Subway experience on a Friday Night @ CQ

When I arrived Clarke Quay an hour earlier than required for a catch up session at 8. I wonder around in central, carrying my favourite red bag, with faint of Rebar and concrete. Roaming for food around Central while unwinding my mood from work, I somehow ended up on a queue for subway. 

In front of me, is a lady whom I think she has got the same liking as I do, Hearty Italians. My all time favourite of subway sandwich. Unfortunately my whole reason of joining the queue in the first place was crushed when the server told the lady in front of me that hearty Italian was out of stock. 

When it comes to my turn, although I have heard that there is no more hearty Italians left, I still try my luck and asked the server "hearty Italian please" with a broad smile confidently. Hoping that he will say something different. 

Surprisingly, the young man behind the desk turned to the oven and check for hearty Italians like he had not heard of this question or did the same action a few seconds ago, or maybe he has got memory of  a goldfish.  

For a short moment of time, I  thought the oven is like a magic box which will replenish hearty Italians on its own. But it didn't. The answer is a negative, trying to hold my facial expression of disappointment and to disguise myself that I have heard the same answer just a few seconds ago is a tricky one. I quickly chose another bread which I have no idea of, just for the sake to satisfy my hunger but not my tongue. 

With disappointment being brought forward from the previous section,  the young man asked me if I would like to have my cheese to be toasted. I gave him a Do-I-Still-Care look, and nearly blurted out "whatever". But I didn't, I chose not to, simply because of my self-conscious kicked in. Asking me to behave like an adult. 

Having my cheese toasted, then he asked me what sort of vegetables do I like to have it on my 6-inch sandwich. 

I said : "ALL" while pretending it is very normal to have all the vegetables being fit into a  6-inch sandwich. My char-grilled chicken breast sandwich looked more like a vegetables sandwich now. 

Moving on, it comes to dressing, the final bit of my sandwich preparation. I opt for honey mustard on this occasion as I feel like going on diet- purely. Or maybe I anticipated that I will probably have a few more meals later in the evening.

I then moved to the counter in order to make a payment of my chicken sandwich inundated with vegetables.

The cashier asked me if I would like to have 2 cookies or a bag of crisps with an obvious body language that  her hands were holding a tongs already readily to pick the flavours being said from my mouth bearing in mind that I would definitely go for the cookies. I didn't; I said ": a bag of crisps please".  I chose crisps instead. I took the crisps from the shelf and place it on a tray in front me.

She gave me a blank look, and to reassure what she had heard from me, she confirm with me again in a puzzled look by saying : " You get 2 pieces for cookies or 1 bag of crisps only." Making sure that I will not regret.

Again, I said: " Crisps please"

We proceed with the payment and I left the counter with the tray for the start of my dinner. 

Secondary schoolmates

Last week, I was invited to a small gathering with my secondary schoolmates in an overpriced Japanese Restaurant call Shinkushiya. It wasn't particularly outstanding in any way apart from the figure next to the picture of the food in the menu. Pricey.

Moreover, not just the price, the location of the restaurant could be consider rather far too, it is about 45 minutes away from my place. Door to door would probably take me about an hour.

However, having said that, the opportunity to hang out with my secondary schoolmates would probably be ....Priceless. The opportunity of gathering with a bunch of schoolmates in foreign land is definitely worth all the effort, money and time.

The good thing about sitting together dear secondary schoolmates is that we all speak the same language effortlessly. The idea of sharing stories and jokes in our language which has strong hakka ascent, filling a classy Japanese restaurant is mind-boggling.

From the state of just being together with a bunch of secondary friends, I just realised how mistrust I have become, or should i say, comfortable with suspicion. I would put mask on, hardened my shell to protect myself like a crab. Not only that, with my strong claws, I suspect, I have had hurt someone over the table.

When I was young, I would talk about anything, more open to ideas, people and situation. Like a soft-shell crab. At least, I know I could care-less, do and say whatever I want, waste time, or maybe fall in love with snails. Most importantly, I was generous with trust, time, knowledge (if i had some) and love. Perhaps it is the experience of university, or being abroad, or quite simply growing old over the small handful of past years. I have lost the ability to speak without thinking or speak nothing with a positive gesture.
I somehow become more careful with words, thoughts and body languages. Which I think are essential to survive in a harsh conditions like reality. I cannot afford to be generous any more.

