A Huge Decision

7 Nov 2011

Today marks the day on which A and I made a huge decision. In less than 24 hours, we made up our minds to commit our lives to it.

It was love at first sight - halfway through the introduction I knew this was for us. And we were not even actively looking. I guess love has a way of knocking on your door without you looking for it.

For someone who is extremely particular with design and style, I was willing to overlook the imperfections and focus on the attractive attributes - location and price.

For the rational me who would usually think umpteen times before taking the plunge, we made THE decision in less than 8 hours. 18 hours after the first introduction, we made our decision official.

I am extremely grateful for the advice and support from my family members, which reaffirmed our decision.

For the first time in many years, I think I will probably live on bread and milo for the next few months. And my online shopping will have to come to a hiatus - and I just came across two dresses I simply adore! The only exception will be J - I will continue to pay for what I deem as essentials for him, although I will have to think twice before buying that toy.

I am eagerly looking forward to my payday - I have never been as excited. Because every cent counts. We'll just need to settle the initial payment and the rest should be fine, by God's grace. I am thankful and very blessed that I have the opportunity to make this decision. It was a quick decision, but not a hasty one, I hope.

For the many months to come, I will have to learn to exercise self-discipline when it comes to shopping and try to save up as much as I can. Holidays will probably be taboo - but I still hope to bring my little J traveling - we'll see how. To me, J comes first. Whatever is best for him. While the next few years may be a little hard on us, I believe J will benefit from our decision plus A really likes it - which makes it all worth it.

Maids - Again

I am on my way to changing my maid again. This would be the fourth time this year, and apparently if I exceed four changes a year, I would be called up for a counselling session by MOM.

The first maid was clever and started to cut corners after a month or so. She wanted to go back home under the excuse she had to sell her land to pay for her brother's wedding. We think she probably found out that the salary for other Indonesian maids had increased.

The second woman, whom I don't even want to think about, was a huge mistake. I don't see how other households can tolerate her for the medium-term.

My current third one, completely new from Indonesia, is a bit slow but her attitude is alright. But she has the bad habit of repeating mistakes...one day she would get it right and the next time she would get it wrong. She is afraid of the dark and wanted to sleep with the lights switched on her first night. When I left her to stay with my in-laws for a few days, she was afraid to sleep alone and waited till my in-laws were home. She doesn't like to eat instant noodles and wants rice for all meals. If she is already getting simple things wrong, no way am I going to allow her to cook her own meals. Both my mum-in-law and I are so frustrated with her.

After working with us for about 1.5 months, she wanted to transfer, probably because I scolded her for repeating a mistake when she got it right previously. We were fine with that, especially since it has been so frustrating trying to correct the mistakes of someone who does not understand me.

I decided I would avoid reprimanding her since she was leaving soon. But I had to give her a piece of my mind two Fridays ago. For the last few weeks, I noticed that undergarment looked out-of-shape and I attributed it to them being worn out from normal wear and tear. I even asked my mum-in-law to demonstrate to her again how to wash them and reminded her to wash them carefully. But on Friday morning I realised a particular piece looked really distorted, so I went to check the rest and noticed that even a relatively new one was out-of-shape. I asked my mum-in-law and she told me she had the same experience as me. And then we found out she had not been washing in the manner we instructed her to.

The solution now is to wash them myself because for some reason, she cannot register our instructions. For the next few days, I also had to check how she was hanging my laundry and noticed that she did not take care in hanging my undergarment out to dry. And I had just reminded her and shown her how to do it the day before.

Just last Friday, I was so stressed out from reprimanding her. I was rearranging some stuff in the kitchen cabinet when I realised kaya was smeared on the inside of my cabinet door. I checked and realised that she had opened and consumed a new jar of kaya even though she had not finished her jam. She explained that the jam was sweet and caused her gum to hurt. To me, it is a lousy reason because kaya also contains sugar and she could have just consumed her bread with butter. Moreover, I never told her that jar of kaya was for her consumption. And I have also told her that she has to refrigerate her bread spread after opening. Otherwise, she would get a stomachache. So she probably never understood me, or she is just finding excuses. After she went back to sleep, I found out that my washed bedsheet was still in the washing machine. So I woke her up to hang the laundry.

This is the type of maid I am facing and I do not have the energy or time to be checking on her everyday. I can't wait to kick her out of my place. I cannot even trust her to wash or hang my clothes properly even though we have shown her how to do it a few times. And all she is responsible for is housework - she doesn't even help to cook or take care of my son. Isn't that easy enough?

I admit I am not the most patient person around. But I was never harsh with my first maid. For this third one, she just finds things to ignite my temper. And even my mother-in-law is frustrated, so her quality of work speaks for itself. As it is, my maid seems to be in poor health and always have a health issue every few weeks. She initially complained of weak legs from eating instant noodles, and then she had dizzy spells, followed by cough. Most recently she complained of painful gums, and just a few days ago she fainted (she claimed it was because she ate bee hoon, not rice for lunch). All in 2 months, and her appetite has grown so much she eats more than me already. On hindsight I think I made the right choice to change maid. I just hope she does not faint again before my new maid arrives.

I think I would be happier without a maid. But I also recognize without a maid, I will have to perform daily chores which would take my time away from J. I just hope my next maid will be better...after having three Indonesian maids, the next one is a Filipino. I suppose there will be pros and cons, but at least I am assured our level of communication would be much better. Let's wait and see...

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

I do not know Steve Jobs personally, but his talent has touched the world and impacted our way of life so tremendously, I feel a sense of melancholy as if I did know him. I am inspired by his passion, positive attitude to life and boundless creativity. He is definitely someone very special and created by God to touch the world in a very special way. I sincerely hope he is at a better place and he will definitely be remembered for many many years to come.

I read the following article on yahoo today...it's an irony how we get to know more about a person after the person is gone. From the article, I caught a glimpse of his imperfections, but at the same time, the love he has for his family.

9 things you didn’t know about the life of Steve Jobs

For all of his years in the spotlight at the helm of Apple, Steve Jobs in many ways remains an inscrutable figure — even in his death. Fiercely private, Jobs concealed most specifics about his personal life, from his curious family life to the details of his battle with pancreatic cancer — a disease that ultimately claimed him on Wednesday, at the age of 56.

While the CEO and co-founder of Apple steered most interviews away from the public fascination with his private life, there's plenty we know about Jobs the person, beyond the Mac and the iPhone. If anything, the obscure details of his interior life paint a subtler, more nuanced portrait of how one of the finest technology minds of our time grew into the dynamo that we remember him as today.

1. Early life and childhood
Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. He was adopted shortly after his birth and reared near Mountain View, California by a couple named Clara and Paul Jobs. His adoptive father — a term that Jobs openly objected to — was a machinist for a laser company and his mother worked as an accountant.

Later in life, Jobs discovered the identities of his estranged parents. His birth mother, Joanne Simpson, was a graduate student at the time and later a speech pathologist; his biological father, Abdulfattah John Jandali, was a Syrian Muslim who left the country at age 18 and reportedly now serves as the vice president of a Reno, Nevada casino. While Jobs reconnected with Simpson in later years, he and his biological father remained estranged.

2. College dropout
The lead mind behind the most successful company on the planet never graduated from college, in fact, he didn't even get close. After graduating from high school in Cupertino, California — a town now synonymous with 1 Infinite Loop, Apple's headquarters — Jobs enrolled in Reed College in 1972. Jobs stayed at Reed (a liberal arts university in Portland, Oregon) for only one semester, dropping out quickly due to the financial burden the private school's steep tuition placed on his parents.

In his famous 2005 commencement speech to Stanford University, Jobs said of his time at Reed: "It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple."

3. Fibbed to his Apple co-founder about a job at Atari
Jobs is well known for his innovations in personal computing, mobile tech, and software, but he also helped create one of the best known video games of all-time. In 1975, Jobs was tapped by Atari to work on the Pong-like game Breakout.

He was reportedly offered $750 for his development work, with the possibility of an extra $100 for each chip eliminated from the game's final design. Jobs recruited Steve Wozniak (later one of Apple's other founders) to help him with the challenge. Wozniak managed to whittle the prototype's design down so much that Atari paid out a $5,000 bonus — but Jobs kept the bonus for himself, and paid his unsuspecting friend only $375, according to Wozniak's own autobiography.

