NYC prelude

My husband is a huge ice hockey fan. Specifically, a Detroit Red Wings ice hockey fan. He's got the jersey, he watches old games, he himself plays for the Norwest Emporers and he's even imposed 'distance from ice rink' as a criterion for where we live.

Suffice to say, watching a real live National Hockey League (NHL) game would be the dream for him. So six months ago I started planning a surprise trip to America for his 30th birthday. The Red Wings were playing a home game in Detroit on the night of his birthday. I booked Delta flights to New York, flights to Detroit and one night's accommodation at the Detroit Greek Casino Hotel. The Red Wing's home rink was the Joe Louis Arena, and I discovered that the rink offered fan tours to the locker rooms and commentators boxes. (Booked.) I found out that for a $50 donation, I could have a special birthday message come up on the video board during the game. (Locked in.)

Everything was planned and booked, and MP had no idea! All he knew was that he had to take a week off work as we were going away. As I had got the whole family in on the surprise, his guess was that I had organised a big family trip to Ayers Rock (which he wasn't quite thrilled about).

Then... disaster hit. NHL announced a lock out.

From my simple understanding of the lockout, there was/is a dispute between the hockey league and the players, over money. So as no one was/is yielding, all games have been suspended until further notice.

One of MP's good mates Jae (another hockey fanatic who had been helping me organise the trip) was the one who alerted me of the lockout. His advice was that I had to tell Merv so that he could keep on top of the lockout news.

So much for the surprise. I had planned for him to find out where we were going once we arrived at the airport and I told him which flight number we were boarding. Then he would have checked the board to find out which check-in aisle we needed to go to, then "SURPRISE! We're going to New York!"

Instead, I pulled up the Flight Confirmation email on my iPad and a picture of the Joe Louis Arena seating chart. Whilst he was reading in bed, I handed my iPad to him. The shock look of surprise lasted for approximately 1.5 seconds before pure disappointment hit.
"NOOO! There's a stupid lock out!"


... Which is how we ended up spending two weeks in New York City.

Stay tuned for our NYC trip in the next post.

Catchup Post - Singapore

It's been a long time between posts, and what a good five months it's been! Lots has happened. Lots didn't happen. And there was a whole lot of living in between.

We went to Singapore over the Labour Day Long weekend back in September. It was my dear friend Mel's 30th birthday. She and her husband Mike, are expats living in Malaysia. So we organised to all get our butts over to Singapore for a big, decadent birthday celebration. Boy was it decadent...

I made reservations at the Tetsuya's Waku Ghin restaurant in Singapore, and when our other friends, Frank and Sarah heard about this, they decided to ditch their bub with the grandparents and come along on this whirlwind trip. When Sarah's sister Tracey heard about this, she decided to third wheel and also come along. So the five of us boarded a Saturday afternoon Scoot flight and landed in Singapore at 8pm. First stop, Jumbo's Seafood Restaurant! Of course our first meal at Singapore had to be Chilli Crab! Mike and Mel were already there and we ordered every flavour of crab you can think of. Chilli crab, pepper crab, steamed crab... by the end of it, I promised my stomach no more crab for the rest of the year. (That promise was broken within 48 hours.)

After our crab feast, we went hunting down a nice place to bring in Mel's 30th. One of Mike's friends recommended a place called the Helipad and when we got there, we saw that it was literally situated on a Helipad. It was also swarming with groups of people whom I thought looked like underage teens. They were of course, all of age and, as MP so kindly pointed out,  I was just old. Which is true. I was too old to queue in a line and pay a cover charge to a place which was lit up by glow stick accessories. So we left the helipad and rebriefed Mike's friend - Delicious Cocktails. Comfy lounges. City skyline views... and that's how we ended up at the Lantern Bar. The Lantern Bay is a stylish rooftop bar at the Fullerton Hotel which has spectacular panoramic views of the CBD and Marina Bay. The cocktails were scrumptious. The views were breathtaking and best of all, I was surrounded by my best friends.

