Architecture In Fremantle

Fremantle was all about sailing and the ships to get out to the ocean. Rushing through the town to get on boats and into the car back to Perth City, we had time to totally appreciate the beer, but as a group, I didn't get a chance to channel that into admiring its architecture.

We weren't too impressed with the Markets. Its produce isn't that diverse or attractively priced. Its main selling point is being housed in style reminiscent of the Victorian markets. We only wandered the front section where the food, drinks and desserts are. We gave the back area a wide berth, not at all bothered to step inside. That's where the souvenirs and whatnots. Black Cherries Espresso, however, does pretty decent coffee.

I'm very taken by quaint little town, and found another slot to stroll around and have a look at the exciting spaces. I love the layout of the Catholic Notre Dame University. It's a beautiful usage of the heritage buildings, with each faculty taking one spread along both sides of Mouat Street. The Fremantle Arts Centre, being a former asylum, is a special place of interest for horror buffs like me. Heh. Its collection of artworks focuses strongly on Fremantle artists.

The town's superbly well-preserved 19th century buildings are worth a long stare. The ummm...convict-built colonial buildings are marked with a distinct Edwardian architectural style, more so than art deco. Most of these buildings are preserved and even though they might be used in different ways for urban living, the pubs and hotels do justice to the facade and interiors. Imagine, death/rock/prog metal band Opeth will be playing at the Metropolis Fremantle in 3 weeks.

Coffee In Perth

It isn't so easy to find good coffee in Perth. Most joints in Melbourne and Sydney do double shots for their coffee. Here, it's just one. Often, asking for a double shot will give you that caffeine boost, but it doesn't have much by way of specialty coffee shops.

When I say coffee, I mean coffee. I don't care about the food. The cafe can serve up shite food and it doesn't matter. I don't go to coffee joints to eat. If I do, it's purely to fill the tummy. Ummm...don't laugh...I dragged everyone out to The Imp in East Victoria Park. Its coffee is okay. The food's much better. Still, I found a favorite in Polly Coffee Bar in Northbridge, right outside at the square between the art galleries.

In Fremantle, I didn't mind Black Cherries Espresso at the Markets, but walk a little further and nearer to the train station, you'll find Hush Espresso. That's my pick. We just stumbled upon it and got a cup of flat white to share like minutes before they cleaned up and closed for the day.

I'm going on to Brisbane, armed with a list of recommendations from the friends who're coffee aficionados and fanatical purists about their beans. I understand there're much better coffee joints there. WOOHOOOOO.

Fish & Chips Galore

Some lunches were spent out at sea or by the beach. Lots of chances to indulged in fish and chips. Not so much of the chips. But more of the fish. LOVE IT. YAYY! Unlike London, many little shops also offer sweet chilli (for purchase) at the side. Not as good as Lingham's of course, but better than no chilli. Tabasco just doesn't cut it. Salt and vinegar are always welcome.

Oh, and no flake please. So glad there're choices on the blackboard for fish of the day. Just good old red spot emperor or whiting. Perfect. Have it fried or lightly grilled. Mmmmm.

Art Gallery Of Western Australia

Of course there was a compulsory pitstop at the Art Gallery of Western Australia to have a look at its collections and depiction of society through the eyes of the city's artists.

Headlining its permanent exhibitions is "Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600 - 1800 from the Victoria and Albert Museum." The pieces are breathtaking and familiar. Heh. We've seen them in London and decided to skip that. We spent more time on meandering through the other galleries showcasing Australian art from the 1920s till today.

IMHO, there isn't a singular identifying trait of Australian art till we move into the 1960s and 1980s. The pieces from 1920s seek to emulate the landscapes and motifs of Europe. No surprising, I suppose, colonial settlers and all. Only in the 1960s, then we begin to see an emergence of Australian themes, concerns and a blend of indigenous and western art techniques. These are found in the works of Jenny Watson, John Brack, Guy Grey-Smith and the photographs of Axel Poignant.

There are the standard sculptures, porcelain and silverware from the colonial era. Very fine work in the tea sets and porcelain by ceramic factories in England which have closed eons ago. The gallery has a lovely collection of etching, lithographs and silver gelatin print. Michael Cook, winner of the 'Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards' uses the method of inkjet print on Hahnemuhle paper.

Stanley Spencer's series, depicting 'Christ in the Wilderness', 1939 - 1954.

At the gallery of the artworks of the participants of the 'Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards', I was very taken by Danie Mellor's pieces which used pencil, pastel, glitter, Swarovski's crystal and wash on Saunders Waterford paper. The bluish tint reminds me of china and lends a visual stimulant to the modernist themes of death, resurrection, paradise and society. Nyilyari Tjapangati's aboriginal painting "Untitled" 2010 utilized synthetic polymer paint on linen and invites viewers to understand the Tingari Cycle, which makes the artwork a visual labyrinth of meanings within its drawings and symbols.

Always a pleasure to walk through the galleries.

'Suspended Stone Circle', 1978 - 1981. By Ken Unsworth

PICA

Strolled into the small but cosy Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). Its current exhibition showcases the works of six contemporary Japanese artists in 'Alternating Currents'. The premise of the installations encourage visitors to interact and be active participants.

The man was distracted by Nadegata Instant Party's 'Yellow Cake Street', which utilizes the cafe and invites audiences to check out what has been interpreted from Perth's supposed non-existent local dessert of 'yellow cake'. Fairly interesting. It tasted kinda lime-y and lemon-y, and sweet.

We watched the video installation of experimental composer, guitarist and artist Otomo Yoshihide conduct a 'Double Orchestra' in Fukushima to highlight the situation in Japan. Japanese musicians, amateurs and professionals alike make music through the use of everyday instruments, in a show of compassion, understanding and unity for the tragic human stories from the nuclear disaster. There would be an outdoor concert in 2 weeks featuring Perth's musicians and conductors. A pity I'd miss that.

Yuko Mohri's 'io/AIO' is an intimate kinetic installation of sound and light operated by electrical sensors is nothing short of the work of an electrical whizz. It's like a successful science experiment gone big. We wandered around a gigantic sugoroku board game created by Taro Izumi. Then we were led into a project by Sakiko Sugawa, Keith Pasco and Sam Fox, titled 'The International Conference on the Reconstruction of Japan (ICRJ)', which references the large scale international conferences held for countries devasted by natural disasters and wars. However, this project seeks to give audiences an alternative to these huge conferences, showing a series of intimate dinners and putting it down on video, showcasing a specific group of 'experts' express their hopes and ideas for rebuilding Japan after the nuclear disaster of March 2011.

Yukio Fujimoto's installation of coal is placed in a huge room. It invites visitors to walk across it and create our own sounds, depending on the steps we choose to take. Of course I hopped across it with much glee.

