Cleaning & Cleansing

I initially intended to clear just two shelves of my cupboard.
I ended up cleaning all 4 shelves of it.
And discarding about a trashbag worth of stuff from it.

There was another small bag of stuff which my mum salvaged, saying either she or my dasao might be able to find a use for the things.

So well, it was probably just a shift of junk and gunk from my room to her room and/or over to my brother's flat in Pasir Ris.

Sensing I was in the right mood and frame of mind, my mum jumped on the bandwagon and dredged out 5 bags worth of soft toys to see which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to throw and still, which others I wanted to donate to the Salvation Army.

It was sort of an emotional afternoon.
Going through stuff which I'd long forgotten about. Remembering things associated with each item, be it good or bad memories.

Remembering who gave me what and for which occassion. Discovering things long forgotten.

I came across my autograph books from secondary school and JC days.
I came across old photographs from 15, 16 years ago.

I saw photos of me, Ally & PQ fighting with each other in a chalet room. I saw pics of Parwin, Hidayah, Gurmit, Yazid...TH, Poh Chuan...

I came across old art drawings I did when I was in Sec 1.
I came across batik cloths I made when I was in Sec 2.

Gosh, it's times like this when you think to yourself "Shit, you mean that much time has passed us by??"

Then there were other things which had a certain amount of sentimental value to it but to which I just closed my eyes to and threw away. Sometimes, I guess there's no point holding onto various things in the past. What matters most is the present ain't it?

Sure one might argue that the present was built on the past but oh well, concentrate on the present and your future will be built upon it.

There were loads of soft toys.

Hello Kitty collectibles from the days when MacDonald's was giving it away. I think that was at least 9-10 years ago?

Still wrapped in the see-through plastic bag. There was a pair dressed in Korean traditional costumes. I kept those. And there was another pair dressed in Western clothes. Kept those too.

Hehe, collectibles leh. I almost threw them away actually. My mum asked me to keep them. Lol.

Then there was a racoon with a squeaky tail from a suitor when I was in P6. Some birthday toys from secondary school. And tons of other toys from my stay in SGH in 2005.

I wanted to give away quite a number of them to the Salvation Army.
Interestingly, my mum couldn't bear to. She said they were rather cute and were still very new.

Oh well, so back into the top of cupboard they went.

The irony of it all. She's alway the one who wants me to throw throw throw.

Phase 1 is over.
There's still at least 6 phases more to go. Or 7 maybe.

Long way ahead...but en route to a cleaner and less cluttered room!!

And en route to a newer Michelle.

I

Need to:

• clear more stuff from my room & cupboards & drawers
• focus on work & projects
• plan for trips
• blade blade blade
• eat moderately & healthily

Thinking of:

• quitting french and taking malay again or spanish
• taking up pottery
• exploring options and possibilities

berlari-lari

Went for a run.

Cham. Less than 2 weeks of not running and I lost my stamina????

At this rate, SHAPE run seems like an impossible task.

Only covered 3.3-3.4km today. And I had to walk at least 3 times in between.

Legs felt like lead.

Guess this is what an overseas trip can do to you.

:(

This will not do. No, this will not do at all.

*growl*

Day 8 - Little Fat Bird Flies Home. Any Fatter And That Would Be Impossible Already.

27 June 2009

Happy Lark
Let’s just say I felt strangely happy to go home. Very happy actually. I was beaming when I stepped off the plan onto the aerobridge. :)
And of course, the first person I saw when I was dragging my luggage out was K. Haha.

A380
Little birdie in a big birdie. I watched “He’s Just Not That IntoYou”, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Duplicity”, the new show by Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.

“Duplicity” was alright. A little confusing at times though because of the way they jumped from now to sometime in the past then back to now then back to the past. Cried during “He’s Just Not That Into You” and was just generally amused at “Confessions of a Shopaholic”.

They served Roast Chicken for dinner. And bacon quiche for refreshment. Lovely. Who said airline food sucks? Got give you food good enough already lor. Other people starving elsewhere, and you’re still complaining. Hehe…

Luggage
Let's just say I went with one and came back with two. I didn't shop for clothes. I shopped for nuts.
Macadamias specifically. And nougats and chocs. Heh. My hardcase luggage was full of nuts.
Dumped all my clothes into the smaller soft-case luggage.

