look grouchy. Some rush by me, some deep in conversations, most on the mobile phone.

"Jee, it's dinner time again", i feel like all this food i've been eating is only resting on my hips. Soon enough, the streetlights come on again, the sky is dark, buses continue to hiss at bus stations, you see tired expressionless faces in bus windows, colours start to withdraw into the darkness, ants crawl back into their mounds, tv screens flash in homes while chopsticks clack away and cutlery clink on crockery.

Finally, we lay in bed, looking at the ceiling and thinking aloud, "man, was that yet another day." While we entertain the random thoughts in our head, our bodies wind down. Just as we think we've got the answer to life, we no longer can fight the drug of sleep and .................

My two favourite times in the day, are dawn and dusk.

John Galliano and a Beautiful Weekend

2009-08-16T19:16:00.004+08:00

Before his Paris A/W show, John Galliano gathered his team to remind them that it was 'a credit crunch, not a creative crunch'.

HURRAH! The economy crisis doesn't have to kill everything!

Not that you can feel much of a economic crisis in downtown Singapore. Malls are still full, popular restaurants still require advance reservations.

I just had a wonderful and gorgeous weekend. On top of it all, it cost me relatively little. Saturday started with a trip to the beach for some lying around, reading, suntanning, chatting and frisbee throwing (and catch attempting). By the time we were chased off by an impending storm, it was only 1 in the afternoon! How glorious! It felt like I had already accomplished more than a typical weekend, and i still had 1.5 days to go! A delectable lunch of nasi lemak (rice simmered in coconut milk, accompanied with a variety of side dishes) ensued, which resulted in us transforming from sunkissed humans to famished wolves. Kokopops and I then spent a leisurely afternoon watching "The Last Emperor" (how did it take me that long to finally watch this amazing film?) before grabbing QL for a japanese dinner and the 3D screening of Pixar's latest animation movie "Up".

OH MY GOODNESS, is there anything else that can be so moving, touching, adorable, sincere, imaginative and entertaining?

The digital film elicited "ooh"s and "aah"s and tears and eruptions of laughter, all in less than 2 hours. Great storyline, great characters, great animation! We also caught a teaser of "The Christmas Carol" which will come to all good cinemas near you in November. 3D is the way to go!

Sunday, also known as the best day for sleeping in, started with us sleeping in. =) A game of scrabble over breakfast (albeit at noon) is always a slow but sure way of starting the day on the good note. Today, unfortunately, I lost to Kokopops and Nawoo... but it's okay! In life, you get ups, and you get downs; and when you lose, you don't take your wins for granted! After lunch, I got my weekly weekend papers and indulged in a fashion magazine (i just end up kicking myself after for paying so much for pages of advertorial material...), popped in and out of the supermarket (and bumped into nylilbits and D!! what a lovely surprise!) and came home for an enriching afternoon of Coleman Hawkins, a freshly brewed pot of tea (in my fancy bodum teapot!) and FT Weekend. Made a simple dinner for us while we watching a rather crappy Bangkok Dangerous et voila!

Un fin de semana muy bueno!

Entonces, ahora, estoy bastante contenta y estoy lista para la semana que viene. No hay muchas actividades, espero que tengo tiempo para algunos ejercicios. Necesito hacer mi trabajo tambien, mi projecto esta terminado pronto!

Weekends deserve good weather!

2009-08-14T16:02:00.001+08:00

TA DA!!! and the good news is that.... IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On one hand, i'm exhilarated that Friday is here and it's time for play and creativity. On the other hand, i'm thinking, wasn't it just the weekend? The weekend has passed with me accomplishing so little!!!

The weather has been acting funny all week. It poured last weekend, thus dampening any plans for the beach and outdoor activities. Then came the very scorching sunny and searing weekdays, and right now it's pouring again. It sure is keeping us on our toes with our weekend planning! Going to try to head to the beach again tomorrow, but crossing my fingers there!

Let's get going! Let's get creative!

Watching a live stand up comedy show tonight. I'm hoping it's going to be so funny i laugh till my sides split or till i gasp for air.

Linen Pants and Inertia

2009-08-10T00:24:00.002+08:00

I usually start a blog entry without the title, as i never quite know what the entry will end up to be about. I kinda like it that way, the title ironically becomes the ending to my entry. The start is the finish is the start.

A few days ago, i made the serious mistake/ wise move to try on a pair of linen trousers i bought 6 years ago at H&M in France. Althought it's just H&M, it still cost an amount then. Good news is, it's still in pretty good shape. Bad news is, I'm the one who's not in good shape. I can now barely fit into those trousers, and that was rather flabbergasting. Yes, 6 years is alot of time to put on some weight and yes, i was 6 years younger then with a stronger metabolism and a more active lifestyle. 6 years or not, it's just appalling to have gotten this lazy with being active and putting effort into exercising and being fit and healthy.

It's just so easy to be lazy nowadays...

... but NO! We shall not be lazy!

So, tomorrow morning, we're going to try to play some beach frisbee to get the heart pumping, and the yoga should resume this week!

If the heart is willing, the body is willing!!!

