Time flies when you're having fun. I couldn't agree more. It's been five months since I left the newsroom to travel the uncertain road of freedom and freelance. I've been truly blessed with more work than I can handle and the support to break out into editing entire magazines.

D has been very encouraging and has even got me my own domain. I shall be blogging from there for work-related and writing related stuff. This blog will take a short hiatus.

I DID IT.

GOODBYE SUCKERS!

Damnit, I still have 30 days here!

This worn out gopher is taking a nice long break to reassess her life.

Part 5th year anniversary, part mini-sabbatical, D and I are off to Vietnam for 12 days. First stop Saigon, then flight to Danang from which we'll chug along to the historical Hoi An and Hue. Afterwhich, it's Hanoi -- to see Uncle Ho embalmed in history, and ponder life over what I hear are unbeatable 20c beers.

See ya my darklings... and I'll try my best to update along the ways

"You’re a newspaper journalist. Your editor doesn’t care that your sources won’t call back, she needs that story by 10 p.m. You rarely get to see your kids before they go to bed because that government meeting you’re covering drags on until late at night. You file a story about a complicated issue and you just know the next day some expert is going to call in and point out how you got the story wrong. You get crazy people calling in daily demanding you to write a story about such-and-such or accusing you of having a bias.
But worst of all, you do all this with the understanding that you’re being tremendously underpaid." [From Bloggasm]

You make crap for cash. Your achievements are barely noticed. Your company's idea of encouragement is not firing you. The last time you spent more than twenty good minutes with your kids or significant other was two weeks ago, give or take a month. [From gawker.com]

Welcome to my life. Tis kinda nice (in a pathetic way) to know that my burnt-out gopher ass is a recognised phenomenon worth a study. It's prolly as much recognition as I'm ever gonna get.

Speaking of burns, it's the third-degree kind that goes soul deep, causing irreversible scarring and ultimately, DEATH.

Anyway, the study has these quotes that had me near to tears when I read them. Quoth a 27-year-old man:

"The majority of mainstream coverage is frivolous and mind-numbing. It seems we’re intentionally trying to dumb down the public, rarely tackle real issues that make a difference or expose deceits of authorities. . . I feel my soul being drained every day. . . And as soon as the right opportunity presents itself, I’m outta here!"

Uncanny! This sounds like me!

D's Surprise Bday @ The Springs

I said I've make him a leg of lamb, but when I thought about it... what the heck, why settle for a leg when you can have the whole sheep?!

So we planned a lil surprise do, a tricky thing to do cause D is so damn sharp! Thankfully, it turned out well. And even more of a relief when we ninja'd him, no one got punched in the head in a moment of D's usual reflex to attack first with prejudice and ask questions later.

SUPPLIES!

It's a dramatic and sensory assault to have a whole lamb roasted on a spit. You can hear the crackling of the skin as the meat roasts and see the juices seep out causing the hot grill to hiss and pop. The smell is of meat roasting is also divine. Together with the lamb, we had some excellent fish, a beef stew and veggies. Ordered some sushi and got a ton of luscious icecream from the Daily Scoop. All I made was a risoni salad. Chillaxxx....

Lamb...or dog?

Except, not quite. I was in quite a harried state with the surprise party and all. In between arranging the catering logistics, acquring his present (an Asus EEE mini PC), invites and a hellacious time at work, I was a wreck. But a happy one. Happy Birthday baby!

Phew -- the flush is part beer, part heat and part excitement


Happy Birthday baby!

You know you're just made for your own shitty job when, in trying to convince someone NOT to go into gopher work, you end up fanning the flames of their misdirected and ultimately doomed passion to write...

Damnit. I'm never going to leave this job am I?

D found this: 6 Little Lumpkid, Hadleigh, Ipswich , IP7 6BF.

It's an address in the UK, but I like to think it's a cute lil pome somehow dedicated to my lumpkid!

Truly, is it so difficult to get your act together and look through stories filed yonks in advance at a decent time? For instance not on a Sunday evening at dinner time? And not about information that can be easily googled?

And for heaven's sake and is it neccessary to re-write sentances that make perfect sense so that it becomes entirely WRONG?!

GODDAMNIT!

D and I were undecided about where to lunch yesterday and somehow random rolled our way to Romano's Ristorante, an "Italian Casual Diner" tucked away at Jalan Leban along Upper Thomson Road.

