Last week was a 46.5 hr week

Four months into the job, it has well and truly begun. I spent much of last week holed up in the office after hours, working on projects that could not see the light of day, because the day had work of its own.

I learnt an important lesson on time management last week. I learnt that you can ask your colleagues to help if you're drowning (and new), and how imperative it is to prioritise. Is it urgent? Is it important? Is it urgent but not important? Is it important but not urgent?

I know we've all seen the square before, but it really is useful to think about your tasks in your work day this way. Especially in an environment where things constantly change and assignments get thrown at you, or pushed on the backburner. I have never been the most organised person, but have taken to doing these lists and they've really helped.

On another note, the weekends brought the missus and I cycling again. This time we made it past where we had stopped previously...by about 500m? In any case, we'll move to the bike rental store closer to the far end of ECP so we can go even further next :)

I've also been working on turning the S.A. trip photos into a photo book! Read some forums on the subject and saw that blurb.com seems to be the leader in the field. A couple of others include Apple's iPhoto (requires a Mac) and the SG-based Digibook.

And of course, HP's very own Snapfish should be mentioned, but one big flaw it has for photobook wannabe creators is that it's completely online-based, meaning that you have to upload ALL your photos (Yes, all 3GB of them), or you have to sieve through all your photos before selecting which ones to upload.

As anyone who's ever begun to create their own photobook knows, you'd much prefer just working off your desktop if possible. Which is what the rest allow you to do, with their own downloadable software. Blurb's is by far the most comprehensive and allows for the best cusomisation possibilities (not as good as Adobe indesign, but for the purposes of creating a photobook, is completely adequate).

Cost-wise, it is rather ex though it looks great. Am thinking of printing one of the large, coffee-table books just to try. Maybe can think of using it again for wedding photo book? Just a thought...

106: Introduction to public speaking

Anyone wants to bet that this is gonna become standard reading material for the students in Greg's class? I'd vote for him just to keep him talking...

"Hello, Chicago.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.

"A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

"Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

"I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

"I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

"And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

"Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

"And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

"To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

"And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best - the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

"To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics, you made this happen and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.

"We didn't start with much money or many endorsements.

"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

"It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give 5 and 10 and 20 to the cause.

"It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

"It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

"This is your victory.

"And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

"You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

"Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

"There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

"There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

"I promise you, we as a people will get there.

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

"But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

"What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

"It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

"Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

"Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

"Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

"To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

"That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

"And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

"At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

"When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

"When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

"She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome'. Yes we can.

"A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

"And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

"Yes we can.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

"Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."

Will work/exercise for food

It's been a couple of crazy weeks at work, but these folks sure know how to let their hair down hahahaha...

Balloon wrestling!!!

Oh I've also been meaning to post this kickass birthday cake pic for the longest time, but never gto around to it:

"Uh auntie, give me 20 coconut, 20 peanut..."

We are the tutu kueh aunty's biggest customer.

But on to serious stuff. S and I went to ECP yesterday to cycle - I've got to prepare for the event so boh pian, these few weeks must have sun/sand/sea. So we went in the direction away from town and eventually ended up near Changi beach.

I'd read about the whole coastal park connector thingy but never thought I would actually reach one "end" of ECP hurhur.

So. We turned the corner a short ride past the beginning of Changi Beach and saw...

Damn nice la!

Ok to be fair, it was but a short stretch (about 500m or so?) which was lined with nice shrubs and stuff, but it was peaceful and deserted - the perfect antidote to Singapore, if you think about it. I realise that I do like cycling quite a bit. Wishlist for 2009: Bike, Camera, PS3.

Earlier that day, we had our fix of prawn noodles:


Realised the dry version if much nicer, plus this place uses the thicker bee hoon, which is just blah with prawn mee. Still, this is a fixture in my prawn mee list - die die must try! I think they have a branch in Kallang (Jln Sultan Prawn Mee). Oh oh they also have a ngoh hiang stall under the same roof which is pretty good together. And lime juice too!