4. The wife he leaves behind
Like the rest of his family life, Jobs kept his marriage out of the public eye. Thinking back on his legacy conjures images of him commanding the stage in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, and those solo moments are his most iconic. But at home in Palo Alto, Jobs was raising a family with his wife, Laurene, an entrepreneur who attended the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton business school and later received her MBA at Stanford, where she first met her future husband.

For all of his single-minded dedication to the company he built from the ground up, Jobs actually skipped a meeting to take Laurene on their first date: "I was in the parking lot with the key in the car, and I thought to myself, 'If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman?' I ran across the parking lot, asked her if she'd have dinner with me. She said yes, we walked into town and we've been together ever since."

In 1991, Jobs and Powell were married in the Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite National Park, and the marriage was officiated by Kobin Chino, a Zen Buddhist monk.

5. His sister is a famous author
Later in his life, Jobs crossed paths with his biological sister while seeking the identity of his birth parents. His sister, Mona Simpson (born Mona Jandali), is the well-known author of Anywhere But Here — a story about a mother and daughter that was later adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon.

After reuniting, Jobs and Simpson developed a close relationship. Of his sister, he told a New York Times interviewer: "We're family. She's one of my best friends in the world. I call her and talk to her every couple of days.'' Anywhere But Here is dedicated to "my brother Steve."

6. Celebrity romances
In The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, an unauthorized biography, a friend from Reed reveals that Jobs had a brief fling with folk singer Joan Baez. Baez confirmed the the two were close "briefly," though her romantic connection with Bob Dylan is much better known (Dylan was the Apple icon's favorite musician). The biography also notes that Jobs went out with actress Diane Keaton briefly.

7. His first daughter
When he was 23, Jobs and his high school girlfriend Chris Ann Brennan conceived a daughter, Lisa Brennan Jobs. She was born in 1978, just as Apple began picking up steam in the tech world. He and Brennan never married, and Jobs reportedly denied paternity for some time, going as far as stating that he was sterile in court documents. He went on to father three more children with Laurene Powell. After later mending their relationship, Jobs paid for his first daughter's education at Harvard. She graduated in 2000 and now works as a magazine writer.

8. Alternative lifestyle
In a few interviews, Jobs hinted at his early experience with the psychedelic drug LSD. Of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Jobs said: "I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger."

The connection has enough weight that Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who first synthesized (and took) LSD, appealed to Jobs for funding for research about the drug's therapeutic use.

In a book interview, Jobs called his experience with the drug "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life." As Jobs himself has suggested, LSD may have contributed to the "think different" approach that still puts Apple's designs a head above the competition.

Jobs will forever be a visionary, and his personal life also reflects the forward-thinking, alternative approach that vaulted Apple to success. During a trip to India, Jobs visited a well-known ashram and returned to the U.S. as a Zen Buddhist.

Jobs was also a pescetarian who didn't consume most animal products, and didn't eat meat other than fish. A strong believer in Eastern medicine, he sought to treat his own cancer through alternative approaches and specialized diets before reluctantly seeking his first surgery for a cancerous tumor in 2004.

9. His fortune
As the CEO of the world's most valuable brand, Jobs pulled in a comically low annual salary of just $1. While the gesture isn't unheard of in the corporate world — Google's Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt all pocketed the same 100 penny salary annually — Jobs has kept his salary at $1 since 1997, the year he became Apple's lead executive. Of his salary, Jobs joked in 2007: "I get 50 cents a year for showing up, and the other 50 cents is based on my performance."

In early 2011, Jobs owned 5.5 million shares of Apple. After his death, Apple shares were valued at $377.64 — a roughly 43-fold growth in valuation over the last 10 years that shows no signs of slowing down.

He may only have taken in a single dollar per year, but Jobs leaves behind a vast fortune. The largest chunk of that wealth is the roughly $7 billion from the sale of Pixar to Disney in 2006. In 2011, with an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion, he was the 110th richest person in the world, according to Forbes. If Jobs hadn't sold his shares upon leaving Apple in 1985 (before returning to the company in 1996), he would be the world's fifth richest individual.

While there's no word yet on plans for his estate, Jobs leaves behind three children from his marriage to Laurene Jobs (Reed, Erin, and Eve), as well as his first daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/8-things-didn-t-know-life-steve-jobs-172130955.html

Shoes - An Update

Finally had my shoes back after 1.5 months of waiting. Width of shoes still felt a bit tight - an ominous sign.

Day 1 of wearing my artificially expanded shoes - Horrible. Heels and both sides of my feet were abraded. It was so painful I had to use plasters on the heels and bear the rest of the soreness.  Shoes that ill-treat my feet like this will usually be given the cold shoulder and left to rust and decay in my shoe cabinet. But not this pair given the amount it costs me - I must persevere! 

Day 2 - Still quite bad. I now have a blister on the right heel and it hurts just walking in the shoes. Plasters to the rescue again and I ended up in flip-flops most of the day.

Day 3 - Shoes are still abrading my sides a bit. But my heels feel fine. Not the most comfortable pair of shoes but at least it is now wearable.

Day 4 - Shoes still feel a bit tight, but yay, no more plasters! 

A week later - My shoes took a 5-day break at home as I brought my trusty crocs overseas for a holiday. When my feet met the shoes again, the hard leather felt foreign and uncomfortable compared to the soft cushioning of my crocs (I just need crocs to design gorgeous shoes for work!). Nevertheless, my feet adjusted after a while and I survived a 10-hour workday with my shoes.

So this whirlwind relationship continues...but at least now I am assured of a long-term (though slightly uncomfortable) relationship with my shoes :)

Shoes

A person's outfit and accessories can give great insights to a person's personality. For instance, I can usually tell whether a person loves dressing up from her choice of footwear. The more practical ladies are usually in pumps or flats, whereas the fashionistas can be found in towering stilettos suitable only for the runway and nowhere else.

Despite shoes being one of the least conspicuous accessory, I personally believe it is the one accessory worth splurging on.  With my many experiences with blisters and sore feet from wearing ill-fitting shoes, I have learnt that the quality of my shoes can make or break my day.  And I have also learnt the hard way that branded shoes do not necessarily mean quality shoes.

During my recent trip to Italy, I decided to splurge on 2 pairs of leather shoes from a brand raved by most as having very comfortable shoes.

I was extremely thrilled with my purchase of 2 pairs of gorgeous shoes. But my excitement turned into frustration within an hour my feet met my new shoes.  Even though I bought half-a-size larger than my usual shoe size, the shoes gave me blisters and squeezed my feet till it hurt just standing in my shoes (and I was already wearing stockings to reduce the friction).

I decided to bring the pair of shoes to the local boutique in Singapore.  The saleslady told me that the shoes I purchased in Italy were of "C" cut, and the Asian boutiques usually carried "D" cuts to fit the broader Asian feet.  I tried the "D" cut and the shoes were evidently looser.

As I had another pair of "C" cut shoes I have not worn, I asked if I could exchange it for a "D" cut.  The answer was negative, as the Asian boutiques usually did not carry "C" cut shoes.  The saleslady explained that the local boutiques were only partly owned by the original owners and they could not accept cuts/designs they did not sell.

So there I am...after forking out a mean sum for branded luxury shoes, I am stuck with shoes that don't fit me. It is a wonder why non-luxury brands can accord good exchange/refund policies to customers, but not that luxury brand -particularly when it is obvious the customer is paying a high premium not only for quality products, but also exceptional customer service.  The brand had not only failed me in terms of quality, its poor exchange policy has left a distaste in my mouth. I was half-expecting the local boutique to charge me for the shoe expansion service, but thankfully they didn't.  I have to wait over a month before I can collect my shoes though.  

My search for nice comfortable work shoes continues...in the meantime, I can only hope that the artificial shoe expansion will improve the fit of those stubbornly uncomfortable shoes. And would I ever purchase another pair of branded shoes? I hate to admit it, but I probably would.  I still believe that a price must be paid for good craftsmanship.  But next time, I would have to be doubly sure the shoes fit like a Tee before I buy them.

First Words

26 Jul 2011

At 16 months old, my little J can say a variety of words, although his favourite language is still babbling.  Being a chatty boy who is full of expressions, he would go "orh orh orh" or "ng ng ng" when he doesn't know the actual words to say.  This is a little compilation of J's word of vocabulary so that I can remember his dearest first words:-

1. Bear - J's first word spoken on 5 Jun 2011. He looked at Berry (my pink toy bear) and said the magic  word. And then I showed him a picture of a bear (Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?), said "bear", and he repeated the word after me.  J was evidently very happy with his accomplishment, cos for the rest of the evening he was going  "bear, bear, bear..." non-stop, even at bedtime. Both A and I were delirious that our baby has uttered his first word!

