Divine Wine Extraordinaire

Thursday night was the second time I had drinks at the "Divine Wine Extraordinaire" at Parkview square. For those of you folks who haven't been reading my blog, that's the place where there's a 3 storey high wine cellar and a "fairy" that flies up and down. We had absolutely no difficulty getting in (that's 2 out of 2 times already!) and even got good seats where we could have a good view of the live band! The place was quite empty, just the way I like it, and the singer was really really good. The lighting was good, the service was good, the decor, which never fails to impress me, added the final touch to create the perfect ambience....

The only thing lacking was that nobody seemed to have ordered a bottle on that night, so we didn't get to see the "fairy" in action. In fact the "fairy" had to double up as waitress since there was nothing for her to do..... But it was alright, our attention was captivated by the songstress anyway. We walked around after closing and noticed that what makes Parkview Square unique is its unusual mix of ancient and modern. The building really is a modern building, yet it has all these greek vases, gothic ornaments, and statues of great people of the past. And that weird artpiece on one wall of well-dressed modern people dancing in front of an ancient egyptian man standing next to egyptian building columns just amazes me! It's the kind of mix of old and new that just makes the place so mysterious! Oh and there's also that golden goose out in the courtyard with chinese inscriptions below it, totally out of place! Feng Shui maybe?

The most bizarre train ride

The most bizarre thing happened to me on the train today! I changed trains at Jurong East MRT on my way to work today. The train headed towards Yew Tee was almost empty, at least at the section I was sitting in, so I picked a nice seat and proceeded to read my economist. Just at this moment a relatively good-looking girl comes right in and SITS RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! This section of the train was almost completely empty, and people didn't start coming in till the next eastbound train arrived, so she had plenty of other places to sit but she chose to sit right next to me, and pretty close too! I almost freaked out and ran out of the train but I managed to keep my nerves! Maybe its an "illegal worker" from China.... Is that the most bizarre train ride or what?

Pluses and Minuses

Life's about pluses and minuses. You won't score points all the time but you probably won't keep losing 'em either. So just try to keep the pluses more than the minuses! ;)

Christmas Spirit

Today I helped decorate the Christmas tree at Grandma's place. The rest of the night was spent writing Christmas cards to some of my friends overseas. Wow, the Christmas spirit's really getting to me now! Yah, its kinda late, since decorations have been up for more than a month, but better late than never! I guess I've been too caught up in work and all that to really appreciate that Christmas is coming....

Anyway, I actually drove past (in my friend's car) the Orchard Road lightup on Friday. I've seen it before, but not the full thing. Somehow it feels lacking. There's lights and glitz and all, but the feeling of warmth is not there. All those tents, gazebos and stages by the roadside kinda spoils the mood. And the stupid ribbon thing on those banners across the streets? That's just an eyesore! The best Xmas decorations I have seen are actually not those put up by department stores or the tourist promotion board. The best Xmas light up I've ever seen was driving down a street in Albany and seeing all the homemade decorations adorning everyone's yard and the glitzy white trees inside. Now that's what I call warmth! Sometimes less is more....

The Other Side

In Afghanistan's violent Helmand province, an American special-forces captain... analyzed his furtive Taliban enemies as thus: "They're cowards. Why don't they step up and fight like men?" Apparently, he had not considered how he might fight if he had no armor, no radio, an ancient rifle and the sure knowledge that if he fought like a man, he would be obliterated in minutes.
- The Economist, December 17th