Shoot Me, Please

I'm off to India again tomorrow night, and I'm wondering if I should do a Daren. Based on my last trip where I constantly ordered pizza for dinner, I'm quite certain that I'm off Indian food. I still think it's tasty, but perhaps all the negative association I have with India has made me feel rather meh about their cuisine. I certainly wasn't able to finish my idly for breakfast the last time I was in Bangalore. Lol.

So what's doing a Daren?

During one of my first work trips to India in 2009, I traveled with a colleague (the aforementioned Daren) who brought bei bei mian and luncheon meat and canned sardines. He refused to eat anything outside the hotel (in fact, the only hotel food he ate was the hotel breakfast) and even with all his Singapore-brought instant foods, he fell sick. It was rather embarrassing.

Knowing that I'll be in India for a full two weeks now feels like more of a chore (despite the fact that half of it will be my holiday, lol) and I'm worried I'll be miserable about the food situation. So I'm contemplating bringing a stash of bei bei mian, in case I get sick of the food.

Who would have thought I'd come to this, eh? Lol.

I Have The Most Awesome Friends In The World!!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaah alkee are coming to bring me lunch!!! lovelovelovelovelove

Bored

Am at a school fair today at the faaaaaar end of Singapore and it took me forever to get here by cab. By the time I arrived I was 40 minutes late (of course, I left 10 minutes before I was supposed to be here haha) but thankfully I'm alone so no one to tell on me.

It's only 11am and I'm bored. The fair started at 9am and supposedly ends at 4pm. O M G what am I going to do for the next 5 hours? Thankfully, I have my laptop so I can entertain myself by surfing the net and chatting on MSN.

Yawn.

In God's Hands

I heard about your loss today. And I cannot imagine the amount of pain and the immense sense of grief that you and your family must be experiencing.

I don't know what to say, but I wish you strength to get through this difficult time, and to come out of it with grace and hope. It's hard to understand why your little one was taken away so soon, but trust that she is in a better place now.

Al fateha.

Not Again

Sick. Again.

Have a flu which means running nose, watery eyes and non stop sneezing. Argh.

It's Not Just Me!

Ah ha! Here's the extended video of the AHS school song, and at the end bit everyone said they didn't understand the school song cos it's so cheem. Ha! So it's not just me. Wahahahaha.

And a tribute to the old principal, Mr Moo. Yep, AHS is damn cheena. I have absolutely no idea how I survived. Hehehe, but survive I did! Nostalgic sia.

Free Wifi Is Always A Good Thing

At the airport in Bangalore waiting for my flight home, and I can't wait to leave this place. Actually, apart from the sobfest when I arrived, things have been quite alright.

Went to Peco's, Harry's, Couch, and Koshy's, and also discovered a new coffee place (which I forget the name) that has free wi fi. Did a bit of shopping too, and got me a pair of jeans and 4 t-shirts for cheap, so that was pretty nice.

Decided it was quite pointless to meet up with him. He got in touch, saying he read my blog and knew I was in town, and asked to meet up and maybe explain.

Explain? What's to explain?

And later, he said it would be good to get some closure. And when I asked, closure for you? He said yeah. Wah lau eh, self centered much? He also made a comment which made me just go wide eyed, saying that he knew I just wanted to punish him. Lol. I'm not that bo liao leh.

Perhaps if he had said something along the lines of, let's try to be friends or let's both get some closure, I might have been compelled to meet up. But.. he didn't. In fact, he came across as someone who felt guilty and just wanted to make himself feel better. Sigh.

Wanting closure or wanting to explain came three months too late. If there was any sincerity in what he was saying or doing, he would have gotten in touch earlier, rather than when I was conveniently in town.

So I chose a lazy evening in bed instead, chatting with my friends on MSN and generally being amazed at how he thought everything was about him.

.. Anyway, one more work trip to India and I'm done. Phew!

15 More Days!

Countdown. Ooh yeah.

I Dream Of Liu Lian

OMG what's with everyone having durian last night? While chatting, TFP was happily stuffing his face with at least 5 whole durians (me: 5 durian seeds? TFP: no, 5 durians).

