Not Liking Dogs For Now

I'm SO NOT a morning person. While I'm glad our meetings don't begin till 10.30am or 11am, the 8am briefings kill me. Then, there're the Argentine dinners which start late at 10pm, regardless of whether it's for business or pleasure!!! They like to schedule separate appointments for drinks so as to pack everything in one evening. By the time the night is over, it's 1am. And it doesn't mean I can sleep. There's the filing of reports to do after. It's come to a point where I reject alcohol and order sparkling water just to keep awake.

I haven't been smiling very much simply because I can't even summon the energy to flash a genuine smile. It doesn't reach my eyes. I don't even bother to laugh. There's nothing happening that's very funny. To an associate's comment of "You look tired", I replied directly, "I am."

Damn moody. I already lack sleep. But I can't sleep in on days when we have no morning briefings because of the silly dogs!!! AHHHHHH! There're tons of either part-time or full-time dog-walkers in this city. And they begin their day early. Every street corner is filled with dog-walkers and dozens of dogs. Each dog-walker has between 7 to 8 dogs on their leashes at any one time. And what do dogs do when they get together? They bark with joy.

To begin with, the walls and flooring of my fancy hotel are crappily made. They're thin. I can hear and feel the people stomp around in their room upstairs or when next door neighbors flush their toilets, shower or turn on the tap in the sink. I can HEAR my neighbors key in their codes to open the safe in the room. ARRRGH. This stupid room is not worth USD540 per night! The windows are clearly not double-glazed. I can hear conversations bounding off the walls, and the raccuous loud barks from the dogs. Barks from big dogs, small dogs, tiny dogs.

I can sleep through most things, but not when all these noises happen continuously at such loud decibels on a daily basis. The cacophony is ridiculous. It's only my fourth day in the city. Let's just say I want to strangle all of them. Being woken up at 7am when I slept at 2am the night before is NOT FUN. I don't do very well with only 5 hours of sleep, continuously for days. Add blazing sun and sizzling temperatures to that, my disposition turns markedly sour.

Dulce de Leche

This dulce de leche is wildly popular in Latin America. Every dessert menu offers something with dulce de leche. Pancakes, muffins, candy, bananas, ice-cream made with it, etc. I'm not a fan. It's caramel- sticky and so so so so so sweet. I couldn't take it. It's not about bouncing off the walls, it's about getting a sugar-induced headache on a system that lacks sleep and is more or less exhausted each morning and drained at the end of the night.

Although I must note that the Italian food here has been pretty good at any casual cafe I've walked into. Mostly hearty, down-to-earth recipes from Southern Italy. The pasta is freshly made in the kitchens of all restaurants and taste glorious, although I've to emphasize to use LESS oil in mine.

I've been refusing dessert at meals. Just one bite of anything sweet makes the stomach churn. The desserts here are too heavy duty on the sugar. And I seem to have completely lost my appetite. All I want to eat is fruits, or 3 mouthfuls of something, and then I'm done. I don't have the leisure nor inclination to look at food, or check out restaurants. The schedule is so hectic that I find sitting down to meals an absolute waste of time when I can churning out notes and doing other miscellaneous things that have been tasked for immediate completion.

But I ate tiny piece of dark chocolate that day. If I didn't, I would keel over. The exhaustion just swept in like a wave (for the want of a better word) in a bad way. I struggled very hard to keep the eyelids open during the meeting over drinks. The dark chocolate was full of cacao and kept me awake during dinner later, and stoned.

Through San Telmo

The city is hot hot hot. Sizzling temperatures. I could get a headache and a tan by just walking under the sun for 10 minutes. Now I understand why Argentine women have such glorious sun-kissed skin that isn't gotten from the tanning salon. As much as I wanted to sit down on a bench at Lezama Park for a lunch of sandwiches, it was too glaring, even in my super-black sunnies. So I retreated to a random cafe in the area which served absolutely satisfying Southern Italian style pasta.

Have I already mentioned that I like architecture and buildings in a city? I was so distracted during a meeting because the room overlooked rooftops in the city. I couldn't help comparing between the olden rooftops versus the ugly squares and cement of the 90s' construction pre-fab boom, and the sleek contemporary glass and steel.

I had the pleasure of meandering through the city's oldest and most traditional neighborhood of San Telmo. Apparently those cobblestones were laid in the 1800s and have lasted till today. The churches are imposingly serene and charming. Even though this is a tourist zone, the area is unassuming and still nice to hang out in. The crowds come in during the weekends when the markets spring up. I don't feel it's been commercialized or contrived. Buskers come in and out no matter how. The shops and cafes remain, and cater to the locals during the week. The area carries on doing whatever it does regardless of the humans.

The whole point of this exercise ended at ummm.....small-ish....The Museum of Modern Art, or Malba, as it is known. Of course there's a distinct difference between the artists and the art in Latin American, Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific. There's a marked vibrant contrast in the selection of colors used, and the strokes that line the paintings. These lines blur when it comes to film and photography; only the subjects indicate any sort of focus on the region. Sadly, I still struggle to understand modern art, especially when it comes to hyperrealism.

Figs!

I was only going to grab a coffee and run off for the morning meetings. But the colors at the breakfast table caught my eye. So I wandered over to take a look and see if the spread would entice me to eat something sometime during the week.

When I saw fresh figs, I couldn't help but take one to nibble. I LOVE FIGS. I dithered over the fig tart. It looked awesome yummy! But at 7.30am, I wasn't sure if the stomach could take it. Still, I took a tiny slice. OMG. That tart is divine! It isn't as sweet as I expected. In fact, I wouldn't call it sweet. The pastry is exquisite. A bit crumbly as expected of tarts, but not dry. It was perfect for breakfast, and my palate. It was so good that I had a second slice. Heh.

The sign on the stand did say 'tart of the day', a phrase which made me grin. Anyway, I hope the kitchen makes this fig tart again tomorrow or the day after, or sometime again. I'm definitely coming back to check out the elegant tarts at breakfast.

Buenos Dias, Buenos Aires

I staggered out of the airport into a painfully bright morning. Luckily the sunnies were firmly perched. Sleep was fitful on the flight because it was just so damn noisy. Don't these people sleep?!!! Post-flight, I was so zonked.

There isn't a trace of clouds in the air. The city of Buenos Aires is fascinating with its history, stately old buildings and vibrant politics. I survived the day. Not even sure if I made much sense at the conversations. There's a bit of a breather now. The pace will pick up in the morning. Churning out some final pieces of work. It's past midnight now. YAWN. I really should sleep soon.

Addendum: Oh, and I forgot to say that in STARK contrast to other American airlines, the noisy passengers on Qantas didn't clap upon landing. I'm assuming all planes should land, as they would. And the arrival card was simple enough to fill, not on a crisp card in plain English, but a filmsy piece of white paper that has been photocopied. It didn't ask me for the make of my mobile phone/s. It must be because the friends flew in from the US; that explains all the weird stuff. Hahah. But passengers holding UK or Australian passports have to pay USD100 upon arrival in any port in Argentina as 'reciprocity fee' as some sort of tax.

