What kind of friend?

There's this article in today's papers that talked about friendship.

Said there are 3 kinds of friendship: (1) friendship based on utility - where we love people because they are useful, (2) friendship based on pleasure - where we love those whose company is pleasant, and (3) perfect friendship - where we love people for themselves, because we perceive them to be good.

In the words of Greek philosopher Aristotle: "Most differences arise between friends when they are not friends in the spirit in which they think they are."

Do you know your work friends from your nice friends from your good friends?

Cow

Woo hoo... the Biggest Boss will be happy. I earned my every cent of pay these few days.

Spent 8 solid hrs yesterday (SUNDAY) alternating between kiddos' write-ups and computer screen, typing in feedback, dreaming up questions and trying to help them with one last shove as they jog towards their presentation date.

Today, spent 10 full hrs (already minus-ed lunch & toilet breaks) cooped up in room with another 4 adult souls, poring through a 100pg IT document, clarifying steps and sequences. Left institution at 10pm. Then came home and did more work.

Inefficient? Nope. Can't think of a 'smarter/faster yet equally meaningful' way to tackle those tedious work.

Mad? Maybe. But for a greater cause..

If only the beneficiaries will realise and appreciate, and turn out right. Then all will be more than worth it.

Annual

Dinner 2007... Eat, Drink & Be Merry?


Fellow comrades


Me & HL

I remember the earlier dinners..

There was once @ Sentosa when a big group of us came all dressed up... really dressed up. Decked in costumes, wigs, props and all. Was a really fun, wild time.

Another time @ Oriental, a more subdued affair. Prim & proper.

Another time @ Equinox. Ppl came nicely dressed, elegant gowns & smart shirts. Guess at a dizzying height of 72nd floor, one just gotta look good.

This time, @ Traders. And I'd leave it at that. Don't be mistaken, I hv nothing against the place.

Writing and Reading

Think I'd soon be able to write in here more regularly. End of term is always crazy - with so many loose administrative ends to tie up, and instructions to dish out before the kiddos disappear and lose themselves over the next 2mths.

From next week though, the seas should become calmer. A few ripples here and there, but no big tsunamis I hope. Let the dust settle and the mind clear. Before the next big battle starts.

People are moving on. Or thinking of moving on. Life on earth is (rightly so) in a constant flux. One day, we'd all meet again (?). I'd like to introduce a book here - Paulo Coelho's 'Like the flowing river'. A collection of reflections and short stories, covering tales of living and dying, of destiny and choice, of love lost and found. Sometimes humourous, sometimes serious, but always profound, it explores what it means to be truly alive. A dear buddy had it sent over, and it has been my bedtime 'must-read' for a few days now (a couple of pages/short stories each time). Very light, easy to read and sprinkled with many back-to-the-basic, inspiring reminders... i'm really tempted to whip out my highlighter and make some notes. =P Do pick it up and flip thru' the pages should you come across it in the stores, and see if it speaks to you as it did to me.

2 things

2 things:

1) Yippee! =) V happy. You may think it silly, but I'm really glad that I'd finally be meeting up with my lab partner after these long 5+yrs (not counting the moments when he appeared at ma's wake...) Am really looking forward to catching up and hearing him talk about what had gone on in his life these yrs. Won't bet on him blabbering on and on since he's not the talkative sort (unlike moi). I'd probably be the one yakking away.. but then again, maybe I won't. I dunno. I wonder how much our lives have diverged (not that they have been much converged before). In a way, we were each other's guardian angels during that intense 6mth period holed up in sanitized lab. I know then that I can always call on him to appear should I get into trouble. Hopefully that still holds true today, and will remain so for many more yrs to come (hmmm, but then again, who am I to ask of that?). Anyways... don't think so much, just chill! It'd be good. =)

2) I realised (once again) that having a good voice quality can be a real lady killer trait. Just a few mins ago, some Prudential agent called, and although I rejected him (his offers to introduce some financial plans) in 10 secs flat, I found his voice mesmerizing. Otherwise, I would have given him just 5 secs. =) Morale of the story, if you have got a good voice, be a telemarketer/dee-jay/helpline staff and bring some cheer to the other party @ the end of the line.

Goodnights.

Coming to the end

The big event came and went. Would have been better if the emcee's more prepared + etc etc. Nonetheless, it's over... and we'd be buying the team a nice dinner to thank them all for their hard work these 3mths. Peranakan.. or Arabic.. or Mediterranean perhaps. Halal is the word.

