幾米

一直超喜欢幾米的作品. 他的小品文的特性是一篇篇大幅的彩绘与几行简练,感性,细腻的短言. 轻轻地诉说现代城市人的点点滴滴, 喜怒哀乐, 梦想与憧憬. 书名又取得那么诗情画意, 美丽.

阅读幾米的著作犹如品尝一壶难得的好茶,是心灵粮食.带给我无限的感触及感动.

幾米之《地下铁》:
“我们何其幸运，无法确知自己生活在什么样的世界。”
“我在危机四伏的城市里，随时准备挥手告别。”
“但世界的惊奇与美丽，仍让我依恋不舍。”
“昨日的悲伤，我已遗忘。可以遗忘的，都不再重要了。”
“这一站是终点，还是另一个起点？”
“我在纷扰的城市里，寻寻觅觅。”
“其实，我哪里都不想去。然而，会有人在地下铁的出口等我吗？他会为我撑伞，紧握着我的手，告诉我星星的方向，陪我走一段路。”

幾米之《月亮忘记了》:
“看不见的，是不是就等于不存在？”
“记住的，是不是永远不会消失？ ”
“生命中，不断地有人离开或进入。”
“生命中，不断地有人得到和失落。”

幾米Spa Website: http://www.jimmyspa.com/

后记: 期待幾米最新的书<<躲进世界的角落>> 的简体版会尽快地面世!

Digital Shadow

Do you know that you're leaving a trail of clues when you're online? Everything we do online - shopping at E-bay & online stores, searching on Amazon, blogging, posting photos on Flikr, Picasa and Kodak Photo Gallery, logging on social networking sites such as Facebook, Ning, Second Life, Friendster and Myspace - leave behind our digital shadow. A composite of your digital DNA or online persona can be constructed from these online activities, revealing your photos, likes, dislikes, pet peeves. work, social activities & friends.

Does this mean we stop using the Internet? Absolutely NOT. It's a catch-22 situation. In a world where people travel for work and studies, the WWW allows us to connect without temporal, space and country constraints. Just be careful with whatever you post - what you post (photos, words) can be downloaded or saved by others (even strangers who happen to chance upon your webpage)for any purpose without your knowledge.

That's why I hardly post personal photographs on public domains. I respect and want to protect the privacy of my friends and acquaintances. And do set the appropriate privacy settings for things you post.

What we can do is to explore and exploit the interconnectedness of Web 2.0 to stay effective and efficient in our lives.

Water Fools & Sukhothai

Happy revellers along Boat Quay, a popular watering hole area for expatriates in S'pore

Went to watch the free opening act of the Singapore Art Festival 2008 on 23 May 2008. "Water Fools" is a theatrical performance by acclaimed French street theatre company IIotopie (http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/fest_spec.asp). As it was staged at the historic Boat Quay, we decided to try to get some dinner while watching the performance. When we arrived at 7pm with an hour to go before the performance starts, we realised our 1st mistake: we should have made dinner reservations as most restaurants were full or booked!

When the performance started past 8pm, we belatedly realised our 2nd mistake: we're on the wrong side of the river! The front stage is actually the water near skyscrapers; we're facing the back. (A friend later told me she arrived at 6pm to eat McDonalds takeaway & grab a good spot as it became very crowded later).

Since we've already ordered our food, we just said "c'est la vie" and settled down to enjoy the show from a different albeit more distant perspective.

My 3.2 megapixels, trusty 4 year old camera could not capture night scenes well so the best shot was the one below of fireworks going off during the show (yeah, most S'poreans like fireworks & the show promised many displays of dazzling pyrotechnics to delight the crowds). Water Fools
While watching the show, I noticed the pretty lighting inside the outdoors tents which function as al fresco dining areas for the restaurants along Boat Quay (see above & below).

Sukhothai restaurant offers indoors & al fresco dining areas.

As my friend is vegetarian, we settled on Sukhothai as it offers some vegetable dishes (most restaurants, pubs & cafes along Boat Quay were either full or serve seafood dishes). Named after the historic kingdom & city in Thailand, Sukhothai offers Thai cuisine.

