A Baby Shower I almost never attend one-month parties for newborns in the Singapore context where majority of the guests are made up of nosyparkers and the holier-than-thou sort who can make singles feel inadequate and unwelcome. Plus I've never coo-ed over babies. I'm just not into them at all. I prefer interacting with (some) toddlers. It's like how the holier-than-thous tell me I'll want kids when I'm 30 and my biological clock will tick, blah blah blah. Well, I still don't want to have babies. I've known that since I was 12 and 20 years later, nothing has changed. It's just not my thing lah.I understand the joy of having children if you're inclined towards them. What I'm often miffed about, is how people don't seem to understand that it's an intensely personal choice for the humans who choose not to propagate. Will you understand why I'd rather put my efforts into looking after the old folks on my roster, apportion a percentage of my monthly expenditure and time to them to ease the last chapter of their lives than to get pregnant and raise kids? Will you understand why I'd make a conscious choice to adopt (fertility notwithstanding) if I want children? Most of you won't.Now, baby showers are different. In spite of my anti-social behaviors, I'm more open to attending baby showers where it's already in a different context. Chances are, the ladies who attend are a little more conscious of etiquette. I received an invitation 2 weeks ago to a baby shower that I said yes to after 3 minutes of consideration and cross-checking the calendar. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to ship ideal gifts (i.e not made in China) over for the new mom-to-be. A foray at the shops yielded nothing. So I simply made do with a basket of Mustela products.This baby shower held in a friend's honor was just the loveliest tea party. It was thrown at another friend's flat. The hostess went through so much effort to organize fabulous fruits and cakes; sandwiches that catered to all dietary preferences; a full range of juices and tea; diaper cake and balloons for the pregnant girlfriend; activities and games.I'm so heartened that at this baby shower, part of the conversation looks into integrating cats with a newborn and introducing dogs to the children, and not to consider giving the pets away till there is no other alternative. All very civil instead of some of the 'fishmarket talk' I've walked away from. I'm also very pleased that not a single (pun intended) well bred lady ask another if she intends to have children or if they're married. They accepted the terms of 'partner' and 'other half' as they are. Best of all, conversation went beyond girlie topics. Whew, I'm not a very girlie girl that way. These women have got brains and aren't afraid to use them!I attended the intimate baby shower, not knowing half the guests. Surprisingly, I came away with many new firm acquaintances. How very nice. Fiddling With Clay For teambuilding, the department made clay mugs at Clay Street.My team went for the theme of 'technology'. I groaned. How to make those things?! At previous (real) pottery sessions, at least I can claim that misshappen jug as an intentional piece of wobbly art. But a mug requires precision and well, symmetry. I don't have that sort of patience.After I threw a fit and got over the earlier part of the day where there was a slide in a presentation that read "Department Retreat cum Teambuilding", the boss decided to crush my ego and wow us with his clay kneading skills. He made an iPhone thingy, used a satay stick to cut out an Apple logo and stuck it to the front. It looked so presentable, almost polished.Mmine remained more or less like a lump of clay. I was trying to make an iPod. But halfway through, I gave up shaping and decided to do an iNano instead. But I couldn't be bothered to even google for the image and randomly made up something. It didn't even resemble a vague image of a Nano! Fail. I didn't even care to smooth out the edges. Mine was more like a crude pen-holder. It probably would have so many cracks that it can't hold water. It's the ugliest thing ever. Eiooow. The other members of the team made much better stuff.We made the choice of going to the studio for teambuilding instead of asking them to come to the office. Sure, the experience was kinda fun. But it was damn hot lor. Situated in a quaint, old, unrefurbished shophouse, the entre studio isn't air-conditioned. There wasn't even a breeze coming through. So the fans simply circulated hot air around to prevent us from suffocating. My choice of dri-fit garb for the day which required 'casual wear' was perfect for the sweltering afternoon.Since I couldn't really sit still to work on my ugly piece, I was done in an hour. Went around to disturb the colleagues, shuffled next door to get cold drinks, strolled around the vicinity of the studio and stared up at the headquarters of Workers' Party nearby. Towards the end of the session, we picked out the colors for our pieces. The good people at the studio said they'd fill out the colors and fire them. The pieces would come back to us in a month or so. UGGGGH. I'm quite happy not to get it back, ever. They Call It 'BeeHoon' While the man enjoys his monthly pedicures, he also looks forward to a plate of fried beehoon (along with its assorted ingredients) for breakfast at the nearby non-air-conditioned foodcourt. He is always most enthusiastic and doesn't mind scrambling out of bed early on a weekend even if I pick out a 10am appointment for him. That simply means he could eat that plate of beehoon earlier.At about S$3 for a plate above with an egg done sunny side up, spam, veggies, fishcake and fried fake fish fillet, it definitely appeals to the masses. During the weekend, there is always long line of people patiently waiting for their turn at the beehoon stall at Holland Village. It's usually sold out by noon or so. I suppose that says a lot about the popularity of the food and to some extent, its quality.The man isn't into the beehoon, nasi lemak, etc, kopitiam breakfasts. He finds that too heavy unless we're talking about half-boiled eggs that are yummy to slurp up in 2 minutes. He prefers the usual eggs, oats and bran. However, he has taken a shine to this particular stall's fried beehoon and thick brown noodles, so much so that he's willing to brave the heat, queue and eat. The first time he tried it, he fell in love. He declared it non-greasy and well fried. So he wants to have it once a month alongside the pedicures. Make that twice a month. He uses the beehoon as an excuse to head to the nail salon. I'm not sure if he wants the pedicure more or that he likes the idea of getting his fix.Don't look at me. I can't appreciate beehoon. To me, one is as greasy as the other. Eeeeps. I can't do a plate all by myself this early in the morning. My stomach isn't awake. I will pinch like 3 bites and a fishcake from the man's plate, and I'm done for the day. That will take me nicely till 3pm for tunch. A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop (三槍拍案驚奇) * Spoilers are included below. Don't read beyond the first paragraph if you haven't and want to watch the film.