But that particular night, I am not sure if I am wearing a mask or plainly being careful with what I say and do. I have had a weird feelings that I am over- reacting to people whom I was so comfortable with when I was in secondary schools. Although we generally looked more mature, we are somehow still "us". How we used to scream, hate, care, cry, love and be real with each other. I am very impressed we all can get along by being so honest, real and harsh on each other. :)

"Dear readers, although I am now looking forward to our next catch up session with "us", but at the same time, fear that these excitements are just temporary. like a tipping point. "

7th month in Singapore

Despite travelling the same route on bus 22 everyday, I am still struggling when should I press the red button on the double-decker bus in order to stop on the exact bus-stop. Sometimes, I would wait long enough for another person to press the bell, so that I can just observe if the next bus stop is the place I am getting off.  On the contrary, sometimes I waited for too long, miss the bus stop and end up stopping at a bus stop further away.

Subconsciously, I found myself somehow reluctant to adapt the Singapore culture,Singlish, Mindset, Practice, appreciating singaporean ladies, etc. Maybe the gap for a man from a small town and this city has been too wide. I believe keeping this kind of mindset will lead me to extinction. I would probably perish in no time. I am not looking for a solution here but I am sharing fthe insights of my life here in Singapore. 

 I would like to briefly describe how my life has evolved in the past 7 months. 

First of all- Career.  I am please to say that the work that I am in now is somehow ideal for my career. It has been the sort of job which my body and mind can cope with at the moment. I cannot say that it is ideal for myself, or I love my job; what I can say now is that the job that I am currently with is something I have had looking for. I don't want to dress my career up or to glorify my job here, but this is what I am feeling now at the moment. 

Secondly-Social Life.  I am satisfied with my social life here. Lucky to have groups of friends surrounding me. With activities constantly pre-arranged by weeks. It makes me feel balanced but somehow insecure. This is because I don't think is sustainable in the long run. I always envisage my friends to have their own family in a matter of few years time and start dropping out from the social circle. Life in Singapore without my current social circle will be very different. 

Thirdly-Relationship...is something I would like to put on this post, but not to discuss about it now. I always have problem addressing my relationship, maybe because it somehow affect third party. Clearly, I do not want to have any misrepresentations.

Fourthly-Health. I am slowly gaining bad weight in Singapore. Due to eating out, social events(beer is the main culprit), long working hours, insufficient sleep and only exercise once a week. I cannot ignore this aspect of my life any more, as looking at the weighing scale to head east most of the time is depressing. 

So most of the aspects have been covered in this blog. Maybe I will go into more details when I am more ready to share. x

Holland V with Charles

It was on short notice, Charles and I decided to dine in Holland V middle of the week, I chose this place as it is strategically located about in between our work places.

We roamed around the place and I was shocked to see so many good looking men and ladies around Holland V compare to Ang Mo Kio that is..

It was so vibrant and crowded with good looking, dressed up youngster if I still consider myself as one of them. The chatter in the background just somehow dilutes all the stress and things at work. It was a comfortable evening in Holland V.

After roamed for about few minutes, we quickly decided to dine in a Thai restaurant which my parents liked this particular franchise. It was reasonable and has got decent ambiance. Ok, before this post become a food post, I would like to go back to my subject of the day, Charles. .

We started our conversation off with something very light, as in relationship issues. His breakup, my breakup recently, how we cope with it, dealt with it and probably might have moved on. He asked me a few questions about Joann, which I don't think I answered directly. I decided to hold back some of the information which I personally think will not add value to their current state. But I was rather flattered when Charles told me that they were lucky to have me as a close friend of theirs. Hah!
I feel so important now. :)

At the moment, we both agreed that we need a companion to talk things through. Maybe the person we used to share our feelings and emotions with, is no longer present, accessible or maybe should I say convenient to share with any more. It is like we were not friends any more, like what I used to play with my friends when I was primary 7. We temporarily stop speaking to each other to show how angry we are.