Timechecks and Life Fulfilment

2009-08-05T19:35:00.004+08:00

For me, birthdays and new years are always a time for reflection. The fact that they happen every year at a fixed time allows me to use these events as markings on my timeline, to check on what i have done in the past one year, how much more i have to achieve in the remaining time that I am alive. For the past 4 years, I have also met up with a few people on a periodic basis, to gather their thoughts about their lives, their passions, and they share with me their thoughts about my life, my passion and where that leads me.

To me, time is a perishable commodity. I have always been acutely aware that my life on earth and being me is limited, and that each moment I don't utilize or maximize, is one moment lost forever and without contribution to "my cause". With age, "my cause"changes. I have been lucky that these changes have been slight, and not drastic, which sometimes assure me that I'm doing what I like to do, and have no regrets. I know that with each day, I move away from where I started (the magical moment when the tadpole met the egg) and towards where it will all end (the moment of realization at the end of my last breath). I don't have enough time.

I don't believe in an afterlife. I am not sure why we're here, and what we are in the grand scheme of things; but i wonder, if the answer to that question is imperative to my existence and to how much I enjoy my life and be part of how others around me enjoy theirs. I, however, believe that life is fleeting, that it is but "a glimpse between two eternities". That i'm given this chance only once, as me, and i won't know if i've made the best use of my time because the gift of hindsight doesn't quite apply in this case.

As a result, I review my situation regularly, and the question is at the back of my head all the time - "Am i wasting my time? Am I doing the best that I can?". I'm not a particularly focused or disciplined person, but i think a world of myself. No, i don't think i'm super smart, ultra funny, crazy attractive; but I truly believe that I can achieve anything I want to and that the only thing that can stop me, is myself. I have been very blessed that whatever i've set out to do, i've almost always succeeded. I'm actually really unlucky in the things that i leave to fate and luck. I am convinced that I will never win the lottery (there goes the possibility of quick wealth), or look like Monica Belucci (oh my goodness, how can anyone look so gorgeous?).

So imagine my surprise and excitement when I won a drawing contest held by the local papers when I was 16. The theme was "what do you feel music is to you?". I drew a quaver encircling a 3D looking globe (i took much effort to draw the continents and islands etc) and wrote on the note "Music. The Common Language of the World." I won a bottle of Tommy Hilfiger perfume. That was my best shot at luck... EVER.

The luck i experienced in the remaining of my life, was more to do with the people I've met and the situations I have been in. I guess it's like how they say "knowing the right people, being the right place at the right time". Then again, "right" is subjective. Maybe i'm just easily satiable and easily content. I feel that everything that has happened to me thus far, has been amazing, insane, crazy and out of this world. Thus, I am thankful everyday that I do what I do, am where I am, have the family and friends that I have.

I'm not quite sure what I've done to deserve this life, but I know that it's been charming. Time is running out, and there is still so much to do, so much to see, so much love to give, so much love to receive!

Life in IKEA Catalogues

2009-08-05T00:05:00.004+08:00

Life is perfect in IKEA Catalogues. People who live in these catalogues look like their lives don't circle around work, everyone loves everyone at home. There are colours, a space for everything, a bright window in every room, and different seasons so you could use the throws they seem to place everywhere.

Aside from the affordable and trendy pieces of furniture people buy from IKEA, people are also trying to buy into the "IKEA Life", hoping that their lives could be as pretty and neat and fine and dandy as the individual mock up rooms look from the outside. Just like how facebook appeals to the voyuer and exhibitionist in all of us, IKEA appeals to our secret idealist and dreamer.

So one may think, let's go to IKEA and get a piece of that lifestyle! But somehow, when you bring home that piece of IKEA furniture and place it in your environment, it doesn't look half as cool as it did in the showroom or in the catalogues.

Like that sofa you can convert into a bed so that your friends could stay over? What are you going to do with your current sofa that's still too good to be thrown away? What are the likelihood that friends will stay over?

Love that white victorian styled bathroom cupboard? How does that fit into your HDB bathroom where there's only space for you to shower and poo in the same 2 square metres?

But as long as we love to go to the movies, watch TV series, sleep and dream, we'll always love to buy into the IKEA ideal... that life could be beautiful, simple, fine and dandy; and that everything has a place in life (i.e. pencils into cute round holders attached to the wall, sheets that go into a secret compartment under the bed, belts and ties that fit nicely into a 4x4 cubic drawer).

So let's go to IKEA. At least we get some meatballs.

In-Between

2009-08-01T20:06:00.003+08:00

I'm an in-between girl in an in-between world.

I don't do badly in life, but I don't excel particularly as well.

I don't belong where i was born, but neither do I belong where I live now.

I am somewhat asian, but not quite either.

I am not skinny, but I am not fat.

I exercise some, but am not very fit.

At times I'm highly motivated, at times I procrastinate (though i think i'm the former more often.)

And the list goes on.

A Zen State of Mind

2009-07-26T18:56:00.003+08:00

Just returned from a week in the Northern Capital about 3 days ago, and it's been a crazy but very fruitful 3 days. The Northern Capital is AMAZING, and I had such a good time combining work and play. The Great Wall is humbling, and the hutong and Nanluoguxiang is so much fun. Standing on top of the Great Wall and seeing the wall line the top of mountain ridges as far as the eye can see was overwhelming and nothing short of mindblowing. The local arts scene is also very active. So much culture, heritage and social evolution to draw inspiration from!

