Stickles's Xanga

I miss Halloween!

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:13:52 GMT

It's not as if I was super gung-ho on Halloween growing up. In fact, I can only remember one year that I had any kind of creative homemade costume, and that was from my babysitter helping me spray paint a box and dryer hosing to make a tin-man costume. But... maybe since I've become an adult, it's become more of a fun creative-challenge thing for me.

In Singapore usually no one really much does anything save a couple of events at nightclubs, but I'm not really interested in dressing as a slutty (insert animal/profession here). Plus, this year I'll be in Penang visiting with J's family, so very unlikely I'll be doing anything. So this weekend, I played around with a couple of Halloween looks, just so I could have a nice FB profile pic for the rest of this month:

I tried this one first as an exercise in contouring my face, so it kinda became witch-like. I'm kinda meh about it since it turned out so washed-out shiny from the flash, but I didn't have natural light to take better shots.

All dressed up and nowhere to go!

This one was fun, and my attempt at recreating this MAC Halloween look:

I totally want to go out and buy stage makeup that would make this process so much easier, although I probably wouldn't use it more than once a year :D

Now, I just need to work on the mini-candy side of Halloween, which is the first reason it's my favorite day of the year.

The Most I'll Ever Spend on Dinner

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:41:07 GMT

...apparently is just under SG$500 for 2, with no alcohol.

Went to Iggy's last night to use up a perk from work, $350 to claim back on dinner for two as a thank-you for working five years. Iggy's is on some world's top 50 restaurants list this year, so decided to give it a try.

Keep in mind that for this price we got to sit around a bar counter with 5 other couples, not a proper table (of which J overheard there to be only 4?). At least this way we got to rub elbows (literally) with the stinking rich in this country lol.

The place only serves a 9-course gastro menu for $195++/head, which is what we had. I took some dimly-lit pics on my BlackBerry, with my comments.

First course - pre-course amuse bouche (this didn't appear as one of the 9 courses, but I'll renumber them to include this)

On the left is a foie gras creme brulee, and on the left is an uni jelly/mousse. It's like dessert in reverse, and it was very odd to have a savoury brulee and seafood-flavored mousse.

3.5/5 - I enjoyed the texture of both, but they were both quite salty

Second course was flakes of black truffle on top on some salad greens and a small slab of potato. I forgot to take a pic of this one, sorry!

Jin enjoyed this one more than I, as I've discovered that I actually am not a fan of truffle. Being uncultured and not a foodie whatsoever, I grew up thinking of truffle = chocolate and was very disappointed on the realization that real truffle just tastes like overly strong mushrooms.

3.5/5 - I was starting to think that I wasn't cut out for fine dining by this point. Although this dish went down easily despite my dislike of truffle, I realized several courses later that I was all truffled out.

Third course - Veal wrapped around raw tuna, served with the biggest caper I've ever seen.

4/5 - This one was not bad, I enjoyed it but I found it not salty enough, I had to drown it in sauce and the line of pepper below to give it some zing. Caper helped though.

Fourth course - Snapper sitting on aubergines, with green olives and fried fish skin on top.

5/5 - Just looking at this pic is literally making me drool, it was certainly one of the highlights of the meal. The fish was just perrrfectly cooked, not overdone, and the crispy fish skin flakes really offset the other textures. Yum, I'd have this one again.

Fifth course - Capellini with sakura ebi (small prawn things)

3.5/5 - J commented that he could make something like this and I agreed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it because the mini prawns were tasty and mouthier than regular prawns.

Sixth course - Roast suckling pig with desiccated parma ham, asparagus and potatoes

3/5 - J and I were divided on this one. J generally doesn't like suckling pig, and I quickly discovered that the parma ham had a strong whiff of truffle to it, so we swapped bits. The pig was by far the saltiest dish and I was chugging down some water to dampen the salty bite.

Seventh course - also not listed on the menu, cold essence of peach tomato on the left, and a battered fried tomato on the right.

