Highly Recommends Bikram Yoga!

The best thing that ever happened to me for September: discovering bikram yoga.

I never realized I would fall in love with Bikram Yoga. Loves the suffocating heat (40deg Celsius!) of bikram room. It's like every inch of my body is sweating so hard while performing the 26 poses within the 90minute timeframe.  It's literally tagatak-pawis.  You would feel relaxed and energized afterwards.

My body is stiff, I know I'm not the sporty type. The first bikram session got me dizzy that I had to pause and sit on my mat from time to time while class was going on. Never attended ballet classes, I cant do back bend or any flexible moves.

Out of the 26 yoga poses, the ones I initially hate the most are 'Camel' (kneel down, bend back, touch your feet) and 'Fixed Firm' (kneel down, drop back and lie flatly on your back sitting on your legs) poses, I couldnt figure out how in the world can people bend their body without hurting their backs and their legs. Only on the 7th session did I finally manage to do it and hold for a few seconds. Hoorah. (Refer to image #20, #22) Good progress.  There are still several poses in the standing series that I cant do properly, anyway it takes time. 

Cheers to the intro session of 10consecutive days at only 50sgd. I've attended 8 sessions, and the result - finally I'm able to fit in to my favorite old black dress! Kinda shallow right? :) I usualy do things with just a simple end goal in mind. Hmm like attending a makeup workshop to know how to put false eyelashes, and now attending bikram yoga to get rid of unwanted fats and finally fit into my old dress. Simple, but it works. Low expectations = high satisfaction.  Aim on one thing and get it, rather than aim on so many and not getting even one. :)

The only down side I can think of for bikram yoga, is the price! It's kinda pricey compared to typical yoga and pilates classes.  All I can say is that after having bikram yoga, I dont feel much satisfaction doing the usual yoga anymore, it's not 'it' when you don't sweat like hell. :p

For people who are lazy and not disciplined enough to go for regular gym and jogging like me, I guess bikram's your best bet.  Always remember you need to exercise more when you age.

Life is again different now

When I was just new here in sg, I remembered having moments like waking up in the morning, and can't believe where I was, having this surreal feeling, 'Where am I again?'

The IB job got me into a different level of challenge and stress. I was dreading work, cursing almost everyday, 'PI!' you bet. Partly was also because of few assholes in the workplace. And yes, this is my 3rd gloomiest chapter. (2nd being the mini-accident during 2009). I dont want to elaborate on this gloomy chapter, all I can say is everything is part of life.

And now, what has changed. Finally after working for eight gruelling long consecutive years without any real breaks, I am finally having a break.  Can you imagine waking up 10am on a weekday, without a need for an alarm clock, no sign-off for production, no freaking production misses. Can you imagine strolling Orchard on a weekday, attending yoga classes, doing more culinary experiments, catching up with friends, going on foodie trips, watching movies online. I seem to have all the time in the whole world now.  Is this really for real???  What am I supposed to do with 24hours a day?! Never realized there are actually 24 hours in a day, if you get what I'm saying.  Life used to be just Sat and Sun and holidays for me. (Or in some other previous jobs, even the holidays/weekends can be deprived occasionally) Now life has extended, omg.

Because of this unexpected yet expected break, I feel kinda pressured. Is this a sign, a sign of what? I have promised my mom to spend some time with her, at least during her birthday month. You bet, I will also have 24hours a day in Manila. Now the whole idea seems to excite and to scare me a bit. I always have a long and unaccomplished to-do list.  I will now have time to squeeze them all in, if I'm good with managing my time. I can enroll in whatever fancy workshops, I can eat in whatever new resto or go to any cool place.  I guess I have time to mend broken relationships/ties and unfinished businesses. But then again, I suddenly feel most of my friends have gone on with their own lives there.  I hate to admit but yes, probably it doesnt make a big difference whether I'll be back or not :(.    

I'm not as good in sugarcoating like some of my friends. To be honest, even if I'm happy about the whole idea, it's also freaking me out. The sugarcoating way of saying is 'sabbatical', the layman way is 'bum'. :))  I'm freaking because my resume will reflect real gaps now. I'm freaking because I still have to pay rent. -these are my honest feelings. But learning from people who are good in sugarcoating, I should label this as 'a period of self-exploration and self-improvement' :) I really need some light and strength right now. Aww God help me.

