Another performance on its way!!!!

Wahahahahahahahaha, I shd be doing work now, but I can't help it, I must write to spread my joy! Am so happy - just got tickets (stall seats, middle portion) to "Macbeth"!! It's going to be staged here come end May at the SRT, so there, what a wonderful way to end a saturday nite! Looks like I've brought home a big arty bug from NY, just like I did when I returned from Canada, just that it was the musical bug then. Yippee! Think I got my sec 2 Shakespeare's Macbeth book tucked somewhere... it's time to dig it out, and who knows, I may just bring it along on that night. Ha!

Been up to?

Wasn't super uplifting, these past few days. Probably didn't feel good about being made to churn out an important (or at least I think it's important) report given a relatively short notice + not able to get it done by deadline, so wasn't in a super happy mood. Anyways, I'd somehow have to get it straightened by this weekend. Or I'm dead meat. History.

Lucky thing, my kiddo sessions were pretty decent. The rapport is now clearly there and the feeling's mutual. A wonderful distractor from the dark & pungent. Pray, and I'd work to my best ability to make the magic last. They may just turn out to be another '05 batch.

Yesterday was the promo ceremony. 2hrs in the crowd for that 5sec on stage. But it's recognition for the hard work done, so I'm thankful for the acknowledgement. And the nice thing is, the hand-shaker recognized moi, so that sweetened the deal. Rounded off the night with a late nite performance @ Esplanade - Deb Fung's 'Whoever You Are', a mini acoustic pop concert at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Hmmm.. it was so-so coz I expected better. Her lower and mid-range tones were strong and soothing. But her high notes were pretty disappointing... weak and, occasionally, even... screechy (sorry). Overall, I guess it was okay for a $27 ticket. Here's some pics of the aussie-chinese singer:


A poster @ Esplanade


At the start of the post-concert autograph session


In the middle of it


One final snap before I head for home...

A Promise

Half an hr and some brainless browsing of websites later, my tummy still felt tight and I still can't sleep. So, what did I do?

I went to read my own entry that was just published. And I nearly puked. I hereby decide... me, Sunnytears, will not write about anything remotely linked to the 4 letter F word (food lah, what are u thinking abt?) from this millisecond onwards. At least for the next 1 mth.

Now, don't smirk. That's going to take a herculean effort from a foodie like moi. But I'd try my best.

Say... Hmmmm...

If cannot tahan 1 mth... 1 week boleh?? =P

No More Food

I promise I won't be so greedy the next time. Arghhh... Burrpp..... Can't sleep coz I overate... Am still digesting the dinner that went down my oesophagus 4hrs ago. =( Can't sit. Can't stand. Can't watch tv... Miserable with a capital M. It wasn't oily food (it's healthy Jap cuisine! oh ok.. there were some tempura), and actually I didn't think I ate THAT much, so I don't know why I ended up in this pitiful 'can't-do-anything' state. Alrights, I won't go crazy @ sushi tei next time. =P

More about food - Yesterday, a gang of 6 trooped to Race Course Road for late afternoon 'tea'. Originally wanted to let Uncle Muthu earn more $$, but the service there was really "super". Obviously, they were not hard up for customers and they were not afraid to show it, so the principled ones amongst us decided to pat their butts and leave, pulling the rest of us along.

A few steps away was another decent-looking curry restaurant, and it was there that WY generously treated us to a whole spread of yummy indian dishes. There's garlic naan (of coz), tandoori promfet, fried cauliflower, potatoes with spices, fried chicken, rendang chicken, rendang mutton, curry brinjal, fish nuggets, keropok, masala tea, mango lassi, lime juice and more... and yes, just to confirm again, there's only 6 mouths to feed. And among the 6, there were 2 sick fellas (one with sore throat - that's moi, and another with a runny nose). Disciplined as I was, the sight and smell of those exotic dishes won. Forks down.

Just in case you are wondering if I have morphed into some lumpy, greasy, pinky, softie piggy... I'd say - "not yet"! The weekly shuttlecock-hitting sessions with my ex-canada travel mate, JM, are still on. At least until June, then he'd fly off again, this time for a long 5 yrs for his Perm Head Damage. Really... my friends... they are all Docs who Rocks. Me? I'd remain as an Hons who make others Yawn.

Goodnights.