From Bears To The Blog

As awesome as Skype is, it doesn't make it up for face-to-face interaction. While we don't place heavy emphasis on birthdays, I do feel a slight twinge of heartache knowing that I won't even be able to call the man to wish him well on his birthday because I'll be on a plane bound for the next city.

Would you wish the man many happy returns of the day on the 29th? Please? He turns 36. Old liao. Heeeeeee. He reads this blog and I'm sure he would appreciate your words.

Why Did We Bother Ah?

The girlfriend enthusiastically declared, "Let's have doughnuts!" I was like......eiooowwwwww.....yucks. The others rolled their eyes. Doughnuts are sickeningly sweet! You feel ill eating them.

This girlfriend makes wayyyy better desserts than the sugar-laden rubbish sold outside. She made an apple crumble that was already waiting for us at home along with tea and oatmeal raisin cookies. Still, on our way back, we stopped at a Krispy Kreme.

The shop was.......colorful. Between 4 of us + 1 little girl, we shared 1 doughnut- a 'choc iced'. Muahahahahha. As you can see, we're not fond of doughnuts at all. Okay, maybe just someONE likes it. She had half. Her little bub wasn't at all interested in the eating. She liked the colors of the trays on display. After she took a bite, she declared it too sweet and spat it out. It was pure hilarity. You have the mother who has a crazily sweet tooth, and her little girl who doesn't like sweet things. She likes pure lemon juice, and eats limes as fruits. Woah.

19°C today. It was a dreary rainy Sunday. But it didn't dampen my spirits. The friends picked me up and drove us out. I'm glad to have made the brunch date at Tiger Mottle. The coffee was fantabulous. Thick, rich brew. Their 'Maple Mottle' is really interesting, but I didn't fancy fancy it. Gimme the usual flat white anytime. Then, there's the wonderful hospitality of homemade dessert, tea, super cute dogs and cats. There's the unbeatable warmth of human contact. I need my friends. I love my day out.

The Food's Been Good

Why am I not surprised that Sydney is raining all weekend? Ah well, at least it isn't storming as badly as last weekend. At least I've got some bright blue skies on Friday and an hour or two of sunshine now. I managed to squeeze out pockets of me-time. I read and chilled. I went walking and soaked in the fresh air.

Despite the gloomy weather this weekend, I didn't stay in. Had to work out the kink in the neck on the machines at the pilates studio. Glad to have met the friends for lunch on Saturday; got some hugs, laughter and delightful conversation that didn't involve more killing of brain cells. Those are food for the soul, priceless.

Fancy meals, light bites; posh restaurants, chic cafes and homecooked all. I'm thankful that on this trip, there's been plenty of good food. They're healthily cooked with the freshest ingredients. There's been alot of barramundi and crisp salads. The one unhealthy thing I had was probably the fish and chips. Hehehehhehe. It's by far the most oily item ingested and the stomach definitely protested after that.

It does help that food is delicious and I needn't think too hard about what to eat or where to go. Weekdays are filled with arrangements done by colleagues or counterparts. Only this weekend, I get to rest and think about where I want to go. There isn't any Singapore dishes I'm craving because I'm eating all the things that are usually on the my plate at home! Although I do miss the Bedok chwee kueh a little. Most of all, I miss that pungent smell and spiciness of sambal.

Reading About Colorful Things

I know. Totally fluffiness. But I wasn't in the mood for reading words and paragraphs. There was a particularly grueling session which involved poring over budget sheets, variances and forecast, then drafting of speeches. Needed a book less taxing.

Instead of having the pilates instructor come over for a session, I took a jaunt to the studio at Rose Bay for to stretch out on the machines. My shoulders were so stiff! It took ages to pull out the tension in the upper body. After that, I wanted to put the feet up, curl into the couch and chill out with a picture book in front of Discovery Channel. A good dram of whisky would be perfect, but since there wasn't any, sparkling water sufficed.

So I picked out "Manolo Blahnik's Drawings". Quite a cute book. It was a good flip. Well, it isn't the fact that I'm looking at designs that convey more than sturdy practical shoes. They fire your imagination of flowers in spring, fruits on the platter, birds, jewelry, etc. How whimsical, yet such serious business profits the designs churn. They're blueprints for dreams. I could never draw like this, or come up with any of those designs. The brains are not wired this way. I can't quite appreciate them on the feet, but I love the soft colors and how the sketches look. The exquisite illustrations, I have to confess, attract me more than the shoes perched atop the shelves at the retail stores.

Toting A Lighter Bag

I've given in and also brought a smaller foldable bag along on this trip. There're a couple of the bags lying around to be used as overnight holdalls and luggage. They've proven to be quite useful on trips when I need to hand-carry delicate items or take short 2-day side jaunts.

The jumbo ones are useful. But for these smaller sizes, I've absolutely refused to use them as.....'purses'. The tiniest ones hold my tech gadgets. I suppose the medium sizes could be used as beach bags or as an activity bag. No issues with pushing one on the floor or have water droplets splash on them. I agree that these bags are practical, although they shouldn't be bought in Singapore or anywhere in Asia. Have you seen their prices in the region? It's ridiculous.

When I'm on a one-month trip, lightweight items are a boon. So I threw 2 totes into the suitcase for the days I don't want to carry heavy leather around, and if an extra bag is needed to hold whatever items necessary. I feel weird carrying one bag for a month! Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of swopping bags to suit the clothes. So I make do. Today, I picked out the smaller tote, stuffed clothes and toiletries into it and took it to the pilates class. It counts for a pretty decent a gym bag. Whewwww. But I did stroll around with it after that. Hmmmmpf.

Time-Out, Sydney

Given a choice, Mirabelle Cafe isn't what I would pick to have coffee. Its flat white lacked flavor and body. It was nondescript. But the location's got lots going for it and I don't really have another convenient cafe to walk to.

On this sort of work trips, there is neither personal time nor planned time-out, not even on the weekends. Don't even bother to date the friends for a meal. I assure you that all plans will be thrown awry and work looms large every friggin' minute. Your day doesn't end at 7pm. You'll be very lucky if it ends at 8pm. On the average, it ends at 11pm, and starts at 8am. I only managed a very early morning coffee run with the friends in Melbourne. So it's down to seizing the moment to keep my sanity. And today I did.

It was completely out of character, but at Mirabelle, I chose to sit al fresco in the shade. I didn't want to sit indoors and feel cooped up. There is only so much I can take before feeling claustrophobic. Seeing only the insides of boardrooms isn't healthy for my mental health.