One more week of formal lessons and that's it for Yr 2007. Next comes the onslaught of meetings of all sizes and shapes. "Where are you planning to go this Dec hols?" they ask. Dunno dunno dunno... Can't believe it's been a yr since New York getaway. It's so fast, it's gross. No big trips to exotic faraway lands this time (I'd save that for next yr perhaps). Maybe some roughing it out in developing SEA countries... we'd see.

Made an after-dinner visit to Corduroy Cafe @ Vivo yesterday. Said to be a 'french style patisserie that whips up sinful desserts, delicious hot chocolates and stellar coffees'. The desserts were indeed yummy - I had a zangy lemon tart-in-a-cup. But the milk infusion drinks were a real let down... dilute and not quite worthy of mention. Some mojito milk infusion even tasted like colgate mixed with marigold milk. =P The ambience was nice though, elegant and contemplative, with clocks of various countries hanging on one side of the wall and a wide display of magazines (including National Geographic) and international newspapers (USA Times, The International Herald etc) for browsing. Can check it out, but skip the milk drinks.


Lemon Tart


Some chocolate-in-chocolate dessert


Seating area - mix of plush armchairs & proper wooden chairs


Central pillar with (tasteful) pictures of various patterns/nature of kisses & the international papers hanging below

If you are happy and you know it...

One must know one's strengths and weaknesses, then capitalize on the former and draw attention away from the latter. Of course, the shang(4) jin(4)-ness in all of us says that we must first attempt to overcome our weak areas and further strengthen the strong ones, but if the effort proves futile / un-appreciated / agonzingly tedious, then one should not feel guilty reverting to the 'capitalize + draw attention away 'strategy.

Someone once said "Happiness at work is when your skills, interests, knowledge and beliefs are all aligned". Are you happy?

Timbre @ The Arts House

The first one's at Armenian Street, near Fort Canning. This is an expansion act. Nice location, facing Singapore River and Sir Stamford Raffles, tucked at one cosy corner of the Old Parliament House. It's got a kinda artsy, laidback feel, just like its Armenian counterpart.


Timbre @ The Arts House on a Sat nite


Homegrown bands


The 20+ to 30+yrs-ish audience

Sadly, it was a case of beautiful ambience and great live band jamming marred by bad service...

First, the service staff could not agree on what the kitchen had run out of (someone said everything's out except for salads and fried finger food, then half an hr later, a freshly toasted pizza appeared on our neighbour's table). Second, there was this ultimate champion waitress who'd demand for your credit card, with outstretched hands, to either 'close' or 'open' ur bill, 1 sec after your food arrived, with no explanation of rationale and a stoned cold look on her face. One poor foreigner who questioned further had his bill whisked right off his lap as he gingerly reached for his wallet, while still puzzling over why his credit card was demanded. Third, our request for bill took 40min to arrive, despite requests being made to 3 different service staff. Fourth, the drinks (magaritas & cocktails) were really bland. Fifth, customers are entitled to just one round of iced water throughout their patronage, strictly no refills.

Overall - nice ambience, nice music, but poor poor poor service. If you had to go there, it better be because you wanted to support homegrown bands. Skip the food. Get beer instead. Place ur credit card on the table for them to close/open/whatever the bill. Request for the bill 1hr in advance. Be mentally prepared, and it shall be a great night.

Eat, Drink & Be Merry...

Haven't written for long, because by the time I reached home (whether early or late), I'd have been so zombie-fied that all I want to/can do is to squeeze myself into a snug corner of the comfy sofa & stone, or unpack myself onto soft bed and zoom straight to la-la land. Perhaps, it's been too long since my last lesson with the kiddos, and I've forgotten just how energetic they can get. =P Or perhaps, it's all that preparations for this upcoming BIG event in institution. *good luck to us*

Anyways, managed to chill out at 2 new places recently - Ice Cold Beer (@ Emerald Hill area) and Brauhaus (@ United Square). [Fish, don't scold - I really only imbibe a small bottle, and will burn off all the unhealthy alcohol this long hari raya weekend]

Ice Cold Beer was only so-so. Noisy with lots of foreign expats. A bit too 'artificial' for me. Remembered wondering if it would end up being the target for some T-attack. The beer list wasn't super extensive either, so I guess unless you are near Centrepoint and want to try out places other than Alley Bar etc, it may be an option.