We were one of the last groups to stumble out of the Lantern Bar, and just because we were in Singapore, we decided to hunt down some supper. We ended up at restaurant which served up yummy Hainan Chicken, and although none of us thought we were hungry, the whole chicken was gone in a blink! Belly full and bleary eyed, we headed back to the Holiday Inn Orchard Road to rest up for the full day we had ahead.

Sunday was officially Mel's birthday and her gorgeous husband pre-booked a pamper day at the luxurious Spa Botania in Sentosa. As Frank & Co were flying out that night, they skipped the pamper session, opting instead for a full day of power shopping. So Mel, Mike, MP and I piled in a cab and headed to Sentosa where we indulged in massages, body scrubs and foot scrubs. We got clayed up in the mud pools and lounged on floating beds in their pool which featured a waterfall.We had a healthy lunch at their restaurant, and before you know it, six hours had passed and we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the highlight of the trip - Waku Ghin.

The meal at Waku Ghin deserves a post of it's own, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

From the moment we stepped through the restaurant doors, we were floating in food heaven... Or more like, swimming in food heaven - It was an Aquarium banquet. Lobster! Abalone! Sea urchiin! Sea cucumber! Caviar! Everything was cooked right in front of us by our own private chef. It was an amazing meal from beginning to end. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Singapore.

On our last day in Singapore, MP and I spent it shopping and exploring the city. Just the two of us. Together, we hunted down a hawker centre round the corner of our hotel for an Asian breakfast of braised duck, hainan chicken, oyster omelette and rice. (When in Rome...) Then we headed to Ion, a shopping centre in Orchard city, and went nut balls at the little boutiques.

On our first night in Singapore, the taxi driver who had taken us to Jumbo Seafood restaurant for Chilli Crab, had told us that we should go to a place on Upper Thomson Road called "Urban Seafood House". Apparently, the Chilli crab there was not only better than Jumbo's, but much cheaper as well. So for our last meal in Singapore, MP and I decided to jump in a cab and try heading there. We didn't have an address and we had no internet connection on our iPhones, so we drove around Upper Thomson (which we found out is a very, very long, suburban road) looking for this mysterious restaurant. Merv pointed out a restaurant called "Urvin's" but it was empty. We thought, "that definitely couldn't be it." But in hindsight, it must have been as we drove everywhere and couldn't find it. The cab driver ended up dropping us off at a small village block, full of eateries. We stumbled across a seafood restaurant where quite a few locals were patroning. So we sat down and ordered one chilli crab, one pepper crab, prawns, man tao and vegies. When all the food came out, MP and I felt like fat Kings and Queens (and a little sheepish for being so decadent with our order.) The meal was amazing. Here's a before and after shot of our meal. 

The food was sooo good and relatively cheap! (I think the whole meal came in at around $60.) After dinner we had to race to the airport, but the meal was a fantastic finale to our whirlwind trip.

Yes, it was OTT, but this whole trip was exciting, thrilling, happy, decadent, luxurious and ridiculously delicious. I loved every minute of Singapore. We will definitely be back. 

Can't sleep...

It's been such a big week. After 9 months of hard work, I finally gave birth to my work baby on Wednesday 22nd August. He weighs 2.12 million UAs and he's number one in his market. He will officially be revealed to the world next Monday but trade press will start tomorrow. Can't wait for everyone to see it.
There's too much going on in my head tonight/this morning and I can't sleep. Boozy Editorial lunch today. Dinner at Longrain tonight.
Hope I don't fall asleep on my betel leaf entree.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Being forced to stop

It's day 5. Five hellish days of THE WORKS. We're talking, fever, aches and pains, runny nose, nasty cough, shortness of breath, ear ache, mouth ulcers and, a symptom I've never really experienced before, not being able to taste anything.

Through the delirium, sweat and tears (yes, there were tears... that's how bad it got), I realised that I could have prevented this from getting so bad. There were signs. My body did try warning me, but I ignored them. Now I have no choice. I've been forced to stop.

