Greetings from Matsumoto!

Outside the Matsumoto Castle just now, I was feeding a swan right from my hand. Aunt Rose and Roseo did it so ithought i would try too.




But my poor thumb is now bleeding!! how unlucky! hmmphh!!!












...the one who may have to cancel the trip to Kanazawa tomorrow due to snow! hhhmmmpppphhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Frenzy in the Office

There are constantly "FRENZY" incidents happening in my office. It's like panic buying when a tsunami is approaching. Quite a funny sight really!

Photo 1 shows the delivery of Lava Lamps. The office managed to get an incredible deal from the supplier for just S$10/lamp! Retail price can range from $30 to over $100! In the picture, everyone is rushing to pick their favourite colours.

Photo 2 shows the giving out of Xmas Log Cakes complimentary from the office. Again there was another frenzy.

Actually, my office is quite full of activies besides the usual paperwork. Our Welfare Committee would every now and then organize bazaars (selling handicrafts, original Polo Ralph Shirts at only S$30, Otto Body Care) or sometimes get manicure, pedicure and even massage service to give the staff a little treat and to relax a muscle or two from the daily office routine. Kerupuk and kue koci (Malay dessert) sellers are always seen frequenting the office too.

...the one who is observing from one corner

Barrio Fiesta
Philippines Food at Lucky Plaza 4th Floor
Rating: ***1/2
Price: S$5 for a set of hearty meal

If you are longing for a taste of Philippines and are in very tight budget, Barrio Fiesta is the place to go.

The place was introduced to me by my Filipino colleagues. Hence there is no question on their authenticity!

For just S$5, you would get a complete meal inclusive of a canned drink, soup, 2 dishes, rice, fruit and even freeflow of serviettes. Where else in Singapore can you find such a good deal??

My favourite is the radish soup. It's sour just like salted vege soup. Yummilicious!!

...the one who'd definitely revisit the place again.

Curse of The Golden Flower

Rating: ****
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Jay Chou, Gong Li
Genre: Drama / Action

Watched on 20 Dec 06 at Vivo City with Aunt Rose and Si Q.

Impressive set and costume. You can find cups of all sizes from BeeDees to Double-D.

...the one who is getting all ready for Japan

Two Houses

2 houses were on my mind when I was up in Fraser's Hill on Sunday. One was the charming Olde Smokehouse on Fraser's Hill, erected in 1924 and easily the best architecture on these mountains (why do they call it a "Hill" when it's more than 1,500m high here? A "hill" is like Bukit Timah, all of 100m high.)

The other is the historic Bok House in the heart of KL, which sadly succumbed to the bulldozers on 15 Dec (reported in Star and NST on 16 Dec) in spite of widespread efforts to have it preserved. The Bok House is also about 80 years old, having been built between 1926-29 by Chua Cheng Bok, the founder of Cycle & Carriage. It was designed by Swan & McClaren, Malaya's premiere architects of those decades. Its location on Jalan Ampang is priceless, and that is the cause of its fate. I've always admired it and was hoping it'll be preserved, but all is lost now. It's a real pity. Hopefully, it will galvanise the Heritage movement in Malaysia to do more for other monuments.

By contrast, the afternoon at the Olde Smokehouse was delightful. It was the right style for the right place; sturdy and cosy, with real fireplaces and timber details. The light was wonderful. They are modulated by the high windows so that there is a real sense of shadows and depth. For the Bok House, I can imagine the owner telling the architects to "make it grand, make it grand, it must impress the father of the girl I want to marry..." The message is "I have arrived, respect me." But for the Smokehouse, the message is "welcome, the gardens are in full bloom, the fireplace is warm, make yourself comfortable." It was not built for the vanity of an individual (although I have nothing against that), but with the funds raised from WWI veterans, or so the sign at the entrance said. The owners of the Smokehouse are a Chinese couple, who are probably in their late-30s. It is part of the "Smokehouse" chain of hotels and restaurant, something on-going since 1937. Visit their website at www.thesmokehouse.com.my.