3/5 - I think this dish was intended as a palate cleanser after that salty last dish. But yeah, this one was weird. You're basically drinking a frothy little mug of what tastes like a distilled tomato, very tart, almost refreshing but not quite hitting the spot. I really didn't know what to make of this one.

Eighth course - Wagyu beef with a bunch of baby veg

4.5/5 - So *this* is what all the fuss over wagyu beef is all about. I've never tried the "real" stuff, which I see now is only a pale imitation. The marbling on this beef is unlike anything I've ever seen before and it was good. Again, overly salty in a way, but still really good. Even though we were pretty stuffed already by this point (my mistake to gorge on the yummy olive bread), J and I forced ourselves to eat this just because it was so yum.

Ninth course - Soursop under a bed of gin jelly and lime whipped cream

5/5 - Another really odd one, but I loved this as it was very unique. The jelly was a little bitter from the gin but went really well with the soursop flesh and lime cream. It was so refreshing after all that salty savory food and really prepared me for dessert. A pre-dessert dessert if you will.

Tenth course - Milk ice cream on a medallion of coconut jelly next to pandan tapioca, basil sorbet, and a cube of chocolate ganache

4.5/5 - This was another winner. So many different flavors and textures commingling into a party in my mouth. The one weird part was the basil sorbet as I had a entree-in-reverse moment, but overall this meal was ending much stronger than it began. I admit that I'm a dessert girl and used to many combinations of chocolate, but even this was something that I've never tried before, like a high-end version of ice kacang fillings.

Eleventh and final course - Two petit fours, a banana concoction in a shot glass and a lemon tartlet

5/5 - A surprise finish. We were told to do the shot glass in a single mouthful, and though we joked about choking on this mystery thing in the middle (that looked like a poached egg), it was goood. It starts off slippery in your mouth then gently bursts to this runny banana filling. That was fantastic! To be honest the tart looked kinda sad after that since there was no way you could top that banana thing, but it did! We each popped in the little tartlet in our mouths and all of a sudden the noise began. These tarlets had Pop Rocks in em! We couldn't stop giggling in astonishment and the table next to us looked over at us giddy undrunks.

Overall, I'm not a hoity-toity foodie girl at heart and I probably won't ever have another meal like this in my life. I can't imagine spending that much money on a meal that was good but not the best meal I've ever had. However, I felt that this was definitely an interesting new experience, the play of textures in all the courses were something that I hadn't come across before. Even a gimmick like the Pop Rocks was a nice way to make the meal memorable given that we normally go through the same few meals and restaurants in Singapore. It was fun while it lasted to pretend like money is no object and I could eat at the top tier of restaurants, but I also don't mind coming back to earth to eat at Botak Jones or Boston Pizza.

Putting a name to a fear

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:50:13 GMT

Wow, 29 years into it, and I've finally put a name to an experience I sometimes face when drifting off to sleep - night terrors.

This is an experience that I've tried to explain to so many people but no one else has ever seemed to have this problem, and I always thought I was the only one. It's very different from a nightmare where there are scary situation when you're fully asleep, but more like an emotion that creeps over you as you're about to fall asleep.

I used to go through this quite often as a child, where I would be on the cusp of losing consciousness when I would have this incredibly strong feeling of well, terror. All that I knew was that if I stopped struggling to wake up I would die, sucked into a blackness if I let go. No context or dreams around this, awake enough to know I was lying in bed. The terror was bad, but worse was knowing that I couldn't easily wake myself up. Half-awake but paralysed, fighting and fighting just to twitch a finger just to break myself from the grip of this feeling. Trying to scream or gasp but no sound would come. Usually, I'd be trapped for several minutes in this state and then I'd finally wake with a huge rush of relief. You don't know how scared you become of trying falling asleep again after an experience like that.

Nowadays, it doesn't happen as often anymore but here and there I can sense it coming and that's when I'll get out of bed and try to shake myself out of that place so I can try to fall asleep again. If I don't get up and do this, and sometimes even if I do, it'll just suck me under again over and over.

