Pain wakes me up!

Decided to try a 9am Pilates class this morning. OMG....talk about PAIN!!! My leg muscles are just so useless and weak! Maybe I can blame it on my recent episode of "shingles" that kept me in bed for a good week....hence minimal usage of my legs!

Anyway really really felt good to be up and about early! Makes a difference to my breakfast too. Let's just hope the energy levels continue throughout the rest of my day. Hope you're having a great one too, whatever u may be up to.

Oh found this on "a glamorous little side project" and I swear every woman should have a shoe rack like this. Makes me happy just lookin at it. Accessories RULE! Bet ya Jessica Alba does pilates tooooo!

Independent Weekend

I realised it not...... until this weekend. I kinda missed my independence! One of the errr slight symptoms of being in a relationship. But let me clarify....I use the term "independence" loosely to mean not having to think or worry abt your other half for a bit. Just doing my own thing really.

As u can guess, jin's away this weekend and so I've had to entertain myself. Initially I only had negative thoughts abt him leaving me alone....in a country where I've yet to really feel totally at home in, or at least be secure because I'm surrounded by family and friends...not!!

But it's been good - driving off to the gym for my class without having to worry about who's using the car, opening a bottle of wine and settling in with some chick flicks cos its what I want to watch, sleeping in and not worrying abt what time I had to have breakfast, and basically enjoying the house all to myself! It's nice :) I'm indulging in a little selfishness I think and that's okay. Don't you think?!?

Oh...it also means more yummy home-cooked meals. Dinner was a pan-fried salmon fillet w/ roasted baby carrots & potatoes and salad, washed down with a glass of delicious Shiraz :)

Lunch today consisted of a tuna penne salad, tossed w/ sweet corn & argula plus a side of roasted pumpkin! Yum!

Enjoying the Thunder

Peaceful sunday night....until the thunder started anyhow. Now my music is turned up a few notches to drown out the very very loud storm that's raging outside. I love thunderstorms - even thou they tend to frighten the crap out of me. It's just me....under the doonas wif lotsa dvds. Too comfortable! [loving Private Practice right now btw... good drama :P]

Has been a lovely day - jin's away in Spore, which means I got the car and managed to venture out on my own to one of the local coffeeshops to vege - read a mag and enjoy a coffee in the late afternoon.....amongst other older "uncles" who were also out enjoying their sunday (the local scene!). Besides the few funny stares (cos i kinda stuck out like a sore thumb)...it was fun!

It wasn't spruce coffee or anything...and I am well aware that it's not so acceptable for me to sit alone in an oldish, small, not so modern coffeeshop, reading my Pulses mag abt the stock market....but i dared to soak up the local conservative culture and when i closed my eyes, i cld nearly taste my favourite melbourne coffee. Well this was the local take of decent coffee anyhow!!

P.S took a photo of my cup of coffee - the last time i was in Spruce in Singapore...to help me remember.....hmmmm ....the flavor. Yum.

Bed Hopping!

It's been WAY too quiet here on my blog....sorrreee y'all. Been in Singapore for most of the month with minimal internet access. A short trip turned into an unexpected 2 week stay which was super awesome cos that meant some quality time with daddy dearest. BLISS.

The flying in and out was centered around my bf doing Lasik. From wearing THE heaviest glasses in the world on his poor lil nose (we're talking 1000 degrees people! He is termed - legally BLIND!) to now being free of any kind of visual aid. yippeee! Check out his last photo wif his glasses EVA :P

The technology for Lasik has changed since I did my eyes, and this particular doctor was as good as they get - wif the latest equipment to increase accuracy of the procedure. But it certainly came at a cost. He prefers to operate one eye at a time, lots of tests and checks, very thorough but time consuming too. And of course, the more time u spend in his clinic, the more money he's able to charge ya! hehe! Not only is he a good doctor, but he's also a damn good businessman :P I am talking about the pretty famous.... Dr Jerry Tan at Camden Medical.

Would I recommend him? Yes if you're as blind as my bf was - cos most doctors aren't able to successfully do Lasik on such high degrees. But don't waste your money if you're only say 400 degrees and below.