The person whom we used to share our bed with, all in a sudden became not only just a stranger but someone whom we would like to avoid. To avoid the awkwardness, frustration, something we might have hoped to happen but fear when it doesn't or the need of clarification, confrontation, etc.

It is a feeling which I choose not to think about it at the moment.

It wasn't our 1st gathering in Singapore, but somehow the gap between our catch up has made it like is our 1st one. It seems that we have not met for ages, it seems he has grown older.  I can see his weariness, he seems to be shorter than he normally is, maybe is the invisible concrete block weighing at least 20 tonnes on  crushing him to the floor. His voice, is not as punchy. His language, is not as mean as before. Cold Jokes were out of the league already. He became so serious to an extent that for the 1st time I hold all my banters in front of him. 


From someone who is utterly confident, bright and positive; to someone whom I barely recognise. Life must have been mistreating him. Having said that, I feel pain and respect at the same time. The mixed feelings which is unjustifiable is seeping into my mind, tinting my specs. Just like how Erdinger is creeping into my head. Fooling with my words, especially the ability to put them in a proper manner or maybe should I say, in a pleasant manner. 

I found myself giving opinions and comments which I think are inappropriate, especially when I am a close friend to both parties of this separated couple. I do not want to choose a side nor do I want to be a referee.
I want to be their mate, someone they can speak to. Someone they can trust their feelings with.
Which I think a friend should be. :)

Geylang Experience

5pm Friday. My asst.site manager,Leopard, called me and asked me to get ready to go for a drink in Geylang with our sub-contractor,Dragon. Geylang is well know for its food, drinks and sex workers. Heading off Geylang with this group of mates will somehow more for the latter.

Long fetched us from Boustead House, which is next to our site to Geylang in his Vios. The journey from Macpherson to Geylang took us about 20 minutes, which longer than usual due to peak hour and weekend. Inside the car, Leopard told us about some of the stories of his, when he started to go Geylang, etc etc.
We have had some random low grades banters and so far, it seems that I am adapting well.

During the journey, despite Leopard tried to break the ice amongst us with his jokes and banters, I was rather nervous. I fear the situation later, where everything would be out of control. However, I desire to experience the contractor's high life in Geylang. Many stories I have heard on site, which somehow related to Geylang. It has become a playground, or maybe a ritual which we shall practise once in a while to upkeep with the 'language' on site. Surely, I don't think I have got the guts to screw someone I barely know tonight. Which I cannot confirm myself. But If I did, I doubt I will be writing this post and show it to the public. It would probably be more like a private post which only Mr Google would know.

Geylang approaches, I looked towards the car window. immediately I could see ladies sitting on the bench along the roads. I wasn't listening to Leopard's banter any more and instead sunk into my own imagination. Wondering what would happen next.

We parked in Lorong 7 if I am not mistaken, very close to where we would like to go, new Shanghai.. A rather run down building. Surely I should not be wholly disappointed tonight, although I have had so many vivid and vibrant pictures of blondes surrounding me in my head. Perhaps, this is what I can disclose what was on my mind that particular time when we reached the area.

We had a light dinner, prawn mee, opposite new shanghai. Quick, easy and light. everything seems to be set perfectly. we went into the old building and started to climb a rather dirty and dark staircase.

I think I couldn't feel anything that time, don't really know what I am doing exactly. Blindly follow my manager, or should I call him buddy tonight, because he acted like 20 years younger than his age yesterday which is equal to my age. Even the tone and language that we normally use in the site office are no longer found.

We went in to a room, number 8, I remember. Inside this room, looks like a below average KTV room, with  black leather chair, double tier square coffee table, huge screen, speakers and a remote control on the table. I find myself sitting on the sofa immediately and started to relax. 3 of us sat at such, there is a huge gap between us. Obviously, we were waiting for someone to fill in the gaps later.

Beers, snacks and laichee were almost served immediately. Everything is in order now. Except.... the gaps.

Ladies are flowing into the room from the doors, very lightly dressed, heavy make-ups, high heels and heavily scented. I was shocked by their aggressiveness. Maybe I would be more comfortable if a pimp or mummy would come into the room first. But it seems this is not the case, the ladies would just walk in the room inconspicuously and jump onto our laps. I can still vividly remember how I declined and pushed many hands, breasts and faces. I was like a sugar dropped in an ant's den, struggling...