Interestingly I always thought night terrors was the kind of thing that meant you would be sleepwalking all over the place, so I never really looked up the term. But today I read a blog that mentioned a familiar experience, and bam, now I know. And, I guess that's it, there's no real cause or cure, and I've learned to deal with it by now, but it's good to know that well it wasn't just me, yknow?

Does any of this sound familiar to any of you?

For Posterity

Mon, 25 May 2009 01:17:35 GMT

Three reasons I'm no good on camera:

1. My hair is frizzy

2. My head is rather fat as it doesn't fit behind my palm as is the rule (for appearing properly on camera) according to Josephine :)

3. I'm definitely not as articulate as I think I am.

All the same, I'm just going to link this inteview here, so that perhaps one day I may look back and think I've improved on #3.

http://www.telecomtv.com/groupdetail_videoDetail.aspx?v=3666&id=fdb0411d-a355-4e94-9a0f-bf7954bb0a4e#

The segments starts around 6:09, and I'm on around 7:40

Youtubed cut of just my section: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RadmqLkDOjE

Roller Coaster Weekend

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:40:43 GMT

Ugh, this past weekend has been so full of ups and downs that I don't even know where to begin. It went a little like this:

Downside: The original flight I was planning to book home was full, so no cheap tix for procrastinatey me

Upside: After being resigned to paying a full month's salary just for a stupid flight, I did find a connection for slightly cheaper

Downside: I'd have to book two legs of the journey separately, so I hoped one wouldn't fill up after paying for the other

Upside: United allowed me to create and "hold" an intinerary, so this problem was licked!

Downside: After paying for the other leg first (non-refundable), got stuck on the United site when it wouldn't allow me to pay through a non-American credit card, doh!

Upside: I can try to book it through Travelocity instead, they definitely take international credit cards

Downside: In the ten minutes I spent on the United site, the price on Travelocity has now jumped by US$200/ticket. Damn.

Upside: I trawl United.com again and find they have a phone number that I can call in and pay

Downside: I get an automated customer service, the kind where I have to repeat myself 5x verbally just to get the confirmation number acknowledged on the system

Upside: The credit card seems to be going through

Downside: I get caught when inputting the zip code...only 5 digits dang it!

Upside: I get transferred through to a live person finally (!) who tells me I can take the itinerary to any travel agent and they'll process it, phew!

Downside: I have to spend saturday morning schlepping to the United office to buy the tix, and now I'll have to pay an extra processing fee to get a real ticket issued

Upside: The woman at United processed it all, and we didn't even have to pay the extra fee, yay!

The End.

Well mostly the end, there was all sorts of other drama over the weekend, but it's probably best to leave out of a blog. I capped it off with climbing on Sunday on the lead wall, and that was so stressful since I haven't led in ages. I actually did far better on my first climb than the second, because lead climbing is not so much about strength as it is about mental confidence. On my first, I was stupidly didn't think about the risks and thus performed much better, but psyched myself out on the second attempt by overthinking. I guess I need more practice. All in all, I didn't have a relaxing weekend, but I'm 100x more relaxed now that I have my tickets home booked.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:13:53 GMT

Such a shame to let this blog die, but what much do I have to say lately...

Low Crime Doesn't Mean No Crime

I think I must have an aura about me, but I'm not sure what it is exactly. The other day I was sitting at the bus stop on my ownsome, minding my business on the BlackBerry, when a cleancut Chinese fella stopped his car and came up to me, asking me how to get to the "highway." Being more of a bus than driving person in this country, I told him I didn't know, and in fact there are several highways in Singapore, all leading in various directions. I think my spidey sense started to tingle when he asked me where I was from, if I was holidaying in Singapore, and then offered me a ride to wherever I was going (even though he was purportedly lost, otherwise, why ask for directions?).

