Amazing - I have actually managed to wake up at the reasonable time of 5am (even though I had to force myself to go back to sleep at 2am). I was so worried that I would still be stuck on Singapore time, and be forced to take another day of leave from work today.
Since I am up and have nothing better to do at the moment (I was contemplating going running but decided against it as I wanted to be around when Nik wakes up), I thought I would embed a Youtube clip of my favourite song at the moment from John Mayer - who incidentally is still my favourite singer/songwriter even though there have been a flood of them lately! The song is called Say and it is from the recent movie "The Bucket List":
My favourite 2 verses from the song:
"Walkin' like a one man army,
Fightin' with the shadows in your head.
Livin' up the same old moment
Knowin' you'd be better off instead
If you could only...Say what you need to say
Have no fear for givin' in.
Have no fear for giving over.
You better know that in the end
It's better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say again."
Heh, maybe I should "say what I need to say" later and demand a pay rise!
I can't wait for John Mayer's concert at Hyde Park in June!
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Back in London
Am now back in the land of Big Ben, tube strikes and (apparently) earthquakes! I must say that it felt as if the journey was never going to end - Total travel time (door to door) was about 25 hours!
In any case, the weather was so (uncharacteristically for London) stunning that I decided to ignore my fatigue and head out for a run in my neighbourhood. Brought out my camera as well to get some shots:
I also finally received my voucher from my firm that allows me to get my bike at a discount - which incidentally was my long awaited birthday present from a whole bunch of you!
Will post pics of the bike as soon as I get it!
I must admit that I am quite surprised about how OK I am feeling about being back in London. I was certainly much more reluctant to leave Singapore yesteday, but now I am just keen to get back into the groove of things here!
Also, can't wait to see Nik again!
In any case, the weather was so (uncharacteristically for London) stunning that I decided to ignore my fatigue and head out for a run in my neighbourhood. Brought out my camera as well to get some shots:
I also finally received my voucher from my firm that allows me to get my bike at a discount - which incidentally was my long awaited birthday present from a whole bunch of you!
Will post pics of the bike as soon as I get it!
I must admit that I am quite surprised about how OK I am feeling about being back in London. I was certainly much more reluctant to leave Singapore yesteday, but now I am just keen to get back into the groove of things here!
Also, can't wait to see Nik again!
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Farewell and Parting Shots
I am now at the airport with my trusty Macbook, sipping a Spinelli's Hot Chocolate (which cannot be found in London). My last hours in Singapore were spent eating Changi Village Nasi Lemak and Chicken Chop from the Western Food Stall.
What I will miss most about being in Singapore is best exemplified by the last 30 minutes at Vik and Thumbelina's apartment. Thumbelina and BF were driving out to the petrol station to pick up some groceries and to fill up petrol. They had gone downstairs to the carpark when I rushed to the balcony and yelled (within earshot of the entire estate) "Are you buying ribbed or non-ribbed?"
Thumbelina (confused): Huh?
Me: Ribbed or non-ribbed?
Thumbelina (having understood): Arrrggghhh!!!!
(Short Pause)
BF (yells from the car): Ribbed!
Me and Vik: Hahahahahahahaha
I shall truly miss all of you who have made my trip back to Singapore so great this time round!
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Good Friends and Good Food
Having been told by my employers (lets call them "The Capitalists") that I had too much leave remaining, I decided to pack my bags and head back to Singapore for 2 weeks. I happily skipped out of work early on a Monday afternoon and declared to my colleagues that I was returning to the land where sun is abound!
I landed in Singapore where I was very kindly met by Vik, who immediately whisked me away for my first taste of Fish Bee Hoon in more than a year and a half. Even though the soup was way too salty and had enough MSG to make me look like a bald Britney Spears in rehab, it was still the best damn meal I had eaten in recent memory. Michelin Starred restaurants simply cannot compare to local Singapore MSG! Thanks Vik!