The best part about this stall is that the service is damn tok kong. It's freaking crowded, but you always get your food like, max max 10mins. They've got three cash registers (now, how many coffeeshops you know have more than one?) which squashes the queue-time to about 2-3 people per queue.

That's how famous hawker stalls should operate. Efficiency - chop chop. Make more money, make everyone happy. Rather than behave like the HV XO Fish bee hoon towkay. Hawker stalls need ISO1900 I tell you.

Beach Road Prawn Mee Eating House
370 East Coast Road

Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5

And a few weeks ago, on payday-weekend, I brought S for the first Payday Surprise! Yes, this will probably be a fixture every month :) So if you've got any suggestions about where to go (only criteria is that the food is damn tok kong) pls drop your comments!

This month's surpise:

Nice and homely

Coxinha - Tasted like chicken meatballs with potato

Aged Grain Fed NZ Ribeye - $27

Awesomeness on a plate. So Espirito Santo sells meat. It's a gourmet butchery, so of course their meat's fresh. Duh. The question was really if the meat would be done right. The fact is that good quality meat needs so little work to make it work. It's all about keeping it simple and pairing it with the right sauce.

The good: The meat on its own was undeniably one of the tastiest ribeyes I've had (and I didn't even eat the whole thing. I ordered the filet mignon, haha) I also liked the fried veg that garnished the plate - surprisingly tasty. Fries were also fresh and well salted.

The bad: Zee sauce was too salty! Aiyo, the brown sauce was simply not up to the task of matching the beautiful steak in question. To make things worse, it just about drowned the poor piece of meat.

Still, on the whole, the experience brought me back to that first prime cut of beef I had in Argentina. Awesome.

Steak is like durian. No need to eat a lot, but make sure you eat the good quality one, pay a bit more never mind.

So the total bill (including drinks) came up just short of a hundred (ouch!) but was good and would go back again when the meat bug strikes.

One more thing about the place is that it's right next to their butchery, so if you're squeamish about displays of raw meat... you decide. I mean, if you can sit in dark alleyways eating durian...

Espirito Santo Cafe Bistro
Taste: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5 (I actually kinda like this whole see-what-you-eat concept)

And finally, the recent office lunch companion:

Popiah with chilli! ($1.80 per roll)

Stun your co-workers by putting this at your desk

Padang is a type of Nasi

Not a small quadrangle of grass,
Encased for burning rubber;
Nor a Malaysian state.

- The Nasi Padang dairies

Nasi Padang stalls are probably right up there with (good) tze char stalls in the list of places you can eat at for more than a year without getting sian.

We went in two cabs to this lovely place Sylvia has been going to for the past 20-odd years. It's a small little corner coffeeshop called Minang, at the corner of kandahar street next to the Sultan Mosque.

"Every day during my pregnancy while I was working nearby I would come here and have the ikan," she claimed.

After the meal, we had no reason to doubt her.


Ok, I was trying to caption the picture, but realised that (because I'm not Malay) I don't exactly know the right names of the dishes. So pardon my weird descriptors for now!

We ordered a total of ten dishes:
1. Beef rendang
2. Fish in black sauce+onions+chili
3. Ayam Masak Merah (At least this is how I heard SS pronounce it?)
4. Ayam in satay sauce
5. Cooked jackfruit pulp (serious!)
6. Ok I cannot remember what this was, but it looks spicy. Probably chicken.
7. Tempeh with ikan bilis and nuts
8. Very cool vegetables
9. Fish with very spicy toppings

Oh, I suppose it was 9 dishes (only?) :D

The winners:
2. Easily the simplest dish of the lot, yet achieves perfect balance between the natural salty sweetness of the fish and black sauce, the spiciness of the chili and the tangy kick of freshly cut red onion. Also the stall's best-seller, so be sure to come early to avoid disappointment. Be warned though, that this fish is of the bony variety, similar to nasi lemak fish.

