Augusto is coming...

For lack of a better title for this week's update. Couple of days ago, I told DH "Augusto is coming..." after Supahfunk sent me a flickrmail telling me Augusto is asking to be adopted by me. He was bewildered. Eyes wide open, he asked me curiously, "Uh, who is Augusto?". I was hoping he would think that its my new Spanish boy toy. LOL Eventually after bouts of supressed laughter, I showed him who Augusto was. I could tell he heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. I however, still look forward to Augusto coming. I'll let you know.



I was at North Sydney Markets on Saturday. Thats me with too-shiny-hair, wearing the brown beret from nimblefingers. She makes one of the best berets around, to your specific color & size, even for my um, super large head. You don't want to miss her.
Anyways, I had to drag DH out coz he was wacked out by a series of academic stuff that render his brain mushy for the weekends. I was glad to be there. This quiant little market happens only once a month, and its a great place for unearthing the great stuff. I found this Paul Frank tartan gum boot for A$15, condition new with tags. SOLD.


Apart from a myraid of interesting stuff, they also have great food. DH bought this plate of mini Dutch pancakes called Proffiterjes, correct me if I'm wrong. Warm mini panckes bathed in maple syrup and dusted with icing sugar plus strawberries on top. What could be better for a Saturday morning breakkie? YUM city, population ME! ;+)




I'd also caught sight of this gorgeous dandelion at the market after breakfast. I love them because they are so pretty, eternally round yet fragile and short-lived. I don't see them much in Singapore yet I've always known them them thru fairy tales, when you blew the petals off and you get 13, it'll be the witching hour. Hmm....I didn't blow this one though.


We stopped for starbucks in the afternoon. Yum rocky road crunch slice with Venti skim latte. Its already showing as another layer of fat on my tum. Its gonna be bad! Winter's the perfect season for hiding fatness but come swimsuit season, it'll be so much to cry for. No more skimpy yellow polka dot bikinis! :+(


Last but not least, I came home to find my ipod radio wrapped in the muffler I made. Looks like its getting cold...

Some stuff about me...

I got bored with posting and thought I'd do one that's totally illogical and pointless.
Wait, this list is prolly for me to reminise when my hair's all white and my teeth has fallen out.

Some stuff about me...

My shampoo is squid ink black. My hair was in weird colors through my teens coz school didn't allow us to do any weird stuff at all. Yeah, we were all against the law at some point or other. Now my hair's black, jet black and I intend to keep it that way. Isn't asian beauty coming back?

I work better at night (10-4am). I'm very very cranky in the morning and I refuse to take coffee. Coffee gives me an existence of about 4 hours and after that I am out. I used to take it only in the late afternoon or evening to get through the last hours of the day. Now I work at the comp at night so no need for coffee, the internet's as exciting as a rollercoaster.

I type better and faster than writing. I used to have penpals til I was grossed out by my own handwriting. I have a friend who had the same problem as me when we were in junior high. We were famous. So I now type. No penpals. Good writing, good fonts and easy erase. Best thing since sliced bread.

Grammar mistakes drives me nuts. I spend my waking hours scrounging for them. I swear any such mistakes made on my blog is totally unintentional and its due to lethargy. This place (Singapore) is a gold mine for them. I often tell sales people I refuse to buy their products because they can't articulate. Sue me.

I'm Sensory-Defensive. I get very upset when people unintentionally has sudden contact against my bare skin. All my neuro senses rushes to that area and I can't think of anything else for 5 minutes and I have to slap or scratch the area. And yes, it gets worse when I'm in Singapore. Its like being in India. I can't turn around without knocking into people. I need space.

I like lavender, lilacs, eucalyptus, sandalwood for smells. I don't do vanilla & sweet scents. I'm partial to fruity & woody notions. DH wears Chanel Allure, courtesy of me.

I'm not into kids and the usual family type stuff. I think I had my fill of it since young. And I can't deal with myself & my life, I refuse to bring someone else into this world to share my problem. My friend Aaron says, "Can't solve the problem, share it out". And I've seen waaaay too many parents who can't handle their kids. If, I ever have a kid, the kid will the center of my universe. No offence, but I think I can't handle a career, a family, a husband, parents and myself all in one lifetime. I'm a perfectionist and doing a half ass job on everything isn't me. Somehow I'm also not the marrying kind. I'm still single but DH is almost already DH so its like that for now.

I'm a visual and sensual person. I like lomo photography, art installations, craft, poetry. I visit museums & old places. I feel things, take it in and breathe it out in my own way. I like jazz for relaxation, classical sometimes & chillout for music coz they give me space to think a lot. Sometimes I think too much. Permanent radio station for here is Lush 99.5fm.

My imagination runs very wild. I don't watch anything remotely scary, unless I'm sure DH will be around 24/7, or at least at night. I can't handle things like showering alone after a scary movie. I can't be told things halfway coz I'd imagine the possibilities of the rest and settle on the worse case senario. I was notorious for mystery/supernatural essays in junior high. My teachers still talk about it. They tell me I have to stop when I get to high school so I did. But I still blame Agatha Christie.

I hate white flourescent lamps, bulbs, tubes. Neon ones too.

I like most colors as long as they fit the theme. My room is in black and white only. Somehow I dislike purple a lot and have no idea why.

I read magazines over lattes at cafes. American & Australian Vogue, Harp B (A&A), STYD (Aus), Cotton Friend, Cotton Time, Style (SG), Sometimes architecture magazines, Her World & Elle (SG) too.

