I’ve been doing some writing for magazines on the sidelines for 2 months now. Yes, I’m being paid for my works. Yet it’s nothing like the fitness articles nor the blog postings that I write. It’s a totally different ball game altogether. In fact, they are on such specific fields that I have to spend hours researching for the information and reading up before I can come up with my own piece.

From mabuhay Philippines to incredible India to samba-hot Brazil to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and sunny island Singapore, I feel as though I’ve travelled to some very exotic countries in these 2 months. Interview nationals from these countries I did. Read countless accounts of reports too I did.

It’s a feeling of been there, done that. After much consideration, I’ve decided I won’t be continuing for the third month as it’s really taking up too much of my time, effort, brainpower and sleep.

I don’t write for the sake of writing nor for the money. For all the articles, there has to be a story behind it and the flow between the paragraphs must be good. Yes, it does give me much satisfaction to see my works being published but it’s after all still not my core business.

It’s time to focus and set my priorities right as the next few months to the end of the year will be a busy one.

With 20 Brazilian youths who were on a study attachment to Singapore

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Eight months after it first appeared in my garden in Dec 08, it reappeared again this morning. Yes, the pretty pink flower has returned. But this time, there are two pretty pink flowers!

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明明爱得那么辛苦
还要在别人面前装酷
带着无奈屡次演出
仿佛真的很幸福

本以为找到了一个能让我依靠的胸膛
残酷的现实并非这样
那纯粹是虚构的幻想
难道这一生我注定一个人孤单？

过去的日子一片黑暗
眼前的道路又看不到曙光
现在的我还在四处茫然
天啊，要怎么抛开红尘的纠缠？

真的不想继续像浮萍般飘荡
好想找个可靠的避风港
就像白云有着蓝天的陪伴
好渴望有个家的温暖

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Waiting for the bus is an agonising test of patience as you do not know when it will come. Standing at the bus stop, you watch all the other bus numbers drive by. You continue to wait as it’s not your desired number. How frustrating can this get?

Unlike MRT trains, buses do not follow a precise schedule of arrival and departure. Because it travels on the road, it is susceptible to traffic and weather conditions. Even the satellite tracking panel displays at certain selected bus stops have proven futile. The display may show bus “arriving in 3 minutes” when the bus has arrived at the bus bay! The display is at best a general guide, definitely not a foolproof one.

Episodic as it seems and despite our grouses, we continue to wait for the bus on a daily basis. Yet interestingly, waiting for bus cruelly parallels mankind’s waiting for true love. People enter and exit our lives just like how the buses drive by. But they are just not the right one. Should we be impatient and hop onto any bus, only to find we need to transfer to another service later to get to our final destination? Or should we be patient and wait for the right service number to drive up?

Should you not flag, the bus will never stop. It will simply drive by. Yet should you flag, how will you know if it’s the bus you have been waiting for all this time?

Everytime a bus comes along, you pray fervently that it is the bus you are waiting for. But up close, looking at the number, you know it’s not. Haven’t we all been through this before as well?

From a glance especially from the backview or from a distance, the stranger looks like the white knight or little princess whom we have been scouring around the world for. Yet a closer examination only delivers an instant disappointment. We immediately use our so-well-seasoned mental checklist to deliver crosses. And so we continue to wait for the next potential candidate to turn up in our bus bay.

It can get very disheartening as we watch both our digital clock and biological clock tick away. Is the end even near? You never know. Maybe you will know how it all ends or when it will come. But it requires you to have heap loads of patience and persevere till the light finally shines through the tunnel. By then, you might already be late for work or your appointment or have developed more than a handful of grey hair.

I know many of my friends are just like me, still waiting for Mr or Ms Right to turn up one day. Hypothetically speaking, that should happen. But sometimes, I think it’s crucial or fun even to take a bus of a different number for the experience. Then you will know with precision what the search algorithms truly are. The good-to-have ones should be thrown out of the window. Only then can we trim the list down to the bare must-haves in life.

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This is my latest pictorial collection, simply titled Fall 2009. Enjoy

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I’m a lousy actor. I can’t act for nuts. I’ll probably be nominated for the Worst Supporting Actor (if ever there was such an award). My facial expression and tone of voice say it all.

Let down thrice today was I by three different people. All the meetups to discuss business or just catch up over a meal were cancelled last minute. It really felt like my entire day was wasted because of them. I hate being cancelled at the eleventh hour. These people don’t seem to know how to respect other people’s time. It’s not the first time this has happened. I can look into my crystal ball and gaze into the future, forseeing how many more people are going to do this to me. Sigh…No wonder I was super cold towards this friend of mine who called just some hours ago to explain the last minute cancellation. ‘Are you angry?’ he asked. Need you ask the obvious?

Last week, I thought I had the good fortune to interview a babe. Long flowing tresses, good stature, beautiful complexion, perfect figure, coming from an exotic country…what else could I ask for? But boy was I in for a rough ride. After the interview which lasted barely 20 minutes, my first impressions of her completely changed. She was such a bitch. Her command of English was poor. She lacked the basic etiquette. She rushed through her replies which made neither head nor tail. She shortened the entire interview by waving her hands and saying ‘last question’ like a prima donna. And when it was time to take a photo, she kicked up such a big fuss in front of the photographer. Hello, no one was interested in taking a picture of her cunt nor breast. She had no reason whatsoever to behave in this manner. Not only did I leave with a permanent soiled impression of the talented but arrogant bitch, she was also the worst ambassador for her country. Do you think I will step foot there? Never in my lifetime.