We had Devonshire tea and scones and stayed long enough for me to sketch out its floor plan. I was reminded of Alain De Botton's book titled "The Architecture of Happiness". There are paintings on the walls (real walls, not the glass boxes modernist love), food on the table, books on the shelves, and a soft drizzle outside. I was happy. My cousin said he'll stay there the next time he brings his family up. So will I. Hopefully, they'll gazette it to monument status soon.

Chup

Cold and Wet Weekend

We drove up Fraser's Hill last weekend. My father has just turned 69 two days before (15 Dec) and my aunt and cousin's family was up in KL too. So we decided we can get away up to the mountains for a night and the 9 of us went up in 2 cars. My last visit to Fraser's Hill was 1982, some 24 years ago. Lin has never been up there. I'm too tired to say much about it now, but I do want to post some photos. It was one of my most pleasurable and scenic drive. Fraser's Hill is about 100km from KL, and it takes about 2-2.5 hours to reach the top (the average driving speed at the top is 40km/hr). For the last stretch, the sky was heavy with clouds and fog. At some places, we could see only 20m in front. Once we got up there, everyone's mood was jovial. Father joked and laughed a lot. He was having a grand time. The temperature was a cool 20 deg C in the day and 18 deg C at night. But it rained from late evening onwards, and the wind was strong, so it was really much colder than the thermometer's reading. It was perfect for mahjong or reading. More later...

Chup

The story of Listy the Leopard and Betsy the Bear

In a deep jungle near the northern tip of Canada, there live a pair of best friends: Listy the Leopard and Betsy the Bear. They are always going places together, sharing their day's catch together, confiding in each other, telling the latest jungle's gossips to each other... Literally they spend more time with each other than their own Leopard or Bear herds (or do bears live in herds?).

Listy and Betsy have the same ambition. That is, to look for a warmer jungle near the tropics. They find the freezing temperatures of Canada too unbearable to their likings.

They are constantly in the lookout for any news or stories about an ideal tropical jungle they can migrate to. Listy and Betsy would always be eagerly sharing with each other about their plans if they really move to the tropical jungle of their dreams. But of course, Listy and Betsy do not intend to migrate for the sake of migrating. They aspire to migrate to a jungle where they can settle down with their herds and provide the best environment for their leopard cubs/bear cubs later. So the search goes on for the best tropical jungle in the universe...

One sunny day, Betsy the Bear excitedly announced over lunch that she is going to leave home to check out a jungle down in the South. At first, Listy the Leopard, received the news excitedly too. After all, Betsy and Listy had promised each other that should one of them were to migrate first, she would be sure to get the other half to follow suit.

However, as the day passed by, it dawned on Listy that Betsy has never mentioned anything about this Jungle in the South before. Not casually, not formally. She suddenly felt hurt and disappointed. She felt she has confided to Betsy literally on anything and everything but obviously Betsy has not done her share.

Listy who used to be chirpy and energetic is suddenly listless and gloomy. One day when Listy was sitting all by herself at the riverside, Willy the Wombat approached her. Willy noticed the drastic change in her. She is a mutual friend between Listy and Betsy and it breaks her heart to see what is happening to her two dear friends. Listy was reluctant to share her woes with Willy, concluding that it would be useless and could affect Willy's own friendship with Betsy. Anyway, Listy is sure that Betsy would probably have told Willy about what happened. They would probably have laughed about her pettiness, thought Listy.

After much persuasion, Willy succeeded in getting the full story from Listy. Willy's immediate suggestion is for Listy to speak eye to eye with Betsy.

To clear the air, Willy said. Listy refused.

She just felt that the whole incident is a lesson learnt and that she should just move on. Listy turned away and left Willy stunt and wordless. As Listy walked, 2 droplets of tears came down her right cheek.

Few days passed and Listy and Betsy behaved like they are mere acquaintances. They speak of the weather and the chilling winds, but nothing more about the migration nor anything related to it.

One afternoon, Listy was again lazing by the riverside. Thinking about friendship, about the tropical jungle, about Betsy... when suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind. She turned around and saw Betsy. She smiled nervously. Betsy came closer to her and said "Listy, I just want to tell you I am sorry... I didn't know I have hurt you so bad..." Listy could hardly contain her emotions. Of course she had forgiven Betsy all along, willing to just accept it as part of Betsy's "eccentric character" Listy had to put up with. She really did not expect that Betsy would actually apologize. Another tear rolled down her cheek, this time her left cheek.