Sukhothai: 47 Boat Quay, S(049836), Tel: 6538 2422 http://www.sukhothai.com.sg/home.html

We managed to get a table for 2 for al fresco dining so we could still watch the show. We had good white wine, at a decent price of S$8 per glass. Single person serving of tofu soup with mushrooms & wolfberries (S$8)
Olive rice Olive rice at S$16 per pot (for 2 pax)
We had keropok as appetisers and deep fried vegetarian spring rolls for S$10 (anti-clockwise from bottom left) and stir fried vegetables with mushrooms (S$18). While I've heard of Sukhothai restaurant, I didn't realise it's branded as a "high-end Thai restaurant" (read interview with the owner, Mrs Urvashi Sood, in article "Meet the 'Eat' Girl" on 12 Aug 2008, http://www.asiaone.com/Just+Woman/News/Women+In+The+News/Story/A1Story20080812-81882.html). Frankly, the presentation or dishes on the menu did not strike me as fine dining, so I was kinda shocked when the total bill for 2 pax for a few vegetarian dishes came up to S$88.28 (after a 15% discount)!!

While the food & service were reasonably good, IMHO, I had better food at much cheaper prices at Yhingthai Palace at Purvis Street & Parkway Thai restaurant (outlets at Parkway Parade & Centrepoint) ...and I had some meat & seafood dishes then.

Anyway, that evening turned out better when we went to my friend's home to chit chat with a glass of rose wine and met up with other friends at St. James Power Station for more drinks & clubbing :)

Farewell

In the last few months, I've bade farewell to many ex-colleagues who have moved on to another phase in their lives: one to be self-employed, another to be stay-at-home-mum & freelancer, another who've moved from working in Jakarta to a new job in Hong Kong this month, another will be pursuing his PhD studies in Canada next month, and yet another will be leaving at the end of this year to pursue a Masters degree in Canada. Will miss the times of mugging for Masters degree exams, working on assignments & tutorials, doing work projects, swopping "horror stories" at the counter, going for movies & checking out makan places with these folks. It is especially poignant as I've known some of them for most of my working life and we've seen each other grow through the years...

Wishing them all the best in the pursuit of their dreams. I find the song "Farewell" by Filipino singer Raymond Lauchengco to be very meaningful, so I'm dedicating it to them & other friends who've left a mark in my life:

"We used to be frightened and scared to try
Of things we don't really understand why
We laugh for a moment and start to cry
We were crazy

Now that the end is already here
We reminisce 'bout old yells and cheers
Even if our last hurrahs were never clear

Chorus:
Farewell to you, my friends
We'll see each other again
Don't cry 'cause it's not the end of ev'rything
I may be miles away
But here is where my heart will stay
With you
My friends, with you

Yesterday's a treasure, today is here
Tomorrow on its way, the sky is clear
Thank you for the mem'ries
Of all the laughter and tears

And not to mention our doubts and our fears
The hypertension we gave to our peers
It's really funny to look back
After all of these years

Farewell to you, my friends
We'll see each other again
Don't cry 'cause it's not the end of ev'rything
I may be miles away
But here is where my heart will stay
With you
My friends, with you

Chorus 2:
Farewell to you, my friends
We'll see each other again
Don't worry 'cause it's not the end of ev'rything
I may be oceans away
But here is where my heart will stay
With you
My friends, with you
With you, my friends
With only you"

Source of lyrics: http://www.tristancafe.com/music/midis/farewell.html

Marutama Ra-men

Marutama Ra-men
6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #03-09/91 The Central, S(059817)
Tel: 65348090
11.30am to 10pm
http://www.ma-rutama.co.jp/

Being the foodie I'm good & being always hungry (i.e. can eat when I'm in a bad mood & I will eat when I'm happy too), I like to try food that are authentic. When I heard about Marutama Ra-men which is based in Japan (http://chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=438), I seized the opportunity to try it when I was at Central Mall recently.