Anyhoo the month of April saw me sleep in a total of 6 different beds in as little as 3 weeks. So I figured I could give ya a quick review on the few hotels we got to sample. It's just so pricey to stay in hotels in Spore these days - demand is up, and so are prices! But I did find a great deal for a brand spanking new hotel tat opened literally couple of days before we arrived. It's called Studio M - located at Robertson Quay - my absolute most fave area of Spore. Opening promo was $200 a nite wif free wireless.

A chic, modern lobby.

Designer furniture

Then in between hotel stays, I went to dad's for 2 weeks while Jin was back in Brunei working. It felt great to spend some quality time wif dad. I was also able to catch up with a few friends here and there without the usual mad rush.

When Jin came back again, we found that a night at the lovely Sentosa Resort & Spa (The Beaufort) was more affordable than any hotel in town due to the Gourmet World Summit and the volcanic ash crisis in Europe, which left hundreds of travellers stranded with no accomm. Hotel rooms doubled & tripled in price overnight - scary stuff! Felt really bad for them. And by affordable, it really wasn't.... we paid $300 a night and heard that some tourist were being charged $600 and up. eeks! Well that was bed #3 and the best room service we've had in ages! hehe!

I flew back to Brunei mid month only to be locked out of my house and had to seek refuge at Jin's place (which was bed #4) and then finally my own bed (bed #5) for only 3 nights before flying back again 4 days later for Jin's second eye Lasik surgery. Have I lost anyone yet?!?! hehe!

Bed #6 was at the Royal Plaza on Scotts - pretty old but decent and best of all, spack bang in Orchard Rd which made it extremely convenient. The room was the least exciting, with a view of a carpark next door. It was also noisy during the day - so beware. We paid $220 per night which is still considered one of the cheaper rates for Orchard Rd but not really that worth it. So that pretty much concludes my bed hopping adventures for the month.

To sign off - here's a pic... depicting an insect lying in his cocoon, waiting to spread his wings and SEE the world for the first time!

hehe! [aka jin wif his eye masks! Published wif his permission.]

Monday night Drama

Let me tell you a little story about a girl who went out to buy a DVD and came face to face with a "non" customer service culture.

She popped out in the late afternoon to pick up something fun to watch that night but alas, the dvd seemed to have scratches on it and would not play. So after dinner, she went back to the store to try and exchange the disk. Unfortunately there weren't any copies of that particular movie left in the store but they did manage to locate a copy at their other store so she drove over to pick it up.

While testing the dvd at the store, they ran into the same problems where the disk got stuck in the same part, making it unwatchable. She kindly asked for an exchange for another movie only to be told that she had to go BACK to the original store for any such exchanges! Driving back and forth in one night wasn't her idea of fun and she decided to try and reason with the salesgirl to make an exception. Finally an hour later, after several calls to seek approval and advice from their manager, they relented much to the relief of the little girl.

Upon selecting her exchange item, the salesgirl charged an extra $3 for the new dvd. Now here's the math as far as she could see it. The original dvd cost $23.90 and she was given her usual membership discount and paid $21. The new dvd cost $24 which was a whole 0.10cents more than the original!! And yet the store wanted to charge her $3 and said no further discount applied. HUH?!?!?!

It just didn't make any sense! Much to her frustration, she tried to gently convince the store that it required only a simple exchange without any monetary complications and if anything she secretly thought she should be the one getting compensated on the faulty dvd in the first place and having to drive around town all night.

The happy ending to the story though was the success of her persuasive influencing skills :) She went home with a new dvd for no extra cost, and had a great relaxing night.

THE END ....hehe!

Code of Silence

I've had quite a few things on my mind lately...stuff that I've been wanting to write about here......BUT I realised something cruciaL recently - my country of abode right now requires me to take a unique "code of silence" !! hehe! This is the kinda thing that you so easily take for granted in western countries - freedom of speech, democracy and all. But that's not the case everywhere and some places simply have their own rules. I'm learning!

I can be cryptic thou :) Well I'll try to be anyway cos some of the things that I want to share are what makes this place so damn interesting! Like last weekend, I was taken to a new place for dinner. That is indeed a big deal cos as I've mentioned before, we're really limited to a handful of cafes/restaurants here. Not set up in any normal err venue, the food had an amazing home-cooked feel & was super yummy and inexpensive. I can't exactly identify the place but I believe I only need to say one thing.....