Foo Fighters in Perth!

All hydrated and geared up after a heavy lunch, accessories were stripped to bare essentials and we strolled into Perth's nib Stadium at 4.30pm. The stadium's situated right smack in a residential area. Depending on how you look at it, residents there are either 'lucky bastards' or 'poor sods'.

What luck we had to grab an area with a good view, but far away enough from the jostling crowds. Plenty of time to use the still reasonably clean portaloos, grab a bite and buy the band's tour tees like the suckers we are.

Standing for 6 hours wasn't an issue. Not being able to pee because I hate them portaloos wasn't too annoying either. What I was a tad wary of were the crowds and the weather.  Everyone told me to stop being a worrywart. Luckily the crowds were so tame till there was no moshing. BUT. The clouds rolled in and drizzled for a 10-minute stretch on the hour, every hour from 4.30pm to 11pm. HA. It had to rain TONIGHT, of all sunny days in the city. I'm SO thankful that the friends bought me a band hoodie to keep my wool sweater from being sodden and getting chilled to the bones in the wind.

'Calling All Cars' at 5pm. Front pitch filling up.

Melbourne band 'Calling All Cars' started the event with their rousing opening set. Appreciative crowd for sure. It was followed by the very entertaining punk and experimental rock group 'F*#ked Up' from Toronto. Halfway through, frontman Damian Abraham whipped off his shirt and ran into the crowds. Bassist Sandy Miranda was in a white top and wearing the wrong bra. Between both sets of their nipples, I was extremely distracted. As the skies continued to let down showers and turn dark, Jack Black and Kyle Gass' 'Tenacious D' came on. They were hilarious in their trademark sexual mock rock way, and keeping very much to the spirit of the event, teased the crowd, worked us and got us grooving.

The programme stated that Foo Fighters would come on at 7.50pm. None of us believed that. But they were on time! The lights dimmed before 8pm and Dave Grohl ran on, opening with 'Bridge Burning', and continuing with 'Rope', 'The Pretender' and 'My Hero'. Taylor Hawkins sang too! He was on lead vocals for 'Cold Day in the Sun'. After that, I got swept up in music and fun that I decided not to keep count of how many songs the band did or remember tonight's setlist. That's what the internet's for.

Mid-way, Dave Grohl got onto an elevated platform, thrilling everyone, including us who had to stare at his ass, or turn around to stare at the screen for his face.

Ever the consummate performer, Dave Grohl 'spoke' to the audience via video while we were yelling out for an encore. We demanded 7 songs. He did them. :) He began the encore with an acoustic version of 'Wheels', singing it and asking everyone to sing it for the "mudderfarkers in the shitty seats" at the end of the stadium. He did one more acoustic with a heartfelt 'Best of You' before the band joined him halfway through 'Times Like These'. Of course it was perfectly apt to end the night with 'Everlong'. 2.5 hours of solid rock and roll!

Tonight in Perth marks Foo Fighters' first stop of their Australian tour 2011.  Epic night. Epic, epic, epic. By 10.45pm, our thighs, ankles and heels felt so sore. All worth it. Even my oddity of being obsessed with the weather and being this close to running off if it stormed. (Hey, I'm not the biggest fan!) It was a fantabulous gig.

Dave Grohl on the huge screens.

At Little Creatures Brewery

A day out at sea left us all hungry and thirsty near sundown. Since our landing point was Fremantle, it was completely not surprising to find us stomping into Little Creatures Brewery to demand to be filled up with calories in the form of both liquids and solids.

Being a weekend, it was ridiculously crowded and chaotic at the joint. Our drinks came fast enough, but trying to order food was like an exercise in patience. So many servers said, "Give us 5 minutes". When one finally appeared, it was more like 15 minutes later. Thankfully, the process between sending in the orders to the kitchen and delivery of food was fast.

Pints of pale ale, bright ale and all others dotted the long table. The menu even had a 375ml of Innocent Bystander's pink moscato. Best. There was a LOT of food. Pizzas all round. Somebody ordered kangaroo meat on skewers. Apparently this version was tasty, tender and lean. Hmmm. There were dozens and dozens of oysters. I stuck to my mussels and devoured all those handcut fries. AWESOME fries that still had skin on them.

Northbridge For The Evening

Clubs and bars in Perth are now so stringent with their checks on underage drinking. The friends told us to bring out our passports as the required form of photo ID for door checks. Our Singapore identity card, driver's licence or whatever else weren't acceptable. Only the passport will do, and not a photocopy at that.

Do you remember Northbridge to be a rough area like...12 years back? It's now rather cleaned up. Lots of police presence and zealous security at the clubs and restaurants. We were surprised to see that it's now so vibrant and walking on the streets feels almost safe as we spent the evening in the area for a decent dinner of Italian and went over to The Ya Ya's where we randomly turned up for 'The Coalminers Sect' single launch. You know how it goes, friends of bands and all, live music, let's go! A$8 gets you in to watch 3 bands, and a cd of the single. Nice. 'The Shakeys' is such a fun garage punk all-girl group! 'Dirty South' hit up such nostalgic rock melodies for old skool rock and roll.

There were ridiculous shots of Bailey's and Amaretto, glasses of Guinness draught, and tons of beer. Too.much.beer. My stomach had no space for anything after those carbs at dinner. ARRRGGGH. After all that drinking, we walked out, wanting to find another drinking hole. I was mildly relieved to find Geisha closed and would only open at 11pm. So we went back to the spacious apartment and rocked it up for a house party! Single malt FTW. More friends came over. The main door and walls were solidly built. No one complained about the noise level. Woot. 

Cottesloe Beach

Beautiful powdery brown sand. Wide expanse of blue. Not a crowded beach at all. Gorgeous day in early summer that was still a tad chilly out here and in the nights. We were almost blown into the water with a merry vengeance by the continuous wind.

Choppers were flying overhead rather regularly. Trying to spot great whites, I imagine, since the city council has given the go-ahead to cull sharks that are coming in too close to surfers and swimmers.

All the girls were in bikinis. Not me. Even with the blazing sun overhead, at 22 degrees celsius and the strong wind, it was too cold for this girl from the tropics! It's gotta be a wetsuit before hitting the water. I took tentative dips before deciding to pass on grabbing a surfboard. I would look too much like a big fat juicy...edible thing to bigger predators out there.

But kite surfing, offers a modicum of protection, psychologically at least. Physically demanding, but not a deterrence to this group of people made up of gym rats, jumpers and runners. As we revved up for kite surfing, there were tons of not-that-funny jokes about a great white leaping out of the waves to catch a human while cresting the churning foam.

Imagine.