Also checked out quite a number of restaurants and hotels, and ate alot of yummy food, took alot of interior and architectural pictures - so much fun!

Headed straight to work when I got back, and had a hard time trying to stay awakw at work. Flight back from PEK was delayed by 3 hours due to the storm and the long queue of planes waiting to take off, which meant sitting in the plane and waiting for 3 whole hours - PAINFUL! So instead of arriving at 1015pm, we got back at 2 plus am.

Yesterday, Niks Biks, Kokopops and I helped Nawoo out at his business launch (Weddings by N at www.nathanwu.com), which was quite successful. Nawoo displayed some of his shots from past weddings held in Singapore and the US, and invited past and prospective clients to the launch. The art space at Old School was nicely decorated and themed, thanks to Niks Biks; and we had some GLORIOUS, DELICIOUS, MELT IN YOUR MOUTH macarons, tarts and cupcakes from Soo Ting (Check out Artisan Sweets at Henry Park Apartment, guys!!! www.etasweets.com). Everyone was all praise for the sweets, and couldn't stop at a few pieces. I wish the both of them every success in their business! 's wonderful to have enough passion and courage to take the step and start one's own business! I could only support with salmon sandwiches, cucumber cups with thai beef salad and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto!

Today's been a full day of band practise as the girls prepare for a wedding performance next weekend. 5 solid hours of sax, guitar, base, keyboard, cajon and singing. By the end of it, we were all drained and trying hard to repel songs from our heads. This is one of our biggest gigs yet, with a 2-hour gig at a private wedding party. I hope we do a fantastic job!

No big plans for the week ahead, which is nice. Prior to the Northern Capital, I was feeling quite thinly spread over friends, family, gigs, work and bi-monthly existential crisises. Going away and being in a new place has brought me a refreshed zen state of mind, which i really appreciate and hope to be able to maintain for a period of time.

Also need to learn to take a step back, and not be constantly in charge - it's a strength and a weakness!

Yummy Food makes me very happy

2009-07-14T22:17:00.002+08:00

Mmmmm..... just had a lovely dinner of Nasi Padang at Zion Road... it was sooooo good. For my tummy, for my soul, for my heart. Good food speaks to me, and it's one of the best reasons for living. After my weekly class of yoga (went back to power yoga today, after weeks of just hatha and boy, my body is aching now), met with Kokopops, Bhubs, Nawoo and Niks Biks for a hearty dinner of beef rendang, kari ayam, ayam kunyit, ayam merah, sotong sambal, otak-otak, sayur lodeh and sambal belacan. All for only 42 bucks! It's also good for my pocket!

The week has started on a good note, after a very eventful weekend of checking out a friend's new patisserie, scrabble, a farewell party, a birthday party, a band audition and band practise. Also managed to get some rest, which is always great. Had a good (but could be better) session with Monk and Dan on Monday. I have so much more to practise on Monk to make it sound better!!! Very motivated right now, so think i'm gonna reserve tomorrow evening for Monk practise.

Got assigned my new project! Yay!!! Which finally brings me to the Northern Capital for a week. I am very excited about this one, have been waiting to visit this historic city in a long time. But not blogspot, facebook and youtube for a week though! Gonna be checking out some really cool hotels this time, which i'm really looking forward to as well. I love visiting hotels, particularly design focused ones and those with a story or heritage.

I need to catch up on my reading! Have a pile of Economist, Time, Asian Geographic and The Unbearable Lightness of Being to finish!

Morning Thoughts

2009-07-08T08:13:00.002+08:00

I woke up this morning feeling a little grouchy. Had a coffee and a japanese honey sponge cake, a shower, dressed up, and i looked into the mirror thinking, "why am i grouchy this morning? Why is my hair at this awkward length? Should i tie it up and look dumb, or should i let it down and look messy." Well, at least tying it up looks a tad bit neater, and allows the breeze access to my neck (which has a rash by the way).

Then i looked at my wardrobe, and thought, shit, i have nothing to wear.... again.

Then i put on my make up, and thought, why is my skin so dry and coarse these few days.

Now i have to get myself out of the house and into the bus and to work.

Hopefully the rest of the day picks up better.

Peace and Quiet in the Highlands

2009-07-07T23:56:00.015+08:00

dum dee dum dee dum dee dum...

It's already Tuesday, and time is actually passing pretty fast. zippedeedooda.... Last weekend, Kokopops and I ran away from everybody and almost everything and escaped to the highlands of Cameron in search of the remains of Jim Thompson, but we got totally distracted by the beauty of the tea plantations, the lovely cool weather and our gorgeous hotel, that we completely forgot about JT (May he rest in peace). The drive to the highlands took about 7 hours, in the WhaleShark's first long trip. We pushed him pretty hard, driving consistently at about 120 km/hr. The route up to the highlands from Tapah was pretty strenuous for car and driver, so imagine our elation upon arrival at The Lakehouse!

