It is the new year, 12 years past the millenium. Every year is a reflection, of my achievements and my life’s milestones.  Too often time has flown by without my knowledge, when I was too busy running the rat race to fully appreciate what I can offer to myself. Where’s the music, the prose, the words that spin the yarn of life? Where’s my time, my soul, my hideout where inspiration flows?

So what’s 2012? A planned year, a charted path. An unexplored territory within the depths of my heart. The usual routine, challenges and hurdles, some wonderful memories, some painful ones. A dive into cold spring waters, penning my own chapter, riding my own wave.

I get this too often: “Hey you are quite happening huh, always looking like you have a fabulous time every weekend” or “Just how many times do you travel??”

It does get frustrating, especially when people think all you do is to play all day long…as if you do not deserve it. It is amazing how quickly people judge – come into office with a sunkissed look and people immediately think you are a beach bum who spends her days under the sun without doing any work.

I digressed. Instead of sitting back and being envious of all of us who “enjoy life, leh”, it is also time to consider the following:

1. You have reached the age where you cannot party hard on Fridays and Saturdays and expect to bounce outdoors the next morning. Your body will probably want to hide under the covers till 3pm on a brilliant weekend instead.

2. You feel that your weekends should be plans-free and hence decide to plan your day around your mood instead. Being the night owls most of us are, chances are you will probably wake up at 11am earliest and spend the next 4 hours planning brunch/lunch, getting there and sitting through a lovely lazy day. Before you know it, it’s 5 in the evening, time for beers!

3. Weekends in Singapore can get really boring after a while. How much can you eat, drink and shop…and keep this routine up every week?

Weekend getaways include local hotel stays (well you can bounce and frolic on the hotel bed, opt for cocktail lounges and buffet breakfasts to keep yourselves occupied); Batam (hotel stays, beach resorts, seafood and cable-ski park); Malaysia (food trips to Malacca, Penang, city roams in Kuala Lumpur); Phuket (sun, sand, sea, massage); Indonesia’s private islands and more. What’s there NOT TO DO?

4. Barbecues.

There is nothing more satisfying than organising a barbecue. Raid the supermarkets, wash, chop, cut, marinate, skewer the food and do not forget the Wii and beers. Gone are the days of eating sand in between your East Coast sausages and cheap-looking crabsticks. Say hello to home barbecues with wagyu beef, garlic buttered king prawns, home-made beef patties and endless satays. Start playing “99 bottles, standing on the wall” when you think you have accumulated too many Heinekens – have fun.

Long hours are going to be here to stay during the work week anyway, so make full use of the weekends for your dose of fun – planned, of course.

Get real.

In all honesty, I believe the trick to looking good is to include exercise (even walking an hour everyday helps), a decent diet and enough sleep in your schedule. I have to admit I am not the best example recently, although my ideal world will encompass an hour’s exercise in any form daily.

No one is asking you to look like a skinny model (see above), because we all know good make-up skills and hair styling transform a drab to a fab on the streets. But can you spare the 2 hours everyday to look this good? Imagine, waking up at 5am just to leave work on time, worrying about your make-up melting away and not being able to fall asleep and wake up next to the man of your dreams simply because you fear that he might flee upon seeing your nude face.

The happy truth is that even those models you see on TV go through a 24-hour preparation process – think about the number of stylists who have worked on them from hair to toe; the diets they have to go through; the 24-hf dehydration process they put themselves through before each shoot (ie. no food no water just to get the skin taut and muscle definition showing and to prevent water retention of course). Think of the DLSR cameras that erase every flaw from your face; of the photoshop work to airbrush those tiny little stretchmarks off…

Famous Nikki before and after airbrush effects

Beauty glows from within. With a little discipline, you can get there too. But if you are too lazy (for now) – just photoshop all your photos, lah.

Check back for the next post, Look Good #2: L-A-Z-Y is the 4-letter word.

The twenty-something is an interesting phase that everybody goes through, particularly in the journey towards 30. We question, we think, we feel, we desire – at things we have been doing but never felt quite right about, whether we ought to continue, at the possibility of changing our entire lives from the point of big 3. We went through the period of asking people what we should do, what is best for us. We are in the process of proving ourselves as what society deems us to be, we attempt to carve a niche for ourselves but to some, it will seem like a daunting task meant for the insane or courageous.