Then later on, Jeanne tells me she was so so so so full cos she had just come back from the Ion of durian places. Plus, a couple more FB status messages about durian, durian, durian. Is it durian season now?

Well, whatever the reason, all this talk of durian is making me crave it so bad, I actually dreamt of eating durian last night. Yum. Food dreams are the best. Lol. So everyone, wait for me!!! I waaaaant!!!

My Dog Died

That's what I told the driver as he looked at me with great concern. He was wondering why I was crying in the back of the car, concluded that I was not feeling well and wanted to bring me to the hospital.

Sigh.

Being back in Bangalore is tougher than I expected. Much tougher. I feel like I'm smack at the beginning. The pain is so raw. Everything triggers the waterworks. It's hard to breath. And I just want to disappear and fade away.

As the car drove down the highway, I see the familiar sights. The billboards. The cafe coffee day. The petrol kiosks.

Random thoughts fill my mind. I want to tell the driver to take a detour. I want to drive to his place and see if his car is parked there. I want to call him. I want to meet him. I want..

I just want the pain to end.

But it's pointless. Logical-me knows it won't achieve anything. And what will I say anyway? Thanks for breaking my heart. Thanks for lying about everything. Thanks for making me believe that what we had was special. Thanks for shattering all of that.

Ah well. Life goes on. It does. I just wish I didn't have to be here right now.

Guess What's Baking?

I've got a nutella bread pudding baking in the oven now. So pleased. Got the idea when Carol posted a picture of someone's bread pudding, and since I have made bread pudding before (well my mom has, same same), how could I resist a nutella version of the stuff? Slurp.

Recipe was easy enough to modify, less sugar and coat the bread with nutella. Let's hope it turns out well. Lol, so instead of packing for my work trip, I'm at home baking. How efficient. Heehee.

[ETA: OMG MY HOUSE SMELLS SO DELICIOUS.]

Boys And Their Toys

Ooh was chatting with TFP who was telling me about a nifty little toy he had just purchased over the weekend (or was it last week). It's a portable wifi router thingamajig, and from what I gather, all you need to do is plug it in to a LAN cable and ta da! Wifi in the room!

How exciting! Wifi! In the room! And since I was going for another work trip, I asked if he would lend it to me so I could try it out. If it was simple enough to use, and if it worked, I'd probably get one of my own.

I read the manual and while it wasn't as simple as I thought it was going to be (TFP used the word "configuration"; whereas I thought it was just plug and go), I'm sure I'm smart enough to figure it out. So if I'm on whatsapp tonight, you'll know it works! (Or that the hotel room already has wifi haha).

So wish me luck, and connectivity. Whee!

100 Day Cough

Oh man, I'm still coughing and it's been SO long. Not sure if this is the 100 day cough, but if it is, then I've got a really long time to go before I'm totally well.

*cough*

Anyway, now I'm tempted to ask Rodney for some of his magic cough mixture. Apparently it's really good. But till then, I guess I better get some rest. Being sick sucks.

Delhi Summarised (Really Badly)

Am feeling a little lazy so shall write in point form.

- driver took me to a place called 1 Cafe Lounge so I could have my lunch. It was a nice place, with club-y music, a crowd that looked like they were college kids, and relatively decent food. Oh and shisha too (although they called it hookah). Not one of the cheapest places, but it was decent, and it allowed me to have a couple of hours on my own.
- started writing. In a journal. Pen on paper. And it was interesting. Might want to keep that up.
- could barely finish my meal though, nothing seemed to sit well in my tummy.
- the next day, a different driver takes me to THE SAME PLACE for lunch. Methinks they get a commission bringing customers.
- had another shisha and wrote some more.
- managed to finish my lunch this time.
- eventually made my way to Terminal 3 to check in for my flight. The new terminal is huuuuge and pretty impressive. The only thing lacking was that there was no free wifi- you'd need to have an Indian mobile number to get 20 free minutes. I was tempted to try it with my local sim card, but it was late and no one I wanted to chat with would be online anyways.
- plus I wasn't sure if I could get free internet again when I come back in August- so decided to save it for later. TFP might want to blog at the airport so can always let him use my sim card to log in lol.
- lots of food, lots of shops, lots of wide open space. Probably the first time in Delhi that I didn't feel how densely populated the country was.
- T3 reminded me of Changi Airport and I found out later it's because they poached all the CAAS folks to work there. No wonder la.

