Hello again

I haven't blogged for so long, I almost forgot how. But then again, I have too many things to say and opinions to voice. It's terrible at times.

London's wonderful. I've been all over the city, visiting friends, going to museums and basically getting lost (which incidentally is the best way to see any city). London's great and is probably one city I can also live in. The city is beautiful with a mix of old architecture and new. It's relatively easy to navigate and in all honesty, I don't mind living here. But whether that is something I will do depends on a lot of factors...still, it is a great city with space for art and culture and the great thing is that it doesn't give me the same rushed vibe as Hong Kong or Japan...which stressed me out even though I am on holiday.

But Nush is lucky...she has a great place which is ridiculous close to anywhere and everywhere. She's five mins away from everything...cannot stand! I'll post pictures when i get back. Thus far, I've managed to catch up with most of the gang in London and even managed to swing by the London office...hahaha...

Things are good and it's nice just wandering around. Over the next few days, it's more catching up time with friends, going to the theatre (yes, I am gay that way) and then...shopping. Hopefully I don't kill myself with the shopping but it'll be fun. There are sales everywhere!

The downside of wandering about town by yourself is that it can get a little lonely with no one to share an opinion with. But other than that, it's been a facinating ride, with much to see and do. Who knows what the holiday will bring?

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Standing at the Changi Airport Terminal 3 to add this last post is not the most glamourous thing, but then again, it's probably the only thing I can do now (aside from poking people in Facebook).

My home PC has died the good death and I'm left with nothing but emptiness when I'm home on the weekends. Somehow I didn't realise how much I've come to rely on the damned thing. No, I don't have the insane urge to Twitter all the bloody tie but adding a nice post when the idea stikes me is fantastic...that or chatting with everyone in the world (well, my world).

We'll see. I'm off to London for a nice break from all the madness of the SE event and endless preparations over the last month. Then it's back to SG and time to contemplate getting a replacement for Vincent (yes, I name my gadgets, insanity has no bounds) . Watch of pictures! Hopefully Nush has a cable I can shanghai...mwahahhahaha...

Farewell for now.

All or nothing anything

Although not many people have seen this movie, Velvet Goldmine is one of my all time favorites and has a soundtrack to die for. Surprisingly enough, I caught this many years back at the Singapore International Film Festival. And if you know the story, the fact that it was passed almost entirely intact (and in Singapore) was amazing. Music-wise, you can't possibly go wrong with the likes of Grant Lee Buffalo, Bryan Ferry and Thom Yorke (Yes, I do make exceptions sometimes).

Back from the hols and feeling lots perkier. Bali is a gorgeous place but is probably not somewhere I'd want to retire in. Thailand still has that vote.

What was great about the holidays was keeping up with old friends and making new ones too. How knew that deep down we all share the same cam-whorishness?

Still, the trip was a good break for all and the photos, awesome!

I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad

What is it about relationships that is just so difficult?

Perhaps we're just a complicated species by nature. Perhaps we're just not that into each other or whatever, perhaps, we're all just kinda mad. Of the multitudes of relationships that I've heard of, come across and maybe even experienced, here are three main ones that I want to gripe about.

1. The traditional notion of a relationship: boy meets girl, falls in love and they get married and live happily ever after. Fairytale? Well, for some people, yes. This can happen but we all know that nothing is perfect. People work at relationships to make things good. But we are also aware of how the fairytale works out, don't we? There are the times of bliss and the times where you have to fight for the one you love and believe that you can make it. It's usually the people who don't believe in fighting who are the ones disappointed.
   
   
2. Then there is the one where the boy or sometimes girl, complicates things when there is simply nothing to complicate. While I have many examples, I will restrain myself to one. We have a man who is interested in two women, one where the woman was open to taking that step with him to pursue something new and another one where he was interested in the woman but is unsure about taking that step to take things further.The sad thing is, he is confused about who he wants and what he wants. I wonder in this case, will he ever make a decision? At the end of the day, one thing is clear. He is one confused man who has no idea what to make of things. Let me give you a tip. Nothing will happen if you don't take that first step. It's a leap of faith, ok? And yes, we get hurt sometimes, but nothing will happen if you don't try.
   