The period of self-dissonance (ie. conflict within the self but whether recognizable, it depends) lasts two, three or more years, translating into actions that only be feebly explained by, “I felt like I had to do it/ I felt that there is no better time for this to happen.”  Lawyers left their professions to open boutique hotels, F&B outlets, their own pet shops; bankers became fashion designers, accountants decide to embark on a journey to Nirvana. Countless of stories.

Consider this as Generation X (post-war period) wring their hands and tsk-tsked at our impetuous irrational decisions. The post-war period was all about survival, when Singapore did not have an identity and being bankers, lawyers, accountants and doctors were all that people knew about having “good jobs.” There was no room to think, to mull and to ponder over the non-important factors, just to earn cold hard cash and make sure there’s enough to feed oneself and the family.

It is thanks to the Generation X that we Generation Y people (growing up in the 80s) get to sit back and smell the spicy frangipanis that our dearest parents have planted in their journey to survive. It took a cycle for Maslow to come around and prove his theory right – we were soon dissatisfied with fulfilling our basic needs, and the need for self-actualization kicks in as society progresses and prospers. Self-actualization manifests in many forms, sometimes beyond recognition nor explanation.

There are those people who feel a general sense of discomfort but cannot pinpoint  what and where the problem lies in, so they go get themselves a new job, a new girlfriend or a new car. “I felt like I just had to, you know” was the common answer when they were asked why they did it.

Then there are those people who are torn between what they have been doing all this while, and doing something they love, but never had the courage to do it. They don’t know if they will succeed pursuing their dreams, or simply sticking to something they know so well and pays the rent anyway. So they embark on hobbies, complain a little, have great little ideas that they scribble on scraps of paper that perhaps someday, when they are ready, may manifest into a little business.

Then there are the cliff jumpers who radically change their lives, and discover a concoction of passion, the right environment, extremely good timing, work that never seems to feel like work, a perfect fit in all senses – then it becomes one of those magical sensation of finally saying, “This is what I have always set out to do, I have come to it at last.” There are many examples, such in the case of Janice Wong from 2am:dessert bar, Swee in Soho7 Bar & Bistro…where they form realms of which they have control of, they create their world in those realms and build a tribe/following who share and ignite the same passions. The smile that spreads across Janice’s and Swee’s faces when you talk to them reveals the deep passion that lies within all of us to do something that we are meant to do, but whether or not it manifests somehow depends on whether the stars are rightly aligned for you.

I had someone told me today, “Do not fear in how you search for money, let money come find you.” In the world of too many distractions and a constant dollar chase today, there is almost no room for questions. It is even harder to find people who think and generate content in their own perspectives, rather than clicking hundreds of “Like” buttons as they crawl through the Internet.

At the end of this self-discovery journey, many of us will probably not end up pursuing our dreams, but we come away stronger and clearer of ourselves as a special someone in the universe, unique in our own thoughts and appreciated in our own way.  But if we were so lucky to be able to arrive at self-actualization, it is a promise that delivers an intangible, unexplained feeling that could move you to tears when you finally arrive at it.

So in the meantime, enjoy that dissonance before  it slips away.

Nestled in the lush valleys of South Africa yet flanked by the Indian and Atlantic Oceans just a stone’s throw apart, Cape Town boasts a long history of fresh local ingredients, sustainable ocean catch and great cooks. The country’s colourful history has created a blend of Eastern, European and African fare resulting in a variety of spice finishes, flavourful dishes and fusion creations. No trip to Africa is completed without a sampling of game meat or barbecue, amongst which ostriches and springboks rank top on my list for that ten days.

Locals and travel guides have recommended their top favourites, we just decided to pick the ones that coincide with a slight biasness for local recommendations – after all, nothing beats having someone who’s lived there the past decade tell you a perfect combination of affordability, great ambience and mouth-watering food.

Game meat:

Beluga and Sevruga roll off our host’s tongue upon mention of game. Best consumed medium-rare, an ostrich contains as much (if not more) oomph than a piece of steak, slightly chewier but leaves a salty-sweet aftertaste in the mouth. Springboks (part of the deer family) are super juicy, almost sweet and perfect for those who are not as adventurous in their palate selections.

Sushi is a common starter, or cold dish to begin. It is a pity that they did not prepare their rice properly with vinegar, but instead serve plain cooked rice with the freshest fish we have ever tasted. So that lack of vinegar resulted in a somewhat bland sushi, but hey, locals swear by it. We think they just haven’t had Japanese sushi.