Went there with 14kg worth of things. Came back with 24.6kg. ;p
Nuts Nuts Nuts!!

Day 7 - Little Birdie Saw Big Big Fish!!

26 June 2009

Whale Watching
Me and HC went whale-watching today! Haha…it was a 3.5hour boat ride. Went out to the open sea and it felt nice. The skies were bright and sunny. The clouds were lovely, huge, white and fluffy. Seagulls were flying and there was a bunch which followed us a little way…

I saw albatrosses sitting on the water just bobbing along to the tides. It felt so surreal!! I’ve only seen these things on NatGeo or Discovery Channel and right now I’m in the midst of it all. :)

And then. The guide yelled out in the PA system. Humpback whales sighted. Woohoo!
There were two of them. Spouting water through their blowholes. I could only see their backs though as they surfaced to get some air…and then I could only see their tails and then they vanished beneath the water surface again..

It takes an average of 2-4 minutes before a whale will surface again to get more air. According to the guide, those we saw were young whales. Probably only a year or two old. Because the water that spouted did not reach very high levels.

Managed to catch a far-off glimpse of a fur seal…munching on fish apparently. Also managed to see 3 or 4 pygmy killer whales! They were leaping in the air much like how dolphins do…which made most of us on the boat think they were dolphins till the guide clarified with us.

I went back to shore feeling like a happy lark :)

Night Walking
The evening was spent exploring the parts of Pitt Street and George Street which were catered for the Japs and Koreans. I seriously felt like I was in Jap-land or K-land. Shops with names like Shinjuku, Harajuku…restaurants selling Jap and Korean food, convenience stores selling Jap and Korean goods. Japs and Koreans populated the streets. I heard Jap and Korean music blaring out of shops…gosh. Haha.

Peck-Peck-Peck
And of course, a good Korean bowl of hot Kimchi soup made for a lovely dinner on a cold cold night haha. I loved the amount of vege they had in the soup.

It was oh-so difficult trying to get my hands on a decent amount of vege over the past few days. The only vege I saw were those used for garnishings. I would have loved to grab that carrot flower or capsicum flower…but I think that would have just smashed my reputation to the floor….

Day 6 - Birdie Explorations

25 June 2009

Meetings/Greetings
T’was the 2nd last day of meetings. I was lazy. I felt tired. And so I spent the most part of the morning logging in remotely to the meetings. Thank god for the filming of meetings.
Thank god for the existence of transcribers and thank god for technology :)

I was in my bathrobe, sipping tea and listening in to the meetings. Ahh….that’s the way working life should be hahahah. ;p

Mid-Day Peckings
HC, boss & I headed to the Sydney Fish Market for lunch! The whole place surprisingly smelt okay. I thought it would be a smelly fishy affair. Haha. A snippet: Did you know that 65 million tonnes of fish and seafood go through the fish market every day? Amazing man!!

There were a few rows of restaurants where you could pick and choose your foods. Fish, sashimi, loads of different types of prawns, tons of different types of oysters and fish and cockles, clams, scallops and other shellfish…

I thought to myself: I think K would have a field day here!! Haha..I could imagine him gong ballistic at the variety of seafood there and the freshness of it all.

The 3 of us ended up having a seafood platter for 2. And we still had a hard time trying to finish it haha. There were scallops, oysters, chips, fish fillets, calamaris and squids..:)
Cholesterol laden food..yes yes I know…

Hop-Shop-Hop
The evening was spent heading out to Market City with HC. Market City is this shopping centre on the fringe of Chinatown which houses several factory outlet stores of brands like Espirit, Polo Ralph, etc. I didn’t get much there though. Just a bottom from Esprit and a top there for K. Erm, I guess I ain’t really that much of a shopping person haha.

Peckings of Chinese Food
Dinner was over at this North Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Chinatown. Wasn’t feeling hungry at all so all I had were some chive and prawn dumplings. That’s the lightest thing I could find on the menu haha.
But it was nice though. Dipping the dumplings into vinegar and sipping Chinese tea.

Day 5 - Fattest Bird

24 June 2009

Gala Dinner
There was a dinner gathering for all the participants of the entire conference. That’s like hundreds of people. It was held at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, a building situated right next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and overlooking the Sydney Opera House.

