The comeback post

So I had this grand entrance planned after I temporarily dropped off the face of the blogosphere, but I've been so drugged up lately I honestly can't remember what it was. It was going to be good though, that much I know.. *sigh*

Anyways after 5 days of lying in bed doing absolutely nothing with minimal brain function (yes admittedly, not very different from the usual), an H1N1 scare, endless pills and some lethal cough meds, and no physical energy due to the darn flu bug, I'm slowly making my way back to normalcy. Still tired with the 'seksy' voice back for a few days, but on the road to recovery :) I can't remember ever sleeping so much in my life; I did when I was 6 months old apparently, but like I said, no recollection.

I actually missed being at work (please note this is different from 'missed working'), and blogging, and meeting my buds, and riding the bus to go places, and eating normally. I swear I can't look at another can of Campbell without a severe gag reflex..

Now onto the interesting stuff.. Ti-O-Maaaaan! 3 days of utter bliss and the gorgeous blue ocean. Sun, sand and snorkelling with Sid and the beachy weekend getaway I've been aching for. For a trip that came together in the space of 3 hours, 3 days before the holiday, I think it was beyond amazingly great- and riddled with the usual insanity in the form of the Chinese chick at immigration, the inescapable chipmunks who showed up everywhere, Sid-sensitive bats in coconut trees, the bus that literally rocked and swayed, the fan and air con orchestra, the delayed ferry and the missing couple who turned the 5 hour return journey into a 9 hour endless stretch of road! There was also the crazy 2.5 hour trek up a mountain across the island, which had me convinced I'd die of a heart attack before I reached the top, the butterflies that kept us company due to our 'aroma', the discovery of Juara and the harried 4WD ride back before the snorkelling trip, and the leaky mask saga :D

And the food~! Gosh we went all out, in spite of budgets and cash exchanges. Lunch on the first day had us hitch a ride on the Berjaya tour bus to a random Malay restaurant for two helpings of the best fried rice ever, and Sid caved in for an omelette after :D Trekked back and got picked up on the way by the same guy haha. Dinner was an overpriced affair due to the indian hooligans across the street, but beers by the beach, a nice long conversation and the monkey tied to its own neck made up for the food- though the buttered squid was pretty good. Then came breakfast- picture two girls eating enough for five people, within the space of an hour :D You gotta love the continental spread- and we even packed a muffin! Lunch was at Juara, which took forever and disappeared in 5 minutes~! And the meal of the trip- dinner that night. Back to the malay place at the top of the road- and Chelsea happened to be playing Liverpool haha (There's just something about football matches whenever I head to Malaysia!) 3 hours later we staggered out, after consuming BBQ prawns, cuttlefish, pattaya fried rice, an entire foot long fish cooked in three different types of sauce, drinks and two cups of amazing tea... Yup, we showed them all right :D And yeah, we hit breakfast the next morning with renewed passion!

Best moments of the trip: Lying on the beach that night, listening to the waves and looking at the stars with our feet in the sand and trying to keep Sid awake by talking, snorkelling at Coral island and Renggiss and seeing the barracudas, sea urchins and sting ray, and those huge deep sea coral formations, the boat rides out and in, reaching the top of the mountain and gaping at the blend of sea and sky in the horizon, walking on the beach early morning and watching the sun come up and tide rise, and just hanging out in the water all day..  We need to do this all over again one day, soon :)

Then we came home and got sick the next day :p Sadness, because Chica's gone. I missed her last day, and I miss her craziness everyday :( But I'll see her soon, and she was the second person I called when I got the news~! Speaking of, things finally pulled through and happiness rained down in torrents, together with the tears and hugs and whoops of joy :D It's exciting and scary and daunting all rolled into one, standing on the brink of a whole new adventure.. but I'll save all this for another post :)

Winding down

April's literally flown by! May get's here tomorrow, and I'm off again~! A long weekend was too good to pass up for some serious beach time :D Can't wait to hit the clear blue water.

This week's been a mini food rampage- an Ikea dinner on Monday, a Brewerkz dinner and drinks on Wednesday, a Turkish lunch and Bakerzin sandwich splurge on Thursday. Whew! And we topped that up with another cinnamon melt.. Gawd. And I still haven't quite recovered from the weekend's cuisinistic escapades. You can never have too much cinnamon though.. or chocolate.. or coffee.. :D

Birthday madness, and the scavenger hunt around the office. I've never clocked in so early before :p Happy 24th QJ! That ridiculous looking bird tops the list of 'best gifts ever', if I do say so myself  :D And the redhead cactus comes in a close second haha.