Perth - Amplifier

We are here in Perth for the Foo Fighters. But it doesn't mean we just want to catch them only. We want to check out the indie rock scene as much as possible. Randomly surfing onto the events site this weekend, we were stoked to find out that 'Tangled Thoughts of Leaving' would be playing at Amplifier.

We had pints of beer and hung out. It's been a long while since I've taken a hard look at Perth's club scene. Admittedly, I got really drunk on crappy vodka shots and horrible cheap whisky at shitty trance clubs with plenty of drama and trouble back then. So now, it's refreshing to stand around or sit down at a laidback pub with live bands where no one's particularly out looking to be unglamorous.

We've decided not to step into any clubs that required dress shoes. Why bother? There're plenty of clubs around with a sneakers' only rule. Amplifier is cool. At A$12 per cover for the pleasure of 4 bands (also included 'Wizard Sleeve', 'Mezzanine', and 'The Molten') in an evening, we definitely got more than our money's worth. Beer not included though.

'Tangled Thoughts of Leaving' headlined the evening and came on last. The band blew our minds with raw energy and sincerity. Great riffs. Halfway through, one by one, we trotted out to the merchandise booth to grab copies of their cds and tees. Honestly, the band is so much better live than listening to them on the cd over the stereo.

Thanksgiving

In our different traditions of cranberry sauce with goose or sans turkey or tofurkey, we gathered around the laden table to give thanks for the blessings in our lives. On this day especially, we don't just remember the less privileged. We do something about these thoughts and turn it into concrete action so that it sincere charity work becomes part of our lives too.

I closed my eyes and gave thanks to the many good friends I'm so lucky to have, and to hold. The warmth and the generosity I've received are immeasurable. People say family means everything. Not to me. Not all family members are equal, or are placed on the same priority scale. I'm brutally honest in my dealings with them. If I don't like you, I simply won't see you. I might not even acknowledge you. I'm happy for you to do likewise. Certain friends mean more to me, and they stood by me when family didn't, and the years have proved that. So many incidents have shown me the friends who'll stand by me through thick and thin.

We don't need to skip Thanksgiving this year either. As Australian as they are, they still keep to the traditions gleaned from their growing-up years in the States. So a Thanksgiving dinner was arranged. I think there's much to be said about doing away with the turkey, at least for us. In its place, there're interesting items. In this era, the point is not so much of the food. We slept pretty well on the flight, so we were wide awake for dinner. We had two pies for dessert- an apple and a pecan, both of which were richly flavored and low on sugar. :)

You too. Have a beautiful and meaningful Thanksgiving.

Oliva

The girlfriend and I were keen to try out Oliva, Republic Polytechnic's restaurant training laboratory. Of course we'd like to be encouraging. While we could tolerate a slower pace of service, and a touch of uncertainty, but we would not accept bad service. Thankfully, we had an alright experience. Service was a tad tentative, but earnest.

However, the communication between customers and staff/students needs to be worked on. The menu for the week included a main of chicken. Nightmare for me. But I had no other time to visit. Upon calling to make reservations, a contact for Oliva said they could change the main to a pasta vegetarian option. Then on the day of the lunch, the students in charge of the kitchen called and apologized for not being able to change it. Whatever. We went anyway. I would just skip the chicken and have the mash. If we were still hungry, there were other canteens on the campus to grab more food.

At S$10 for the 3-course lunch, the food was decent. There wasn't any complexity in the flavors as that would be rather dependent on the quality of the ingredients. At the prices, it was not meant to be profitable, but to cover the cost of ingredients. The food was earnestly cooked, and really, it wasn't too bad at all. I quite liked the smoked tuna tartare with shaved fennel salad and poached quail egg drizzled with mustard dill dressing. The main was ignored except for bits of it- braised chicken roulade in red wine with almond buttered broccolini, gratin tomato provencale and garlic mashed potato. The mash was quite delicious and they didn't overcook the single stalk of broccolini. Dessert was a baked mini apple strudel, which wasn't too bad, but it was too sweet for me, and with a homemade vanilla ice-cream.

Even though I left the mains alone, I didn't need extra food. Since I had quite a filling breakfast, this light lunch sufficed. Good effort by the students today, and for us, it was a good opportunity to meet in a venue outside of town and sit down to a quiet chat. After a while, we wandered off to get a freshly squeezed juice for tea.

Little Girls And Their Stickers

The girlfriend and I had a great chat over lunch, just the two of us. Then we randomly went to shoot a couple of rounds of pool before we picked up her little girl from playschool. The little girl declared she wanted ice-cream. So we went to Mezzanotte for gelato.

We had scoops of chocolate, rum and raisin and salted malt. I couldn't finish the 2 scoops. The rum and raisin wasn't good at all. More sweet than rum-my.The salted malt was rather impressive. The little girl pointed vigorously to the pink swirl and said, "Strawberry. I want strawberry please." Then she deliberated between tubs of orange (passionfruit) and yellow (mango) before deciding on the latter. "And that please." The mommy grinned and said, "No 'and'. Only strawberry for you." So she had a generous scoop of strawberry only. She wasn't interested to try other flavors, and merrily slurped up her cup.

The little one entertained me by reciting the first stanza of San Zi Jing (三字经); which is apt I suppose. At her age, she only understands all humans as 'nice'.  Her parents and I aren't too agreeable with certain stanzas. When it comes to understanding, then her parents will probably have to explain it all to her. The one stanza that I do agree with is- “ 养不教, 父之过 。教不严, 师之惰。子不学, 非所宜。 幼不学, 老何为。玉不琢, 不成器。 人不学, 不知义。为人子, 方少时。 亲师友, 习礼仪。” That we teach our young in the way of righteousness because it's our responsibility to do so, and the onus is on the children to learn. The teacher only needs to be strict, and isn't entirely responsible for how your child turns out.

We had time to chill out at home as well. She pulled me to her playroom and proceeded to want to cook for me. Dearest lil'Missy, next time, make me a train or an aeroplane okay? Don't just make me sandwiches and cupcakes. I don't understand this obsession little kids have with pasting stickers on humans! This little girl took out her stash of stickers and also decided it would be fun to make me a bracelet of stickers. When it was time for me to go home, she retrieved 2 tiny ones from my hand and told me to go home with the big piece. Heh.

Sharing Laughs Over Spanish Food

A fancy Spanish restaurant had earlier been thrown up as an option. It was promptly shot down by the majority. We decided that we didn't want anything fancy. So we settled for a convenient option, made the reservations 2 days in advance and strolled in for a late dinner at Bilbao Restaurant.

I was rather amused by our order of a bottle of beer that was presented chilled in the bucket. I think it's about 750ml, good for two to share. Sure, it's rather beautifully fragrant and floral, very light and delicate. It's the Estrella Damm Inedit, but it's still just beer. If they'd like to keep my beer cold, I've no objections. It was good enough for us to order 3 more bottles, to share, of course.

