This is prison, yo!
30/11/2006
If you had any doubts Wentworth Miller could be funny in character, watch this. I love that scene.
And if you’ve noticed, I moved the comment box up in each post. Why? Cos this time, it actually works! It’s a neat little js call that enables the commenting, and the comments are hosted elsewhere. Pretty neat. Pretty ajax. Pretty damn cool.
I lopped my hair off. Took me something like 3 years to grow out, but I lopped it off.
I’d like to say something philosophical about it – like how it’s just hair, and it’s an exercise in not getting attached to things, because after all that’s life. You build and build, and then something comes crashing down and you’ve to start all over again. And so you need to train yourself to be resilient to change. To embrace it. To detach yourself from the material world. It’s just hair. I should feel confidently secure in the way I look. Long or short haired.
I wish it were that way.
I just cut it because I grew sick of keeping it long. I kept it long because I was too cheap to get it cut. And when I started to spend more money as it got longer than I would’ve keeping it short, it was time to get it lopped.
Of course I spent a whole lot of moola toying with it before finally snipping it off. But then again, I’m not exactly the disciplined investor.
But it was a good spiel, eh?
Shorten
29/11/2006
It’s already feeling like December, and I love that December feeling. December means so many things.
Holidays.
Presents.
Dad’s birthday.
Going out.
Cooler weather.
Seeing my friends.
No work.
Shopping.
Sales.
Buying stuff.
Eating.
Then more shopping.
Clearing up the backlog.
Throwing out the crap.
Then shop some more as a reward.
I love December. And I love that it feels like December already.
A memory to haunt my reverie
25/11/2006
Of all the things Neil Gaiman has written – and I’ve read many – Stardust ranks in my top 5. Ok maybe 3. I love it.
And now it’s a film!
The problem is I can’t remember much about the story anymore, besides the fact that it’s about a young boy’s quest for his love, and his growing up in the process. I’m going to have to read it again.
It’s a universal theme – that the journey is more valuable than the destination, though it doesn’t always seem that way.
I’m convinced Michael Scofield is an INTJ.
sugar loaf
25/11/2006
Found them Dryell Home Dry Cleaning Kits at the supermarket again. Along with the Scotch Brite toilet brush scubbers.
Ahhhhh… life in Singapore is now complete.
We went for a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator class thing today, and it was fun. I scored 0 in one of the personality preference I thought I would’ve been pretty moderate in, and I’m wondering if I’m trying to feel bad about it or if I genuinely do. Nevertheless. 0. Yikes?
I really could’ve used the MBTI stuff before the last couple of days, but then again, it probably wouldn’t guarantee any better behaviour from me. Apparently the likes of me always thinks I’m right.
There’s a good reason for that: most of the time I am.
Hubris. I’m so full of it.
Bad Moon Rising
21/11/2006
Everyone’s talking about the Peanut Butter manifesto. It’s so impressive, it’s all over internet news, and it’s now a manifesto.
I’ll accede to it’s status as a manifesto when it manifests itself before me.
Meanwhile it’s still stuck in my mind that Mr Peanut Butter, Sir and Richard Kind could have been twins separated at birth.
Auf Wiedersehnn Mein Freund
20/11/2006
I’d like to say I gave it a lot of thought before writing this entry. After all, it’s been a few days since Sharkie officially left the big purple Why.
But it doesn’t seem like she has. Maybe it hasn’t really hit me yet. I don’t know.
It’s unlike the other folks who’ve left, and there have been so many. She’s not relocating, she’s not someone whose association with me is purely through work – she’s not primarily my co-worker.
So when it came to the customary farewell gift, I was inappropriately non-fussed. But my masters in advanced shopping and other frivolous ways to spend money came in handy and we got her a digital photo frame. No applause, please!
But of course, everyone needs to put a full-stop at the end of a seven year long sentence, so they went all out with the goodbyes and farewells. And rightly so, she’s been a camper the whole time. So I’m sure there were toasts, speeches, hugs and kisses. I missed it. Call me a pragmatist, but I didn’t think the rest of the party shared my sentiment. And since misery loves company, I decided to stay away.
