Confessions of a City Slicker

7 pm and my phone rang.  I was still snug under my blanket having an absolutely delicious dream (private :p)

"Sei Lou arr, sleeping ahh?!"  It was Froggy.

Mmmmmmmm

"You cooked the soup ah boi?" came the retort.

Of course!!!!

"Then can you please open the door for us?"

Oh?  You’ve arrived? OK.

Kar Cher and the others arrived later on with Kar Cher’s steamboat and the stuff they bought from the market.

Kar Cher soon got the preparations for dinner underway, assigning everyone to their individual tasks.

Here’s Kar Cher with my chicken stock.  My chicken stock failed according to her (blush).  Should have stuck with the chicken stock cubes :p as extra flavorings were needed.

Here’s the table all set with our steamboat dinner.  Mmm mmm!  All those lovely balls!

Hungry diners (ghosts?) waiting to dig into the dinner.

Congratulations to Kar Cher for buying just enough food so we don’t overstuff ourselves

Here’s a question - how many people does it take to uncork a bottle of sparkling grape juice?  Quite a few, we found out.

As you can see, Froggy even resorted to standing on a chair for added leverage.  Note to self: remember to get a cork screw the next shopping trip, or a Swiss Army knife.  I think I prefer the latter

Since my parents are travelling in Taiwan, I get the whole apartment for myself.  Decided to have steamboat dinner with all the ex GPS Tech colleagues.

I tried my hand at preparing the chicken stock for our steamboat dinner.  First I needed chicken bones which Kar Cher said I can buy at Tesco.  Tesco is probably the closest I’ve been to a wet market.  I got 3 chicken carcasses all nicely wrapped in cling wrap.  Sweet!

Here are the carcasses nicely cleaned and ready to be cooked.

"Did you scald the chicken in hot water first before putting them in the pot?" Kar Cher asked.

Erm, no lah……do I have to?

"Of course lah.  To get rid of the stink", Kar Cher said.

Oops, too late as the birds are already in the pot

Well, now that the chickens are simmering in the pot, that gives me a nice couple of hours to snooze.  It’s raining and that means my snooze button automatically activates.  Later…..

Last Thursday was my Lil Sis, Sher Lynn’s 21st birthday.  Yup, she’s finally legal!

Check out this adorable little bouquet I got for her from Appletree.  Don’t you just love the color combinations?  So sweet!

The Birthday Girl with her bouquet.  OK picture is not very clear inside the darkness of Momo.  I took this one with my new Nokia N76 (yes, it finally arrived!) which I am still learning to use.

Before and after the cake cutting.  Someone dunked her head into one of the cakes…..ha ha ha

I left soon afterwards because I had to work the next day, but heard that after that the party went wild.  Sorry I missed that

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIL SIS!

Mark blogged about how much he loves the night.  I can’t help but agree with him.  I make sure that the curtains in my bedroom keeps as much of the horrible sunlight out as possible too.

I always find I my energy level, both physically and mentally, is at its peak after the sun sets.  I wonder if those years of hard core cramming the night before the exam have anything to do with it.

It is during the dead of night that my creative juices and thought processes flow freely.  I write more creatively and work better during these quiet hours while the rest of the world sleeps.

Maybe there is some truth to why people call this time the period of renewal.  A friend who went to a feng shui retreat some time back told me that the facilitators would wake the participants during these quiet hours to go for a stroll in their gardens.  According to her, it is this during this time that the yin and yang energies changes and to be in the midst of this energy change is beneficial to the chakras.

Me, I just love the quietness and solitude.  Sure, I like to spend the nights dancing and partying away.  But I also like to stay up and look at this other face of the city when everything is still before going back to the chaos of another day.  "When the dawn comes tonight would be a memory too", so goes the song.

I remember this scene from a TV show from my childhood when a character wondered at how innocent the city looks at night.  "Sure, all the weirdos are asleep", his companion quipped.

Rain at night?  Awesome!  The rain smells so much sweeter at night and there is nothing better than to curl up under the blankets with Baby’s warm body next to me.

If I never see the sun again, well, I won’t complain.

Geylang, being the red light district in Singapore has several sex toy shops which are pretty well stocked, compared to their pathetic excuse of counterparts in Penang.