Their offerings of tapas weren't impressive. The gazpacho was decent. The aioli was more salty than flavorful or garlicky. The Spanish tortilla (tortilla de patatas) was well presented, but there were hardly any wonderfully seasoned flavors. Not exactly an exciting array of tapas on the menu.

The saffron seafood paella was so oily, but really delicious. The kitchen was generous with the saffron. However, to my consternation, halfway through the meal, I found pieces of chicken strewn within. Then I realized that they would have used chicken stock for the paella. My fault, I forgot to ask the specifics. Too late now. There's a vegetarian option on the menu. But the next time, I'll be sure to clarify and confirm that.

One final meeting for the year before we separately leave for year end vacations. These girlfriends and I, we're not childhood friends. We met at various social gatherings, and have come together due to common interests and conversation. In these past 8 years or so that we've known one another, we always do thanksgiving together slightly before the actual date, or just after, saving the actual day for family sometimes. If often depends on whether we're in town. Either one of us will host a dinner (catered or homecooked) or we'll opt to eat out, depending on our schedules. A good get-together, ladies. Always. Till 2012.

Tea, Re-defined

The girlfriend and I had a date for tea. But she also needed to take the little girl to the pediatrician. She wondered if I would mind coming along. Of course not. I see them both on a fairly regular basis. The point is to spend time with them. The nature and venue of the date can always shift to whatever that suits our schedules. The depth of the friendship allows for certain liberties to be taken, and our date shifted to the waiting room at the clinic.

The carpark at Paragon is always ridiculously packed out. Today was no different. It was painfully slow getting in, but we were lucky to get a parking space almost immediately. I had earlier told the little girl to say "Please let Mommy get a parking space soon!" So I thanked her. The funny little girl replied, "Don't thank me. Thank God we got a parking space." Haha. How very apt. Indeed. At least getting out was much smoother in spite of the peak hour traffic. The heavy afternoon rains had slowed to a drizzle, and it made for an easy drive home.

There were plenty of options for takeaway food at the mall. We managed to have chilled soya bean milk, bread and minestrone soup. Perfect. We had a bit of fun with the playhouse in the waiting area, and the little girl stuck stickers on my arm that she insisted to be kept there. It was pretty fun. When 5.30pm rolled around, the little girl was fast asleep. 

Meals In Groups

It was bright and sunny in the morning. But as these 2 weeks have shown, it rains in the afternoons. So we soaked up the sunshine while it lasted. As we drove out, the dark clouds had started rolling in. The BFF zipped into town for the weekend. Supplies were to be stocked up at the shops in Vivocity. So after lolling about in the morning, we finally moved our lazy butts to make a coffee run to Forty Hands before making our way to a convenient lunch at Peramakan.

We ordered plenty of food. Lots of spices all around. An extra serving of sambal belachan. The BFF hasn't learnt to appreciate buah keluak! Ha. It's a love-it or hate-it dish. In stark contrast, it was her man's first taste of the bitter nut. Surprisingly, he likes it very much though! He slathered the bitter paste and sambal belachan all over his portion of steamed white rice. He liked it that way. We ordered extra nuts to share. Almost to the end of our meal, it was such a pleasant surprise to run into friends who came in for lunch as well. 

Won't see the BFF again till February or so. She extended a invitation for me to join her on the annual Christmas vacation, but the destinations don't match. Boo. We'll be on opposite sides of the globe, or across the Atlantic. Ah well. We never know how travel schedules will pan out. We'll see how it goes in the new year. 

"If That's The World's Smartest Man, God Help Us."

I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels, certainly not Marvel's SpiderMan, Iron Man, X-Men and whatever else Men. I do like Fables, Buffy, The Sandman, Y: The Last Man, The Wild Party, and the sorts.

Writer Jim Ottaviani and artist Leland Myrick have teamed up to capture the intriguing mind of Feynman. Richard P. Feynman is everything! Physicist, safecracker, adventurer, musician and raconteur. (Read reviews from American Scientist, Boing Boing, Washington Post, and Earth Sky.)

Beyond the recorded fame, it's not like I understand much about the work of Richard P. Feynman. I didn't even pass Physics most times in school. It's a weird sort of language that flies right over my head. The brain ain't wired this way. A presentation in graphics about the life of Feynman is much more palatable than a book of plain words. At least I wouldn't fall asleep reading this version. It should be better (relative) than 'The Stuff of Life', especially when there isn't a pressing need to break down complicated information for the purpose of passing examinations.

The first half of the book chronicles his growing up years, his family, and his decency and commitment to his first wife Arline, etc, making it all very palatable. A rather cute few liners about his attempts at being a safecracker noted, "If Mr. Feynman has at any time been in your office or near your office, or walking through your office, please change the combination of your safe." resulting in him deciding, "That was it: I was the danger. It's a pain in the neck. To remember a new combination, so the next time I visited, nobody was happy to see me."

The second half of the book dealt with Feynman's series of lectures around the world on quantum electrodynamics (QED), which he has been hailed as one of the founding fathers of the theory of how light and matter interact agreeably between quantum mechanics and special relativity. For the academic purpose of reading this biography which promises to simplify the explanation, I didn't get up to googling. I burst out laughing at the part that concluded, "If you can't prepare an introductory lecture on something, if you can't reduce it...well, it means you don't really understand it." Which was later followed by, "New Zealand is far enough away from home for me that if my theory was wrong, it would be okay."

Understanding the impact of his theories and contributions isn't an issue. I didn't bother trying to understand those equations. Admittedly, if I do, this would have been an absolute hoot to read, instead of simply finding it enjoyable and being unable to fully comprehend the genius that is Richard P. Feynman.

Lepa(r)k! Tiong Bahru!

Say what you will, but we firmly believe in the local folklore extolling the power of onions and chilli to appease the rain gods. However, none of us knew any magic chants, or anyone to set up the mambo jambo. No matter. DIY! We bought the biggest onions and chilli in the supermarket, never mind red or white or chilli padi or bigger, and planted 5 skewers around the perimeter. We patted the skewers, grinned and told them we had faith in them. (Not very different from talking to a stuffed bear.) Faith is all it takes, man. From the weather reports streaming in real-time from all over the island, I understood that Tiong Bahru Park and the surrounding areas were totally spared from a heavy show of thunder, lightning and rain. Luckily the skies held, even after a smirking Ah Pek stole one skewer before 6.30pm.

Lepa(r)k! moved at an awesome pace. Indie gigs have never been held at a public park. Or rather, the matter of gaining a permit for it is near impossible. Fort Canning Park, as a lucrative venue, isn't counted. Of course being this near residential estates, we could count on the number of complaints shooting through the roof about the noise level. But if the iPhone app to measure noise volume is to be believed, then all the iPhones averaged at 95dB rather consistently through the event. Oh well. It's all relative isn't it, in comparison, say, to the noise of your neighbor's karaoke machine.