There have been other realisations. Some irrational ("I'm a bad wife/friend/daughter/person"). Others, more productive. The biggie? My acknowledgement that I haven't been taking very good care of myself. Over the last six months, MP and I have completely fallen out of routine. We eat out most nights and I think I've drunk more booze in the last six months, than I have in my first 28 years of life. I've stopped exercising, even piking on the weekly Yoga classes which I love. All in all, I've been putting 100% effort into work but 0% effort into me. My frown lines are etching deeper day by day, and when I look in the mirror, I see a weariness where the spark use to be.

I can't do anything about it tonight, but tomorrow's a new day. There will be no work tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to reboot.

Holidays were a distant dream...

... which is why we take photos!

It's been four weeks since we got back from our Asia Trip, and this is probably the first weekend of normality we've had since our return. The holiday was amazing. We ate so much food! I'm going to take the lazy route and let the pictures do the talking.

Malaysia...

Hong Kong...

Japan...

(... wiping the drool off my chin)

It was a wonderful trip filled with many soul etched memories. It was good to see MP's grandparents in Mayalsia and my grandma and uncles in Hong Kong. We had a blast hanging out with Royce in Tokyo, and felt so regal, bumming with the Yees in Kuala Lumpur. We ate at an array of places, from dingy hawker stalls to three Michelin Star Restaurants. We ate the full spectrum of Asian delicacies from pork intestine soup to soft shell turtle. (I will do a separate post about our Ryokan experience in Hakone and our uber fine dining experience at Nihonryori Ryugin.)

But overall, our trip was fabulous.

Conversely, our return to Sydney has been hard. Really hard. Reality smacked us both in the face the day after we got off the plane and stepped foot into work. I've spent the first two weeks reeling from all the news and announcements that have been made, and have since been sucked back into the corporate vortex, forced to sprint at full speed.


Parallel universes do exist. I feel that the dichotomy between my holiday and my work is proof of it. One day, I'm in a sweltering third world country, sipping a cold Tei Tarek as I wait to be served three ringgit (AUD $1) Roti at a local suburban Mamak. The next day, I'm sitting in a meeting with the new Editor in Chief of the Sydney Morning Herald, and he's telling me gut wrenching news.


Well... At least I have these happy snaps to remind me that it wasn't all a dream...

Asia Trip 2012 - Bukit Metarjam

The long awaited Asian holiday has finally arrived!

Yesterday was a full day in transit... 9 hour flight from Syd to KL, 4 hours in Kuala Lumpur's LCCT airport (where we spent a few hours chilling out at Starbucks with Mel and Mike), then a 50 minute flight to Penang. We finally arrived in MP's family home town of Bukit Metarjam at around midnight... and it was straight to bed as I had already turned into a walking zombie.
MP described Bukit Mertarjam (BM) as a town similar to Taree of Sydney. Small town with houses sprawled all over the place. But that's where the similarities stop. Driving around BM, you do witness life in a third world country. All the run down vacant shops, the stray animals on the sides of the streets, the piles of rubbish at the front of people's houses... Iots for the mind to take in.

We spent today driving around BM in search of the best Malaysian grub. MP's "Ah Yee" (I.e. auntie) and his cousin Pete, took us to all these local haunts known for serving "the best" of everything. For brunch, we drove to a place which specialized in "the best" taro rice with pig stomach soup. I ate the taro rice and took a nibble of the pig stomach, but ended up devouring a bowl of Asian meatball soup instead, which Ah Yee kindly ordered for me in anticipation of my sensitive Aussie stomach. After brunch, we drove around in search of seasonal fruits. It is the start of the Summer fruits season in Malaysia, which means a tropical feast of durian, rambutan, mangosteens and lychees. In BM, you don't venture into a supermarket for fruit. Rather, locals set up stalls lining the side of the road, showcasing their harvest. Ah Yee has a keen eye for good fruit and she scoured stall after stall, finally walking away with a Durian and bags of lychees and mangosteens. It was fruit heaven.