Now for the sadness- chica's gone next Wednesday. I'm ecstatic for her, but I'm going to miss her to death :( She's been a combined mom, sister, girlfriend, inspiration, fashionista, anchor, shoulder, scone buddy and so much more- and we've only got a week left. Make the most of it and mourn later I think :)

Lingerie shopping with a boy for a girl provides for an evening of endless laughs and funny awkward moments :D I hope you got there safe and the gift was well received! ;) What is with all that lace though?! And frills and ribbons and polka dots...Urgh.

A shift's coming up soon, and I'm excited/anxious/scared as hell. Hopes and beat skippin' heart in check, for now at least.. *fingers crossed*

A drop in the ocean

April began on a happy note :) The lack of pranks aside, I got to mediate a brain storming session and the team came up with some pretty good ideas- which are now plastered on the windows around me :D Good news in the post too- one battle won for now, though the war continues. Made someone smile, and cheered someone else up. It's those little things and split second moments that make your day :)

Lunch time adventures with QJ, which started with my Moroccan lunch treat on Tuesday and then took us back to our usual hangout. We complained about it when we were close enough, but we can't stop going back there now :p Chica had news too- I'm so happy for you babe :D There was a ray of sunlight dancing around on my desk (and tanning my redheaded neighbour) and my pod read my mind again :) One big bubble of happiness inside me.

Evocation that evening, in VIP seats! Thanks Nips- I owe you another round :D The performance was an unorthodox mix of electronic and beats, contemporary dance and unusual choregraphy- my favourites were the Indian/Javanese dance to Fade to Black, and the 'organic' dance piece with the earthy beats and subtle lighting (I can't remember the name of it :p). A happy dinner followed, with too much laughing and talk of 'waiting for something to happen'...

Then came the weekend! Road tripping, caving, 10km of white water kayakking, zip lining, building a jacuzzi, pigging out, riding atop kayaks on a lorry, cheering on Man U, pigging out some more, driving around in circles to prove the boys wrong and lots of old town white coffee in between. Ipoh, we'll be back someday :)

Mood: Elevated

What started out as a disconnected, sleepy and kind of depressing day (blame post holiday withdrawal symptoms and a flooded inbox) actually turned out pretty good in the end :)

Being treated to home made cinnamon buns + watching the sun set on a long bus ride back home + a second treat of mochacinno (with more cinnamon) + acquiring a gorgeous new gym bag (completely free of charge) did the trick ;)

And then came the crazy funny stories of car breakdowns, gold price wars and trembling hands. You gotta love family :D

The wanderer and shutterbug in me is tired but happy.. Penang and Cambodia in the space of two weeks was quite the experience :D Time to plan the next holiday! It's never too soon, as a very wise and slightly drunk person once said ;)

Woes of a Sri Lankan passport holder

The one place that I can go to without needing a visa is.... *drumroll*... Sri Lanka. Well Singapore too, but I'm already here. And I want to leave, which is the cause for all the frustration and chaos that I'm about to rant about :p
I know I bring this on myself by constantly planning adventures in unexplored territory, but I think I may have gone overboard this last month. This is what my travel itinerary looks like right now:

26-30th Nov: Thailand
11th Dec- 3th Jan: Sri Lanka
15-21st Dec: India
Late Jan 2010: Malaysia
Mid February 2010: Cambodia

I need visa for all of the above, except Sri Lanka. I also need additional security clearance for Cambodia. And I had to pay $35 for visa to India and go through hell, when it can be done for 500 rupees in Sri Lanka.

Other gripes: I was planning to go to Vietnam, but the visa costs US$100. I need a never-ending list of documents and a hefty bank account balance to get visa to go to the UK (yeah, the Schengen visa doesn't cut it). Bali will probably never happen because I need a person in Jakarta to sponsor me. And I was still harassed in Amsterdam though I had the visa and everything else they asked for when I went to Europe in May. A friend can't get Thai visa because his EP expires in 4 months and they require a minimum of 6 months, again because he has a Sri Lankan passport. And I haven't even begun listing all the forms I have to fill, certification I need to show, letters from sponsors/bosses/banks/insurance companies I have to get to prove I'm not a terrorist. Gah!

I hate my passport.

Spontaneity

Introducing my latest love. Well, more my latest addiction really.

I'm getting such a kick these days of not planning how to spend my weekday evenings/weekends, and just going with the flow. And it's been tons of fun :D There was the Sunday which started off with a (huge) buriyani lunch in Little India, an unplanned journey to Orchard, the purchase of random movie tickets, $3 mocha frappes and a long conversation on a sidewalk, 2.5 hours of book browsing at Borders, and the movie (District 9 :D).

There was the Friday which began at John Little, progressed through a movie (Inglorious Basterds!), wandering down Arab street, randomly bumping into people I hadn't seen in more than a year, and catching up over tea and sheesha till 3am.

