Life-size matyoshka

We were driving along Dimitriv Shonsei and this was what we saw....

Ending...you like?

Russians always have the habit of combining public holidays so that they become either long weekends or super long breaks like in Jan. The first 9-10 days of Jan is usually public holidays and it is peak travel period for them. While many are out travelling, I enjoyed 9 days of peace in the city. How did I spent my time? Prison Break Season 2, Lovers In Paris and 24 Season 7.

I wish there was no season 3 for Prison Break because it would had concluded nicely if season 3 had not existed. I like shows with good ending. It need not be a happy one but one with conclusion. What irritate me the most are those which make me dangle in the air, second guessing if there is a sequel.

This is precisely the reason why I like 24 (though the individualistic, "I-know-all" characteristic of Jack Bauer irks me at times). When a season ends, it ends with a conclusion. It doesn't matter if you follow up with the next one or not.

I was tricked into thinking that Lovers in Paris was a nice serial to watch. Ending was......absolutely absurd. Such ending makes you feel "cheated", that you even come so far to catch it. I just felt that I needed to throw some rotten eggs at my new Plasma!! Ya, it was that bad! Have you caught any show / serial that you enjoy recently?

Top destination for the year...

I hope I can make my Spain trip happen this year. It is always a country I want to visit since my Uni years. When I was with the guitar ensemble in Uni, we used to come across many compositions about Spain. You see her beauty in these works as well as from the many travel journals and websites. Not to mention that it is the home of Mango and Zara too. So we decided. It will be the top destination for us this year. I have marked out the places that I wanted to go but have not decide if we can cover everything in 1 trip (doubt it). Will do more research about these places and will give first hand account when I finally make it there :) Stay tune ....

Best of Friends - The Next generation :)

I love these photos...what about you?

Breakfast...

2 Sundays ago, we joined some friends for a lazy breakfast morning. We met at this place called the Nespresso Cafe, a nice and cozy place. What perks you up in this cafe is the constant coffee aroma. We ordered our breakfast while waiting for our "kakis" to turn up. The policeman at the road outside caught our attention. Basically, we just wanted to see how much "business" he could get on a quiet Sunday morning. Not very much we guess as he didn't seem interested to stop any vehicle at all. A moment later, our friends arrived and so was the breakfast order. Hmm...yummy! But that breakfast cost us S$60. It's time like this that you will miss the "kaya, cold stori" bread with "kopi" :)

Out in the open in -24 degrees :(

How does it feel to be out in the open at -24 degrees? It's numbness at the extremities, pain on the face, aches on the joints, dizziness due to pressure maybe and lungs feeling like they are collapsing. Not a fun experience :(

We are all connected!

I always have the belief that we are all connected with one another, in one way or another. Recently, one of my ex-colleague found me on Facebook through another friend's profile. The latter, I acquainted with in Moscow. It was a nice feeling to be "lost and found". Looking back, there are friends whom were once close but not anymore. There are friends whom we used to see everyday but not anymore. There are people whom we once sworn by but not anymore. The sentence "people come, people go" is so commonly heard in workplace but I think it applies to life too. If only life is simpler. Maybe then more beautiful things are sustainable. Hmm....sounds a bit melancholic but that's not the aim of this post.

2008 KPIs?

Pardon me for the title. It might sound unpalatable for some. But I do wish I have some real KPIs to meet for 2008. I have been putting off writing the so- called "new year resolution" because being on "sabbatical" doesn't motivate me to formulate any. But there are 3 things which I really want to achieve in 2008;
a) save more money

b) be a better person

c) do something useful/fulfilling

2x in a row!!!!!

I never thought I would be so "lucky"! I logged on to my yahoo mail this morning and saw an email from my interior designer. All was well until he "announced" that he had resigned from the company! #$^*&^! This is the second ID that quit on me! I am beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with the company and I hate to have to run through everything all over again with the new chap!!!!!Moral of the story.....never ever use an interior designer! Anyone with a good contractor to recommend?

1 year anniversary....

You were the best among the batch.
You were full of character when we met.
We had great times together.
Playing hide-and-seek, trying to find each other.
27 Dec 06, the day when our game did not end.
Not being able to find you was not our intent.
The questions of "where are you?" and "how are you?" always linger.
Sometimes memories of you just trigger.
I pray that you are well. I pray that you are happy.
Hope we will have a chance to meet again......

Something playful III

Since Chloe is the only girl in this "Something Playful" series, her photo montage will have something extra :P Can you spot it?

Something playful II :P

I was sorting out all my pictures and came across the series of Fu's photos his mum sent me. I thought it would be quite cute to arrange them in a sequence. That was how "something playful" was created. "Something playful II" is for Darren. Hope you like it :)

P/s to Chloe: Yours got to wait ok! Ganma needs to scout for photos :)

Botanic Garden, Singapore

Something Playful :)

Christmas in Moscow :)

24 Dec, a day many get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25. We, in Moscow, did the same. As Russians do not celebrate Christmas until 7 Jan (as they are Orthodox Catholics), the Christmasy feeling is not as strong as what we have back home. So, we chose an American restaurant hoping to get a little more of the festivity, besides the wintry weather outside.