For afternoon tea, Ah Yee drove us to a renowned local vendor who made "the best" "mung jung kueh", a kind of sticky cake with has a thin layer of crisp on the outside, and crushed peanuts, butter and sugar on the inside. We ate it hot as it was fresh from the pan and it was absolutely sublime. Afterwards, we drove to a little shop which served "the best" Cendol in BM. Ah Yee told me that they made their coconut milk fresh (i.e. it does not come from a can). Boy does that make a difference! The Cendol was a perfect balance of shaved ice, coconut milk and gula, with thin green Cendol jelly and perfectly cooked red kidney beans. At this shop, we also found these trianglular, banana leaf parcels which MP had always told me about. This was traditional Nasi Lamek (Coconut rice). Because we were quite full, we bought one to share between the two of us and It only cost us a dollar twenty ringgit! (I.e. forty cents AUD). We picked one which had anchovies and egg... honestly, that little parcel of rice was better than any Nasi Lamek you could buy in Sydney for $10-$15 . MP and I scraped up every last rice grain and thought about buying another. But Ah Yee told us that we should save our stomachs for dinner...

For dinner, Ah Yee and Ah Tiew (MP's uncle) took us to a secluded restaurant in a small village, an hours drive away. The Asian alfresco style restaurant situated next to a farm, is renowned for it's amazing fried pork knuckle. So we ordered that as well as steamed snapper, fried squid, prawn noodles and stir fry potato leaves. The food was unbelievable. The steamed snapper was topped in this delicious chilli, soy bean and shallots sauce. The moorish fried squid had a hint of curry powder in it's crunchy coating, and the pork knuckle had perfect crackling covering a layer of soft chewy fat. It was an amazing meal and the perfect end to our first food filled day in BM.

The whole day has been unbelievable. It was on the car ride home from dinner, as I reflected on my day, that I realized how lucky I am to have married into a great family with a cultural background so different to my own. Today just would not have been possible if I was a tourist. I am the luckiest.

Photos to come.
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Guardian Angels

I believe know that every event happens for a reason. Every person that we meet... It is all exactly as it should be.

This week, I had lunch with a colleague who I was only introduced to a few months ago. It's only the second encounter we've really had outside of day to day work liaisons, but after lunch yesterday, I knew I was meant to meet him. That I was meant to meet him at this exact point in my life.

He reminded me of thing I've forgotten. He shone light on the ideas, the beliefs and the notions, that I've always held, but seem to have ignored in the past few years. He reminded me of life's purpose. He reminded me of my purpose. He reminded me of the gift I have and how, unbeknownst to me, I may be using it every day to help those around me.

I hope I gave him something in return. Even if it's just an ear for his own personal predicaments. He shared with me this great life philosophy he holds, where he feels that his purpose is to turn every frown he encounters, into smiles. At the end of life's journey, if his frowns vs. smiles balance sheet tips in favour of smiles, then he has served his purpose. He would have done good... What a great philosophy.


He also reminded me that every day you get the opportunity to start over. Just because today is a terrible day doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t be the best day of your life. You just got to get there.

I have always believed in Guardian Angels. But the static drone of life, often blocks my ears and blindfolds my eyes to them. Only after they leave do I realise who they were and what they did for me.

I'm so grateful that I recognise this one. That I can say to him face to face, thank you for coming into my life.

Another week... another feast

It's been a momentous week. Thursday, 3rd of May was the day MP and I got back into the black, and we celebrated with a nice "Date Night" meal at Cafe Lyon in Lindfield.

We drive past Cafe Lyon almost every day. I don't know why we waited so long to make a reservation. But after last night's meal, you can bet your cotton socks that we'll be back.

This cute little French Bistro really surprised us. You can choose two courses for $55, or $65 for three. Both of us scanned the dessert selection first and after seeing the Pear Tart Tartin (with Butterscotch Sauce and Vanilla Bean Ice-cream), we made an executive decision that no matter what, we had to make it to dessert.