At least I had time for breakfast, and a meander through the Art Gallery NSW. It feels horrifyingly empty if it's all about the work and business and there's nothing else to fill the soul with. It's a drab drab sort of existence. Strolling through halls containing contemporary pieces, indigenous colors, Chinese relics, landscape photos, stone and wood sculptures, I felt hugely alive.

On my way out of the Gallery and onward to the afternoon meeting, I bought a coffee to-go. The flat white at the Gallery was good. I was in cheerful spirits. Trust me, the immense joy felt bounding along the streets was immeasurable.

A Good Meal

At one work dinner, the food was excellent! It wasn't the presentation that impressed me, but more on the cooking and the use of ingredients. The highly celebrated (note that I didn't use 'celebrity') chef brought out alot of down-to-earth, hearty flavors that weren't overpowering. I enjoyed that very much. I even had a glass of sauvignon blanc simply because I really needed alcohol by then. It was a long day. We walked straight out of a meeting into dinner at 8.30pm. My brains were fried.

It was a seven-course meal. By the fourth item, I had to declare that I wasn't being rude, but the stomach space was full. I asked for half portions or skip them completely. The chef said no! Grrrrrrr. Oh well. There was chicken, and of course, I only ate the sweet-sour beetroot salad and creamy mash at the side. I had to sneak 2 photos without flash on the Blackberry. By the end of the meal, I decided they were my favorite dishes so far. The seafood consomme with black Tasmanian truffles that came with a puff pastry cover was such a delightful hot start to the meal. I'm very fond of consomme because it's pretty much like double-boiled light Chinese soups. Then, I busted all caps on carb count on the angel hair pasta with sakura ebi, kombu, and a grilled prawn.

Frankly, even the work dinners are also tasting events somewhat. It's like we're gauging the standard of the restaurants patronized. Ah well. Part of the job. It is fun. Hehehe. The only problem, I've been really hungry in the evenings because I can't stomach food in the mornings. That made me throw caution to the wind and eat more than usual at dinner. Oh dear. By the end of this trip, I'd have piled on some pounds. Let's hope that dragging the laptop and luggage here, there and everywhere helps to moderate the fats!

Blue Skies Galore!

I skipped down to Quay Street to look at the harbor and rounded to the other adjacent streets. Well, not that I'm interested in ferries and ships, but it just feels good to stride along the street in good weather. It was storming the night I got into Auckland. But the morning was bright and hot. Am thankful today is the same. It'll be very drab if it's all grey and wet.

Food is really not a priority on this trip. At least not for breakfast and lunch. I've been working through most meals. Lunches are often hearty salads or a thick slab of barramundi that I can't quite finish. All these different time zones. SIGH. Looking at my schedule today, I decided that a slice of toast or something would be very helpful to keep the energy going through the day.

Breakfast consisted of a piece of pain au chocolat and a lovely cup of flat white. It was taken at a random cafe along the street where it seemed as though every office drone stopped by. I stood on the street to observe a couple of cafes and picked one which I assumed to be brainlessly decent. It was pretty alright.

Allo Auckland

When I was a wee imp, I tagged along on a family vacation to New Zealand, and promptly forgot most of what I did Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. There was alot jumping around in water and on miles of green. I remember the whoosh of the wind when I went riding and the adults shouted at me not to gallop. "Canter!" They yelled. Obviously I ignored them. That was all I remember of New Zealand.

We flew into the sunset towards Auckland. A short 3-hour flight or so, time was very easy to pass because I simply spent it napping. Heh. It's imperative to catch forty winks whenever possible! I won't be able to do all the fun outdoorsy things in Auckland. But hey, at least I can check out some sights in town.

Can you believe that it's been almost 2 weeks and I've survived on a cabin size suitcase that weighs 9kg, and oh, 1 pair of heels and a pair of flats. Then, there's the fantastic option of dry-cleaning. Without that, I'd have literally stank. But I grinned as a memory flashed by. A couple of years ago, I yelled to high heavens when I was told to carry a tiny suitcase for 2 nights in KL on a work trip. I said that would be impossible. Well. At that time, girlfriend rolled her eyes as far back as they would go and told me to just do it. I think she's very proud of me now. Hahaha. We've been whatsapping and she's been filling me in with all the happenings back home.

I've more time to read about Auckland than to actually wander around. Oh well. There will be other chances to do the real exploring. I'll focus on the work for now. Tomorrow, I'm waking up at 6am to at least check out the CBD, stare at the old buildings and smell the waterfront.

Passing Through Brisbane

Here we have the Brisbane River looking all innocent in the stretch along the Central Business District. It looked.....ahemmm.....dirty! There are few tell-tale signs that just 2 months ago, it was pandemonium because the river burst its banks and surged homes and commercial spaces, not to mention the collateral damage caused in worst-hit areas in Grantham and Ipswich.

It's certainly a picturesque city. The walking speed here is, ummm....even slower, especially so when juxtaposed with the crazy schedule I'm keeping. There is still an outlet of Borders here! But I'd rather hang out at Dymocks and get stuff from there. Borders have never appealed to me anyhow.

This has got to be the most pleasant stop in Australia, in terms of focus, vibes and productivity. It was slightly less stressful for me. In between all the meetings, I managed to grab a flat white from Merlo Coffee. Hurhurhur.

Bright Morning, Brisbane

There's something amazing about Australian skies and clouds. They're just startlingly beautiful. Being stuck in boardrooms all day doesn't give me much fresh air and lovely sights. Sitting in boardrooms works the brain cells in a long forgotten process that kinda makes me lose the appetite, and crave for blue skies.

What a relief that even though I don't get to do coffee runs personally, good flat whites have been delivered to the table for me. How very considerate! Wieeeeeeee. Little things like that make me happy.

Watsons Bay

The suitcase is clearly not prepared for any sort of beach activities. But I had flat rubber shoes and sunglasses. Those were good enough for a walk by Watsons Bay. By the time the rain finally decided to take a break and let the sun come through, I had finished the book and was ready to ponder over some chapters.

After admiring the sunshine in a whole lot less humidity than what I'm used to at home, I trotted off to Watsons Bay for a spot of fresh air before dinner. Okay, nothing will beat the stunning views along Great Ocean Road, but out here in Sydney, I'll take whatever sea views I can get. Plenty of luck so far.

Plenty of people were making merry at Camp Cove. The weather held, but the sunshine didn't quite do the same. Storm clouds could be seen rolling back in for more wet weather tonight. Oh happiness. I'm really not a mall person. It's much better for the mind to be starting at the sea and enjoying the natural sights of a destination. I've nothing to buy at the shops and if I had gone against my instincts and hit the shops, I'd have been an extremely dissatisfied girl. There's something missing if I'm here and don't even bother to travel a short distance to the bay that I didn't get to see during the previous stay in the city.

The Weekend In Sydney

I must say that I'm enjoying the weekend. It isn't as difficult as I feared. There has been surprisingly stimulating conversation with good food. I had time to do my stretches, and then, there is much-craved for solitude.