Very quickly, I asked myself why am I here in the first place. Definitely not to push some ladies from China, Vietnam and Myanmar, etc....
I wanted to be here to experience. But with the girls pulling my hands so hard, I was turned off completely. No fun at all.

I drank jugs of beer, to get drunk, to show some respect to my buddy, and I.... collapsed on the sofa or maybe flesh.

By the time when I woke up, I was alone in the KTV room. The ladies are all gone. The party went somewhere else.
I grabbed my bag, walked passed the counter, didn't bother to check if the bill was paid as it would probably be unaffordable for me, and I walked out the building.

I was intoxicated and vomit along the main road. But I wandered around geylang, directionless, trying to look for the MRT sign. Or maybe just to breath some fresh air, to buy some time to be more sober. Or maybe to vomit a few more times.
My buddy called me, and asked me to go back to new Shanghai.

I made an U-turn and headed back Lorong 7. When I arrived, I saw my buddy's car parked nicely in front of New shanghai, he has got one cigg on his hand and he told me that his mate called him and told him that I was asleep in the room alone. I am so glad that my buddy came back for me and offered to fetch me home.

Umbrella

I lost my umbrella yesterday. It's the umbrella which I shared so many beautiful memories with . A mini size black umbrella which is rather durable, lightweight and pricey. Quality doesn't come cheap nowadays. We had experienced strong winds in Littlehampton, chilly rains in Chichester, heavy snows in Wimbledon, heavy rain in Stoneleigh road, not to forget the striking sun and pouring rain in Ubi Avenue 1. I can imagine how much more I can dwell on it. 

Thinking back, I lost my umbrella when I was chasing the bus along Ubi Road 1, I was on my noise isolating earphone when I was running, despite hearing a sound of something has dropped out from my bag and hit the floor, I chose to ignore and kept running towards the bus stop. As the bus was approaching the bus stop at that instant.  Having had run all the way for about one and a half minutes, I cannot afford to give up and let the bus go as the next bus will probably be 30 minutes later. 

When I boarded the bus, had myself seated comfortably, I found one of the zip underneath my bag was left opened. It was the compartment where I kept my mini lightweight umbrella. It was empty. 

Instantaneously, I wanted to stop on the next bus-stop and return to pick up my beloved umbrella. I wanted my umbrella back so badly. But the tiredness in me had made the harsh decision subconsciously for me. It wasn't optional. I hesitated for a short moment, and the bus had just passed the nearest bus stop. I am on my way back home, umbrellaless. 

Being optimistic, I naively believed the umbrella would probably still lie on the floor near the bus stop the next day and I shall retrieve my umbrella back. But it seems not the case, when I returned to the spot where I lost my umbrella this morning. I searched for my umbrella. Despite being late for about half an hour, I chose to search for my umbrella. It was not that any more. I was lost momentarily in somewhere I am so familiar with which I  can probably walk with my eyes closed. Trying to accept the cruel fact that, from now on, I am separated with my umbrella. 

This wasn't my first encounter of this similar situation recently. 

I separated with Miss E. over Whatsapps, she initiated and I somehow went along with her decision. We were thousands  miles apart when this event actually took part. It wasn't a drastic decision between us. The dullness of our conversation over some period had probably suggested long before. This might not be the right diagnosis, or to cry over spilt milk but is my impression. 

Being in long distance relationship for about 1 year, with some short reunions in between, is not an easy task to handle. Even for the person who had read 'long distance relationship for dummies'. The idea of maintaining a relationship through Skype, Facebook and Whatsapps seems to be impossible for the long run. 

I feel so much better now to have written some of my feelings on this blog.

So what is up for weekends? 

I will be meeting up with Low read learn, tonight. I heard that he has got promoted and would like to treat us a dinner tonight in Ang Mo Kio.I am happy for him as he was just promoted within his company. Also, I am honoured to be invited to a meal by someone whom I had spent little time with when we were both in Kota Kinabalu. The feeling to be able to catch up some KK friends tonight seems to be rather interesting.  Maybe I had spent too much time with my own group when I was young.

