Tuesday, October 31, 2006
` Tuesday, October 31, 2006
At the crossroads.
I have never been able to hold down a job for longer than I would expect to.
The strange thing is, opportunity or fate would dictate that I had to move on, just before I could settle into an established comfort zone.
I thought for a moment that I had moved on from the quarterlife crisis, to come to terms how blessed I am to be given the opportunity to see parts of the world and accept the cultural and character differences of people I meet along the way. Also to develop the uncanny ability to only speak with people on a need-to basis while going solo in foreign cities. And to actually enjoy the experience.
I thought for a moment that I had earned sufficient recognition for the work that I do and also to be seen as someone who would contribute knowledge and work well with the team.
I thought for a moment that I had been fairly well compensated for having to bear the brunt of people not wanting to engage in a healthy and civilised conversation, unless they wanted a listening ear to their office politicking or someone to act as their sounding board for ever-existing operational issues.
I thought for a moment that even though I was travelling six consecutive weeks in a row without any semblance of work-life balance that I was still yearning to return to the last city that I had paid tribute to and not come home.
I thought for a moment I was contented.
Now, I have just subject myself to yet another spot on the crossroads of my career.
But the real question is: do I really know if I would like to be challenged, or stay carefree and on top of things at this point in my life?
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
` Sunday, October 29, 2006
PS Cafe: Highly Overrated.
That was just 2 words to describe the Saturday night experience at the PS Cafe at Harding Road. It is extremely disappointing to know that most of the places claiming to bring a fresh new perspective to the local dining scene by infusing some Western-ey culture would almost always inevitably fail terribly in delivery.
Take my earlier dinner blog session at Corduroy and Finch as an example of hype gone into overdrive. I could clearly recall how dry and bland the mushroom pasta was, aside from it being served in an unattractively white bowl. This time it wasn't very different, except that we had blown at least a couple of hundred dollars on the meal. Okay, take out the 3 glasses of Verve Cliquot champagne and a truly badly concocted mojito (what was I thinking). We ordered a gamut of fusion-sounding items from the rather limited menu. The taste to the palette was probably as confusing as the dimly-lit navigation to the restaurant. The specialty prawn salad looked like something they had piled haphazardly onto a plate after shearing the patch of grass just outside the cafe, topped with 2 shrimps.The beef ragout was astoundingly salty and came accompanied by a side of pasta that tasted bizarrely like burnt rubber.
In addition to the very lackadaisical service, I don't see any redeeming factor to justify a return visit, with the exception that the ambience of the place seemed great for a coffee and conversation (bring the repellant for a mozzie assault in the al fresco area). We were so dissatisfied that we ended up having early supper at the ever-reliable and delectable Crystal Jade Kitchen, where we ate to our hearts' content at a fifth of the price we paid for the meal at PS earlier.
Moral of the story? If it looks and sounds good, it may not taste good. And that seems to be the disappointing truth in relation to some of the stylo-mylo up-and-coming restaurants in Singapore to date.
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
` Sunday, October 22, 2006
Hong Kong again for a week.
Shopping. Shopping. Shopping. 'Nuff said.
P.S. Have you noticed how unwearable this season's collection from my favourite clothing retailer has been? Who in their sanity would even consider donning a leopard-print overcoat?
My bank account expresses deep gratitude in advance for the potential savings to be made from this collection of fashion faux pas.
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Saturday, October 21, 2006
` Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Departed
The Hollywood adaptation of the original Hong Kong box office hit was surprisingly one of the best movies I've watched to date. The pacing started off a wee bit slow, showcasing the development of the 2 protagonists' lives, each entwined with a different side of the law. It subsequently evolved into an adequately suspenseful, albeit at times violent thriller. I must admit that for the first time, I was actually highly impressed by Leonardo DiCaprio's acting capabilities. Come to think about it, his character in Catch Me If You Can was equally memorable.
Although of course, Tony Leung will always be my all-time numero uno favourite long-suffering emo-mole on-screen. Nothing beats watching a man emote smouldering vulnerability/'passion/anger simply with his eyes. Drool.
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Monday, October 16, 2006
` Monday, October 16, 2006
Delhi - Jami Masjid, the Red Fort and Lodi Garden
We spent the second day of the weekend post-Agra to visit some of the many sights of Delhi. It is such a sprawling city that it would take ages to get from one point to another. The only thing that caught us not by surprise but made the day harder to pass was once again, the seering heatwave and humidity. Airconditioning never felt like a basic essential until then. The Jami Masjid was quite a statuesque sight to behold, the Red Fort surprisingly good for quality shopping at a bargain and Lodi Garden was a peaceful respite from the vastness and noise of the city.
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` Monday, October 16, 2006
Visiting the Taj Mahal
It wasn't one of the easiest weekend trips to make, even though we were already in Bangalore 2 weeks before. Given the time and distance to fly from Bangalore to Delhi (2 hours direct) and to reach Agra from Delhi (3.5 hours), it seemed like a potential logistical nightmare.
During the journey en-route to Agra, there were moments where everyone in the car fell haplessly silent, observing the stark pockets of poverty of the city of Delhi and its suburbs. Huge scores of people sleeping on the pavements, unbelievably large slums sandwiched in-between high-end hotels and apartments, street children desperately knocking on the car windows begging for money and hoards of cows awkwardly left feeding on the trees of the road dividers. It then occurred to us how far more developed Bangalore was, or that the class divide was less apparent than in Delhi.
However, I'm happy to report that all's well ended well and it was definitely worth the treacherously long, bumpy ride to see one of the most magical landmarks in the world. A weather tip: the heat in September was literally unbearable at 40 degree Celsius, 90% humidity, so choose your visiting month wisely. The other interesting thing to note was that the locals paid an entrance fee of 40rupees or so, but the foreigners had to fork up a hefty 750rupees. So much for tourist dollars.
I'm also happy to report that I've experienced a total of 3 domestic Indian flight carriers to date and they have been surprisingly above expectations. If I had to give due credit it would be to Air Sahara (Delhi-Bangalore) for its on-time flights, friendly aircrew and excellent food. Evidently, its quirky tagline of being "Emotionally Yours" is a mantra they take seriously.
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` Monday, October 16, 2006
I don't want to be home!
It must sound a bit strange for me to say this but
I'm so looking forward to going back to Sydney again.
Thanks again to the ever-accommodating Missy Nomad,
It had been great fun driving up to the Central Coast for the weekend
And down to the South Coast to the city of Wollongong (great dinner!).
NSW is not really a place for tourists looking for landmarks and historical sites.
It is a one great chill-out place, balmy weather (okay, maybe not in spring) and all.
For anyone who just wants to sit back and imbibe a latte (tough luck finding bad ones), chow down unbeatable ricotta pancakes, fresh seafood and authentic yumcha
Visit the numerous characteristic suburbs and beaches to while the day away and
Not to forget, shop to your heart's content!
I quite fancy going back again just to rent a car and drive around abit.
The next time it'll also be to re-re-re-visit my number 1 favourite city aka Melbourne
And to experience the Ayers Rock.
Argh. So many trips, so little time!
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