UnkEats - Zi Yi-styled Zi Char At Zi Yean

Well if you're short on moolah (like me) and still want to pamper yourself with some atas (high class) Chinese restaurant fare, look no further than Zi Yean.

Taking up the whole ground floor of Block 56, Lengkok Bahru (just behind the Redhill MRT station), this is really the place to go for Haute Cuisine in the Heartlands.

Opened by Chef Fok Wing Tin, 48, who made his name in the '90s at The Empress Room in Raffles Hotel and later Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant in what is now the Holiday Inn Atrium Hotel, the whole eatery is divided into two parts.

An informal kopitiam-type setting where the menu is more..err...informal but still high-class zi char (cooked food).


And a glass-panel enclosed, air-conditioned restaurant where the usual up-market fare like Bird's Nest and Sharks' Fin is served.


The two sections are partitioned down the centre by a kitchen and tanks of fresh live seafood. Although I think I took this picture at a rather depleted state of affairs =))


So now for the taste-test. At the cheaper (without GST!) kopitiam setting of course.

K's been here a few times with friends and they all swear by the Herbal Chicken stuffed with Preserved Vegetables. So the both of us ordered one. Yes, a whole blardy chicken! It doesn't come in 1/2 or 1/4 servings. You think this is Kenny Roger's ah? =)) But oh it was worth it. The fragrant herbal sauce was infused with a tinge of Chinese wine and the chicken flesh just peeled off the bone in such savoury delectable morsels. Heavenly! Needless to say I couldn't finish my bowl of rice because I was...erm..stuffed like a chicken =))



And then we had the Boiled Watercress with Century Egg and Vermicelli. Its not done the way they do it at Crystal Jade, where the dish comes chock-full of normal/salted egg pieces. Here, Chef Fok does it the simple way, combining the slight bitterness of the vegetable with the pungent, uric-acid aroma of the Century Egg. No-frills and lovely. Take it from me, I'm not a Vege person but still lapped up every strand of Watercress.



The Szechuan Sweet and Sour Soup was a trifle dissapointing though. Not that it wasn't tasty. It just felt that to justify the 12 dollar price-tag, the cooks put too much stuff into the dish. Every spoonful of soup was literally dripping with slivers of bamboo shoots, black fungus, tofu and mushrooms. Where was the liquid? We had to eat the damn thing rather than drink it =))


So there. Good stuff for less than 1/3 the price you would normally pay at a good Chinese restaurant in town.

In the most unusual of places to boot.

Moshi Mochi Mochi

"I like your husband's car, I like the music he plays in his car and I like your husband"

I excuse myself to go to the Gents for 5 mins during dinner and these seemingly amorous words were whispered to the wife by a certain Japanese gent. A pudgy little married man hor, not a pretty little Manga-eyed damsel. Pity =))

Its not that I drive a Gallardo or anything, juz my humble little French Diamondback which had David Tao crooning over the OEM VDO-CDplayer. Its because the pudgy little Japanese CEO drives a Ipsum back home and probably hasn't seen anything Continental in awhile. And for the lack of any sing-song resembling Namie Amuro or Chage & Aska in my CD pocket, I thought Cheena music came closest to soothing the Nipponese. Hell you think they would dig the Red Hot Chilli Peppers meh? They look like they quit the Harajuku scene a long time ago =))

Anyway, K hosted some Japanese clients for dinner today and asked me to tag along for some makan chit-chat. You know lah I Tok-Cok King =P Apart from 2 minor boo-boos, I thought I did quite well lah putting on my song-and-dance routine.

BooBoo1 - I said all Americans were stupid (in jest) and discovered to my horror that the female legal consultant was dating a Yank =)) BooBoo2 - While engrossed in yakking, I promptly let fly half a crab claw which landed strategically on my lap, spraying chilli-juice all over my pristine pink t-shirt and pants. Conniving Crustacean! Made K look like she married a Clumsy Clutz =))

You know, the thing with Japs is, you either luv 'em or hate 'em. But I am quite the Kofi Annan lah when it comes to international relations so I don't discriminate =P Maybe I didn't live through the Japanese Occupation or had to be interrogated by the Kempetai so what do I really know hor?

But with these 3, their amicable faces and typical Japanese diplomacy aside, it was hard to imagine the atrocities their forebears inflicted on most of South-east Asia. And as we walked the length of Boat Quay towards the Merlion Park after dinner and talked about Koizumi and Yasukuni, the Kamikaze culture, the Wax Museum display on Sentosa showing the final surrender, the War Memorial (aka Chopsticks) dedicated to our civilians who perished and my own sobering experience at the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, I could sense genuine guilt and remorse.

Anyway so much for the sad discourse. Depressing.

And oh did I tell you all about BooBoo3? I don't know if you guys are aware that Japs, thanks to the herculean efforts of our dear Tourism Board, are pretty much obsessed with that fugly creature we call the Merlion. God knows why. Anyway Mr CEO asked if we could take a walk down to see it and I said absent-mindedly that "its really a stupid ugly half-fish-half-cat you know".

That was before he said he was planning to buy some Merlion-shaped chocolates from the Airport later today.