Looking forward to the meal tonight. :)

St Patrick's day @Clark Quay

6 o clock evening Friday, changed my shorts and shoes
as such to leave my work area for a long anticipated tempura dinner in Ten restaurant at Clark Quay with Serene, Chai Ann, Chong Yang and Serene's ex hostel mate in Australia, Andrew.

Just before I turned off my laptop, I saw a notification on the taskbar from my immediate boss David Tay.
The email was sent with a high priority ( from the first day onward, all emails from my boss were all high priorities, maybe that is the nature of it.)
Come back to it, The email was about an incident happened on the other site....... bla bla bla

I wanted to ignore the email and pretended that I was already off work until I saw a strings of words highlighted in red which is as well capital letter. saying that: "All REs are not Allowed to leave site until all concreting works end. period."

Looking out the window from my site office, I can clearly see one of the draw pit has not been cast.

Confused and agitated. When I was still wondering what should i do, I instinctively grab my phone out and whatsapp the tempura dinner group that I will be an hour late. period. :(

I decided not to take the risk as I am still under probation, I had been neglecting my friends in a selfish attempt to pursue a career and my last hour in the office on Friday had cost my dear friends waiting over a dining table in Clark quay for an hour. More worryingly, I found this phenomenon is getting common. I am always the last one to arrive.

Having said that,  we had a peals of laughter, I enjoyed the sober companion immensely.

We basically talked about lifestyle, friends, past, future and some cold jokes.

Serene was blushed all over her face after she drank a few cups of hot green tea. She also complained about   being hot and took off her jacket. Andrew did crack a lame joke on serene about how girls are meant to be hot. It was pretty lame at the time, but as a matter of fact, girls are pretty hot sometimes. xD

Moving on, after we finished our tempura dinner, we walked around Clark Quay. Hotspot for Singapore Party Girls (SPG) on a typical Friday night....................

Overbooked my social session

Saturday's evening, looking at my polo watch, it shows 8:15pm.  after the last pile has been casted on my site. I walk switftly heading towards the nearest MRT station, Marcpherson, which is about 10 minutes away. My trousers are tainted with dried mud and silt. I was imagining the picture of myself in Orchard Road or Somerset later in a  luxurious korean restaurant gathering with Foh and Choimei.At that particular moment I feel so out of the picture. Worse, I am way behind the schedule., the dinner suppose to be at 0830 which had been delayed from 6pm due to my sudden overtime instructed by my employer, and I am still 10 minutes away from the nearest MRT station.

Upon reaching Somerset MRT station, I just realised that Nolboo Korean restaurant is located on the 8th floor of Orchard Central. -.-!

Although I took the escalator, I still sweat! It isn't a pleasant experience at all. 8 floors of escalator in one go is quite tiring. :)

When I walked in Nolboo restaurant, I heard my name being called almost instantaneously. "Jason!!" Looked around most of the empty tables, I found Choi Mei and Foh sitting on one of the 5 person compartment. I walked swiftly towards the table and greeted them while I was still panting heavily after floors of escalator.

They took the menu out, and started order at about 0910, I decided to let them have a go with the ordering as I am still recovering from my breathlessness.

Catching up with Foh and Choi Mei would be my first encounter to have us sitting on one table catching up together. However, the topics in all our conversation are so tightly connected, maybe because the social circle that we have got are pretty much overlapped. It was not too long when ChingHui and his GF, Eugene appeared. We continued our dinner until the restaurant was about to close. I think I was slightly tipsy by then, not because of the drink, (as far as I remember, I didn't drink on that occasion) but because of the excitement of what we had discussed over the Korean cuisine at the dining table.

After our meal at orchard central, chinghui suggested to drink at KPO, a bar about 5 minutes walk away
from Nolboo restaurant. KPO is two storey, modern, dimly lighted barp. We were seated in the ope in area on the landscape deck of the building. Drinking our night away in the heart of the lion city. Catching up with Foh, Choi Mei, Ching Hui, Eugene and LALA.

I will not put our conversation into details for now. Maybe in the future, when I am a better writer and also a listener.

