Feb

I seemed to have disappeared altogether in Feb.

What's been happening?

Feb is the start of 2 long months without public holidays, without annual leave days, without nothing.

Feb was actually pretty eventful if I just took a glance at how many dots my calendar has.

In Feb I took an un-challenging cookie-making class, I went to a barbershop-by-day-jazz-bar-by-night jazz bar in Soho, I auditioned for church music team, I had a barbecue on the beach in beautiful weather, I got cooked Korean food again, I did a debut gig with Cherry at a cafe, I met up with someone I hadn't seen since I was +/- 4, I had the whole flat to myself for a week and a half and managed to not cause too much havoc (emphasis on too much), and I've given up online TV shows for lent (in fact this is the first time I'm giving anything up for lent).

That's Feb in a nutshell.

Wait...that's pretty much all that happened in Feb.

Java Java

Cherry and I have a gig coming up.

It's in less than 2 weeks, in a cafe, in soho.

I think I'm subconsciously slightly stressed about it. I kept dreaming about the songs last night, after an intense but productive 2.5-hr practice/jam session.

I also recall overhearing something a couple friends were saying a few years ago, about how it's awkward and kinda cringing to see people who perform but they're not actually that good or funny or amusing or well-prepared. And I agree 99.9%.

OK maybe I'm slightly more than slightly stressed.

List of significant events in 2011

Dec 31: Beer, Cake & Countdown in Shanghai

Dec 30: Flew to Shanghai

Dec 15: Express Christmas!

Dec 10: Bombay Bicycle Club @ Clockenflap Music Festival

Nov 25: Thanksgiving dinner

Nov 20: Roast geese in Sham Tseng

Nov 14: Sayaka visits HK

Oct 31: New Job @ CX

Oct 28: High tea @ Four Seasons

Oct 24-27: Bangkok

Sep 19-21: Kuala Lumpur for Ella's wedding

Sep 3: Vine Centre 2 opens

Aug 2-13: Business trip to China

Jul 1-12: Manchester, London, Oslo (Janie's wedding)

Jun 18: Emi visits HK

Jun 12-14: Taipei

Mar 11: Michael Buble concert

Feb 3: Law Bak Go party! (Chinese new year)

Jan 11: Pass my driving test

Jan 1: Sunrise @ Clearwater bay

Cure for the cold

Strepsils, honey, Panadol, vitamin C, chai tea - throughout the day. Just don't play badminton for 2 hours at the end of the day. Nope..

Kermode's Top 11 in 2011

1. We Need to Talk About Kevin
2. Le quattro volte
3. Benda Bilili!
4. The Artist
5. A Separation
6. Senna
7. Melancholia
8. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
9. Hugo
10. Kill List
11. Tyrannosaur

Defining morality

Hmm interesting

"In determining morality, American society tends to apply the bottom-line principle, 'does it hurt anyone else?' Thus pornography is legal, but not if it involves explicit violence or child molestation. You can get legally drunk as long as you do not break your neighbour's window or drive a car, endangering others. Violence on television is okay, because everyone knows the characters are just acting. Whereas we define 'hurt' in the most physical terms, Islamic societies see it in more spiritual terms. In that deeper sense, what could be more harmful than divorce, say or pornography, or violence-as-entertainment, or even the cynical depiction of banal evil on television soap operas? It is from this vantage point that the US has gained its reputation as 'the Great Satan'." - Philip Yancey

Singapore: Occupy my stomach.

In 40 hours we consumed:
Bak kut teh
Chicken rice
Fish soup noodles
Soursop juice, guava
Ice cream sandwich
Kaya toast & milo
Newton hawker centre:
Stingray
Chicken wings
Satay
Turnip cake
Chow kway tiao
Fish balls
Chow mien
Guava Juice
Singapore sling
Roti prata
Mee goreng
Milo dinosaur
Eggs florentine (brunch @ PS Cafe)
Katong laksa
Chow kway tiao
Teh Tarik
Tissue prata