Dinner was done in a cocktail style. Grab your own food from food islands all over the huge room. Plates and plates of fresh oysters, sticks and sticks of salmon kebabs, bowls and bowls of fresh steamed prawns, trays and trays of fillet mignon and chicken, plates and plates of lamb sandwiches and containers and containers of sauces and condiments.

It left most of the Chinese Asians wondering if there were main courses which would be served later on. I guess we’re just not used to having dinner this way. Haha.

Birds of a Feather
Flock together. When like-minded people hang out together, it’s always fun. :) The few of us, from the Asian countries. Talking, eating, laughing, drinking, joking, gossiping and of course, taking pictures haha. It’s always nice to catch up with people and to “bond”.

And it’s always funny. How relaxed you see people get in such social situations. Some let their hair down and are totally different from the “work” personas they have on during the day.

Animal Kingdom
There was a little corner at the dinner, where the Australian Wildlife Reserves had a team showcase a koala bear, a gecko and a baby kangaroo!! I was one of the idiots queue-ing up to have a photo taken with the animals hehe. I fell in love with the joey. Super cute, huddled up in the makeshift pouch the volunteer was carrying, which doubled up as its mother’s pouch.

Sips
Free flow as usual. As with all other such events haha. Red, white, sparkling, champagne, beer, you name it. I went with champagne this time round. Am turning into a white and champagne lady haha.

Sydney Opera House
After the dinner, 4 of us, HC, me and 2 others from Malaysia took a brisk walk over to the Sydney Opera House. It was really a brisk walk. Bordering on a half walk, half jog actually haha. Reason being it was damn freaking cold!!! We had to jog a little to keep ourselves warm haha.

We were by the sea and a breeze was blowing. Way too cold for my liking. My ears, fingers and nose were numb ahhaa..But the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Opera House was lovely…:)

I felt lonely walking there that night. Despite the 3 others who were with me. Was missing K so much that I rang him from there. And this silly bird was close to crying already lol.
Guess the winds, the chills, the night scene and the soudns of far-off gulls just added it all up into one big conglomerate of emotions. ;p

Bleah
It always happens. I had bought the brolly. And voila. It didn’t rain for the last 3 days. Not a single drop.

Weather
Damn cold!! Enough said!! I had to stand under the hot shower for a long while to thaw out haha.

Day 4 - Fatter Bird

23 June 2009

Sponsored Dinner – Jones Bay Wharf
It was an interesting place situated right next to the wharf, about a 15-minute ride from the hotel. The place looked cold on the outside but was rather cosy on the inside. I ended up being seated at a table together with the Taiwanese and Chinese. One of those dinners where you have to develop and nurture the “guan xi” ties between yourself and the other countries/organizations.

And it’s natural too. The Asians tend to flock together. Especially the Chinese-speaking ones.

The food turned out to be so-so. Some dishes were good, some were strange.
The entrée was some dish which had strange flour-like blobs coated with a cream sauce. It really looked like the Chinese “tang yuan”. No filling nothing. Just flour. Hmm mm.

For mains, lamb or barramundi was served. Somehow the server put a plate of barramundi in front of me and so I had that same fish for the second night in a row. It was quite well done and the grilled potatoes which came along with it were very well done as well. I stole a pice of lamb from the guy sitting next to me and the lamb was very good too. Tender and no overpowering odour of any sort haha.

Tiko Bird
There was a “tiko” uncle from Taiwan seated across the table from me during dinner. Tried to hit on me in front of the rest...it was a little too obvious. Gosh. I hope my rep wasn’t dragged down by him or anything…

One instance was the conversation between us that happened when a communal plate of dessert was placed in the middle of our table

Him: Meijin, have some have some. (bear in mind I was the youngest at the table and the smallest fry. It wasn’t appropriate of me to take anything in terms of etiquette)
Me: Oh no, it’s ok, you guys better have it first. Anyway I think it’ll be too sweet for me.
Him: How do you know it’s sweet if you’ve not even tasted it yet?
Me: It looks sweet enough..
Him: And you look very sweet too…
Me: *acted blur* *laughed it off* *turned to the lady next to me*

Chinese Twitterings
Language has improved. Hehe. I can’t say my Mandarin conversations are decent but at least, I’m able to handle it better than before lol. Hanging out with the Chinese folks have given me a beter grasp of my mother tongue...