*********************Simply because it's been hailed as a good remake of the Coen Brothers' 1985 'Blood Simple', we watched Zhang Yimous's 2010 'A Woman, A Gun and A Noodle Shop' (三槍拍案驚奇). Yes, in Mandarin. The man survived rather well on subtitles whereas I enjoyed the full flavor of the language.In this different setting, the plot follows closely to the Coen Brothers' tale. The Chinese re-telling frames the story beautifully with its setting and rather interesting characters who are merrily killed off. However, the dark humor in Blood Simple doesn't come through in this remake. In fact, the humor is quite obviously different. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of it. It was with great relief that before midway through the movie, the initial slapstick content was pared down and narrowed into very little conversation among the characters and the storytelling shone through.The landscape is stunning. The desolate hills near the Great Wall's Jiayu Pass (嘉峪关) in Gansu beat the western backdrop of Texas town anyday. The desert lends such a different flavor to the film and the endless possibilities and imagery conjured. For one, the colors in the Chinese film are a lot brighter and cheerier than in the western.I didn't watch the Chinese film to compare and contrast it to the English original. I watched it for Zhang Yimou as I've always been rather fond of his vision in his films. I was also curious to see his take on Blood Simple in another context and made for, perhaps, another audience.This Chinese remake is splattered with Zhang Yimou's trademark art direction in every scene. It's so purposeful. We're glad to have set aside time to go catch this film. It's rather enjoyable. You Are A Piece of Shit I'm incredibly angry at my new work laptop, or rather, its system restrictions.While I thoroughly understand the security concerns, control, expenses, yadda yadda yadda, it doesn't negate the fact that it's the most unproductive machine EVER. I want to type Chinese characters and do photo-editing. But I can't. I'd have to submit an application form to IT to request for permission for downloading the software/s and justify why it's necessary in my work. How wonderful. Imagine all the lines of "Sorry, I can't help you edit photos/type Chinese documents. I don't have a justification for this programme in my laptop."That isn't an issue in Singapore. Go block whatever sites or wherever, I don't care. Whatever. I'll just bring my Macbook (and mobile broadband) to the office. However, the other sore point is about travelling with this retarded machine. It's not fair for the office to ask me to travel with a work laptop that doesn't support instant chats or Skype, video or any application that allows me to effectively communicate with humans. It's not fair to expect me to depend on a personal 3G phone (that the office doesn't pay for) for communication in this day and age. If the office expects sterling performance from me and yet can't support me in terms of infrastructre, don't expect me to fork out personal expenses and effort to maintain the same standards. That will be such a joke because my home is more well equipped than what I have here. If the office makes a choice to lapse and not enable technology to aid its staff in their work, don't expect brilliant commitment from me either.The previous model of the work laptop is nice. On work trips AND VACATIONS, I'm in touch with friends and the office via Skype, MSN and every damn thing while being able to access emails, clear work and pull double shifts. I only need 1 laptop to ensure that productivity remains at the same level, or even at an increased volume. I'm happy and willing to do that. But with this new platform, it makes me reluctant to take the work laptop anywhere. My Macbook is the preferred accessory now.On the next work trip, I'll put this stupid laptop to test and see what it can do. If I can slide around it and twibble at its firewalls, I will. I'll push its limits and persuade it to accept certain functions. If I can't, then it simply means that work comes to a standstill on each trip. Don't expect me to answer work emails when the machine refuses to let me connect and communicate with humans I love. Of course I'll only bring the other machine that makes me happy. When it comes to things like that, I'm very petulant.Bye bye productivity. Bye bye work-life integration. I'll have more of a life now, thanks to a stunted work laptop. Soaking Up Pee A thrill to steal away for the afternoon to catch up with the girlfriend and her 3-year-old, my god-daughter. As always with toddlers and shoes, she needed a larger size again and we were off to grab her a good pair (or two!) for walking. We hopped into Canelé for desserts because the little girl loved her sweets. She picked out the Mont Blanc (a chestnut pureé thingy) for herself. Make no mistake- that was her cake and she wasn't about to share very much of it. I had to select something else for myself.The little girl was so focused on eating her cake that she forgot to tell us that she wanted to pee. So she simply did what most children do when they forget about peeing, they pee wherever they are. She left a gigantic puddle on the floor. We didn't over-react. We simply rolled our eyes and got to work. I grabbed the serviettes to soak up the pee and dumped it outside in the bin, asked for a mop dipped in disinfectant and then cleared the puddle. Yes, you read right- I mopped the floor, not the servers. The girlfriend sorted out the wet shorts, cleaned the little girl up and put her in dry clothes. Luckily her new shoes weren't wet, the chair wasn't made of fabric and little children's pee doesn't stink.Did I feel apologetic? Just a little. But not overly so. We've a child out with us, toilet-trained, but still an excitable child. So accidents do happen. Importantly, it's what we do after that takes away the embarrassment. We apologized to the diners next to us who had just finished their plates of pasta. They were absolutely gracious about it and took it in a good natured stride. They weren't turned off or anything. In fact, they seemed rather tickled. They even ordered dessert