Sydney, You've Rained For 2 Days

I was up early, hoping to do something more active than sitting around. Walking on the treadmill is NOT an option. Not when it gives me motion sickness. Eeeps. So I nurse a cup of coffee, looked out the window and sighed. The sun's gone into hiding and a drab grey marks the day.

I wanted to take the boat out today for a change of scenery from the boardrooms. The waters are not too choppy, and technically, I can still do it. But the miserable rain is a total dampener to any sort of enthusiasm that might have briefly flared. Gaaah. The weather forecast predicts rain for today till Tuesday. Goodness. Ooookaaay. Fine. Be like that!

Since it's the weekend, the work is minimal. The boss is rather pleased with some stuff I have completed, so he's going to let me off the hook till more issues come in next week. We had stayed up till 1am the other night to work on a rather fine speech. I continued on alone till 3am after that. Sleep was the last thing on my mind when the words are flowing from the fingertips.

Sydney is a pit stop on this trip. I should rest in preparation for the week ahead. I'm not too anxious to explore the city, having spent time here on vacation recently. Or rather when I'm on work trips, going out to 'play' is always looming in the horizon, but it's the last thing on my mind. I might as well stay in, turn on the laptop and catch up with everything online. And read a book that I've unconsciously picked out. How apt, in a way, a foreshadowing of history of a place and people I'm about to meet in another week. It kinda called to me among the rest sitting on the shelves. It's a beautiful leather bound classic that I've never gotten around to reading- Gabriel García Márquez's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'. The many characters will boggle my mind. I shall see if I can ignore that and just delve into its symbolism and magical realism.

To The Festival Centre

Adelaide city is so laidback. I say that based on how fast people walk! I'm too used to a brisk pace. Here, they just amble along. Not slowly, but thoughtfully, rather. I totally get how it's in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities Index. I've spoken to the associates and so many of them spent time in other cities and lived overseas, but come back to Adelaide to start a family and raise their kids. In that same breath, property prices have risen two-fold in the past 15 years.

If time is tight, then I need to zoom in on just 1 place to go. I couldn't attend any event at the Adelaide Festival Centre, but I had to take a look at the iconic site. How could I leave the city without seeing what supposedly defines this as the Festival City.

I took a guided tour of the Centre and peeked into its performing spaces. The guide was so bubbly and provided so many nuggets of information about the Centre. Fantastic training and attitude there. I was happy to see art pieces put up in the foyer- 'Poster George' which is all about George Jankovic's street art depicting Adelaide's best live entertainers for the past thirty years. Then, there were the other caricatures and portraits by various contemporary in-the-vogue visual artists on display too.

The work meetings fill the brain with necessary and relevant information for me to do my job well. A steep learning curve this trip is. These side jaunts, don't just provide the other perspective for a rounded view of a city, or of the world in general, they feed my soul too.

Chilling Out In Adelaide

Rebuilt in 1969, the jetty at Glenelg stretches only 215 metres out to the sea, less than two thirds of its original length in 1859. I suppose the town council got tired of rebuilding it every fifty years. I stared rather hard far to the horizon because there was a freak hurricane in 1948 that blasted the Adelaide coast and washed the original jetty away. Looking at weather patterns now, I'm not surprised that another hurricane might just decide to pay a visit soon.

Sleep is in short supply. Although I qualify that when I mean short, it's about 6.5hrs of sleep, which is technically sufficient for my sleep cycle. But I function best with 9 hours of sleep. Kekekekek. I make it up with alot of hot showers, dozing in the plane, and importantly doing my bends, twists and splits in the mornings. The morning exercise helps so much to alleviate lethargy and allows me to focus during the day. Better still when I look out to a panorama of blue and hear the sound of waves hit the shore.

The strip along the jetty is a vantage point to people watch, and see planes land. It has been cloudy without any sort of sunshine. Good cool weather though. It isn't cold and I almost considered kayaking. Heh. So many big handsome dogs were out at play in the mornings and the evenings. I saw the SQ plane come in and grinned. I'm not missing home yet. Maybe in a week or so. Weekends on this work trip don't mean lazing around. Well, yes and no. Enough time to chill out, but also to tend to one or two work issues.

I haven't gone out to gallivant in the city or check out its coffee. But I'm perfectly happy because the hotel breakfast in Adelaide provided me with fabulously fried hash browns and a very good flat white that the chef personally went to the machine to make it for me. Hurrah!

Allo Adelaide

It's eeky to hang out at airport lounges and be cooped up in meetings all day. I'll positively DIE from cabin fever. I'm not a fan of hard work. When I stepped out of the car, smelt the breeze and saw the hint of blue, I squealed. In my dazed state, I didn't realize Adelaide has a beach this near to the city centre. :P

It was a very nice stroll at sunset along the beach. It had been a cloudy day and there wasn't a brilliant display of colors at dusk. But sitting by the beach was rejuvenating. Okay, add a cold pint to that and it's picture perfect. Heh.

This Jetty Road at Glenelg is quite fancy. I guess they've developed it till it feels kind of commercialized, and too sanitized. That's probably why I didn't see any COCKATOOS. I've lumped them into the category of annoying flying things like pigeons and seagulls. Muaahahahha. I was hoping to get a massage or facial at the Jurlique day spa. But they close so early during the week- hopes dashed.

I love the spacious bars and restaurants along the strip. They just look like great places to be chilling out. But they're rather empty. I suppose it's a weekday, so the crowds aren't exactly filtering in. The range of food along this stretch doesn't seem so great. Some sort of fish and chips, but alot of odd Japanese and Chinese eateries that I'm not interested in. Some of the restaurants look quite shite. But this one, Esca, looks really good. A pity there's isn't a slot for me to try its food. I had a decent cappucino from it!

Getting Out To Walk

The hotel breakfast was absolutely uninteresting. Needless to say, coffee that came out of a machine without a barista poring over it wasn't attractive. So I did a very quick run to Guava Bean for a morning cuppa. I'd love to buy more keep cups but they take up otherwise useful space in the suitcase.

I wasn't really looking to have breakfast. That was secondary. I wasn't particularly hungry. But I was sidetracked by the toasties at Famish'd. So that was the end, breakfast it was before the meetings began. Those toasties were AWESOME.

The trip schedule is absolutely packed. Meetings in the day and clearing of emails in the evenings. I can't say I don't enjoy it. The logistics of every meal is arranged neatly by counterparts, so you won't see any photos of food on this blog because it's impossible to whip out the camera to take photos. Each day, I literally have to memorize the resumes of my dining companions who are sitting to my right and left, and across; of which I might as well just memorize the whole damn table's. My boss asks difficult questions, but nothing that can't be answered as long as one does the prep work. I'm just relieved that I'm not the one doing that. Heh.

