“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

- Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday William & Jasmine!

William & Jasmine's birthday celebration

 

It's been a while since we've dropped by Butter, or even went clubbing for that matter! It's so coincidental that they both share the same birthday! Reminded me a lot of of the days we used to spend our weekends there and those were good times. But as they always say, youth is wasted on the young, and body can't keep up anymore. It took me 1 whole week to recover from that single late night. So glad that my body is now feeling a lot more rested after I put in extra effort and started sleeping regular hours.

Coffee - Penny University

25 Nov 2012

 For the price of a penny, one had access to coffee, the company of people from all
 levels of society, discussions, bulletins, newspapers and the latest gossip.

This idea behind Penny University really appeals to me because the best things in life that you can learn should always be free. It's pretty hard to actually find a nice neighbourhood hang out where you can still meet and learn from people, have interesting conversations with them and not actually feel out of place. To be honest, the most decent conversations I've had with people I've met at a coffee shop happened at 2 different Starbucks and not even with any patrons. It was with the baristas there and they started to warm up because I was a regular. Anyway, while I am not a regular at Penn. I can see it becoming a nice hang out in the East, partly because we're really lacking much competition.

 

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

 The Little Prince

Be happy being yourself

For a couple of years now, I've not really made use of the entertainment system during flights as I usually fall asleep even before the plane takes off. Even when I do wake up mid-flight, I'll just watch my neighbours screen without any sound - I'm pretty sure I annoy people when I do that but I'm just too lazy and cold to remove the covers and set up the headphones and look for a movie. Well, just last week I took an 8pm flight and for good reason, didn't want to sleep because I wouldn't be able to sleep after arriving at night if I slept on the flight. 

I chose a Korean Rom-com titled <All About My Wife>. 

The leading lady is really opinionated and funny. She's tactless, she's direct and in short, grumpy, lonely and mean to some extent. In my opinion, she's just misunderstood and honest. Whoever said we ALL have to be morning people? Her example? The early bird catches the worm. Well the worm was early too and he got eaten! A lot of times we feel pressured by society, or at least we think we're being pressured, to be a certain type of person. Maybe to avoid stereotypes, or to avoid being labelled as something (lazy, unfriendly, loner, uncommitted etc). Everyone has their own struggles trying to avoid being labelled as something deemed bad.

Yes, people can be really mean with their words, but most days, they just want something to talk about. I do believe in the idea of being harmonious and being adaptable in a group. But I do not agree with the imitation of behavior to fit in. Something like herd mentality or group think maybe.  It's really hard to portray with all honesty who you really are - jobs, responsibilities, societal expectations, parents, social interactions etc. But hard does not mean impossible. It would be a whole lot easier if you could just be less influenced by people and expectations and to stand your ground. The things that used to matter now don't matter. The things you neglected and failed to see before, are now beautiful things. Maybe all you need is a little imagination.

Once you know what your rhythm is, you're gonna be just fine.

Food - Wimbly Lu

The name Wimbly Lu reminds me of whimsical and lulu - 2 things that remind me of a childhood memory. I visited on 2 different occasions with 2 different groups of people and each time I had a different feel about the place. Interesting how company changes everything (like being stuck on a holiday with a sucky travel mate). While the food was really the same both times, who I hung out with changed my take away from each visit. 

The first time I was left sitting alone because my friend was almost an hour late. It felt nice actually because the cafe was relatively empty on a Saturday morning and alone time is always welcomed. So I basically sat and did nothing and didn't think of anything much as well. It seems stupid, but did so much to just help me wind down from the work week and allow me to not be in a constant state of rush. I think sometimes I cannot draw a straight line between workday and weekend and it ends up making me very very drained. Need to remember that time wasted is not wasted if it helps to rejuvenate the mind.

The second time, the place was packed and noisy, and so I didn't like the experience as much. I think I tend to get upset a lot especially when my parents put down an idea I have. I then get angry and upset and start wondering whether or not they are just being skeptics, plain disinterested or is my idea really bad. Know what? In my anger I just forgot all about the times they had stood by me, letting me do things my way, letting me learn and fumble and then helping me when I meet with an obstacle or need a push to get things done. Sometimes all it takes is a small simple incident to make you realize how fortunate you really are. 

Gardens by the bay

Singapore never fails to amaze me with her development. Over the years we have definitely seen some rapid changed and it's really inspiring! We started with nothing but a believe that we could make it, and we did. The power of positive thinking is really great.

Food - Coastal Settlement

A lot of people I've met are very unforgiving and when something/someone screws up, they start to blame and take it for granted that it should never happen esp since (insert reason to justify). Maybe we should all take a step back and start to feel how they feel on the other side when we complain or are being unreasonable. I think sometimes we think we are the only one with "rights".

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.” 
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Food - Saveur

Promised to bring Ian there when he's back in Singapore so the last weekend before he enlisted, we finally brought him there. Thankfully I got J to go queue at 5:45pm, because when I got there slightly before 6pm, the queue had extended round the end of the block.

Can't decide if I preferred the Angel Hair Pasta with Sherry Minced Pork and Sakura Ebi, or the Angel Hair Pasta with Tiger Prawn and Lumpfish Cavier. Was so hungry we ordered 2 servings of each.

My favourites - Mash Potato, Sauté Potato and Pistachio Panna Cotta  with Roasted Pistachio Nuts. Very much a pistachio person.

I'm thinking of heading there again, but the queue is really quite a put off. They're extending though, just next door so hopefully the queue starts to ease. A good lunch fix for under $20.

 

J's Graduation

5 July 2012

Jun Ren's commencement

 

Finally all the studying is behind you! Congrats on being a better student than me :)

(I'm still smarter)