after. Whew. I thanked the cafe's floor staff profusely for wanting to help and allowing me to mop rather than insisting.After being put into dry clothes, the little girl giggled at us, pointed to the remnants of on her plate and stated loudly, "Can I have my cake please?" The girlfriend and I roared with laughter. We tsk-ed at her. Oh dear us. The girl's got her priorities right. But she was quite sheepish about it. She called her Daddy and confessed that "[I] she pee-ed on the chair." If I'm in a swanky restaurant (that allows patrons below 6 years old) and this happens, I'd do the same- roll up my dress, get to my knees and simply clean up. No biggie. Pee can be washed off diamond rings rather easily. Oaksongs & Books Actually Many of us grew up with the easy-on-the-ears experimental rock of Humpback Oak. Of course we had to go down to Books Actually / Polymath & Crust to get the box set of Oaksongs. Helped along by Kinetic Design, the box set has been hand assembled and packed into a deliberately aged box that would take you on a nostalgic trip down the memory lane. The cassette tapes (my gawwd, I can't even spell cassette without spellcheck now) have been transcribed onto cds. Whew! Sounds are enhanced. Much better. I can only vaguely recall the days of cassette tape players! We waited till late Sunday afternoon to go get the box sets because we wanted many! Didn't want to fight with the crowds or hold up the queue. When we popped in, the timing was perfect. We even had time to chat a little.Time was spent browsing at the bookstore. I like this bookstore very much. They always have plenty of interesting books that allowed for flipping through and buying. LOTS of lovely notebooks lying around, screaming to be brought home. Very nice way of spending a hot Sunday afternoon.We had wanted to hop by K-ki after reading all about its delicious cakes. But after hanging out at the bookstore, we didn't have much time left! Gotta rush for dinner. Desserts at K-ki would have to wait. Plans for drinks at No.5 had to be abandoned too! Sunday Tunch At Wild Honey When everyone eventually deigned to drag themselves out of bed, tunch was fixed at Wild Honey.Aside from its flat white, bagels and brioche which we're totally addicted to, we really like its baked beans. These baked beans are the proper ones instead of those orangey ones out of a can.I always balk at the S$9.40 price tag on its green apple juice. But they do it freshly squeezed and without additional sugar. I like it. So I still order it and have it along with the meals, especially on days when the maid goes off on her break and there's no one to squeeze juice for me. Heeeee.The thing about Wild Honey, I've never had bad service here even though I've caught the owner give exasperated looks at his staff in the kitchen and behind the counter. But that's between him and the staff- not in my place to say anything. I've heard first-hand stories about how 'mean' he is and how he yelled at a friend when she took photos of the food recently. That was just a bad move on his part. She told the whole world about it. However, to be fair, he has seen me take photos and I've not been yelled at (yet). In fact, he is often attentive and each time, he never fails to ask if our table requires more juice, coffee, etc. I'm quite alright with the service at Wild Honey. I've never had to wait very long for a table. Perhaps I've been lucky and have caught the in-between slots when humans leave. Oh well, whatever it is, whenever I'm there with the friends, we've been given very warm and efficient service. Sobering Thoughts Not surprising that we ended up at Tatsuya for dinner again. The evening's topic of conversation was of course the contents of World Wildlife Fund's Singapore Seafood Guide. Selecting sustainable food choices would not be a priority for many, but it is important to me and many of the friends.Okay, before I continue, this post is highly personal to my food preferences and it's not for you to judge my choices. It's second nature to me to question where food comes from, but it might not be so to others. For many, they find my obsession with food (not in the eating way) vaguely disturbing and bordering on neurosis.Many would know that this Chinese New Year, pomfrets have risen in prices at the wet markets and supermarkets. It's a trend that will continue because pomfrets are overfished and supply is running low. So think twice before you eat pomfrets from Indonesia and South China Sea. Indonesia's grey and tiger prawns are not as plentiful as I thought either. Oh well, I don't eat prawns, so it's no loss that it's on the list. I'm most disturbed that seabass is now not an option for me anymore.Apparently abalone from China is sliding into the endangered list. But who eats abalone from China anyway?! I stared at the abalone on my plate. "Very fresh. Japanese!" The chefs helpfully chimed. A lovely meal that was. But we've not forgotten an imminent world disaster, again. We keep the other side of the world in our prayers as it reels from the shock of a mega earthquake and Hawaii is bracing itself for first impact of the tsunamis. Not nice. Sheltered in Singapore, what do we truly know of the pain and fear that now grips another continent?Like this, I might as well go vegetarian instead of the pecestarian diet I'm working hard to maintain. Grrrrr. I'm glad that my time on earth is only so limited. I really wouldn't want to be around in 100 years when it all crumbles. The extreme winter (say NYC and Maryland) and extreme heat we're currently facing will only get worse. Call this talk highfalutin. But remember, your children will inherit this earth which is the result of our actions. That will not be pleasant. Much Ado Over Suitcases I couldn't believe that I spent a night agonizing over whether to buy new suitcases. I had spotted the Samsonite S$299 trade-in offer at the various malls dotted around town. It didn't attract me till I walked into Robinsons at Raffles City to see the range of suitcases available for the trade-in value. I liked what I saw. Tall 4-wheelers in 4 different colors.In the end, I dragged out 2 cabin-size suitcases that were just a year old and hightailed down to Raffles City. Those are 2-wheelers and totally impractical for a girl. When I'm wrestling with bulky items at airports, hotel lobbies and wherever, a 2-wheeler is a liability. A 4-wheeler makes so much more sense. Plus holidays and work trips no longer require cabin luggage. It seems as though a huge suitcase is necessary with all the junk and nonsense I fill it with even on a short trip.Then I decided to change all the suitcases in my possession. The large ones were 2 