   
3. And then there is the one where the relationship simply exists online. Is this truly the evolution of the modern relationship? With so many social networks springing up online now, we've all heard of people or friends who meet online, eventually meet for real and marry or have concrete relationships but in all honesty, does this really work? How will you know whether to believe it if some guy online tells you that the loves you? Heck, he could say that to 10 other women. He could have women posting love notes on his Facebook page. Ha. Call me a cynic but I would much rather believe someone who tells me he loves me face to face over someone who only exists in an online relationship. I admit, it is sweet to have someone profess love but I don't believe you can truly know someone unless you meet them in person.
   
   Admittedly, it is much easier to meet people online than it is in person but still, technology takes away much of the essence of a person.
   

Recently I was speaking a friend who deems himself a non-stereotypical Arabic man. Haha...he has a point when he says that relationships can exist despite across different time zones. It set me thinking, can they really? How would you know or claim to know a person if you have never met them before? And yes, while you can cam and Skype, it's difficult to hug your cam in bed. Or better yet, have you cam hug you. While I don't detract I believe it's the human contact and intimacy that is truly missing in the

I know that it's not the easiest thing in the world (nothing is) but sometimes relationships that I observe makes me happy that I am single. Why go through all this hassle if it is going to be so difficult?

I believe that we go through the rollercoaster ride of relationships, to establish two things. One, that we are human and two, that no matter how rational we try to be, sometimes, it's the feelings and the sentiments that matter the most. Admittedly, I am an emotional person and one who is more suceptible to thinking with my heart but it has shown me a few things. That yes, I am alive and I am also willing to risk a little of my heart to get what I want, even though sometimes, it means getting hurt.I'd rather try than never do anything at all.

Changing of the guard

In less than 12 months, we've lost one beloved grandmother and two very close grandaunts in the family. While life continues its vicious cycle, I cannot help but feel a little numb. Maybe it's just me but I am sad that I will not be able to see or speak with Mama Koh again, no matter how cranky she is.

I just realized that there is no one to visit with at festivals, no one to nag me to get to church, no one to tell me that all men are evil (especially my father) and no one to snark with at gatherings anymore. And this realization...is heartbreaking.

A cantankerous old lady. she was 92 and the eldest of 10 sisters from a branch of the Cheok family tree. And one who ruled pretty much with an iron fist.The thing that we all remember most fondly about Mama Koh was the way she used to glare at us kids. She was one lady who could cow even the hardest hearted, all without uttering a sound. Crying babies and boisterous children always fell mute when Mama Beliak (Glaring Grandma) set her eyes on you.

Her outspokenness and sass was the one trait that we shared and that allowed us to talk freely about a number of things. She was the one person who talked me through some of the difficult times and although she didn't agree with some of my decisions, she gave me the space to sort them out. Well, she'd also nag me to death but as long as my ears didn't fall off, right?

Unlike most people who cannot get along or like their families, mine always had a sense of togetherness. Whether is the language or the culture or the wicked sense of humor, every single family member possessed her own special charm that made interacting with them special.

Mama Koh's passing over the weekend signals a major change.The sense of family and kinship which is so strong with the grandaunts around seems to be fading away with each of their passing. And although a good majority of us learnt the language, the cooking and are continuing the family traditions, it somehow feels different. Of course, we are very grateful that our parents and the rest of the family are still here to maintain status quo but the feeling that something is missing heightens, especially around the festivals. For who do you turn to to learn more about the vast family tree? Or a certain aspect of the culture?

It's the changing of the guard, I suppose that comes ever so once in a while. The family tree is not something for the faint-hearted. Alina tried her hand to draw just our branch and she ran out of paper, well paper plates. It seems that at every gathering and now even funerals that we encounter an aunt, uncle or cousin who has not seen us since we were knee high. It's challenging to remember so many people, especially since you see them only once a year.

But why so challenging, right? Here's the deal in a nutshell: Great grandpa married four wives who in turn had children. And since these were times that long surpassed us, each wife had A LOT of children. Imagine this, my branch of the family had 10 sisters...10. Explaining just this branch could take years because even I have not met every single one of them. Imagine doing the whole tree...good grief. But I digress...