It was a pretty good line-up of 6 Singapore bands from 5pm to 10pm, there were 2 which I was eagerly looking forward to hear- Run Neon Tiger and Cheating Sons. Thoroughly enjoyable! Confident and tight, the bands will reawaken your interest in the independent music scene in the city. It's flourishing. Indie local bands don't equate punk rock or noisy rock no more.

People brought ground sheets, chairs, drinks and food. Beer too. Beer went down really well. Especially those cold cold cans of Sapporo. Heh. The tiny stall at the side selling drinks didn't do alcohol! But the food was horrible- run-of-the-mill Taiwan sausages, boiled salted corn kernels, typical oily pasar malam stuff. Although the curry fishballs weren't too bad. Luckily there's a convenience store nearby and also the supermarket at Tiong Bahru Plaza which is just a 10-minute walk from the park.

The friends turned up in droves. New and old acquaintances hopped in too. It was a rockin' party! Of course not everyone stayed all the way through. There's no point in that. They turned up for the bands they liked or for those they were curious about, and also at a time of their convenience! The pets came along. WHY NO ONE BROUGHT CATS? Lots of superbly cute indie kids ran around too. The ones that turn up at gigs most often wore headphones and ear plugs. The parents have trained them well!

How did this all begin? It's not just a random event. If we keep complaining about the lack of government support, then we jolly well get out there to seek some. We do something. We'll be able to find someone who shares the vision. To the delight of all of us, Member of Parliament (MP) Indranee Rajah and the Tanglin-Cairnhill Citizens Consultative Committee (CCC) have taken the awesome step of saying yes to having a gig in a public park. It's not just a politically savvy move to encourage community involvement, but it's also a renewal of hope, especially for many of us living in the Tanjong Pagar GRC who never even had a chance to vote for the political team we want. Once Tanglin-Cairnhill CCC bravely and confidently agreed on the broad directions and handed over the details to the organizers to iron out, it signaled a positive start to the partnership.

Don't keep Lepa(r)k! to Tiong Bahru. Take it to every park in Singapore. I'm pretty sure Bishan Park will be an exciting venue next. If this mode of cooperation is termed successful and viable, then there is a strong reason to continue. L'art pour l'art. I believe the organizers of Lepa(r)k! will keep it indie, keep it real, and keep it clean and cool. Please also sell some decent chow at the next one? :)

The Bridge Project :: Richard III

Debated long and hard whether to catch The Bridge Project's 'Richard III'. It's not a play that I particularly enjoy, not after plowing through 'Henry VI'. I got there with not much objectivity left. At least this play involves rather sinister facets of human behavior which can be fascinating. In the end, I caved. It was a ticket to a good seat! After all, this is the third and final production of The Bridge Project, I shouldn't miss it.

No issues with the modern dress production. Much easier to digest, for a historical play. To that end, it's designed to not only reflect the history of England, but slyly intending to draw links and reminders to modern dictators alive and deceased. I've always been confident of Sam Mendes' stage vision. (Read reviews in The Guardian, BBC Arts and Entertainment, SFist, The Telegraph, The New York Times and L.A.Times.)  I'm rather fond of the abridged film version starring Ian McKellen. I was horrified by Sir Laurence Olivier's definitive 1944 stage edition. However, Richard III is an intense role, and because it's Kevin Spacey, even though he's a down-to-earth actor and has taken on artistic directorship of the temperamental Old Vic since 2003, I was doubtful that he could pull off such a role on stage. (I don't like 'American Beauty'.)

So, after the stylistic excerpt of televsion news that froze the frame on King Edward IV's face, Kevin Spacey, as Duke of Gloucester, began, "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York.". We continued on, "I am determined to prove a villain / And hate the idle pleasures of these days," Lots of emotions and energy required to oscillate between the contrasting and exhausting moods and psyche of the villain king. That leg brace is so cool. The production also chose to focus on the dramatic wit and elements of darkness in the play, and the actors' expressions and nuances gave it a contemporary twist. Good call. 

After 3 hours, I left the theatre with a backache and the niggly feeling that while Kevin Spacey is rather compelling, he's not the best Richard III of this decade as what some critics have proclaimed. He's very competent, carries the cape of the king well, and has got great comedic timing. You do get the feeling that there's an actor within the actor, and acting within an act- which is precisely what audiences are supposed to see in 'Richard III'. But I had expected more. I was looking out for that charisma which would cross the line from the expected good (of a play this hyped) to the phenomenal.

Still, I must quantify that I found this production enjoyable, and extremely well interpreted. You don't need to know Shakespeare to be drawn into this version of the play. Many issues could be viewed in today's context. But I didn't find this Richard III to be spectacular. Towards the end of the 3 hours, it felt a tad draggy. I very much prefer the women who're sublime in their roles. Hadyn Gwynne, woah. The production's currently slated to show in Brooklyn, New York in January 2012. Can't wait read those reviews.

Grilled Stuff, Chocolates And Pretty Things

We didn't fuss about where we went, so long it was somewhere easy and casual. Kazu Sumiyaki at Cuppage Plaza it was for a long anticipated dinner to catch up with the birthday girl and all that's been happening in her life. I was eager to hear travel tales and other stories.

I had this mega filling lunch, and wasn't that hungry at dinner, not after munching on a muesli bar halfway through a budget meeting because my brains hurt from digesting all those numbers. The only things I really wanted at Kazu were the cold tomato and those gingko nuts. I got 'em. The squid wasn't too bad, but it could have been a tad more tender. Then I poked at the rather beautifully grilled red mullet, and decided that it was too nice to be wasted on me, so I made the birthday girl clean out all its bones.

Such a pleasant surprise to receive elegant gifts from the birthday girl's epic Italy trip! Yipeeeee! Elegantly embossed alphabet stickers in blue and matte gold from Il Papiro! There were the little nuggets of chocolate which I had a bite of and the man devoured the rest so fast till I couldn't see the brand on the wrapper. :P  But those were a tad sweet for me. It's the bar of Toscano Black 63% from Amedei that I love. I refuse to let the man have more than 2 squares. The Toscano Black (in either percentage of cacao) is my only preferred range from the bean to bar chocolatier. Great choice there, babe! Thank you!

At this rate, I'll not need to buy any sort of chocolates from Singapore or even ship them in. These lovely friends are contributing loads to my supplies and spoiling me silly with dark bitter awesomeness. Christmas isn't in December. It's already happening now!

Favorite Salad Place For The Now!