The menu was simple yet had a good variety. Four entrees, four mains and four desserts. They also had the Specials (one of each course). MP ended up selecting all three of the Specials.

For entrees MP had the Scotch Egg which came on a bed of crunchy celeriac with a rich Balsamic dressing. I had the famed citrus cured salmon, spiced avocado and crunchy prawn tempura. This was the dish Terry Durack rated as the "Must Try" in his Good Living review.
  

They had us hooked at entree...

We were both really impressed! The flavours were fantastic and you can tell that every ingredient on the plate was well considered.

For mains, MP had the Lamb Shanks with polenta and Eggplant Jus. I had the Quail Ballotine, which had chestnuts inside. It came on a bed of braised red cabbage. MP won out with the mains - his lamb was cooked to perfection.

But the biggest surprise came at dessert time. MP selected the Special which was Profiterroles with vanilla bean ice-cream and a decadent chocolate and Grand Manier sauce. It was yummy...

... But my Pear Tart Tartin was ethereal. A full pear poached to absolute perfection, wrapped in a crunchy pastry and drizzled in Butterscotch Sauce. The Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream accompanied the warm pear perfectedly. One word - Amazing.

It was a wonderful meal. The perfect end to a stressful work week. And the perfect start to the weekend.

It was an overwhelming week at work. I have so much to do before we go on holidays. I hate working on weekends, but I don't think there's much of a choice this weekend. Just have to keep reminding myself that holidays are only 14 days away...

I also stumbled across a beautiful blog challenge from Ez at Creative Comforts - Things I'm afraid to tell you In a nutshell, the challenge is based on the idea that within blogland, people's lives appear shiny, pretty, happy and perfect, when in reality, life is very different and we are often afraid to reveal how things really are. I've been reading blog posts from all the inspirational bloggers who have taken on this challenge. This post by Lynn has especially struck a chord. I've been a follower of Lynn's blog for about a year, as I am a big admirer of her letter-press business Satsuma Press. After reading her post, now I'm an big admirer of Lynn.

I've always thought that I was pretty honest and transparent in my writing. But if I was, then I wouldn't have been so scared to make public this blog which I started in 2008, a good three years before this one.

Royal Escapades was my "dear diary". A private outlet for me to post my honest thoughts and opinions about life, which ranged in light and dark shades. When I decided to create a public blog to document my journey to start a crafting business (yes, that was my original brief for this blog. Yes, I know I have digressed...), the thought of making Royal Escapades public was not an option. So until two minutes ago, this private blog was only visible to me.

I have just noticed though, that over the last 6-12 months, I have stopped posting exclusively on Royal Escapades. There are even posts over this period, which appear on both blogs.

Maybe it's because I've had less bad days... or maybe I became braver in posting about the bad days here... I don't know. But it's time I reveal the things I'm afraid to tell you.

So much eatiing...

It's been four weeks since the end of my Easter Staycation and the days have just blitzed by. MP and I celebrated the anniversary of our first date, thirteen years ago, with a delicious dinner at Restaurant Arras. We went on April 10th, the day after the Easter long weekend, and found ourselves the only patrons at the sleek and stylish restaurant. Alon, the Maitre d, informed us that it usually costs $10,000 to book out the restaurant. We felt very special.  

Since Justin North shipped his crew up to the new Westfield, Arras moved into the old Becasse site at 204 Clarence Street. MP and I dined at Becasse on New Years Eve 2009, and the meal was spectacular...

Arras was even better.

From start to finish, the meal was an artistic affair. Ten courses of mouth magic delivered through duck liver parfait, flavour punching clam noodles, tuna nicoise with bean puree, juicy scallops (potato and the seafood kind), tender duck, veal cooked to perfection... and the desserts! Oh, the desserts! Even with the petit fours, we were presented with a smorgasbord of peanut brittle, toasted marshmallow on sticks, jellies, chocolates, meringues and more... and we were free to take whatever we wanted! I was so taken aback by the big platter presented to us, that I completely forgot to take a photo. But you can see in the picture above, the small pink and blue platters which housed our final selections. By this stage of the meal, we were both supporting rolly polly bellies and were ready to be tipped over and rolled home, so we were conservative with our pickings.