Instead, I’m happy that my friend has decided to move on. I’m happy that my friend is going to pursue other things in life that could possibly make her happy.
So instead of bemoaning the loss or the absence of someone I worked with, I choose to be happy as I usually am when my friends move onto different chapters of their lives, and figure out when we should hang out again for sashimi salad and salmon mentai or to check on the stock at warehouse and muji.
She’s lucky too, if she’d stayed longer she might have to eat the scones I made.
Scones!
20/11/2006
Found a great scone recipe. The great thing about scones is they’re simple, honest little morsels which don’t aspire to be cupcakes or muffins. They’re just honest scones.
I swopped out about 1/4 cup of all purpose flour with the wholemeal variety, and it turned out good too. Mostly because I like having little gritty bits to chew on.
Yay. That’ll fix breakfast for tomorrow.
seoul searching
12/11/2006
Our Seoul faves
- Ulji-ro Co-op Residence
So despite the crazy crowds and if you don’t really mind roughing it out a little – that means not expecting hotel quality service (little toilettries, a luxury room with a view, pretty cleaned up part of town, room service, the service staff to clean your room thoroughly every day) then something like the Co-op Residence do nicely. Hey, how can we argue with free high speed internet access and really smart storage devices? It’s got a great location – five minutes away from the Dongdaemun Stadium Interchange Station, five minutes away from malls like Doota and Miliore, seven minutes away from PyongHwa Market, and just upstairs from back alley local restaurants!Starts from $80 a night, coin-operated laundromat with dryer facilities in the basement. Detergent comes free, bring your own fabric softner if you need it.
- Deoksugunggil
The small alley between Deoksugung (the Palace right in front of City Hall and the Seoul Plaza Hotel) and the Dunkin Donuts hides an amazing calm in the middle of Seoul. It’s a pleasant walk through towards the Chongdong Theatre amidst maple and gingko trees, the side wall of Deoksugung, and the people going to Church.Past the Franciscan Library you’ll find a cute little restaurant called Little Provence. It’s not too bad, fusion Korean, like cutesy Japanese-French. Spaghetti carbonara costs $8 and Kimchi Pilaf (kinda like Kimchi Fried Rice), $9.
About 300m past Little Provence on the other side of the street you’ll find Gimbapgwamandusai, a quaint old-style Korean Restaurant where everything on the menu is between $2 and $5. Try the Gimbap, the mandu and the Kimchi mandu. They also make bibimbap if you need something ricey. It’s opposite a cafe, and they make Gimbap in the window.
- Bistro d°
Famed for brunch, this little bistro is actually a showroom for the special kimchi refridgerators. Amazing. Anyway, after Heesun brought us there for dinner we had to go back.Noteworthy is the dinner Prix Fixe ($38) – pre-appetisers, appetiser, main course and dessert. For the main course you have a choice of Sirloin or Tenderloin. The sirloin is especially good, it comes encrusted with peppercorns and is done just right.
I also had the Black Cod – really good. $18. Grilled black cod on a bed of veggies with a light herb cream sauce. Really good.
And the Fishermans’ Pasta – $34, serves 2 according to the menu, but this platter of seafood pasta was enough to feed four Asians, and the helping of seafood on it – mussels, clams, fish, prawns, lobster, scallop – was really generous. I’m a sucker for marinaras, so this was my favourite.
The pickled veggies were also really good appetisers.
Oh oh, check out neat food reviews (in English) of Korean Restaurants – Mary Eats.
All prices in USD. 1USD ~ 950 KRW. 1 SGD ~ 600 KRW
korea-ed over
12/11/2006
We’ve been busy little tourists in the last few days. We ran amok around Dongdaemun, went for the DMZ tour (with third tunnel sans Panmunjum, unfortunately), flew to Jeju, skulked around Jungmun resort, went down the coasts and had our All In experience, ate at a pier, climbed a hill not because we wanted to, and ate a lot.
