Worn abroad: Bridesmaid edition

A navy blue dress with a full skirt and white sash detail, wooden shoes and gold jewellery.  I chose the bow earrings and Juicy Couture necklace because there is a sailor theme and you know, ships and chains?  No? 

Wedding ahoy!

Gratitude list

A very quick list of things I'm loving and am really thankful for right now, just before I take off on a trip for Becky's wedding!

1)  Scarf from Justin.

Such a cool cat print and I love the colour in its eyes!  I also love the fact that when it's ruched up, the scarf looks like something basic and abstract.  Thank you, Justin!

2) Chocomania shower gel from The Body Shop

I used this at my friend's house and was struck by just how rich and decadent it smelled.  Chocolate body wash is not to everybody's taste and I think it'll probably be cloying first thing in the morning.  Right before I go to bed however?  Delicious and very comforting. 

(The Body Shop appears to be having a $14.90 for two offer on its shower gels right now!)

3)  Getting to attend Becky's wedding.

She is one of my best friends and I'm so happy to be able to share in her joy and her special day.  Plus, who doesn't like weddings?  All that love in one room!  I'm really excited to be the bridesmaid... and I hope I don't screw up!

A long time coming

Sometimes, the few friends that read this blog jokingly ask me when they're going to appear on it.  (Amanda!)  For some reason they find it amusing and to be honest, so do I.  So today, it's Ann-Marie's turn!

We've known each other for so long that we've seen each other transform from sweaty schoolgirls into hopefully less sweaty working women.  It was really great to see her again and chat over lunch and coffee.

She's getting married this year and asked me if I'd like to help her by taking some casual photos of her and the fiance for fun.  Would I ever!  I'm happy to practise taking pictures of anything and anyone and woe betide my guinea pigs because I can be quite slow and fussy.  I was delighted that she volunteered!  It'll be exciting to have time set aside in a quiet spot and with willing (and photogenic!) participants.  I have no idea if the pictures will be any good, but by all means, I'll have a bash.  (And there's a Beatles reference for ya.)

Sometimes we talk a lot about our days in school and how we were both misfits and had very few friends.  "I never thought we would make it," I say wistfully and we laugh, half-pleased, half-unable to believe that we're both (almost) grown up and holding down jobs.  

"I think sometimes, that we turned out better than the cool people," she said once, and we ruminated on that.  It's true that I'm sometimes surprised to find that I didn't at some point drop out of school or get into trouble or become completely ostracised for the rest of my life.  I mean, I wasn't the best kid to be around.  And my mother worried about me a lot.

Ann-Marie, on the other hand, always struck me as a quiet, unsure, organised, composed person, waiting to come into her own.  Today I watch her handle things with aplomb - she's responsible and sensible with money and the kind of warm-hearted and easily delighted person that is fun to be with. 

I don't know that we turned out better.  I recently saw one of the "cool kids" from school and she looked every bit as gorgeous and pulled together as I remember her.  But I think it's enough that so far, we turned out right.

(I know those boots are a little bit crazy but sometimes you have to get a lot done and sometimes you just have to do it all in cowboy shoes.)

I can't wait to take proper pictures of them!

And finally, as we were noshing on Japanese food, Ann-Marie said she liked reading blogs with nice writing and pointed out a few.  Then she said, "For example, I'm sure you would never write a line like... This is a cup of green tea.  You would find a nicer way to say it."

We both had to laugh.  "I do write lines like that!" I protested, "Besides, I don't know how else you would say it."

"You know what I mean."

Well then, Ann-Marie, this one's for you.

This is a cup of green tea. 

Expeditions

My father is an easily excited man.  I'm like him in that way; I'm like him in many ways.  We both speak faster than we can think, we have quick tempers and when we hit upon an idea, it won't go away.  

Recently, my father has been getting excited over sending out greetings to his friends and family.  Over the last couple of months, he's come up with ideas for New Year salutations, Eid greetings and various other holiday missives.  Generally, these involve commissioning me or my brother, HS, to take pictures that he has been dreaming about and turning them into e-cards, complete with copyright tags.  (Above is one such example - this year's Chinese New Year picture that I took in Chinatown.)