And they love calling me by my Chinese name. They’re just so amused that my Chinese name is read as “US Dollars” haha….oh well, makes for good small talk whenever I meet a new Chinese person.

Weather
Cold again. But much better than the day before. I’m beginning to fall in love with scarves.

work

working from home these 2 days.

fucking fucking fucking frustrating dealing with some people.

especially when it's your team members you're talking about here.

don't know how long i can take this.

perhaps it will be time soon?

je ne sais pas.

quoi je dois faire.

Day 3 - Fat Bird

22 June 2009
Meetings here and there. Nothing much happened for this day. The only highlight of the day was perhaps the sponsored dinner had in the evening. Or rather, I sould say in the night actually.

Nick’s
It was a sponsored dinner by one of the Asian registries. We headed to Nick’s over at the Darling Harbour, which is just a 10 minute walk form my hotel. Nick’s is a popular seafood restaurant with loads to offer and a cosily situated by the sea. By the time the 35 of us arrived, it was already 9pm and by the time the dinner ended, it was already 1130pm.

The menu was fixed, but we could still choose between various offerings on that fixed menu. Entrees were between ½ dozen oysters or grilled prawns. Mains were between grilled salmon or barramundi or fillet steak.

I ended up taking the grilled prawns and the grilled barramundi.

The prawns were fantastic. Sweet, succulent, juicy. Yum Yum.

The barramundi fared worse. The fish tasted good enough with the meat being sufficiently juicy and tender and not overcooked. The accompanying mix of veggies turned out to be disappointing though. It was a sour sour mix of artichokes, asparagus, spinach, bellpeppers and I can't remember what else. Totally sour to the tastebuds and well, it definitley did not sit well with me and the others who took the barranmundi as well.

Chips
I have to say this. Chips in Australia are very very nice. We call it fries back home in SG but I think the Western communities generally refer to them as chips.
Lovely chips, probably made from Russett Burbank potatoes…Chunky bits, fragrant and salty enough yum yum. :)

Weather
It was bearable today. At least, it did not rain. But I'm still huddled up in my jacket with my trusty scarf. Hands perpetually tucked into my pockets though.

Home Sweet Home (soon enough)

I have to say. I'm atcually looking forward to going back home to Singapore.
Somehow this trip hasn't been as lovable as my past trips. Perhaps it is also because I left Singapore on a note of reluctance. Quite abit of reluctance actually.

Granny
On the day I left for Sydney. Granny was admitted to hospital. It's not the first time definitely that she's been warded.

But it's the first time ever that the docs have told us to be "prepared for the worst". I've been calling home everyday for updates from Dad. About her wheezing, her pneumonia, her infection, her tainted blood, her weak kidneys, her breathlessness, her pacemaker, her blah blah blah. About how, during her states of forgetfulness or mental "instability", she would pluck out her feeding tube from her nose or her drip plugs from the back of her hand and cause lots of bleeding. About how she fidgets with her catheter.

Hell, the docs have even discussed life support procedures with my family. Dad discussed it with me on Tuesday. About whether we'd put her on life support or not if the time came to it eventually.

On a good note, she's doing slightly better the last 2-3 days. Still very unstable though.

I hope Dad's holding out okay.
Especially when I'm in Sydney, and Adrian's in Korea. Sigh.

K
It's been a tough week for him. And I'm missing him terribly. Nary an hour passes by without my thoughts floating over to him. I'm feeling very bad that I'm not by his side during his down moments. And well, a little frustrated that all I can do is to talk to him over the phone.

Being there on the phone with him is different from being there with him in person.

Sorry baby...But I'm coming home soon, see you tonight...

========
Trip updates will be coming up soon. Apologies for the lack of photos.
You know me. I can be a lazy bum.

Day 2 - I'm a Free Bird

Morning
Woke and found myself still positioned snugly in my little cocoon made of pillows, a quilt and the towel bathrobe I used as an extra blankie.
Warm and cushioned, I refused to get up. Till I found myself almost late.
Washed up hurriedly and tiptoed around in the bathroom because the tiles were freezing cold to the touch.
Went down to the meeting area, found a nice spot. And voila the meeting started….zzzz.

Mid-Day Peckings
Lunchtime was on my own today. I was deciding between cup noodles or heading out. I ended up heading out. Did a quickie shopping trip and ended up with a wooly brown-grey scarf :) I like scarves! Hehe..