2. Ball - This is J's favourite toy since he knew the concept of toys and playtime.  I heard him say the word on 16 Jun 2011, when he came home with his grandparents and a brand new ball. My in-laws later told me he can say "ball" - looks like J had charmed his grandparents into buying him a new toy! 

3. There - One of J's most powerful words because it gets him to places. The first time he pointed at a certain direction and said "there", his Ye-Ye did as he directed and J had extra time out of the house! 

4. Bus - Whenever a bus passes, J'll point at it and go "Oh!". When we ask him what it is, he'll say "Ba" - his very own pronunciation of his favourite vehicle.

5. Bag - Noticed J was pretty good at pronouncing words starting with B, so I showed him a bag, pronounced the word, and he immediately repeated the word after me. Clever boy! 

6. Bye - J can do a nice smacking goodbye kiss and say bye at the same time.  This little boy doesn't like to stay at home, and is especially enthusiastic in giving a flying kiss when it means he gets to go out! 

7. Bao - J pronounces this with an ang mo accent and outstretched arms whenever he wants someone to carry him. 

8. Names - J can scream Ye (for Ye-Ye), pronounces Nai-Nai as Ngair Ngair Ngair, says Da or Ba (for Daddy) if we ask him to, he can pronunce Gu (for Aunt), but doesn't call me unless he is crying. Occasionally, he will say "Ba" when I ask me to say Mummy, but there were a couple of times he pronounced Mama perfectly when he was in tears and wanted my attention.  I can't really figure out why, but it seems that my little darling pronounces Mama only when he really wants my attention. 

9. Complete the word - J can complete selective words/phrases too. If we say "question", he will add on "mark". "Motor" is completed with "bike" (which sounds like mark but it sounds so adorable nonetheless!). "Air" is joined by "Ple" for "Apple".

10. Car - J recently learnt to pronounce "car" on 17 Jul 2011. I pointed to a car, repeated the word a few times, and then J said "car" very softly.  This is the only time I have heard J whisper! 

11. Woof - J loves animals, and he goes "oh" (his personal mimiction of a bark) whenever he sees a picture of a dog. Just a few days ago on 19 Jul 2011, J went "moo" when he saw pictures of cows! 

A Movie and A Book

The Movie
On my flight back from Italy, I watched a movie titled "Be with me" by Royston Tan. It contains a documentary of a 61 year old Singaporean lady, Theresa Chan Poh Lin, who has been blind and deaf from a young age.  She is an inspirational figure because she continues to lead life to the maximum despite her handicaps.  She even managed to pick up English despite her handicaps, and remains positive about life. This movie won a Special Mention Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2005.

Many a times, I complain and even get angry at the smallest things (e.g. the Chinese man who cut my queue at the airport this morning), but God has shown me that I am so blessed. So blessed that I can see the beauty around me, hear my son's adorable voice, and being blessed with the ability to appreciate life to the fullest. I have had some downs in life, but they are minuscule relative to what this courageous lady had gone through.  I should be more appreciative and really, seriously, count my many blessings. May God bless this lady richly.  

The Book
One of the privileges of having great in-laws is that I can travel with A, catch up on my sleep, and read a book.  I started to enjoy reading in the past few years, but reading becomes a luxury and an almost impossible task when one has a young and active toddler. Anyway, I had the opportunity to read during my Italy holiday and picked a book from Amazon's list of bestsellers.  The title of the book would grab anyone's attention - Heaven is for real, A little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven.

I believe in Heaven and Hell, and this book offers glimpses into what is awaiting us after this life.  It offers hope to those who have lost loved ones and reaffirms the faith of those who believe. In one of the chapters, the little boy shared that he met his unborn sister in heaven.  He did not know that his mother had miscarried previously and his sharing helped to heal the pain his mother had carried for years, as well as soothed the grief of another lady who gave birth to a stillborn. 

Obviously on the extreme, there can be 2 reactions to the contents of this book - as aptly displayed by A and myself.  A is not a believer and thinks the father (who is a pastor) could have cooked up the facts.  I believe in the truth of this story - what good would it do to falsify a story like this, and besides if he were really a pastor, he would know that it would be terribly wrong to do so.

This book will serve as a reminder to me how life should be led. When heaven is in perspective, it makes me look at things differently.  I will recommend this book to anyone because it has blessed me so much. 

Italy - Going Home (15 Jul 2011)

Our 2.5 hour train trip from Florence to Milan airport was thankfully problem-free.  We had proper seats this time round, and our luggage remained intact even though we had to leave it unattended at the baggage area because we there was no place to fit it where we were sitting.

We were greeted by chaos at the airport though.  At the queue to claim my tax refund, a Chinese man tried to cut my queue until I told him off.  And at the queues to check our hand carry bags and to stamp our passports, there another man who successfully cut our queue.  He would nonchalantly just stand beside the lady in front of us, as if he knew her.  A thought they might be a couple who quarreled and were not on speaking terms, but he was mistaken. We were glad we arrived early at the airport, as it took us almost 2 hours to complete the immigration procedures.

Italy - Firenze Day 3 (14 Jul 2011)

Today is the final day of our holiday. 

Having missed visiting the Duomo the day before,we woke up bright and early for breakfast in the hotel and headed for the Duomo.  We reached the Duomo at about 9:50am, 10 min before its opening, and were greeted with a long queue of visitors that snaked down the side of the church till we were lost at the end of the length of the church.  We finally managed to enter the church before 10:30am, and were in time for a free guided tour (this is definitely a first time!).  The tour was conducted by volunteers helping an organization called Art and Faith (or something similar). 

The most stunning part of the church would be the painting of the dome at the front part of the church.  Apparently, the construction of the huge dome was of significance too, as it was deemed almost impossible to construct such a huge dome during that time.

After visiting the Duomo, we had a quick pizza lunch and wonderful gelato at a popular gelato shop - Grom.  I had tried the gelato the day before and was extremely impressed with its pesca (peach) flavor.

Our hotel had helped us reserved 2 tickets at the Uffizi for 12:30pm, so we rushed there to collect our tickets.  The Uffizi is apparently the must-visit place in Florence as it stores a huge collection of art pieces, including those by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rafaello.  Again, I must admit that the uncultured me felt sleepy after about an hour, but managed to peservere - we were in the Uffizi for 4.5 hours! Oh, and the most exciting part of my visit was my purchase of 2 gorgeous pop-up story books at the Uffizi bookstore.

Right after the tour of the Uffizi, we were both feeling very overwhelmed by art and culture, and our stomachs were grumbling a little.  A chose a nice restaurant, Osteria Dei Centopoveri, for dinner, and he had an excellent Italian dinner comprising of Florentine beef steak.  Our appetiser, melon with prosciutto, was quite yummy. My lasagnette (which looked like mee hoon kuey cooked in tomato sauce) was not bad, and I must say A's steak was the best of all - A actually single-handedly finished his 0.5kg slab of steak!  We were also given Tuscan sweet wine and some pretty delicious biscotti to round up our meal.  It was a great final meal in Italy.

After the meal, we took a bus up the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo, where we were treated to a spectacular view of Florence.  Very nice way to end a holiday.  I am obviously a little sad my holiday is coming to an end, but on the other hand, I can't wait to hold my son in my arms and tell him how much I miss him.

Italy - Firenze Day 2 (13 Jul 2011)

We decided to sleep in and skipped the hotel breakfast.  Instead, we had brunch at the Roberto Cavalli cafe and consumed the most fabulous chocolate eclair.  It was in this upscale cafe where we noticed some interesting people.  

A noticed a lady decked out in a shiny patterned dress that subtly reflected light as she walked - one could not help noticing her not only because of her fabulous dress, but also because of her supermodel looks and confident strut.

I was observing this English elderly couple who was seated near us, and wondering if they could be English royalty on a personal holiday.  Unlike some people who try to look rich, this couple was obviously extremely wealthy. The elderly lady, who looked like she was in her 70s, caught my attention because she was decked out in a skin-tight spaghetti strapped long dress that seemed more appropriate for a cocktail party.  Her hair was bundled up with a Dior hair clip, her feet wore Chanel heels, and on her finger was the biggest diamond I have ever seen - my best guess is that it must be at least 2 carats (it was about 1.5cm wide in diameter and I am not exaggerating). Her items were obviously very branded, but slightly old-fashioned, so quite suitable for her age.  Her companion wore a simple white shirt (the material looks expensive), brown slacks and white leather shoes.  My personal opinion is that white shoes are usually reserved for either the male fashionista, or the terribly rich. Most people, I believe, would choose a dark coloured pair of branded shoes over a light coloured pair for practical reasons.