I haven't even mentioned the wines which complemented each course perfectly. I must say that you really get your money's worth with the wine course. It was a one to one pairing and we even got a cocktail with our H'orderves!

All in all, we had a fantastic meal. The food, the wine, Alon and Ralph (our waiter) made it a very special night for us.


MP and I have been eating out a lot over the past few weeks. Yes, we're enjoying the DINK lifestyle as much as we can, now that we've seen what bubbies do to free time through all our friends who have had recent new additions to their family. Just yesterday, we had lunch at a new cafe which has opened up in Alexandria called "The Grounds". It was only it's fourth opening weekend and was absolutely packed to the brim. We had to wait 45 minutes for a table, but they had a sweet little herb and vegetable garden outside where queuers could grab take away coffees and wait. I enjoyed a rich hot chocolate and MP, a smooth, velvety cappucino, as we sat amongst aromatic oregano, adolescent aubergines... and chooks. Was the wait worth it?

"Yes" for me.
"Not really" for MP.

I'm a sucker for Ginger Beer and this one came in a rustic jar with a sprig of fresh mint. Lunch was chicken schnitzel complemented with home made coleslaw and mint sauce. The chicken was tender and the mint sauce added a unique touch to the coleslaw. MP had the roast beef salad, which was thrown together with pecorino, capers, roasted tomatoes and rocket. We also ordered a side of their hand-cut fries which came with a delicious chilli-mayo. Lunch came to around $45, including a piccolo coffee. Very reasonable in my opinion.

I really liked The Ground, but MP ducted points due to their bad queueing system. They don't take your phone numbers down. Rather, the maitre d writes down your name and a guestimate time of when he thinks he'll have a table ready for you, and tells you to come back at that time. When you come back at that time, there are other people mulling around who have also been told the same time. Then it's all down to the Maitre d's memory on who arrived on time first, as to who gets seated first. It's all a bit messy and can be unfair. For example, we were welcomed to a table first, even though there was another couple who had been told they were next.

The Grounds is a great place to go if you live in the area. The address is 7A, 2 Huntley St, Alexandria. MP thinks that the queues are just because of their "shiny and new" tag, but I think the rustic environment, the fresh food and the reasonable prices, makes The Grounds a keeper.

So yes, we've spent the last few weekends feasting. Other new places we have tried include Kitchen at Mikes (also in Alexandria) and Restaurant Sixteen in Neutral Bay. Both are highly recommended. Eating aside, life has been pottering along nicely. Our Asia Trip is just three weeks away and I very much look forward to seeing all our family and friends. I've been dreaming about all the amazing food we will be gauging on. 20 days and counting!

Easter Break - Day 5

Eek! I blinked and five days went by... can't believe that I'm half way through my Easter break!

I'm currently sitting at the hairdressers, waiting for all the smelly chemicals in my hair to do it's thang. After two years of having wild, kinky hair (and getting away with calling it my "messy look"), I'm bringing back some order into my hair (life?) by getting it chemically straightened. For those of you who know me, you may be thinking "What the heck? You're Asian! You already have straight hair!" Yes, that is true. My hair is relatively straight. But I am gunning for the Head and Shoulders, hair-like-a-waterfall straight. The Salon Selective "look like you stepped out of a salon" hair. This special treatment is meant to give me that after every wash, for three months! I have big expectations for this hair. Fingers crossed.

In other news, lots more tick, tick, ticks (off the Staycation To-Do List) over the last few days. Got the car headlight fixed, booked Tokyo accommodation for our upcoming trip, and finally got all the forms signed and sent off to Anglican Retirement Village. No, we are not sticking our parents in homes.... yet. (hehe Just kidding mum!) MP and I are wanting to start volunteering once a week at the Retirement Home up the road. Just reading to residents and helping out where we can.