Oh shit! =))

Unkers@TheMovies - Click

Don't let his seemingly quiet demeanour fool you, this fella is opinionated, albeit in a gentle, sensitive kinda way. The quintessential SNAG, today Dennis blogs about another of his many movie-junkie pursuits. And in typical SNAG-style, the emotional lessons he takes away from that brief sojourn in the cinema, translates to some good stuff to ponder in real life...

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When I was first told by muffadoodoo that I was up for a guest blog, I felt a little tingle go up my spine. Well think about it. A Chinese-speaking boy, who scored only C6s in English all through his exams, blogging in here with such smashingly 'powderful' angmo. It's like Jackie Chan in Hollywood! But on second thoughts, its my honour that he even asked. So I here I am.

I had to think of a topic I could write on. I think I found one after catching the movie, CLICK. Yes, it stars Adam Sandler, of all people to inspire me! =))



See that remote control he is holding? Such a powerful little thing cos its called the Universal Remote. As its name suggests, it controls the universe. Blimey! and its one heck of a TV Remote cos it allows him to fast-forward and rewind to different parts of his life. With just one click. And with all that power in his finger-tips, he begins abusing it.

Sandler plays Michael Newman, an up and coming architect who works non-stop and always in the pursuit of promotion and success. On the pretext of providing for his family, he so often disappoints them by postponing and missing family occasions. He even finds dinner with the family to be a waste of his time. So finding this perfect remote was a god-send. He fast-fowards his life every time he encounters any problems. He skips boring chapters to bask in the glory ones. Thing is, he quickly becomes myopic, focusing only on success and promotion. Every time he fastforwards his life, he goes on auto mode and ignores all other factors in his life. His relationship with his kids, his wife and his parents. His family.

When he eventually comes to his senses after all that clicking, he is already divorced. His wife has remarried. His kids have all grown up. His father has moved on. And when all this eventually sinks in from his mind to his heart, Newman knows he has wasted his life. What's worse, he realises that he was not even by his father's side when the latter passed away, even ranting at the old man the last time they met. I tell you that scene was so heart wrenching, I felt that niagara falls was about to pour straight out of my eyes. But of course, I managed to hold it back.

Good movie this one. Try to catch it.

I have moved out from home for about half a year now and have already gotten used to it. Yes I enjoyed the freedom and everything else but I really do miss my family a lot. I wasn't called a Mummy's Boy for nothing. Nothing to be ashamed of. She pampers me but I ain't a spoilt-brat. I have tried hard to go back for dinner as much as I can though I know I should and could be doing better. Really miss 'the guys' back home.

Well a take-away from this movie for me is to cherish our families and make the best of the time we have. Sometimes we can be so blind in our pursuit of our goals, we tend to ignore other parts of our lives. Ocassionally, do take some time off to hang out with the old folks. Life is fragile, we do not know who will go next. Don't wait till it's too late to do something. So often we procrastinate and regret when something happens.

So many things can be achieved but once time passes by, there is no turning back. So make the best use out of the time we have in our hands. Live a life without regret even if you leave the next day.

I think its time to go home again for dinner. And also time for some of us to do coffee/supper soon. It's been helluva looonnnggg time. Mai tu liao.

Alright Unker-in-waiting Dennis signing off..:))

ONE LIFE LIVE IT !

Naked - David Sedaris

Combining wit and a wacky, almost insanely funny obsession with dark humor, David Sedaris' Naked is the perfect side-spiltting gem of a book after a bad day at the office.



Every story made me chuckle out loud. Because his is a riotous collection of memoirs, tackling everything from childhood obsessive behaviour (licking light switches =0) to the time he spent on a Nudist Colony with a bunch of lunatics.

Hilarious!

An American, Sedaris has a way of poking fun at the absurd hilarity of modern life. And yet he manages to make every little anecdotal essay count, not over-hung and contrived. The book is a remarkable journey about his time spent on earth and his experiences with the Tom, Dick and Harrys of his sardonic world. With huge dollops of funny, self-deprecating 'rubbish', its no wonder that Naked topped the Bestseller lists way back when it was first published in 1997.

So strip yourself down while you enjoy this one k. And get a little naked =))

MONDAY

Monday is certainly not a fun day
Only a crazy horse would enjoy such dreaded hay
No one else would bother if not for the pay
Do we have a choice, let alone any say?
Anyway lets make the best of it, without saying Nay!
Yesterday was Sunday, no more being Happy and Gay

Imperial Idiot

Was told to submit some phone-cam photos for my company's Annual magazine with the theme 'Funny Collectibles'.

I think the Ed wants to devote a few back pages to boring 'stuff' that members of the typically stoic 'staff' collect in their free time. So expect a deluge of the usual Coke bottles, keychains, shoes, stamps (god forbid!) and perhaps...erm...womans' lingerie? =))

And so poor old me had to dust off the cobwebs from my little empire of Star Wars collectibles, which is pretty sizeable if I may add, for a few quick shots.