After our interesting "people-watch" at the cafe, we went to visit a small church, Basilica Santa Maria.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the church interior.  It was a relatively simply decorated church, but had these stunning paintings that looked as if they reflected light.  

Our initial plan was to visit the Duomo, but changed our mind when we reached there.  There was a long queue even though it was half an hour to its closing at 5pm.  We visited the Palazzo Vecchio instead - where the ceiling of every room was filled with paintings.  Being not too culturally inclined, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the paintings and my neck ached a little from having to stare up the ceiling of each room.  But I was a little puzzled why there were paintings of gods from Greek mythology (e.g. I learnt that Jupiter would have been eaten by Saturn, his father if not for his mother's intervention, and the mother was apparently the father's sister. Jupiter married his sister, Juno, as well) as well as paintings from the Catholic faith - to me, paintings of such diverse origins should be mutually exclusive. 

A thought it would be nice to have a non-Italian dinner for a change, and we headed to Hard Rock Cafe.  This is an immensely popular restaurant, and when we went there at 8pm last evening, waiting time would be 2 hours. Anyway, we went earlier and managed to get a table immediately (phew!).  

The food was okay (we shared a appetiser platter and pulled pork burger) though portions were humongous.  If we were just listening casually, the restaurant was filled with atmospheric rock music, which was actually quite nice cos it made the restaurant lively and very "hard rock cafe".  There was a huge MTV screen right at the front, and we couldn't help watching the MTVs while waiting for the food.  And we were appalled (more so for me) that 3 out of 4 MTVs screened had titles that ridiculed the Christian faith and the content was totally absurd and would anger any believer.  I don't even want to recall these MTVs.  A even commented that the content of the MTVs was inappropriate for a family restaurant.  He also found it interesting that this popular restaurant was screaming a controversial message when the rest of Florence seemed pretty religious. 

Italy - Shopping and Firenze (12 Jul 2011)

Woke up feeling pretty excited cos today is the day I get to give my credit card a workout.  After a quick breakfast and some time spent figuring out our directions, we drove to the Prada outlet at Montevarchi.  We only managed to arrive at the outlet after stopping at 2 petrol stations to ask for directions - and each time before A could ask the question, the kiosk staff would pre-empt him and ask if he was looking for Prada outlet.  Seems like all tourists visit this town with the same purpose.

We would have totally missed the Prada outlet if not for the directions given.  For some reason, it was called Space outlet and there were no Prada signs anywhere.  Even the paper bags were Space bags.  The outlet was huge and full of people.  I reckon Asians made up 50% of the shoppers.  I concentrated mainly on the bag section and made up my mind after about 90 mins - the damage was 3 bags.

Next, we went to The Mall at Reggello.  This was a huge shopping area with numerous brand outlets.  I was pretty focused and zoomed straight into Gucci, Ferragamo, Bottega, Prada (again!) and just for fun, other brands such as Dior and Burberry.  Gucci had a good selection of items though I am not a Gucci fan.  The shoes at Ferragamo were in odd sizes so I didnt buy any shoes even though I liked some of the off-season designs.  Bottega had some nice designs, but very pricey even at the outlets - I was eyeing a huge red bag that was selling at a discounted price of 1,890 Euros! The Prada outlet was much smaller than the one at Space, and was jammed with people.  We had to wait 15min outside the store (under the scorching sun) before we were let into the store.  

For most of the stores, the designs carried were obviously from previous seasons, and came in odd colours and designs that one probably would not purchase.  It seems that the classic designs, being evergreen designs, would never make their way to the outlet stores.  Nevertheless, I had fun window shopping - it's not everyday that I have the guts to walk into several high-end shops in a day. It was also not a wasted trip as I left the place about 3 hours later with a yummy slice of pizza in my tummy and a gorgeous new wallet :) 

After the massive shopping exercise, we returned our rented Ford Fiasco at the Hertz outlet in Florence (or Firenze in Italian).  We then took a cab to our hotel.  

We stayed at NH Porta Rossa, which had a great location, being located within walking distance from many museums, tourist spots.  It was also right next to the shopping belt - I was excited cos my shopping antennae have been activated after the initial shopping experience at the outlets.  

Other than its central location, our hotel is done up pretty nicely too.  The lobby has an old fashioned feel with wooden panels, a stained glass ceiling, and other traditional finishes.  In contrast, the room is done up with a modern touch.  White is the theme of the room, with clean white sheets, lamps, cupboards, tables, and even a white TV! The hanging lamp in the middle of the room looks like inverted wine glasses and the room feels cosy (A thinks the room is a little small, but I think it is fine), modern, and new.  No doubt this would be my favorite accommodation from this holiday. In the toilet, I love how the brightly colored toiletries set in one corner contrast against the grey walls.  The mirror is framed within silver boundaries, there is a great rain shower, and finally, clear shower panels.

After settling down in the hotel, we headed straight to the shopping belt - today is shopping day!  When we were in Ferragamo, A noticed that almost all the shoppers were Asians - in fact all the customers trying on shoes are Asians, and there was a pair of Japanese ladies trying on at least 8 pairs of shoes.  Wow, is there a major Saldi for Ferragamo shoes? I don't see any Saldi signs though.  

After a quick shopping trip to 2 shops, I emerged with a lighter wallet and paper bags containing 2 pairs of shoes, a bag and a purse (a gift).  I was delighted with my buys, particularly since I have been eyeing the bag for a long, long time, but held off purchasing the bag as it had a higher price tag in Singapore.  The great incentive in purchasing in Italy is the 12% tax rebate for purchases above 150 Euros - so it can be pretty difficult to resist shopping in Italy, particularly if you are a fan of Italian brands.  However, I also felt slightly guilty with my splurge and decided I had shopped enough for the day - lucky thing most shops had closed for the day too.

It was just slightly after 7pm, but thanks to the long days in summer, the sky was still bright and we strolled around a little.  We walked towards the Piazza Della Signoria, the heart of the city, and it was brimming with people.  The sun was just setting and it was the perfect timing to photograph the numerous statutes in the Piazza, including the huge water fountain (which is supposedly ugly to many locals) and a copy of Michelangelo's David located just outside Palazzo Vecchio.  We then walked towards Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge where gold is sold.  The bridge was lined with jewellery shops, and when we arrived, the shopkeepers were just winding down for the day.  It was interesting to see how the shops were being locked up.  Mostly, huge locks were used and there were thick wooden panels pulled down to protect the windows so that no glass is visible from the outside.  

We had a late dinner (8+pm) at L'Osteria De Giovanni where we were served salty fried dough (reminds me of my favourite you tiao) prior to our main course.  A had juicy milk-fed veal chop which was excellent, and my beef stew was so-so.  The portions were huge, and our stomachs were so full from the mains that there were no room for dessert.

Overall, Florence is a lovely city filled with culture and beautiful architecture.  Can't wait to explore more over the next few days! 

Italy - Montepulciano (11 Jul 2011)

Woke up slightly later this morning at 9+am and headed for breakfast at 9:50am - in our typical style of rushing for breakfast before it ends at 10am.  

We had lovely soft toast and 3/4 cooked eggs (all DIY style) which was interesting to me because I have never boiled my own eggs in a restaurant before.  There was an apparatus with egg holders and boiling water, so one just has to place the egg in a metal egg holder, dip it in boiling water, and wait.  When one thinks the egg is done, one has to deftly transfer the egg onto a ceramic egg cup, wait for the egg to cool abit, and then either:
(i) (as A demonstrated) crack the top of the egg shell with the back of a metal spoon, peel away the top portion of the egg, sprinkle some pepper/salt on the egg, and then use a small spoon to dip into the egg the same way you'll eat a kiwi, or 
(ii) (as how the couple beside us ate their egg) use a butter knife to slice the top portion of the egg, and then use the half-cooked egg as a bread dip.  
I made a mental note to purchase an egg cup for J when I am back home.  It seemed so much easier to feed him eggs using an egg cup instead of peeling the entire egg and then mincing it up.