I then arrived back at my old apartment where I met my other ex-housemate Thumbelina, who promptly told me that I was fat! I very rationally replied to Thumbelina that the size of my belly simply paled in comparison to her new beer belly. Just for the record, she does NOT have a beer belly, and I am NOT fat - Trading insults is just our way of complementing each other! Luckily for me, she didnt really care what I said to her since she has a new boyfriend and her head has been drifting in the clouds for the last 2 months - after all, as Mel and I have agreed, there IS an incredible amount of chemistry between Thumbelina and Alex!
Having been through 3 countries in 1 and a half weeks (heh, 2 of them were Singapore and Malaysia - so I guess they count as just a single area), I am pretty damn sleep deprived and am only just beginning to get over my jetlag. But it has been absolutely worth it. In the short time I have been back, I have re-visited old haunts, caught up with friends and family and even gotten my first ever pedicure! (The lotion they used to massage my calves felt like little drops of heaven! The HM was very amused at how swaku I was about the whole process!) I also managed to catch up with Wan and Nieda (who are getting married in July) in KL, as well as Sonia who I had met when I first arrived in London.
I played poker on Friday night with the Singapore bunch (who were kind enough to throw a session for me), where I won enough to pay for most of my return flight to KL. Evidently, all my London poker losses have paid off and my luck has finally turned! I just felt sorry for Reuben who hosted - Sorry dude, it really was a case of invite us to your home only for us to take all your money! =)
I spent most of the first weekend in Singapore with David and Regina, who kindly showed me chi chi Dempsey Hill. Though I must say that I much preferred the good old (and far more economical!) Zion Road Nasi Padang place, which we went to for Saturday lunch.
Reg, the advertising guru, was kind enough to take the time on Saturday afternoon to give me the inside scoop on the media industry, since I am covering the media sector for the Capitalists. Of course, having been averaging about 3 hours sleep over the previous 3 nights, I pretty much crashed out on their sofa immediately after her briefing! Lynn then came over shortly after I woke up and we went down to the neighbourhood kopitiam for coffee, where she reminded me that she concurred with Thumbelina's observation that I had gotten fat! Lies!! All Lies!!
I then reunited with my London mates from last year who are now back in Singapore, which was great!. I managed to re-tan myself (finally!) at Sentosa with the HM, and Rampant brought me for Guo Tie at Lavender Food Centre. I returned the gesture by bringing all of them to the Golden Mile Tower basement for Chicken Rice and Hainanese Pork Chop. DH particularly enjoyed himself, as he discovered a quaint shoe shop that sold faux-leather shoes (more commonly known as PVC shoes, but because it is DH, I shall refer to it as "faux-leather") . We all had a good chuckle at his expense!
I then met up with all of them in KL and managed to see Swinger, who bought me Roast Chicken at Secret Recipe - Bliss! We spent an afternoon at the KLCC area, where I treated DH to the executive toilet in KLCC itself! Bloody RM2 just to take a damn leak! I hope he appreciated it!
Unfortunately, GNK couldn't join us as he had a Malay exam to study for! Doesn't matter man - you can put your new Malay skills to good use when we next head up North! The SSG was also greatly missed, but no worries - Niki, myself and you will shortly be doing our own road trip up to Old Trafford to watch Man U-Liverpool live! =)
Luckily, I managed to come back to Singapore just in time to attend Shawn's 30th birthday bash (where he conveniently fell ill and escaped his mandatory alcohol torture). Despite not having made it to Velvet, at least he still brought home some new found friends - albeit of the furry, inanimate variety.
I even managed to get the opportunity to emulate Thumbelina's now patented perpetually dazed look!
Unfortunately, on the way back from the birthday do, I was crammed into the back of the Major's brand spanking new Mini Cooper S, where I almost developed hemmeroids from having the seat belt buckles jammed up my arse. While the car is indeed as nimble as Cristiano Ronaldo on steroids and sounds as good as an evening alone with Jessica Alba, it simply was not built to carry 3 people in the back seat. But in any case, I am suddenly wishing that my trusty 1.8 Vauxhall Astra had a 172bhp turbocharger instead! To the Major - you have definitely given me something to think about! =)
I also got to celebrate DH's sister's birthday - and I understand that the small slice of cheescake at Book Cafe (which I proceeded to eat all by myself) was the only birthday cake that she got this year! Poor thing!
