January 2010
27 posts
I was made for the 60s
For a little while now, I have been enamoured with the 60s. The hairstyles, the clothes. Even though many photographs were still in B&W, everything seemed to colourful, so vibrant. And the place to be in the 60s seems to be London. (Of course, I wouldn’t know whether people who actually lived their twenties/thirties in the 60s would have thought so; hindsight is always 20/20 isn’t...
Still down
Boy this cough is really bothering me. I haven’t been feeling 100% the last two weeks or so. The first day I felt really bad I actually made it home but I didn’t get any rest as I was still working from home. I suppose that it’s been bloody cold hasn’t helped. Or that I haven’t completely sworn off the alcohol. I think I should try to stay in tomorrow but I have a...
1 tag
There aren't enough good guys in the world.
I had just finished tweeting ‘There are just not enought good guys in the world’ when a seat on the tube freed up. It was technically nearer the guy standing next to me on the other side of the pole so instead of running to snatch the seat, which could potentially be very embarassing, glanced over at him, to which he indicated with a hand gesture ‘have a seat.’ I smiled...
1 tag
Chorizo, bacon and pearl barley soup
First of all, my photo is nowhere as gorgeous as Béa’s, where I got inspiration for this recipe from. I don’t eat lentils but when I saw this recipe, I was really tempted to try it out, lentils and all, but I couldn’t find any at Tesco’s this afternoon. So I got pearl barley instead. I’ve only ever had barley in the traditional Chinese barley drink; this savoury...
“Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.”
– C.S. Lewis
Bought books
Yay. I bought books. Three books to be exact.
I came across the food/travelogue A Late Dinner one Saturday morning at Brindisa in Borough Market and instantly wanted to read it. Unfortunately, the title slipped my mind and I didn’t go back to Brindisa for a few months and when I finally did, noted the title this time round.
Eat Pray Love is a recommendation from Tinted Glasses. On...
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One of the best things about working in a creative...
is that you get to do cool stuff like this.
Pick up a brand new note book from the stationary cupboard.
Complain that all work does is buy cheap, ugly, personality-less ruled note books.
Secretly thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to write on secretarial pads.
Get inspired by something.
Download an image off the net, as large as you can. Or make your own montage of images.
...
Hallucinating home
I just passed by Great Portland Street station (to my left) on my way back in a car and as I looked right at the row of posh Victorian houses, I suddenly thought that I was back in Singapore travelling from City Hall/Chijmes to Lavender past the Intercontinental at Bugis (at least I think it’s the Intercontinental). the yellow lighting, large stone walled buildings somehow were reminiscent...
Keep Calm and Carry On
I saw the poster on a wall in my office one day and sorta fell in love with it. I suppose you I see it sort of as a mantra for myself - to keep calm and carry on - in the face of adversity, difficulty, and deadlines. I am too much of a perfectionist - I demand the best, the most, the perfect - and in most cases, perfection only exists in my imagination, which stresses me. I think I hold myself...
This is London
I have a freelance colleague from Canada who is leaving Canada soon to do his tour of duty in London. I suppose London is seen by many as a place where one must simply be for a period of time before going home, to ‘real life,’ ‘responsibility,’ and ‘growing up.’ I’m a late bloomer and sometimes feel as if I’m behind everyone else and have so much...
"I want it now"
It’s quite interesting how each generation (and I use the term “generation” loosely because it’s no longer the 25 or so year span of parent and child; I think it’s more like 10 years now because I know (and know of) people 10 years older than me who consumer media in a totally different way - they might be glued to their Blackberrys but they do not see the...
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On a winter's day
It’s cold today, even sitting beside the radiator, I’m cold. It’s not helping, of course that in old Victorian flat conversions in London, radiators are placed (usually) beneath the offending window. I’m working from home because I’m not feeling well. I went into work at 10 this morning, bumped into a colleague who wasn’t feeling well either, so we decided to...
“Close some doors. Not out of incapacity or arrogance, but because they lead you...”
– Paulo Coelho’s Twitter feed by way of Jayna.
The Times Online "hottest film tickets of the... →
Up in the Air 15 Jan
A Prophet 22 Jan
Previous 29 Jan
The Princess and the Frog 29 Jan
Invictus 5 Feb
A Single Man 12 Feb
Crazy Heart 19 Feb
Shutter Island 19 Feb
The Last Station 19 Feb
Alice in Wonderland 5 Mar
Green Zone 12 Mar
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 12 Mar
Lebanon 9 Apr
Wallstreet 2 23 Apr
Iron Man 2 30 Apr
Robin Hood 14 May
Centurion 21 May
REC 2 28...
Lesson of the day
It’s okay for me not to be perfect 100% of the time.
Restless
I’ve delved into another restless state. At work, I go through the motions, dreading the daily morning email bombardment from Vietnam - a market that simply doesn’t seen to understand anything that I’m saying. I do what I need to do but in my notebook, I doodle incessantly, a sign that I’m not fully there. I think too much and as a result, rest too little; I’m...
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It snowed!
Coming from the tropics, this is my first real London snow. It started snowing last night and when I saw the white fluff, it made me feel as if everything would be alright. The white washed away the dirt in the world. I walked in the snow this morning to work. And when Anne and I left work at 3, we walked in the snow again! My black coat was dusted with white ice crystals! I’m still...
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Julia Child's Beef Bourguinon
One day in December when I was on annual leave, I decided to make beef bourguinon from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don’t have the Julia Child cookbook but I did find a Julia Child gem in the form of a blog post dedicated to collating as many Julia Child MAFC recipes in one central location as possible, her (Shari’s) own recipes included. I bought beef...
2 tags
Ushering in 2010
It’s late, it’s dark. I’ve just finished part watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose and I am most definitely not a fan of horror movies so I can’t quite get to sleep yet. There is also very little ‘free time’ left before the new work year so I’ll multitask with photos and words and ‘The Cider House Rules’
We invited EL and his girlfriend...
2 tags
Meeting up over dim sum
It’s been a while… since the last time I had dim sum and since I met up with New and San. I first met New and San at Winnie’s birthday party a couple of years ago and we’ve been keeping in touch online [read: Facebook] but our schedules never coincided enough to make it easy to meet up till now.
We went to Plum Valley and order a big variety of dim sum...
“A chunky cardigan like his can only be worn well by someone bringing none of...”
– The Satorialist, his post here.
Christmas treat
I came home one day to find -this- little gift from afar; Sue Ern had seen it and sent it along with a Christmas card. Cards, Christmas or otherwise in the UK are very popular. People here send lots of cards. But they seem to do so in a very impersonal way: inside the card they hand write “Dear xxx, Love xxx” but there’s no personal message. For me, it’s the personal...
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Mi tarde de tapas y de tostas...
… Lots of tinto del verano even though it’s hardly summer and lots more cocktails! But I’ve still got the Spanish/Madrid bug in me.
I woke up at about 9 today, a whole hour after I had intended to get up. And spent the next 5 hours in the kitchen cooking! I made salmon and potato balls, chorizo in red wine, fried calamari, garlicky stewed chicken, meatballs in homemade...
Hello 2010
There are half formed words and phrases in my head hadn’t come to fruition last night at 2 in the morning as I first typed this post. 2009’s been a mixed one for me. This is life. There is always good and bad; we can’t have one without the other. This year hasn’t been the easiest and I know I’m not the only one who’s happy to see the back of 2009.
In 2010 I...
I will remember you
I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories
I’m so tired but I can’t sleep Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word Though we are screaming inside oh we can’t be heard
I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life...