Apparently Willy the Wombat had told everything to Betsy. That same day, Betsy was equally sad to realize the full impact of the matter. She had totally forgotten about the matter and was totally unaware that Listy was hurt. She had thought that checking out of the South Jungle was totally trivial and that she would share with Listy only after she had found out what the place is like. Hurting Listy was never meant to be her intention. She was sleepless that night and she too shed a few tears thinking about what Willy had told her.

They gave each other a BIG BEAR hug. And eversince then, they lived happily ever after.

Of course, Listy and Betsy are still searching for the Tropical Jungle of their dreams...

Xmas at Harbour Front

Xmas is round the corner again. During one of my daily commuting at Harbour Front, I saw the tree they have put up to welcome the merry day.

The 8-metre tall tree is decorated with probably hundreds of cuddly bears, white and brown, big and small. What a joy to look at them. They put a prominent signboard to warn tempted people from bringing the bears home. I wonder if it will work...



Last year, the same tree was decorated with bouquets of Ferrero Rocher Chocolates. That was probably at least 1,000 pieces up there. With the same signboard that warns viewers of the "High Voltage" and possibility of "Deterioration of the chocolates due to high temperature", the chocolates were still full of holes from inquisitive fingers.

...the one who would be on a constant look out for missing bears

When the whole world = you

Once again, the question arises: What is your expectation of your good friend?
It's probably all based on the rule of relativity.

To me, someone whom you have regarded as your 'good friend' or better still, as 'one of your best friends', is someone whom you would eagerly share all your life happenings, be it about work, family, friends, pets, shopping or whatever. Not because you have to, but because you want to.

But I could be wrong. This could be my own definition which may not apply to others. Everyone has their own definition of 'good friend'.

When you receive a reply that says "Do I have to tell the whole world about what I do?", what is your reaction?

1. OUCH!!! and then shed a tear or two?

2. No worries...?

3. No big deal?

You may expect mixed reaction.

And everyone has full right and freedom to think whay they think, to feel what they feel...

No?

I am cool though. All is well now :) Just penning my thoughts....

...the one who realized ALL the kyoto hostels are fully-booked during New Year's Eve

Page One

Page One the Bookshop is one of the best success story of Singapore. They started as a retail bookshop in the mid-80s, but has since expanded to include publishing up to 150 titles of new books a year, icluding "iSh" magazine. They have branches in Hong Kong, KL, Bangkok and Taipei and are looking to open one in Beijing soon. Their newest store in Vivocity, which I visited on 7 and 13 Dec, is a self-contained haven. The store carries more than 340,000 books, with about one-third of its 28,000 sq ft space devoted to Chinese language ones in the centre. This is surprising, but it must reflect the changing demographics here. There are lacquerwares, rattanworks and ivory displays in the store. The music played will be either Thai or Balinese or some ethnic pieces. Last Sunday's papers carried an article on Mark Tan, the founder. Reading it, I felt proud that here is one who stood up for rising China, as well as Asia as a whole. An abstract:

"MARK Tan, founder of home-grown bookstore chain Page One, once turned down British politician Chris Patten. It was in Hong Kong in 1997, before the handover, and the then governor had written East And West: The Last Governor Of Hong Kong On Power, Freedom And The Future.

'The British publisher contacted our Hong Kong store to arrange for an autograph session. It was prestigious, to have the governor of Hong Kong come to your store,' says Mr Tan, 48, speaking to LifeStyle at his Singapore office in Kaki Bukit. Being cautious as the handover was approaching, he asked to vet a draft copy of the book. Although the book was inoffensive to the new government, there was one particular paragraph that troubled him. Lord Patten wrote that in order to understand how the Chinese people had felt when they bowed to their emperor, he had practised the motion in his living room, without success. Throughout the process, his pet dog had looked at him in a curious way, as if thinking his master strange.

