Beer

Heineken, overrated. Guinness, heavy.
Tsingtao, the smoothest.
Microbreweries, freshly brewed ale, heaven.

Beer is expensive in Singapore, One bottle out there is a case of ale here. Mind you, I drank a reasonable amount when I was there, thanks to a boss whose liver's ironclad. Indeed she is a closet drunkard! There was one weekend, three straight days, we were drinking, from beers to vodka to rum. Totally enjoyed the sangria! I never thought sangria could be so powerful. I thought it was a girly drink, with the fruit juice and the thick rum, but sangria prepared three days and allowed to ferment in the refrigerator can give a kick stronger than the Red Horses out there.

Think like a Tourist, Act like a Local

My recent trip to Singapore was a fun one. Because I stayed there for a month, it was important to budget my dollars well. I had to skip the expensive tourist restaurants/hotspots, and I had to learn how to live like a local real quick. I had to reserve my wide-eyed amazement moments for the weekend, when I can wear the tourist hat and spend a little on "pasalubongs".

Chrissie's checklist in a foreign land:
1. Know exactly where you live. This is important as I wasn't born with an internal compass, I get lost all the time. So the first thing I had to figure out was the public transport to and fro my residence, which took a while.

2. Know how to order food and know exactly what you can and can't eat. I'm not exactly a big fan of hot stuff, but I wanted to try some at Singapore, even if you tell the food vendor to skip on the chili, the food's still spicy! I learned that chili's really good! So now I can take a little bit of heat. I was a little experimental with the food, the range was fantastic, everything was good. Plum powder on sarawak pineapple, yummers.

3. Do not ride the taxis! There was something about right hand drive taxis that really gave me the dizzies. I really didn't like it, other than it was very expensive. The busses on the other had were really fun! I enjoyed the scenic view. Public transport is pretty straightforward and organized, if you know how to read the bus instructions and you know exactly where you are and where you want to go.

4. Invest in comfortable shoes. Singapore is a country where people walked to everywhere. I bought myself a pair of flats that I wore on days that I knew I'd be doing a lot of walking.

More in a bit!

Shame, Potterwatch, Back Pains.

I finally got my hands on a Salman Rushdie book. Here in the Philippines, maybe 2 of his books are on the shelves in the hard-to-find books bookstore. However in Singapore, there were a couple, and one of his books was even on the Best Seller rack. Happiness!

Reading "Shame" felt like reading a commentary on the global issue of Palestine with the slight twist of an epic saga in the making. It was truly one of the most powerful books I've ever read. Maybe Omar Shakil is a real person?

Yes, I saw it, the first part of the seventh Harry Potter. Fans of the book won't be disappointed, it largely remained consistent with the written material. However, one thing really popped up, I realized that JK Rowling used Harry Potter to commentate on the second world war. How familiar is it that an evil man with a grudge against the world, used the concept of righteousness of the Ubermensch to raise the status of the purebloods against the half-bloods, the blood traitors and the muggle-born? WAtching Hermione with a "Mudblood" scar on her forearm is so reminiscent of Holocaust. And that statue inside the Ministry of MAgic, with the muggles being stepped upon by the wizards and witches, that really brought it home.

I am suffering yet again from back pains. This is terrible, after a round of badminton, I realized that indeed it was foolishness to not warm-up properly. EVerytime my lower back muscles tense up, I feel a shot of pain. Lesson learned. Though, this makes me go back to the last time I was in this much pain for my lower back. MAkes it even more painful so to speak.

Kapow.

Yey, it's dairy dash time! Finally free enough to do some bad-ass dashing!

In the middle of crisis management today (two deadlines, both overdue, both draining of the the brain cells), a friend sent a message.

Why do some people bargain and some don't?".

Got me thinking right away, but didn't really have the time to do some writing about it. I had to have a witty answer of course, so I replied, "Because they don't choose to, they don't want it anymore."

And the reply I got to that was, "Hitting the nail right on the head."

Of course.