After breakfast we went back to our cottage and found that the staff were cleaning the cottage.  I initially wanted to just sit in the living area while they were cleaning up, but the strong stench of bleach literally chased me out.  I was a little unhappy that they used one of our empty plastic bags (which I hung at the edge of a chair) to fill up rubbish.  It was obviously our plastic bag because it was an NTUC plastic bag, and plastic bags are a precious commodity during travels.  Anyway, what's done cannot be undone so I'll just let it be.

We later headed towards the nearby town of Montepulciano.  I think this town is built along a hill, because the streets had never-ending upslopes.  It was definitely some exercise for our calf muscles as we slowly made our way up the streets, and it would be unwise to lose your way (as we did while looking for a particular restaurant) because you'll have to scale the sloping streets more times than you really need to.  

The city centre (Piazza Grande) was a lot quieter than I expected, with the Townhall  (Palazzo Communale) and Cattedrale located next to each other.  I later saw a poster that indicated the Townhall at the city centre was a filming site for the movie Twilight - New Moon.  I'll try to rewatch the movie in future to see if I can identify the place.  

We had lunch at Caffe Poliziano, a cafe established in 1868.  We had a balcony table which overlooked the stunning Tuscany landscape.  I was feeling pretty lethargic by then, and didn't enjoy the scenery as much I would like to.  I was just glad that my spaghetti carbonara wasn't salty and the texture of the spaghetti was just right. A's arrabiatta penne turned out harder than we are used to - tasted a little undercooked.  By now, I am used to expecting Italian food cooked in styles very different from what I am used to back home.  I love Singaporean-styled pizzas (think Hawaiian) and pasta, but here in Italy, they seem to like it all plain (e.g. magherita pizzas and spaghetti pesto, sans meat). 

After lunch, we drove towards Tempio di San Biagio, which was a short driving distance from the town.  I was awed by the sheer size of the temple - I felt so small relative to the temple, and wondered how did men in the past ever manage to build such a huge building.  It must have been a massive job back then.  Having seen quite a number of cathedrals, it made me realize that the Italians of the past must have been a pretty devout group to have spent so much time, labour and finances to not only construct these massive buildings of worship, but to also adorn them with various paintings, statues and carvings.  

This is our final night in the villa, and we again had a great dinner - stuffed vegetables, fusilli with pesto, beef steak and alcoholic parfait for dessert.  However, instead of the usual service staff whom A thinks is very good, a lady waitress replaced him tonight and she was much slower in her service.  Dinner was supposed to start at 8pm but she had yet to finish setting up by 8pm.  We also had to wait about 20min after we were seated before we could order our drinks.  We had our appetizer at about 9pm and dinner only ended at about 10:20pm.  Nevertheless, food was good and the garden ambience was the perfect setting for the dinner.  A very nice way to wrap up our stay at the villa, and also the end of our tour of the Italian countryside.

Italy - Montalcino (10 Jul 2011)

After a decent breakfast at our villa, we headed towards Montalcino, the town famous for its Brunello wine.  In terms of architecture, the town paled in comparison to the other towns we have visited.  Postcards of the place showed pictures of the clock tower and the fortress - so I suppose other than wine, these are the 2 key highlights of the town.

We headed towards Poggio Antico for lunch and the hope of a wine tour.  We were surprised at the number of cars parked outside the restaurant, given the place was located a distance away from the town and not visible from the main road.  It was a scenic drive-in lined with cypress trees.  According to trusty Lonely Planet, Poggio Antico is one of the top wine producers in the region and also serves good food.  The selection of homemade bread served was warm and soft - so yummy I had three buns! But my dish of spaghetti was so salty that mineral water tasted sweet in comparison, and I only managed to stuff myself with half the dish.  I later found out from the waitress and chef and the dish was cooked with Cinta Sienese Pork Cheek which had a very strong flavor (which I took to understand that the meat had been overladen with salt to preserve it).  The saving grace came in the delectable cold pistachio cream dessert with hazelnut sauce (which tasted and looked like chocolate sauce).

We were lucky that a wine tour was happening at 3pm, about the same time we finished our lunch.  As part of the wine tour, we were shown the sophisticated machine used to wash the bottles, how nitrogen is then used to fill the bottles before wine is poured in (to avoid contact with air), and then only a certain type of cork (the type that must be pre-ordered a year in advance and costs 1 Euro each) is used to seal the bottle before labels are stuck onto the bottles.  The grapes are handpicked and selected, with the inferior grapes being discarded.  We were also shown the area where the grapes are placed into huge metal containers with controlled temperature and humidity (what the lady termed as spaceships) where they are left for initial fermentation and compressed (using machinery, instead of the au natural way of using feet).  The grape juices are then transferred into wooden barrels, where they are left to ferment for a few years.  Depending on the wine-making recipe, the grape juices would be placed in different types of barrels for various number of years.  I never knew there were so many steps to wine-making, and the wine tour was really an eye-opener.  There are a total of 55 rules that the winemaker has to adhere to in order to make Brunello wine - no wonder the cheapest 1 litre bottle cost us 35 Euros.  We bought 2 bottles after the tour - the classic bottle and the Altero (which is the modern version of the classic Brunello).  Both A and I preferred the lighter-tasting Altero, although being the non-wine drinker that I am, I much preferred the fruity aromas than the actual taste of alcohol in my mouth.

After the wine tour, we headed towards Abbazia Di Sant' Antimo, a restored church.  The church was very simply decorated unlike the other Duomos we have visited.  Music was floating through the air as we stepped through the wooden doors, creating an ambience of reverence and tranquility.

On our way back to Villa Cicolina, we stopped along the road a couple of times to snap pictures of the stunning Tuscan landscape - valleys of green blended with fields of golden yellow, as well as my favorite field of cheerful sunflowers beaming under the Tuscan sunlight.

We wrapped up the day with another sumptuous dinner at the villa.  We went with high expectations after last night's dinner and were not disappointed.  A was so impressed with each dish he went "mmm" each time he tasted a new course.  Dessert (my favorite part of the meal) was Tiramisu, and while it was yummy with a strong caffe flavour, we both thought the apple tart the day before was more stunning.  Anyway, we have decided we would have dinner at our villa tomorrow night again - this is one of the best meals I have eaten in my life and it seemed a bargain in Italy to be paying 33 Euros for a great-tasting four-course meal.  I actually think the same set menu would easily burn a 3-digit hole in the pocket back in Singapore.  

We spent some time surfing the internet in the common area after dinner, and looked through some videos of my little J.  Boy, I miss him so much! But I am glad that he is in the good hands of his grandparents who dote on him more than his parents do.  Afterwards we went back to our cottage and watched some news on BBC - I never knew BBC programmes could be so interesting.  With a demanding toddler back home, we never had time to watch much TV programmes, and I am glad we are away on a holiday rewarding ourselves with some time of our own, without having to fret over our little prince.  

One of the BBC news segment covered the lack of food and water in Somalia, and how families would walk for days and even weeks without food and water, in search of a refugee camp that would provide them with the basic necessities to survive.  Many young children and babies die within days from reaching the refugee campsite from malnutrition, and more and more graveyards are dug everyday.  And the available supply of food and water is limited given the increased number of refugees.  The saddening truth is that people in other parts of the world are caught in the cycle of poverty and have difficulties having their basic needs met.  And here I am enjoying myself at a holiday, with a roof over my head, and ample supply of food and water to support an expanding waistline.  I am truly blessed and really thankful.

Italy - Siena and Montepulciano (9 Jul 2011)

Grabbed a cone of gelato before leaving San Gimignano for Siena.  Siena is a huge city with a huge town square.  Around the square are lined with restaurants and shops - most of the restaurants were packed with people who were enjoying their meals alongside the views of the square and Palazzo Communale.  We visited the courtyard of the Palazzo Communale (free entry) and saw a long queue of people waiting to scale the tower.  Apparently only 30 people are allowed up the tower at any one time, which explains the long queue.  

We visited the Duomo after lunch.  As I was wearing a sleeveless top, I was given a paper-like shawl to cover my shoulders before I could enter the Duomo.  The interior of the Duomo is supported by unique black-and-white pillars, and at one end of the cathedral is a round stained glass depicting what looks like The Last Supper. The marble floor of the cathedral is covered by picture carvings but only a portion of the floor could be viewed, with the rest being covered up to protect the floor.  A told me that twice a year, the entire marble floor would be revealed for viewing and the entrance fees for those days would double to 6 Euros for each visitor.  The most spectacular part of the cathedral would be the library room with ceilings completely covered with vivid-coloured paintings.  There was also a statue of 3 women in the middle of the room depicting the 3 graces - grace, fascination and (something else we can't remember).  Apparently, the statues were previously owned by a rich family and it was common for wealthy families in the past to display their art collection in a designated room.