Seafood, real fresh seafood:

Drive along the bays for guaranteed fresh ocean catch of the day, from seared tunas to exotic blue nose, grilled line fish and king flips with chips, to juicy prawns and longoustines and lobsters with tender chewy calamari to complete every meal. Best consumed grilled/seared with lemon and herbs, or salt and pepper, there’s nothing left to imagination except for lip-smacking bloody fresh catch.

A pleasant surprise with cold wind and great views (of the harbour and if you are lucky, you catch playful seals rolling around in the waters) at Brass Bell at Fish Hoek and The Lookout, along Hout Bay. Simply order the seafood platter for everything-on-the-menu, or opt for something decadent such as the lobster (at The Lookout) if you are in the mood for one. For its size and quality, one can’t really complain paying under SGD 30 for a delicious reddened lavishness.

For the ultimate ocean taste, try Codfather’s anytime. Situated in uppity-class Camps Bay, Codfather has no menu. Your dinner lies in the display of fresh fish in a fishmonger-style counter (in names that I can hardly remember, let alone roll off my tongue) in all shapes and sizes. One gets to pick any fish, any portion, any amount. Our sampling included swordfish, tuna, butter fish, bluenose, king prawns and more which ranged from succulent and juicy, light and buttery, to robust and full…almost like describing steak, aint’ it? Starters simply include calamari or sushi. Yum-yum.

Weekend food markets:

There is no way I could have missed such markets. Known as the Neighborhood Goods Market located at the Old Biscuit Mill, that summed up two heavenly Saturdays during my time in Cape Town. Discovered really, quite by accident in our second day in South Africa, it was a flurry of Origins coffee which was simply the best coffee in Cape Town, and making decisions between Mother Shucker Oysters and ten other different foods. Of course, Mother Shucker Oysters won.

Had to try the BLT Breakfast sandwich which looked really delicious (so did the chef) but didn’t turn out as spectacular as it looked. It was good but not great, if you know what I mean. Other indulgence included Belgian waffles (Classic way, with sugar and maple syrup), croissants, lime fruit punch, quiches, crepes, olive pastes and OH – rosti with bacon and poached egg – the best of the trip. See pictures if you need more reason to salivate.

Wine tours:

Located about two hours drive away is Stellenbosch and Franschoek, the two famous vineyard regions in the lush valleys of South Africa. We picked Franschoek first – 15 types of wines, four bottles back home. Loved the views of endless greenery tucked in the valleys, deemed the best climate and environment for harvesting good grapes.

Wild guesses got us by, with a star recommendation from almost every local we spoke to. Rickety Bridge brought about “oohs” and “ahhhs”, dubbed as the region’s best. And true enough, their Chennin Blanc and Pinotage were complex on the tongue, but to make life easier for both you and me, I will just term it as “astonishingly fruity and woody with the right balance”. Light yet full in flavour, worth the plane ride home for tropical consumption.

Special memories:

A great Italian restaurant tucked away in a seemingly dodgy street - 95 @ Keerum. A group of dark-skinned Africans greeted us when we first drove into the area, and first thought that raced across my mind, “Oh damn it, I’m prey.” The restaurant certainly knew to hire bouncers, road watchers and carpark attendants to ensure their guests wine and dine safely, so all was good. On the menu: lobster linguine (see picture), three types of game – wildebeest, kudu and springbok, tiramisu (YES!) and lava chocolate cake (don’t bother). Call ahead to book.

Takeaway from Giovanni’s deli if you must have a picnic, they have got a great assortment of lasagne, noodles, vegetables and bread, perfect for Cape Town’s weather and many sights. Amazing gelato from Love.Revenge.Cappucino, a really random name for an expresso bar located in the shopping centre at V & A Waterfront.

More suggestions are located in TimeOut Cape Town, or Lonely Planet – after all, that was what we based our adventure on, only to discover more hidden mysteries along the way.

My third visit to Singapore’s new cafe, Soho7 Cafe & Bistro in the last 20 days warrants a write-up for sure. Located at the side of Loke Yew Street along Armenian Street (think Peranakan Museum, Stamford Court) where I used to work at previously, Soho7 boasts of honest fresh coffee, delectable and possibly the best burgers I have ever tasted, comfort food that tingles the soul and satisfies any raging appetite and super awesome Benedicts.