Such a lovely black and white house, with a meticulously maintained garden! We were greeted with a funky welcome drink - ginger essence with tonic water and lime (or something) before we were pleasantly upgraded to the suite (the only room in the house with a real fireplace - yaoza!).

Dinner was in the restaurant, Kokopops had the lamb while i had the norwegian salmon; after which we adjourned to the living room to watch tennis with the other guests. It was a slow, relaxing and quiet evening - something i had been desperately craving. The following day, we put on our hiking shoes and spent the day out visiting the lush tea plantations (Malaysia Boleh!), tasting fresh juicy strawberries, trekking through the jungle and past vegetable farms; before a refreshing shower and hot steamboat dinner in Tanah Rata.

On Sunday, we left the highlands after a late breakfast and postcards writing, and decided to check out a nearby waterfall - Lata Kinjang, and boy were we glad we went!! The waterfall is GINORMOUSLY HUMONGOUS, we could see it even when we were driving towards it in the distance. And when we stood there, in front of the waterfall, we were awed by its size and its power, and glad to see people sitting around having picnics and enjoying the afternoon sun.

You just gotta love nature!

Can't wait for another weekend to take WhaleShark out for another long drive somewhere exciting.

I miss living in a foreign country. Although new plus slope is not really home either, but I've spent so much time here that it doesn't feel foreign. Somehow, there is a stronger sense of being when i live in a foreign city, be in Grenoble or Bangkok. Come to think of it, this is the longest I've lived in one city in the last... 6 years.

Nawoo's website launch event is in its planning stages, and the venue and date is confirmed! Definitely looking forward to that one. The guestlist is getting longer by the day, which is very very exciting.

Monk gets special treatment tomorrow, as it indulges in the undivided attention of Madame Etoile. Sparks will fly!

Monk and the Culinary Weekend

2009-06-29T18:43:00.003+08:00

Last week went by mighty fast as I ran the last lap of my report. It’s always the case that when the end is in sight and one sees the light at the end of the tunnel - it makes it easier to run. You do whatever it takes just to make the end come closer… you clench your fists, you grit your teeth, you run, you take quick short gasps of air, you leap. And when you reach the end, your lungs scream for air, you let out a triumphant scream and you imagine the dolby-surround applause.

Thank you, thank you.

And till the next report.

Spending time with Monk has been a pleasure, and it feels like Monk is finally taking a liking to me. He fits together better, rests better on my lap, fits better into my hands and reacts better to my touch. He is also beginning to sound better, I hope I’m beginning to do something right. The wonderful thing about my interactions with Monk, is that he has rejuvenated me and rediscovered my creativity. What’s not so wonderful is that being with Monk requires me to connect with my inner self, which makes me more emotive and reflective than usual. I find myself needing a short break after each session with Monk to “wake myself up” from being drunk with music + emotions. I remember when I used to write poetry, it were those sad and violent scenes that inspired me the most.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely the gastronomic delights. On Friday evening, I checked out Chalk at Old School (Mount Sophia) with Kathl and V1. It was a lovely meal of half a dozen of herb butter escargots, ravioli stuffed with truffled mushrooms and crème brulee for me. Escargots were juicy and fragrant, a tad bit salty but I nevertheless found myself soaking up the melted herb butter with the soulful warm bread. The ravioli was amazing, in a light cream sauce. It would have been perfect if not for the 40-50 minutes wait between my appetizer and my main course (Poor Kathl suffered the same predicament). Kathl and I suspected that it may have been something to do with our location in the corner of the restaurant, but I thought it was not quite justifiable considering we got 3 of the servers to check on our orders. The restaurant was packed to the brim, so maybe the kitchen was in chaos. I just don’t like it when servers say “I’ll go check on your order” but don’t return with an update. As a result, I keep asking, and I continue being frustrated. Will I return to Chalk, yeah probably… but maybe not on a Friday evening. Lovely ambience, I especially liked the seats by the wall (allowed me to discreetly sit with my legs crossed), and the iron cast framed glass windows. $$$$

Saturday evening saw a trip to Al Divo (8, Jalan Gelenggang, Sembawang Hills Estate, off Upper Thomson Road) with the girls for a special night. Run by two brothers – Fabrizio and Cesare, Al Divo serves honest, authentic Italian food from the Amalfi Coast. Fabrizio manages the restaurant and handles most of the guest interaction, making recommendations on the menu; while Cesare holds the fort in the kitchen. The two brothers are supported by Valentina, who hand makes the pasta and the dulci. The restaurant is very proud of their squid ink pasta, which is prepared with an oil base and not squid ink (so you don’t smile charmingly at your date only to realize, with horror, that you have black outlined teeth). Seafood is procured fresh from the market every day, and this transfers delightfully onto my palate. I am a fan of their Selection of Antipasto, which has a morsel of every antipasto they serve in the restaurant (parma ham, come to mama), and their little gambas prepared with olives, garlic and tomatoes. Homemade ravioli stuffed with salmon and zucchini in cream sauce absolutely melted in my mouth, and I cleaned up the plate before my friends, which was rather embarrassing I have to say. We shared a Humphrey Bogart pizza, which was thin crusted and holly molly, came with a full lobster on top of it!! What a sight!! To end the dinner, Fabrizio treated us to some chocolate salami in frothy anglaise sauce, and we ordered a few desserts to share. I tried and will try again the Cassata de Ricotta and Ciocolatta – I don’t care how much calories there might be in that short column of heaven, but if it tastes that good, it must be good for me. The girls were all praise and smiles by the end of the dinner, which we always hope for at the end of an evening. So big high five for Al Divo! $$$$