It was because of this paragraph that Mr Tan rejected the prestigious (not to mention lucrative) book signing. He says he did this out of respect for his Asian heritage. 'To me, the paragraph implies that even Mr Chris Patten's pet dog did not understand what our ancestors went through. To me, he not only insulted Hong Kong people, but also all the Chinese people in the world.' This fierce pride in Asian culture is the organising philosophy behind his Page One stores."

Sunday Times, 10 Dec 2006

Well, let's hope Chris is keeping up with his bowing practices. It'll come in handy a lot more often and sooner than he thinks.

Chup

Slowness

One of the pleasures of art is the suspension of TIME. You are engrossed in something, and before you know it, hours have gone by. It’s something that is lost in the digital age; we get instant gratification in all we want. But the greatest works of art, be it a sculpture or a cathedral, were created over what must seem to be glacial pace by today’s standards. What have we gained from all that speed?

Milan Kundera, in that ponderous novel, “Slowness”, equates slowness with memory. A man is walking briskly and suddenly slows down when he wants to remember something. And in an article written about their work, Billie Tsien lamented how pencils are slowly being phased out. She was also worried that pen ink was disappearing, so she began to hoard them. “Slowly,” she wrote, “the tools of the hand disappear.” The ‘tools of the hand’ she refers to is of course a slow craft. To draw is to observe you hand making a mark on the paper over time. The accumulation of marks forms an impression, and slowly a likeness appears, as if by magic. And if a mistake is made, it is the eraser’s turn to wipe the mark away, stroke by stroke. Through it all, the mind thinks and wills the hand to make permanent its fleeting vision. And after a while, you look up and the watch says you’ve passed your lunch time. Not surprisingly, work is done slowly, and there is not more than 1 piece of paper worked upon at any one time, as opposed to the multiple web-pages opened on the computer screen at any one time. I know this may sound a bit Luddite, a fear of Industrialisation, a plead for small cottage industries where the carpet is still loomed, the cloth weaved and the grains sickled. So this may be a symptom of my advancing years. The young students under my charge, weaned by MTV and schooled to last no longer than 45 minutes in any lecture, are blazers of computer power. They are the future. Many of them do not own a pencil, and if they do, it’s the mechanical type, not those you have to sharpen. When forced to draw, some will tentatively nib the paper, as if poking a dead rat, and nervously build a line out of a series of disconnected hairs. Surely to this generation, you would think, the pencil is as passé as a cuckoo-clock. Then how is it that when tutors sit with them, take out their pencils and begin to sketch, they become totally transfixed? Some has even mentioned that they would like to take drawing classes. Could the school conduct some lessons on hand drawing?

I believe what captivates them is not so much the fidelity of a drawing to reality, but the fact that here is a tutor from the old school who has REMEMBERED a visual image enough to replicate in on paper at will. They will suspect correctly that that memory has been acquired through slow observation and in many cases, sketching with the hand. Consider an image captured with the camera, and the image slowly seared into the consciousness through the etching of graphite on pulp; which will they remember longer?

For some of the trendier students, the link between hand and memory is closer to grasp than they think. I see it when they flash their newly painted nails across their drawings. As such times, I become the distracted admirer. It would have taken them at least an hour to get those exotic patterns onto the nails. They are the slow process of layering paint upon paint, and the patient wait for them to dry. Did it take an hour of their time? They hadn’t realized it, because they’d been too engrossed with the designs. They cannot imagine a machine ever taking over the role of a professional manicurist. Sigh. If only they would spend that time on their school designs instead.

This morning, we had a staff meeting and the 2 colleagues next to me took out their PDAs and began dotting the touch screens. I took out my moleskine and started writing. I’m not proud of my antiquity, but I remember what I write more than what I type. In tribute to those who share this short-coming, I have down-loaded some images from the website of moleskine which featured samples from their users’ pages. It’s from http://www.moleskineus.com/ and I hope they will not think I’ve infringed on any copyright. Moleskine users take their time to fill up its pages, bit by bit. I hope you’ll see why I’m crazy about them.