Toasted bread, a fried egg, home-made beef patties, lots of veges, secret sauce perfected by Owner-Chef-Friend Swee, topped with bacon, tomatoes whatever your order may be. I had the PattyMelt and the Best-Ever Soho7 Burger, and damn…that was the best-ever burger I have ever tasted. Blame it on the secret sauce, or the bacon fried to perfection, perhaps made tastier by its extremely reasonable price, at about S$7.70 for a standard burger.

Third visit had me eyeing the all-day breakfast menu, supposedly Soho7′s famous Benedicts. An order of Eggs Benedict (left; S$12) and Classic French Toast (right; S$12) never felt more like a good plate of comfort food. The comfort of all comfort foods, Soho7′s Eggs Benedict was a combination of poached egg, ham, spinach, toast smothered with hollandaise sauce, served with an extra dollop of bacon because Swee wasn’t happy with the first batch of bacon she served us with the French toast.

I became an addict to good roasted coffee ever since I tasted Papa Palheta’s coffee beans, followed by South Africa’s Origin coffee and other delectable blends. Freshly ground coffee beans made into a cuppa or latte taste simply heavenly – rich in aroma, full in flavour and wonderfully roasted without a hint of bitterness. Soho7′s coffee beans are freshly picked by Swee and replaced every three days, ensuring super-fresh blends that need only milk, no sugar.

The best part? Super reasonable, almost MacDonald’s price but better. At S$4 for a cappuccino or a latte, and S$5.30 for an iced mocha (okay lah, iced drinks are always expensive), it is fortunate for my wallet that I no longer work at Stamford Court anymore, otherwise I will be buying a cuppa twice a day.

So that’s Soho7, open from 10am till the moon shines (ie. 8pm, 8.30pm) with food that warrants repeated visits. It is always good to give them a call (+65 6634 5779) before you head down, just to see if they are open.

Address:
36 Armenian Street, #01-04

Highlights include: The long boardwalk that takes you right out in the middle of the sea, having a perfect view of the horizon without ships to spoil it all, pinching bread from the buffet breakfast spread to feed the fishes (that you can see at the end of the boardwalk), a 3-metre deep pool for you to cannonball in at any time of the day.

A typical vivalavidaviv’s post will almost always include food. Indonesian seafood, half the price of your Singapore fare. All you need is a quick drive out to a nearby eatery to chomp on their famous nasi goreng!

The view of the (infinity) pool at night is really beautiful. It reflects the atmosphere of that part of Batam (yes you heard me right, this is Batam) – peaceful and relaxing – just the perfect getaway if you really, really, can’t spare much cash and time but are in dying need of a break.

And if you STILL don’t know where I’m referring to? Go to www.turibeach.com

I have the honour of knowing a good friend who has inspired me through our coffee sessions and late night suppers. What made me very proud of him is his new status as an author of a children’s book. A Bowl Full of ICE CREAM was his gift to me, with “stories to inspire change and motivate excellence.”

Sure, it was written for children, employing the art of story-telling and favourite things such as ice-cream flavours to convey morals and values of life. I often found myself going back to the book to flip through a story, to relax and reflect, to enjoy a storytelling session, to discover the inner child within me again.

It can be almost as simple as “The Shortest Tree”, a story that tells of determination and managing failures, or “A Magical Forest” to help you learn about relaxation. Compare three seedlings who have each withered, got uprooted by strong winds, with only the shortest and tiniest of them all eventually growing into a large tree. You know, that sort of heart-warming happy stories. In the increasingly cynical environment we find ourselves battling through, A Bowl Full of Ice Cream reminds us how simple life was as a child, and how the values we learned carved the persons we are today.

There is something about lying in bed tucked under the comforter, reading a simple story book that does not threaten to question your progress in life nor sets you thinking, that becomes strangely peaceful. For once, you stop thinking about work, you slow down in your pace of thinking just for that rare five minutes, and you retire to bed calm and ready for the next day. This does not happen all the time, but I am just saying it helps.

Or pick up a colouring book and revive your crayon days.

Besides her blonde ponytail, killer abs and sculpted arms, I assure you, readers, that I discovered more motivation behind the incredibly toned body – the amazing number of workouts that the Nike Training app provided.

You start out with four choices – Get Lean, Get Toned, Get Strong, and Get Focused. Each choice provides you with a series of full-body workouts to cater to your selection, comprising either cardio circuits, calisthenics training, a combination of both, or simply 15-minute workouts that target specific areas such as those flabby thighs, bulging stomachs or saggy arms.