Now, as I write this, I realise that I only have about 48 hours to go before I have to fly back to gloomy old London. I still remember calling Niki on my first day back, telling her that I wasn't enjoying myself as everything was different in Singapore. I missed Niki; The weather was too hot; I was jetlagged; I incredulously seemed to be missing the routine of work!!??; I was sleep deprived. I even complained that the HM in Singapore was snappier than the HM in London!
And having just told Niki on the phone moments ago that I do not want to go back to work at the Capitalists on Thursday, she did a "I told you so", as she had earlier pointed out at the beginning of my trip that I would not want to leave once it was time to fly off. And at this juncture, I thought it fitting for me to show photos of 2 of the things that have made this trip worthwhile: Good Friends and Good Food!
I landed in Singapore where I was very kindly met by Vik, who immediately whisked me away for my first taste of Fish Bee Hoon in more than a year and a half. Even though the soup was way too salty and had enough MSG to make me look like a bald Britney Spears in rehab, it was still the best damn meal I had eaten in recent memory. Michelin Starred restaurants simply cannot compare to local Singapore MSG! Thanks Vik!
I then arrived back at my old apartment where I met my other ex-housemate Thumbelina, who promptly told me that I was fat! I very rationally replied to Thumbelina that the size of my belly simply paled in comparison to her new beer belly. Just for the record, she does NOT have a beer belly, and I am NOT fat - Trading insults is just our way of complementing each other! Luckily for me, she didnt really care what I said to her since she has a new boyfriend and her head has been drifting in the clouds for the last 2 months - after all, as Mel and I have agreed, there IS an incredible amount of chemistry between Thumbelina and Alex!
Having been through 3 countries in 1 and a half weeks (heh, 2 of them were Singapore and Malaysia - so I guess they count as just a single area), I am pretty damn sleep deprived and am only just beginning to get over my jetlag. But it has been absolutely worth it. In the short time I have been back, I have re-visited old haunts, caught up with friends and family and even gotten my first ever pedicure! (The lotion they used to massage my calves felt like little drops of heaven! The HM was very amused at how swaku I was about the whole process!) I also managed to catch up with Wan and Nieda (who are getting married in July) in KL, as well as Sonia who I had met when I first arrived in London.
I played poker on Friday night with the Singapore bunch (who were kind enough to throw a session for me), where I won enough to pay for most of my return flight to KL. Evidently, all my London poker losses have paid off and my luck has finally turned! I just felt sorry for Reuben who hosted - Sorry dude, it really was a case of invite us to your home only for us to take all your money! =)
I spent most of the first weekend in Singapore with David and Regina, who kindly showed me chi chi Dempsey Hill. Though I must say that I much preferred the good old (and far more economical!) Zion Road Nasi Padang place, which we went to for Saturday lunch.
Reg, the advertising guru, was kind enough to take the time on Saturday afternoon to give me the inside scoop on the media industry, since I am covering the media sector for the Capitalists. Of course, having been averaging about 3 hours sleep over the previous 3 nights, I pretty much crashed out on their sofa immediately after her briefing! Lynn then came over shortly after I woke up and we went down to the neighbourhood kopitiam for coffee, where she reminded me that she concurred with Thumbelina's observation that I had gotten fat! Lies!! All Lies!!
I then reunited with my London mates from last year who are now back in Singapore, which was great!. I managed to re-tan myself (finally!) at Sentosa with the HM, and Rampant brought me for Guo Tie at Lavender Food Centre. I returned the gesture by bringing all of them to the Golden Mile Tower basement for Chicken Rice and Hainanese Pork Chop. DH particularly enjoyed himself, as he discovered a quaint shoe shop that sold faux-leather shoes (more commonly known as PVC shoes, but because it is DH, I shall refer to it as "faux-leather") . We all had a good chuckle at his expense!