I politely but firmly declined more than once, and gave him my best guess of where he ought to go, to get rid of him. He then proceeded to take out his phone in this rather blase manner, and was all like, ok, so what's your number then... I said, no, I don't think I will give it, and he wheedled, "but how will I contact you if I get lost?" I told him that there would sadly be no way of contacting me, but the best o' luck on your travels.

Ick. That just left me feeling all sorts of yuck, and after this guy drove away, another person came up to the bus stop, a big Indian fella, and asked me which bus to take to get where he was going. WTF, twice in five minutes, for realz? This almost has made the best argument for me to consider wearing a wedding ring after all. I do wonder how hot girls must have to deal with this all the time, no wonder they need to have their defenses so high 24/7. Just one simple encounter and I felt like this was just some abduction case waiting to happen.

Literacy is Injuring my Marriage

J always reads before bed, and I used to always feel a little neglected, as it truly is a luxury to spend the last few minutes of consciousness sharing and rehashing your day with the person you care most about. I've taken to picking up a book myself now, in order to not feel left out, but unfortunately (and I think this is a trait that runs in the family), I can't do anything in halves, in this case just read for five minutes and drift off to sleep. Last night (sunday) I picked up a book at 1am, and didn't put it down until oh... 4am. This whole reading in insane bursts through many hours, night or day, is a bad habit which has caused me to have read about 20 novels in the last two months, and I think J is starting to feel neglected himself. I'm addicted, and I think I must practice illiteracy for a while!

An Abundance of Ice in Singapore?

I wouldn't have guessed that it could happen outside of Edmonton, but ice has caused a major problem for me in Singapore. That is to say, our fridge has been misbehaving these last few months, and has been diagnosed as the formation of a substantial iceberg at the back of the freezer, causing the sea levels to rise, flooding our fridge. Three hours were spent on Saturday morning defrosting the freezer, and the rest of Saturday was spent eating the remainders of the fridge. Spring cleaning using the stomach I suppose you could call it.

Home is Where the Heart Is

I've been thinking a lot about home these days, wondering how Connie and Andy are doing with their new babe, wishing I could be there with them/for them. Yesterday I tried booking my ticket home, but the promo prices haven't even been released for August yet, so I'll have to try again next month. I'm trying to think of what I'd like to bring back. I'd love to bring a couple cans of rambutan stuffed with pineapple, but I wonder whether Canada customs would let me though and whether lugging massive cans across three legs of flight and 24 hours of travel would be the wisest of ideas. Regardless, I can't wait till my next visit!

As you can see, nothing of great importance has much been on my mind worthy enough to spin out longer stories, but life is otherwise humming along.

Am I really Lovin it?

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:00:46 GMT

I had an incredibly surreal moment at lunch today. Recently a new branch of McDonald's has recently opened up near the office, so I joined a colleague to grab some lunch there today. We were greeted by crowwwwds of people outside. We were all like mmmm okay? Inside, it was even more mayhem, there seemed to be some sort of grand opening event going on. There was a Chinese dude completely dressed up like Ronald McDonald, red wig, full makeup and all, but still looked... asian somehow. There was another dude, white, acting as an announcer, trying to auction off children's toys in the middle of the lunchtime crowd, but getting zero takers. Other staff were acting as greeters, opening the doors for us, or passing around trays of free iced mocha samples.

Like I said, surreal.

Spa Day

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:54:51 GMT

On our last day, we booked a two-hour spa treatment before he headed off to the airport. Our treatment menu:

1 hour of four-hand massage
45 minutes of lulur body scrub
15 minutes of hot petal bath soak

I've never had a massage with two people working on me at once, if I thought massages were a bit overly indulgent before, well this was even more so. I think I actually prefer a single masseuse though, two people and you feel like you can barely keep track of what's going on around you.