years old and had seen me through various trips, but still in decent condition and wouldn't embarrass me. Besides paper products, I really really like suitcases as well. They make me happy. Plus I've this system of allocating a specific suitcase for a particular destination. Different suitcases go to different countries and regions. Heh.I love the S$299 price tag. It's absolutely irresistible. It's a freaking bargain compared to the Cosmolites I've been contemplating. In the end, I caved and bought giant suitcases in 4 different colors. :p Robinsons is delivering them to the home in 2 days. Wieeeeee.Ultimate auntie-dom. Jostling With The Drunks Since our impromptu date was to be a night of Guinness, I bow to the girlfriend's greater wisdom in selecting Molly Malone's as the choice of bar to plonk ourselves for a large part of the evening.As usual, while she went for the full pint, I ordered my half-pint. It's psychological I swear. A cuter glass makes it easier for me to gulp it down. The photo illustrates the girlfriend's disdain for my tiny glass versus hers. She swigged her pint with ease and did another! (and another and another......) She is a Guinness girl alright. Do not ever challenge us to a drinking competition. My girlfriends will win hands down. I've a girl in mind for each sort of drink. I'll take whisky, of course. I'm no good with this beer and Guinness stuff.We forgot about dinner. But we weren't hungry. We had a heavy lunch full of carbohydrates which would be enough to take us through the rest of the night. Liquid fuel more than made up for it. The calories are the same, ain't it?We made plans for a vacation. MUAHHAHAHA. The bestest sort of conversation ever, on a Friday. We're considering an itinerary that would probably involve a 7-hour trek that starts at 3am. Plenty of climbing involved. Surfing is on the agenda too. I'm starting to wonder whether our lepak holiday would need prep work. Why does every vacation with the assorted girlfriends seem to include serious building up of stamina before we actually get onto the plane to leave the island?! It almost seems necessary to do cardio exercises. Well, that girl is going on a 3-hour run on Sunday. I wonder if a 3-hour stint of washing toilets and/or trudging up and down stairs will suffice.Now, to see how efficient we can be in sorting out dates, airtickets and accommodation. :D Memories For work lunches, I don't mind Da Paolo Bistro Bar at Rochester Park. The food isn't exactly good, but it's presentable. Set amidst lush greenery, it's quite pleasant and makes for a good mid-day break. However, for convenience, we picked Da Paolo La Terraza the other day when our French guests took us out to lunch.Our guests are rather adventurous when it comes to food. At yet another dim sum lunch, we had already eaten up a storm. That was very filling. The office frequents Au Petit Salut for its dependable set lunches and fairly decent fare; since our French guests have already checked that out, we're left with Italian to try. I don't think they like us all that much to want a tête-à-tête at Les Amis! That would have been very acceptable to my palate. Don't ask why I didn't suggest my favorite Italian joints. Those aren't too convenient to get to, given our schedules on those days.So obviously, I didn't have much impetus to finish my meal at Da Paolo La Terraza. The carbonara was chockful of nothing but salt and overwhelming bacon taste. Yucks. I played around, swallowed enough mouthfuls to be polite and pushed it away. So glad that the spinach salad was half decent.That aside, I've fond memories of Da Paolo. On our first dinner date, the man took me out to the Da Paolo at Cluny Court. He was initially very fond of that outlet. I had to politely mumur something incoherent but sounded suitably agreeable so that he wouldn't be too hurt. I wasn't going to impose my standards on him. But if we were to eat together frequently, his taste in Italian food had to improve by leaps and bounds, overnight, preferably. There were other ahemmm better Italian restaurants then. I wasn't going to play nice, be a cheap date and agree enthusiastically about how fabulous the food was when it kinda sucked. I don't date a man because he can afford meals at an expensive restaurant. My purse can more than foot the bill too. I date a man for his discerning tastebuds and better still, his ability to re-create the dishes. Ha. Afternoon Tea While I generally like all sorts of tea (with no milk, no sugar or honey), there're favorites. Japanese green tea aside, I love how a smoky lapsang souchong reminds me of a peaty single malt whisky. The Chinese white tea is lovely. Those are delicate and refreshing.I like tea in the afternoons. Loose leaf tea is alot more fragrant than teabags. But I'm so lazy to brew it in a teapot and to have to wash it. So at the office, I make do by using the tea ball. The last 2 months, due to extra exertion of brain power, I've been gravitating towards lighter teas. The white teas are perfect calming medium on days when I want to strangle people.The tea leaves in the tins of bi luo chun (碧螺春) and bai hao yinzhen (白毫銀針) in the office drawers have been rapidly diminishing. I think it's an indicator of stress levels. I'm going to look for the assam white next. I want to see if the supposed malty flavors come out. Must Remember Arab Street! We often lament that we don't have much choices for Greek food in Singapore. But we do have some alternatives easily found at Arab Street. Tonight, anticipating no parking lots at the ever popular area, we left the car at home and took a cab to Arab Street for the preview evening of Chennai Chutney. We weren't shy lor- had tiny bites and lots of wine. Then we went for dinner. We strolled along the streets to look for an interesting eatery to pop into. We turned the corner to Alaturka and ordered our usual mezze platter as well as grilled lamb cubes with pilaf. I wasn't particularly hungry. I had so much carbs at lunch. But I couldn't say no to hummus. I liked their pilaf done lightly salted with herbs. I really should come by more often. There's so much food that I (and the friends) like- Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Turkish. There's even a Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro now. Spoilt for choice truly. The area is so vibrant in the evenings. I must remember to keep this makan venue on my radar and make an effort to swing by more often rather than complaining that there isn't yummy food around. Something Bright and Cheerful Just because its Chinese New Year. So Mommy and I thought new bags in the shades of red or salmon pink would be lovely to match the