And yesterday: a French toast brunch at Bras Basah, a visit to the Singapore art museum, fooling around in the drizzle and ending up at the National Museum only to find the Antwerp exhibition had been extended, photographic excursions and the discovery of an outdoor escalator to nowhere around Dhoby Gaut/City Hall, a late Thai lunch, technology browsing at Funan, a sudden decision to go to Ikea, a hop across to Anchor Point and a trudge back home loaded with purchases from a 3-for-$19 sale.

Like I said, tons of fun. Highly recommended for lots of laughter and weird discoveries in the nooks and cannies of Singapore.

Other than that, work's been hell. Not the actual work, but the long stretches of it, sometimes till the wee hours of the morning. The sleep debt built up to a scary level, something that's not happened since the final year at NUS. Dilini's bid us a temporary farewell too, with the 'midget' due to arrive in a month. I miss my string hopper buddy! :( But her baby shower was fun :D I'm NEVER giving my kids (if/when they do get here) any sort of baby food- after tasting that c.r.a.p, its no wonder babies spit their food out! Drinks with S.Ong at Timbre followed by Turkish ice cream was long overdue too- and then came her 30th b'day surprise :D The mad rush for her gift was the best part of it all- us writers rock! :D

Lots of travel plans on the horizon. I've got Bangkok down for the long weekend in November, and I fly home 2 weeks after, hopefully with a trip to India in the middle of the vacation at home. I've got some serious lying-on-the-beach time to catch up on. Can't wait! I can't wait to see mum and dad too- it's been a looong year away from home.

I've been feeling much better about the 'state' of my life too- the claustrophobia that comes with living in Singapore still remains, but I think I've adjusted my mental state (nirvanaaa! :D) and way of thinking about/looking at things- I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts :)

And... *drumroll*..... I absolutely have to mention my latest foray into the technological world- my new iPod! :D Yup, I've officially tendered my resignation in the campaign against Apple... And joined forces with them :p I'm such a traitor, but iLuv my red little pod :)

Okays, I need sleep. Till next time peeps, which will be sooner than later I hope :) Ta..!

Soul-less in Singapore..

I took a bit of a nostalgic trip today back to the 5000+ pictures I took in Europe, in a lame attempt at reliving the experience and transporting myself back there.

When I think of those 3 weeks now, I honestly can't believe it happened; that we spent 15 days backpacking across Europe, visited 12 different cities and still managed to see 80% of what Lonely Planet reckoned we should have seen. That we did all that and still got back in one piece. That I remembered the neighbourhood I grew up in and visited the hospital where I was born.

Surreal.

That's the one word to describe it all.

I need to go back. Very soon. My soul's still happily wandering around in Sweden, and the rest of me would like very much to be reunited with it. And with the cinnamon buns. And gingerbread. And pine trees.

Wanderlust

Yups, I'm back. After the craziest 3 and a half weeks of my life.

Reading my post from a month ago, I can still sense the excitement and thrill I felt before I left. One month later, I'm sitting here trying to grasp and put into words the whole experience, now that I've been, seen and done. It almost feels surreal thinking about it.

People have been asking me all week how my trip was and I haven't yet found a single word or phrase to describe Europe; it was amazing and crazy and unbelievable and exciting and tiring and beautiful all at once.

My first memories of Sweden: The pine trees out the window of the plane and the crisp and cold spring air that hit me when I stepped out from the airport. Seeing the hospital where I was born was as special as I thought it would be. Walking into the neighbourhood where I grew up and having flashbacks of myself playing in the park, scraping my knee falling down on the tar road, and remembering peeping out of our old apartment window, was both scary and amazing. I think I somehow felt connected, a strange sense of belonging to a country I hadn't been to in 17 years.

Visiting 11 cities in 15 days was incredible.

I saw the inside of so many trains that I lost count- we missed a train, were early for several, made it with a minute or two to spare for some, caught one only because it was delayed by 10 minutes, took night trains with compartments all to ourselves, with families, with people from as far as Nigeria, and a train that crossed the sea on board a ferry. We took the TGV, had train delays, even snuck into a first class cabin before being 'politely' kicked out.

And the hostels. Between our 'pseudo' hotel room in Paris and the 10 bed dorm in Vienna, between the smoky and relaxed neon-lit lobby of the hostel in Amsterdam and the basement hangout in Budapest, I think we probably saw it all. And we owe a lot to our friends who lent us their couches and sofa beds to crash on.

The journeys between cities and countries were an experience on their own; the long stretches of green and yellow fields, wind turbines in the distance, cows and sheep (!!) grazing and lazing in the grass, and the little red farm houses nested cosily in the sprawling countryside. The graffiti at train and bus stations all over Europe and the homeless in little pockets and corners of the cities. Friendly faces and not such friendly ones; a melting pot of different people and cultures. We met so many old friends and made quite a few new ones.