.. Next trip to Bangalore. Bleh.

Bombay Bombings, Getting Lucky and Utter Lies

I'm back in Singapore and thanks to everyone who was worried that I might have been in Bombay during the bombings yesterday. I guess those worried do not read this space (otherwise they would have known my destination haha) so the thanks here is actually quite pointless. Hur hur. But anyways.

Took the red eye flight back from Delhi and was lucky enough to be seated near an empty row. As soon as the announcement that all doors were locked, I pounced on the empty seats and smugly waited till the plane took off.

Made myself comfortable and lay down, cancelled my in flight meal and got ready to take a nap. Managed to catch a couple of zzzs but woke up midway and watched some episodes of The Big Bang Theory in between dozing off. And I must say I was very, very lucky as I think I was the only one who got to lie down on the flight back. Not including first class people I guess.

What tickled me, though, was that none of the air stewardesses covered me tenderly (or otherwise) with a blanket as I prepared to settle down for the night. What happened to all the ads that I've seen? Were they all lies? Lol.

Ah well, it's good to be back. Now all I've got to do is collect my luggage and I can head back to home sweet home.

Will write more about Delhi and the pretty awesome Terminal 3 later.

Some Positivity

Apparently people are complaining that I'm being too whiny. On my blog. My happiness blog. Lol. So I have decided to write a blog entry with a little bit of positivity, and also to help pass time (it's too early to sleep).

One of the plus sides to having a non-stop fever is the flushed face. No need to use any blush! And it's all natural too. And you physically exude warmth. Lol.

When you look as miserable and sick as I do (but still cute, thanks to the flushed face), everyone treats you that much nicer. The waiter at the breakfast place this morning offered to bring food up to my room, because I barely finished the slice of bread on my plate.

And the shivering and aching pains aside, it's actually quite trippy to be sick. Wobbling down the corridor to my room was an adventure, and trying to recognise my door was a challenge. At least it put my brain to good use. Lol. No more taking my (already pathetic) sense of balance for granted!

36 more hours to endure and I'll be home, sweet home. Always nice to have something to look forward to. :)

Why Having A Doctor Friend Can Be A Good Or Bad Thing

Just spent the last 5 minutes chatting to EYS about how my fever isn't subsiding and asking him if I should go out and get more meds (yes). It's so convenient having a doctor friend, all your medical needs answered via MSN!

However, doctors being doctors, he warned me that if I'm still not getting better I should get a blood test done for malaria or dengue fever. And when he said that, I looked at the 10 mossie bites on my arms that was a welcome present from good ol' humid Kolkata. Argh.

So please, don't be dengue or malaria cos that would suck big time. Having battled chikugunya way back in 2008, I know how horrible it is. The fevers, the rashes, the aching, Argh. *pray pray pray that I get well today*

Why I Love Travel Insurance

Being sick while on an overseas work trip sucks. You're all alone in a foreign land, and you still need to have enough energy to survive hour long car rides to your appointment and back. Add a fever to that, and you've got one really sick and miserable bunny.

Called a doctor to the hotel, and man, do they overcharge for house calls. I paid 20 times what I would have paid if I had dragged my ass out to the pharmacy to stock up on meds (by the way, LGG, I got tonnes of aspirin. We can do facial! Lol.)

But thank god for travel insurance. At least I can claim on whatever medical bills I incur while I'm overseas. I have half a mind to check myself in to the hospital because my fever won't go down, despite finishing up the entire strip of Crocin that was prescribed. I want my mommy. Of course, who knows about foreign hospitals. I'd rather stay in the hotel room and sleep. At least I know I'll be safe.

Anyway, one more day to go and I'll be on the flight back to Singapore. Hopefully I'll be allowed on the plane.