And I dabao-ed fast food from Hungry Jacks, the equivalent of Burger King in SG. Brought it back to the room and gobbled the thing up. Burgers and fries have never tasted that good hahaha.

Social Chirpings
I hopped off from the afternoon discussion early hehe. Went round to the exhibition area and fluttered from booth to booth. 4 of them in all. Said hi to all the folks I knew.

Might I add, all the Asian folks I knew. Haha…It always feels good to see familiar friendly faces and discuss common topics amidst the hordes of ang mohs at the conference. ;p

Exploratory Little Bird
I managed to do what I like this evening. I headed out on my own.
Armed with a map and a bounce to my step, I trotted (I initially misspelt this world as “trottered” sheesh…I definitely hope I don’t have trotter legs) out of the hotel lobby with a smile on my face..:)

And it was off to Chinatown. Left turn, straight down George Street, right turn on Liverpool Street, past Sussex Road and then, left turn on Dixon Road and voila! Chinatown!

Unsurprisingly, there were many Chinese restaurants around. Some were Thai or Vietnamese. There were also ittle quaint shops selling funky street clothes and one or two feng shui shops.

Had a fulfilling bowl of wanton noodles which cost me SGD$8 but which had 7 wantons in it and a huge load of noodles. Each wanton was almost twice as large as the ones in SG. Well worth the price paid!

Popped into a bread shop also and bought a blueberry bun for tomorrow’s breakfast. Yum!

Weather
Blimey. I did not think I was that suay. But apparently, Murphy’s Law happens rather oft. “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”

I was in a branch of Woolworth’s just a block away from Sydney Hilton. It’s a chain of supermarkets in Sydney. I saw this little black foldable umbrella and my mum’s words said to me the night before rang in my head again. “You better go and get an umbrella just in case it rains again!! I don’t want you to catch a cold!!”

I looked at the brolly. Innocuous looking thing.
And then I walked away. “Nah, it won’t rain. The weather’s been good all day along.”

TMD. It did rain. Less than two hours after I thought to myself that it wouldn’t.
I was heading back from Chinatown when it drizzled and then got heavier...
Got back to the room with bed-draggled hair.
Met a HK guy and a UK guy along the route back to the hotel. Aiyoh. Unglam. :(

I think. I shall pop by Woolworth’s tomorrow and buy that little black brolly afterall. Bleah.

Musings
I think I am pretty much a loner afterall, despite how some people might choose to disagree lol.
I enjoy walking around the streets of a foreign city, exploring on my own. Taking my own time to walk.
I stop as I please and I go where I want. I last felt this way when I was in Paris. It felt good to get that feeling back again :) However brief that evening exploration was.

Nightfall
Oh by the way, it turns dark at 430pm over here now.

Day 1 – I’m Like a Bird. A Freezing One That Is.

19 June 2009 Friday
Flight was scheduled to be on 19 June 2009 at 835pm from Changi Terminal 3.
Had dinner with K over at TCC and then bid a reluctant farewell to him at the departure gate…Was feeling a little tired as well from a long draggy business lunch..

Anyhow, the plane taxied around and only took off around 850-855pm. Mr Captain said Changi was rather congested that night. Hmm mm..interesting hor?
H1N1, economic downturn and still so many people traveling.

It was an Airbus 380. My virgin time on one.
Nothing great, except that things were newer compared to the other fleet models. But it was darn cold as well. Had to have 2 blankets and my thick jacket to keep me warm.
And even with that, my fingers were still freezing and numb.
p/s: I forgot to bring my gloves…:(

Watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” on board. Cried buckets. Damnit.
So embarrassing, hope I didn’t sniff too loud hehe. Eyes were puffy after that.
Thought that since I was tired out, it would be easier to sleep. But I was wrong.
Turned out that I was too busy freezing, I couldn’t really fall asleep.

20 June 2009 Saturday. 540am AUD time. 740am SG time
Touched down in one of the smoothest flights I’ve had in awhile. The landing was rather well-executed :) Hung around the airport for close to 45minutes waiting for an Indian guy (who’s a HongKonger and speaks fluent Cantonese) who’s attending the same conference. Was supposed to share cab with him to the event hotel.
Zzzzz, it’s a “guan xi” thing so no choice.