Bright days mean sizzling temperatures. But they make for good photos. Botero's sculpture- Bird, along this stretch of the Singapore River has been standing around for years, but I usually see it in the evenings. Muahahahha. Nice to see it in the sunlight.

I've decided that my favorite salad bar in the city is The Salad Shop. Being able to choose from a wide range of ingredients to make my own salad makes for a satisfying meal. Plus it's a little more spacious and well lit with natural lighting than the other very sad and utilitarian tiny spaces underground.

However, if you don't want to be stumped by the amazing crowds, don't visit on weekdays between 12.05pm and 1.50pm. Go before or after. But for me, since the point is to have lunch with the friends every now and then at a venue of their convenience, I'm quite happy to turn up at 11.50am to chope a seat anywhere in the CBD area that doesn't take reservations. Woot.

Since it was my first visit, the girlfriend nicely took the order chits for us and explained all about the choices of Rabbit Size, Zebra Size and Elephant Size. I was hungry. I went for the largest serving in terms of ingredients, not so much of size. Bits of crayfish, sweetcorn, sunflower seeds, roasted pumpkin and avocado dressing. YUMMY. Next time, I'll ask them for MORE slices of raw onions.

A Bear, Cards And Tempo Tissues!

We arranged the date more than 3 weeks in advance, and still I had to reschedule. But Lady J graciously shuffled her calendar and we managed to have tea at Arteastiq.

Lady J had earlier whatsapped a photo of a cute tinier-than-palm-size German bear coming my way. Today, I was bewildered when she handed me this rather sizeable box. Why would a small bear need such a big box? Lady J simply grinned smugly.

When I opened it, I couldn't stop laughing. Tempo tissues! Oof! She remembered my obsession with them and brought back a box from Geneva to add to my stash. She has her favorite stash too. You're only seeing one packet in this photo. I assure you there're way more packets hidden which have already been put to good use.

Also nestled snugly among the tissues, were warm gestures from Lady J to have sweetly brought me mementos from her trips- the cute bear who held up the sign to cheerily say, "Greetings from Bavaria", and beautifully printed notecards from Florence.

Today was blazing hot. Temperamental weather that called for a pot of dependable cold ginger tea. I like it. Lady J looked all tanned and glowing, fresh off her vacation in Maldives. The hour passed really quickly. Unfortunately I had to scoot across the road to the hospital and we would have to catch up more with each other through the blog and the next time she's back in town.

Yummy Chirashi, A Really Cool Bottle And A Precious Friendship

Before she flew home north, the girlfriend saw it fit to buy me a yummilicious lunch at Tatsuya, and somehow sneakily arranged for the delivery of a gift to my flat while I was out. While we (she and I!) were out and about in town, to be precise.

Then we were at her parents' home to be fed dinner before we got down to the business of packing bottles of kaya, dashi, wafu dressing and whatnots into her giant suitcases. The beauty of having homes in 2 countries- she doesn't need to pack clothes each time she flies to and fro. Heh. All the luggage space is given to ahemm...grocery items.

Since the delivery of the gift was a done deal, I could only graciously accept. But I thought it would be something cute, like...chocolates or flowers. Then she said it wasn't anything particularly perishable instantly. It blew apart my assumptions. When I got home later in the night, I gasped in shock and pleasure at the bottle of Bowmore 25 y.o quietly sitting on the table with a short handwritten note. !!! Such a precious gift! What totally impressed me was how (as a non-whisky drinker or resident of the city) she managed to order a fabulous bottle from the right distributors and ingeniously arranged for the delivery.

The man eyed the bottle with a gleam in the eye. I was all possessive about it. I scowled at him. We ain't touching this bottle till I say so. We like the Bowmore 25 y.o, and we always have bottles of it at home. We still have an unopened bottle, and that would be drunk first. Currently, all I want to do is to keep this special bottle pristine and admire it for a bit.

Overwhelmed. Christmas came really early! Lunch and a gift! This girlfriend is recuperating from a not-minor-not-major-but-bloody-painful operation, and to see her up and about smiling, knowing that she would be able to fly home in minimal discomfort have already given me great joy. We needn't talk to each other daily or anything like that. We see each other when we fly into the same time zone. The friendship exists, and that's enough.

See You In A Bit

The girlfriend has been back for a while and is now off again for a couple of months. She's definitely making good use of her year-long sabbatical following her heart, broadening her horizons and shifting her perspectives of the world at large.

I'm going to miss her just that little bit. We always have fun random coffee dates. I'm not done with teasing her about this colorful pair of ballet flats she bought on a whim in Seattle. It does match her usual dark jeans really well. Bye bye girlfriend, see you in April. Maybe earlier, somewhere else, if our travel dates match.

This round, I wish you well, and please please don't dwell in the infinite loop of angst. A verse to bid you a smooth journey- "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." Psalm 119:18 (NIV) Keep a calm mind, don't be too nice to weird humans, and have loads of fun in a strangely different cultural environment.

Scones!

There were exactly 2 hours till the end of the dryer run before the fluffy warm towels would be ready to be kept away. There was enough time to pop over to the girlfriend's to pick up a jacket I had left in her car, retrieve more books and borrow a couple of dvds.

When I texted her to check on time, convenience and whatnots, the scones had just gone into the oven. When I got there, the freshly baked brown gems were ready to be eaten piping hot. Smelt beautiful! I love scones because they aren't sweet. The plain ones are the best. I like them much better than the ones available commercially. Slabs of slightly salted butter and dollops of strawberry jam accompanied each bite. Delicious.

Four of us, we sat at the dining table chatting on a rainy afternoon. The rain pelted down, but not coming into the room. The breeze was cool. Mmmmm. Always fun to catch up with them, especially before they go off on a vacation.

Handcrafted Leather

We braved the rain for a most satisfying lunch at Tiong Bahru Estate. It's been a while since I last sat down for a chat with the girlfriend, without her daughter. The daughter is right at the age where she doesn't allow us to talk among ourselves and not pay her any attention, not even for 5 minutes. Heh. As fond as I am of her little girl, I also miss having the girlfriend to myself once in a while.

We had somewhere else to go, but there was a little bit of time to hop over to nana & bird where Jeremiah Ang of J.Myers Company had set up the workbench for the afternoon's showcase. In the recent years, I'm making a concerted move away from big-name designer labels. Perhaps I'll still get those here and there, if I fall in love with something. However, ask me to choose between a Mulberry and an Ananas identically priced, or a Prada or an Ethan K, chances are, I'll pick the latter. Put an Hermès in front of me, and I'll say, no thank you, I'm done.

It's really not difficult to persuade me to open up the wallet when you put the phrases 'handmade' and 'Singapore designer' together. My only criteria- the quality must be present, and the workmanship ought to be dedicated and delicate. If a product from an independent designer/artist possesses quality, then it doesn't matter which country the label is from. And as long as our talented Singapore designers continuing creating beautiful pieces of work, I'll wear made-in-Singapore products from head to toe.