Decided to just give them pictures of the Bad Guys, you know Darth Vader et al and their mean machines. Although I have lots of Rebel Alliance stuff as well like the Millenium Falcon, a X-Wing, a Y-Wing, an A-Wing, a B-Wing, a Blockade Runner, a Snowspeeder etc.

Yes I had a deprived childhood. Don't snigger! =P

My favorite machine from the Empire Strikes Back, the AT-AT Walker (All Terrain Armored Transport). This 80cm tall replica has working lasers that fire with light and sound =))


A TIE-fighter (Twin-Ion Engine) in the foreground, the mainstay of the Imperial Fleet. In the background is Vader's special version of the TIE-fighter (partially hidden) and an Imperial TIE-Bomber.


The Imperial Shuttle (Lambda-class). This fella stands 22-inches tall and has a wingspan of 3-feet. In the Empire Strikes Back, Vader descends from his personal shuttle into a line of scarlet-draped Imperial Guards to the tune of the Imperial March. Spine-tingling =))


If this looks weird, its because it is incomplete. An Imperial Star Destroyer, made entirely of Lego bricks. When complete, the 3000-piece behemoth will measure more than a metre in length and about 70cm in width. Will get down to finishing it soon I guess =))


Next time we will do Princess Leia and her toys ok?

Did that sound right? =))

A President & An Ah Beng

On this day, exactly 10 years ago, a boy and a girl became special friends.

An unusual match really. One, a student leader and quintessential, independent go-getter. The other, a loud ruffian always togged in scruffy surf-wear and flip-flops, fagging in between lectures and tutorials.

Opposites attract? Perhaps. But most friends said it wouldn't last. At least they thought so surreptitiously in their hearts, after the initial brouhaha of learning that the two were a couple subsided.

However the Unlikely Bedfellows were determined to prove the Nay-sayers wrong. A President could grow to love an Ah Beng. And an Ah Beng could strip away his seemingly crude facade to reveal a quasi-intelligent and sensitive side.

But today the boy wonders, having first met the girl at the most unromantic of places, in the middle of a mucky mangrove swamp during a University field trip, if they are still wading through life as man and wife, waist-high in mud. It sometimes feels laborious and there are plenty of obstacles underfoot, hidden beneath like tangly roots waiting to trip them up.

The past 8 months have also seen the levels reach chest-high proportions at times, threatening to engulf their heads in one big smelly, sticky mess. But lately, it has come down to the knees. At least the boy thinks so.

He surely hopes so.

And when the goo finally comes down to the ankles, they will know that solid ground is but a few paces away.

Just like it was, a decade ago.

UnkEats - Bravo!, Brava

For some strange reason, we always have cravings for Pasta on Wednesdays. And we have always wanted to go check out the new Da Paolo's at Rochester Park but this small Italian restaurant-chain is closed every blardy Wednesday.

Bah! So tonight we settled for our usual Pasta Brava instead.

Located at 11, Craig Road, we've been coming here for our Pasta fix for the past 3-4 years. Nice cosy Tuscanian country-home ambience. But a little dark in the evenings though. What with the pompeii-red walls and dim romantic lamps and all. This was taken from the outside through a glass window while having a ciggie =))


Calamari standards have dipped slightly but still sedap nonetheless. K says the deep-fried battered sotongs are much better at Valentino's cos they melt in your mouth. But since I haven't tried those there, these would have to do =P


But Brava's Parchment-paper baked Crayfish Spaghetti is still Numero Uno for me. Nicely Al dente and all. The pasta's tossed in a conventional pan but later wrapped in paper and baked to seal in the flavors. Yummies. The only other place that can cook up something of similar standard is Da Paolo's at Cluny Park Road.


Service tonight was excellent as usual. Wait-staff knew their stuff on the menu, cleared plates and cutlery on cue and even stopped by to chit-chat while we indulged. One of the few establishments where I would gladly pay the Service Tax =)) I think they take a leaf out of Owner/Chef's Rolando Luceri's book. The affable old man is still always on-hand to greet his customers at the door and reccommend a dish or two.

Well if you haven't tried Pasta Brava, drop in whenever you're in Tanjong Pagar. Trust me, Pasta Mania will never, never taste the same again =))

10K And Counting

When we first started out 'waaaaay' back in Oct 05, it was more of a little joke of sorts.

Blogging was the IN thing (still is!) and we thought, hey, lets have an alternative place for the 3 of us 30-somethings to burp, bitch, banter and banish our behemoth bedroom-libidos =))

Well its been 10 months and we've hit the big 10K, finally. Nothing to shout about really. Its just nice to see that we provide 'entertainment' for a sizeable portion of 'no-lifers' =)) People, the same ole' recurring-visitors or otherwise, who bother to pop in for a quick look-see at our thoughts, our dreams, our pain, our stories and perhaps when they run out of things to play on their CD-player =))

Unkster does not pretend to be a serious, politically-correct discourse on the Middle-East conflict. Neither is it a scandalous Tell-It-All of every skeletal bone in the closet. And we certainly do not post peektures of ourselves naked to bring on the hits =))

It is where we chill out and have a little chit-chat over coffee (although u can't see the mug =P). And hopefully in the process, you appreciate the smaller, less important things in life with our little musings =P

Cheers!, and lets bring on the next 10 thousand!

