expensive pleasures

Meant To Be

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Do you believe in fate? That things are meant to be? Couple of weeks ago, I gave up my Coldplay ticket in Singapore to a friend. No fuss, I did want to go but he wanted it more for someone else and asked. I said ok and I was actually ok. Though I do like Coldplay and would have liked to go and see them. Fast forward to April 7, I arrive in Bangkok for a weekend getaway with a couple of friends and guess what I find out? Coldplay is playing in Bangkok on April 7! So I went, if we could find reasonable tickets, we’ll go and we did!

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After a crazy ordeal of collecting our tickets, which we weren’t sure were legit or not till we were seated in the stadium, and navigating to the venue on foot, we got there just in time for them to come on stage and start the show. I’m definitely a fan of the earlier albums, the first one in particular but it was still a very enjoyable show with the band coming across sincere and like they were genuinely having fun. More than that, I got to share the concert with one of my dearest mates who isn’t my typical concert buddy but I think that will change now. So do you believe that some things are just #meanttobe? I’m already sold on the concept … though a very logical part of me fights it a lot. Getting to watch Coldplay in Bangkok with Resh was just meant to be.

Honestly, I couldn’t imagine going through the ordeal of navigating traffic, taking trains when there’s no cabs, walking and walking and walking, waiting an hour for a cab that on the app said was only 9mins away with someone who wouldn’t call it quits and brought out the best in me despite the highly stressful situation. It open a side of each other we already knew but I guess with this experience solidified the fact that we do complement each other in the way lifetime friendships are built. That’s why I had to give up my Singapore ticket and come to Bangkok to watch Coldplay instead.

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In the greater scheme of things, there is a plan, reasons for why things happen or who comes into your life. Even the bad stuff, there is a reason. Someone out there makes it all happen, someone bigger, someone who knows more, someone who has a plan. My role is to surrender and trust. To be grateful. To keep an open mind. I don’t have to understand when it happens but it’ll eventually be made clear. Like with the Coldplay concert, I get why I had to give up my Singapore ticket so easily. I was meant to go, just in a different city with a different friend 🙂 And possibly start a new tradition!

Here’s to things that are meant to be! Just let go and trust is my theme for the week.

 

The Art of Being an Adult Child

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This weekly post is a day late because I’m sitting in the Bali airport waiting for my flight to go back home to Singapore. It was the first solo weekend getaway with my Mum, it was also her first time to Bali. And it was a success, imho 🙂

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I’ve managed to make my Mum fall in love with Bali as much as I do. Honestly, before I wasn’t sure because there’s certain things my Mum doesn’t like … messy developing states and humid weather, just to name a couple but she does LIKE Bali, its massages and chilling by the villa!! That’s what I like being an adult child, being the one who opens our parents mind to something different, something new, something they would never do on their own. They did it for us while we were growing up and now as they are learning to get use to the next phase of their life -their silver years. They have to get use to us, the adult child being the ones who do the parenting.

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It’s so easy to see the stuff our parents do that drive us crazy, you know the stuff we complain about and eventually become 😉 Yah, those parts. For better or worse, I’m grateful I like my parents and if I’m eventually going to be like them, it isn’t going to be that bad. For me at least, not sure about my husband 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t perfect … far from it but they’ve who I got and they made me. You’ve heard the saying, ” Karma’s a bitch.” I’m my parents karma despite their pretty easy going ways raising me, I’m not an easy going adult child. I’m not quite sure why, I’m just not. I yell, I’m bossy and I’m controlling as hell but I’m learning trying to figure out life, being an adult, being me and when it comes to my parents, being an adult child.

I read a good advice somewhere once about how to be a good parent. It was simple. Just show up, be present and be there. It’s true, it really is quite that simple. You can’t always be there, can’t always be present and other times you simply can’t show up. Things happen, they do but you try your darn-est. Kids will get it. Me and my sister do.

So that’s what I’m learning about being an adult child, just try my best to show up, be present and be there. Next, to show up and be present while trying to open my parents’ mind to Google Drive and Dropbox 🙂

Happiness

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I started watching this video with curiosity, wondering what an effective actor like Philip Seymour Hoffman could share about happiness.  I finished it with a heavy heart albeit hopeful that his seemingly honest take on happiness juxtaposed with the way he passed, will be a simple reminder that we are all pretty much the same.

I would definitely say pleasure’s not happiness … There is no pleasure that I haven’t actually made myself sick on – Philip Seymour Hoffman

Happiness eludes us all and it’s so easy to confuse pleasure with happiness.  Happens to the best of us and the worse of us.  We just have to find our own way.  With me, happiness is being honest with myself and ok with who I am and what I do.  It’s one of the hardest thing I’ve had to learn and am still learning to do.  I wonder if we had a class in being honest with yourself, would that make life easier?  Can you teach life skill in school?