5. When Sylvia and SS pointed at this from behind the glass, I had honestly no idea what it was. Then they told me it was jackfruit pulp - lovingly stewed in curry. What was intriguing about the dish to me, was its texture. It's somewhere between the soft mush that is stewed brinjal and the cabbage in sayur lodeh. I, for one, have never seen this before, so I suppose it's not too common?

7. I love tempeh. It's nutty - if a little cloying if consumed in copious quantities - and goes superbly with many other dishes, or even on its own and a friend called sambal. Together with petai, which was unfortunately not available that day, they are easily my favourite non-meat nasi padang ingredients for their distinctive taste.

When done right, petai, in particular, makes your mouth explode with an overwhelming bitterness - kind of like when you bite into a grape seed by accident. At the exact same time, the sambal it is invariably fried in comes to the rescue, enveloping your tongue in a protective sweetness. Beautiful.

The losers:
1. To be fair, I think this is just the most common dish in nasi padang, and...well... I've had better. The meat did not fall off the fork (ok, see how impossibly high standards are?!) and the gravy was a tad too salty. Still, better than average but not good enough compared to the rest and thus makes the losers list.

Yep, that's about all the losers that this place deserves.

In sum, this is definitely a place to return to, whenever those nasi padang pangs strike.

The Foodie Returns

It's not that I've neglected my tummy recently...I just haven't had the time to food blog - honest!

So here's a month's worth of gastronomic adventures:

Chicken Karage Aglio Olio

Very few aglio olios here are able to combine the zing of pan-fried garlic with perfectly-done pasta in a way that doesn't make your mouth feel like the inside of a bottle of olive oil.

Here's one that does - Ambush! at taka basement. Some other blogs that have done reviews on this tiny Italian joint can be found here and here.

It's actually been around a lot longer than most people think, but under different management. The food has also been tweaked - sadly - and they don't offer the favourite crayfish aglio olio any more. They also used to have the decadent habit of sprinkling all servings of aglio olio with generous showers of deep fried garlic bits - absolute heaven.

Nonetheless, this is pretty good bang for your buck, as meals here tend to be more of the "quickies" variety where you just plonk yourself down, eat, then leave (under the watchful eye of the waitresses), before someone else get's ushered to your seat in less than 3 mins of your departure.

Meals, including drinks and dessert, will only relieve your wallet of less than $15 per person. Oh, and if you're the kind who cannot take food-smell on your hair (i.e. most girls), don't bother.

Ambush! Taka basement (next to the lifts)
Taste: 3.5/5 (no one does aglio olio like they ((use to)) do)
Value: 4.5/5
Ambience: 2/5 (cramped seats which are assigned to you hardly make for any semblance of ambience - it's a fast-food Italian joint like pastamania)

Verdict: Will be back for sure - there will always be the days that the lure of good aglio olio proves too good to resist.

Earlier that same day, we went to the Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge, a not-so-quiet cafe styled as an out-of-the-way rest spot in a corner of the busy departmental store.

My first impressions was that this place was much bigger than it looked from the outside.

Easily seats 30 plus people

Well, since it's a cafe, the obvious thing to order would be the cakes/pastries/tea right? So we did, haha.

Warm Baked Chocolate Explosion $12.90

Honey Date Pudding $7.90

I had the honey date pudding, which reminded me a little of a more stylo version of nian gao. The caramel-ly taste of the date pudding going well with the natural sweetness of the accompanying honey. The cream gave the dessert good balance in terms of overall texture, and - let's face it - it's always more fun to have your desserts come with whipped cream to play with.

The rather fancily-named chocolate explosion was good; though one has to ask why they named it such. (it really was just a simple cup-shaped very dense chocolate sponge cake with fudge on the side. No explosion anywhere) Still, good.

Overall, this place is a great option to rest those tired legs in the middle of town.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge Taka level 2
Taste: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5

Verdict: Will be back for sure - Those tea time treats just won't eat themselves will they?

And away from Taka, we now head to the never-before-mentioned-on-this-blog-food-place, Millenia Walk! They have this tiny foodcourt squirreled away on the second floor next to the Harvey Norman (go harvey go harvey norman - go!) which houses a gem of a Western food stall.