We started our day with beers -- not a very wise choice on an empty stomach. It rendered me somewhat incompetent for the rest of the afternoon.

We chased our alcoholic appetizers down with a decent meal of garlic bread, fritto misto and pasta (crayfish linguine for me, and linguine gorgonzola for D).

I'm a fusspot about pasta, so I was quite surprised that the consistency of the pasta did not disappoint. Romano's does a great tomato sauce; it went great with the fried seafood and with my pasta. But the seafood batter was a tad too thick for D's liking (but I quite liked it) and the gorgonzola sauce had a very strange powdery aftertaste.

We skipped dessert at Romano's in favour of the dark chocolate icecream at awfully chocolate. Then D had to drag my somewhat tipsy ass home so I could -- again -- sleep off the food.

When we got home, I found that my darling little Hazel had been taken to her new temporary home. :( Mum found a cat lover who houses about 50 cats in her mansion along Sixth. She gets each cat -- strays or not -- properly certified, neutered and vaccinated. People can visit and adopt the kitties if they want, and she gets them to sign papers to ensure that the cats are not abandoned. I'm glad for Hazel, but I worry about her being among so many other, possibly tougher, cats. I pray someone finds her and loves her soon.

In my missing of her, I woke up today feeling ill and with a swollen, conjunctivitis'd eye. I miss my meowmie.

Far from the madding crowd

On our rare days off together, D and I have like to take time to do a few things, like go to the gym (me), sleep till 1.30pm (D), and for both of us, spend quality time together, eat lots of food, and mainly, gloat.

So we had a leisurely lunch at 230pm at Superfamous, right in the heart of the CBD. Him in his jeans and me in my summery dress. Coffee, beer, a crab caesar, delicious grilled moroccan chicken and a sinful wagyu burger with mozarella and parma ham made us happy while we sniggered at the office people rushing off to work.

But no day of fun is complete without... ICECREAM (what else?!). So we had copious amounts at Island Creamery. Then I went into a temporary bliss coma and had to be taken home to snooze it off...

Icecream mudpie, kahlua latte and lemon cheesecake, baked alaska

May Day in the Sun

It was the perfect day for a swim on Thursday, so that's what we did. And we had us a wee picnic: sandwiches, sushi, groundnuts, beer and wine. It was great. :) Then we caught IRON MAN! Wowza. Robert Downey Jr is teh hotness.

I was in Bintan when my brother called to say that he had rescued a sick Siamese cat from our neighbourhood. When I got back, I found this sweet darling.

I fell for the sweetheart immediately. She has the darlingest little face, and those brown paws, oh! But we cannot keep her. :( Part of the reason is the risk of infection. But we're ready to accept the risk and mitigate it. A less critical reason, but ultimately, one with more implications, is that my aunt won't have her. Mum babysits her kids, and Aunt Paranoia is being, well, to put it mildly, unreasonable. It's devastating.

My brother adores Hazel, and I do too. She has the sweetest temperament for a stray. And her cajoling mews are so irresistable. She loves being cuddled. We are determined to find her a good loving home. Please help: http://hazelthesiamese.blogspot.com/

Birthday Surprise @ the Springs

April threw a surprise birthday partee for her fatty yesterday and it was awesome. She really went all out, with the nosh catered from Botak Jones and the booze from Brewerkz. We ate till we almost popped, then soaked in the pool and had more beer. A day later and I am still sluggish and tired from all the food! The lamb chops were surprisingly good (especially for red meat in a warmer) -- tender and moist, perfect with mint sauce.

Lovely Spread

The 'cake' was another splenour -- a pretty profiterole tower! So very nice! It's the perfect no-fuss, self-serve cake. I must have gorged on at least 6 to 8 of those cream filled babies.

Too engrossed with stuffing face with cream babies

okay, late night at work and this made me laugh out loud.

Recant

It was cloudy the second day, but the view from the beach was still lovely

Okay, I was wrong. And I retract the snide jokes about it being a junk-et. Club Med Bintan was heaps more fun than I expected. For one, there was a spa. What the PR girl (who scared the bejesus out of me with a call at 9am on Monday to ask me if I was at the ferry terminal -- when my ferry was at 2pm) meant by telling me "the spa is not ready", was that the new spa wasn't ready. What do I care about a new spa? A spa is a spa is a spa! Idiot.