SALTED EGG COATED DEEP FRIED CHICKEN!! hehe!

Trust me...it's to die for :) And it is what this place is known for. Way better than KFC. I honestly find gems in the most unusual of places - places that are not always fully legit, but who cares! We'll definitely be back...afterall it's only just around the corner. hehe!

p.s Inside my head, I've been working on a list of the Top 5 Must-Dos for Brunei. I believe this just made it to my Top 5 list. More to come so stay tuned. (of course I'm rather slow in my Brunei discoveries so if there are any suggestions out there - do leave a note!)

L.O.V.E

A good friend reminded me from the beginning not to start a blog unless I had something meaningful to say :) So that got me inspired to chat a little on LOVE and plus Valentines Day just passed and being our first one in Brunei, we had to rethink how to celebrate it without the traditional commercialism of the occasion.

I personally felt it was no different to any other ordinary day when jin could surprise me with some flowers he picked from his backyard to brighten my room with. Flowers are flowers - they die within a week whether you pay good money for them or not. It's definitely the thought tat counts!

And romantic dinners....well there are really only 2-3 restaurants that we enjoy eating at (and allow you to bring wine) so once they become part of our weekly routines, it's hard to notice the difference b/w a normal dinner and a V-Day dinner :P

This really made me think! V Day was not necessarily abt how to celebrate with dinner / flowers / gifts etc, but a reminder to be thankful that love comes in other forms too....like making breakfast for me in bed, reminding me to take my vitamins, allowing me to choose which dvd to watch, praying for me when I'm tired or sick.... Jin's good at tat - looking to e cross, seeing the positives & believing in His abundant blessings in our lives!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

This weekend is Chinese New Year. And as it turns out, CNY is a pretty big deal to jin's family. There's been a lot of activity leading up to it; the house gets a thorough spring clean, new cushions on the sofa, front door has a fresh coat of paint, cars are washed & even the driveway gets a special jet-spray treatment.

Me, I'm not that keen on the many traditions. I honestly don't understand why one has to wear new clothes for CNY? But then again.... I bet most of my generation are clueless to the significance of this and simply take it as a great excuse to go shopping! hehe! The other part I'm not fond of anymore is the receiving of "ang pows". Call me crazy for not liking the idea of receiving money but I really do feel such an awkwardness & embarrassment about it. Maybe it's got something to do with me being in a foreign country, with a family tat's not my own.

So for the most part, I hope to survive the errrr "duties" of greeting strangers as they visit the house by rewarding myself with some quality DVD time. I have quite a few great titles to get thru....(with or without my bf haha!).

The pineapple tarts are essential of course!

Oh and I nearly forgot.... Happy Valentines Day! I got some gorgeous lillies from jin last night and heading off to "Deals" at the Sheraton for dinner tonight (yes we're celebrating early!).

Burgers anyone?

It's been nearly 12 months since I arrived on the island of Borneo and unfortunately I've not had much luck finding the food that I crave for. The lastest... I wanted to eat a really good burger! And unless you can be satisfied with McDonalds, there really ain't a lot of options here. So I resorted to learning from Jamie. The recipe was pretty straight forward and idiot proof. hehe! Not only am I picking up a couple of handy new skills in the kitchen....but I'm learning to do without some decent furniture tooooo. This is our new dining table featured below! Yes u observed correctly - no chairs.... just making do on our little cushy.

Being Health Conscious with REAL FOOD

Well since I started down the path of err semi-regular exercise and trying to keep fit, I thought I'd take a moment to tell ya about a new little cafe that's all about being healthy. It's called "Real Food" and they've created a small niche of dishing up organic food to the local Singaporean and expats alike. In the chaotic process of globalisation, I do believe the food we eat today ain't as natural as it used to be and especially having to import food all around the world to satisfy international tastebuds, it's not surprising that one has to inject their produce with all kinds of preservatives and chemicals to keep it from dying along the way.

Organic food is just about going back to its roots and keeping it pure. I love the idea of not having excess or additional additives in my food. I also love how my friend has created such a funky yet cozy little cafe to hang out at. oops... did I fail to mention tat at the beginning?! :P

Well yeah this is a mini tribute to a somewhat dream come true for her and her hubby. Their passion & vision to create a space where people can enjoy delish food that's also very good for u.... well i just happen to think tat's awesome! Plus we all know how hard it is to actually be doing something that you love and believe in...RIGHT?!?! It's way easier to sit in a cooL cafe dreaming about it. hehe!