So yes, today I went with an intention to buy, if something caught the eye. There were some stuff on display, and others in-the-making. I like many things, but I won't buy them unless I fall in love. Something did catch my eye. I'll leave you to guess what they are. :)

Ceriph Issue 4

They call Ceriph Issue 4 "the white issue". Split into 5 little volumes of both poetry and prose, it made for easy reading in short spurts. There're some well written poetry and short stories which lean towards science-fiction and observations of human interaction. Some appeal, some don't. That's the beauty of the various volumes. I'm forced to plough through all. Curiosity always wins and I need to read all the stories and poetry before deciding if I like any.

Catherine Rose Torres' "Her Sacred Dust" managed to royally annoy me. It speaks of the brief life of lovers and the subsequent suicide of the woman because she can't conceive and the 'cowardice' of the man to keep his infertility a secret. I confess that this is not something I empathize with or understand.

Mary-Jane Leo's "$trategic KPI + %Synergy% = Love" is a little slow at the start, telling of how a woman sets out to look for love following a checklist and a structure of key performance indicators (KPIs), and finally met someone. I'm tickled by the twist in the ending that is dark and a touch sarcastic.

Joel Tan's "Snow" is hilarious. Hurhurhur. You must read it! It's fairly well written and almost elegantly snarky. "Then one day, it happened, a crack of thunder in the sky, dark like Mordor, and the glass of skyscrapers tinkled. A voice from the heavens, this is my son in whom I am well pleased, a hand from the sky writing on City Hall, 'from my grave shall I return', and then snow: white, soft, anomalous, falling irreverently from the tropical sky, covering the trees in fuzz; and for once in the city, a quiet like the spirit of the world had died."

I've come to eagerly anticipate the publication of each issue of Ceriph. I like to read the assorted thoughts by various writers carefully curated and collated in these tiny volumes that could be finished easily in one sitting. However, I finished them over a couple of days at the hospital because I also had my snazzy brand new version of the Kindle which stores other exciting stuff to pore through. But flipping hardcopy pages seem to calm the mind more effectively than swiping an e-book.

Haloumi And Dips FTW

Meals can be easily settled without much ceremony. It's really to fill the tummy isn't it? This week, many dinner dates were merrily postponed for other priorities, so I needn't be fussed with the social elements of a meal or having to schmooze. The man's been busy too, and we had no mutually convenient time to meet for meals either.

Certain friends have also sweetly adjusted their schedules to fit mine; I'm grateful for that. So it came to pass that in the middle of a busy week, I was able to tuck into a superbly healthy and tasty homecooked meal. I think we share similar tastebuds, so whenever and whatever she cooks, I'm just going to eat it all up! A proper dinner for the first time in days. It was such an unexpected treat.

There was a lovely thick carrot soup which totally filled the tummy. I made alot space for the grilled haloumi! So yummilicious. Although at one point I was a little stunned when the woman tasked me to make a simple salad, which was really to sprinkle some olive oil and balsamic, salt and pepper and lemon in there. Hmmmm. I might have dropped in too much balsamic and oversoaked the leaves!

Not only that, later in the week, I was totally persuaded to sneak out of the hospital for a quick bit and was bought a lovely lunch at Blu Kouzina on a rainy afternoon. My lunch date had to endure an excruciating 45-min cab ride to plough through the traffic jams in the area. It would have normally been just a 15-min ride tops. Thankfully she didn't look too green upon arrival. A refreshing glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice, sparkling water, awesome dips and pita bread made it all better.

Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall

The poem which greet visitors upon entry is most thought-provoking. I'm surprised that they put it in such a prominent position.

The poem is penned by then Chinese politician Wang Zhaoming (汪兆铭, alias Wang Jingwei) who headed Nanjing during those messy years, and is branded as a traitor in the annals and in the notes on his burial site in Nanjing. In China, his earlier association with Sun Yat Sen is downplayed because of his later-day collaboration with the Japanese and subsequent deeds.

Of course the interpretation of the poem is your own. I take it literally, of the ideals and momentum of revolution that could be ignited and planned from other countries besides your own, and ummm...fight till the end for a cause you believe in.

Never mind that the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (晚晴园－孙中山南洋纪念馆) in Singapore used to be the headquarters of the historical figure's revolutionary party Tong Meng Hui. While the great wheels of change moved to conjure and enable plans within the headquarters far away from China, Sun Yat Sen stayed at the villa only thrice between 1900 and 1911. Okay. That's very impressive if you're impressed by the proximity of important figures, and like taking photos with them.

I fail to be adequately convinced by the supposedly important links between Sun Yat Sen and modern-day Singapore. (Don't give me the lecture on British colonialism and Chinese loyalty to China then, or how the 1911 revolution pushed Singapore's desire for independence. We rose as a country built from immigrants and settlers, and we will continue as a country fueled by immigrants.) I'm not particularly certain that his political ideals are kinda our political ideals as a nation......All I'm seeing, is the curators' tremendous efforts in drawing the tenuous links between the leading businessmen then and our political leaders now. I'm not liking the tone very much. It's very clear that Singapore was (maybe...is?) treated as an outpost or a remote province of China. There're many many panels of printed information which read like a historical textbook. In fact, walking through half the museum felt like flipping through a really mundane and badly edited history textbook.

The more interesting sets of information are stored on level 2. But the artefacts (beyond the fact that we stood in a circa 1880 refurbished building) seem skimpy. The furniture hold tags that say "Do not touch", but provide no further explanation as to what they might be used for or how it came to be in the house. It's expected that most visitors would find it familiar or know it instantly simply because they aren't supposed to be antique yet. I didn't understand why President Ong Teng Cheong's secondary school certificates would be on display too, amongst the rapid development of Chinese schools then. Most of the displays rely on old photos, an odd pair of green shoes, and a very random but fascinating "letterpress cylinder printing machine". Quite intrigued by the huge paintings that depicted Sun like a holy man. Interesting techniques used, and very modern. I don't know anything about them, but the artworks don't look like they were done in the 1900s. But I couldn't find more information on them at the musuem. DOHH.

I was a little disturbed by the niggling silence, save for one tiny mention of Sun Yat Sen's wife Soong Ching-ling. She was a remarkable woman and was definitely Sun's able assistant. So what if she didn't stay in this villa? We can't discount her contributions to Sun's passionate campaign and her subsequent commitment and conscientious profile to the cause after his death. I enjoyed the visit to her residence in Shanghai. That jaunt is still fresh in my mind. Her memorial residence oozed history and charm, yielding an intimate understanding of the lady. In contrast, this villa museum we've just visited, feels like an out-of-place cold tribute to a man who played an indistinct and indirect role in the birth of the modern republic of Singapore.