clothes. Okay, I confess I didn't bother with new clothes. Who cares. But I just got sportsgear for the year just because I need them.Now, we all know that bags are a different matter altogether. It doesn't take me long to fall in love with bag if it's the right one, or two, or three. :p Also, I really want to veer away from the Birkins and Kellys to emphasize how beautiful and understated the other bags in the label are.Depending on your sense of style, there's always a bag to match that spring in your step. I love how elegant these bags are without being gaudy. And yes, these bags, again depending on style and design, totally match the casual Nikes I wear. Revisiting Wild Rocket I haven't stepped into Wild Rocket since the 2006 shock of its spaghetti in laksa pesto sauce with quail's eggs and prawns. I detested the food that was a strange fuse of Asian and Western. It didn't work for me then. As fond as we're of Willin Low, I avoid Wild Rocket and have resolutely stuck to his fail-proof Relish.What better way to revisit Wild Rocket than to order its 6-course tasting menu for dinner. Frankly, my palate's getting jaded from all the lovely food I've had in many restaurants. But at this dinner, something changed. Somehow, the flavors in the tasting menu drove away the cynicism, awakened the tastbuds and made me fall in love with the brand of fusion at Wild Rocket.In the years that I've not tasted the food at Wild Rocket, Willin Low's cooking has gone up a couple of notches. Very impressive. The blend of Western-Asian ingredients resulted in flavors that are alot more substantial than 'interesting'. The amuse bouche of dried mushroom thingy in kueh pie ti crust was so tasty. We were very taken by the blue swimmer crab congee soup with egg emulsion. Neatly presented, we were told to mix it all up, congee style and slurp it. That we did. Very appetizing. The seabass carpaccio rocket salad with orange shallot oil that included chilli padi strewn across was a complete hit with us. The mee tai mak wagyu bolognaise with parmesan crisp was forgettable. That's probably because I'm not a fan of spaghetti bolognaise done in whatever style.I was happy with the fish. The seabass on a bed of liquefied nasi lemak was a little strange, but otherwise okay. Then came the seared ribeye with bovril onion sauce and baked miso baby eggplant. There was an option for foie gras which we didn't take, obviously. Better still, I palmed off my portion of meat to the man. He loved it. Pink and tender, he stated. But I really liked that bovril onion sauce on its own.Dessert was a colorful raspberry sorbet and strawberries with champagne. Now, that was a total disappointment. The sorbet by itself was alright. That 2 round brown thingies were snacks/things (I forgot its name!) we ate as kids. The strawberries weren't of a very good quality. Diced into stingy cubes, they weren't at all refreshing or nice. The dessert came in a cocktail glass and then champagne from a bottle was poured into it. I should have declined the champagne! I've a very sensitive palate for champagne. These are the same spoilt tastebuds that only drink a restricted range of champanges. I'm that girl who can differentiate between a vintage 1998 (one of my favorites) and a 1999 Dom Perignon simply by taste alone, blind, without having to see the bottle. I love Krug's Clos du Mesnil and can discern between my preferred 1998 against other years. And the champagne Wild Rocket used for the dessert destroyed the item completely. That champagne was shit and sour. After 2 mouthfuls, I abandoned dessert.Finishing up the bottle of Hawkes Bay pinot noir ordered to accompany the meal made for a way better end to the evening than the standard dessert on the tasting menu. Luckily, the food had made up for the dessert's dismal performance. The company was fabulous too. That made for a happy imp still. The Young One Only the cutest humans get angpows from me. This one, however, kept trying to return her angpow because in her world view, it came out of my purse and therefore it belonged to me.I kept putting the angpow right back into her little hands. After a while, she gave up the tussle and passed it to her Mommy. Finally!I've learnt the routine of this little girl. We can take her out anywhere and she'll be absolutely good-natured about it. But come 4 - 4.30pm, she'll need a nap before she turns cranky. A good hour's nap is sufficient to rejuvenate her. We've timed our outings as such. Not a hassle at all. Fits our schedules too. Then we can rest at home before the evening activities. The nap gives us time to thaw the kurau for her dinner.I'm amused that she has recognizes our flat and the bed. From clinging on to her Mommy during her first visit, she's now running about and clambers on to the bed willingly to nap. She also bullies my bears. She has learnt to pick her favorite bears to traumatize. As much as she's Mommy's girl, she now doesn't protest too loudly when I pick her up once in a while.What a joy and a privilege to watch the little girl grow from an infant to a rosy-cheeked toddler! Alot of my contact with her is due to her gutsy Mommy who's always up for new experiences and brings her out all the time. She's one of the most unfussy Mommies around who never sees her baby as an impediment to her social life. If anything, I think both has been successfully integrated. I'm terribly glad that this is one friend I haven't lost contact with due to her having a youngling. Chennai Chutney! (Click on the photo for a bigger image)Exhibition will run from 24 February – 23 March 2010.Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 11 am – 7 pm, Saturday: 12 pm – 6 pmVenue: Objectifs, 56A Arab Street, Singapore 199573Quoting from the friend's blog post,"There is no Taj Mahal or Bollywood to capture the imagination of the would-be tourist to Chennai. In fact, one may at first glance conclude that Chennai is rather like chutney – a spicy vegetarian preparation that is merely an accompaniment to the main courses that are Agra and Mumbai. Looking beyond, however, the visitor is allowed the rare opportunity, amidst an intensely media-opinionated culture, to experience the city from a fresh perspective – his/her own.Chennai Chutney features images by participants of the workshop led by US-based photo-essayist David H Wells. The 8 photographers hailing from 6 different countries of origin and located across three continents – nevertheless blended incredibly well together in five days in December 2009.From admiring ancient temples to ducking for cover from the unexpected heavy rains, the group got an unforgettable taste of the diverse flavours of daily life in Tamil