Some colleagues head to the gym. I prefer to stretch in the room and go for brisk walks early in the mornings. Yes, I'm not exactly a morning person at all. But I guess any chance to slip out for a while to feel the wind in the hair, the cool temperatures and bright sunshine is gleefully seized. Melbourne's weather has been kind these 2 days. That sky, is breathtakingly beautiful. The fluffy white of the clouds against the startling blue background is such a happy sight which never fails to give me immediate cheer.

First Stop, Melbourne

Inevitably, there was nothing I wanted to watch for the March choices on Krisworld. Getting some rest on this flight was paramount. The moment the cabin lights dimmed and the plane began moving on the runway, I patted 3 pillows into position, pulled the blankets over, sprawled flat and slept, rejecting all food and water.

I got into the plane late and forgot to tell the stewardess not to wake me and give me the food 2 hours before arrival. So it was a tad annoying to have the lights brighten and someone tap my shoulder persistently because supper had to be served at 1.30am Singapore time (4.30am Melbourne). Quite alot of humans chose to eat supper. Hmmm. Then, there was breakfast served at 8am Melbourne time (5am Singapore). Very strange. Why have 2 full meals on a midnight flight? To justify the prices air-tickets on SQ?

How wonderful that the brain cooperated and shut down for a good 5.5 hours. It was much needed rest because upon landing, it was go-go-go all the way. Stamina is needed for this work trip because of the long hours and intense schedule. Lots to learn and plenty of information to digest. Don't even think about going out to gallivant. Not quite possible. Whenever time permits, I'm going to crash really early, like before 11pm. I don't function very well without sufficient sleep.

It was a wonderful thing to begin the day with a stroll in the cool breeze to grab a cup of flat white at 65 Degrees. Ahhhh....bliss. It was fortifying, to say the least. It did amazing, positive things to the spirit. You know me and coffee. Pity I won't have time to go to Proud Mary. Last month in Melbourne, I kept missing it and turning up in the area after closing, and I'll have to wait for another chance to pop in on the next visit.

Heading Out Of Town

Boxes of stroopwafels followed the man back. I like the illustration on the boxes more than the snacks. The feel is almost storybook-like, and beautifully printed. Even more bottles of interesting whisky came along with the luggage too, and stuff from the Van Gogh Museum. Glad he made it home from his work trip before I leave for mine. So we had time for a meal and a face-to-face chat before virtual platforms facilitate our communications. I've tasked the friends to celebrate his birthday while I'll be halfway across and probably above the Pacific Ocean.

Am comforted to be able to meet some of the friends too. It was good to just talk and get hugs. Can't say I'm excited about the trip per se. There's a fair bit of anxiety, trepidation and not alot of swaggering confidence. Half the trip allows full access to all media platforms. The other half is a little dicey, aside from possibly unstable wifi in the hotel room. The Berry's data charges will be enormous since the telcos' unlimited data-roaming plans don't cover the country (yet). I hate being disconnected in a place that I need it most. It feels crippling. Eeeeeks.

I'll probably tweet more than write in this space. Let's see how it goes. Many days are slated to begin at 8am and end no earlier than 11pm. Ugh. Hopefully I'll get some time-out and pockets of solitude to recharge. I'll get very good coffee along the way, so that's something positive.

Got Sambal And Petai!

We've grown quite fond of Whole Earth which is a convenient venue for many of us. I had a ride there too, which was perfect because it poured on the way back! Lunch was necessary to satisfy cravings for curry and sambal, as well as to catch up with the girlfriend whose counsel I depend on.

Surprisingly, we didn't over order. Everything on the menu looked appetizing when we were quite hungry. Plenty of mouthwatering flavors at lunch. All the spices and chilli went down very well with a cold lemongrass drink. I love that double-boiled wolfberry fungus soup thingy. It was very tasty. I need to get this recipe where it doesn't involve any sort of pork or chicken in the stock and still turns out good.

Did I have time for dessert? A milkshake at ouam, most certainly. These are dessert people I'm hanging out with! They need the sweet stuff for sustenance. She likes Maggie Moo's and wonders if the Singapore outlet will be as good. She'll go find out and let me know!

A Quiet Weekend

It was a quiet sort of weekend, even though there was work to be attended to on Saturday night. I wanted to savor a weekend at home without having much to do, and time to my own to preen- nails, hair, pilates, swims and whatnots. I've been glued to the Mac and the tv watching the deadly magnificence of the tragedy unfolding in Japan and how the people and society are coping. I finally read Ceriph 2 and finished it in one sitting.

With the man away, I've been very happily turning up the air-conditioning to 26°C in the nights, more comfortable than the freezer-like temperature he prefers. I hate being cold in the nights. At least I don't have to bundle up in a warm tracksuit just to sleep. I slept so deeply that I was late for work 2 days in a row. Not that anyone really noticed or bothered, not when I worked through lunch and went home later than usual.

Then there's a heap of packing to be done. More or less completed. Packing for a month isn't as difficult as I thought. The clothes and shoes are the least of the issues. I'll just survive on 2 pairs of heels and 1 pair of flats for the whole trip. They should last. At least the weather will be kind. Hopefully it holds. It's more of the logistics that are a tad challenging with so much flying to do! And if I'm not flying on SQ for all sectors, it's a little, how shall I put it, daunting. I've NEVER flown other airlines on international routes, so this trip, I'm prepared to be absolutely terrorized. Gotta work around an airline of which I've zero concessions and am not quite willing to fork out dollars for it just yet. It might almost be fun!

I wasn't too into food over the weekend. Not today either. It's though I've lost my appetite quite completely. But there were some seriously good pasta, egg noodles and winter melon soup. So the stomach hadn't been ill-treated. I craved for coffee and got thick brews. I'm contemplating packing sambal and belinjau crackers into the luggage. I can't imagine how to survive for a month without sambal! Do they do sambal in vacuum sealed daily packs or something?

Unwinding At The End Of The Week

It felt good to stroll along in the breeze at sunset on a Friday, the end of my first week at work. It hasn't been overwhelming, but I didn't step into the new office with rose-tinted glasses. I walked in with a truckload of caution and clarity, well knowing that I will no longer have much of a life. I'll tell you if it's worth it in 2.5 months.

I miss my friends. I haven't really seen them very much. So this bunch of us were going to sip some wine tonight. One was early. So we had some fun and pretended to be tourists and took photos of the water and the sunset, and 2 rare posed shots of ourselves.

She spent the day at Universal Studios and instead of getting onto all the rides, she took photos with people in cartoon suits, like Beetlejuice and penguins. I doubled over in hilarity when she told me how she bounded over to the dude clad in a Hershey's Bar suit and he literally took 2 steps back in slight shock at this enthusiastic adult. There was photo evidence which totally cracked me up.