‘Tis the Season

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The Christmas decorations are out and everywhere I go carols are playing 🙂  I love Christmas, not only because as a Catholic it’s an important religious holiday but because Christmas has become synonymous with the spirit of giving and love.  Everyone feels a little kinder around this time of the year.  Maybe it’s all in my head but I’ll take what I get, enjoy it all before this year is over and 2014 beckons :p

I chanced upon this ad which is about a friendship between hare and a bear at Christmas.  In reality, the bear may have had the hare for brunch but it’s the Christmas season!!

It may be make believe but I love how the imagination of creators bring to life situations that make me feel all warm and fuzzy.  I especially love how old technology and new technology is used to make this ad possible.  With computer graphics making everything possible, we sometimes forget how an old school ‘handmade’ background enables a tactile feel to the look.  It’s such subtleties that draws me in and see more than just an ad.

May this Christmas season be filled with everything you imagine made possible!!

Uu

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If you along Orchard Road and a little bored with the usual shopping, drop by Scotts Square and check out an exhibition by Kinetic Singapore.  It’s also a pop up store of sorts to get a miniature replica of yourself done.

3D scanning is all the rage nowadays but few have the ability to deliver the quality that I saw at the exhibition.  Ok ok ok, I may be a little bias because the organisers are dear friends.  That said, go check it out for yourself and I’m happy to be corrected.  Though my hunch is that you’ll agree that the likeness is better than most 3D scanners out there.

So it’s no surprise, my besties and I had a blast inspecting the miniatures, especially the Lims, which were my favourite.  I was so very tempted to get one of myself.  I can just imagine displaying mini me with my Ultimate Bumblebee.  In in the meantime, here’s my favourite picture from the day, regular us while we contemplate about getting mini us.

Part 2 of the Honeymoon

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Our first full day in Banff is day 6, we took it easy.  Enjoyed our egg free muffins for breakfast and I’m loving this B&B route we decided on.  Then we walked into the town, had lunch and went to the museum.

Found out how the town of Banff was founded and how the love for skiing and mountaineering in Canada started.  I particularly love the photo in the bottom left hand corner which are hand made goggles from the late 19th century to face the ice storms in winter.

Day 7 was another road trip in itself.  We were going to see the icefields that were a two and a half hour drive away from Banff.  It started with my favourite muffins of the week, Cherry Vanilla Crumble Muffins.  Then we saw an elk and a Mama bear and her two cubs on the way!!

Again the views were stunning.  There is something about water that immediately calms me and something about mountains that humble me.  I was often speechless, which is rare for me :p  When I finally got to the glacier, I was as excitable as a kid in a candy store.

Being on top of a glacier that feeds into three ocean was quite the thrill for me.  I even managed to have a sip of glacier water.  It was icy cold and extremely fresh.  It was a lovely summer day and in my mind, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like during winter O_o

By the time we came down from the glacier, it was dinner time.  The sun was still out but our tummies were ready for dinner and guess what we had.  Chinese food!!  Yep, in the middle of Canada by the Rockies, we had pretty good Chinese vegetarian food.  Can’t wait to bring my parents and my sister there now 🙂

Day 8 saw us being in total tourist mode and getting on the Banff gondola.  The queue going up was long but not as long as the line up coming down!!  You’d think it’s a ride at Disneyland.  All in all, it was worth it 🙂  You can see the whole town of Banff from Mount Sulphur, they did a good job with the board walks and making it friendly for all ages.  Again another spot to bring my parents and my sister!!

Day 9 was a long day for us.  It started with a pretty hike by Johnston Creek.  Again it was friendly for all ages so it was crowded because it was a lovely summer day to be out and about.  We took out time and enjoyed the sights and little chipmunks aka pikas along the way.  They were chubby little things because everyone was feeding them.

Then it was off to Lake Moraine.  A beautiful turquoise lake nestled in the Rockies.

We took a lovely hike along the lake and stumbled on a trail that needed 4 or more people to do.  Yes, apparently bears and cougars are less likely to attack if you’re part of a bigger group and noisy.  After Lake Moraine, we moved on to Lake Louise.

Less turquoise than Lake Moraine because of the rock flour.  So Lake Louise is more green.  Then we headed back to Banff.  In time for jaunt to the place where we met some 12 years ago 🙂

It was 2001 and during the Banff TV Festival, we met in one of the rooms of the convention center.  So it was nostalgic for the both of us to walk through the hallways and the bus stop where we had a brief conversation that is clear in both our memories.  A wonderful wrap to a beautiful day 🙂 and part 2 of the post.

Bali Blues

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Last week this time, I was just back from Bali and thriving on a Bali high but it’s been a week since I got home from a very relaxing time with possibly the best bunch of people to go away with.  So the Bali blues are setting in and this post is me taking a stroll down memory lane and reliving the 5 days in Bali.