How difficult can it be to spot an Indian guy at the airport. Answer: VERY.
Tons of Indians milling about. Tons of whites, tons of Asians, tons of Middle-Eastern-looking men. My eyes grew even more tired seeing the hordes of people walking here and there.

Late Morning
Went to visit The Rocks Market in the late morning. Weather was dismal. Drizzles, light then heavy then light again. Torrential downpour at various times. My shoes were wet through and through. (Heng I brought other pairs)
My toes were wrinkled from being soaked in rainwater…Fingers were numb the whole day hahaha. Darn darn cold lah. I suddenly miss the heat back in SG lol.

Met up with my boss and a Hong Kong boss for lunch before heading back to the hotel for a quick break. And then it was off to explore the surrounding area again. Ended up buying a lot of snacks, macademia nuts and nougats!

Night
Went back to the hotel again, unpacked my stuff and then napped for a little while before being woken up by HC for dinner.
Had a quick visit to Darling Harbour and the Darling Harbour Bridge.

Supposed to have gone to the Sydney Fish Market for cheap and good seafood after that but the area was closed off. Perhaps they are closed on Saturdays. Anyhow, found a simple place and had nice prawn and spinach pasta.

I wasn’t good company today. I’ll accede to that fact.
Partly cos I lacked sleep and felt irritable. Partly cos of the cold. Partly cos my lower back was aching. Partly cos I was missing someone….

Wines
Was at the supermarket. And I realized to my horror that a bottle of mineral water costs up to AUD$3.40. That’s almost SGD$4.
And a bottle of Jacob’s Creek Riesling wine can be gotten for AUD$9.99 which is about SGD$10-something.

What the???? Wine can be bought in Australia for only AUD$6 more than a bottle of mineral water bottle?? Gosh.

No wonder there are so many watering holes littering the streets of Sydney. At almost every corner you can see a little drinkhole to slink into.

People
Australians are generally a very happy and chirpy bunch of people. Think Steve Irwin (god bless his soul), but with a smaller dosage of the bubbliness.

And they love to use the word “love”. I’ve been asked tons of times today :
“What can I do for you love?” or….
“How’re you doing love?” or…
“How’s things love?”….
“Where are ya from love?”

Weather
I think I need not elaborate more here.
C-O-L-D. period.
R-A-I-N-Y. period.
C-R-A-N-K-Y. period.
Hope tomorrow brings some dryness and just a tad bit of sunshine.

Goods
Things are generally expensive. At least what I saw was pricey.
eg. SGD$10 for a bottle of spice. SGD$20 for an atas looking box of biscuits.

The Streets
It was strange. There were alot of police cars with sirens going at full blast and lights flashing like there's no tomorrow. These vehicles were just going round and round the city area...Don't know why. Perhaps it's the norm to have them patrol the streets like this at night.

It was initially unnervering to keep hearing the sirens and see the flashing lights but after awhile, it sort of becomes part of the city's landscape haha.

Aim. Footing.

Firm. Slide.
Where. How. When. What.

Manger

Sunday
Bee Tai Bak with Liver and Minced Meat

Monday
Buttered Mashed Potatoes with Dill
Honey Roasted Chicken Wings
Pong Tau Hu Soup (Meatballs & Bamboo Shoots in a Preserved Soya Bean Base)

Tuesday
Bee Tai Bak with Crabstick, Eggs, Cabbage, Fresh Button Mushrooms, Minced Meat
Cabbage with Bamboo Shoots, Fresh Button Mushrooms, Baby Corn and Garlic


It's always nice to eat food cooked by yourself. :)
And when you have excellent company with you.

Barracks @ Dempsey

I’ve never dined at Barracks before. I’ve been to House to chill but never to Barracks to munch. So happened that dinner was there last night and it was a good opportunity to get a feel of the place and what it had to offer.

Was there with Dan, YL, Chiewz, Wendy & K.

It was relatively populated on a weekday night. Ambience was nice though I felt it was a little too dim. Service was okay. The servers kept coming over to ask if we are doing alright.