*Pops a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grand Dame 1996* =))

Unkster UnWound - Beautiful Kow Tao

Before Prince Mumbly of R&B Jay Chou, there was David Tao, the wind behind the revolutionary Mandarin R&B wave that swept many away in the late 90s.

People like me, brought up with Angmo tunes thanks to Peranakan parents, liked his tight Westernized arrangements and snazzy melodies coupled with American-accented cheena vocals. More than just a touch of East-meets-West perhaps, it made listening to Chinese music hip. Not soppy and nerdy =))

Born in Hong Kong and schooled in the US, David returns with his 5th Album, Beautiful.



The 12-tracks this time are classic Tao, nothing adventurous like his dabbling with Beijing opera in 2005's The Great Leap. Fans who are used to his style of R&B will feel safe on tracks like How Long and Finally. Then there are the obligatory soppy ballads like So Beautiful and the usual ode-to-exGirlfriend (think Melody) in the form of Olia. Whoever she is! =))

On Marry Me Today, he teams up with SYT Jolin Tsai. Yes, breast-enhanced Ms Tsai who, gasp, sounds horribly raspy one second, and terribly cutesy the next. But catchy little tune nonetheless.

Although David doesn't have Prince Mumbly's brooding good looks and a rapper-styled R&B that appeals to the younger set, he certainly gets my vote for being a hugely talented songsmith who crafts some really nice tunes.

Beautiful is really quite, beautiful.

Some Days

Some days you want to forget about
Toss it away like a bad flu bout
Some days you want to bitch out loud no end
When perhaps it could be better done with just a pen
Some days, you feel, cannot get any worst
And yet sadness comes again and again, like some unquenchable thirst
Some days you want to be swallowed up by a big black hole
Maybe stomped upon by a huge, gigantic sole
Some days, would be good days, if you could peer into the future
But the past catches up with you, before you can see the bigger picture
Some days are never like Good days
Like Today

Chasing Cars - Alfistic Alchemy

If you cannot afford a Ferrari, which means the 99.9999% of us sad sorry buggers, an Alfa would be a good 'poor man's' substitute.

But you better not be THAT poor lah. Cos..erm....nevermind! =))

A fellow Alfisti once described the nippy 147 as a Point & Shoot pocket rocket. Not so sure about the 'rocket' part though, but the Selespeed version does push a respectable 150 horses (aiyoh dun compare wif the souped-up WRXs, Integras, Silvias lah). And the GTA version could seriously kick some butt with its 250 big ones. However the gorgeous Giugiaro-styled head-turner still provides excellent driving dynamics and responds with nimble gusto whichever way you point the wheel.

You feel the road, you feel the car take in the bumps, it swivels according to how much u turn, not an inch more, not an inch less. And that oh-so-orgasmic roar from the Twin-spark va-va-vroom department. Good Golly Miss Molly! =))

Lately (make that the last 2-3 months), really tempted to ditch my aging French Bitch for another nubile Italian...slurp...


But 2nd-hand lah and preferbly with the Novitec Kit and Remus/Supersprint pipes all fully done-up =)) I am a lazy bugger. Plus vain =P


And if I can find one with Novitec's MAXXAir Intake System so much the better. Up to 8bhp more and it enhances the Aural experience =P


Pity Alfa Romeo have dis-continued the TS (Twin-Sparks) in favour of the JTS (Jet Thrust Stoichiometric) direct-injection engines in all their new cars. Although torquier, cleaner and more efficient, reliable sources tell me these new babies lose the 'wail factor' so iconic in the TS.

See if I can find a suitable black beauty lah...then slowly save up for this...















*Smack Lips* =))

The 0.375 Limbo

We like to attribute certain emotional and behavioural changes to certain stages in our lives, conveniently tagging them as mini crises.

Some say there is such a thing called the 'Quarter-life Crisis' (QLC) that occurs when you're 21-29. Relatively fresh out of school and grappling with the harsh realities of life in the working world, the financial pressures and office politiking contribute largely to an erosion of emotions and feelings of lonliness and insecurity about the near future.

And then there is the 'Mid-Life Crisis' (MLC) that occurs when you're about 35-50. An emotional condition characterised by doubt and anxiety that comes about when one realises that life has almost come to its half-way point. There is genuine paranoia about unfulfilled goals/aspirations and a desire to re-capture a lost youth that is manisfested in an almost adolescent-like obsession with physical appearance and the need to purchase expensive gizmos to further augment a perceived hip-quotient.

So at 32 (ok 33 in 3 weeks =P), where does that put me? In the 'One-Third-Life Crisis' category? Or do we call it 'The 0.375 Limbo'. The 'best' of both worlds as it were, a little bit of both crises.

Great, just great =))

Still at times a little insecure about my career and certainly starting to worry that I have accomplished so little thus far, I want endorsement from my peers, and yet, there is a need for assurance from the younger generation that I remain relevant with the times. If a SYT says you are kewl, that makes your day! =))

If the hypothesized ages for QLC and MLC are to be believed, we only spend 5 years in '0.375 Limbo'.