I then met up with all of them in KL and managed to see Swinger, who bought me Roast Chicken at Secret Recipe - Bliss! We spent an afternoon at the KLCC area, where I treated DH to the executive toilet in KLCC itself! Bloody RM2 just to take a damn leak! I hope he appreciated it!
Unfortunately, GNK couldn't join us as he had a Malay exam to study for! Doesn't matter man - you can put your new Malay skills to good use when we next head up North! The SSG was also greatly missed, but no worries - Niki, myself and you will shortly be doing our own road trip up to Old Trafford to watch Man U-Liverpool live! =)
Luckily, I managed to come back to Singapore just in time to attend Shawn's 30th birthday bash (where he conveniently fell ill and escaped his mandatory alcohol torture). Despite not having made it to Velvet, at least he still brought home some new found friends - albeit of the furry, inanimate variety.
I even managed to get the opportunity to emulate Thumbelina's now patented perpetually dazed look!
Unfortunately, on the way back from the birthday do, I was crammed into the back of the Major's brand spanking new Mini Cooper S, where I almost developed hemmeroids from having the seat belt buckles jammed up my arse. While the car is indeed as nimble as Cristiano Ronaldo on steroids and sounds as good as an evening alone with Jessica Alba, it simply was not built to carry 3 people in the back seat. But in any case, I am suddenly wishing that my trusty 1.8 Vauxhall Astra had a 172bhp turbocharger instead! To the Major - you have definitely given me something to think about! =)
I also got to celebrate DH's sister's birthday - and I understand that the small slice of cheescake at Book Cafe (which I proceeded to eat all by myself) was the only birthday cake that she got this year! Poor thing!Now, as I write this, I realise that I only have about 48 hours to go before I have to fly back to gloomy old London. I still remember calling Niki on my first day back, telling her that I wasn't enjoying myself as everything was different in Singapore. I missed Niki; The weather was too hot; I was jetlagged; I incredulously seemed to be missing the routine of work!!??; I was sleep deprived. I even complained that the HM in Singapore was snappier than the HM in London!
And having just told Niki on the phone moments ago that I do not want to go back to work at the Capitalists on Thursday, she did a "I told you so", as she had earlier pointed out at the beginning of my trip that I would not want to leave once it was time to fly off. And at this juncture, I thought it fitting for me to show photos of 2 of the things that have made this trip worthwhile: Good Friends and Good Food!
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Parental Love?
Why do we (supposedly) have an innate sense of obligation to our parents?
Is it because of what they have done for us in terms of shaping our lives? Or is it something that is merely imprinted upon our psyche from young: i.e. that we have to love them no matter what? I have come to the point where I don't believe that the latter can possibly be true. I (perhaps foolishly) would like to believe that the world revolves around reciprocation - How can someone feel obliged or love another if the reverse does not hold true? If we feel an obligation to our parents because of what they have done for us, then would one owe a mother anything if she has only brought prolonged pain and strife to everyone around her? Is the act of childbirth sufficient to oblige a child for the rest of his life?
I feel like I have come to a crossroads with regard to this. The next few days will either see me finally shed my ties, or foolishly grit my teeth and hang on in the theme of blind filial piety. I am inclined to follow the former route.
Is it because of what they have done for us in terms of shaping our lives? Or is it something that is merely imprinted upon our psyche from young: i.e. that we have to love them no matter what? I have come to the point where I don't believe that the latter can possibly be true. I (perhaps foolishly) would like to believe that the world revolves around reciprocation - How can someone feel obliged or love another if the reverse does not hold true? If we feel an obligation to our parents because of what they have done for us, then would one owe a mother anything if she has only brought prolonged pain and strife to everyone around her? Is the act of childbirth sufficient to oblige a child for the rest of his life?
I feel like I have come to a crossroads with regard to this. The next few days will either see me finally shed my ties, or foolishly grit my teeth and hang on in the theme of blind filial piety. I am inclined to follow the former route.