Anyway, it was great, if a little rushed because I had to cram all the activities in so as to be able to do my write up. In spite of it all, I was surprised to find myself relaxed, which for a tightly wound hyperpanic bunny like me, is something that almost never happens unless I am asleep. Hahahaa.

But I am proud to announce I am not drown'd by snorkelling, did not murder anyone at archery, and managed to stay afloat while sailing.

It was my first time snorkelling and I was hella scared because I am a poor swimmer who can't swim if water gets in my eyes. Seeing as swimming is an inherently a wet sort of activity, it is really quite a defeating archilles heel. But after a swimming test in the pool, I was cleared as only mildly incompetent and fit for the open sea.

The first challenge came when my guide leapt blithely into the water and asked me to jump in ... and by reflex I just squeaked "no". LOL. Then I made a clumsy sissy splash into the water and was glad for the security of my life vest and my guide, who took my hand and led me around like a baby.

I dunno how people make snorkelling or scuba diving look so effortless. I was a struggling, spitting, gagging mess. In between trying to 1) avoid paralysing my guide's arm with my Death Grip of Fear, 2) not drown in my own mask, 3) clear my mask and snorkel every 27 seconds, 4) look glam, 5) oh, and sightsee -- I was tired out.

But I now understand why people fall in love with diving. It's such an unworldly experience. I saw giant clams, and conches, a sea urchin, clown fish darting among the waving fronds of anemone, more fish, and huge masses of coral. It was lovely. Next time I ask for a child's mask.

Then, I tried archery. And managed to thwap myself in the arm on the first go, despite the plastic forearm protector. I was glad Fistula of Fury has gone to the big farm in the sky cos if he had been around, he'd have been sliced wide open. Eeep! First strike. Second strike: I find out that despite being right handed, I cannot close my left eye only. Hahahahahah! So I had to shoot with both eyes open. So came strike three: All my arrows went wide. All but three. Out of like, 30. I suck.

I managed to cram in a wonderful coconut and sea salt treatment after my busy day, which had started with some gym classes (they have 30-minute les mills sessions with the cutest button of a Japanese fitness intructor). I felt really really yummy -- like a kueh-kueh -- after the coconut oil massage, but as I got a tingly exfoliation with sea salt, it occured to me that I was kinda like a chicken being prepared for the oven. Hahaha!

And just before I left, I tried my hand at sailing -- which was easier than I realised. :)

Not drowned, after two days of sea sport! Snaps for me!

The best part for me was that the Club Med folk are super friendly, so in just about 2 days, I got know a United Nations worth of new friends. It took me back to university peer network days when we'd help the freshies feel welcome. Same kind of international mix and warmth.

The posse of bartenders who made me five types of cocktails in a cocktail showdown


Their crazy boss made me choose "the best one", but I was too buzzed to choose


Thomas, restaurant director and Pascaline, bar manager: two of the bets jobs, I reckon!

It was a long, tiring, extremely defeating work week. So to make up for lousy morale, I dedicated the weekend to nice stretch of eating and shopping :)

Found this new cafe called 12x12 at Suntec which sells a healthier version of arancini -- varieties of fancy rice mixed with various ingredients and rolled into pretty little balls. Had some for lunch and dragged D's reluctant ass there for a second go. The 'fitballs' were filling and delicious and of the five we tried, I particularly liked the salmon and asparagus. But I couldn't help but think it was a wee bit gimmicky -- just kinda like rice salad in a nice package.

What D calls a "list of horrors"


But it was really really good: Fitballs, Carrot Ribbon salad with couscous

What really blew me away were the soups. I had an amazing watercress soup (watercress, spinach and roasted hazelnut cream), and D had a tastebud popping cold cucumber gazpacho with crab. And the cakes were also fantastic -- we tried carrot cake and the gluten free"guiltless chocolate almond cake".

Amazing cold cucumber gazpacho and fresh crab meat -- the real stuff, not horrific surimi


Gluten free chocolate cake, carrot cake in the background

And today after almost dying at gym -- did pump and step (with torturous tracks) -- I stuffed myself silly, first with River ValleynNasi Padang followed by 5 scoops of ice cream from The Daily Scoop an hour later, which was followed almost immediately by what was intended as a small snack of half a slice of pizza from Rocky's but became a gorge fest of grease (we got a whole pie). OH! But it was SO GOOD. Perfectly thin crust with the right amount of crunch and chew. The gooiest cheese. Perked up with anchovies.