Tai Mai, being the innocent unexposed virgin that she is needed some education.  Anyway, I was pretty interested to see her reaction to those items.  I didn’t count on how hysterical she would get!

The first 2 shops I dragged her to were, well, common.  You know, surly kid sitting behind the counter eye balling anyone who walks in, answering customer enquiries with an indifferent attitude.

The third shop we went to had considerably more customers.  It’s no wonder since the people of the shop actually comes right up to welcome customers who walk in and give personalized attention.

Tai Mai, just like in the last 2 shops we went to, was obviously uncomfortable and displayed it by keeping her head down, hugging herself and hiding behind me.

Jimmy, the guy who attended to us showed us some of the more commonly available items like the kinky G-strings and blow up dolls, all of which drew exclamations of "Eeeehhh" from Tai Mai and made me roll my eyes.

I asked Jimmy to show me the bullet vibrator.  He demo to us by running it first on my wrist and then Tai Mai’s arm which made her jump and squeak, much to his and my surprise.

The real show was when he brought out this huge dildo. 1/3 of it moved when it is turned on.  That’s when she freaked out.

I have never seen someone react like that to a dildo, not in this day and age.  I know my nieces just laughed and giggled when a pop up ad came out on their father’s computer, but that’s another story.

Back to Tai Mai, she kept saying she felt sick, she needed to puke and finally she’ll wait for me outside while I continue my foray into the world of sex toys inside.

"OK by me," I told her but reminded her that this is Geylang.  If someone dragged her off while she is outside, I wouldn’t be able to hear her or do anything about it from in here.

So she went to stand (more like cower) behind the door and turned her back when people enter the shop.

It’s amazing how someone who was able to carry herself so well while networking just a few hours ago can act like such a mousy prude now.

Anyway, I managed to find some stuff for my 2 fav gal pals.  Sure beats the usual key chains or T-shirts most tourists go for as souvenirs.  Didn’t get the vibrators because they cost a bomb.  About SGD 100 and above for 1, if I remember correctly.

I really wanted to see the other attraction in Geylang which Em told us about - the girls in the aquarium thing, but unfortunately the bouncer at one of these clubs wouldn’t let me in

After the fiasco over the dildo, I didn’t dare take Tai Mai to these places in case of another outburst.

Second night in Singapore and Tai Mai and I found ourselves exploring Geylang on our own.  We asked our cab to drop us off at the heart of the red light district.

You can spot the working girls there almost immediately even though they dressed to blend in with the crowd.  Just simple T-shirts and jeans.  No sexy, revealing outfits exposing big longkangs here.  I think one of the reasons they are so easily spotted is because most of them are China dolls.

So while we were having dinner at one of the coffee shops there, a Caucasian kid, I would guess maybe German judging from his accent, came over to our table and asked me in Mandrin (rolls eyes) "Ni How Ma?"

"It’s OK, we don’t speak Mandrin either", I said to him and winked.

So he started asking us the usual ice breaker questions.  Since I was busy with dinner, I let Tai Mai entertain him, joining in occassionally, changing the subject when I felt that Tai Mai was revealing too much info.

Hey, we’re 2 girls in a foreign land here talking to a complete stranger.  Better to keep things "general", know what I mean ;-)  Anyway, what does this kid want?  It’s obvious there is something he wanted to ask us, but didn’t dare to.

The light came on after he went back to his table nearby and I overheard his conversation with his friend, "Not one of them, too well dressed".

So the kid was looking to get laid!

Wait a minute…..WE WERE TOO WELL DRESSED FOR HOOKERS?

Have to give it to him, the kid has good taste :)))))

Phew!  Finally managed to clear the backlog of work since I came back from Singapore.  With a seminar to organize after coming back, now I can finally settle down and blog about the trip.

The main purpose of the trip was to attend Anthony Robbins’ seminar.  There is only one way to describe a seminar conducted by DA MAN - pure ENERGY.  It was raw, exciting, pulsating from him to us, his captive audience.  It was everything from his enthusiastic opening to his world clap which is the first thing we learned.

His seminar is interactive rather than the usual passive speaker to audience type.  The audience was asked to do things like talk to and greet perfect strangers who are no longer strangers after that.  Networking was easy peasy later on.  With the frequent requests to shout and jump around to the music, the whole thing felt more like a rock concert.