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Airline Snobbery and Other Snobberies
I recently flew back home using Singapore Airlines. It has actually been a while since I have used them as they were always too expensive for me to use. However, this time, they had a sale going on where a return ticket was going for only 500 pounds!
What luxury! Too long have I been stuck with other airlines where the stewardesses demonstrated the charm and personality of a rabid rhinoceros. On this trip, I actually received water when I wanted it. And without any grumpy or snide undertones as well! Not only that, they actually accommodated my constant requests to see (quite literally) everything on the duty free catalogue!
And the movies! My gosh - What does one do with over 30 movies on demand, plus another 20 tv shows! I was so stumped that I ended up spending about 30 minutes trying to figure out what to watch! You could even fast forward and rewind those scenes of Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four until climax if you wanted to!
I actually ended up not watching anything due to the immense choice, and instead whipped out my trusty Macbook to watch Heroes instead. I even used the internet check in service for the first time in my life!
Fast forward to my budget holiday to the Scottish Highlands last week using Budget Airline X - We left for the airport nice and early to catch the tube to King's Cross Station, where we were due to take the train to Luton Airport. The tube was horribly delayed, so we decided to catch a taxi to the station instead. This smart move ended up with us being caught in a jam, which led to us missing the train to Luton Airport by 1 minute. This led us to arriving at the check-in desk at Luton Airport at 11am to catch our flight at 11.35am. Despite us still having 35 minutes to go, they still refused to let us board the plane! This is how the conversation went (pseudo-verbatim):
Me: Come on mate, let us get on...there is still 35 minutes to go and we don't have any bags!
Disinterested check-in guy: I would allow you if I could but once the guy in charge says no, there is nothing that I can do.
The GF: Please (batting eyelids)...We really don't have any bags. It wouldn't take us very long to clear security.
Disinterested check-in guy: It's not that. It's just that they have to calculate the specific amount of fuel for each person that boards the plane. If I let you on, they would have to add more fuel to take the both of you into account, and it's simply a bit too late for that now!
Let us just pause this dialogue for a second and consider this 1 thing: Now I know that the business model of budget carriers involves very small profit margins for each flight. But this is simply ridiculous! They actually calculate the amount of fuel necessary based on the number of passengers on the flight! I was almost insulted that they thought the GF and I were so heavy that they actually needed to load on more fuel! I am actually surprised that they do not weigh each individual passenger before boarding to measure the fuel necessary by the kilogramme! I mean, what happens if the airplane upon arriving at the destination airport, has to make a few rounds around the airport because of landing congestion??!! Do they start throwing people off the plane to allow for longer flight time? I can just imagine it now:
Stewardess (On PA system on plane): Ladies and Gentlemen, we are currently running short on fuel. Could all passengers weighing 95 kilogrammes and above please proceed to the emergency exits for an immediate exit of the plane. Due to budget constraints, we do not have any parachtutes on board as we would require extra fuel for this. However, if you would kindly put on your lifejackets and inflate it, this should provide you with some cushioning for your fall from 20,000 feet. In any case, because you all weigh more than 95 kilogrammes, your fat should provide you with more than adequate protection for the fall. To compensate you for your inconvenience, we have kindly decided to give you a complementary packet of nuts for your journey towards oblivion. On behalf of the Captain and First Officer, I would like to thank you for flying with us, and to wish you a safe onward journey.
Because of this incident, I have decided to become an airline snob! No more budget airlines for me once I can afford it. Only Singapore Airlines for me, baby! If SIA does not fly to the destination, I ain't going there. The only problem with this cunning plan is that a trip to Germany from London by SIA would likely involve a transit stop halfway around the world in Singapore. Hence, a 3 hour journey would turn into a 26 hour one. Hmmm...maybe I should just buy my own jetstream.
What luxury! Too long have I been stuck with other airlines where the stewardesses demonstrated the charm and personality of a rabid rhinoceros. On this trip, I actually received water when I wanted it. And without any grumpy or snide undertones as well! Not only that, they actually accommodated my constant requests to see (quite literally) everything on the duty free catalogue!