Food wise. Rather good actually.
Or at least those stuff which I had a taste of seemed rather good to me haha…
But take it with a pinch of salt…when it comes to food, I’m easy to please and am not really picky ;p

I tried a little of Chiewz’ pumpkin salad…it was good. J Served in a mess tin which we all felt looked like a dog’s food tray lol.
I tried Wendy’s fish and chips. It was good. J the fries had an accompanying white truffle sauce. Lovely.
I’m not a fan of risotto so K’s mushroom risotto did not really sit well with me… hehe. ;p
YL’s ribeye had an “OISHI~!!” from her…
Dan basically just went around snitching stuff from everyone lol….on top of his grilled pork loin.

I had the lobster linguine in black pepper with salmon roe sprinkled on top. Relatively good. Portion was quite big. I was struggling to finish it. Considering my big appetite for a girl ha haha…you get the drift.

Desserts were panna cotta agar agar, strawberry shortcake and a warm choc truffle cake. The agar agar turned out nice! Haha…I liked the shortcake...
The choc truffle was fine for me too..though K felt it could be better. ;p

Will I go back to Barracks again?
Yes I would.
To chill, if not to eat.
To eat, if not to chill.
And/or both.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

"My office harddick just crashed."

=========

This wsa on Kok Weng's MSN nick this morning...

Waahhaha...I burst out laughing like a hyena!!

Yum Yum

Some stuff I'll be dishing out for the weekend...with the eager approval of K.
Rough concepts in mind already...but actual execution remains to be seen hehe.
Will react and play by ear when standing at the stove lol.

Pong Tau Hu with loads of bamboo shoots
Bee Tai Bak witih liver

Other dishes akan datang.....:)

Naggings from The Coll

I don’t need this early in the morning.

Anti-competitive behaviour? Against competition principles? Watch our behaviour? Be careful about exclusive tie-ups?

You’re no longer a regulator. You’re with a private entity. Start being a little bit more flexible or has 10 years slaving for the agency pigeon-holed your mind? Stop hinging on competition principles and all the crap about regulations and policies and laws!

Aiyo. Geez.

It's been ages since I last griped about The Coll.....
Trying to improve my karma a little hehe...
But irritating me first thing in the morning warrants an entry to let off some irritation. ;p

Gatherings...Meet-ups...

Is it just the simple allure of June?

Or the fact that people are sub-consciously giving themselves a pat on the back for a good half a year gone by?Gatherings are suddenly pouring in.

Uni. Sec sch. Ex-colleagues. Classmates. Another batch of ex-colleagues. Family. Colleagues.

It is nice in a way. Catching up.
Yeah, always nice. If it's with peeps close to your heart. :)

Downside is that, sometimes you seem to run on stretched time.

Le Travail Dur

~Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not mean anything.~

Drew Carey Show - Whose Line Is It Anyway?

For those who have seen this before, watch it again...
It's hilarious and well worth a second laugh...;p

Let's Walk

La route est tres loin mais ...

Nous marcherons ensemble toujours....

Oui? Mon bebe?

Over the last 5 days...

bacon rolls, tofu, broccoli, baby corn, soba, prawns, eggs, croissants...

enoki, buna shimeiji, button mushroom, french toast, minced meat, asparagus, scallops...

prawn paste chicken, stingray, kang kong, satay, roast duck, red algae jelly, atap chee...

==========

'nuff said.

I wish I am

In bed right now or..
Having an eggs and hashbrown breakfast in Paris right now or...
Traversing the streets of Barcelona right now or...

Hiking next to a little forest stream in Malaysia now or...
Kayaking in Thailand now or...
Having a body scrub and massage now or...

Wrapped up in winter clothes and crossing the Swiss Alps now or...
Munching on fresh sashimi in Hokkaido now or...
Sitting on a camel in Egypt right now or...

Frolicking and tanning on the beach in Bali now or...
Sitting in a gondola in Venice now or...
Learning to be a passador in Brazil now or...

With k now.

Of Food and Experimentation :)

Dinner Yesterday
- Seared Scallops on a Bed of Sauteed Buna Shimeiji Mushrooms
- Pan-fried Fillet of Cod
- Enoki and Asparagus Wrapped with Bacon Strips
- Watercress in Pork-Ribs and Red Dates Soup

Dinner Today
- Tofu Soup with Minced Meat and Sprigs of Spring Onions
- Egg Omelette with Red Onions and Prawns
- Stir-fried Dou Miao with Fresh Button Mushrooms



Woot Woot!

That Warm Fuzzy Feeling When....