The cafe is known for their very affordable brown rice set at only $6.80 (who said organic food had to be expensive?!?) but more important for me...is an all-day breakfast menu yipeeee! They serve banana blueberry French toast which is also $6.80 and they do an interesting & super healthy spin on the usual big breakfast - it's called the "all in a pan big breakfast" for less than $8 bucks! Bargain!

And once you've had your fill, you can check out the retail side of things and perhaps bring home some organic goodies! You just have to feel good...knowing that whatever you've just eaten or purchased ....is working its magic & promoting a healthier you :)

In addition to their menu, I had a rare treat (featured to the left here) home-made dessert from the chef who was experimenting & I was a willing guinea-pig. Who noes...it mite appear on the menu someday :)

I just wish they had this kinda thing in Brunei!

WHERE TO FIND "REAL FOOD" ?

Located in the basement of The Central in Clarke Quay. Opened daily. Enjoy!

My celebrity fashion Muse

So I gotta have something to work towards - to keep me motivated. And while doing my usual morning online surf, I decided that "something" wld be to adopt a celebrity fashion muse :P

Eva Longoria - petite yet great sense of style, pretty classic but sexy too. I like. Now to reorganise my wardrobe, clear out the unwanted clutter & bad choice purchases and make some effort to dress better with some Eva inspiration! Granted I'm not living in a glam city right now where fashion really matters but at the same time, it's just too easy to let myself go completely and wander around in items tat mite resemble a um... garbage bag?!? (ie comfy, big, oversized to hide my tummy wif no shape - eeks!)

So here's what I like so far....

Who says petite gals can't pull off a BIG gorgeous handbag?!? Also gotta remember e scarf is a great add-on to the otherwise simple jeans outfit.

Hmm...I just picked up a pair of new brown uggs in Beijing. Love them but don't think I can pull them off in such warm climates. I mean it doesn't exactly look very cold in this photo below...but surely my wearing ugg boots in 30+ degree temperatures wld make me look like a complete idiot...no?

And finally - the very trendy summer maxi dress. Obviously the fashion faux-pas to avoid long dresses for petite gals does NOT apply to Eva... nor me! I love maxi dresses...the easiest & most practical item in my wardrobe really.

My struggle with Fitness!

So I spent some of the afternoon researching & reading about core strengthening exercises on the internet. Having paid for a personal trainer once upon a time, I'm not gonna repeat that mistake again. Did u noe that most trainers in Asia have barely any qualifications in the first place? sheesh!

Anyway I think my biggest weakness in terms of fitness is the lack of core strength and regular lower back pain (even when I'm doing the dishes for 5mins). Also doesn't help that I've put on quite a bit of tummy fat ever since I got to Brunei and officially can't fit into 2 of my fave pair of jeans. Bugger!

The last few months of going to the gym have not produced any visible results as yet which is rather demoralizing. So hv decided to follow some of these workout advice based on my online research.

1. - Do cardio at different intensity levels - interval training.

1. - Do lots of Core Strengthening exercises as often as poss. like The Plank, The Bridge & Bird-Dog Balance (who comes up with these names?!?!?!) Does she (right) resemble a bird or dog in any way in tis position?

1. - Build muscle in arms & legs on alternate days.

This is an on-going battle to get fit for me. No matter how hard I try to hit the gym regularly, I never seem to enjoy the so-called benefits of say...sleeping better at nites, or gaining more energy in the day, or actually shedding some of tat body fat! So far....nothing.

But I guess for now, I'll just focus on understanding my body, locating my um deep abs (muscle tat gets neglected but is crucial to my whole core apparently)... and re-learning to use & control these muscles to strength my core and reduce back pain.

[check out tis article for more info: http://www.better-exercise-fitness-for-life.com/core-exercises.html#deep-muscle]

The body fat loss issue is secondary - having no back pain, a healthy heart and being more fit is more of the priority I'd say. Wouldn't u?

My struggle with Breakfast.