New Glam Picture for 2011

I signed up for a discounted make-up workshop voucher with groupon. (My only intention then was to learn to put false eyelashes :p)  I didnt expect that I'll also get dolled up after the workshop. :)

Thanks to my flatmate who turned her bedroom into an instant studio in 3 minutes, photography expert :)  Here's one of my fave shots. I guess my shots seem to look better if I'm in my dont-look-at-the-camera and dramatic-emote expression. :)



 I played with Photofunia and put some caption. Aww you just stole my heart away and my eyes seem to get stuck on you, cant you see baby? :)) (practice lang)

My Predictions

Last year, Jul 2010, out of 'nothing to do', I consulted again a manghuhula in Manila who is highly recommended by a neighbor. :p  This so far is my 3rd attempt.

The 1st attempt was sometime when I was around 23, the only thing I remembered - I was told I will only get married after 30 :p. Whuaw how's that, what a bad news. :p

The 2nd attempt was when I was tinkering with the idea of working in SG. It gave me a bad card, saying something like it's gonna be a very hard hard task if I continue with it. Being a pasaway, I followed instinct and flew here.

So now this 3rd attempt, what has it revealed to me? (tarot+palm)
-my palm says I'm a 'layas' meaning adventurer. Hmm accurate.
-I'm hard-headed and matampuhin at times.  Oops I'm in denial. :)
-pag may ginustong bilhin, bibilhin mo.  Hmm sometimes accurate.
-mapili sa kaibigan. Hmm yeah it justifies why I'm anti-social at times.

the more exciting stuff:
-career: hindi ka boss. hindi yan ang peak mo, magshishine ka pa lalo in your next. I ask him anong next. He said maybe try mo magbisnes. (my sister told me malamang lahat ng filchi na nagpapahula sa knya sinasabihan nya magbisnes lol) - how in the world did he know lol. That idea has been swinging in my head for years. Nope I'm not a born rich kid with a conglomerate to inherit. Where shall I start?! This sounds exciting.  I will welcome the time I can move my ass out of the rat race and dip it into something different. Ok dreaming. Sometimes I feel like I am getting the signs though. I asked further pero ndi ko pa nasubukan. He checked my palm again and said, your palm says 'hndi ka maghihirap, wala kang problema sa pera'... Wow too good to be true. I still feel poor at times lol.

-lovelife: parang may hinihintay kang bumalik, pabayaan mo lang. Ouch leche!
You will be hurt twice, tpos na ba? I was like 'huh'.
You will meet someone during last quarter (Oct), but you wont end up with him. Holy cow yes I did meet someone last Oct, jackpot lol. Nothing interesting bloomed out, just that I discover more about what annoying means :(. I will probably blog about this when I have time. :p  
The good hula is, I will still get married daw. (And I thought it's a hopeless case!)

Anyway, this is just a past-time. I really dont follow this religiously. I dont encourage people to go for this and later be frightened/disappointed. Take everything with a pinch of salt.

  

  

A Little Thing Called Love

I saw someone posting this in FB, watched my first ever Thai movie, 'A Little Thing Called Love'

Aww so sweet, makes me wanna be young. :(

I dont know if most of the girls will agree with me. I think each of us has this moment, probably at least once. You seem to like someone a lot, so much that you want to change for the better, to improve in different ways. You change the way you look, the way you dress, the way you walk so that you can be physically attractive enough in his eyes. You want to excel so that you'd be someone worthy of having him. You just wanna do stuff (sometimes funny and obnoxious) to catch a little of his attention, a little of his time, a little of his concern, because simply doing so makes you happy.  And seeing him smile makes you happy.  And yet you keep holding back without telling him because you dont know what to say.

Aww God, pity these kind of ladies, help them get the man to do something instead, and not drowning in the pool like this poor charming lady.  

Enjoy the OST:

Sing a Song for You

This year's entry count is still very far from last year's! What else to write about?!!  Shall I just upload my ktv recordings, dont blame me for bleeding eardrums.

Here's one sweet pa-cute cerfified every girly girl's must-sing song during KTV:
Love Story by Taylor Swift 
http://www.youtube.com/user/ktvqueen716#p/a/u/0/EFbkfnn2rrk
oops I know notes are not accurate

And another one 他不爱我 by 莫文尉 (Karen Mok)
ohh so sad, title means 'He doesn't love me...'

My Top 3 Fave Cheap Eats

Once a cheapskate, always a cheapskate. Here are my top choices to satisfy my cravings without burning a hole in my pocket.

My fave list may change from time to time, but for this season, below will be my top 3 favorite comfort food / places.