...You go about doing marketing and buying groceries…with someone in mind.
Someone special and dear to you.

...You are doing something with that someone, for that someone.

...You go to sleep with someone as your last thought in mind and wake with that same special someone as your first thought in mind.

...After a hard day’s work, you meet up and go home together.

...You think about him during the day and a silly grin plasters your face thereafter.

i am simply not a morning person.

Woke on the wrong side of bed today.

Perhaps it's also cos I had interrupted sleep.
Was woken at 515am cos the folks were leaving for their Hokkaido trip.
Tried to doze for a while more before getting up at 545am again to bid them a safe trip and bonne voyage.

Tried to nap again and subsequently woke again at 7am feeling darn lethargic, tired and a tad grumpy.

I did what I told myself not to do.
I caught a cab to work. And the amount I spent could probably feed me lunch for at least 3-4 days.

Zombified dumbo.

Listening to K's compilation of songs now...soothes me somewhat a little.
But it's making me miss him much much more as well.

Come back to SG quickly baby...

Kudos to this blog!

I've always had a short attention span.
I'd move from one small project to another one.
I'd hop around from a liking to another.

It's amazing how this blog has managed to stay on.
For so long.
4 years is a long time to me.

==========

Went through some of my old posts that day.

I'm pretty much the same emo self.
Older in some ways. And hopefully wiser in other ways.

There's a marked difference in the way I write though.
The standard of English seems to have dipped in a constant downward curve.
And I seem to still not be able to express myself clearly.

Hmm mm. Ah Well.

Have I been immersing myself in too much Mandarin and dialect for the last few years lol.
Perchance it's time to get re-acquainted with English?

Haha. :)

Mister 4401

It's almost confirmed.

The car will most likely be sold.

Parents got into an accident this morning.

Nothing too serious. No one was hurt.

But it left Dad shaken and upset enough.

And it left Mum with a rather adamant thought of selling the car.

Good in a way. Bad in a way.

But if it buys them a peace of mind in the future.

And if it buys them less expenses.

Then I guess, it's more good than bad to sell the car off.

Plus, Dad's getting on with age.

Reflexes and concentration getting slower.

Perhaps it's for the best that the car is sold.

They can join the crowds and start cabbing.

Hmm.

One of my goals for this year has hit a snag.

It's rethink time.

:(

Why is everyone going overseas to live/study? :(

Parwin is leaving for Brisbane on the 8th of June.

Evangeline is leaving for Brisbane too on the 15th of June.

Adel is leaving for Plymouth, London in Septemer.

1 of K's excolleague is studying in the States now.

Another of his ex-colleagus will be heading to Aussie land next year as well.

Andrew is going to Monash next year after his Army ends.

Lester is in Melbourne now.

Kenneth is in Sydney now.

Fariz is in New York now.

Gurmit has been in Perth for the longest time.

:( :( :(

I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters

For when it's a dowdy drowsy dreary afternoon.
Makes for a good quick perk-up! :)

Listening to it now while trying to sort out some work stuff hehe.

Bitter Heart - Zee Avi

Zee Avi - up and coming.
Malaysian singer whose expanding her career in the States.

This song is worming its way into my heart.
Lovely tune.
Somewhat sad lyrics.

Lovely.

"My bitter heart (of mine) is getting a little fragile"

people...

~~~

We always take people for granted. We do.

We need to make a conscious effort not to.

~~~

We all drop into a routine after a while.

Its always a comforting thing to have some semblance of order or structure in your life.

And then we start taking others for granted as well.

That they'll always be there.

That they'll always be the same.

That they'll never change.

That they'll be around for you if and when you need them.

I guess.

It's a constant and conscious effort not to slip into such a mode.

Easier said than done.

I find it hard to practice this.

I lapse into autopilot mode more often than not.

I'm trying though.

To improve on this.

Are you?

Books, Les Livres

page by page
a book
thin and threadbare
unfolds

inked
blotched
a tad yellowed
a tad frayed at the edges

read
reading
read
between the lines

pondered on
sieved through
thought on
picked through

page by page
a book
thick and voluminous
births

clean and clear
crisp and new
pristine white
fresh and ready

ink
inking
inked
will ink

lines
paragraphs
chapters
volumes

dream

~~~

I don't want to wake from the dream

I want to make it mine

~~~