Right now it feels like an eternity in Purgatory for The Perturbed.

UnkEats - Hock Lam Beef Noodles

Beef noodles for the masses really hit the big time when the air-conditioned food courts started mushrooming all over S'pore.

Almost every food-court had one and I remember religiously making a beeline for the chor bee hoon (thick rice-noodles) soaked in goo-ey dark brown gravy served with strips of medium-rare beef and a bowl of beef-ball soup everytime I visited the old Scotts Shopping Centre Foodcourt. That was when I was in Secondary 2.

But before all this mass-produced, MSG-laden nonsense, there was Hock Lam Beef Noodles. Since 1921 to be exact.



Located at 27, Purvis Street, near the famous Raffles Hotel, this is the grand-daddy of all Beef Noodle stalls. Possibly the oldest one on the island. Now into its 3rd-generation of stall-holders, it dishes out Beef Noodles like no other.

For starters, there is the beautifully pungent cincalok (preserved baby shrimp sauce, not for the faint-tastebudded) that you can drizzle on your noodles and put into your chilli sauce. And then there is the copious amounts of kiam chye (pickled chinese cabbage) and beansprouts that add just that lovely crunchy-ness to balance out the slithery-textured bee hoon. Adding to the riot of flavors is a generous sprinkling of finely chopped peanuts that gives a real sedap nutty-ness to it all.



Really, it tastes much better than it looks above =))

The slivers of beef are not over-cooked and suitably tender. As for the beef-balls, well you could bounce them off the table and they would land in the bowl of the next person 4 chairs away. Nice and..erm...bouncy =))

The only thing we still don't like about it is the price. Our 2 bowls of noodles and a bowl of beef-ball soup (about 12 bolas I think) cost us a whopping 15 bucks. But what to do? Nice wat, so this is like our 20th trip back to savour some traditional flavors since we started going about 6 years ago.

Anyway, if you haven't tried it, go. There is also this nice Thai place 2 doors away. But shall leave that to another UnkEats entry.

P.S See if you can spot our very own Swim Queen Joscelin Yeo in the picture above. I know, I know, damn blur and poor lighting =))

Shift The Future

We had some VVIPs visit our workplace today. So I spent most of the morning running around like a headless chicken, making sure my guys didn't screw up. And because the VVIPs were a-visiting, my Number 1 ( dats the nick we give our top man) and his entourage of Directors were also in attendance.

I say again, not a good day to screw up!

Anyway, this is not about how me and my guys didn't screw up. Or about how, in spite of all the pressure, we still managed to score a couple of brownie points with Number 1=P

During the Delifrance- catered morning tea break, I had a chat with one of the Directors who let slip that I may be taking on a new appointment some time in September. A chance to leave this god-forsaken place! Hurray! But he was quickly non-commital when pressed by me for more details. I reckon he realized his slip because you know how these things are in the civil service, always hush-hushed for god knows what reason. Nowadays its literally 2-weeks notice and you're off to start your new life somewhere else.

For me, hazy-dazey as the news might be, I have mixed-feelings at the thought of leaving operational shift work behind. The hours are crazy, my biological clock is constantly going bananas, and while people out there go out and make merry during the weekends, here I am fighting fires at work. But I have alot of quiet time during the weekdays, when I'm not on duty. And while everyone else is slogging away, I have the pool and gym all to myself. Bliss!

I would probably never do shift work again. And frankly, the thought of putting in a full 5-day week from 8-6 scares me a little. I enjoy so much autonomy now that simply thinking about the monotonous daily routine stuck behind a desk in my room gives me the shudders.

But I tell myself that at least I have my TV-watching evenings back. I have my proper sleeping hours back. I have my weekends back. And I certainly won't be blogging at 3am in the morning =)) Short trips to regional spa resorts over the weekend would become a reality. I can go out for lunch with fellow colleagues again (now its pretty lonely cos few want to eat with me the boss). I can go take up a course in the evenings like French or Photography. I can perhaps resume my golf lessons and K's been bugging me to wakeboard on weekends.

The wonders of Fixed Hours! =))

However, most importantly, its a chance for me to start something afresh in a new environment. And leave a fair bit of happy as well as sad memories behind.

I hope I get to move. Its about time anyway.

Bring on Death!

You will realise, from the way he writes in his Blog, that this Man-boy has an insightful head on his shoulders. Russell is back on Unkster today, trying his best not to sound sad but he still talks about...erm...death =)) But take it from me, beneath that melancholic veneer, he has Carpe Diem-ed more than most...

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An entry for my dear friend, who claims my style of writing is a little too drama-mama. =)) I'll try to lighten up this time.

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
- Isaac Asimov

It is troublesome, isn't it? You get spanked the moment you're out of your mummy, and from then on, you just know it's going to be a bad life. Hell you didn't even have your diapers on to cushion the blows.

Well, life does get rough. You learn to walk and scrape your knee. You learn to feed yourself and you get scolded for not eating your vegetables. You start going to school and you get caned for looking up girls skirts. What else could go wrong?