Ok, say first, I forgot the name of this place, though that's no indication of how gd the food is.

Strip steak, aka Kansas City Steak $11.80

It's surprising enough to find a foodcourt stall that sells beef steak that doesn't look like

eeeeeeeee.

The steak at millenia walk is tender and flavourful. Importantly, if you look at a cross-section of a random cut across the steak, the colours range from a light brown to a deep, reddish hue; highly unusual for the neighbourhood steakhouse.

The sides were a let down, but hey, you're there for the meat or what, punk?

They also sell a cut of beef I fell in love with in Argentina - the Filet Mignon ($16.80). A little pricey considering the environment, but hey, I think I have to try this at least once :D

Until then, here's a preview to my next post, which will be entirely devoted to the wonders of Nasi Padang, in view of Hari Raya (wah, multiracial sia this blog - cannot arrest me for sedition).

Habis Cobis, Makan Kueh Lapis - wise words of a colleague

p.s. the spread is for a group of 5 people (I know what you're thinking - Even I cannot eat so much la!)

Dirty Sexy Politics As Usual?

I'm not an American. Which is probably why the latest twist in the US presidential elections is both frustrating and yet totally expected.

John Freedland from the Guardian began his report on the swing that Palin's got for the red camp with this lead:

The feeling is familiar. I had it four years ago and four years before that: a sinking feeling in the stomach. It's a kind of physical pessimism which says: "It's happening again. The Democrats are about to lose an election they should win - and it could not matter more."

Read more

It's funny. Just like one of those "evergreen" titles you can just keep on your yet-to-be-published book called "The ongoing crisis in the Middle East".

Just how petty can HC's female voting base get? Not only have you polarised your party, you've shown your young people just how easily hope can be crushed by nothing more than sheer spite. Perhaps you weren't being democrats in the first place - how else could you possibly justify your defection?

A generation of young Americans - who back Obama in big numbers - will turn cynical, concluding that politics doesn't work after all.

Perhaps all is not as dire as Freedland suggests, yet it is truly disheartening for an admirer halfway around the world to see the world's leading (?) democracy raise a collective finger at a man who represents fairplay, integrity and hope.

Interestingly, there was another article in TODAY which announced the results of a worldwide poll which showed that people in most countries preferred Obama - no surprises there. What was particularly stark to me was the fact that among the countries polled, Singaporeans led the way in respondents who "didn't know/neutral/didn't care". Ha! Empirical proof that we just bochup!

-----

One of my latest crazes is the TV serial Boston Legal. It's awesome and I'm completely hooked on it. Think a darker, sexier version of Ally McBeal with even more compelling characters who are a study in extremes.

At the end of every episode, however, the two lead characters always end up on the balcony of their big-shot law firm, where they recount their day while drinking a glass of scotch and enjoying a cigar.

*cringe alert*

Still, I find myself drawn to that idea - that we all need that little bit of peace and tranquility at the end of the day to reflect and think; to make sense of it all. What's the point of working 40 floors up when you don't look at it at least a little at the end of it?

So I watched my first sunset alone in the conference room today. :)

Agonizing August; Sibeh Siong September

You know how I was saying that the hours are better in PR?

--> me

*eats words*

Ok lah, in all fairness, it was an unlikely confluence of factors that made the past week One To remember...

I think I am becoming a borders/book nut. Haven't finish reading the three books I got from the borders warehose sale and I just bought another two books tonight. The joys of payday.

The past week, though siong, has reminded me why I took this job. Because although at times it can be supremely frustrating (how to answer queries when you donch know anything?) it is also intensely rewarding when you know that you've done your little bit to make a difference.

In the past week, we helped to tell stories that wouldn't otherwise be told. We inspired hope and maybe even set some people on their way towards forgiving those in their lives they've determined aren't worth the time.

I was particularly blown away by the 84-year-old volunteer who has been doing what he has for more than 50 years.

50 years! You can go through the Singapore education system 4 times!