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I certainly didn’t want to eat the bento. Neither was I going for the handroll, udon or soba. Flipping through the menu, my eyes caught sight of something exciting. As exciting as its name suggests, it’s shiok maki. And that’s what I’m going to eat. After all, it’s the specialty dish of this Japanese place.

After waiting patiently for about 10 minutes, the dish arrived.

Savouring the first bite of the combination of charcoal grilled eel wrapped with lightly roasted salmon and sprinkled with fish roe, it was now time to pass the verdict.

Heavenly! Shiok as they would say in Singlish! Words were really unnecessary. I’ll rather my tongue palette do the talking and enjoy the gastronomical feast instead

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It’s been more than a year since I last revamped my blog. 16 months to be more precise. It’s indeed been a long time.

Having completed my lifestyle & fitness website earlier, it’s now time to give longtaizi a makeover.

As I like the look and feel of the previous edition (01 Apr 08), I decided to retain the concept of having lots of white space. What I did was to do a cosmetic surgery without removing too much of the familiarity which readers have grown used to. As with all respectable cosmetic surgeries, I beautified the blog by adding more colours & photos so as to up its image quotient and hip factor. So yes, you now have more vibrant banners, call-outs, synchronised shapes for similar categories and the huge pictorial collage which acts as the masthead.

Yeah…personally, i like the new look. I hope you readers do too

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I’ve been trying to figure this out for the longest possible time. What on earth is a smashed fried chicken? Do you use a mallet to smash the chicken to pieces before serving it?

Finally, I had to seek the answer for myself. Unveil the mystery behind the ayam penyet I was today.

Though not a huge fan of Indonesian food (the only one I really like is the tahu goreng), there wasn’t much of a decision to make but just choose the ayam penyet. After all, this is the signature dish of the eatery.

While waiting for my ayam penyet to arrive, I learnt that this eatery has another outlet on the 4th floor. That was where they first started off in Singapore…which means they must have garnered enough critical mass to be able to open a second outlet on the ground floor. After all, one would expect the rental for ground floor shops to be more, right?

Wanting to be adventurous, Y ordered the ikan bawal penyet (smashed penyet). This turned out to be a wise choice as we could share both the chicken and fish and then critique which one tasted better.

On paper, it looks like a sure-win formula. Take the all too familiar chicken, smash it flat and then coat it with some flour to make the skin cripsy. Come up with a KFC inspired formula to ensure the meat remains tender and juicy. Throw in some flossy fried oats at the side and the all time Singaporean favourite sambal chilli. Yes, you’ve guessed it right – it’s the ayam penyet (smashed fried chicken).

I have to emphasise that the smashing action is critical in the ayam penyet as it helps to tenderise the chicken and makes it easier to eat.

Barely 10 minutes later, my ayam penyet arrived. I specifically asked for the breast meat.

My breast-ful ayam penyet

If you were only looking for chicken, I bet you would not be supported. Boosting a generous serving of tender fried chicken, served with tempeh, tofu and samabel chilli on a banana leaf lining a wooden mortar-like plate.

Wanting to be further adventurous, I dipped the chicken into the sambal chilli and had the taste of a lifetime! Blazingly hot beyond my wildest imagination was the sambal chilli.

Ikan bawal penyet

After the chicken comes the fish…or in this case the ikan bawal penyet. It’s actually a deep fried pomfret.

Being a huge chicken and fish lover, I swear I must have eaten most of the meat. Oops…

My verdict is that I’ll stick with the ayam penyet. As for the pomfret, I’d rather steam it than fry. Nonetheless, I cleaned up the entire fish leaving Y amazed by my fish-eating skills.

More ayam penyet or ikan bawal penyet in the future? Err…no, I think I’ll skip and stick to my eating clean regime.

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It’s that time of the year again when the entire country is bathed in a sea of red and white…when the spirits of the citizens are at a feverish high.

All this and more only points to the happy realization that National Day is just round the corner. Yes, in fact, Singapore celebrates her 44th birthday on 9th August 2009. And that’s tomorrow!!

Colourful red & white lion and state crest flags fluttering in the air

I was walking around town soaking in the celebratory mood which is hugely evident.

If there’s a must-see place every National Day, it is at the Istana Park. Situated right in the centre of Orchard Road is this little green lung providing much resprise among the hustle and bustle of city life. Yet with its nondescript grey metallic colours, one hardly gives it any notice on any other day. But from one week before National Day, this plain looker is given a new makeover. Just check out the eight national flags flying high perched on the top, not forgetting the eight crimson red banners bearing the state crest emblem hanging majestically. This is indeed a grand sight to behold. Add to the grandeur some beautiful finishing touches in the form of red and white flowers freshly transplanted in the preceding grass patch.

Simply majestic is Istana Park in the wake of the National Day celebrations

For most Singaporeans, they will have their itinerary planned for this long weekend. They will either take advantage of the long weekend to jet off to a nearby country with friends or family or engage in more shopping as most of the major shopping malls will be enticing shoppers with storewide discounts…with some offering 44% discount. It’s as if the GSS never ended!

The highlight of the National Day Parade (NDP) this year must be the much talked about Pledge Moment which will take place at 8.22pm. I’ve reached an sms from Singtel regarding this significant pledge taking. From what I know, Singaporeans in town and around the world will be reciting the pledge with gusto and really meaning it. It has been so many years since I left school and last said the pledge. But I can still remember the words by heart.  It is to bond all countryman together. After all, Singapore is a melting pot of different races and cultures. We are Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion.

NDP 09 – come together!

Happy 44th birthday Singapore! As a son of Singapore, tomorrow’s my birthday too

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