Lydia's Ramblings....

That's the sandcastle my team, YELLOW, built at ECP today. Initially, we were clueless on the theme and design. "Pile on! Pile on!" was all that was on our minds. With sand 3 inches high, measuring 1m x 2m, having a pyramid was the way to go. But then again, we were given more time than that. Pyramid by no means is a sandcastle or model! Think, think again! One silly (silly in a good way) team member suggested halving it into 2 peaks, so it resembles the XXX nipples! Gosh! The jury will probably disqualify us. We dug, we shaped, we watered, we moulded....we simply went with the flow! Up till the very last minute, we realised we had built something that strangely and strongly resembled ...the 'Great wall of China'. Like what a colleague put it very aptly--> "This is our team's sand model - The Great wall of learning. It is tied cohesively with the organisation's mision. The learning road is long but never-ending. We should contantly push boundaries, flying high just like the kite we made." Well said. 

I'm still on the topic of misses. Day 2 at work - new surroundings, new faces, new dresscode, new challenges, new mindset, new lingo... and many other things that are unfamilar and strange to me. Really, it takes a while to get used to things after having sat in comfort zone for far too long. It is unfair to ascertain what I like or dislike, or the 'lack ofs' just after 2 days, but I'm making the list anyway. There are some I can't change, but some, hopefully will perk up.

Dislikes/'Lack of's

1. Dislike the almost an hour-long bus ride to and from work. Car ride takes 15 min on a good day, but uh-oh, you can't beat the disgusting traffic jams on the PIE in the mornings AND evenings.

2. Lack of kopitiams/fast food outlets in the vicinity. Wait, it's not even 'lack of', there is none! Great. I need to find an alternative for my caffaine and brekkie fix. I am SO SO spoilt by Starbucks.....

3. Lack of drug-store/7-11s/grocery stores. Man, I don't even see a newpaper stand in sight! Unless I'm blind. If not, there is an urgent need to recci the nearby areas. I miss my Jasons. Damn..

4. The pantry. Pathetic. Miserable. Enough said. It is just sad looking at it. I feel sorry for my colleagues who have been stepping in and out of it for the past few years. On the other hand, maybe they don't, given the uninviting state it is in. It is seriously in need of a major overhaul, AND a coffee machine.

5. Irritated with the acronyms that are liberally used. I don't understand why they pepper 3 sentences with 10 acronyms when you are a newbie. Argh! But I should overcome this soon enough.

Loves

1. People are NICE NICE NICE. Wonderful team of people.

2. There are dress-up and dress-down days. Lovely!

3. 5-day work week. I get to chill on Sats!

4. Compared to the hotel industry, the vibe here is relaxed and people exudes sincerity. You don't really get bitched about (not yet at least). That said, my previous hotel has got the greatest bunch of people!

I'm still exploring...more to come I bet.

September. There were more lows than highs.

The highs

1. Going on a family trip to Ho Chi Minh. Was glad the in-laws liked it. Was even more glad we had chosen HCM as there really wasn't any time to plan. The places we have been, we visited again. Vietnam is so easy to like. The food's great, often way too cheap. People are nice in a genuine way. The entire city is picturesque and I adore the colonial-style architecture of the buildings and hotels. Hotels in HCM are great by the way. They may be expensive but every bit value for money. I judge a hotel's standard by its breakfast buffet, and man, they always impress! Duxton's (in District 1) by far the best. I guess this has got to do with their abundance of good-quality cheese, bread and meats. Not forgetting their coffee which is tops.

2. Bonding sessions with old-time pals. The lot from MGS and CJ. I find myself missing them a lot more during this lull period between old job and new job.

3. Ling got married! On 21 September! Double celebration for her.

The Lows

1. Leaving my hotel job. It sucked. Really sucked. I miss the boys and girls whom I have worked with for 3 years. Jackie, who's like a big brother of the team. Givany and Cheryl, who made it bearable to continue even though I was going through a rough patch with the ex-boss, Jimmy, who never fails to make me laugh, Wilron, who is so comical with her CBs and Fs, Stephanie, who shares my interest in eating and cooking, my Lounge team whom I never have to worry about... I miss saying 'good morning's to the kitchen team, miss the coffee machine, miss the V-shape cups and even the unflattering uniform. Miss. Miss. Miss.

Actually, that was it. It felt like there were more lows. 15-30 Sep was an immensely depressing period, not being able to see my friends as frequent as I will like to. I need to put this whole episode behind me. Soon....NOW....IMMEDIATE!

Keeping fingers crossed for now. I hope I have made the right decision.

What: Street food Sarnies

Price: SGD 1

Style: Restaurant serving popular Vietnam streetfood

Price: SGD 10-15

What we had:

Fresh rice paper rolls

DIY rice rolls with herb and pig's ears

                                                                             Steamed clams

                                                                              Bun cha

                                                                              Grilled minced pork with rice  vermicelli

                                                                              Vietnamese drip coffee and chendol

Venue: 87 Tran Phu Road (in Hoi An)

Style: Hoi An Street Food

Price: SGD 5-8

What we had:

Cau Lau (Hoi An specality noodles served with pork, fresh herbs, fried rice crackers and pork cracklings)

White Rose (Steamed prawns in rice flour skin)

                                                                             Venue: Pho24 (Pho chain in Vietnam)  

Style : Popular Streetfood

Price: SGD 8-10

What we had:

Bun Goi (fried rolls with lettuce wrap)

Pho Tai (Pho with beef slice)

Cold Vietnamese drip coffee

Price: SGD 40-45

What we had: Cold baguette and butter

Smoked duck and liver pate salad

Salad with poached egg, crouton and lardon

Grilled tenderloin with frites

My brother is getting married. Gosh, this shows how fast we or rather I am ageing. I am turning 25 this year and it is amazing how time flies in a flash. Anyhow, this is not about lamenting the past. One of my gfs got married in Feb and had hers at Raffles Hotel. The ballroom and setup was nice and intimate but the food was nothing to rave about. The food at wedding banquets somehow fall into the trap of being out-of-the-mill. Oh man, I need to conduct a market survey of all the banquet sessions before I have mine. This one at one of Tung Lok's establishments was not too bad actually.

1. BBQ sucklig pig - gorgeously savory with cracklling skin.

(lesson: do not have a full course of the pig as it is simply too much for a table of ten. Best to have a myraid of appetizers to up the taste and visual quotient)

2. Sharks Fin - Gooey and filled to the brim with fins.

3. Oat Butter Prawn - Big succulent prawns heaped with crisp fried oats and curry leaves. Finger licking good.

(lesson: how to clean the fingers after disecting the crustacean? Better to have them shelled and done another way. We had ours fried and coated with wasabi mayo. Yes, going the modern ching style but sometimes, you just have to go with the food trend.)

4. Asparagus and Cuttlefish in spicy XO sauce - Crisp asparagus and tenderly chewy cuttlefish.

5. Steam garouper in ginger and coriander soy

6. Homemade spinach tofu with braised mushrooms - Spinach tofu is wobbling good. This is tops.

7. Braised chicken with herbs and red dates

(lesson: do not have too many braised items. Up to this course, people are filling to the brim and cannot stomach more of this starchy sort. Will do better with a crispy or roasted chix)

8. Wok fried mee sua with chives and sprouts

(lesson: keep the last course simple and clean.)

9. Red bean cream with tang