Some of us got there by budget and others got upgraded to business.  Either way we took off from rain in Singapore to sunny skies in Bali and landed pretty much at the same time.  First life lesson from the trip, it really doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you get there 🙂  As usual the drive to Seminyak, which actually isn’t far from the Denpasar airport, took about an hour … I promptly fell asleep for a nap and woke up to our lovely villa.

This was home for 5 days in Bali.  It was a large enough pool with just enough space for 4 people to lounge around.  It was a lovely spot hang out, do a little work, get in some skipping, talk, hang out some more, swim and basically just chill.  It was close to the main road but secluded enough to be quiet.  It isn’t very known yet so taxis may have a hard time looking for it.  Yet with all things in Bali, the minute you step out of your pretty villa, it’s messy everywhere.

This is what we have to walk through to get to the main road, which is maybe 2 minutes away.  This is the part about Bali that puts people off but for me, it is strangely intriguing.  I can’t quite explain it.  Something about chaos makes me wonder about people and their possible stories.  How people live through chaos?  Settle into living through mess?  I guess the luxury of growing up with needs met gives you coloured glasses to look through.  Makes me grateful for my first world problems I face, like the water pressure in the villa being weak to say the least :p

Water pressure aside, the beautiful villa is a bonus and I have nothing to complain about but it’s always the company that makes the difference in any experience.  With friendships, I’ve been really blessed with people who make simple dinners to beach holidays so much more wonderful.

Even better, I had a circle of friends collision 🙂  As the stars aligned, my other friend, Mia who lives in Melbourne was in Bali for a wedding and we all caught up for dinner.  Crazy people gathered around a table is formula for nonsense conversations and a fun night, which is exactly what it was.

Needless to say, I had a great time in Bali.  We even ventured out of Seminyak, which is rare for us and caught a sunset by Jimbaran.

Pretty, isn’t it?  That’s the only reason why I’ll go to Jimbaran.  Other than that, the seafood restaurants along the coast are all tourist traps and I’ve had better food elsewhere in Bali.   Suffice to say, I had a good time in Bali.  We stayed for 5 days this time and a little longer than our usual and I’ve realised I can stay a week in Bali.  5 days was a great length of time though.  Enough time to settle in, do the usual and try something new.  Like this:-

Yep, don’t mess with me 🙂  I can pull out the Street Fighter move when I want to.  Ok ok ok I’m not that delusional, the impressive one is Zack who is doing the jump and Resh who is taking the photo.  I just got into pose … that took work too :p

I’m already planning for the next Bali getaway.  I can’t wait.

Skirt W Singapore

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Ok, you have to be wondering, how can a vegetarian who borders on being vegan review a steak restaurant like Skirt?  I can and that’s because they are veggie friendly too.  It’s been a while since I wrote about eating out … actually it’s been a while since I wrote much :p  Here’s me catching up.

We were there to celebrate the anniversary of my cousin who is a HUGE meat eater and that’s why my sister, another carnivore in the family recommended the place.  She’s in love with the Skirt steak and apparently, my cousins reckon it is really good too.  I had the gnocchi with truffle.  It is YUMS!!  It would be nice if they had more than just one vegetarian option but I really can’t complain with a steak place.  With most other steak places, I’d have to eat a weak salad and they’d look at me weird.

The service was helpful and not overly friendly.  At about $100 a head, it’s a fine dining sort of place that is also casual enough not feel like the Queen of England is in the house.  So I would recommend it to all my meat eating friends and family.

For all my vegetarian friends and family, the gnocchi and truffle is better than I’ve had in most places and when I told them I’m vegetarian, they were helpful to accomodate.  You can’t ask more out of a steak place!!  The chef even came to join us for a picture.  Yes, that’s who’s next to me and not that my husband shrunk and gained weight 😉

W Sentosa Cove, Singapore

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The W opens its doors on our shore.  I’ve only been to the W in Bali and heard about the other Ws elsewhere.  So I’m no expert when it comes to W hotels but I enjoyed the chance to check the one in Singapore out.

I’m pretty much a simple girl with simple enough needs so in my humble opinion, the W in Singapore is a tad over designed.  There are a couple of cute quirks but I can’t find myself paying the rack rate for a staycation.  If you can, it’s a lovely spot to pretend you’ve left Singapore.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s the company that makes or breaks a place.  The W was extra special for me because of the company 🙂

 

Wake Boarding Update

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It’s been like 5 months since I started wake boarding.  I don’t go as often as I would like but often enough to gain confidence and to start edging, which is something you have to do if you want to learn to jump.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever try jumping but I have to say I’m incredibly inspired by my sister to 🙂

That’s a jump over 2 wakes!!!  I don’t even know if I’ll hop over one.  I may.  We’ll see.  Meanwhile, if I keep going out with them, and maybe just maybe one day I’ll get fearless enough to try and jump.

For now, I’m just edging.

The thing I love about these videos is watching how we fall.  It is kinda hilarious.  The fact after though.  Not so during but it’s nice to get out on the water, feel the breeze in your hair and kinda walk on water 🙂