Nadu state’s capital. It is hoped that the images in this exhibition likewise capture the spirit and soul of this sometimes sour, sometimes sweet, but always spicy city." Favorite Foods After a super painful but oh-so-good foot reflexology session, I hobbled to Tatsuya for dinner. Somebody's back in town and it's always fun to catch up with her. I couldn't think of a nicer way to end the week.We had wanted to go last night, but the chefs gently insisted that we changed it to a Friday as they brought in fresh supplies then and would be able to offer us a wider variety. Alright then. We would eat till the chefs run out of ideas of what to feed us next. :pThere was my favorite raw abalone!!! Tender and succulent, it was da bomb. Giant clam and rock salt- always a stunning combination. Then, there was this dizzying array of sushi paraded in front of us. We had handrolls, plenty. I was really suspicious of the pumpkin and sweet potato sushi wrapped in melon skin. It turned out really interesting. Savory and sweet, the flavors magically blended with the rice. The end notes were mild and subtle.I, or rather, we, ate and ate like there was no tomorrow. Bring On Another Gruelling Year At Work At my appraisal session today, what came out of my mouth was, "Boss, I'm happy that the department has found my contributions useful. I'd like to stay on and do what I can. I'm quite free. Pile it on please."Then I groaned. What have I signed up for? You know, I've been thinking and thinking about quitting. There is no push factor. (Well, aside from the fact that not being able to install Skype on the work laptop does piss me off in a huge way.) I love my team, the environment and what I do, very much so. If there's ever a perfect job fit, this is it. But at the same time, the pull factors are strong. My time and efforts are increasingly needed in my personal charity projects which give me greater satisfaction that work achievements can never match. The double workload on dual fronts in January and early February stretched me to limits I've never gone before. Truth be told, I slacked off a bit at work so that I wouldn't be a total zombie in the nights when I pulled the charity shift.The hibernation over the weekend was to mull over whether I should quit the job and focus on the other things I intend to do. Then, I'm reminded of a promise made and it must be fulfilled. I have to stay another year. I owe my boss that much. A promise holds greater weight than any legal bond. I've never bothered with scholarships or bonds. Why start now? The Imp Fund can more than feed and clothe an imp. Should I go study, I will resign to mark the start of another chapter. I'm thinking of studying because I truly enjoy the subjects. It's very clear that the point of studying is not to come back to a job hoping for a promotion or higher pay. Chances are, my area of studies will have nothing to do with a bankable job. Ha.I mustn't quit just because I can. I have to acknowledge the blessing of a perfect job fit and not let it go to waste. Before you term me ungrateful, I'll have you know that my job doesn't sustain my lifestyle. It never has and it never will. The job has enriched me in many other priceless ways and made me a better person. I am however, grateful that my salary has contributed to the old folks on my roster. It has helped in many ways- think new wheelchair, extra sturdy handrails in the bathrooms and bedrooms of their flats, kettles, tv sets and supplies of medication. Of course there're the truly irksome bits in the job (say, the culture), but it's never that bad to justify walking away from it. The good moments still count. I've come to feel a sense of obligation and belonging to the department (not the organization). So it was with a newfound sense of purpose and peace that I joined the colleagues to lo hei at the local kopitiam.Now, since I'm not quitting, can I collect all the money I've won from the bets and side bets? Don't think I dunno. Faster pay up. These earnings are more profitable than if I'd gone gambling at the casino. Tax-free too. The Pink Dress I was shopping for gifts at Laura Ashley when I saw this shiny pink dress. It was on a 30% discount off S$329. It was such a familiar pink dress! I remember that dress flattered someone's curves quite a bit. Lovely on you Jomel. I just had to take it into the a similarly decorated dressing room! Not to buy, but to put it on and take a photo to post on the blog just for laughs!That pink is rather sweet, but my goodness, seen up close, the sheen is hideous. Satin really really should be banned from dresses. That said, I love the cut of the dress. Well stitched, it falls just right. Heavy as the lining is, it doesn't add too much bulk to it. I kinda felt like a princess in that dress. Sorta a princess in the bathroom. I'll never wear that dress out to see the light of day. In another fabric and color, it might be worth its original price.While waiting for the selected gifts to be wrapped, I browsed the racks for another dress of a different material in a similar cut. Alas, there was none. Oh well. All the better for my purse. Another time then. Catching Up With Friends Finally had time to drop by Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery. Had to see what the hype's all about. For a moment, I harbored a secret wish that it'd be the fabulous Wild Honey on St George Street in London. I hold lovely memories of that restaurant in London. Well, this is Singapore- too much to hope for I guess. And of course take a look at Mandarin Gallery to see if it's any interesting or it's just another mall.The food at Wild Honey, honestly, isn't impressive. The breads are fluffy and quite enchanting. The bagels are really quite good though. It's one of the few places in town with such a wide range of breakfast choices. A haven for egg lovers. The Tunisian breakfast includes baked eggs. I currently judge all baked eggs by Lantana's. Very tough to compare. Lantana's superbly done eggs win hands down.However, the vibe at Wild Honey is quite right. Nice. The flat white's great too, except that for S$7, it's such a tiny bit of goodness only. And coffee, is really all that I cared about. Good beans. Unfortunately, the coffee standard fluctuates a fair bit. Each time I taste it, it's got varying amounts of milk in its flat white.Oh, Mandarin Gallery, yes, it's just another mall. The boring mix of shops and awkward U-shaped corridors put me to sleep. No fun. Spacing Out I brought no shoes and only 2 pairs of flip flops and a pair of sports sandals- water friendly Havaianas, slinky beaded Blahniks and trek-comfy Nikes. They've served me well so far. I didn't bother