The friends wanted to check out the new outlet of The Wine Company at Sentosa Boardwalk. I didn't really care where we went. Just gimme the conversation, alcohol and a chair. I was pleased because they let me order hashbrowns. But we weren't so taken by the slow and inefficient service. They're clearly under-staffed. They had the strange process of NOT writing down our orders but choosing to 'memorize' it. Very obviously, their brains exploded- they came to confirm our orders again half a dozen times, and still forgot all about it. I had to stroll into the kitchen to ask how on earth one piece of fillet mignon hadn't arrived after 45 minutes. This kitchen loved salt too much till we couldn't quite eat some of the food. The friends said that the outlet at Evans Road is an equal nightmare on weekends and most weekdays.

It was great fun hanging out with the friends. It was a good chat and we spent hours laughing, and being sombre at the state of developing events in Japan. The next time we meet will be in a month, and then in another 3 months. Our travelling schedules are crazy. So whenever we can, a meet is organized. It's never about the food anymore. It's the company (pun not intended) that matters, and people will try their best to make it.

Slightly More Than A Camera Pouch

The girlfriend said it was a belated birthday present. Woots! She must have thought for a really really long time what to buy! It was a very thoughtful gift because she knew I've been looking for an alternative, lighter pouch for the camera but haven't come across one that I like. I got lazy and never got around to hunting for one online either. This is a pleasant surprise!

My idiot-proof camera doesn't need layers of protection over it. Not with my kind of usage. If I'm roughing it out, of course the standard pouch is apt. In the everyday scenario, this pouch fits, perfectly. The leather and suede are done lightweight, soft yet sturdy. I really really really like it. It's a gift that will be great company as well.

The girlfriend was super busy at work, but still took time to meet me for a quick dinner. Luckily I was dithering over which pair of ugly but comfortable heels to buy, and if another suitcase was necessary. I'm rarely this indecisive. But my brain was filled with lots of nonsense, so I couldn't quite think straight. It was a wonder the girlfriend didn't raise her eyebrows at me. Hehehe. At least she could kinda ignore me and sit down to sort out the work emails that were literally shrieking for her attention. When I was done, the mall was closing. We were ready to go home and crash.

Keeping Me In His Thoughts

The man is very clever. Before he does anything that might be dubious, he asks. He looked thoughtful and asked if it would be fun to send flowers to my new office. I was busy slaying zombies. I paused in mid shoot and got killed while answering him. "NO. Stop there. Don't even think about it."

I vaguely recall him asking this question years ago, and as comfortable as I was with the colleagues then, I didn't want him to send flowers either. I'm not the considerate kind of colleague who will bother to know everyone's likes and quirks, names of children, pets or whatever, unless they're kinda friends, then these things will come naturally.

I don't care what other people do and what they prefer, that's them. I forbid anyone to send flowers to my place of work. It's embarrassing! I don't even want the man buying me bouquets of flowers. Eeeeek. Just get me the bunches and I can chuck them in vases. Putting them in bouquets is an absolute waste of effort. The oohing-and-ahhing will last only 5 minutes. But if the bouquets are sent by friends who live overseas, then it's a different kettle of reactions! I will squeal in delight. Heh.

We're going off on separate work trips very soon, and will see each other in May. So he's taking alot of steps to make sure communication lines are open and we're accessible to each other and the world via our many gadgets. Today, the man called me at 10am to pick up coffee and sandwiches from the front porch. Ahh.....very nice. These items are so much more appreciated than flowers. Coffee, you know, GOOD COFFEE! It's heavenly, especially against grey backdrop of a wet morning.

Stepping Into A Tentative Job

Two weeks ago, seeing John Brack's 'Collins St., 5pm' of 20th century Melbourne at the gallery was a tad painful. It's still a powerful jolt to the brains.

I have walked into a new job at an odd sort of timing. The challenges are enormous. There is a 3-month probation. The company and I note the 24-hr notice of termination during this period.

That is all.

If you're feeling kindly, do not say congratulations, but instead, wish me a bit of luck, will you?

Catching Up #5 :: Cats & Pizzas

The friends convinced us to dump reservations at a yummy restaurant to stay home for dinner and do takeout pizza. So we did. We didn't exactly care where we went as long as we were able to spend a couple of hours with these friends.

The pizzas were from Il Piccolo and tasted pretty alright. But the friends had a ball of a time ordering dinner online. The website is quite dumb and unfriendly to navigate. The call centre was a nightmare, with rude and ambivalent staff manning the lines. Plus they forgot to send the tiramisu. And strangely, the hotline number wasn't accurate with the man at the end of the line vehemently denying it was Il Piccolo's number. The friends dialled it thrice. Duhhh. Anyway, the pizzas turned out fine. We finished most of it. The man finished half a chicken pizza all by himself.

There were 3 cats for me to terrorize for the evening. Yay. Since I can't have one of my own, I'll bully the friends' furries. The grey Persian walked imperiously across our boxes of pizza and bumped my shoulder, I snorted at it. She was very curious about the opened pack of belinjau crackers, but too bad, none for her! I didn't bother the other grey who was having fun all by himself in an empty box. The dude was just chilling out. Then I was minding my own business when the other one came over to investigate the plate I held. It gnawed on my hand! Bad kitty! Grrrrrr.

We had a ball of a time playing Taboo. I vaguely recalled playing with the same deck of cards, but I can never remember what exactly the words are, so it's always hilarious to go through them again. There were many instances when I could sworn that some people were telepathic, and other examples of how woefully inadequate our education in movies and music is. Heh.

I had so much fun that I forgot to ask for a second helping of the thick rick chocolate cake the girlfriend made. It was so good that after the first square, I couldn't squeeze down another immediately. It would have gone nicely with the champagne and wine! In fact, we were so busy playing the game that we didn't drink as much as we normally would have.

Walking Around

On a precious Saturday when we've time at leisure and disposal, we headed out to Tiong Bahru Estate for a quick lunch and coffee. The sun was out, and the area was bustling. We wanted to come here for a bite of the food before we fly off again.

Many said the Tiong Bahru Market's chwee kueh is good. I didn't remember it to be so. Anyway, I should refresh my memory of it. We bought from 2 stalls. And boy, both were disappointing. Most chwee kueh are oily because of the chye poh and shallots and whatnots. But these ones took the cake. They slid about on the brown paper in a puddle of oil. The chwee kueh and sambal at Ghim Moh Market is better, but none beats the stall in Bedok Food Centre. I love that one. The man walked around and ate lots of OTHER FOOD too, including joining the queue for a plate of chicken rice which wasn't really good.

If you live in Tiong Bahru estate, or know of anyone who does and would be game to lend their faces and participate in a personal photography project organized by Morgan & Owens (Jessie and James really!), contact them! They're curating a Tiong Bahru Portrait Project to capture the scenes of trade and domestic going-ons seen today.

I've been putting the keep cups bought in Oz to good use when I tapau coffee. They're much better than the embarrassing Starbucks flasks, say when I go to Forty Hands. Glad we grabbed our coffees to-go today. It was packed out; the interiors were hot and suffocating. The air-conditioning was sorely insufficient. There were fans, but not much help when it circulated heat. We moseyed over to Books Actually which is now all nestled neatly across from the coffee joint. We had books to buy, as well as postcards to grab.