Tried To Make A Star Tunnel Book

Let's be very honest here. Before today, I've never voluntarily signed up for notabilia's bookmaking classes because I can't do those stuff. Give me a screwdriver and a spanner and I know exactly what's to be done. When a class opened up with no stated pre-requisites, Yuling was interested and pulled me along.

I went with no other intention than to learn what bookmaking is about. One could well, flip books, google, and then try it on your own. That could work especially if you lean more towards being a visual learner. But for kinesthetic learners, nothing beats having an instructor around and looking at other people's creations. There's also the social element. I teased notabilia that besides adding more humans to the growing art and craft community in this city, her classes are also the hottest social activities in town that don't revolve around aimless shopping and sitting down to fluffy tea sessions.

I spent ALOT of time befriending beer cans and wine glasses. It was a lovely cool afternoon with the rains pelting down throughout the session. There would be no headaches induced by a mixture of alcohol and heat. If anything, it put me in a mood to attempt to handle paper, scissors and needles without too many mishaps. I knew that the multi-layered accordion fold is meant to present a three-dimensional effect which is a good storytelling tool. But I've no patience to cut that out in one afternoon. Understanding the basics and to be familiar with the know-how sufficed.

I'm not showing you mine. It's stitched up, but it's not cute or presentable. I didn't bother with anything pretty or fancy. I simply cut out circular shapes to fulfill basic requirements so that notabilia wouldn't frown at me. Remember our home economics classes in secondary school? I resented being made to do sewing and cooking and being disallowed to join the boys in the workshop for cutting, welding and hammering. I had to pay classmates to bake my stuff or sew the ugly house dresses assigned. A load of crap. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, in the same manner, I made Yuling help me sew and all! If there's any reason I need to make a book, I'll buy someone else's handiwork. :D

You've gotta see @cclaudd's cool stripes, @paper_tigress' little house on the prairie and M.'s cute (again) cupcake! Spot 'em in the photo below. These ladies have quite the eye for depth and how they want the final product to look like. They end up with gorgeous creations, and seems like they're almost ready for retail after a few more rounds!

The Man Did It!

So I'm the Fix-It girl around the house. I fix leaky taps, change light bulbs, squeaky door handles, hinges, clear clogged pipes and whatnots. You get the picture. These things are second nature to me.

The man can sort out guitar pedals just fine, but he's never really done anything else remotely resembling anything DIY-ish around the house. He couldn't even fix up Ikea boxes with the allen keys. Those keys are meant to be used on his guitars and related electronic gadgets. Not handyman stuff. I'm even skeptical whether he really knows how to change a car tyre. (I do, by the way.)

The girlfriend had given us a standing lamp for the room a couple of months back. Make that almost a year ago. I've nearly forgotten why she gave it to us. It was probably because I mentioned something about a wonky lamp. Well, I've never gotten around to fixing it, not the old or the new lamp. The gift has been sitting in its pristine Ikea box.

Last night, I came home to a beaming partner who proudly announced that he sorted out the new lamp and had put the old one at the recycling bins. I stared at the now-out-of-the-box gift and gave it a tentative poke. Uhhh....huhhhh. It's actually not wobbly! I'm surprised that the man could decipher the (pictorial) instructions!

I'm duly impressed.

Laksa and Chocolates

I was starving, and needed lunch stat. I was quite eager to try Wimbly Lu. Apparently the crêpe of garlic, mushroom and cheese isn't too shoddy. I don't vouch for the rest of the food though. I understand this isn't a food place. It's a chocolate venue.

Once the car was parked, we stared at the chalkboard outside the cafe in major disappointment. They've suddenly decided to close for lunch and open only for dinners, so that they can focus on making chocolates.

(PS: I'm slightly peeved by all these indie eateries and cafes. It seems to be a trend to put out information and crucial updates about opening and closing times on facebook instead of their websites, which then begets the question, why bother having a website to confuse humans? Just stick to facebook!)

The food at the adjacent cafes didn't attract our attention. So we went off to Laksania at the gigantic (and boring) nex. While I'd love to support eateries that are also social enterprises, I'm not entirely hot about them because often...the food sucks. I'm glad that my first experience at Laksania was pleasant.

The Singapore laksa (with no cockles) and the vegetarian hotpot was good. The staff was thoughtful enough to ask if we wanted egg. I like their stock. Not the best, but not the worst. Thick, flavorful and quite yummy. Oh, do allow me to qualify- I don't like Katong laksa, i.e. I'm not into that particular blend of gravy.

Went back to Wimbly Lu for dessert. No coffee. I eyed their machine and decided that Starbucks would be better. So we only had chocolate. Not bad at all! Not that sweet and rather rich. The iced chocolate could be thicker, I suppose. It was a little watered down after the ice melted. I really like those rum and raisin truffles. A pity I was headed back to the hospital instead of home, so I couldn't tapau a box just yet. Another day.

It's The Company

It was a dinner date I wasn't sure I could keep. I've been reshuffling priorities for the week. Certain responsibilities have required a little more commitment on my time which I willingly give. Even the man hasn't seen very much of me either, between his commitments and my filled calendar.

It has been so difficult to get everyone together at any one time, and seeing how this could be an early Thanksgiving celebration for the year, it was worth a try to make this date. Online updates aside, nothing beats face-to-face interaction with people who meant something to me then, and still mean something now.

For one reason or another, I've always celebrated Thanksgiving with one of them on assorted work trips in the previous years, so why not do an early one this year. Along with the unpredictability of how events typically unfold, I managed to have a hot shower and made it to dinner at a decent timing.

I've truly missed this bunch of people. It's awesome that we can still hang out together and find common topics of conversation. I loved my job. I still do, oddly. If there's any reason to go back into full-time employment, it'll be because I've found something that I might grow to love equally.

I didn't have much appetite, so I picked at the food. It was the company that I craved, to be with people who've known me for years and understand what makes me tick, and not question or pry. It's that easy trust and level of comfort that wrap around trying times like a warm soothing blanket. It was good to catch up, talk about...design thinking and the associated methodologies. Mind-mapping doesn't seem to have gone out of fashion. Always glad for random topics of conversation to boggle the mind.

The Colors Of Life

As the city moves towards a full stretch of the rainy season, I've almost forgotten how brilliant the sunshine can be, and how spectacular the short sunsets can be. Too many times, I've neglected to look up and beyond the yonder to seek that breathtaking scene before it slips into twilight.

Today's sunset reminds me of how beautiful and fragile life truly is. I took a few quiet moments to admire the beauty of the colors. It's akin to a stark reminder of how I want to paint the canvas of my life- that is totally within my control. I make choices that answer to no one but my conscience.