with pretty dresses. I schlupped around in workout gear. Dri-fit stuff to suit the humidity. I've suddenly acquired a whole new wardrobe that looked as though it's sponsored by Nike.I've finally caught up on all the episodes of House, Supernatural and finished Dollhouse Season 2. How awesome it is to sink into different worlds and have the mind be occupied with frivolity. Unfortunately, restaurants in Bali have also succumbed to Valentine's Day madness. We avoided all restaurants decked out in stupid candles, balloons, flowers and ribbons. They've also learnt to jack up menu prices for Valentine's Day. It was so dumb, I tell you. I chose to squat by the road for nasi padang (sorta) for Valentine's Day dinner.With all the stretching at pilates, I didn't need alot of massages. I had only one; that was sufficient to knead and stretch the muscles. This weekend, I didn't have to sit in a chair all day to crunch keys on the laptop. The lack of those activities already did wonders to alleviate the aches.A good break this has been. Bali has given me sufficient reflection time and plenty of thinking space. Sculpting A Piece Of Wood It's amazing how time seems to slow in Bali. Perhaps it could be due to the fact that I've been waking up at 5am to do things- walks, pilates, swim. By 9am, the stomach even has the chance to get hungry and have a leisurely breakfast. Bali wakes up early. It does seem like there's plenty to do in the day. Checking out the local markets of Pasar Burung and Badung is a complete assault to the senses. Pungent smells aplenty, but oh so colorful.I'm not familiar with Indonesian art beyond viewing the stuff at the galleries in Magelang and Yogyakarta last year. I need to learn more about the concepts and background to Indonesian art. In Bali, I was briefed on the different aspect of Balinese paintings and art. The different brushstrokes for Sanur, Ubud, Batuan, etc. I spent some meandering through the art markets to glean a broad understanding of Balinese art today as opposed to 10 years ago.I wanted to take a closer look at the wood carvings. My hosts arranged for me to spend 3 hrs sitting on a stool to watch an artist craft the image of the goddess Dewi Sri out of a wooden block. He's not quite done yet, not even halfway through. He said it would take another 2 days or about 12 hrs to finish the image that would be as tall as a human waist and would eventually possess life-like expressions. It's so therapeutic to watch each stroke of the knife shape and will the wood to the artist's fancy.I'm not interested in purchasing the wood carvings of gods/goddesses/humans. Honestly, they creep me out, so I shall stick to admiring the process of creation and wherever they're placed instead of having one stare at me at home. But those of flowers, trees and naturalscapes ain't so scary. Those feel rather innocuous and pretty. Bali (Photo borrowed from Amandari's website.) I've had quite enough of the city. Most of the vacations last year have been spent exploring nooks and crannies in the cities. As much as I enjoy the wonderful array of theatre shows and gigs, I still like island vacations where I simply bring 2 pairs of slippers and no shoes. After a quick perk-me-up in Pangkor Laut island last week, Bali is a good break, and I don't even have to take leave from the office to get here. Just so you know, I'm starting 2010 with 40 days of leave. Highly doubtful that a good portion would be utilized. Of course I could quit and leave immediately. *bright grin* But the colleagues might just yell 'traitor' at me. :pWhile I love the sea and the beaches, I've always gravitated towards the hills in Bali. I'm fond of Ubud and the walking trails along the Ayung River. I spent an enormous amount of time in Bali years ago. Those were great carefree and irresponsible times. Am missing that nowadays. Haven't been to Bali for a while. It feels good to be back.Hearing the friends whine about the bad parts of the festive season, it seems that modern day celebrations have been so overshadowed by negativity that the positivity is all lost. We've no Chinese New Year obligations to fulfil. I can't even begin to tell you how blissful that feels.I wanted to sleep for at least 12 hours. But I didn't. How could I miss out on the lovely sunrise, sights, sounds and smells of nature? I went to bed at 9pm when all was still and the stars were twinkling. I bounded out of bed at 5am. Waking up to the chirping of birds and crickets was so refreshing. I've forgotten how crisp the air can be. Most of all, I've forgotten how liberating the island makes me feel. Relaxed and not so tense, the exercising comes easy. The stretches sink deeper and longer. I relish sessions of pilates by the infinity pool overlooking verdant rice terraces. Ang Pows I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of ang pows at Chinese New Year or weddings. The original intent has been bastardized by many calculative wedding couples and greedy mothers. I find that the tradition of ang pow giving has become a load of hypocritical bullshit ensnared in a vicious cycle.But I like ang pow packets. I don't mind collecting the pretty ones. Some of them can be really lovely. I don't like those ugly gaudy ones. I prefer those with good quality paper, embossed images and properly hot-stamped wordings. We've plenty of ang pows packets delivered to us annually from the banks, clubs and hotels.Quite a number of designs from the hotels are beautifully done. I like the ones from Ritz-Carlton Hotel this year- they come in a panel of 4 in rose colored matte paper. Together, they depict a Chinese landscape painting with dragonflies, butterflies and watnots.Then there're the ones from the banks, like the one above. The banks deliver beautifully packed ang pows to us, replete with ang pow holders. Those ang pow holders would be made in leather or suede. Some hold just one fold. The rest have many folds to differentiate the various denominations of ang pows to be given out. Quite clever. What I like is, they've learnt to keep their ang pow packets simple and form the wordings in an elegant script.I will give out ang pows to service staff, as I always do, marriage notwithstanding. And I give generously because Chinese New Year is important to them. My nail therapists have taken so much trouble to accommodate my last minute requests and taken care of my nails, it's only right that I show some appreciation. Likewise, my massage therapist who never fails to ease the tension in my muscles. Same goes for servers at my favorite restaurants. The amount that goes into their ang pows are way higher than anyone else's.As for the rest, only the very young might