I did have a thought this week which I've been mulling over. It's not a great insight, but it is how it is.

When a person doesn't work, they lose power. Power in a relationship. Power to do what they want, when they want, and sadly, power over their subconscious demons. The ones which preys on all our inner insecurities.

Work provides a framework to our sense of self. It forms part of one's identity and for many (me included) it is a quantitative measure of one's self worth.... I HATE that, but I admit that it is true.

I'm not even unemployed (just on a break!) and already I feel it. The loss of power by not being at work. I don't want to go into all the details. But this insight has definitely added another pro to the list of reasons for working.

Ok, Hairdresser has started bantering. Time to go.

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Easter Break - Day 2

Four glorious days of annual leave, coupled with the Easter long weekend, means 10 work free, staff free, stress free days of nothing but me! Yes, my long awaited Easter Staycation has finally come. 

Today is Sunday, day two of my break. Yesterday, I went back to the Hills and spent some time with my mum and dad. I love going back to the Hills. It's my safe haven. My rejuvenation sanctuary. My Matrix reset. Whenever I go back, I get reminded of all the things that are important in life. Family. Nature. Me. Have to endeavor to go back more often...

I know people have mixed thoughts about To-Do Lists on holidays, but there's just so much I haven't had a chance to do, I've had to write it all down. Last night, I organised the printing of my wedding thank you cards (yes, six months late but better late than never!) and today, I finished picking out pictures for the wedding album. Tick! Tick! Two things struck off the list.

One of the things I promised myself that I will NOT do, is think about work over the next ten days. So far it's been pretty good... barr the occasional moments when my subconscious though drifts. However, without work consuming the majority of my thoughts, it's surprised me how little I have to do. I've suddenly discovered all these pockets of spare time simply because my mind hasn't been running on work overdrive.

So I've decided to put these pockets of spare time into good use. There are all these things I have always wanted to learn, but I've never had the time to. So I'm picking three simple things, and I'm going to endeavor to do them every day -

1) Draw something - whether it is a masterpiece or a little doodle, I'm going to draw something every day. I was a great drawer as a kid and I loved it. But somewhere along the way, I stopped and now I can barely muster stick figures. I'm going to start again. Whether it be just penning a doodle or tracing a picture, I'm going to pick up a pencil and draw.

2) Practice Wolf Whistling (in the shower) - I've ALWAYS wanted to be able to hail a cab with a whistle! This needs to be practiced in the shower as my attempts have always lead to sprays and showers of spittle.

3) Learn Chinese - My Chinese is really bad and it annoys me that when I go back to Hong Kong, I can't even read a menu. So I'm going to learn one Honkie Menu item every day. MP and I have an Asian holiday planned in May so hopefully, I would have a few dozen dishes up my sleeve by then.

And that's my plan.

We'll see how it goes...

First crafty project for 2012

I didn't take a photo of the finished Paddington Wool Baby Blanket I made last year, before giving it away. However, I had such a great time making it, that when I received Morris and Son's newsletter annoucing their annual Christmas Sales, I went back and bought enough of the lucious wool to complete two more blankets. I finished one of them a few weeks ago.

The process was long and arduous, but as always, seeing the finished product made it all worth while.

Didn't do great today... Will be better tomorrow.

Oprah tells us to live our best life.
Ghandi tells us to be the change you want to see in the world.
Lenka tells us to Live like you're dying...

Today, I may have failed on all those fronts.

I wasn't my best self today. I indulged in silly gossip, spoke ill of someone who rubbed me the wrong way (but in hindsight, not really, I was just being defensive and petty), behaved childishly in front of my peers.

All in all, It was not a good day.

*sigh*

But nothing I can do about it now. The past is in the past. Just need to try harder and do better tomorrow. Need to not be so self centered and more considerate of others. Aim to bring smiles to people's faces and make every encounter momentous.

Make every moment count for the better. Try again tomorrow.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Further thoughts from my previous post...