He just sat there, happy to be part of the interview yet you get the sense that he would've been equally content if we never asked him a question. He spoke less than 20 sentences throughout the 1.5hr interview - even the brief sentences he uttered were terse and abrupt.

"It gives me great joy," he said, explainnig why he has come faithfully, week after week, for the past 50 odd years.

Perhaps simple words such as "great" and "joy", are adequate adjetives for this man who has clearly led a simple life and has no need for hyperbole.

And now his story will be told - simply. Just the way he likes it.

Settling in

So it's been about three weeks into the new (old) job and the 40th floor feels kinda like it did before. Sure, things are different as a member of the perm staff (man I sound so old), but I firmly believe that things can be just as rosy.

The colleagues have been great so far. There's the IT guy, who's just damn damn damn funny and cracks me up every time I listen to him mumble a wisecrack.

E.g. upon seeing the magazine JUICE at coffee bean, he exclaims: "Eh, got Zhup." That's OCM for you.

I'm sitting in a nice spot, albeit slightly exposed, but with gd people around. I like my neighbours. Everyone I've met recently has been asking how's work etc etc so I think I'd better think out loud here.

People - One of the most important things to me in work, school (and possibly life) is the people I surround myself with. You spend too much time at work to not befriend your colleagues. So that's been great; we've been running together on Wednesdays, which is our outing day.

Informal, of course, because the formality of office team bonding sessions... just kinda makes it slightly less fun. We've done running, tennis, next up is bowling this wednesday - watch out Remy!

Job scope - I'm the go-to guy for printers and a government account. The govt account, I like. Printers....ehhhh...dun mind lah - mai hiam buay pai.

The kinda work I'm doing now is just above what I was doing previously, but with slightly more accountability and more expectations. Always, always underpromise and overdeliver. Duffy was right.

I'm also thankful for the CSers who've gone into journ - it makes the job sooo much easier when you can just talk without the code. Press releases become secondary when you have no need to disguise, dress and hardsell. Same factory, friend.

Time - Right now, I'm getting in at 830 (thanks to my man Kev, who began the carpool) and leaving at around 630. This is really really important to me. Balance, like Frazer notes, is what it's really all about. Work hard, work smart, then go home.

Till the next update!

Pictures of the month-long sojourn (not the school one)

It's been a week since I got back from South America, and I just got my hands on the photos, so here they are! Captions later... But roughly, these are in chronological order. And the order with which we travelled was: Santiago, Chile - Rio de Janiero, Brazil - Paraty, Brazil - Sao Paolo, Brazil - Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Bariloche, Argentina - Buzios, Brazil - Home Sweet Home!

Sao Paolo

We have been in SP for the past 3 days and each day has been more incredible than the previous one. Yesterday, we met up with Zhengs church friend, a missionary in Brazil with his wife, who minister to street kids, druggies and prostitutes.

They took us to their office, the redlight district of SP, and it was a sobering experience to see 9 year olds doing crack next to you. Older drug addicts shaking your hand, seeing them embrace the missionary because he was the only friend they had.

Because I represent hope for them, said the missionary. Thats why they like seeing me around.

At night, we followed the others from the hostel to an underground jazz club. And by underground, I mean UNDERGROUND. Like, damn strange out of the way kind. The type that you need to know people who know people to know where the hell it even happens. It was literally a hole in the wall. Oh, and did I mention that the music was amazing?=)

And now, its time to take the bitter pill that is a 14 hour bus ride to see the iguacu falls. Later...

Love you

Hola - Santiago, Rio, Paraty

We've just finished Rio de Janeiro, and are now at Paraty, a stunning colonial town with incredible architecture. We''re safe, though we had a snatch thief try to steal Van's watch. Quite a dumb thief if you ask me. Other than that, we've been quite ok. The language barrier is a lot easier to overcome than we thought, and the people have been really friendly.

One thing I guess I wasn't really expecting is that Brazil can get rather chilly in the winter (now till Aug) and the days are also shorter, starting at about 530am and ending the same time. By 630, it's pitch black. The good thing about the weather is that I don't sweat nearly as much. =)

We've met some interesting characters along the way. I think I'll talk about them now. First, there was Miguel, the owner of a cafe in Santiago, Chile. He was really friendly and easy going.

