Chilli please...??

One of Singapore's favourite past-time is eating. But the strange thing is Singaporeans also like to spoil the taste of their food with chilli. Must one add chilli to every dish that one eats? Then what happens to the original taste of the food? Ever wondered how a burger actually tastes without chilli? Or even more bizarre, a steak? I've encountered a couple of occasions where my friends actually asked for chilli sauce for a black pepper steak, and I wonder... after adding the chilli, can you still taste the freshness and sweetness of the steak? Can you taste the tender sinews and the natural juices of fresh beef??

My suggestion: Don't kill your taste buds... Even if you can't live without chilli for your meals, at least try the food in its original taste first before adding the chilli? At the very least, you can taste what the dish is like... and it won't be like you're eating chilli dipped in whatever dish you've ordered for your meals....

Tricky emails

Ever tried drafting an email and you end up striking the delete or backspace key more often than any other key on the keyboard? It's one of those emails that you know you need to send out, but no matter how you write it, you'll probably end up with a body full of bullet holes at the end of the day?

It's no pleasure but I think everyone has to go through something similar at any point in time. Just who was it who said "Do or Die"? It seems that "Do also die, don't do also die" seems more appropriate in times like these....

Just rambling...

where to next??

Just did a mental tally and realised that I've been working for 8 years plus since I graduated. And except tiny breaks where I've gone on mini-holidays to parts of Malaysia, Bangkok, and more recently HK (though it was a company-organised trip), I think I missed having a real, solid break. Thinking that maybe end of the year or some time in Jan-March may be a good time to take a longer break... probably one-week to two-weeks leave and go explore some place that I've been wanting to explore on my own... and of course, put the office phone divert off totally for a good rest.

Destinations I'm thinking of:
1) India - haven't toured the "touristy" places such as Jaipur, Mumbai etc...
2) China - About time to explore Shanghai... after hearing so much about it.
3) HK - again?? but this time spend more time sightseeing than shopping??
4) Australia - haven't visited since my last trip to Sydney 8 years ago..... hmm...

hmm... can't decide really....any suggestions?? If i really have the budget i would go Japan or Korea... but it looks like these two destinations are way over my budget... :P

Finally!!!!

Finally!!! The finish line is in sight. In fact, it is just a month away. At 2 pm today, I will get my supervisor's signature on the form and I would have officially handed in my dissertation for final examination. If all else goes smoothly, I think I should be able to obtain a pass with minor changes before I seal the 100-page tome in hardcover for archival in the NTU library.

Cannot imagine how I actually pulled through it... started on it a year and a half ago hunting for a suitable supervisor and started reading up stuff... then there were all those work commitments and overseas trips that disrupted my entire momentum and this year had been a whirlwind since January as I struggled to catch up and finish the report on time.

The end is near.... in fact, for my part, it's almost all over (excepting whatever minor changes that might come post-exam)... but the struggle is OVER!!!!

when is no.... no??

How many times does a person need to tell you "no", before you take "no" for an answer? Once, maybe it doesn't work cos we are taught never to take "no" for an answer. Second time, ok, that should tell you something about their reluctance. After asking a third time and receiving a "no", you can be pretty sure the person is quite firm. Ask another time and don't be surprised or offended if you get your head snapped off.

Demo Scenario:

A: hey, there's still one pork rib left. Don't waste leh... I can't cos I'm full already.

B: I'll take the leftover veg, cos I'm full already. Someone take the rib please.

C: No, thank you. D, you eat leh.

D: No thanks. I'm very full already.

A,B,& C: D, eat leh... Dun waste leh.

D: Since everyone is full, why don't we just leave it. I can't cos I'm full already.

A, B & C: It's such a waste... D, eat lah.

D: I'm really very full and I can't.

A, B & C: It's really nice so dun waste lah... D, eat leh.

D: PLEASE, I already said I'm very full and I can't and you guys are forcing me to eat it? Are you kidding??

Come on... if those people really think it's a waste, eat it themselves lah! Why try to force someone to eat something that they themselves don't want to?? Afterall, if they can have enough room for dessert, one skinny piece of pork rib is not going to make much difference?? DUH!!!