After Siena, we drove towards Montepulciano.  When we stopped at a petrol kiosk to top up our fuel, surprisingly no one was mending the kiosk though we could still top up the fuel by paying cash at a machine.  Looks like it is the norm for petrol kiosks to be closed on weekends.

Our hotel, or more appropriately termed holiday villa, was outside Montepulciano. It is set in a lovely garden filled with fruit trees and flowers.  A had splurged on a cottage with a pretty garden and a kitchen.  We had to pay if we wanted to use the kitchen, and if we wanted a bath towel for the pool, it would cost us 1 Euro too.  By now, I am used to the fact that everything at Italy has a price tag to it. 

I have veered off my initial thoughts - all I wanted to say was that the place had a lovely setting.  And I also had my best meal there since I arrived in Italy.  Dinner was in the midst of a garden - I had beef stew and the best apple tart (drenched in bittersweet caramel)  I have ever tasted.  A had a delicious dish of tomatoes stuffed with risotto, and pasta with sheep cream cheese. The menu sounded ordinary, but the dishes were exceptional.   A and I each had an apple tart, and he didn't even notice there were raisins in the tart until his last few mouthfuls.  That speaks a lot for someone who is "psychologically allergic" to raisins. I am already eagerly looking forward to dinner tomorrow.

Italy - San Gimignano and Volterra (8 Jul 2011)

Breakfast at the hotel was a complete blah, so much so that I wouldn't mind skipping breakfast the next day.  We visited the Palazzo Del Comune ( the Townhall) after breakfast and scaled up the 54m high tower.  The walk up was pretty creepy because I am generally afraid of heights and it didn't help there were gaps between the steps such that I could see the steps beneath me as I walked up the stairs.  I made my way up the tower in a slow and not-too-steady manner, and was rewarded with a breathtaking view right at the top.  

Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with Gelato (again!) and drove to Volterra for a late lunch.  Volterra had apparently shot to fame from being mentioned in the 2nd book of the Twilight series - New Moon.  But I found no resemblance between the town and the scenes from the movie, although it seemed that filming took place in the town as there were Twilight guided tours every Saturday.  The town had significantly less tourists than San Gimignano, and was less impressive too.  But every other shop we came across sold items made of Alabaster - apparently the town's speciality craft.

We went back to San Gimignano for dinner and coincidentally, a student orchestra from Holland had a free outdoor performance near our hotel that evening. It was a casual sort of performance, and the musicians were all clad in summer wear (think sleeveless tops and shorts).  Occasionally, the wind would cause the music scores to fly and the musicians would scramble to arrange the sheets and secure them to the music stand with wooden clothes pegs.

Italy - Pisa and San Gimignano (7 Jul 2011)

Took a 2 hour train ride to Pisa Central Station where we spotted fields of sunflowers along the way - simply stunning.  We left our baggage at "Left Baggage" at the station and took a bus ride to view the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  

As expected, the area was full of tourists.  A climb up the Leaning Tower would cost us 15 Euros each (compared to 10 Euros to enter all other buildings in the vicinity.  We would have paid for the climb up the world-renown tower if not for the 3 hour waiting time.  So we ended up just snapping pictures of the tower, and paid 6 Euros each to visit the cathedral and cemetery instead.  I visited this area 10 years ago, but but still felt pretty amazed as I admired the beautiful architecture and how the design of each building complemented one another.  In my opinion, the prettiest building was the round baptistry, but the one that truly captivated me was the Leaning Tower of Pisa - simple in design, but the way the building leaned was truly intriguing.  

After spending a couple of hours at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and had a Macdonalds lunch (my first Italian Macdonalds meal - fries were quite nice but my Fillet-o-Fish was so-so, and we had to pay 0.2 Euros for ketchup) we headed back to the train station to collect our luggage and then took a cab to Hertz to collect our car. 

We took our rented Ford Fiesta, went to the supermarket to stock up on fruits and snacks, and the hit the highway towards San Gimignano.  We reached San Gimignano a few hours later - thanks to the long days of daylight, the sky was still bright and sunny when we reached the town in the evening. 

San Gimignano is a fortress-like city, and no vehicles are permanently allowed within its walls.  We drove in to drop our luggage and had to drive our afterwards to park at the designated carpark areas outside the town.  I have to say that our car looked really out of place when we stopped it for a few minutes outside our hotel.  The town is built out of brown brickwalls, and has a medieval feel to it.  If everyone were wearing robes instead, it would feel like we have been brought back in time.

This is a beautiful town with a stunning view of the surrounding landscape.  Our hotel, Hotel Leon Bianco, is centrally located in the city square.  Nearby is a famous Gelato shop that is always full of customers - and that would be the place I get my daily dose of dessert for the next few days.

Italy - Cinque Terra (6 Jul 2011)

We woke up at 7:30am and found ourselves to be the first guests at breakfast - this was a first, cos we are usually the type who would sleep in and rush off for breakfast before it ends in 15min. 

The breakfast spread looked sumptuous, and we were served excellent freshly squeezed orange juice. But after having scrambled eggs with sodium-overladen bacon (not uncommon in Italy I suppose - just the day before, A had really salty ham with his foccacia) I was left craving for a good American breakfast.  Waffles are my top breakfast choice, but it looks like I'll have to live with cold continental breakfast for the next week.  But I'm not complaining as the breakfast table looked really yummy, though not suited to my Asian palette.

After breakfast, we headed to the train station and took a train to Monterosso, the first of five Cinque Terra towns, and the start of our trekking for the day.  It was a 90min trek to Vernazza, apparently the prettiest town of all.  The trek was relatively easy, and I survived the upslopes thinking of the calories I was burning and the health benefits from the exercise I was getting.  The scenery became prettier when we neared Vernazza - and that is the excitement from trekking - the sense of jubilation and relief when one nears the the destination, and the ability to take in breathtaking views one can't get elsewhere except from taking the trodden path.  

Vernazza is indeed a picturesque town with brightly-colored buildings and a small beach area lined with boats and rock cliffs.  There is also a popular Gelato shop there and we couldn't resist some Gelato on a hot sweltering Italian afternoon.  There was also a public tap in the middle of town which everyone used to fill up their water bottles.  Afer resting for an hour or so, we started on our second trek towards Corniglia.  The trek was shorter at slightly over an hour, though the walking in blistering heat was a challenge itself.  We finally made it and when we were there, realized how far the train station was from Corniglia's town centre.  

The trekking route between Corniglia and Manarola was closed due to a landslide so we took a train to Manarola instead.  We also later took a train from Manarola to the final Cinque Terra town of Riomaggiore.  Between trekking and taking the train, I found that I could better appreciate the towns I trekked to, and could also take nicer pictures of the towns from a distance.  In contrast, my impression of the last 2 towns were pretty vague, though these towns had their beauty in a similar but unique way.

Italy - Trip to Moneglia (5 Jul 2011)

Woke up at about 9am and we headed to a nearby cafe for a light breakfast.  We checked out at about 11+am and took a cab to the train station.  After a quick pizza brunch at the train station, I wanted to use the washroom but immediately changed my mind when I saw the hefty fee of 1 Euro.  Goodness knows what expensive soap or toilet paper they have in the toilet, but I am never going to find out. 

When we got to the train platform, we realized that our assigned carriage no. 7 was non-existent and when A asked the train staff, he was told to head towards carriage no. 5 instead. Our seats were already occupied in carriage no. 5, but lucky there were extra seats along the aisle - much less comfortable but better than nothing.  So much for paying 47 Euros for the 2 seats. 

When the train staff came by to check our tickets, he did not look surprised and merely told us there were seats in other carriages.  Looks like wrong train bookings like ours are not uncommon. There were other passengers seated on the extra seats just like us too. 

We finally managed to get proper seats halfway through the journey as several people alighted at one of the major towns. Just minutes after I had seated myself comfortably, we were joined by an Italian woman with a dog. She sat in front of A, placed her bag on the seat in front of me, and her dog in front of my feet. That's great - first I had no seat, and now I have a proper seat and a dog as a neighbour.  Lucky thing the dog was pretty well-behaved throughout the short journey although I still felt that the woman should have been more understanding - what if I was afraid of dogs? I would have been terrified many years ago...thankfully I am more tolerant of dogs now.  