The 3 beers we tried

Brauhaus was great. Now, this is where you get a mind-blowing, eye-boggling beer list that stretched for 2 A5 pages, listed in alphabetical order, according to country's origin. Solid. I haven't seen up to 99% of them offered elsewhere. The food range, though comparatively less exhaustive, is still satisfying. Food was good - especially the sausages!! Juicy, bouncy, flavorful, very yummy! The pork knuckles though, can do better as the sides were a little tough. But the skin was crackling crisp, so that helped made up. Atmosphere at Brauhaus was cosy and rowdy in a safe sense, with live 80's music belted out by two 50+yrs matured men. =) A mix of expats, young working adults, and families patronize the restaurant-pub. Nice.


My 5% alc content Frankiszaner Dunkel


Half-eaten yummy sausages


Half a pork knuckle - enough to share

Ok, today will be a "go easy on the liver and stomach" day. I'd do my exercise and hopefully get some tan back again. You take care, and if in the mood for some german fare, can check out Brauhaus, or Baden (@ Holland V) or Brotzeit (@ Vivo City). All's good.

Where to?

A lazy sunday, that's what it is.

Within 4hrs, the sky screamed thunder and poured twice (big-time), but now the sun is beaming like nobody's business... Weirdo. Confused by the ding-dong, I decided to zzzz.. in preparation for the busy busy day tomorw.

My eyeball looks cool now. Back to its normal, even surface. No foreign sticky jello. Not decorated with burst red vessels. No more itch, nor tearing. All's well. Thanks for concern.

Today, the Sunday Times featured Chiang Mai as a destination for short getaways. Included bits on whitewater rafting, mountain biking, bamboo rafting, All Terrain Vehicle tours too. So, adventure junkies may want to check it out.

Eye Problem

And this is worse than the mushrooms-on-the-face (aka pimples).

Today, a blob of 'jelly' appeared on the surface of my right eye, and my vision was obstructed by abt 5-10%, esp at the lower right eye corner.

Was super focusedly marking the end-of-yr papers, when increasingly, there was this irritaing sensation in the eye, like an eyelash caught within the lens. So did the next natural thing - which is to rub and then try and blink out that irritant. When that didn't work, had to grudgingly walk to the loo and remove the lens and give it a thorough wash. No eyelash. No nothing. Repeated this on another 2 more trips to the loo within the next 15min. By then, the right eye was already red and tearing.

As I checked the loo mirror for one last time, *gasp* noticed a blob of bubble-like, viscous, translucent jello protruding out from the lower right eye surface. Got a shock! My lower right eye looked kinda deformed! No joke... was shocked. Initially thought the lens had broken, and that was part of the wreckage. But realised that gluey mess stayed there, sticky to touch, very much like the eye's inner viscous fluid. Gross....

Decided vision is more important than anything else, so asked for permission to leave the institution for home, to change outta lens, and see if I needed to check myself into emergency. =P In the taxi, the brain was whirling away - To go to polyclinic to get referral first, then to specialist? To check into hospital first then inform aunty (since dad's away in msia)? To claim from which and which insurance? To sms ppl to ferry over the remaining 10 stacks of marking? to... blah blah blah..

Lucky thing, the doc @ the GP near my block said it was no permanent damage. He said the blob of jello was quite big & visible, but is likely only due to either an infection or an allergy, and then launched into a 5min long lecture abt how one shd always clean one's hands before touching one's eyes... Gave me 2 days MC and a bottle of potent medicated eye drops that will soothe the inflammed conjunctiva. Said if the blob doesn't subside by Sat, to see him again.

I mean, I like this doc. Very steady, very reassuring, very intelligent-looking and sounding. But I'm glad that the eye drops are working. At least, the jello has somehow started fading back into the eyeball.. and the itch + pain is very much reduced.

Have I been a dirty fella, rubbing dirty hands into eyes?! Hmmm...

Anyways, I'd take the day off tomorw.. and if the eye can take it, I'd continue with the super focused marking.

You take care of your eye(s) too.

Give me mushrooms anytime.

Night Speak

And the pimples surfaced like mushrooms after rain.. It's not time for the hormones to wreck havoc, so why the invasion of the painful, ugly pimplys?? Arghh.. Going to splat generous blobs of Oil of Ulan on those molehills now.

Talking about mushrooms, I did a quick stir-fry of instant pasta this evening - mushroom + herb flavored, with fresh, sliced leg ham & diced shitake mushrooms thrown in. Didn't turn out too bad at all. But the accompanying Murphy's Irish Stout (bought from duty free 4mths ago) was flat and disappointing. Like drinking black, foamy, bitter, chilled water. =P

2 days since return to institution. It's been 7.30am to 6pm. Longer days, but somehow didn't managed to accomplish as much, in terms of actual quantity (and quality??) of work done. I wonder if it's due to all those distractions from the current divergence between different camps. The cracks are really beginning to show...