Pondering on a friday night

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot... wannabe-copycat shooter in US, rival gangland shooting in Japan, chronic unrest in Iraq, equally chronic fighting in southern Thailand, nuclear tinkering in North Korea and more. News just showed (supposedly zen-ly) cambodian monks, robed in their traditional orange garb, engrossed in a fist fight just now. And a local 4-term MP's likely to be jailed for failing to declare shares in some businesses. It's not that I like to share sad stuff. It's just that modern day news just get more depressing by the minute.

The new catchphrase in vogue is TKCL - Trust, Knowledge, Connected, Life. This is our little red dot's enhanced "East+West Plus" formula for our citizens to survive the next decade. World.Singapore. Welcome to Singapore. Welcome to the World. Welcome to the Hubs-of-Everything. Stimulated yet? Or stressed?

Scary scary, time is brushing me by. Going to hit the big "3" soon. Better do something/anything before irreversibility sets in.

Hot & Bothered

Groggy-headed from an early night nap... body's feeling like it's a freshly baked muffin - warm & soft & nuah... brain's in a gooey mess. Nah, i'm not abt to fall sick (at least I don't think so). Just so very lethargic after the 1hr "power nap". Was feeling ultra tired just now, and i believe that if i haven't had the nap, i'd probably have fallen asleep standing at the door. =P

Had wanted to do some serious marking after the nap.. but it's really no go now. How does a muffin mark?? Guess I just have to work triply hard tomorrow morning then.

US is into more torpsy-turvy now. Weather's gone mad with strong winds, thunderstorms & lashing waves along coastal zones. Elsewhere in the country, the sky's pelting snow when ppl are supposed to be welcoming Spring. And the shooting just couple hrs ago @ Virginia Uni leaving 33 pax dead & 15 injured... Oh dear. Marly, looks like you've got to stay in with ur books & beer until someone/something restores some sanity in the land of rights & freedom. On a 360deg-abt-turn note, ST had a 2 pg writeup earlier today on wonderful makan places to check out in manhatten! If u can't access the online version, let me know. I'd type out the addresses that u can check out when the snow clears. There's pizza, burger, dessert places & more. Time to chuck that weighing scale.

Fish, maybe u can try writing to ST and get them to do a scope on Freibg too. Convince them to explore beyond those conventional bustling, landmark-y regions. This way, there'd be places for u to check out besides ur lab. =P

Am going to down some jugs of water to get rid of that inner heat. Then reunite with bed with a guilt-laden heart. Everyone take care.

Qing Ming

Little wonder why one of my dear pal's fav festival is Qing(1) Ming(2).

Today, went to pay respects to grandparents & ma. The car queue snaked for more than 500m from the entrance of Pek San Theng & Bright Hill Temple. Hundreds of ppl, young & old, carrying colorful bulky bags of paper money and heavy baskets of braised chicken and roast meats shuffled along, under the sweltering heat. Trudging across the muddy fields and then the cemented walkways, some groups were jovial while others were grim-faced. But once inside the compounds, everyone intently lit joss-sticks and spontaneously filled the whole hall with smoky incense. Sweaty faces and stinging eyes, the beads of perspiration mixed with rolling drops of salty tears. *blink blink*, *wipe wipe*, joss sticks raised high up in the air, heat-emitting bodies navigated within the crowd that snaked between rows of tables overflowing with rice, wine, candles, fruits and food offerings... it's one chaotic, humbling, family-bonding experience that I hope, many generations of descendents on, it'd still be faithfully practiced.

According to dad, already now (just one generation away), many things had changed. Last time, big extended families of easily 20 pax used to load onto lorries before dawn, lugging whole roast pigs plus other offerings, and make their way up hills to burial grounds. The youngest ones would always have the 'honour' of lugging the whole roast pig up the hill. which would then be shared between all after prayers were done with. It was always one big, noisy family affair - to teach the young to remember their ancestors, to "yin(2) shui(3) si(1) yuan(1)"...

Today, there were no pigs to share. Instead, our group of 9 pax went to Peach Garden @ Thomson. A great place for nice dim sum and zi(2) cha(4). A tad expensive. But worth it.

Till next year for the stinging eyes and smoky air again.

Life is like a box of choc

Woo hoo... Am back. Terribly fast, this rotation of Planet Earth. *Blink Blink*, it's sat nite liao... Let me try & recall what had happened this past week.

