Fourteenth month, fandango jam

Image Credit: hijoshboston@flickr.com

This month, we have mostly been...

- Celebrating the Tiger, twice:

First up was my office Chinese New Year 'party' held at the Golden Peony, Conrad Hotel. A magnificent eight course menu ensued covering dishes from double-boiled sea whelk in golden pumpkin soup to meltingly soft Wagyu veal cheek stewed in 'rich brown sauce'. To 'mix it up' a little each Head of Department was on rotation with each course, which made for interesting, if a little stunted, conversation. The highlight of the evening was watching a local newbie down no less than six large glasses of red wine in a row. Once the poor chap had his full Asian Glow on, the ang mors retreated back to their corners to re-group and decide to which dirty basement establishment they would be heading to for the classy 'after-party' with the 'professional ladies'. Nice.

Second, was the Tiong Bahru Community Lunar New Year 'Get-Together' held in a large open-sided tent on a patch of grass next to the MRT station. Despite having to cater for approximately 500 hungry locals with a smattering of ang mors, the chefs did an excellent job of dishes ranging from taboo-but-delicious shark's fin soup to chili prawns and steamed grouper. Sadly, with the only drinks choice being fanta or lemonade, a swift nip to the 7-11 was required to purchase cold water and beers, lest we choked on an unchewed morsel during the local MP's enthralling speech. Strip-lighting and overhead ceiling fans provided an electric but sweltering atmosphere enhanced only by various on-stage performances ranging from a local marital (sic.) arts group to a lone Chinese belly-dancer. We've already bought our tickets for next year. No, really.


Leaping with a Singaporean back drop

- Booze Cruising: The Seaquel. Pack even more of your friends onto the same boat, with even more booze and head for the same stretch of the Singapore Straits and you've got an even bigger and better party than the last one. When asked if the crowd wanted 'more', Malaysia could have heard those tigers roar.

- Learning how to be a Producer. We were lucky to win tickets to hear Nik Powell speak at the National Museum, courtesy of the British Council. Little did I know that he started Virgin Records with Richard Branson BEFORE going on to produce 'The Crying Game'! Nik was highly amusing, kept up a solid pace and left me with the feeling that he should become a spokesperson for Nike's "Just Do It" campaign. His selected Latin proverb said it all, "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, but because we do not dare, things are difficult. (Non quia difficilia sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus, difficilia sunt.) Coupled with his three-pronged advice: "Never turn down a good thing"; "Be comfortable with going in a different direction to everyone else"; and "Do not be afraid to fail", I left feeling thoroughly inspired. Upon entering my office cubicle the next morning, I felt thoroughly uninspired.


Blackmarket Kids

- Drinking beer on The Blackmarket. Another awesome launch party, this time for früfrü & Tigerlily who are taking over part of this forward-thinking independent clothing store. If you're wondering where the trendy kids 'hide' out in Singapore, this is it.

Up next month are a seafood feast, a party on a rooftop and another hedonistic weekend in Rawa-wa-waaaah!

Finally, for those who have been wondering, like I did: The "OOO-OOO" bird you hear in Singapore is called an Asian Koel, a distant relative of the cuckoo:



Local nature trivia doesn't get better than this.