The tasks are usually relatively difficult and involve lots of careful coordination or running sharply through heavy traffic, which means that they may descend into arguments.  Not all of them turn out as planned.  I'll never forget the time we lined up in the garden like robots in new clothes for the family Eid portrait.  Our symmetry couldn't quite meet my father's exacting standards and the resulting image was a photoshopped composite that included a putty-coloured elbow that HS had to edit onto my arm. 

Because like me, my father doesn't like doing things without any preparation, each project involves one or two recces beforehand, preferably in daylight.  Like Sherlock Holmes, he leaps and points and darts and barks while I snap away frantically, trying to cement his vision.  These recces require energy, but they're a good way to see parts of Singapore that I've never really had the time to look at - I can't tell you how many times I've wished I had my camera with me.

Today, my father spontaneously decided that we were going to look for the spot from which to replicate a picture that he had seen of the Gardens by the Bay domes.  We drove over to the other side of the gardens called Gardens by the Bay East - a sprawling, largely empty garden that is open to the public for things like picnics and dogwalking.  Because it's so much more plain than its flashy cousin, Gardens East is fairly empty and peaceful.

I liked it very much and of course, will jump at any excuse to practise some photography.

The grass was still a little waterlogged from recent rain and as I squelched across in my steaming black jeans and flipflops with my little Longchamp handbag, my father suggested that I wear gumboots when we take the actual photo at night.

I'm probably biased, but I think that our skyline is pretty damn cool.  Government, you're doing something right.

The park has a small stream running through it, fringed with weeping willows and what look like lillies.  It is such a quiet, picturesque spot and it is a shame more people haven't discovered it yet.

When we'd taken enough pictures, we started to drive out of the park and then noticed a staircase that leads right onto the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.  Now, a consultation with Wikipedia (the final authority on truth) tells us that the Benjamin Sheares Bridge is the longest and tallest bridge in Singapore.  I'm all for good views but dayum that staircase is six flights long.  Also, it was 2:15pm and if you live here, you know what the sun is like at 2:15pm.

Right under the highway there is a tree graveyard of sorts where dead trees are lined up in a paddock before, I imagine, they're turned to mulch.  Who knew?

We bumbled up the stairs and found ourselves right on the edge of the highway where all the marathon runners go.  I'm severely afraid of heights and of unstable structures and being on the highway was a surreal experience.  Heavy vehicles rattled and blew dust alarmingly and each time anything heavier than a van passed, the bridge bounced and buckled like it was suspended on cables.

Still, it was a pretty amazing experience.  I've always wanted to walk the bridge path and eventually I hope to walk my way to the city from the start of it.

Come on, now!  I know this is the reason you visit.  I mean, which other blog would bring you a shot from the top of a tree?  Keep coming back folks, there's plenty more where that came from.

The view was also pretty cool, particularly at the peak of the bridge where you can look across the whole bay.

If you've been lost wandering around the barrage before, you'll know that it's quite difficult to get a sense of where everything is.  This was the perfect way to see where everything was.

And look at all that space!  I'd recommend you get some fresh air there before all the pesky hoards start streaming in.

So I'd say it was a pretty successful recce, and it's probably a matter of days before we head back at night to get the proper shot.  I'm excited to see the gardens at night and even to spend some there in the day, albeit in proper footwear.

And preferably not jeans.

Shenanigans at work or, About nothing

I've always been fortunate enough to work in places and with people who are never afraid to have a little fun.  When things get stressful, it really helps to be able to have a hysterical coffee across the road or laugh until you cry at the photocopier.

Today was especially festive - a very sweet colleague brought yu sheng and Chinese New Year tunes and there was much merrymaking.  Here is a random sample.