Had:

- caught parliamentary debates on tv & papers

- treated outdoorsy uncle-fren to german food

- played badminton with young bro-fren

- talked to seemingly preoccupied/troubled boss

- received disappointing news that an award didn't work out

- attended a dialogue session with VVVIP (and thank buddha, this time there's no boo boo. didn't answer any non-existent qns)

- did work (and more work)

- ate dim sum with pa

- went shopping @ vivo

Tomorrow, it'd be temple(s)-visiting. We are still in the Qing(1) Ming(1) period. Then house-cleaning, work and perhaps some sports with dad (if there's time and energy).

Saw this gigantic, life-size choc (REAL choc) of an LG phone (and u've guessed it, it's named 'Chocolate') @ vivo. The uncle next to it is real. He couldn't believe his eyes and stuck his nose against the choc to smell it, followed by an episode of finger-poking. Call it the invasion of the Chocolate Privacy.

Money No Enough?

The eagerly awaited (by both elites and heartlanders) salary revisions are finally unveiled today. I watched the news thrice (chinese version @ 9pm, english version @ 9.30pm, and the channelnewsasia version @ 10+pm) to cover as much ground as could be gleaned from TV, and well, though we do not belong to one of the schemes that lag significantly behind the private sector, there's still going to be some morsels of spoils for us to sweep and store. 3-5% increase in annual salaries, performance-based payment for us.

Up to 16% for those in Home Uniformed Services. Whew... I'd better not disclose here, the salaries of our top civil servants, lest the computer go ka-boom up in flames. But then again, there's this famous saying that goes - you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. (Then again, someone called TT D recently/not-so-recently changed the meaning of 'peanuts', didn't he?) Top money for the top brains, this is the argument. You should have watched the verbal sparring that was aired on tv, between Mr Hougang Minister and Dear Revered MM. The TV screen almost sizzled smoke and hung itself.

Tomorrow, the 2nd half of debates over salary revisions. I may just catch the 3 different versions again.

UPdates

Haven't updated in a while, but YIPPEE! A rather strenous week has just passed, and may I add, passed quite nicely too. =)

Had to take care of a visiting Aussie marine biologist-professor and oversee her accom/meals/transport/recreation/seminars @ institution; had to prepare for an afternoon sharing + walkaround session by a visiting team of educators from the East; had to ensure that an internal egg competition go fine... all within 4 days, and in the middle of all that, had to remain sane and alert to tackle the everyday issues + digest new tasks. Whoopee, all done. So, on thurs nite, after we sent the aussie prof back on her SQ flight, stayed back @ T2 to sip an aromatic cuppa hazelnut hot choc & lend a listening ear to the programme consultant who looked like she could use it. By the time I reached sweet home, it was past Cinderella's wishing hour. Tired...

And the next day (Good Friday!), dad, uncle & aunt (under my instigation) decided to take a day-trip to the Land of the Chicken Rice-Balls & Chendol (up north, 2+ hr drive away from 2nd Link, starts with an "M"). Big, bad jam on our way there, but was compensated by a lovely afternoon of shopping and eating and shopping and eating. Bought Aik Cheong kopi powder, clogs, homemade Lau(3) Poh(2) Bing(3) aka 'Wife's Biscuits', Tau(3) Sa(1) Pia(4) aka Bean-paste biscuits, and some more. Savored the infamous chic rice balls and of course, a very sumptuous spread of Nonya yummies such as Hee(1) Peow(1) Soup, Fried whole fish with sambal, Sambal kangkong, Sambal prawns, Fried beancurd braised with special nonya sauce, chendol and icy-cold sour prune drink! And each meal cost us under $40. Now tell me where you can find that in Sin. =)



The Nonya Spread


The Chinese Biscuits

Today, it's going to be baking day again. Someone ordered a full carrot cake, and another wanted 2 bottles of cherry rosettes. Am going to try out a new creation too - butter cookies with choc, cherries and oatmeal, later if there's time. Will upload pics later, together with pricing for those interested. =)

Will work only tomorrow. I deserve this break after the past week.

Gibberish doodle

Shd be sleeping by now. But just back half hr ago from sending an aussie prof to sheares hall. She's here to give a series of seminars to kiddos, and touched down earlier tonite. Brought her to Fong Seng for tissue prata and teh halia as welcome supper. She loved it.

But the weather's really hot and humid. The sky's choking back its tears I can see. But rain or not, s'poreans are out, Q-ing for their unhealthy late-nite snacks. Perhaps, it's because there's nothing else to do on tiny island on weekday nites?

It's the pulled tea @ work. My heart is racing when it shd be crawling to la la land. I'd go flip some mags after this doodle. In a weird way, at the very same time, I can't wait for yet I can't bear for thurs to come.