And the movies! My gosh - What does one do with over 30 movies on demand, plus another 20 tv shows! I was so stumped that I ended up spending about 30 minutes trying to figure out what to watch! You could even fast forward and rewind those scenes of Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four until climax if you wanted to!
I actually ended up not watching anything due to the immense choice, and instead whipped out my trusty Macbook to watch Heroes instead. I even used the internet check in service for the first time in my life!
Fast forward to my budget holiday to the Scottish Highlands last week using Budget Airline X - We left for the airport nice and early to catch the tube to King's Cross Station, where we were due to take the train to Luton Airport. The tube was horribly delayed, so we decided to catch a taxi to the station instead. This smart move ended up with us being caught in a jam, which led to us missing the train to Luton Airport by 1 minute. This led us to arriving at the check-in desk at Luton Airport at 11am to catch our flight at 11.35am. Despite us still having 35 minutes to go, they still refused to let us board the plane! This is how the conversation went (pseudo-verbatim):
Me: Come on mate, let us get on...there is still 35 minutes to go and we don't have any bags!
Disinterested check-in guy: I would allow you if I could but once the guy in charge says no, there is nothing that I can do.
The GF: Please (batting eyelids)...We really don't have any bags. It wouldn't take us very long to clear security.
Disinterested check-in guy: It's not that. It's just that they have to calculate the specific amount of fuel for each person that boards the plane. If I let you on, they would have to add more fuel to take the both of you into account, and it's simply a bit too late for that now!
Let us just pause this dialogue for a second and consider this 1 thing: Now I know that the business model of budget carriers involves very small profit margins for each flight. But this is simply ridiculous! They actually calculate the amount of fuel necessary based on the number of passengers on the flight! I was almost insulted that they thought the GF and I were so heavy that they actually needed to load on more fuel! I am actually surprised that they do not weigh each individual passenger before boarding to measure the fuel necessary by the kilogramme! I mean, what happens if the airplane upon arriving at the destination airport, has to make a few rounds around the airport because of landing congestion??!! Do they start throwing people off the plane to allow for longer flight time? I can just imagine it now:
Stewardess (On PA system on plane): Ladies and Gentlemen, we are currently running short on fuel. Could all passengers weighing 95 kilogrammes and above please proceed to the emergency exits for an immediate exit of the plane. Due to budget constraints, we do not have any parachtutes on board as we would require extra fuel for this. However, if you would kindly put on your lifejackets and inflate it, this should provide you with some cushioning for your fall from 20,000 feet. In any case, because you all weigh more than 95 kilogrammes, your fat should provide you with more than adequate protection for the fall. To compensate you for your inconvenience, we have kindly decided to give you a complementary packet of nuts for your journey towards oblivion. On behalf of the Captain and First Officer, I would like to thank you for flying with us, and to wish you a safe onward journey.
Because of this incident, I have decided to become an airline snob! No more budget airlines for me once I can afford it. Only Singapore Airlines for me, baby! If SIA does not fly to the destination, I ain't going there. The only problem with this cunning plan is that a trip to Germany from London by SIA would likely involve a transit stop halfway around the world in Singapore. Hence, a 3 hour journey would turn into a 26 hour one. Hmmm...maybe I should just buy my own jetstream.
New Blog
I have decided - after a 9 month sabbatical from blogging - to create a new blog. One of the reasons for this is that I am entering a new phase of life working in London. Hence, new phase = new blog. But really, the real reason is that I simply cannot remember what the address of my previous blog was. As it is simply much easier to create a new blog than to hunt for my old one, it made sense to do the latter.
For those of you reading this from near and afar, enjoy! I know that I am really bad at keeping up with emails, so I am hoping that this will at least help us stay in touch!
For those of you reading this from near and afar, enjoy! I know that I am really bad at keeping up with emails, so I am hoping that this will at least help us stay in touch!
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