Date a girl who travels. Date a girl who would rather save up for out of town trips or day trips than buy new shoes or clothes. She may not look like a fashion plate, but behind that tanned and freckled face from all the days out in the sun, lies a mind that can take you places and an open heart that will take you for what you are, not for what you can be...

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I love the narrative style of the book. Just 5 mins into the book at breakfast today and I have been inspired to write an emotive diary like that when I go to Japan at the end of the year. First person, clean thoughts, social comparison and reflective. I would totally love the day I can really write a prose passage just like that.

I've been waiting almost 4 months for the November 2012 tickets to be released on AirAsia. Within 24 hours of receiving the email update on promotional fares on my iphone, I happily booked my tickets going at $101 per direction. That is about $350 (plus taxes) for a return ticket, with meal add ones and baggage mind you.

I'm all set for a week in Japan in November to walk around in maple leaves and do nothing. Sit in cafes, drink expensive coffee and go on bicycle rides into the country. The start to knocking something off my bucket list.


I'm kinda happy to get such great promotion fares, less than 5 days after the released the schedule, and they fares have already hit $169 per direction. They better not come up with some fare cheaper than what i got it for man. or ill be damn pissed.

I'm still going to try very hard to survive $2k for a one week trip. Dont know if that will work out in the end, but that is the plan. Spend little and not forgo accommodation with a view and atmosphere with a punch.

My Kyoto moleskine is already in the midst of recording and planning stuff.

Time off on a random Thursday afternoon and I made a little trip after lunch down to Alecia's little art exhibition. Since I was around the area and the exhibition was free. I missed her Alicia Villa event the other time and thought I'll get down to see her work this time round.

Second time down at substation (first was Siting's flea market) and I ever really even knew the place enough to figure where it was on the map. But saw this sitting outside and I was like 'yes, got it'

dont you love the artistic-ness of this board?

The visual art display was simple - two living rooms with pieces of personal mementos hatched in all over the place, separated with a single curtain. You really wont understand why some things were there until you seen the video playing on loop on the television. You even got sofas to sit on and watch.

According to the pamphlet, The Goddess of Mercy (exhibition title) is about two families, four faiths and is an art installation about love and faith and how each need the other in order to survive.



The artist wasnt there when I visited, so i left Alecia a msg on the number I kept in my phone but never used. I have in fact never seen her since HuiPing's birthday a long time ago in 2006. I have never seen any of them since then in fact.

We had a short chat and when she said:

It really made me miss the old SA days. I'm glad she still remembered me even after so long.


Walked pass the Philatelic museum, but decided not to go in just because I dint bring my worn out matric card with me on this adhoc trip coz i moved my wallet days ago into a smaller one and never bothered to change it back. I usually carry my expired card just so that i can get admission to places like this and have food at NUS for 20cents cheaper.

Will come back one day when I am free.



Then there was the Singapore peranakan museum down the road. I walked in to get the pamplet so that I can visit free some other day with my expired matric card. I mean, which idiot would pay $6 for entry when you could possibly some another day for free.

Well... I was the idiot.

I just happened to finish Alecia's exhibit before slightly before 2pm and it said somewhere that guided tours started at 2pm. So I fished out my wallet and was like 'heck la, the tour is now so might as well just treat this $6 as tour guide and curator money'. Its nice how Singapore museums dont charge so much for entrance.



I havent been to this museum before coz i honestly never really bothered to find out where it was. But the building was an old sch converted into a museum.

What little details I knew about peranakans where basically from watching 'The Little Nonya" on youtube when i was in UK.

Many stories where told - Throughout growing up, nonyas past the age of 12 will never leave their houses and will make pieces after pieces of beadworks in all types of matters and designs. And these are their treasures when they get married. The stories of a typical peranakan wedding and what nonyas will do on a daily basis made me happy I wasnt one.

All these ladies did were to cook and make sewing and beadwork on slippers, on bags, on pouches etc. an everyday affair. Just like on TV in the little nonya.

Really many interesting facts were weaved into stories by the guide. Go listen yourself, just bring your old matric card for a visit.



The most beautiful piece in the entire building was this very intricate beadwork lying in the middle of the second story exhibition room. It was made of almost one million beads hand-sewn and pieced together. After the visit I can tell you that I am so well awed by all those beadwork done by these household cultures.


They had a special exhibit on Sarong Kebayas. Some of the pieces are so beautiful I just want to hang them on my wall.


Love my museum visits every now and then.

I don't like babies.

Facebook has too many of them. I think some are so ugly and should not be seen by the world so frequently. There is at least 2 posts a day. Keep those post private people. Bring them out only when they are cute enough. We dont need to know your baby's eat shit sleep.

Please Please Please let what the newspaper say to be true. I can totally do with extra money to pay my bills.

I dont if I am stupid, not well traveled or just plainly never had the chance. But today Ron brought me out for dinner at this really awesome Thai BBQ steamboat place at Golden mile. Very expensive dinner despite ordering extra meat and drinks. But it really was delicious.

Walked in and I was kinda puzzled and amazed at the pot. Hot charcoal heated Thai styled steamboat. It was like $40 for a whole steamboat set for 2. A little bit of all the seasoned meat and a little of all the veg.


The pot was rounded up at the center. First thing you are suppose to heat up is the nice broth of chicken soup and a heap of lard right on the top of the center to let the oil burn through the pot. Imagine what a beautifully inventive piece of foodware this is. You put lard on the top, and then all the meat juice and oil drips down into the soup and your soup will taste like utter amazement.

All the meat was well seasoned with sauce and garlic and sesame seeds. Ended up ordering extra liver and pork. Tasted so good, especially with that sweet chili sauce contortion. Although as we cook, somehow most of the pieces of meat stuck well to the hot metal, some still slipped past and headed meat first into the soup.


I looked around and saw that the table near us, one of the thai girls cracked her eggs and mixed it into the tang hoon. So i followed suit. Who else to follow other than the original culture that invented Thai BBQ steamboat. But honestly, I kinda think it tastes better on its own.


Golden mile is really one really amazing place. the whole place is full of Thai. The building smells of fish sauce and the super market has lingering prawn paste smell at the refrigeration place.

I've been munching on too many things today. Morning meeting had me and the ding of the microwave and then another ding on the toaster. Served 12 pieces of nuggets and had 5 on my own. With left over garlic chili sauce from the sauce tray in the fridge. Lunch was one whole bowl prawn mee. Then straight after lunch was raiding the office fridge. Ended with two chocolate chip cookies from the freezer. One yogurt from G which expired today. Attempted on the biscuits some auntie gave and ended up throwing them all out, tog with the expired pineapple tarts. Left over candy. Gone for dinner and then left over birthday cake.

And the last time I went to the gym was two weeks ago.

All eat and no play makes Shanny fat all day.

I love how I have the entire office pantry to my disposal. The fridge is constantly filled with junk food. Frozen food for heating and sweet drinks.


Then some of them were caught on camera toying around with Mard's music instruments. I love how the office is rubbish sometimes.