I have tried and tried...but I just can't seem to turn myself into a "Breakfast" person. Is there such a thing? You know... like a "Morning" person...which I'm not btw. I totally believe that some people are just naturally programmed to be morning people, waking up at an early hour and loving it. Me... I just jump at any opportunity to sleep in.

So yeah... not being a morning person probably doesn't help my breakfast cause either. Having not been very well trained as a kid to eat breakfast religiously, I am still struggling with it despite knowing how "important" this meal is (sucks tat it's e most important meal of the day really!).

And if that wasn't the hardest part, then it's finding healthy breakfast food that is an even bigger challenge. I tend to detest all the stuff that happens to be good for me.... oats, milk, soy, wholemeal anything, egg whites, cereal....etc.

Does anybody have any other suggestions for a healthy breakfast...EASY TO PREPARE meal?

A Wintery Beijing

Best thing about Beijing in the winter? Nope - not the minus 17 degrees!! It's being able to escape the hundreds and thousands of ANNOYING tourists. No matter how many times I go, there's just something so magical and majestic about the two most absolute famous sights of China - The Forbidden City and The Great Wall of China. I've seen them all year round now...in spring, summer & winter and honestly, I gotta say the latter is by far THE BEST time to go (my humble opinion).

On any ordinary day, I can understand why some people lose sight of why they even bothered to visit. The swarms of people pushing and shoving to take photos can be enough to put you off. It's pretty hard to imagine how the imperial family ever lived there or picture soldiers and horses running along e wall in battle amongst the massive tour groups wearing same coloured caps & waving the stupid "don't get lost" flag.

But on this sunny day in January, jin and I pretty much had the Wall to ourselves. It was bliss. We were really blessed with perfect winter weather (if there is such a thing) where the snow covered e ground for e best pics, but the sun kept us warm without even the slightest hint of a chilly wind (considering we were mostly on mountain peaks, I'd say what a massive relief!!).

I'll admit the Forbidden City wasn't quite as deserted but seeing that the grounds were so huge, there was plenty of space for everyone to do their thing :)

These giant trees in the Imperial Garden (back of the palace) have been around for centuries.... just awesome!

Beijing really has the best of both worlds; the most fascinating history & rich culture moulded together with international standards of hotels, restaurants, bars & shopping malls. I wanna go back and live there one day (fingers crossed). I guess that's another thing on the "waiting" list.

What's so good about planning anyway!

It's back to my usual procrastination. Got back to Brunei a few days ago and trying to settle into my routine and reality but holidays really throw me off and it takes awhile to get adjusted hehe! I don't even know where to begin as 2010 is off to a busy start, so I thot maybe a follow up from my last entry to let ya know how much lotsa planning....DOESN"T necessarily pay off peeps!! HA!

So what went wrong on the trip?

Firstly we arrived in Spore & waited patiently at the baggage belt only to be told that our bags were already on their way to Beijing kinda. I thot I told e lady at check-in that we were stopping in Spore for a night!!! sheesh! Not only were we rushing to get to late dinner reservations for jin's bday but now we had technically lost our bags. Thank goodness for e Lost & Found dept who promised to retrieve our suitcases & deliver them to my house. Great service. They arrived about the same time we had finished dinner & taken a cab home. whew!

Second mishap - while I was taking some clothes outta my bag for my return Spore stay, it suddenly hit me hard that I had left my one & only winter jacket in my closet in Brunei. shit! After all my careful packing, I still forgot the most important item of clothing for e entire trip. Boy was I mad wif myself.

Shortly after that, upon checking our bags in for the 1am flight to Beijing, we were informed that our names could not be found in the system. The guy nicely asked to see our itinerary and then told us our flight was actually the night before! We had missed our flight!!! So much for my careful coordination of flights and dates. Big whoops! All I can say was that we were truly blessed & looked after & SQ put us on the flight going out the same night free of charge (waiver of a $300 fee). double whew!

On the bright side, I had the best excuse in the world to buy a gorgeous new jacket from Zara and on sale too - BONUS! Couldn't stop there, Uniqlo had some great buys hence leading to a second down jacket purchase for like $50 bucks, some thermals, a new cashmere scarf & a couple of very comfy fleece hoodies to help brave temperatures ranging from -4 degrees to -17 degrees.

Will try to narrow down what were the major highlights of Beijing and post some pics soon!