Journey to the restaurant was not at all pleasant, especially for Eugene and May who came to pick us up. The normal ride of 10 minutes (from their place to ours) took 1.5 hours in this weather. By the time we got to the restaurant, it was already around 8pm (poor John, Soe and Eddie had to wait for us for almost 30minutes).

Though there weren't many of us in Moscow (yes, we are missing Reuben, Tracey, Cecilia, Steve, Annice and Mike), we still manage to gather a group of 8. Those who could drive made it a point to either take the metro or be driven by drivers. This is so we could all drink! The night ended with nice company, lots of laughter and catching up, below average dinner (imagine an American restaurant which ran out of fries!), not so fantastic service and ok beverage. To all my friends, Merry Christmas and a fabulous year ahead. CHEERS!

A Safe Haven In the Cold

A friend brought Adrian and I to Mother Theresa Home yesterday. She was going to deliver some Christmas presents she and her husband had prepared. Walking through the cold and slippery door way, we were greeted by 2 of the residents. Both should be in their teens. Though visibly mentally slow, we were greeted with lots of hospitality from the pair. They brought us to the room where we hung our jackets and changed to slippers and excitedly vanished with the 2 packets of presents.

I must admit that I was not prepared for the excitement the children displayed when they saw us. I found myself being surrounded by children who expressed their friendliness in a way I am not used to. One took my hands and gently swung them as though she wanted me to dance with her. One just needed to feel you with his hand for he seemed partially blind.

I was attracted to this 11-year old who was suffering from Cerebral Palsy. A very sweet looking girl but paralysed from waist down. At some point, she seemed to be calling out for her mother who had not visited her for 2 weeks as she was sick. Her teary eyes made it unbearable to look at her.

The Sisters who keep the place going give the children their unlimited love and care. Their commitment to them makes me feel so small and insignificant. It is not easy looking after children with special needs. It's not just about providing a roof over their heads. It compasses understanding them, empathising with their handicap, guiding them and treating them just like their very own.

The visit made me feel that there is still warmth and love in this very harsh and cold country.

Mr Cat - The 11th Month

The smell of Mr Cat is getting lesser. Mr Cat was Pebble's favorite toy. She liked to grab it by her mouth and toss it up into the air. The smell came from the saliva left behind after all these chewing and grabbing. Now, it is the only smell that is left behind by Pebble. Today is the 11th month :(

The Lure of "S" & "11"

Many of us will envy people who do not need to plough for money. Nonetheless, realistically, how many of us can be in that category? Day in day out we are worried if we are earning enough, if we will earn enough, what if it is not enough? I started my 3 weeks of hell to minimise my problem of "what if it is not enough?" today. Going through the first report was a breeze. But the second one stopped me from going on. "This one is going to score badly", I told myself. Anyhow, the motivation factor is the "S" with "11". 加油!

Made In Singapore

I was shopping with Adrian last week and we stumbled into a shop called "Loang & Noi". Maybe you have seen this shop in Vivo city or Paragon. Maybe you have seen their advertisement in the magazines. Adrian used to think that "Loang & Noi" was probably Vietnamese but he was wrong. Both Loang and Noi are Singaporeans. The interesting thing is that all the jewellery you find in there are exclusive, i.e every piece is unique. For people who likes the idea of "one and only", this may be a place you can take a look. Maybe it is a kind of "selfishness", I quite like the idea of having something that is unique to me, something that review some bits and pieces of my identity. Am I having identity crisis?

Being DIPLOMATic

Life as a diplomat had made quite a difference in our stay in Moscow. Here's why....

Even though working life had been as busy for Adrian,

he is supported by capable and supportive local staff. They are....Elena, his marketing officer and Sasha, his driver (cum bodyguard :)).

Besides assisting Adrian, both Elena and Sasha had been a great help to me too. You may not be able to see the car clearly but it is a Volvo S60. The great thing about this car was not its model but the fact that it had a red car plate. In Singapore, red car plate means weekend car but in Moscow, red car plate means diplomatic car, = police would think twice about stopping you, some hotel would offer free parking, cars on the road would try to avoid you (they have this thinking that diplomatic drivers are reckless drivers) etc.

For those who had visited Moscow before, you might had bad experience at the airport customs. Many had been "detained" for quite a while before the stamp finally got "chopped" on your passport. However, if you have the above, all else do not matter. If they make trouble, just point to the word "diplomatic". You will be surprise how many of them are "blind". It is also very effective if they decide to check your luggage. Just give them the passport and they will signal you to pass. With this, you can also use the diplomatic lane for faster clearance at immigration.

Next is this diplomatic card. In Moscow, you always have to bring your passport wherever you go. But if you have this baby, you will not need to bring your passport and will never get "extorted" by policemen. Sigh! I will sure miss these conveniences.....:(