I'm just feeling maudlin with so many of my grandaunts gone and no matter how much you prepare, deaths in the family are always a kick in the heart. Despite this, I feel that in sadness, you find the strength to appreciate those around you and love them more, no matter their faults. So here's to the changing of the guard, hopefully we know enough to maintain that family tree and are as memorable as those who have gone on to a better place.

Fool on a hill

Sometimes, you go to concerts to enjoy the music, the atmosphere, the sound... and sometimes you go to simply ROCK OUT! Or in the highly learned words of the Curse-dog, it is 'rock out with your balls out!' Which is exactly how me and almost 5,000 other concert go-ers did at Fort Canning hill on 7 April at the Kaiser Chiefs maiden performance in Singapore. Who could predict that they had more than three fans here? Ok ok, I will quit being snarky but that said. It was great...well, not as good as Coldplay who dropped by a few weeks ago, but still...

Bloody hot and humid weather notwithstanding, the crowd spent the night, singing off key with intermitted pogo-ing :o)



And to the powers-that-be...since Kaiser has such a huge fanbase here, how about bringing in Bloc Party, Interpol or even The Killers next? Please?

It's been a long time

Being on leave has its merits and on Friday, DL and I finally decided to take our craving for good paella to the next level. Hence we headed out to the Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant in Lorong Kilat.

For those who are directionally challenged (like moi), this quaint little restaurant is located in Jalan Jurong Kechil. This is in the Beauty World vicinity, off Bukit Timah. I'll post the address at the end of this post so you can check it out for yourself and please call to make reservations! The restaurant is especially busy on the weekends.

It has been many years since I've had good paella and DL and I have tried out a few places which were alright but not great. Until we heard abiout this little place. Firstly, we had no idea where it is all that we knew came from HungryGoWhere.com, then we had no idea exacly how far out this was. But at the end end of the day...it was worth it!

The service was warm and friendly, and even thought he restaurant was almost filled to capacity at 8pm, they still managed to get us some seats outside. Since it was a Spanish restaurant, we naturally had to order a Sangria. Our very friendly waitress (whose name I regret not asking) recommended the Sparkling Sangria, which is made with sparkling De Cava wine. Made with oranges, lemons, red and green apples, this is one heck of a refreshing drink. Especially after one hell of a painful workout. It had the right amount of zest and wine, making it a great companion to the food we later had.

First up, we had asparagus wrapped with bacon. This was alright. Nothing to crow about but the good thing was that the bacon was nice and crisp and the asparagus was not overdone.

And then came the Quijote Special Paella. Please note that it will take 20-30mins for the paella to be prepared, so you may need to sample some appetisers first. Or have the warm bread with herb butter...Yum! Done el dente with fresh mussles, clams, prawns, squid and chicken...Food orgasm! I thnk was groaning in despair when I was telling the owner about that particualr tidbit. The rice was fragrant and very well flavoured, the seafood fresh and succulent.

Every bite was really heaven...and then our intrpid waitress was like...would you like some chili with that? Let's just say that if you like it spicy, then the chili is a fantastic accompaniment to the paella. This is strictly not for pussies as the chili really gave the dish a good spicy kick. Hello tastebuds!

We were being a little greedy thereafter and also had the roasted beef. Done kebab style with thick cubes of meat, finely sliced chorizos, onions and capsicum, this is a meat lovers dream. The chorizos' natual saltiness gave teh meat an additional boost and it was just well seasoned without being overwelming. The only downside was that the meat was a little tough. The wedges were a real winner though - thickly cut and seasoned with sea salt. I was happily eating up the entire bunch :P

Sadly, by the time we had the beef, we had no more space for dessert! Dang it! But no worries, there is always the second visit, where I hear the squid ink pasta is waiting for me...along with another jug of sangria :o)

Overall rating: 4/5 for excellent food, great ambience and warm with plenty of smiles.

Don Quijote Spanish Rsetaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-09
Singapore 598139
Tel: 6465 1811