Along the way to a peaceful death, you most probably will encounter more struggles than you like, testing your resilience time and time again. You'll feel like throwing in the towel and take the easy way out. You'll feel so tired at the endless decisions you'll have to make, like signing up for a university course. You just want to retreat into your comfort zone and wait for death to arrive.

Just remember, you're not a failure because you didn't succeed. You're a failure because you stopped trying. At the end, when you're on your deathbed, you're not going to say that you wished you had spent another day in your little hole. Carpe diem! Then, death will be peaceful.

I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived
- Willa Cather

The Land Of Thoughts

Had drinks with the guys just now.

And of course besides the usual girl talk, girl talk and girl talk, we yakked about careers and stuff =)) Sigh. Will I ever have the guts to make a career switch at this stage of my life I wonder.

I've just crossed my 8th year of work and there was only one time, about 4 years ago, when I seriously contemplated a career switch. The idea of being a overseas Station Manager with our National Carrier looked pretty enticing. But at the time, I was doing more than just OK at work and it was so hard to leave your comfort zone. So the idea was banished to the Land of Thoughts. Conveniently, as usual.

O says I make a good personal banker. Just so I can wine and dine the clients and talk them into letting me spend their moolah. I can't deny I am more interested in the wining and dining =)) But K says I make a good liaison man and should be in Corporate Comms. Perhaps she is right because I was approached some time ago to head up Public Affairs in my current organization. However that didn't take off. Strangely, a dozen or so people I have met all tell me that I am so engineered for the Military. Maybe they are diplomatically trying to say I am bossy. Or worst, all brawn and no brain! =))

So perhaps I'll tell you guys some of the other jobs I have casually thought about in the last couple of years. But you all promise not to laugh ok? =P Some are as different as Chalk and Cheese.

Radio DJ *haha*. Back in Uni, I nearly signed up for a DJ workshop cos I wanted to do some part-time jockey work spinning tracks and have my own late-nite talkshow where I can have interesting conversations with sad lonely souls and play them some Air Supply. Tra la la...banished to the Land of Thoughts, mummy would say I was playing poisonous pagan music for the masses =))

Aide-de-Camp or ADC to the President. Otherwise known as the glamorous servant-boys to our Head of State. Cool uniform, get to hob-nob with royalty, always looking spiffy, constantly practicing your PR skills...not bad what hor? =)) Banished to the Land of Thoughts, how long can I be a high-profile slave, ten years? =))

Tour Guide. I am an avid traveller and I think I would like to give people a new cultural experience and social perspective to a foreign place. Outside what they are so familiar with. Banished to the Land of Thoughts, I think I am really just in it for the free travel =))

Country officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If I were assigned Tibet, I would need to know what the Dalai Lama had for breakfast =)) I have worked in an embassy before and I must say I quite enjoyed the pseudo-ambassadorial functions that came with the posting. But...banished to the Land of Thoughts, switching from one Ministry to another would be tantamount to betrayal! =))

A Teacher, not here, but teaching English in Japan. And its not in Tokyo or Osaka mind you but in far-flung prefectures like Saitama, Yamaguchi or Kanagawa where you're expected to be holed-up in some quaint little High-school in a quaint little town or village, letting the clueless Nipponese-kiddos practice their In-ger-rish on you. Heard it pays about SGD4500 a month and you get to eat at the skool tuck-shop, saving yourself the hassle of deciding whether it would be the smoked Tuna belly sashimi or Tonkatsu with sticky rice for lunch today. Burp...banished to the Land of Thoughts, also not a long-term thingee and perhaps only good as a form of filler between proper jobs.

A position at the United Nations. Not fussy, UNESCO, UNDP or UNEP also can. Its the exposure lah I tell ya. Hiaz...banished to the Land of Thoughts, I would never never make the grade cos you need fantastic ECAs at skool, relevant work experience and a 3rd working Language like French or Spanish.

So you see, a number of thoughts but at the end of the day, I am still here. Day In and Day Out. Doing the same things I am most comfortable and familiar with. Satisfied with the fact that I am notified by email promptly every month that my salary has been safely credited into my bank account.

The mind-boggling thing is, can't say I am happy about it. But can't say I am sad either. But one thing's for sure. As the years tick on by, the inertia adds on exponentially.

For me at least.

Unkster UnWound - Electrifying Hipsters

There was a time when there were local bands like Naked, Kick!, Lizards Convention, Concave Scream, Forced Vomit, Stoned Revivals...

Then fast-forward to the present, there are local bands like Ronin, Astreal, Tiramisu, Lunarin, My Precious', West Grand Boulevard, The Observatory...

But above them all, there is ELECTRICO, the best Indie Rock band ever to come out of our sunny little island.



Fusing the sounds of U2, Coldplay and Snow Patrol, yet retaining that raw, Made-in-Singapore feel, this quintet really knows how to play some savvy pop-rock. And for starters, you can actually hear lead-singer David Tan's well-articulated vocals. Because so many local boys and girls mumble their way through their over-jangly guitars anyway.