Oh No

Bleh. I'm sick. Been having a dry cough for the longest time and the coughing is so bad that when it starts I can't stop, and eventually end up gagging. And I think I am having a fever now. *whine*

Was thinking of looking for a pharmacy and drugging up, but I wouldn't know what to get and EYS is not online. So I might have to head to the doctor.

Haiz. FML.

Small Comfort

At least the internet is working.

Seriously?!

How hard is it to comprehend a simple instruction as "please send my luggage and box up to my room now, thanks!"

Obviously it's too complex cos 2 hours (probably more) after I check in to the hotel, I get back up to my room and guess what? No bag and no box!

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE HERE?! Hate hate hate hate hate.

India Hates Me, I Swear

I finally land in Delhi and the airport is a vast difference from the chaotic mess at Kolkata. It's much larger, much more orderly, and so much more cleaner. Lol. Plus, it helps that I called for the hotel to send a car to pick me up. So no need to hustle with cab drivers trying to rip you off.

It was a pleasant ride to the hotel, and the driver was quite chatty, happily pointing out temples and monuments and the like. I get to the hotel and checking in is a breeze (I have breakfast included- YAY!) and I ask about the internet.

"Oh ma'am there is internet in the lobby. But internet in the room is not working. Sorry ma'am."

W.T.F. For a business hotel, wadya mean there is no internet in the room?! How am I supposed to get any work done?! Does India hate me?! :(

So here I am, sitting in the restaurant (thankfully I've not eaten), having a kingfisher beer and doing work (ok I'm blogging) while having my dinner. I hope the internet in the room works when I get back up.

Kolkata

Didn't venture too far out over the weekend as the weather was unbearingly hot. Decided to keep within the Park Street area and explore that various eateries that Kolkata was famous for.

During my stay here, I had lunch at Bar-B-Q with my students, and had the usual Indian fare- naans, butter chicken, some dahl thing and hmm I can't really remember what else. Also tried the Indian Chinese food (there is no such thing as Chinese food in India) at Flavors of China (which was right next to Bar-B-Q).

After reading up on recommended places to eat, I walked over to try the sizzler at Peter Cat, and had to wait for a seat for almost 20 minutes (it was a crowded Saturday night). Bought a rum ball and also had a meal at Flury's too and also bought a book at the Oxford bookstore.

India ceases to charm as much and I feel oddly detached when I'm here. I look at the people milling around on the streets, the cars honking on the roads, the endless hustle and bustle of the city- and I feel nothing. My many trips to India has armed me with the necessary experience to navigate around without being cheated by touts or being harrassed by beggars, but the sense of excitement and anticipation that I used to feel doesn't exist anymore.

Sure, the food tastes as good as always and I'm always happy to chomp into an eggroll or a neatly wrapped paan. But I don't feel connected to the country like I used to.

Ah well, perhaps this is just part and parcel of what one has to go through.

Be Still My Heart!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I just noticed that the hotel breakfast actually serves mishti doi AND fresh mango!

Happiness! I'm grinning from ear to ear and everyone is staring at me as I laugh to myself each time I take a mouthful. Heeheehee.

Thank god I brought my laptop down with me for breakfast. At least I can take my time and enjoy my food. Except I think the guy next to me just farted. Eww.

But back to me. I wonder if there is such thing as too much mishti doi and too much mango. I wiped out half the tray's worth of mango cos this is the small sweet one. Slurp. OMG I'm in such a good mood now.

And Now I Remember Why I Love India

Just had breakfast. Mmm Indian food.

India: Thoughts On Being Back Here Again

I hate India. Hate hate hate hate hate. Can't remember what it was I loved about the country.

It started on the plane, where I realise that almost every single passenger got up to use the loo at least once. It's only a bloody 4 hour plane ride, does everyone have a bladdar the size of a 5c coin? It's especially annoying when the passenger with the window seat does it. Fuck you asshole, next time get an aisle seat can?

After landing, everyone crowds at the baggage carousel, and seriously, why does everyone have to shove their stinking bodies right smack in front of me? Fuck you assholes, obviously they have never heard of personal space (I guess it's hard in a land full of a million billion people.)