The menu specialised in ramen and has limited choices. I ordered the chicken soup ramen which comes with a slice of stewed pork (char siew), spring onions & seaweed (S$12). I topped up the ingredients with a seasoned egg (S$1) & 4 slices of char siew (S$4).

My ramen
Half-boiled egg with soya sauce & runny egg yolk inside

My verdict? Having heard so much about the place from friends & after reading newspaper reports that the normal lunchtime queue is at least half an hour, I had high expectations of the ramen. Ramen was undeniably tasty & the egg was special but I had tasted better ramen with more ingredients at cheaper prices too. My bowl of ramen costs S$20 after taxes so I doubt I'll deliberately seek out this place again.

Hmm.. salivating when I think of the wonderfully aromatic, humongous bowl of ramen I had in Yonezawa, Japan in August 2004. Was absolutely heavenly & chockful of ingredients! It was also so big that I had trouble finishing it :)

Mint Cafe

Mint Cafe
26 Seah Street, S(188382)
9.30am to 10.30pm
Tel: +65 6339 6266

In my continual hunt for good food, I went to this cafe, which is a stone's throw away from my office. It's actually a toy museum with a cafe but I was put off by the high food prices when it first opened. Won't have given it a second chance if a colleague didn't rave about the place. And the best thing is that it's much more affordable with its set lunch menus at S$15.80++ (S$18.60 after taxes).

The MInt Museum of Toys (http://www.emint.com/) is a privately owned museum which houses toy collectibles of yore. Have yet to venture into the museum due to its steep admission charge of S$15 (normal charge for mainstream museum is between S$8-S$10). You can also purchase miniature models of vintage toys at the museum or cafe. Its boutique cafe offers a Western menu ranging from salads, sandwiches to main courses. Its drink menu extends beyond the normal coffee, tea & juices to include wine.

The cafe offers al fresco dining on the ground floor as well as indoors dining by the open kitchen at the basement. Opted to sit indoors as the sofas look more comfy and we get to see the cooks in action!

The thematic decor includes nostalgic placemats depicting children playing in old China, paraphernalia from classic cartoons such as a life-sized figurine of Captain Haddock - the grouchy sea captain from "Tintin" and vintage posters of Pinochio and Batman movies. The cafe even screens an old Popeye cartoon (colleague remarked that the usual plot of the muscular Popeye & Bluto fighting over reed-thin Olive Oyl is a paraody) for you to while away the time when waiting for the food.


Enclosed display above the open concept kitchen counter (recognise Fred Flintstone & Batman?)
Cylindrical tube lighting at the ceiling adds to the arty vibe of the place
Lush velvety red sofas for a luxurious feel
Vintage Batman poster
Mickey Mouse!
Menu cover

I tried the ratatouille set before and it was good (yep, had to try it after watching the Disney animated movie named after the dish). The menu offers different set lunches but it's equally delicious!

Starter of clam chowder soup
Main course of salmon fillet with asparagus on a bed of zucchini and mashed potato
Dessert of warm chocolate brownie topped with strawberry. Set also includes choice of English tea, coffee or soft drinks
Nostalgic pictures of children at play are an interesting twist to the run-of-mill placemats.

Great food, good company, comfy seats , impeccable service by the well-groomed staff - wonderful yet relatively inexpensive way to unwind. The toy decor evokes a sense of yearning for our lost childhood - even though the toys (remember our wooden numbered blocks, miniature car models, paper aeroplanes, pick-up sticks, five stones & glass marbles) were crudely made & not so attractively packaged, life was much simpler then. My only grouse with the cafe is that the open concept kitchen means that my hair smelled of the food - luckily the smell dissipated after an hour in the air- conditioned office. Hope the cafe's ventilation system can be improved...

Googling Yourself

Have you tried googling yourself? Not to sound narcissistic but I tried googling my full name today & found the hits on the 1st result page to be extremely accurate. The hits include links to a website of replies I'm currently doing, some conference presentations I've done and some articles I've done for an electronic newspaper.

As my work projects currently revolve ensuring that online content is ranked higher by the most popular search engine, Google (search engine optimisation), this is happy news - as my work is being picked up & accessible to a wider audience.