Rocky's -- by far the best goddamned pizza you'll ever find in Singapore.

Tomorrow I am off on a 3D2N Junket to Bintan. I don't wanna sound ungrateful but though I think it'll be a welcome break, honestly, Bintan? I don't golf, I hate the beach (I am not supposed to be in the sun and I loathe sand) and I can't swim very well, especially not in the sea. All I was really looking forward to was lots of massages -- but I heard that the spa isn't even ready yet. T_T;; Woe! Oh well. At least I'll get to sleep lots and read!

Did you know...

In 2007, the SPCA took in a total of 9,487 animals including 3,002 dogs, 4,716 cats and 1,314 domestic small animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, etc). Half of the dogs taken in were pedigree. This is an alarming figure, and proofs that owners were simply not ready for the commitment of owning a dog. (http://www.spca.org.sg/dump.html)

The Pet Villa set up by the Animal Lovers League has rescued hundreds of dogs and cats. It now houses some 700 cats and 150 dogs. The SPCA puts down a large proportion of animals it recieves due to lack of space. It's appalling that people can abandon their pets willy nilly.

Don't support pet farms and stores. Adopt a stray. Give them a second chance. Give them a home.

Gran's Birthday

Celebrated grandma's birthday today, first with a sumptuous dinner at No Signboard at Vivo City, then with a jaunt on the Singapore Flyer. Was not a terribly good idea after a full meal and with an entire family of acrophobic people.

I was cheerleading my aunts all the way, telling them it went slow and that it was not all that scary, that is, until we got into the capsule and it started to ascend. Then realisation hit, as I turned to D and said (like a total idiot)., "Oh. Shit. This thing goes really high, I mean like all the way to the top of the wheel." Good job genius.

But I couldn't allow myself to wuss out more than my grandma could I?! So I sucked it up and took a bunch of photos, played with the baby cousins and tried to look/act chillax. Until, at the end of the ride, I realised the insides of my shoes were soaking from the cold sweat that had poured from my feet. Meh.

//edit: Double meh. Photos from the flyer entirely corrupted. *Sob*

MAAD weekend

Met D2 aka Mr Tang today and we hung out some at MAAD. There was a cool portrait drawing session on, so we took part, complete with the action pose (D2) and the pleas no not make us look fat (me). It works this way, the artists -- a mix of students and professionals -- have 10 to 15 minutes to sketch and you can buy any piece you fancy... or not.

From among these, we adopted four of them for $8 a pop. Three for D2 and one for me. This one's mine. I love it!

Probably can't tell from the image, but there're so many different tones of black in it -- all from just Indian ink marker and some water colour.

Then we took a walk along Chinatown, passing by the Sri Mariamman Temple and stopping to gawk for a bit at the silver horse-drawn chariot (as in silver horses, not real ones) parked in front.

A bit of wandering about later, we found ourselves at Orchard Towers for toe-curlingly good Thai grub at the charmingly no-nonsense Jane's Thai Food.

Then we experienced a little toe-curling of a different variety as we hit Crazy Horse for a bit to immerse D2 in the sights and sounds of Singapore nightlife. I reckon that the Singapore Tourism Board ought to look into the value of trans gendered persons. So far at least _two_ overseas friends have expressed intellectual interest in the area!

Happy Friday

Am proud to announce I woke up with my first hangover:
1) The throbbing head complete with pain activating rolling marbles in the skull--check
2) The bleary eyes filled with eye-poo -- check
3) The furry shrivelled sponge somehow replaced my tongue sometime between getting home at 5-ish and 9am when I woke up due to 1) -- check
4) The numbness in my feeties -- check

Between Sambucca shots and B52s, lots of good old britpop, drunken singing and dancing, I managed to sneak in a helluva good time. Feh. Sure beats work drinks. Teeheehee.

HOME with the Chikas

Off to take a sydneysider friend of a friend out for the day. We're gonna hit MAAD and then some nice food and see where the day takes us. I'm going to max out what little weekend I have seeing as I've work on Sunday.