Memoirs of the trip: Ripley's Believe it or Not in Copenhagen, Madame Tussaud's and the coffee shops in Amsterdam, the Louvre in Paris, the bouchons in Lyon, the Alps and lakes in Switzerland, the architecture in Vienna, the Sound of Music manor in Salzburg, the castles and palaces in Budapest, the beer, dumplings, the city and vineyards of Prague, the train station in Berlin, the sunny walkways and coastlines of Malmo, and the historical feel and expanse of Stockholm. My personal favourites: Prague, Lausanne (Vevey), Stockholm and Amsterdam.

There's so much more to it, but this post can only be so long... Pictures to follow soon, I promise :)

Europe on a clothes line

Yups, I officially leave for Sweden tomorrow night. I'm barely packed or mentally prepared, and yet here I am, blogging away.. *sigh* I don't understand me sometimes.

I am tonnes excited though. I'm finally going to 'live the dream' I've had for years and years, and hopefully visit the hospital where I was born in Sweden (admittedly, a recently conjured dream), among other things such as getting high on magic brownies in Amsterdam and visiting the Louvre in Paris (sorry- I cannot resist raving about this!). I just wish there didn't have to be a swine flu scare around Europe at the exact time I choose to visit. Murphy definitely was right about them laws.

Much thanks to Raaaam dear for lending me his backpack. Though it's large enough for me to crawl in, and will probably look like its walking on its own when its full and being carried around by yours truly, it's going to be invaluable. I sure hope it doesn't get stolen (and I hope Raaaam never reads this :$). Also thanks to everyone who's hung in there with me while I was planning the trip- and put up with my rants about having a Sri Lankan passport. You guys know who you are :)

Anyways, I shall not be blogging for the next couple of weeks (because yes, I'll actually have better things to do for a change) but be sure to expect torrents of posts once I'm back, all reflecting the chronic depression and grief that will take hold of me on the flight home :(

Au revoir then mes amis, a bientot!

February constellations..

Ok so admittedly the title's a bit lame, I was trying for a song and the Foo Fighters popped into my head, though the song itself is a bit too mellow for this post.. Which, incidentally, is about how great February has been ;)

I feel like I've lived a lot more this month than I have in the last few combined, probably because a lot of things I've been wanting to do just happened to come together at once.. I went dancing almost every week, my dear ol' friends Talaal and Sabeer visited Singapore and kicked up a storm, and I got to travel to Bangkok :D For work of course, but it ended up being an amazing weekend... :)

On another note, I've been frequenting Iguana so much now that the staff there are starting to recognize me :p And yet we found ourselves there this weekend too, to drown our sorrows because Su Yin was leaving, and attempting to get her drunk as well... I'm going to miss her tons :(

I think the week with the boys deserves a little blurb too.. What began as pub crawling, getting stuck in a lift for half an hour with 14 people all from different countries, and a Valentine's day countdown with borrowed chocolates and dancing on a boom box on a Friday night, progressed to chillie tequila dares, strawberry margaritas, a river cruise and a failed attempt at reverse bungee jumping on Saturday, and ended with a rib cracking sit down dinner on Tuesday... I hate you guys for leaving! 'nuff said.

And to wrap up with a short post mortem on Bangkok- between keeping my boss company for drinks every night, a successful conference with no major disasters, awesome food (!!!), a Thai massage (everyone should experience this at least once in their life :O), shopping for 6 hours straight at the Chatuchak weekend market and repeatedly getting lost in that maze, walking around for half an hour trying to find my way back to the hotel via the MRT (which happened to be right in front of me all that time), a Mardi Gras party (yes, complete with a mask!), an extended stay at the Sheraton with complimentary rooms, sightseeing and having a few fights with a couple of tuk tuk drivers (and i suspect i got ripped off :p), I'd say I did quite well for the 4 days I was there :D

I leave you then, with a few select pictures (haha yes, I'm still obsessed with capturing life through a lens!) Ta for now peeps!

The darn travel bug...

I love travelling... Not the long hours of waiting at airports and the actual flying, but the excitement of exploring new places and sightseeing... I've been following the travel logs of a couple of friends, one in Peru, two in Italy, one in Bali and one in New York, and now I'm dying to get out there and see the world :( The irony of the situation is crazy... I get to travel to different places for work, all expenses paid, but I don't get to live the tourist lifestyle and I'm usually on a tight schedule... *sigh* such is life, but I'm not going to complain just yet :) I just wish I lived in Europe or Australia, where travelling around the world is a mandatory part of life :p And I could just backpack around the continent, without having to fly there! Anyways I shall set my sights on making that tour of Europe and Mexico happen one way or the other, I just hope sooner than later! (and once my French is at a decent level :p) Till then, I am gonna envy my buddies and start a travel fund for myself ;) Oh and invest in that camera I've been eyeing for a while now :)