'My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me'

I didn't think the Kindle would be useful on vacation in Melbourne. There're other things to do besides catching up on my reading! I did some of that in Shanghai already! The Kindle is good company on work trips. So now, the wifi and 3G-enabled iPad (1st Gen) performed admirably as a source of information and light reading of the news.

I brought just one book along. It wasn't a surprise that I didn't manage to flip a page of the book till I got onto the plane. Well, I usually don't watch any movies on the plane. I had already watched the one and only film on the way into Melbourne. So for the return flight, I figured even if I read slowly, I can finish this book in less than 3 hours. I had 4 other hours to kill. So I skipped the eeeky inflight food and napped. Then I woke up to ask for the sticky date ice-cream, cheese and fruits, and settled down with to read.

Edited by Kate Bernheimer, it's a collection of fairy tales written by different authors, organized loosely by country of origin. It's titled 'My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me'. At the end of each tale, I like how the respective authors get to explain why they wrote it and what the chosen tale meant to them.

I like Timothy Schaffert's 'The Mermaid In The Tree' and how it's inspired by his reading of the original Andersen tale - the girl the prince marries instead of the little mermaid. He said "She's innocent in the tale, yet we feel compelled to cast her as the story's villain, due to her beauty and perfection, and the fact that she's marrying the prince and the mermaid is not. I was also moved by Andersen's portrait of the mermaid's undersea luxury among lost treasures and its contrast to her mute servility on land. But the bride in my tale gets the prince only after his love for the mermaid has ruined him, leading to broken hearts for everyone."

Joy Williams' 'Baba Iaga And The Pelican Child' is strangely riveting. She links the artist and ornithologist John James Audubon in the story as he was a "great slaughterer of birds....He killed tirelessly for pleasurable sport and would wipe out entire mangrove islands of its inhabitants because...well, because [I] she guess it was easy once he got started. I do hope the curse of history will catch up with him. Perhaps Baba Iaga will be the great facilitator in that regard. Baba Iaga is the most marvelous creature in all of Russian folklore and totally unpredictable in her behavior. In this story, she becomes kind and sorrowful, even, perhaps, tragic."

Neil Gaiman wrote his 'Orange' in the form of a numbered questionnaire. I enjoyed that. He said, "Sometimes it is best if the sun does not come in. This is a cautionary tale, after all, and I think they even predate How Things Came To Be This Way stories ("Don't go there. That was how your uncle was eaten by a cave lion. Don't eat that. Let me tell you what it did to my guts.") and it would not be a cautionary tale if things began well and ended even better. // But there is a possibility of a happy ending, and we must take them where we can find them. Sun, come you in."

Fairy tales are awesome. Like what Kate Bernheimer said in her Introduction, "For in a fairy tale, you find the most wonderful world. Yes, it is violent; and yes, there is loss. There is murder, incest, famine, and rot - all of these haunt the stories, as they haunt us. The fairy-tale world is a real world. Fairy tales contain a spell that is not false: an invocation to protect those most endangered on earth. The meek shall inherit...went one of the very first stories I heard as a child. I believed it then, and still do."

As a child, I've always loved fairy-tales and looked for violent and sad endings rather than happy endings. As I got older, education opened my eyes to the nuances of the author's prejudices and social themes, and I eagerly scoured the earlier editions for additional content instead of the children's version in my brightly-colored books. After a while, it does explain my dislike of Disney tales. The one Disney portrayal of the Andersen's tale I don't mind is The Little Mermaid. In fact, it's probably the only Disney animated series that I like because of the rather different happy ending which also speaks of inter-species acceptance, and whatever else one chooses to assume.

Catching Up #4 :: Hanging Out

I haven't been to Tatsuya for ages! I do miss Japanese food ALOT. I was interested in food first, then drinks. I was hungry! At Tatsuya, a good serving of chirashi satisfied every craving. I ate too much rice! So did the girlfriend! We couldn't couldn't squeeze in soup or dessert. Boo.

We spent time poking around Tangs because we had 'urgent' errands to run, and since I hadn't been in a shopping mall much over the past 2 months, it was kinda fun. Then it was off for drinks! I was secretly happy that the girlfriend's man was busy, and thrilled that mine was jamming and tracking guitars elsewhere. It meant I could monopolize her for a bit. I've missed just yakking away with her. Yea, we're in touch on email, whatsapp and whatnots. But it isn't quite the same. So yes, girl-time is awesome.

This girlfriend is leaving her job in another 6 weeks or so. Very exciting. Finally! She's also thought about quitting for a long time and I'm glad that she's finally did it. If you're wondering, yes, many of my friends are leaving their jobs. Kinda strange how we're all doing it about the same time. No, we're all not in a mid-life crisis. They're not leaving to tend to younglings. They're leaving to realize other dreams of their lives. It's just, time, you know. Anyway, this one's got very fun things planned. Lots of beautiful things to move on to.

At the bar, she chugged whisky. Hehehehhe. She's a Guinness girl. But she took to whisky all the same. Hurrah! If she ever tells people which whisky she is fond of, they will never believe that she is no drinker of single malts.

Catching Up #3 :: Little Girls Eat Lots

I had to make time to meet my god-daughter. She turns 4 soon, and I'm going to miss her birthday party. It's been this fantastic coincidence that I've never been in town for any of her birthdays since she was born. So I try to make it up in other ways. Luckily she's still too young to understand the significance of "Where's Godma" at her parties, so long her parents and grandparents are there with her. WHEWWW. This god-mother has been derelict in her duties and is absolutely faerie-like: now you see her, now you don't.

My heart completely melted when she shyly opened the package for me and announced that the contents were my birthday present. AIYAH! Such colorful innocence! The girlfriend told me how the presents were made from ready-cut felt shapes that the little girl glued on piece by piece. She also had the little girl send me birthday wishes on the video.

After all the activities we do together and by simply hanging out, the little girl has come to associate me with FOOD and SHOES. Each time she asks about or for me, she wants to know when she's going to go out to see pretty stuff. Well, those aren't too bad. Heheh.

Catching Up #2 :: Oz Cafe!

My girlfriends are quite clever. They forced dates out of me in January to meet in March. Looking at my silly schedule, I'm a little scared that I can't make all these dates. I'm trying though!

It was very strange to end up at Jones The Grocer for lunch when I just got in from Melbourne. But I suppose it's because they do sandwiches and a good cup of coffee, so I really don't mind it. I'll just pretend it's an extension of a holiday. It's a nice and airy venue.

Since it was to be my belated birthday treat, just for the heck of it, I had a light beer. The girlfriend had an easy pinot noir! She likes her wines. For once, I notice that the range of drinks on the menu is limited! Still, there's something for us the next time we're here.