Hip City is their Sophomore follow-up to 2004's immensely successful So Much More Inside. It features kick-ass tracks such as Love In New Wave (1st single on MTV ASIA now 'starring' the babelicious Desiree Siahaan), Hello, Fever Fly, Stay Away and a ballad with Filipino lads RiverMaya called All The World. An eclectic mix of Brit-pop meets angst-rock.



Lead guitarist Daniel Sassoon has to be the very best that Singapore has to offer. Together with his infectious riffs, Pseudo Goth-chick and Key-boardist Amanda Ling serves up some delectable synth melodies that blend in effortlessly with the thumping bass of Desmond Goh and tireless drumming of William Lim Jnr.

These are our national anthems at their best! =))



Lets start off with the hauntingly beautiful Hello before sampling some of the other great tracks over the weekend.

Enjoy!

Music Video - Love In New Wave

Chasing Cars - LandRover Freelander 2

Oh Yummies!

My realistically attainable dreamcar of the moment. Just released. If I had this baby, it would surely be for a drive way up North to Cambodia =)) With LR's legendary Hill Descent Control, nothing is un-conquerable! =P

That's what I really want to do. Some photo-journalistic roadtrip. A Sabbatical of sorts. Then I'll come home and write my journey memoirs - the people I've met, the things I've seen, the experiences I've...erm..experienced.

Anyway, I shall not bore you all with the technical specifications. Suffice to say this fella is chunkier, better engineered and definitely 1-step closer to his Range Rover/Discovery brethren.

Now, about that bank account....=/

Many Happy Returns Singapore

Sometimes I ask myself if it has only been 41 years. So much in such a short time. You can be proud. Cheers!

And for those who missed the Light Show yesterday put up by TeamSingapore, here are some shots of the fireworks taken by moi. I tried my best =))

2 Mega-pixels & Out Of Focus

My 3-week old oh-so-svelt-and-sexy Samsung X820 comes with a 2mp built-in camera.

And why buy a handphone with a camera if you're not gonna snap photos rite? Except that the idiots at Samsung didn't provide a USB driver for MACs, only for PCs. So I had to use K's Fujitsu to get these blurry photos downloaded and subsequently uploaded. Does anybody know of some decent Samsung USB-driver freeware that works for MACs?

Got to get used to Handphone Photography though. Cannot play around with shutter speed/aperture, cannot set ISO, cannot set White-balance, no flash (what to do dun have Xenon flash like the new SE K800i). Hell can't even focus properly. Point and Shoot and hope for the best =))

Dinner tonight was at our usual Miharu's, a little hole-in-the-wall establishment tucked away in one un-hip corner of the hip, boutique Gallery Hotel.


As you can see, very zen-like spartan and sits all of..erm..20 people max. Typical Japanese Tuna can.


Authentic Hokkaido-style Special Miso Ramen. Trust me, it tastes better than it looks. None of the mass-produced Ajisen shit.


And then we popped into The Book Cafe across the road.


Nice cosy place with plush sofas, mood lighting, ambient acid jazz and yes, plenty of books and magazines. Could spend the entire afternoon here reading and chilling. From TIME to Tolstoy. Pity they don't have WIFI =))


Cafe Mocha and a slice of Banana Chocolate cake. Very sedap!


Hidden gems, both places, so you guys should check it out.

Angsty Arsehole(s)

Supersonic
Cigarettes & Alcohol
Live Forever
Wonderwall
Don't Look Back In Anger
Some Might Say
Champagne Supernova
Roll With It
Morning Glory
Stand By Me
Don't Go Away
Stop Crying Your Heart Out
All Around The World
Little By Little
Lyla
Let There Be Love

My favorite angsty tracks from my favorite angsty band from Manchester, England.

Back when their 1st album Definitely Maybe was released in 1994, I was already boozing to Cigarettes & Alcohol. And I carried a file in the U with their Black and White logo plastered proudly on it like some wannabe juvenile Brit-rocker. Don't Look Back In Anger became an anthem for those cooling off periods after quarelling with the girlfriend. With Stop Crying Your Heart Out reserved for the really melancholic occasions when only a stiff JD on the rocks and a lighted butt in hand would do justice to the heartache.

Well the past week has been an appropriate one for reliving some Brit-rock euphoria. Liam's yelping howls and the jangly electric guitar riffs make good company.

Because I am still searching for that emotional oasis. Too many mirages lately...


P.S A Best Of entitled Stop The Clocks, 'celebrating' the end of contractual obligations with their record company, is due for release in Nov 2006. Can angst together on 1 disc. Smashin'! =))

Emotional Baggage

Emotional Baggage
So often uttered.
But what is it really.
Memories of hurt that weigh you down in the Present?
Previous mental entanglements that impede our movement into the Future?
Some people deal with these psychological kilos better than others.
Has it got to do with the degree of pain that was historically inflicted?
Maybe it is the extent to which an investment of feelings was made that matters.
Or perhaps it is the innate ability to forgive that varies from person to person.
But how can we forgive and yet not forget.
Is this real forgiveness?
Because if we cannot, we haven't really gotten rid of the Baggage have we?
Humans, all of us.
And I reckon we are trapped with our own cursed loads forever.
Only Time and Circumstance will tell whether these ugly hidden bags will turn up on Life's carousel.
Again.