For Mei’s birthday on Sunday, la familia trooped to one of our favourite culinary haunts in the country. Dad has been visiting Thien Kee Hainanese Steamboat (Basement, Golden Mile Complex) since he was a kid, and you won’t believe this, but the same guys run the restaurant till today. Think: Hainanese Steamboat (with fresh beef and steamboat ingredients) with Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Hainanese hospitality. It’s a recipe for success!!! The chicken rice is soft and fragrant, and the steamed chicken tender and oh-so-perfect. This restaurant is always full, and the food is so good, I wish I could keep it a secret. Then again, I’m not sure how long these old folks can last and if they will be able to find another generation to continue the tradition. Yummilicious!!! $$

With that, I shall now end my blog and proceed to dinner at my next great find – Oriole at Pan Pacific Serviced Apts. I find it good value for money, with delicious café food and a very warm and cosy atmosphere. Did I say I’m in time for happy hour??

Gotta go!

45 Life Lessons, by Regina Brett

2009-06-23T11:33:00.001+08:00

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio :

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Goldfish and their Dilemma in Life

2009-06-23T00:32:00.004+08:00

Today, I found out a very disturbing fact, that it is indeed true that fish have very short term memory. Kokopops and I went to buy new fish for our tank today, and wanted to find out if the new fish will get along with the old fish.

The fish guy told us this, "you have to ease the fish into the tank, make sure there are places in the tank where the new fish can hide for a little while. Then, after a few hours, the fish forgets, and they won't know that the new fish are new. That's also why you can't keep feeding fish, because they forget they've eaten. So everytime you feed them, they eat and they just keep eating till they explode and die."

Imagine the look on my face.

I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing, particularly since I just started reading "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" in which the concept of no eternal return is discussed. One of the wonders of life is that there is no eternal return. To me, that makes every moment and every day something to live up for, and one can never know if one makes a right decision, because the same moment and circumstance never comes by again for you try out the other alternative.

It is, however, different for a fish. They have a constant reset button, which forceably allows them to try again and again and again. At the same time, they bear no grudges, they remember no errors, they recognize no love, they make no friends. However, each moment is equally valuable as that of ours.

We, human and fish, live for each moment.

The former for no eternal return but memory, the latter for eternal return but no memory.

The Whaleshark and Other Reminders

2009-06-21T00:40:00.003+08:00

Today, I finally met the Whaleshark.... after 3 weeks of suspense, anticipation, being pulled apart and repainted, the fam brought the Whaleshark to me, and we met each other for the first time. I sized him up, and so he to me. We're both a little intimidated by each other, me of his size, and him of my lack of relevant experience. Nevertheless, I thought it apt to mark the moment with a Veuve. Me, the fam and the Whaleshark. Here's to many great moments ahead.

A series of events in the last few days have reminded me of a few things... that i have an extraordinary life, i'm surrounded by wonderful loving people, and i have a very different approach to life and rather different corresponding perspectives. As a result, it's easy to be misunderstood. Sometimes, it hurts a little, but thank goodness for family and good friends, who understand. But it's a reminder for me that sometimes, i should probably keep my mouth shut, so there is little chance for good intentions to be misunderstood. Maybe it's time to lay low for a while, and retreat a little. I think kokopops and the Whaleshark will approve.

Lunchbox Happiness

2009-06-17T15:17:00.004+08:00

I remember as a kid when I was living with an aunt, she prepared a lunchbox for me everyday so that I wouldn’t have to spend money on unhealthy canteen food. When I was around 9, I thought it was most uncool to bring a lunchbox because that meant you were “poor” and couldn’t “afford” the canteen food. I still let my Aunt prepare sandwiches for me, but I’d sell it to my classmate who thought I had really good sandwiches. I sold it to her for 50 cents apiece. Then, demand for my sandwiches grew, so I had to ask my Aunt to prepare more.

Why, she’d ask.

Because I get really hungry nowadays, I must be growing, I’d reply.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t increase supply without raising suspicion (there is only so much a 9- year-old girl could eat), and soon, I felt bad about taking advantage of my aunt’s kindness and stopped. The lunchbox habit also stopped, and I was very happy about that as that meant I could buy food from the Malay lady e.g. Nasi Lemak, Mee Rebus, Mee Siam; and buy Kickapoo or 100plus for $1.10 each, shake it till it’s all gas, open it in the garden and spray it on my friends.

I haven’t had a lunchbox ever since.

Today, I made a lunchbox for Kokopops, and I was really excited about it. I was excited at the thought of deciding what to include, individually wrapping the items, packing them into the box so that the layout would make sense, the food would stay fresh for as long as possible and the space be best utilized. As I watched Kokopops place the lunchbox into his bag like a school kid, it secretly made me happy and I imagined how it’d be like for him to open the box at lunch and hopefully enjoy every item that I had prepared. He told me a little while ago that he thoroughly enjoyed it, and successfully made his colleagues envious (so much so that one of his colleagues took a picture of it and sent it to his wife). I find that quite funny.