Son, who sits next to me, is some kind of Rubik's cube expert and new cubes turn up on her desk every week.  I've seen bizarrely-coloured ones, ones with four or five rows and now this special edition cube where you're meant to rearrange the blocks by dimension.  She tried to teach my mathematically-impaired brain the algorithms one rainy afternoon and sat there laughing as I tried not to hurl the cube into the wall.

There was a little Chinese New Year decorating going on.

My colleague had brought her Canon 5D to snap pictures of the food, so I slunk into the background with my camera, only emerging to take pictures of Ah Kit and Amanda.  (Have you ever played with the 5D?  The light on that camera is magical.)

Rebecca took this photo which she deemed typical of us.  Ah Kit and I have a very... interesting relationship.  He constantly teases me and I constantly take it.

And then of course, it was time for Amanda and me to pretend to be all Top Model.  It says a lot about my colleagues that no one batted an eyelid while we (discreetly) posed in the corner.

"I'm going to get famous from your blog, yes?"  Amanda said, flicking her hair and kicking off her shoes.

Um sure.  To all of five people!

I'm going to assume that none of you are batting an eyelid either (the book was my idea). 

And of course, the obligatory looking into the future shot.  Perhaps it is foreboding that I look slightly concerned about mine.

Gratitude list: Snacks

I love eating hearty, delicious meals as much as the next Singaporean, but sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a good midday (or midnight!) snack.

1)  Prune lapis

My mother's friend dropped this incredible dessert off for Chinese New Year and being the civic-minded family member that I am, I chipped in to help with it.  Yup.  Really took one for the team there.

The layers are just firm enough, holding slightly before yielding to the downward plunge of the teeth, and the prunes are sweet and sticky.

2)  Chocolate biscotti

What is better than chocolate biscotti?  Chocolate biscotti so thin that it looks like it's been sliced with a mandolin!  We ate so much at Jeanice's house that after awhile, she gave up trying to tape the jar shut.  Atta girl.

3)  Homemade cake

And I totally dug this incredible red velvet and berry cake that one of my talented colleagues baked.  The burgundy heart of the cake held an inch-thick layer of cream cheese that was studded with sweet blueberries... aaand now I'm hungry all over again.

Saturday

Not a lot happening in my neck of the woods this weekend except a visit to my friend, Jeanice's new home.  We spent some time gawking at her cool wall decals and even cooler walk-in wardrobe and then settled down to some serious drinks.

For the record, Choya with honey: where have you been all my life?  It's plummy, boozy and slightly tart, finished with a mellow sweetness that only honey can lend.  The leftover fruit is also very tasty, in a more intense way.  We shook one from the bottle and took bites out of it, grinning stupidly at each other.

On a side note: people always ask me what I eat at home.  Well, dinner in my house is always a dead giveaway that we're mixed, what with weird curries and stir-fries served in the same meal.  Today: Yong Tau Foo with Kichree, a kind of Indian porridge made by mixing rice and dhal, served with kick-ass mashed potatoes flavoured with chillis and coriander. 

On a side, side note: my snack later that evening - banana chips my parents brought back from Malaysia.  I love plain banana chips.  They're more flaky and brittle than tapioca crisps and when done right, more fragrant.  Unfortunately, many variations in Singapore are now slathered in some sticky, honey-like substance which makes them uninvitingly stodgy.

I'm rationing these.

I love that Malaysian packaging always provides serving suggestions for even the most mundane of crackers.  Holy sea cucumbers, Batman!  You mean I can actually have them with tea?!

Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week.

Stupid cupid

"I don't believe you will always feel that way," she said to me as the three of us sipped on our swanky drinks in a swanky speakeasy.  

"When someone feels about love like you do, that they want someone to meet them halfway, they don't just stop feeling like that.  I think right now you're probably just resting, recharging your batteries.  But you'll come back."

I think she's right.  I also think that I'm really starting to recognise just how important the resting period is, the time by myself, the time to think and heal and grow.  

Maybe one day I'll feel like I'm ready to let my guard down again, to let myself think seriously about the prospect of "together".  Right now, I have friends who take me for meals and drinks, and family and the barristas at Starbucks who say, "Happy Valentine's Day!" and hand me a free Belgian waffle that they've been saving for when I come in at breakfast and fill my mug with a golf-ball sized dollop of whipped cream.