I was getting bored of my gym routine and hence decided to put aside my pride and succumb to the enthusiastic feminine voice egging me on. Choice of the day: Abdominals. Pretty soon Ms-Hot-Nike-Lady-in-App had me huffing and puffing doing Russian twists, toe-touches, crazy oblique twisters and grimacing at plank holds. Results after 30-minutes? Burn, baby, burn…those muscles were working!

What I did not appreciate about the app was the major lunges and squats, side-steps and what nots given my extremely small exercise area – whether in the crowded gym or in my tiny apartment. Well, there are plenty of other choices which gave me no excuse to skip a workout, whether it was 15-minute or 45. What’s more, there is a leaderboard that keeps track of the total number of hours you chalk up working up a sweat, which interestingly tickles your ego and keeps you motivated at the end of the day.

Great for women and those who do avoid gym machines like plague, one could achieve a pretty decent body with this mobile trainer (of course, watch your diet!). This app provided me with plenty of options should I ever get bored with my exercises any day.

My thumbs up for this, and I sure hope Nike keeps this app updated and free.

The boyfriend and I have an ongoing joke, about his decadent circle of rich banker-type colleagues versus my colorful quirky flock of eccentric artists. Part of me really wonders if deep down inside, all I wanted to do is to produce art – in the form of original constructed sentences, music, creating things…instead of plodding along the rat race alongside with others who seem to sprint ahead faster without falling short of breath.

I entertained the thought of properly mastering the keyboard, as an extension to my rusty piano technique. That was an excuse to my secret inner desire to abandon work and hold acoustic performances at watering holes, pretending I have a voice of Avril Lavigne.

More than likely, I probably discovered that nobody gives a flying hoot about your life and will not help you achieve your work-life balance unless you do it yourself.

Returning to the digital realm of stories and free-form writing reminded me that play time still exists…maybe it’s time to buy play-doh and create yummy looking food!

But I write, only for pleasure – the type that tickles the sides of your mouth so that you twitch; the type that leaves you with a sigh of silent joy after you finish a cup of Gong Cha.

The one with 3 jellies, of course.

On yet another play-repeat mode, 2010 was an eventful year for me. Just like 2009, 2008, 2007…what’s new? Life seems to unfold into a drama wherever I put myself to be. Some say I’m good energy, others say I’m simply mad. I have a wonderful man to stabalize me each time I propel myself towards either extreme like an Indian ball, designed to bounce really high and smack hard onto the ground.

Back to 2010. A shift in direction, a reorganisation. A change in structure, a step out into the private realm. 3 months of blundering and tears, wondering if it is all a good fit; another 3 months of hard work thrown into the deep end of the pool. Another bout of tears, wondering if it is all worth it.

So I begin 2011 with one single resolution: No job is worth losing loved ones in the process. Never to let my job take over my life, and knowing that a job is just a job at the end of the day.

Maybe I will include a tiny 2nd resolution: Lose some weight.

It is not so much about “artist angst”, although I would not deny that some of them are really aloof and seem to have their head way too high in the clouds. Being an artist – painter, sculptor, musician, dancer, actor etc – is like being handed the legitimate excuse to indulge yourself into your passion of communicating your emotion through your favourite medium, be it music, artworks, body language and others.

I, for one, enjoy how musicians lose themselves in the music they make, and how their facial expressions and body language portray the love they have for good music. The act of making music is actually simply precision physics put together, but what tells music apart from the theory of air columns producing a variety of sounds?

Art adds an extra dimension. You do not just see nor hear it, you feel it. Art itself is unexplainable, which probably explains why many artists cannot convey their exact feel of their works to their audience, or general public. Once it transcends beyond physical understanding and verbal explanations of the subject, that…truly, I feel..is art.

Okay, there are those who float themselves to the clouds and pretend that they have reached nirvana, let us not bother about those. Here is my idea of art: While I hold a normal job in the corporate world, I return home to my piano and tinkle away those ivories – you lose the harsh realities of life, you do away with ugly politics. You hear what your fingers are capable of playing, and it reaches a stage where muscle memory and emotions from within take over your conscious mind. Take it a level higher, and you forget you are the musician, you and the music become one.

Nothing else replicates this feeling. It makes you feel like top of the world, that is, until your last note fades away.