The items in the lunchbox for Kokopops included:

- Cucumber sticks

- Carrot sticks

- Shaved ham

- Cheese

- Wholemeal Bread

- Yakult

- Cookies

- Kinder Bueno

- Green Apple

I can’t help think back to my childhood, when moms and my Aunt did so many things for me, with so much love in their hearts; which I had, no doubt, taken for granted as a child. Unfortunately, one of the contradictions in life, is hindsight. Fortunately, it’s not too late for me to reciprocate today for their generosity and kindness.

Lunchbox happiness. A box full of nutrition, love, good thoughts and positive energy (and a little secret message!).

Melancholy and A lot of Fruits

2009-06-16T21:50:00.003+08:00

It was a somewhat melancholic day. The day didn't particularly start on a good note, and the rest of the day just crawled by. The highlight of today, however, was the sheer amount of fruits I have fed myself.

The morning started with a hearty bowl of Banana Nut Crunch, with Hi-Calcium Low-Sugar Soy Milk; and lunch opened with a carrot and a big brown pear, before Ol' Chang enticed me with a curry puff and a spring roll doused with sambal (there goes my eat healthy day). Before yoga class, I munched happily (much to the chagrin of my colleagues however) on a very crunchy and excessively red apple. Some of the apples in my fridge are weeks old, but they still stay super red and super crunchy. It can't be natural, can it?

Yoga class was good today. Alot of stretching, alot of breathing, alot of perspiring. Dinner was then a treat - toasted sliced wholemeal bread, a slice of apple baked ham, some shaved honey baked ham, half a cucumber, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 25% of a rockmelon and half a glass of cloudy apple juice.

Aside from the curry puff and the spring roll (dammit), i'm pretty proud of myself.

Ef-Aech sent me a message today, to tell me how much he enjoys reading my blog. I am very touched, that someone will find my random mutterings an enjoyable read. He said that it reminds him of the little things in life, that we all seem to overlook. Ef-Aech, I hope you continue to get entertained, particularly on the bad weather days or when the bridge falls down!

I have been inspired lately to get creative again. Monk has been a huge inspiration, and writing has been liberating. Nawoo gave a great suggestion, of me picking up my children's stories idea again. Will ask Niks Biks if she'd be interested in doing this.

Daiweina is injured. I hope she feels better soon. Our bodies are so vulnerable, we have to treat it with much tender loving care.

As always, a great song to share. Kraak en Smaak are groovy, and this is such a creative video.

Chivalry and Dogs

2009-06-16T09:12:00.006+08:00

This morning, a young and good looking gentleman gave me a seat on the bus, even though I'm not (1) old, (2) disabled and/or (3) pregnant. Chivalry is not dead!!!

It's a new week, it really started yesterday. This week feels less laborious than the last, probably due to the restful weekend of playing with the dogs, seeing the family, getting some really really good home-cooked food, some DVDs and escaping from new plus slope for just 2 days. Monday is so much more tolerable if one had had a good weekend, and something fun to look forward to on a Monday evening.

The dogs are fine. Tara and Cookie got their vaccination - Tara tried to bite the vet , Cookie kept jumping on him (he must have smelt very interesting).

Tara is a cross between a Belgian Shepherd and a Rottweiler, and she's an absolute beauty. She's not a year old yet, but probably about 25 kg and a big bundle of energy. Playing fetch with her is such fun because she goes off like a bullet and then keeps coming back. She's been enjoying eating Tyro's poop, probably coz Tyro hasn't been digesting his food well; but then again, Tara is perpetually hungry. She's super playful, i wish there were a big field somewhere i can let her go so she can run to her heart's desire.

Bonjour Tara.

Cookie is a cockroach-killing, housefly-snapping Jack Russell, who thinks he's actually bigger than Tara but uses his petite size to hide behind the bushes or leap onto the garden table once Tara goes after him. Cookie never understood how Tara grew from being the same size as him, to the alpha female she's become. It baffles him, one can see it in his eyes.

Hello Cookie.

Tyro also got his check up. Vet was baffled why we didn't continue on his medication, but poor mom didn't know she had to continue with the dosage (mis-communication there). Tyro is a cross Japanese Spitz and is about 17 years old this year. He is our first family dog, and the first love of my life. Throughout his 17 years, he never got sick, was always happy and laughing, and had such a thick coat of fluffy white fur. Kids loved him. Gay dogs too. Sadly, Tyro is getting on years, and since he contracted hypothyroidism, he has been consumed by his hormones, lost alot of his fur and spunk. He doesn't move around very much anymore, and doesn't laugh anymore, but he hasn't lost his fighting spirit and his desire to live. He manages to walk at least an hour a day, and knows how to seek help if he needs to pee or empty his bowels. He's lived so long, and deserves to live the rest of his life peacefully and being taken good care of (thanks to moms!). He's back on medication, and we all hope he feels better soon. I'll try to scan a picture of him when he was healthy and share here.