Whaddya know?  It's enough.

Good like that

Even though my parents were out of town during the festive season, I had an awesome break filled with friends, food, random dancing and just enough alone time to feel rested.  

My mother is adamant about new clothes during Chinese New Year even if I'm hanging out alone at home, so I started the season with a breezy owl tank I bought in Krabi.  It doesn't quite match up to the Wallace and Gromit crew neck of 2007, but then, nothing really beats Claymation.  Cheeeeese.

I packed my little neon crossbody from Victoria's Secret and took a walk in the rain to get coffee.  (Thank you MacDonaldisation.  Even as the streets are silent, we can count on the Western joints to be open.)  

I am digging travelling light - the less you carry, the less you realise you need.  This pouch comes with handy compartments and was just big enough to stuff a rolled up scarf in.  Also packed: Starbucks card (duh), cards, money, delicious Coconut Grove Bath and Body Works hand sanitiser, EOS lip balm in Summer Fruit, Pure Seduction Eau De Toilette, keys and my phone.

         

Some cool houses on my walk. The area is filled with old shophouses that have been turned into residences or shops and I love how the moulding often looks like icing on a garishly-coloured cake.

After a very cheerful walk in the rain (not being sarcastic), I went over to my friend, N's home for dinner.  We started the evening off with cheese, hummus and Serpico, Al Pacino's first huge film.  It was tense and funny in equal measure and slightly strange in the way that movies from the seventies tend to be.  I highly recommend it!

At some point, there was a debate about the merits of heading out for the rest of the evening, and I suddenly found myself in Clarke Quay, dancing like it was 1999.  (I can attest to the fact that nobody really danced that year.  We all sat round the TV watching the celebrations, waiting for Y2K to get us and for everything to shut down violently, leaving us shivering by candlelight.  Of course, that never happened apart from a few fireworks going off.  We said, "Is that it?" and were all in bed by 12:02.)

We had an awesome time fist-bumping and singing "We Are Young" to bad live bands before finishing off with an early morning McDonald's breakfast, as you do.  

On the second day, I met with E and S for a very pretty high tea and a walk in the Botanic Gardens.  Like a dolt, I forgot my camera so iPhone pictures and overwrought instagrams will have to suffice.

I've never had tiered high tea before and I was really excited to be served three layers of sweet and savoury doodads that looked worthy of Downton Abbey.   Some of the desserts were slightly strange and as S pointed out, fruitcake is nobody's friend, but overall, it was a very well-balanced and filling selection.

My favourite kind of dessert: a heart-shaped macaron with chilli-chocolate ganache.

We had a very intense conversation about raising children, smacking and psychopaths (there was a link, I promise you).  A couple had brought their toddler son for tea and he was running wildly around, dragging himself along the carpet as children are wont to do.  Things came to a head when he knocked over a lamp and dented the lampshade while his mother was busy on her phone. 

"You little monster," she sighed indulgently as he crawled behind the curtain.  "Come here.  I said, come here.  Do you hear me?"

Tongues were clicked and judgements were made.  (I'm not suggesting the boy was a psychopath, mind.  S just suddenly piped up, "What if you had a child and suddenly realised they were a psychopath?!" and we stared at each other in mute horror.)

To walk off our fullness, we headed to the Botanic Gardens and took a stroll in the drizzle, talking in English accents.

When I was a kid, the Botanic Gardens was one large, well-manicured path winding through swan lake and topiaries.  Over time, they've expanded and put in lots of sculptures and now it feels more like Central Park - quiet, slightly overgrown and full of mysterious crannies.  I loved the secret wooden walkways and plan to go back with a proper camera sometime soon.

It's back to work tomorrow, but I plan to fully enjoy the last cool hours of the evening - probably with some scented candles and writing.  I leave you with this picture of a bonzai, because nothing says Gong Xi Fa Cai like an elaborately stunted plant.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!