Chup
11 December 2006

Innovative Advert

When I walked past the busstop located outside the HSBC Bank at Dhoby Ghaut, I was very surprised to find this busstop advertisement! It features a real fish tank with real fishes!! Of course if you ask me, I don't know what is the relationship between Fun, Crunchy Pretzels with fishes in the tank. Whatever the relationship is, it had definitely caught my attention and certainly others too.

Interestingly, the fish look quite happy too. When I first saw the tank, I imagined it would be full of algae in no time, but I was wrong. Till today the tank still looks reasonably clean except that the water level has dropped by a few inches. Food is activated by a timer mechanism and the fish seem to be well aware of the timing. They snapped up the food really fast once the food is released.

...the one who would be regularly checking on cleanliness of the tank and casualty if any

An Old Case

A few years ago, a rich old Chinese gentleman commissioned my firm to design a new bungalow for him. He specified that it has to look "grand", and he wanted a tower at the entrance of his house, which is at the end of a long driveway. He also asked for the "Spanish" style, and I remember I was at that time going to Spain for a holiday, so I promised him I'll find some inspiration there. When I returned, I designed for him a house with clay-tile roof, some hints of arches and the pastel colours of the Mediterranean, as our office needs all the fees we could get. But I did not give him a tower. Instead, I tried to persuade him that he was getting 2 flanking mini-towers; to the right and left of the entrance, and this was grander than 1 single tower in the middle. I convinced him to build a model, and hoped it would give him the right vibes (top photo). It didn't. We were gently discharged; he paid us for what we had done up till then, and claimed a family problem has forced him to shelf the project indefinitely.

Recently, I drove near the place and decided I will see what has become of his house. I drove up the gate and from inside the car, snapped the view of his brand new house. The man had gotten what he wanted from another architect. Could I have given him that? Not in a million years... That's precisely why I'm only a poor but happy teacher now.

Chup

A guy's toys

So it's Christmas and bonus time again. Orchard Road is jam-packed with shoppers lured by promises of seasonal discounts. Here are some of my fantasies, none of which are essential to life. They're just the things I look at while bringing and waiting for my wife and in-laws shopping. Pictured here are a Mont Blanc 149 fountain pen (1924 design), the Nikon DX 18-200 VR lens (retailing at $1,480/- at BEST), the Baume et Mercier Classsic Square watch ($2,200/- at the shops), the Moleskine plain notebook, made in Italy with acid-free paper and hard covers, Schmincke watercolours (a wooden case set of 24 tubes retails at $399/- at Art Friend, but I think the photo shown here is of the acrylic set) and Faber-Castell colour pencils (my Derwent set is so brittle; surely my art would improve with better pencils?) And on the internet, the landmark documentary 1975 series, "The World at War" is packaged into a 12 DVD set retailing at US$68/-, and since the Sing dollar is now 1 to 1.55 or so, why, it's beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas too! But these are things a guy looks at.

I asked some girls in my class if they will follow guys to look at things like that and they said no. Conversely, they would really appreciate guys following them while they try on clothes so we can give them our "frank" opinion. But how can we give frank opinion on fashion? Well, only 2 reactions is required, the fashionable student told me. No reaction means not good. The other reaction is a "Wah" exclamation, followed by an agape mouth. Then they'll know it looks good.

Fortunately, the shopping pleasure as far as I'm concerned is more internalised and personal. Shopping brings you back to the days when you were a kid in a toy store. Except as you grow older, the toys get more expensive. But it's still largely a solo activity. Last night, I looked at some fine leather pouches for pen that are sold in the Mont Blanc boutique in Ngee Ann City. It was between $130/- to $150/-. I do need a pen pouch, I reasoned, because when I keep it in my pockets, it is scratched against the keys and the coins (almost none of my shirt have breast pockets.) Ultimately, I did get one, but not from Mont Blanc. I walked upstairs and got a $15/- one from Art Friend. That will be the extend of my shopping for now... Have a good season!