Everyone does the little dance of the baggage carousel, bobbing your body sideways to see if the luggage has arrived. And when it does? No one gives way. Fuck you assholes, I think to myself as I swing my 23kg luggage in a large arc.

I get out, and pay for a pre-paid taxi. They don't take credit cards in Kolkata. Got my receipt and hunt for a taxi. Someone grabs my receipt and says "taxi taxi" and walks towards the car park. A boy "helps" me with my luggage, and at this point I'm too exhausted to care. Hop into the cab, boy asks for a tip, which I refused to give. Fuck you asshole, I didn't ask you to carry my luggage.

Cabby then passes me a laminated piece of paper with the names of various hotels and a list of really exorbitant (for India) prices. "You go to hotel? Pay booking charge." At this point, I snap. WHY SHOULD I PAY SOME MORE WHEN I HAVE ALREADY PRE-PAID? And he tries to tell me that the pre-paid chit that I have was for the first booking, and now this is the fee to get to the hotel. Fuck you asshole, I think to myself for the umpteenth time that night, storming out of the cab.

I finally get to the right cab, yelling at anyone who tries to even touch my luggage. LEAVE IT ALONE! (And, fuck you assholes.)

After confirming with cabby2 that I would not need to pay anything extra, I settle in the cab, and ignore everyone who stands by window asking for tips / money / Singapore coins. I'm too tired to even think. The cab drives off and I break down in sobs.

Everything about India makes me feel like a knife is piercing through the heart. The crowd. The dusty roads. The posters on the walls. The incessant honking and weaving through traffic. The overgrown plants on the side of the road.

I'm exhausted, and emotionally drained. Too tired to even muster up an ounce of sympathy for the many homeless people sleeping on the streets.

I reach the hotel, and a new battle ensues. My travel agent made a wrong booking and breakfast is not included in my booking. I check in to my room and wait for 30 min for them to deliver one of my boxes. Another 30 min to get a pair of scissors to open the box. After a billion calls, I take a shower, shoot off a couple of emails to my travel agent, and settle to bed. And the only English channel on the telly? Sellavision.

Seriously. FML and fuck you assholes.

Happiness Is

Happiness is getting my leave approved for my Ladakh trip..

Happiness is downloading an app on my iPhone that allows me to take panaromic pictures..

Happiness is cutting off all the dried, damaged hair and having smooth, healthy locks once more..

Happiness is eating mee siam for lunch..

Happiness is having friends who care about my erm, wellbeing..

Happiness is being shortlisted for job interviews..

Happiness is.

Say, What?

Got a very loving (not to mention, very random) SMS from CH today which put me in an absolute non-stop laughing fit. Was a little undecided about whether I should blog about it, but it's too priceless a gem not to share.

"Anyhow, got a dildo for you. Shall I pass you before you go India? :D"

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

And The Downside To My Job

Was packing up the brochures that I'll need for my work trip to have them sent to the hotel. Had to pack a box for each city I'll be heading to, which meant a total of five boxes.

When I was done, my hands looked like I had spent the afternoon playing pattycakes with Edward Scissorhands. Argh.

Papercuts, though tiny, inflict so much pain. It's annoying. I feel like slathering my hands with aloe vera and just will my skin to heal. Lol.

Let's see if I can summon up my inner Wolverine..

Happiness Is Getting Approval For Work Trips

So pleased. My work trips have been approved! Well, I kind of knew they would have been, except that Oscar spoke to me on Friday. He said he wanted to discuss my strategy (my only strategy was to go to cities that were fun and also to new places that I had never been to before) and perhaps I didn't need to go to all the cities I had planned.

Cue major panic cos my Ladakh tickets had already been booked.

But of course, I R CLEVER and VERY SMARTS. So I went to speak to him this morning, and discussed my strategy (without actually having to write it down in a proposal. Wahahahah I IS SO BIG BRAIN.)

Identified problems, nay, challenges. Proposed ideas on how to tackle these challenges. Gave him feedback. Actually had a dialogue and engaged him. Without rolling my eyes too!

I think what he wanted to know was that I wasn't blindly following routine. That I wasn't just going for the sake of going (erm actually..). And yes, I managed to convince him that I had a plan.

Wahahahaha.