Last night's session with Monk was great. Niks Biks brought her guitar, and we practised and jammed for a while. Apart from some new scales and arpeggios, we also tried:

- Besame Mucho
- Fly Me To The Moon
- I Wish You Love
- Can't Take That Away from Me
- Beyond the Sea

Can't wait to get some time to practise some more!

Today, I'd like to share the "Trois Gymnopedies", composed by French composer and Pianist Erik Satie in 1888. I find it very emotional and very pensive.

Daily Life and Shark Finning

2009-06-11T11:32:00.000+08:00

Good Morning.

This morning has started on a relatively romantic note. Ella has been crooning in my ears all morning, as I work on my desk and look out of my desk-to-ceiling window. Oh, I think I’m getting goosebumps.

This week, I’ve seen the Bus Man 3 times, which is a super bonus. I have been leaving the house later than usual, thus the increase in probability of getting onto his bus. It feels nice to smile.. to the Bus Man, to the security guy on the ground floor at the office building, to the girl behind the counter at Starbucks, to the girl who hands me my non-fat latte. It also feels nice to wear comfortable flat shoes.. makes me feel like I’m closer to the ground (and less likely to trip over myself and fall on my knees/ flat on my face).

Report is coming along slowly as I trudge forward. Not too bad. Some other stuff has also come up, which are interesting and makes the report less painful. I’m excited at the prospect of doing some new things, and being able to change certain stigmas and contribute to a greater good. I am, but a drop in the wide ocean, but I truly believe in the power of every drop.

Talking about the ocean, I read a very disturbing article in the Asian Geographic this morning about illegal shark finning. It’s nothing new, I worked on a protect-the-sharks project a few years ago and helped in public education, but this article described the writer’s experiences very vividly, including seeing a sea of hundreds of thousands of fins drying under the sun on building rooftops in Costa Rica. Disgusting, people! Disgusting! As the weakest specie on earth, we are wiping out this earth! About 90 percent of the total shark population in the world has been depleted in the last 30 years due to our insatiable desire for sharks’ fins, which is in essence just tasteless cartilage with no nutritional value! The taste in shark’s fin soup comes from the flavourful soup base, and not the fins.

With that, I’d like to leave a short clip of an interview with Rod Stewart, who created the film “Sharkwater” and the article in the current issue of Asian Geographic.

La Revancha Del Tango

2009-06-10T23:18:00.000+08:00

A mi sueño, todos son possible.

Story of the Day

2009-06-10T22:57:00.000+08:00

Nawoo, i write story for you.

We go Chomp Chomp

with Bhu Bhu

to Mum Mum

very Bao Bao

go home She She

and Poot Poot

then Pom Pom

after that Orh Orh

Very nice day. =)

Hope you like.

Gotan Project's Santa Maria

2009-06-10T15:26:00.000+08:00

"Please send me your last pair of shoes, worn out with dancing as you mentioned in your letter, so that I might have something to press against my heart."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thelonious Monk's Round About Midnight

2009-06-10T15:19:00.000+08:00

I first heard of this song on Gotan Project's Inspiracion Espiracion album years ago, and since then, it's been a favourite. Why isn't such music created anymore?

paso a paso, poco a poco

2009-06-09T00:13:00.000+08:00

Yay!! Today I managed 4 songs on Monk - When the Saints go Marching In, Happy Birthday, Frere Jacques and Can't Take That Away from Me. It felt really good to not just play notes and scales but actual real songs!! Monk is doing so well!!!

Was a relatively slow day at work today, but thankfully there was sax class to look forward to and the oh-so-good half pint of stella with Niks Biks and Tay Mui Mui to help us ease into the week ahead. Niks Biks @ Ni Qi has a busy week at work coming up, while Tay Mui Mui has to help someone with enlarging their boobs tomorrow... all this while i continue typing incessantly into my never ending report. Deadline for this one will be end June, i'm somewhat looking forward to it, just so that i can move on and get onto the next thing...

Weekend in desaru doesn't seem like it'll happen as planned coz the hotels are all full! Darn it!! But will still be seeing Whale and Tyro this weekend, which is great. Tyro has stopped eating, which worries me. His skin has been splitting the last two weeks, and he's lost alot of his energy apparently. I'm afraid that once he stops eating, it's a sign of things to come. I don't know how we will react to it. I wonder if he knows how he feels now. Haven't seen Tara and Cookie in a while too...

Will try to yoga my body into shape tomorrow!

I can't give you anything (but my love)

2009-06-07T23:10:00.000+08:00

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!

The teacher's wedding was yesterday, the girls and I played for her at the church in the morning and the resort in the evening. What REALLY happened, was a day of making music, chilling out while having a big and slow lunch complete with beer, and then relaxing a little by the pool, followed by our super fun performance, and then a slumber party!!!! Just spending the night away helped me to switch my mind off a little, break the routine a little, and i left the resort today feeling as if i just had a short holiday. LOVELY. I forgot that it could be this refreshing - definitely to do again!

We were completely thrashed by the end of the night. My back is still hurting me, and i think it's got to do with racing in the pool and trying to jive with the music with 3 inch heels. =) We got up this morning, and had a leisurely brunch at the cafe of pancakes with banana, french toast with peach compote, eggs benedict and freshly brewed coffee before embracing the rest of Sunday... which to me, wasn't made up of very much but 2 movies, a 2 hour nap, and eating in.