Catch up with mates

1'Hello, Jason! I am in Ang Mo Kio.'said Fatty

'Okok, give me 20 minutes, i will be in AMK hub'

I tried to clear my vision after my blurred vision from a short nap. I checked my time on my Iphone, 1823. I changed my cloth and I am on my way from my place to AMK hub with my head still sleeping, Texted with Eeffie while I was walking from my place to AMK Hub. We had a brief conversation regarding our schedule for the weekend.

At first I thought 20 minutes to would be an overestimation for the time required from my bed to AMK hub, I  found myself reaching AMK hub about roughly about 23 minutes later. 

While waiting for Tsen to finish his laundry and then to pick us up in AMK MRT station, fatty and I had a drink in Coffee Bean. 

We talked about urban farming, economy, career development, what he had been working on. It was a rare conversation between us, but I did enjoy the short coffee talk with fatty in AMK hub. 

Tsen picked us up from MRT station about 1923, three of us on board travelling into the heart of Lion City like how we used to ventured into Prontera. A town we used to hang out together in RO. 

Fatty suggested to hang out at timbre a fusion restaurant located in Sophia Mountain @Dhoby Ghaut. 

As I walked into the restaurant, they have got dimmed lights, dressed-up ladies, jazz music, empty bottles on tables and a faint smell of pizzas, rather romantic yet relaxing set up.Immediately  I found myself coming with the wrong gender group a whole bunch of males.-.-! 

Maybe this place is to ignite our bromance, 

However, upon being seated on our table, I spotted an Ipad with a security chain cable locked onto the table which would probably be how we are going to order our food from. The best thing about ordering from an Ipad is that we have minimal communication with the waiters and we could take our time to place our order accordingly. A rather new and comfortable experience 

After our meal, the background music becomes overwhelming that we could not further communicate apart from shouting on top of our lungs. We decided to move on, to somewhere quieter and most probably cheaper after footing the bills at timbre. 

Tsen drove us off Sophia mountain and headed Geylang, Singapore's red light district. A district full of budget hotels, ladies on the road doing some weird dance, 24-hour shops and restaurants. 

We stop at a place where they serve frog porridge. Although I have had some difficulty persuading myself to consume exotic delicacy. 

After the our porridge session, we went to our last destination for the night, a dessert restaurant in Geylang as well.
I suppose filling my stomach with a week's worth of food would be a good idea for us to call it a day. 

Chinese New Year 2012

Food, Shop, Casino

Food, Shop, Casino

Food, Shop, Casino 

That is probably how I can sum up my 2012 Chinese New Year with my family in Singapore. 

My family left for Kota Kinabalu today. I am going to miss them a lot. 

Chinese New Year Eve

I am in Singapore, Woodland to be exact which is my cousin's house, I am writing this post in my bed at the living room while my family are all well asleep. They are rather exhausted as their journey to Singapore had been extended for a few hours due to a diversion to Kuala Lumpur.

They arrived Johor Bahru about 10:40 and reached Singapore around 1300, which they should be arriving Singapore a few hours earlier. 

I went to Lawrence's place in woodland to meet them up. When I first saw them waiting in the garden in Wood Grove, they looked rather knackered.. After settling down, they had a short nap in Lawrence's place, showered and then head straight to Orchard Road. 

When we arrived at Orchard, we found most of the Chinese Stalls are closed already. Even the most important one in ION Orchard (Food Hall) was closed. :(

 ION Food hall was closed, that will give us a clear sign that most of the chinese food related food stall along the street are most probably closed. 

Without hesitating, we head straight to the nearest Macdonald's located in a pinoy populated area. That is probably the only place alive at that moment. The entire restaurant was packed with pinoys. 

For the sake of prosperity,  I ordered a few prosperity meal and we all shared among ourselves. Surprisingly, the burgers were not too bad. Especially the twister fries.

It is quite a memorable Chinese New Year's Eve for me.

Good night

one week stay in KK

After securing a job in Singapore, I am now back in KK for a short holiday prior the start of my permanent work in Singapore on the 16 January 2012, which means the start of my slavery life in Singapore.

So for now, Time to chill & relax at home.