Tony Robbins shared many stories with us including how he got Andre Agassi back in shape during his losing streak, but more on that later on.

I will definitely encourage anyone with the opportunity to attend his seminar to go.  It’s no wonder that after 30 years in the business he is still the Numero Uno motivator in the world.

I received this through email this morning and it helped me to remember that sometimes we get so caught up with life that we forget there is SOMEONE helping us steer if we will just let Him.  Thanks, Uncle Tony!

You say: It’s impossible

God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

You say: I’m too tired

God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: Nobody really loves me

God says: I love you (John 3:16 & 3:34)

You say: I can’t go on

God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corrinthians 12:9 & Psalms 91:15)

You say: I can’t figure things out

God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: I can’t do it

God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

You say: I’m not able

God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: It’s not worth it

God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28)

You say: I can’t forgive myself

God says: I Forgive You (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: I can’t manage

God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

You say: I’m afraid

God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)

You say: I’m always worried and frustrated

God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)

You say: I’m not smart enough

God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: I feel all alone

God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

Downloading music off the internet used to be a bitch.

It involves weeks going through the gazillions websites listed in search engine results trying to find the exact copy of the music I want that is also free.

Take finding my ideal ringing tone for instance - Whitney singing the National Anthem during Superbowl XXV.  I fell in love the version the first time I heard it.  Nobody ever sang it better after that.

So I finally found a free copy from this patriotic song website set up for the recent 4th of July celebration but there were some interference in the middle.

Later, after being taught by a colleague, I found a clear copy in YouTube which I first had to download as an FLV file then convert to mp3 with the FLV convertor.  The copy had some announcements and applause which were not not what I wanted.

Lucky I work in an office with an arsenal of sound and video editing programs :)  Unfortunately, due to our inexperience using these software, the edited version as not as clear as the original.

FRUSTRATING!!!!!!

Froggy introduced me to LimeWire after I asked her to recommend me some websites as she seems to have a whole collection of songs in her laptop.

"Ai yah why go searching for websites?  So mah huan," she said.

LimeWire is a free software that can be downloaded to your computer.  Songs are downloaded using the software and not off a website.  I downloaded 32 songs the first day after installing  the software including my ringing tone.

On the down side, not all songs can be downloaded.  It really depends on their library.  Older songs may not be available, but I did manage to get several versions of "Earth Angel".

If only I had found out about it sooner.

Had the freakiest dream last night.

Last night for the first time I dreamt of my late Grandmother since she died more than a decade ago.

Grandma and I never got along so it’s no wonder that the dream was not pleasant.  I remember a violent argument where she strangled me and I kicked her.

Well, that somewhat describes our relationship.  It never got physical, but you can say that Grandma was the very traditional controlling matriach of the family.  Of course that didn’t sit well with me, especially during my rebellious teen years.  We’d have the worst arguments and curse each other like sworn life enemies.

I guess Grandma hated me because I embraced the Western way of life and turned my back on her more traditional Asian ways which to me was archaic.  I was also not as pliable as my brother (no wonder he was the golden child, gender notwithstanding), the only member of the family who dared defy her, in fact.  Well, someone had to stand up to that old witch, I thought at that time.

"Don’t try to start a revolution," Dad used to warn me.  He was just trying to keep the peace.  So I decided that if I can’t change her ways, fine.  But I will NOT bend to her will.

It was a relief for me of sorts when she died.  As sick it may sound, my thoughts when that fateful moment arrived was "The bitch is dead.  I’m free!"

Free to embrace Jesus, something I had wanted to do ever since I was a child.

Free to cook some Maggi noodles in the kitchen without a pair of eyes watching my every move like a pair of spy cameras.

Free to add as much extra ingredients to my noodles from the fridge without someone doing a stock take after that.

Free to eat my lunch in peace without someone sitting beside me reciting exactly how much every ingredient in my lunch costs.

Free to basically live my life the way I want without her putting the blame on my parents for what she sees as my shortcomings.

I just hope I don’t turn into a bitter old crone like her during my twilight years.  It’s sad, to be holding so tightly to old beliefs when the world is always changing.