I miss chatting with this girlfriend. It's so nice to sit down and listen to see what she's been up to. She's leaving her job in 5 weeks. So I want to hear her more or less firm plans about what she is doing after. Very exciting stuff. I'm happy for her. This break has been a long time in the works. It seems as though everyone is making the right choice but me. So I'm a little desperate for some encouragement, some stories and cheer.

Catching Up #1 :: They Made Me Lunch

Made a date with the girlfriend months ago before I left on the trips, and before I get caught up in others. Glad I stuck to the date. It was good to receive hugs and company. Imagine my surprise when lunch at the girlfriend's became a 'feed-the-imp' session. She swore she was going to tapau some local food for us, but she and the husband cooked! Woah.

They wryly admitted that the first batch of chwee kueh in a muffin tray didn't turn out too well. She was quite upset with the second batch which looked too soft. But hey, a tasting confirmed that it was fine! It simply hadn't settled and cooled down. It tasted alright. Of course the shape was 'wrong' because it was a blob in the muffin tray. But who cares. It went well all the same with the shallots, chye poh and sambal. They made a healthier version of the chye poh which went down easier than the commercial ones because they weren't as oily or salty. It was crunchy good! Mmmmm.

Dog and a little girl hung out with me too. Then, with an evil glint in the eye, I sat the girl on the couch and taught her how to use birds to shoot green pigs. Heheheheh. But she didn't like it very much. She prefers to cut ropes to feed candy to that green monster. And she understood the physics of it (before the bubbles got in the way). Ahhhh! So intellectual!

The husband also grilled some prawns for us to nibble on with the sambal. O.My.Sambal.Gods, you've heard my cravings! All satisfied now. Sambal was spicy with plenty of kick! It went with the chye poh and prawns beautifully. Yayy! I totally appreciated the efforts. What a lovely homecoming!

Water. Tap.

I keep reading and hearing complaints about how certain cafes and bars in Singapore don't serve tap water, and I can't help contrasting the attitudes of these establishments to the rest of the world. It's full of shit, really. And perhaps we should go the way of legislation for these establishments to serve free tap water.

Many developed countries in the world serve tap water free, especially if the tap water quality is good. Hey, water is a precious commodity. If a country is so developed as to assure humans that it's drinkable without being boiled, then I expect a certain level of generosity in sharing it everywhere. France does it. Although not legislated, most restaurants and bars in UK do it cheerfully, but the demand for bottled water is strong. Tap water isn't served nor is it free in Germany, Spain or Italy. It isn't legislated in Sweden, but almost all places serve it free. United States is just strange. Some states/places do, some don't nor is it encouraged.

For years now, under the legislation, Australian bars and restaurants serve tap water free. There is little demand for bottled water and one can see it from the limited range of bottled water on the menu at restaurants. I'm not hot about tap water because it taste weird, chemical and eeky. But I will drink it with a slice of lemon because I'm damn thirsty. Whisky, beer and wine don't quench thirst. It's such a pleasure to see water arrive on the table, especially after a long drive. It's a very good practice that I welcome.

Our government has spent so much freaking money on purifying water that will flow safe from our taps. Why should I even pay S$1 for water at crappy eateries? I walk out of eateries who charge me for plain water especially if I'm ordering a plentiful meal, and already has a Diet Coke or something else with it. I just like water with my meal, can? I HATE BEING CHARGED FOR WATER. Seriously, what's the big deal about serving table water? If the higher end restaurants do it, then the cafes and middle-of-the-road eateries should also do it. Establishments in Singapore could work the cost of tap water into the menu somewhat. It won't cost much. I'm very tempted to say legislate, but it would mean that Singaporeans and associated venues will only do something if it's legislated. What a shame.

Bye Melbourne!

In the blink of an eye, the vacation has ended. It's been wonderful. The man has taken full reins in the planning of the Melbourne sojourn. He's very familiar with Australia, so I became lazy and let him take the decisions for flights, comfortable hotels, things to-do, sightsee and whatnots. Terrible huh? Compared to his ridiculously busy schedule, heavy workload and late nights at the office, I was so damn free in January and could have taken all these off his shoulders. Even though I was in Shanghai, I had full internet access to every website and could have helped out with the research. (Thank you VPN!) But I'm not familiar with the city, (excuses excuses!) and would have to go back to him to ask about stuff. Poor guy worked right up to 8.30pm the night we left on the midnight flight to Melbourne.

I don't give the man enough credit sometimes. In spite of his terrible sense of direction exacerbated by a lousy GPS, I've learnt to bite my tongue and hold the sarcasm each time he makes a wrong turn. After all, we're not in a rush for time and wrong turns often lead to charming sights in little towns. So to avoid all this unnecessary waste of time, I'm resigned to putting toothpicks on the eyelids while in the car and read the damn map. It'll get us to wherever we want in double quick time. I've always been very good with maps and the physical landscape. It's just him driving and I should be supportive.

This vacation is the loveliest birthday present this year. I hope the man has enjoyed the holiday as much as I did. The one thing I demanded to do in Melbourne was to catch Amanda Palmer's gig. He sorted out the tickets. Ahhhhh. I'm a happy girl. I formally thanked the man for an excellent trip and told him how much I appreciated his efforts to have everything go so smoothly. He's so reluctant to go into the office today! Early in the morning, he stared at the merrily blinking Blackberry and sighed really loud. He has shown brilliant restraint in checking emails except for this one time of a 45-minute duration. Well done. I won't be able to tear myself away from the Macbook this easily. Luckily I write fast, and I've 3G data connection the whole time, so my computer time hasn't intruded on ours. Heh. Till the next vacation then.

Seven Seeds

Sunday breakfast was fixed at Seven Seeds. We've done alot of flat whites to-go, and now finally I get to sit down properly for the full experience of the airy barn-like venue. It's a breezy cheerful cafe with lots natural light streaming in. Importantly, it's open 7 days a week, and looks good for an early bite. It was crowded. We walked in not a minute too early and got the last 2 seats for the hour. Everyone who was in the city for the weekend seemed to be here.

It's one of our last few breakfasts in the city, signaling that the vacation is ending. So I've saved this post till today because I'm calling Seven Seeds my favorite cafe in the city. I wish time doesn't go by so fast. It's now March. How ridiculous is that! February went off in a puff of mist! I feel cheated that there're only 28 days in February. NOT FAIR. I want the extra 2 days to make it to the 30th! *huge sigh

I was also determined to test the theory of baristas versus use of beans and the different type of roasts. You know what? Seven Seeds is way superior to BBB when it comes to the flat white. It can be the same roast, but the brew at the former is stronger and heartier. It's a hard fight between the flat white at Seven Seeds and Giant Steps! I ordered 2 pieces of toast with preserves because I only wanted to check out the flat white using different roasts. Heh. We each had 3 cups of coffee!