We finally reached Moneglia after a 3 hour train ride. After heaving my trolley luggage up the stairs (would have brought my haversack instead if I knew of the stairs I had to climb), we walked a short distance to our accommodation - Abbadia San Giorgio.  The compound was previously a monastery built in 1800s and it has been restored beautifully.  There are only 8 guest rooms available, and the entire place was really quiet and peaceful.  The room has been tastefully done up with shades of brown, yellow and gold - not my favorite colours but quite charming by my standards.

We headed towards the town centre which was just a stone's throw away. It was a lot livelier and full of holiday-makers in their swimming gear. The beach was packed with people sun-bathing.  Having come from the sunny island of Singapore, I never quite understood the fun of getting one's skin roasted in the sun, not to mention the aging effects excessive sun exposure has. Why do people love sun-tanning so much? Could it be the thrill of parading around in their new swimwear or perhaps they love the sun-kissed glow on their skin (notwithstanding the skin damage)? Anyway, the sun bathers seemed contented to while the entire day on the sand not doing much.

We managed to tour round Moneglia's town centre in about half an hour and then decided to take a train to the first town of the Cinque Terre - Monterosso.  The gravel beach was jammed packed with...sunbathers again. Here I was armed with my cap and shades - and the rest of the crowd was skimpily clad to gain maximum exposure to the sun.  We walked around abit, spotted a small but lovely cathedral, before heading back to Moneglia for dinner.

We had dinner at Assirto - one of the recommended restaurants from our lodge.  We went into the small family-run restaurant at about 7:30pm and found it empty. Apparently the restaurant only serves dinner from 7:30pm onwards...which seems pretty late to me.  The food was quite good (especially the anchovies) but portions were humongous.  The owner even took a chair and sat down beside us to describe how each available dish was prepared.  It took us 1.5hr to finish our dinner - and I tried my best to chomp down as much as I could cos it seemed rude if we had too much leftovers when the owner took so much pride in each dish.  We left the restaurant at 9pm - but it looked like it was only 7+pm and the sun was still setting.

Although we did not do much during the day, I was completely exhausted by then and dozed off while using the iPad on the bed. 

Italy - Milan (4 Jul 2011)

After a 12 hr flight during which I watched 2.5 movies (Kungfu Panda was hilarious, Little Red Riding Hood had a so-so plot, Great Big World had me thinking that people in the past are happier as they content themselves with simple pleasures in life sans computers) and survived a neighbour with not-so-pleasant breath, we finally touched down at about 8am. 

My first impression of Milan was the cool toilet knobs!  Instead of the typical round knobs that you turn clockwise-anti clockwise, or those practical latches that move left and right, the toilet knobs at Milan airport had me pondering for a couple of seconds how to exactly use them - and this is not insignificant for someone who has been using toilets for so many years.

Milan's door knobs are round but one presses on the rectangular mechanism on top of the knob to open-close the door. And there is a tiny round button just below the knob that locks the door. I would be baffled at this interesting mechanism if not for instructions pasted on the toilet door.

The door knobs certainly left me with a good first impression - even ubiquitous items like this has a style unique to city of fashion. 

It was an hour's bus ride and then a half-hour queue at the train station to purchase our tickets for the next day. There were men dressed in black T-shirts and jeans that were helping people at self-service ticket stations or directing people towards certain ticketing counters.  One of them approached us but we declined his offer of service.  Still can't figure out whom these men are, my best guess is that they are targeting confused tourists and assisting them in their ticket purchase for a small fee - a self-determined job creation of sorts.  After the long queue at the train station, we got on a cab to head towards our hotel - Sheraton Diana Majestic Milano. 

The hotel lobby was simple and modern, but from the ancient-looking lift which can fit a maximum of 5 people, it seems like the hotel was last refurbished in the early 1980s. We were upgraded to a junior suite, but the layout and design of the room was nothing to shout about.  The room is furnished with wooden furniture decorated with grey-white table tops and golden knobs. The curtains are vertical stripes of gold and warm yellow hues, perfectly matched to the warm light exuding from the table lamps with gold trimmings and the yellow sofas. The most outstanding furniture in the room would be the gold chandelier with fake candles. The toilet has simple white tiles and brown marble countertop at the sink area. Right above the double sinks is a mirror with tarnished gold patterned trimmings.

The hotel looks like it had a glorious past - the furnishing would be considered classy maybe twenty years ago.  While I love retro designs, the only designs I would replicate from the hotel (if I had to) would be the grey-white marble countertops and pure white bedsheets.  But what is impressive is the maintenance of the furniture. Despite the outdated designs, every furniture piece is well maintained. All in all, the room is spacious, simple and clean - which is all I ask of a hotel room. 

We spent the afternoon walking around the city centre.  Lunch was a sandwich take-away from a sandwich shop with a relatively long queue (the best gauge for decent food at reasonable prices) and we also visited the Domo. I vaguely recall visiting the Duomo during my post-graduate trip to Europe, and feeling unimpressed with the cathedral - cos I had been awestruck by Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and every subsequent piece of architecture I saw paled in comparison.  But that was ten years ago.

Fast track ten years later, I am back at the same place but with my hubby - who would have thought :) And I was pretty impressed with the intricate carvings at the Duomo. It is hard to imagine how this piece of elaborate architecture, which is completely covered by intricate hand carvings, could be built by hand 500 years ago.  It must have required a tremendous amount of hard work, peserverance and patience. The designer must have taken great pride in his design. 

After visiting Duomo, we went window shopping. It is sales period in Milan and every store we passed had signs screaming Saldi (which means Sales in Italian).  Other than my one visit inside a Prada shop to check out my dream bag (no discount but it is about 30% cheaper than in Singapore and there is a tax refund of 12%), the rest of the window shopping was pretty boring. We had a good stroll though - the weather was almost perfect - the sun was shining strongly but the cool air kept us from pespiring. We also found a great gelato shop and indulged in one of the best gelato we have ever tasted.  We strolled a bit more afterwards to work off the calories and headed towards the canal area which was a disappointment. A thinks the area may look livelier at night when the restaurants and bars are open.

After that we zipped back to the hotel via the metro. The memorable parts of the metro ride were the screeches when the non-air-conditioned train started moving (and how everyone was oblivious to the screeches), and the horizontal handles that I had to stretch upwards to hold onto. 

As A was sniffing a bit, we went to the supermarket to get some water and fruits - which were considerably cheap - 3.5 Euros for 2 1.5 litres of water and 6 golden kiwis. After that, we were back to the hotel to rest and our intended 1.5 hour nap turned into a 7 hour rest. We missed dinner as a result and had to order room service - a whopping 17 Euros for a chicken sandwich. But guess that is the premium we pay for a hungry stomach at 12+am. 

Bedtime was about 3am for me as I spent the rest of my time blogging and waiting for my hair to dry. On a side note, the TV programmes in Milan are not worth watching - most of the programmes are in Italian except for a few news channel and a movie channel. 

Domestic Worker II

A week after the arrival of my maid, the saga continues.

It was Sat morning. I spotted ants crawling in the top drawer of my kitchen cabinet and upon closer scrutiny, there were even more ants in the drawer below. When I opened the drawer, there were ants congregating around a brown spot on the lid of my nutella jar.  Neither my hubby nor myself had recently eaten nutella and my in-laws do not consume nutella. So the culprit needs no guessing.

My maid had obviously helped herself to the spread even though I had told her that she can only eat specific foodstuff on her first day of work.  And she did not even bother to wipe her traces clean.  Thanks to her carelessness, an army of ants now attest to her theft and blatant disregard for my instructions. 

My immediate reaction was one of fury, and I gave her a piece of my mind. She gave me the same reason - she forgot. Even if she really forgot, she should have the common sense to know that not all foodstuff in her employer's home are for her consumption. And she even had the cheek to tell me that she had wiped the drawer and its contents the day before when she noticed the ants.

I don't enjoy reprimanding my maid as it stresses me out. As it is, I woke up the next day with a gnawing headache (again) and cut my fingers twice - which is very unlike me. At the rate I am going, I will suffer from a panic attack or sever my hand in the next month. That's when I decided I have to look at things differently. There is really no point stressing myself out over a maid, no matter how much she infuriates me. 