Fire, Water & Something Called The C.E.P

Today, exactly 8 years ago, I joined my present organization. Not really that long ago, but not recently either.

My colleague S, whom I have known since I was a young officer, told me the other day, after a particularly gruelling meeting, that I have mellowed down so much. Since the days she used to be my boss in another department.

In terms of rank and designation, we are equals now. But for a short while when I first joined this new department, I was given a higher appointment and she had to report to me. Quite an awkward reunion of sorts back then.

S is not much older than me, and I remember the times when, as a brash and ambitious newbie, I used to give her so much grief. Questioning her decisions, proposing drastic changes, circumventing the 'proper channels' by going straight to the big boss and basically being so vocal and stubborn that she eventually let me have my way. There was precious little she could do at the time because at the end of the day, I had the results to show for it.

Now as career-level peers, we can look back and laugh at the good 'ole days. If you can call it good lah =))

But have I really mellowed? Is age catching up with me? Or am I just a little jaded with work nowadays. Distracted perhaps, with affairs of the heart.

K said over a coffee the other night, that I lack the drive I once possessed many moons ago. Always looking for the easy way out of a problem or bad situation instead of meeting it head-on, solving it once and for all like I used to. I said perhaps lately, I am like Water rather than Fire. You see when water encounters an obstacle, it flows around it and carries on its merry own way through the path of least resistance. But with fire, it burns the obstacle to a crisp before proceeding to burn the next thing in its way. Blazing a path right through.

When and why this gradual elemental change from Fire to Water I don't really know. Hell I'm starting to sound like some flummoxed Fengshui fool =))

During the recent Ranking Exercise for our officers, the acronym C.E.P was thrown about so much I found myself doodling the stylised letters C, E and P on my notepad for most of the meeting =)) For those not in the know, it stands for Current Estimated Potential. Your career ending point (also C.E.P haha!) as it were. The rank and grade you are envisaged to be at just before you finally retire. It follows that those with a higher C.E.P would be promoted faster. Logical rite? Where I come from, this C.E.P thingee is decided by management very early in your career. Screw up in the first 2 years, and forever be condemned to the doldrums of mediocrity.

But even if you are given a high C.E.P, you have to have done things or shown enough results to justify for it everytime the annual appraisals come around. It is during times like this when being Water-ish will do you no favours. The bosses are always looking out for the Fire in your eyes.

I have been told point-blank by the boss that I had better start justifying for my own C.E.P. Something I have never had to be told to do in the past 8 years.

And on this, my 8th Annivesary, its not something that would bring a sweet, sentimental smile to your face.

So...got a match-stick anyone?

Musical Chairs

Putting my thoughts here early tonite cos I have to be in office by 0630 tommorrow. Shit!

Its the start of the annual Ranking Exercise where the whole 'herd' of officers are numbered 1 -1000 according to their performance at work. And the 4 of us middle managers have to sit down with the boss to make sure that the plankton reporting directly to us don't lose out to their peers in the mad jostle for higher slots on the master list. Which by the way is of oceanic proportions.

No mean feat, considering each of us have in excess of 200 men. And if you count the Administrative staff as well, the number swells to just under a thousand when you put everybody together. A bloody auction of NYSE proportions! =))

Its going to be a test of our objectivity and sense of fairness, I hope. A time to separate the sheep from the goats, and to sieve out the sly little foxes who only work when the boss is watching or wet your boots with all that licking. Of course if you're a pretty face and leave an impression, perhaps that will give you that teeny-weeny bit more leverage over your hardworking but fuglier colleague. Cest la Vie lah I say, male bosses are shallow =)) Ok kidding!

There are quotas of grades to meet, written justifications of promotions to be submitted and a brutal no-holds-barred assessment of ability that is expected. We will perhaps just break for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a quick dash to the toilet. But the whole exercise is expected to continue into the night and spill over to a second day I am sure.

Aiyoh!

For the sake of my guys, wish me luck. When the music stops, I hope some of them don't find themselves stranded in no man's land =))

Parrot Patriotism

Its that time of year again.

When August comes about, there's this sudden surge of 'I love my country, this is my home' hullabaloo. The flags are out, the patriotic songs are out, the Parade previews are in full swing. Everybody gushes about why they love this Little Red Dot. Strange because in the other months, most would bemoan this scarlet pinhole on the map like it was some itchy pimple before the prom.

Lack of freedom lah, Nanny State lah, draconian bureaucrats in the upper echelons lah, no chewing gum lah, high cost of living lah, Pay and Pay lah et cetera. Alot threaten to emigrate, but never do. Talk big only lah I guess.

Well I suppose abit of patriotism in August is better than none at all. A little time perhaps to take stock of our 41 years of independence when in the beginning, everyone gave us a snowball's chance in Hell of coming this far.

So lets grit our teeth, put up with the cheesy Stand Up For Singapore jingle just this once a year, and be grateful that we are not dodging Israeli missles on a lonely convoy out of South Lebanon.

Deep down I know where I belong. Do you?