Afterwards our scrub, the third I've ever had. The first time was in Chiang Mai where I was rubbed raw within an inch of my life, but this time, they were definitely a lot gentler. They just rubbed on some spicy yogurty goo, including on my er "chestal" area which left me biting my lip from giggling, and let us mummify for 20 minutes, allowing the goo to dry and harden before scrubbing it off in large pieces, like how a snake might feel to shed its skin. An odd experience, but it's two days later and my skin still feels super soft.

The petal bath, which I thought sounded gimmicky, turned out to be the very best part. Living in Asia where space limits bathrooms from having bathtubs at all, I don't even remember the last time I've even had a bath. It was an excellent way to end this holiday, and the fragrant flowers were lovely too.

My feet look giganto relative to my head.

Hope you enjoyed the pics, I will definitely consider coming back to Bali, but maybe I'll consider another airline next time ;)

Uluwatu Part 2: Kecak Dance

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:52:57 GMT

The reason we had gone to the Uluwatu temple was in part to watch the Kecak Dance. I've seen my fair share of cultural dances, and they do seem to get a bit boring after a while if you don't fully understand the background behind them. This one was a little different though, as the "music" was completely provided by the chorus, nor was it singing, but a series of hypnotic sounds that it made, for an entire hour. I can't describe it well, so I've attached a video to give you a taste. You can totally imagine them long ago making these sounds in a trance-like state.

When we arrived to sit down, the bleachers were almost full, but we managed to snag a spot. I wondered if they only sold a limited number of tickets, but it would appear no, they just kept packing people in, until the crowds and the performers were hardly distinguishable. I shuddered to think of what impact a bomb would have had on this extremely dense space.

A holy man blesses the stage before the crowds begin to spill onto the main floor area.

The chorus of performers, all with a red hibiscus behind their right ear, no qualms about manliness here.

Show ending with a sunset and a fire.

Hotel Hopping

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:29:50 GMT

An occupational hazard of being married to an architect is that you get to see a lot of buildings. On this trip, the object of study was luxury resorts. Including our hotel, I think we saw six in total, quite a few for such a short trip actually. It can become quite an expensive adventure if you aren't very comfortable with bluffing your way through, however. Luxe hotels tend to be very solicitous of their visitors' needs, by asking you how they can assist (and I suspect to weed out plebs like us), so in a few cases we stopped for a drink in order to be able to comfortably explore the grounds without being hassled. Just as well that I still haven't got the hang of converting rupiah, because I'd probably balk at paying $15 for a non-alcoholic drink.

Entry to the Shaba hotel, looks like a hobbity entrance, the lamps hung so low.

Inside this tiny villa hotel, which only has three rooms, this is the common area, who wouldn't love to live in a gorgeous space like this.

The Anantara, I almost couldn't take all the heat from the lack of shade here.

We ended up spending a ton of time at the Intercontinental across the street from us, it was just convenient to cut through this hotel to get to the beach. I think we were passed through there so much, the guards probably believed that we guests after all. So tempting to use their giant pool in fact.

Evening at the Intercontinental, nice to lounge in the daybeds to watch live music.

The Bulgari resort was a little detour we went to on the way back from Uluwatu, the kind of hotel that you pay US$800 a night to stay at. And it reminded me of my stay at the Rayavadee earlier this year. The kind of place where the staff is extra careful to remember your name...and that makes it so much harder to say that you just want to walk around for no good reason :D We said we'd go for a drink... but never did haha. I felt like such a fraud when the go-cart attendant drove us back to the lobby, asking us whether we had a nice dinner and we said "um, yes?," but hey I got to buy a gift from Bulgari, pictured below.

Entrance to the Italian restaurant at the Bvlgari.

Bulgari Valrhona Chocolate Hazelnut Cream, Haha, who says you can't get luxury on a budget....

Actually, visiting these chi-chi hotels is verrry bad for me in fact, it's far far too easy to get used to the comfort and atmosphere of well-appointed places, but seeing as I'm no investment banker, I'll have to limit my exposure before I go fritter my life savings on a week stay at a hotel. Must.stamp.out.princess.fantasy.