I have things that I want to buy, which I haven't bought (even though I have saved up enough money), which I know I'll end up eventually buying... So why don't I just buy them?

Well, humans consistently strive. And I am human. If I were to obtain the object of my desire now (i.e. the Shaun Tan print, the Vitello Lux Miu Miu Bag...), then after the momentary euphoria I will experience from FINALLY buying it, I will just move onto my next consumerist pursuit.

So I choose to wait. For what? I don't know. But like I said, I know I will buy it eventually. I guess that by waiting, I acknowledge my superficial wants and consciously choose not to fulfill them. It gives me a sense of control over the humanistic trait of always wanting "better stuff".

This is why I feel that I will still be happy earning a fraction of my current income in a low paying job that is a billion times less stressful than my current one. I feel that I have enough self control in taming my wants, to not need to have a lot of money.

But MP's idea (please see previous post) flips this whole notion around.

Essentially, he's saying that the grass is greener on the other side.

Hmm. More things to ponder...

Working for freedom

MP is not usually one for insightful, philosophical thought. He surprised me the other day with an idea that has made me realise how much I take what I have for granted.

"You don't work for money. You work for the freedom that money brings you. If you quit your job, you won't miss the gourmet yoghurt you currently buy, (you'll just go back to Ski). What you'll miss, is the OPTION to buy the gourmet yoghurt. i.e. The freedom to do whatever you want with the money, to buy whatever you choose."

Working for Freedom. The notion sounds a bit ironic. I have to go to work because I have to pay the bills. Work isn't really a matter of choice. But what MP is suggesting is that we work so that we can have options, and options equates to freedom. A freedom to choose, to buy whatever we desire. I may be in a frame of mind now where I feel that I can go without the fresh yoghurt, deli cheeses, and a good bottle of Riesling (yes, I am a simple girl. Yummy food is my Prada). I can relinquish those things so that I can embark on new adventures which may not reap much (if any) monetary rewards. But when I'm there, what MP is saying is that I won't miss the food. I will miss having the choice to buy it. Money brings with it a window of opportunities and choices... and that is what I currently take for granted.

I never thought about it that way. And since I have, I've grown a newfound appreciation for my job. Isn't it funny how a different perspective can change everything?

Happy Friday.

2011 Highlights

I know it's February but as they say, better late than ever!

There were so many highlights in 2011. I'm a highly visual person so when I think back on the year, all I see is a mosaic of pictures. So what better way to present my 2011 highlights than through Picasa's photo collages!

I went to some of the most amazing places to eat in 2011. My tastebuds went to heaven and back, many many times. Almost half the photos I took in 2011 were of food. Here were some of my favourites.

As most of you know, I love making things, but time was the most finite resource for me in 2011. Fortunately, I was still able to finish a few creative projects. Most notably, my crystal wedding shoes... haha. 

The main event of 2011 was no doubt MP and I's wedding day. The official wedding photos can be found on our photographers' blog here, but for me, the highlights were the spontaneous moments captured. These were my favourites.

  

Back when MP and I were sixteen, we jokingly painted a dream of what our future together would look like "when we grow up." Realistically, neither of us really thought it would come true as at that age, we doubted our relationship would last 12 weeks, let alone 12 years. But suffice to say, in 2011, our childhood dream came true. It was the first year MP and I moved in together, setting up home in our little apartment... getting married was just the cherry on top.

2011 was a year of many tumultuous changes at work but alas, I think I've finally reconciled the battles in my head. I'm in a good head space and 2012 is shaping up to be a great year with many exciting projects in the pipeline. Career wise, I have never aspired to any particular rank or title. I've always written in the annual performance reviews that I wanted to grow to a "position of influence". I finally think I'm there. 

There were definitely sad moments in 2011. We lost Autie Sue which was sudden, shocking and devastating. It served as a gentle reminder of how short life can be, and that every breath I take, someone else in the world is fighting for theirs. 

All in all, 2011 was an amazing year and I learned many lessons. My big motto for 2012? 

Make every moment count.