It is, unfortunately, Monday tomorrow and the weekend has, painfully, ended... but it's a weekend that will keep the girls talking and buzzing for a while to go! Rock on!!!

So happy... still riding on a high. YAAAYYYY!!!

I love my girls.

2009-06-05T00:47:00.001+08:00

Just finished an intensive almost 4 hours of practise with the girls. I think they are insanely talented and fantastically amazing. As i watched them with their respective instruments, giving their all, I am reminded again how wonderful it is to be with people with passion. It's a very infectious environment, and motivates one to do more and be bigger and better. Plus, all the girls have day jobs... bankers, marketeers, designers, architects... it's almost like we have a secret life which reveals only after working hours.

It's great, to make use of all the time we have and do as much as we can, and thoroughly enjoy our every day. It's liberating to remember that life is worth so much more than the 9 to 5 (nowadays, it's more 8 to 8).

It's Friday tomorrow!!! Gotta go costume shopping with Tay Mui Mui at lunch and figure out what edgy/funky is. I don't have clothes that are edgy/funky!

Been such an intense week, but so much fun!! Next week is going to pale in comparison!

Let's Get High

2009-06-04T00:24:00.000+08:00

So the teacher's wedding is coming up in a few days. The girls have been working hard at practising our songs. This time around, it feels abit different. The more we practise, the better we sound. And this time around, we also sound different. Has to be due to Kate, Monk and the bongos!!!

In the last 30 minutes, we just had another brilliant idea to add another song to our repertoire for Saturday. We're going to give it a shot tomorrow, and see if it works. If it does, it could be completely wicked... and we'd be on a high.

FUN!!!

Looking forward to seeing the Whale next week or next weekend. That would be pretty insane too.

Past bedtime!!! Wanna cram as much as possible into the work day, before more practise tomorrow night with the girls. Hope the weather gets better, it's been many a humid and warm night *gasp*.

I wanted to share a youtube video, but have no idea how to do it without just pasting a link! Anyone has an idea?

Do we ever learn?

2009-05-31T23:46:00.001+08:00

If watching Eichmann, the Baader-Meinhof Complex and History Channel's documentary on Tiananmen taught me anything, it is about tolerance and understanding. While we look back in history, and assure ourselves that we are bigger people today than yesterday, events continue to happen around the world that slaps us in the face to tell us that there is still a long road ahead for humankind in tolerance, mutual understanding and learning from history's many lessons.

There are many things we take for granted in our lives - access to information, freedom of movement, material comforts and security. In some parts of this world, these remain inaccessible and unimaginable. Many people in these places will never get to experience this in their lifetimes, and their children, and their children.

Time and time again, we have witnessed the power of misunderstanding and arrogance. At the end of the day, we are our own downfall as we climb over one another to get further in life, to convince ourselves that we are superior to the neighbour. However, we forget that the earth is round, and no matter where we go, we are still circling around the same axel.

We must not overlook the lessons that history has taught us, and continue to educate the younger generations such that they never forget as well. We had the luxury of learning all these without having to go through the pain, the bloodshed and the hard times. It is not our right to be lucky. If there's something we could all do, is to promote peace, encourage understanding, facilitate education and allow for dialogue. We are already killing ourselves with our abuse of mother nature. Let's not expedite it through ignorance and selfishness.

The Bus Man

2009-05-28T08:53:00.000+08:00

Koks and I make it a point to greet the bus drivers every time we get on the bus. It's basic courtesy, and when you think about it, it's a pretty routine job. The bus drivers drive the same routes every day and pick up random people at various bus stops. Some times, bus drivers will respond to our greetings; and sometimes, they just balk and stare at us as if we've just gotten on the bus and flashed at them, or we've got a third eye on our forehead.

There is a particular driver that Koks and I have grew to be rather fond of. When Koks and I used to take the same bus to work at the same time each day, we'd board his bus. What strikes me about this guy, is that he has a big grin and it feels like he grins from the bottom of his heart. As if he was genuinely happy to see us.

Then we stopped taking the same bus to work, because a fixed-time Super Bus service started which ferries Koks from home to work in record time; and i started going to work later when i switched jobs. We don't see the guy that regularly anymore, and boarding his bus has become more of a bonus. Like a very pleasant surprise. Like waking up to freshly brewed coffee and a warm brioche. When i see him and his bus approaching from the distance, I start to smile; and upon seeing me waiting at the bus stop (it's not hard to see me from a distance), his face erupts into his distinctive grin. It just makes me warm inside.

This morning, I happened to leave home earlier than usual, and guess what? I got into his bus again!!! This time, i didn't realize till the bus was about 5 metres in front of me. I got on and he said, "Hey miss, good morning!" to which I replied, "Good morning! You're extra early today!" Usually, he'd ask me where my "husband" was and if he had already left for work. After my usual 15 minutes on the bus, I got off and we waved to each other as i walked away from the bus stop.

What a lovely way to start a day!

Introduced moms to Monk last night, before which i told her, "this will change your life forever." Haha, but isn't that true of every moment in our lives?