3rd place: Saizerya Ristorante
If I'm craving for cheap italian eats like pasta, gratin, risotto, steaks, salads etc, the best place to go is Saizerya Ristorante located in City Square (Farrer Park mrt). I've tried the Asari Clam Pasta, Bacon & Mushroom Risotto and their signature Doria (cheese-baked rice with chicken or seafood). Each dish costs as low as 3.90sgd and probably max at 5sgd. Food court-priced food at resto ambiance.

Below pix: first is the Risotto.
I dont have a pic of the Doria, grabbed a pic from net, source indicated in the pic as well.

2nd place: Seafood 21 @ Kovan
If I'm craving for my favorite creamy butter crab, the best place to go is Seafood 21 @ Kovan (Kovan mrt). So far this is the cheapest crab place I know, 3 small crabs for just 18sgd! (max at 21sgd)  The taste is pretty much decent, tasty! The crabs are small yet the crab meat is firm. And for the fact that it's an enclosed place with aircon, the price is really a steal. (A big 1kg crab served in a resto would normally cost 35sgd at the very least, and you have to pay GST).

I'm actually tempted to put this as 1st place, just that crab is not something you can eat frequently (high cholesterol!). The sauce for creamy butter crab is made from: milk, butter, curry leaves, few red chilli. Best to order mantou (fried steamed buns) to dip into the sauce.

It's best to go with companions for hawker fare food like this so that you can order different dishes and share. After having a taste of creamy butter crab / salted egg creamy butter crab, you'd give pepper crab and chilli crab a break. I have already created successful converts who are now fan of this dish like me. :)  I guess I will have to blog separately for all the nice places for trying creamy butter crab.

1st place: I Love Taimei
This year I've discovered my new cheer-up food at I Love Taimei at Bugis Junction (Bugis mrt), fell in love again with milk tea with pearls, and the taiwanese inspired fried crispy breaded chicken fillet. A lot of places selling this fried chicken fillet, just that the I personally prefer the aromatic flavor from Taimei. I've also found a new favorite side dish from them, their Tofu fries in seaweed flavor - very fresh concept for me, never imagined you can use tofu to make fries!  A set meal of chicken+milktea+fries is roughly 8sgd. Yummy.

Style Up Your Hair!

If there's one word NOT in my vocabulary, I guess it's 'boredom'. Because I can always find something amusing, interesting, unique, new, out of this world, anything that is worth a try. Or perhaps rather than complaining and dying of boredom, I am making a conscious effort to find something that makes me busy, makes life worth living, makes me sane. As simple as that.

Couldn't sleep one night, ended up browsing thru make-up tutorials and finally landed on hair styling tutorials. I don't have enough 'gadgets' to keep me going, borrowed my flatmate's hair iron.. and the rest is history. I need a strong spraynet though.  Here are some of my proud first-timer moments lol. I couldnt find a suitable occasion to sport this up though. 

This is my fave, soft interlocking braids, girly girl isnt it? :) 










This one is for greek goddess look, as quoted by my flatmate.












I don't know what is this, a messy chaotic braid. One thing's for sure, I need a hand. My hands are not long enough to capture it! :)













The last one is another 'its complicated' do, trio bush.












Enjoy!

Let's go Vietnamese

Joo Chiat - Never did like exploring food here, as I thought it's just another 'pok(2x) area' loaded with lots of Malay food. Never a fan of Malay food, never did like spicy food. But yeah, looks like I am wrong. You can get decent authentic Vietnamese food at very reasonable prices, again another one with long queue - Long Phung Vietnamese Restaurant.

Let's not talk about ambience, we're just in a simple restaurant with aircon - that is sufficient enough for me.  You'll get some views of hot Vietnamese 'call girls' strolling across the street. (You can ask for their prices if you want to, but they're not included in the menu. :p)

Vietnamese dishes that will always be on my fave list: beef pho and vietnamese spring rolls. Ooh delicioso! Nothing much to comment, every dish below costs just about 5-6sgd per dish, I'm sold.

New discovery: I again of course went for something not-so-conventional: the nutty tamarind juice, just nice!

Other dishes include Member Chicken (chicken pieces wrapped in wanton wrapper and fried) and some traditional Seafood rice noodle.

3 pax sharing, my overall damage is just 10.50sgd, winner!

Breakfast is a lifestyle!

Never really fancied breakfast. To be exact, never had time to sit down, relax, drink some milk/coffee and eat sandwich for a relaxing breakfast at home.. on a weekday, for the last 4+ years. My typical weekday breakfast would be preparing a sandwich in a hurry, rush to office, then prepare my instant oatmeal drink and eat my sandwich in haste within 5 minutes on my table.