This next guy is a painter, I can't remember his name, but he's 57 and painting watercolours in Paraty, the quaint colonial town I was talking about earlier. He loves his life, and was on the way to meet his girlfriend when we left him. He was smiling.

And then there were Juliano and Aecio. Juliano is an aspiring club musician who plays the guitar with such aplomb and passion that it's hard not to get caught up just watching him. He was playing in the park by himself when we came along and he insisted on playing different songs for us to get a feel of what tourists liked to listen to. He had just arrived in Paraty a week ago, and had to get up to speed, he said, on the type of music tourists liked. So we were his willing survey subjects.


Aecio is a painter who sells US$2,000 paintings of oils on truck tarpolines. He says that painting on tarp gives is character. The art is beautiful, and speaking with him truly gave us insights into why and how he paints, allowing us to appreciate his paintings even more. We are meeting them for coffee tomorrow night after their work ends. That is just the way the people are here - friendly and laid back. If you walk into a store to browse and don't buy anything, they smile as you walk out and give the thumbs up sign in a crooked kinda way. I just learnt how to and I'm doing it naturally already - I think.

And finally, there's the food. This was batang fish with banana. I think the fish wasn't as fresh as I would've liked it to be, but the banana tasted great with the fish. Food so far has been really salty or really sweet. I hope my kidneys hold.

This was from a real churrascaria in Brazil. They're everywhere and the meat tends to be really salty, but good value for money, because its all pay as you eat, by weight. I'm sure the concept will take off in Singapore if given the chance.


Well, that's my update for now. Quite tired already, time to go to bed - more updates soon! Cheers! Oh and Sam, your camera DIED ON ME. !!!!!!!!

p.s. Capirinhas are S$3 here.

p.p.s miss you...

Nerves. Shot.

My nerves are gone from watching the game last night. I realised that I cannot be a bank robber or a conman, because I sweat profusely when I am carrying S$2,500 in my pouch in Lucky Plaza looking for a money changer. I still don't know how to speak any Portuguese or Spanish apart from Taco, Burrito and Ronaldo.

I am three hours away from sitting my ass down on a plane for 26 (6+16+4) hours halfway across the world.

Like Garcia on Criminal Minds said, "Everything happens for a reason".

So let's do this.

I'll miss you. many many.

The Di Canio of softball, and Britain's MJ

I don't watch baseball or softball, but this is one heck of a story:

"Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman was already her school's career leader in them. But when a twist of fate and a torn knee ligament brought them face to face with each other and face to face with the end of their playing days, they combined on a home run trot that celebrated the collective human spirit far more than individual athletic achievement..."

[Full Story]

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See, this is what you get when you ask Brits to dance.

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Woo. MJ overload. Come to think of it, Nani looks like MJ when he was still...not white

Muxtape

An awesome way to listen to music you and your friends like. Kinda like a legal pandora. But cooler.

Here's mine: link

Extra time

We're almost there. I've written my story for OTR. Saturday was spent rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing. For the last presentation we will make as students. My tuition kid asked me what the burson in burson-person means. 85 year-old husband of my nanny asked me when I was getting married. Pictures of the three people who have been such a big part of my life for the past nine months. The benches and multiplugs that complete the CS experience. Omigoditsreallyover. We're almost there.

Sorry I never got to know you.

I remember huddling in here on the first day of school.

The picky drink machine god

Will you miss this?

Our batch saw this bench on the 4th floor arrive.

The doors are closing.
tu tu tu tu tu tu tu tu tu

Like the benches, we got groove.

Thanks for the endless hours, for driving us on when we were running on empty.

For being the other dude. For dealing with shit and coming away like the Einstein of EQ.

For always giving the alternate view. For putting us on speed-dial with Mr/Ms Universe.

We is not idealist. Idealist dun walk around with multiplug, asking people whether can share.