So I will treat her as a test of my patience and keep my cool as much as possible. I hope I can hang on long enough while we are living under the same roof.  But I really can't wait to get her out of my home. In the meantime, I recognise I need a maid at home so a lousy one is better than none. Shortly after I made my decision, I discovered food residue (what's new) on the colander. So I decided to just rinse it away instead of telling her off.

From my observations, she seems to be someone who pampers herself. From the nutella incident, her preference for hot showers (my previous maid showered with unheated water), her choice of imitation LV bag and purse, and the pair of sequined jeans she wore when I first met her, she is probably someone who enjoys the finer things in life.  It's just too bad she does not possess the right working attitude that will give her family and herself a better life. 

Domestic Worker

21 Jun 11
I now truly understand what it means to make one's blood boil. Three days after the arrival of my new maid, I have a splitting headache and I can't wait to get her out of my home.

It didn't start off well. Her bio-data claimed she worked two years with a Singaporean employer. When she arrived, we found out she had four previous employers, and the maximum tenor she worked for was only 15 months. According to her, this is her employment history:
- 1st employer: she requested for a transfer after a month because she could not handle taking care of babies
- 2nd employer: her employer terminated her after two months because an elderly lady under her care fell down
- 3rd employer: she requested for a transfer after 15 months because her employer often had people over to play mahjong and she could not sleep well as they would play mahjong in her room
- 4th employer: her employer forgot to renew her passport. She worked for the last employer for 10 months.

Very soon, she'll have one more to add to her list and if she is honest about it, her employer terminated her because she is extremely forgetful and incompetent.

From day 1, she never failed to leave some food residue or dish washing detergent on my baby's bottles or cutlery everyday. This is despite my repeated emphasis to her that baby's items must be washed and rinsed very thoroughly.

And whenever I emphasized a particular way of doing something, she always gets it wrong. From how I want my laundry to be hanged, differentiation of chopping boards for slicing raw meat & veg vs fruits, to ironing clothes - she always forgets, doesn't asks, and obviously gets it wrong.

I have given her a chance despite her blatant lie about her employment history - but she failed to prove herself. Her perpetual excuse is her poor memory. Even if I tolerated that, her tardiness in washing my baby's bottles is inexcusable. And did I mention that she even requested to rest earlier when I told her her bedtime was 11pm-7am.

I would not have hired her if I knew of her spotty employment history, and I don't think any other employer would either. Further, I am paying her $500 as an experienced maid when she behaves like a completely new one.

Something has to be done about falsification of records by domestic workers in order to get a job. While I sympathise with their plight, I cannot condone their dishonesty.

Bday Thots

I am a year older today. It feels like any other day though - I even went to work today (this was a big no-no in the past).

Somehow as I grow older, I tend to want to forget how old I am. I wish I can stay in my 20s forever - with all that hyped up energy and carefreeness. With age, there is a greater sense of responsibility and I start keeping count of my accomplishments in life (which is not much, except for my super adorable son & my wise choice in picking a great hubby - if these are considered accomplishments).

I used to have lofty dreams of scaling the corporate ladder - my success measured in terms of an impressive job title and an equally matched pay packet. I have since toned down my corporate dreams - I'll still try my best, but above all, I hope to achieve a good balance among my many priorities in life.

Any regrets? Yup. The key one is having two great friends walk out of my life. But this made me realised all relationships - even friendships that have spanned over twenty years - are fragile, and should be cherished dearly. I think of them often, miss them terribly, and I am reminded to treasure my other great gal friends God had blessed me with.

Truly, friends are a blessing from God. They fill a void that family can't. Certain things that cannot be shared with family can somehow be shared with great gal friends. So to all my great gal friends (you know who you are), thanks for everything and like I always say - it's all thanks to you gals that I don't fear growing old, cos we're all growing old together! :)

Dying without NOK

Read the following on ST blog today. A 70+ old man, who still has to work to make ends meet, dies alone, and his son didn't even want to see him for the last time. Sounds like a plot extracted from a soppy Korean drama series - but this is cold hard reality in Singapore. On this sunny island, the gloomy reality is that six old folks depart from this world without their NOK every month.

This is an apt reminder that I should count my
many blessings. Despite our daily grouses, if we could just stop and compare, we'd realise we are so much luckier than the many unfortunate people around us. So I'll try not to compare myself against the guy who owns that cool Porsche in my office building, and count myself blessed that my family can count on our practical Nissan to ferry us around.

"If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself"
Max Ehrmann

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Dying without NOK
Guest blogger Alicia Tan, a senior medical social worker at Singapore General Hospital, talks about her patients – elderly Singaporeans who die without next-of-kin to claim their bodies.
Blogs | Thursday, June 02 2011

I ENCOUNTERED a case just a few days ago.

The ambulance had picked up a man in his 70s by the roadside at Jalan Bukit Merah. He was suffering from bleeding in the brain and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit when he arrived at the Singapore General Hospital.

As he was unconscious, there was no way for us to find out any information from him.

He had nothing on him – no identity card, wallet or handphone. All he had by his side when he was picked up were two packets of food.

Since he was found at Jalan Bukit Merah where there are lots of rented flats, my first thought was that he had gone out to pack food for his wife, who could be bedridden at home. I was worried about the old man’s wife. I also wondered if he had children and if they knew he was missing.

Every month, about six elderly Singaporeans die without next-of-kin (NOK) to claim their bodies. (See report here.)

Here at the Medical Social Workers (MSW) department where I work, it is our responsibility to establish patients' identities and trace their NOK with the help of the police.

If no NOK can be found to claim the body, we would source for a charitable undertaker for the body to be cremated according to religious rites.

With no information on the name and address of the old man picked up at Bukit Merah, we were unable to call his neighbouring social services centres or voluntary welfare organisations, conduct a home visit, or go around the area to ask if anyone knew him.

While discussing what we could do, the nurses informed us that his blood pressure had dipped and he could pass on anytime.

We immediately called the police to request for finger-printing to establish his identity, and shared our concerns and fears that he could have been packing food for his wife when he was found unconscious.

Fortunately, the police managed to contact his brother, who in turn managed to persuade the patient’s son, who he has not seen in 20 years, to come and see the patient for the last time.

The old man passed on shortly after his son arrived.

We found out the old man stayed alone in a rented flat and worked as a hawker assistant at the neighbouring coffeeshop. He had just finished work that day and packed all the leftover food into a tingkat and two lunch boxes, before making his way home.

It was supposed to be his dinner, a dinner he never had.

I don’t watch “emo”, teary dramas on TV as I’m already dealing with too many emotions every day at work. I find it difficult to bring the emotions home and watch something that will remind me of all the patients and their problems. There is just too much emotional burden to bear.

My job has taught me that life is too short to keep looking back. You can only move forward and live each day like there is no tomorrow. To be able to help others is also a blessing.

Alicia Tan is a Senior Medical Social Worker with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and a registered social worker with the Singapore Association of Social Workers. She manages Carelink, SGH's one-stop referral centre providing discharge planning for patients and their caregivers, and also works with survivors of elder abuse and domestic violence.

Alicia Tan
Guest Blogger

Unpredictability

If you were to use one word to describe life, what would it be? Mine would be - unpredictable.

We never know what would happen to us the next moment, until we live that moment. Comparing myself against the guy who zoomed past in his cool Ferrari this afternoon, this is one thing we have in common. I wonder how many Ferraris he would be willing to trade for the knowledge and control of his future. Unfortunately, no number of Ferraris would allow anyone to foresee or dictate one's future.

I am feeling a little forlorn because I received news about the demise of an acquaintance today. I don't know him well, but my hubby used to mentioned about him so it feels as if I know him somehow. It was a sudden departure - apparently a freak fall - and what is saddening is that he leaves behind his wife and 3 young children. I can't imagine the overwhelming devastation his wife, and in particular, the three young hearts have to bear. It is almost cruel to let little children lose their doting father and to grow up with the grief that their father will never be there to witness their achievement of the important milestones in life. No more hugs or kisses, just memories and photos to cling on to.

And life is like that. One moment our heart is beating, and the next moment, it stops. It can happen to anyone, whether one drives a Ferrari or not. This makes me wonder what is really the point of working long tortuous hours and worrying over the little things in life. Life is better spent living life to the max and being happy all the time.

And I will try - to live life as happily as possible, with minimal room for regrets. To spend as much time with my loved ones as possible. And I now see (for the umpteenth time actually) that some things in life matter more than others, and my life needs some reprioritisation. God willing, I will get out of my state of inertia and lead a life filled with colours and meaning instead of trodding on along that dusty route I am so used to.