And much to my surprise, breakfast is becoming a fad nowadays. You have breakfast-all-day-concept from new restaurants in Orchard. Most of the food addicts will surely not give these 2 famous breakfast places a miss. So here I am, unfortunately joining the bandwagon. :p

Wild Honey

Interior speaks for itself. Ambience is expensive. White waiting for my food, I was given a Vogue magazine, cool. Been to a few western restaurants and I have made a haste (unreliable) conclusion, when you see menu written with chalk on a blackboard, you are 'in' and you can price high. Wild Honey serves breakfast all day.

Like I normally do, I asked for what's the best-seller. I chose European breakfast which is nothing but Eggs Benedict (18+) paired with their signature Hazelnut Latte. It's the first (and probably the last) time of ordering gourmet coffee. Because unfortunately I could not really differentiate a Starbucks latte with an expensive latte. (actually not really too pricey, just 2-3sgd more than regular Starbucks price)  Pardon my taste buds because I am not really keen on coffee. Coffee for me just serves one purpose: for socializing/for dates. :p I like it, I drink it, I enjoy it, but I am not addicted. Gotta be tough to take me onto addiction level.

Going back to my 'eggs', they were nicely and elegantly done, there were actually 2 of them, 2 egg yolks wrapped with salty bacon placed on top of toasted bread. However it's too late that I somehow realize I'm not really an egg person. It's actualy a little oily to have 2 big egg yolks in one sitting. I guess it's just one of those 'wrong orders' resto moments for me. I'm not putting the restaurant down.


Jones The Grocer
Another Australian resto, interior again is nice, with all those dangling classy glassy stuff. Again you'll see menu written on the blackboard.

This time we were lucky with the orders. Had their signature wagyu beef burger (26+) and jones club sandwich (13+). The beef burger had blue cheese and the beef was cooked medium rare. (blue cheese by the way is expected to taste like rotten sour cheese, well things you pay more usually have some kinda weird taste).  Wagyu beef burger also comes with truffle fries. (again truffle oil is considered gourmet ingredient, tastes something like burnt oil)  I personally prefer the club sandwich, the sourdough bread was quite firm and chewy (or was it just me?). It had some chicken fillet and fresh veggies, tastes quite tasty.    

Next time you happen to pass by Mandarin Gallery in Orchard, you know how to be 'in' by stepping into these 2 breakfast places. Mind you the review comments for these places have circulated like crazy in the small community of Sg.

Q culture & food

Yesterday was the sensational opening of H&M, where people queued overnight.

This weekend is another Comex IT Show, I did receive sms asking about when HP Touchpads will be selling at the price drop in sg.

Find this comment in yahoo quite amusing.
Spore loves to Q - this is our Q culture. We Q overnight for the birth of Apples's iPads, we also Q overnight for the death of HP's TouchPads, we Q at the Spore Expo at the burial of Borders (50% discounted books).

I don't like queueing, but sometimes I can't help to queue. But for food, yes, sometimes I'm guilty that the longer the queue, the more it makes me curious and the more I wanted to try a dish or resto out and see for myself. Whether it's good or bad, normally I wont come a second time (kakatamad mag-queue!) :)) If it's good, then i'll be happy and say 'Yes I conquer it'. If it's not, then nothing much to say because it will automatically be included in my 'forgettable' list.

I guess I'm bored. Or actually I'm never bored. Seems like I can always think of something new to do. Few friends have asked me why dont I just start a food blog with my fancy for food. Hmm I still dont have a dslr for food photography, which is a requirement for food blogging. I dont really wanna say 'uhmm I actually already have one since ages, just that I dont feel like revealing it to public, as this blog has become a scribble of most of my emotional outbursts and angsts, and I must say this is not very 'me', it's actually a 'negative' me which I dont like to be publicized :p. Anyway, I'll continue to blog about things that strike me, especially food.

One more thing. Usually I get attracted to food places where they have the most number of reviews online, (regardless good or bad). Reviews are subjective. Besides I believe that an object/subject worthy of review in itself already proves its value. Just like a celebrity, who would bother commenting on starlets and trying-hards? Another point is I dont know why people here put so much emphasis on service, like I rate this resto low bec my plates are not being cleared voluntarily eww, my empty glass is not filled automatically. Unless the service is really annoying, disrespectful, else, sorry I find it primadonna to just blabber about service quality. On another hand, yes service becomes important only if you are like paying 50sgd+ per head. Other than that, better shut up about these primadonna manners puhleez.

p.s. whether it's a blessing in disguise or not, I do have all the time in the world now. I have time to step back and smell the roses. Morever, I guess I have more time to blog.