Despite the severe language impediment (which only stopped us from ordering food properly) it was easy to get around, easy to find stuff, easy to make arrangements for everything. It was a breeze.
Jeju on the other hand, was not quite what I expected. The resorts in the drama series made it look like a) the island was just resorts and b) it was as modern as Seoul. Strangely Jeju was more countryside, more laid back, but just as expensive! Probably because of the hoards of tourists trying to relive various All In moments. It was an adventure though, since most people at the wet markets didn’t speak any English or Chinese, and we had to get ourselves around the island by car.
All in all (hehee) Korea was a wonderful experience. The city works efficiently, the Seoul fall foliage is stunning, and Jeju has some of the most spectacular natural spots. The weather was mostly pleasant, except for the really cold day at the DMZ where the mercury dipped to under 10° C. Kimchi might be a bit too much every day, but you can still find a good selection of international cuisine to tide you by. And in Jeju, you can just eat at the hotel.
That said, the city is expensive and meals in general would cost as much as a meal in the US. It was terribly hard to find $2-3 dishes, although we managed to find a spot or two through the Lonely Planet guide. Decent accomodation will cost minimally $70 a night in Seoul (the Co-op came up to just under $100 a night) and even then it’s not the best thing ever. The luxury hotels will cost you easily $200 a night and the regular 4 star one around $150.
Oh oh, check out neat food reviews (in English) of Korean Restaurants – Mary Eats.
All prices in USD. 1USD ~ 950 KRW. 1 SGD ~ 600 KRW
kimchi issoyo?
07/11/2006
I expected a really hard time getting around. I expected bad food. I expected the language impediment to be tough to surmount. I expected our travel companions to be dissatisfied with my choice of hotel. I expected to buy a lot of junk. I expected the men to be kinda ugly. I expected it to be warmer.
It would seem that I expected too much.
It’s been a fantastic four days in Seoul. The city is lovely – the autumn colours are fantastic, and their choice of trees that line the street are great – maple and gingko. Right now everything’s a lovely hue of yellow, light green, orange, brown and flaming red. It’s a beautiful city.
It’s been really easy to get around. Armed with the right map (subway map, and a general direction one rolled in one was a great investment – thank you Insight Guide) and a little EQ, getting around has been a snap. Even when people don’t understand you, there are loads of solutions around that. Transportation is relatively cheap – probably similar rates to Singapore, except in USD.
Food has also been good – besides being overloaded on kimchi and selling of garlic. It’s been the most tricky figuring out food – because some menus don’t have English on it. But most of the stores we’ve been to have pictures, and in the tourist districts they’ve pictures. At the very worst, the storekeepers will whip out their mandarin, and everything’s fine.
Besides being on the small side (it’s like someone’s room), the hotel has been great. Not in the best part of town, but it’s right next to the subway, near the Dongdaemun market, malls and loads of food. It’s not a five star hotel, though. They only give you one towel, they don’t exactly offer the frills like a mint on your pillow or free toilettries (besides soap), and it’s kinda small; the bathroom is a 1.5×1.5m cube. But if you can get past that, the upside is great location, a kitchenette with microwave, utensils and a fridge, a coin laundry downstairs, and a daily rate under US$100 a night, which is a steal in Seoul.
My total loot this time: munchies – not a lot, a scarf and 4 souvenirs from Doraesan Station at the DMZ. The rest was spent on visits, transport and food.
The guys are reasonably good looking though they’re mostly the younger ones.
Yesterday we went to Seoul Tower and it snowed. It was lovely. So today when we went to the DMZ tour we really bundled up and good thing we did. It was freezing. So the scarf came in really handy.
We managed to see a lot, experience a lot, and eat a ton. Hanging out with Heesun was great too, she brought us to places that would’ve been hard to get to on our own, so that was great.
Tomorrow we head over to Cheju. More from the volcanic island later!