Chup

Old and New

Done on 24 Nov 06
S$2300












































...the one who now has a display case for my handbags :)

Non-English musicals

Notre-Dame de Paris: *** Watched on 10 Nov 06, coinciding with Wil's birthday.
Puteri Gunung Ledang: **** on 26 Nov 06
Immortality: **1/2 on 2 Dec 06

By chance, the last 3 musicals we watched were all non-English. There was the French "Notre Dame de Paris" at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and then the Malay/Javanese "Puteri Gunung Ledang" and the Mandarin "Immortality" at the Esplanade. There were subtitles for all 3 shows, so we were reading as much as listening/watching the shows.

By consensus with Lini, our joint rating for the shows are, out of 5; 4 for Puteri, 3 for Notre-Dame and 2.5 for Immortality.

This is in spite of the fact that N-D has the more memorable and catchy tunes. In fact, Lini drove me up the wall playing and/or humming the soundtrack over and over again at home and in the car ("humming" because she can't sing in French). But it was cheesy, repetitive and flashy music for me, the kind that has little to do with character or plot. (Yes, I'm old-fashioned, pre-post-modern that way.)

That's the beauty of Puteri, where I felt goose pimples witnessing history and myth come alive. Plot, music, character and setting all fused together meaningfully. Puteri also had a hell of a singer and actress in Tiara Jacquelina, whose lung power and vocal dexterity out-matches anyone we know in Singapore. (Except perhaps for Kit Chan, but Kit is no actress.) The largely Malay audience was also spontaneous and generous with applause, it was infectious. The sound system for Puteri was unusually good too, and unlike the other 2 "musicals", it was a live performance with musicians instead of recorded music.






Casts from Puteri Gunung Ledang and standing ovation from the audience





Still, the flashiest, cheesiest, loudest noise came from the Chengdu parade of masquerade. It had fireworks, rain effects, falling petals, flying arrows, actors throwing gifts to the audience and topless women. It had everything except a story and characters we care about. In spite of the din, Lini nodded off for a while. But it's not all bad. One or 2 of the songs lingers in the mind, as do the gratuitous nudity. Or is the latter bad? Let's just say, shall we, that it's nice to be living in such a cosmopolitan city.





Autograph & photograph session with the casts from "Immortality"

Chup

Sentosa Outing

It took a long time for Lin to organised a 3-couple outing so in order not to disappoint anyone, it was squeezed between a tennis game in the morning and a musical performance at 3.30pm. Effectively, we had 2 hours in Sentosa on the afternoon of 2 Dec. Pei had the bright idea of telling the sentry she was going in to meet her wedding planner, called "James", a common enough name, and she was let in without charge! Shh... Keep it to yourself.

So what did we do there? Well, there's this new attraction, a "luge" ride winding down a gentle slope in a low wheel-cart that is totally reliant on gravity, and then taking a cable car ride back to the top again. When I first heard the word, "Have you tried the luge?", I thought there was a "deluge", so I thought it was something wet, of the kind Noah experienced, and I brought a change of clothing. "Why'd ya bring that?" Lin asked of my extra T-shirt and shorts. "We won't be getting wet?" "Of course not!" As it turned out, it was entirely land-based, and "luge" is a Swiss noun for "a light toboggan (sledge) ridden in a sitting position." It's actually meant for snow rides, but here, it's just winding tarmac, and the brakes are controlled by either lowering or rising the handle bars. It's quite fun, but over in about a minute.

Then the vertiginous ride back up the hilltop. I hate that. I hate it that they do not strap us up; it's just you on a seat and a single bar hung loosely across you waist. Lin was not bothered at all, but I suspect that's because she's not as tall as me. "Take photos of the view behind, dear", she said. I gave her the camera so I could hold onto the bar with both hands. Ain't no way I was gonna recklessly turn my neck backwards and make the chair rock unnecessarily. Did I say; I would hate that! "Chickadeedo!" my endearing wife said. For a second, I entertained the thought of posting the close-up photo of her pimple onto this blog, then thought I should value my life a little more, and am hereby declaring that no such photo exist. "Chickadeedo," she repeated aptly. Closer to the station, I got my courage back to take the shot below. The luge thingy is what you see hanging below the cable cars...

Earlier, I snapped another happy shot of Val flashing her toothy smile. And the group shot above before we began our mini adventure... It was a nice afternoon.

Chup