receive ang pows, especially if their parents and I are good friends. It's quite sad because I've overheard parents balancing accounts and hoping to make profits from their children's takings through the 15 days of Chinese New Year. It turns me off. Screw traditions. Single working adults get no ang pows. I refuse to contribute to perpetuating a painful cycle and worse, urge people to get married and have children. What kind of values would I be propagating. Eiooooow. Ready To Hibernate At dinner, one could feel the palpable relief that the hectic work week has ended for all of us. We weren't even particularly choosy about our food! We left the menu completely omakase. Our conversation wasn't particularly brilliant, but we were just happy to be in the company of good friends and chilling out. A respite, so to speak, for some of us.It's amazing that I've checked off almost every item on the to-do list before Chinese New Year. There're just 2 more tasks to complete in the morning and then I'll have a glorious long weekend of doing absolutely nothing.I'm not exhausted nor burnt out. I love being busy. But it'd be nice to be able to sleep for 12 hours before waking to do nothing but drink sparkling water all day and laze by the pool and not get sunburnt. Spacing out on long strolls through the lush paddy fields will be heavenly.Hibernation means I shouldn't carry the laptop with me right? :p Fruits I like the mutant version of the mandarin oranges from Wenzhou, China that has been brought across the seas and is also now grown in Japan; otherwise known as 'mikan'. If I'm not careful, I'll finish up the whole crate in no time! I like it because it isn't overwhelmingly sweet. It's still got a little tartness in the flesh. It's smaller than the usual mandarin oranges. Quite cute. Importantly, it's seedless!One could go into all sorts of snide comments about Chinese and Japanese mandarin oranges. But I shan't. The shared history and the multiple wars have only made it a sore point in many traditional Chinese celebrations. By this generation, many points have been forgiven. But I daren't to send these oranges to my old folks or families who are seriously traditional. Behind closed doors, the reactions to this gift might be vastly different to what I hope for.I'm fond of fruits from Japan. They grow the sweetest and most consistent tasting products. They do make great gifts. So I shall continue gifting Japanese fruits unless someone comes out to tell me that they really don't like them. Something For Chinese New Year We came together to pack hundreds of goodie bags for the old folks on our rosters. There was plenty of good-natured banter and arguments about what constituted the most appropriate presents this year.Then I paid some attention to getting reciprocal Chinese New Year gifts for some of the friends we'd be visiting next week. These friends, or rather their parents, celebrate the festival, so we respect their traditions. For the rest, amidst the insane schedules, I made time to pick up the fruits earlier ordered from Meidi-ya and delivered them last weekend.Of all the people I love and like, I'm stingiest towards colleagues I'm closer to. I'm quite aware that I can't lavish gifts on them the way I do for friends and family. Protocol dictates that I should be a miser (by my definition) when it comes to office gifts. After putting the office at the bottom of the priority list, I was like, screw this. I'm not going to be employed at this office for much longer. Decided to sort out gifts only for my team. To a few, Chinese New Year is important. I ummmm....didn't bother about the bosses. Heh.I'm not concerned about ang pows. All these years, I've packed ang pows only for service staff and my roster. I don't need to pack for anyone else. This year or the next, there is no difference to my ang pow giving habits. I do not care for certain ang pow traditions. Now, I've got hundreds of goodie bags to deliver to the old folks. I only have 1.5 days to do this before I go into hibernation this weekend. Let's hope I get get the bulk done somehow!!! 32 I did succumb to one fancy meal tonight. The staff at Tatsuya put a bright smile on my face. They definitely didn't know it's my birthday. Yet somehow, the omakase selections were fabulous. The serving staff were in an especially cheerful mood. I relished each moment today. I made a choice to spend my birthday at the office. People kept chasing me home. But I wanted to stay till the sky turned dark. We're fighting wars on all fronts and I want to be with my team. While we each have our own hurdles to jump, it's a fantastic feeling knowing that we're standing shoulder to shoulder to get over these tough months. Nothing is more assuring that to know that we're able to lean on one another in times like these. I'll miss this most when I leave.I also made a conscious choice to defer many fancy meals. Instead I've apportioned that time to pack Chinese New Year goodie bags for the old folks on my roster. The usual stuff. I've been extra busy this year. Little elves could be sent to do the packing. But I don't feel right. That isn't the basis of my volunteer work and it should never be. I don't care about Chinese New Year and I don't celebrate it. But the old folks on my roster do. That is enough to make me join my other team to hurl sacks of rice into the jute carriers. We've completed a good number. More to do over the next few days.32. How interesting. I've lost the weight gained in 2008 and early 2009. I've no wish to be 58kg, but not back to the 44kg at my thinnest. I've slowly changed my diet. At least on paper, the medical records show that I'm at the healthiest point of my life. The body isn't as flexible as the period when I was a gymnast, but cartwheels and backflips are quite easily done still. Good lawwd, has it been so long?! I'm reeling from the many blessings I have. It's imperative that these blessings are gainfully utilized. I've always live my life the way I want it so that if I die tomorrow, I'll have few regrets. I totally intend to continue doing so.This is what turning 32 means- to be less selfish. Not to my friends unfortunately. My nearest and dearest all quietly bear my flighty friendship with fortitude and magnanimity. For that, I'm eternally grateful.I can't wait to be 33 and older. Honestly, I want to be 40 as soon as possible! There're very few women I admire. Those whom I do, I stand in awe of their elegance, graciousness, intellect, determination and wit. They're generally older and possess a certain charisma that makes me want to seek their approval, gladly defer and bow down to. And I wonder if I can ever become someone like that.