I can't stay away from Blue Potato chips & ganache truffles. I like Prestat's handrolled ones. I also like really good mud cakes, krispy kreme, cupcakes & fresh brownies. I'm partial to milk chocos with nuts or fruits in it. I don't do much of dark and I hate white. No liquer chocs. I also like ice-cream from Haagen Daz's, Ben & Jerry's & Andersen's of Denmark. I have to finish the whole bag or tub when I open one. Its bad.

I love fresh raw salmon. I eat a ton of them when we visit the Fish Market in Sydney. Although I won't mind a fresh grilled on in olive oil or Japanese style, with skin and all. I adore a good Sashimi salad, a smoke salmon salad, greek salad with fresh goat's cheese, grilled chiken salad or a caesar's salad if I'm in a rush. I also like squid ink spaghetti with carbonara sauce.

I can cook. I love to use good chunk of beef skirt for a teriyaki & garlic pepper steak. I know its unconventional but its soft, totally juiced up & oh so yummy. I'm a medium rare fan. I paint the surface with thick teriyaki sauce then fry the outside on slightly lower-than-usual fry heat, then simmer it slightly with virgin olive, loads of fresh garlic mashed, fresh grined Tri-color peppercorns & chopped pasley. Try it. The flavor is a total explosion!
Of course I do other usual stir-fries, baked chicken in a myraid of flavors, Japanese dishes like onigiri, noodles & fried spam rice, recipe courtesy of my friend, TC. I bake as well, cakes, cookies, tarts, etc. The only thing I can't make is creme brulee & chocolate.

I'm allergic to tobacco & I can't drink much. Though, I'd love sips of Wolf Blass's Grey label red, or other slightly aged sauvignon. I seldom do whites, though I like dom perignon & vodka lime when I'm dragged out to clubs. Reason for why I don't club - tobacco. DH likes brandy & the grandad port. I much prefer green tea, wheatgrass & lemon or strawberry Pellegrino please.

My life is re-runs of Sex & The City, The Simpsons, House & a ton of other movies. I can't watch the programs here; they are Singlish loaded and wrecks my head. It was better in Sydney though I mostly grew up in American pronunciation. I read chick-lit now, had too much mystery & thrill in my earlier days. I do pick up things like Freakonomics & Affluenza by Oliver James.

I'm spoilt & hate generic wearables. I either try to get interesting designer pieces because they fit better & last or I make my own. I don't like T-shirts that say the designer name in big words on them. Though, I am forced to get basics from Bonds & Muji. I like quirky things & black shirts.

I'm allergic to mohair. I tried to put one on but after putting one arm into the sweater, I had to stop. My arm was red and horrid for a week after. I have to wear natural cottons, baby merino wool or cashmere. I don't do fur much. Its murder and its trouble coz they fall out. I want to shave my head because of the same reason.

I have to sleep on pure egyption cotton.

I choose bookshops & libraries over clothing stores for shopping. They are quieter, or at least people are forced to be quiet. New books and magazines get me excited. New clothes often smell funny. I do shop for my swaps at the usual cute places though. And I like Jason's Marketplace for groceries, Meidiya for Japanese ones & Liberty Market near my place for a quick in and out. Though, I can't visit the grocer's when I'm hungry. It gets disastrous.

I like vintage. I collect dresses from the past. I have 2 leather suitcases from Sydney's vintage shops filled with very old books and a very old leather hatbox from Glebe Markets which I had to fight someone for. I also have an American Tourister round hat case from a lady in the states which I absolutely adore. I like altered vintage jewellery and get them from talented etsyers. Naturally, I own bags and shoes from the past as well. I have a funny tendency to believe things were better in the past. I got over the funny smell from vintage things when I got a really pretty pink nightie from a store in Sydney some years back. It was my first vintage buy. I make it a point to visit markets & vintage stores in sydney when I get back there every year.

I miss my 29th floor apartment at Forum Tower in Sydney. DH still lives there, albeit at 11th. That apartment was the holy grail. We faced the north & the view was virtually unblocked for miles. We could see mountains and rainbows stopped in front of us. It was THE view, not a view. Reminiscing about having a drink on the balcony and soaking up the night skies really hurt.

I get upset when people tell me I'm cute. This translates as childish to me. Isn't it why I couldn't get the important jobs? They just won't believe I can do it if I look cute. But somehow it looks like there's no way in hell I can ever look sophisticated. Just doesn't happen.

I'm partial to french and japanese things coz IMO, they make the most effort at what they're doing, therefore yielding the best results. I learn from them as well.

I'm addicted to fabulous cottons and canvas fabrics from Japan and mangle linens from the west. I empty my pockets for them. Its insane.

Running around for my shop drives me nuts but I still love it. Somehow spending time on my shop really makes time run like hell. Its already April 07 but I don't feel it at all. I might need a marketing manager and secretary soon. Maybe a new studio and 2 seamstresses?

I dream of being an artist with solo shows in museums. I still want to own a massive white washed gallery in a prewar shophouse with a studio at the back. I'm partial to static and performance installations. Though, I won't mind Aleksandr Petrovsky's whole-floor thing in satc. Yum.

I'm also dying to do an installation with sound and touch as the theme.

Webpages I have to visit everynight. My shop, Flickr, Wikipedia, The Superficial, Google. Webpages I frequent. YouTube, Etsy, ebay, LOF, website, movie mistakes & a whole load of other crap.

**Edited 209589473298583 times because I have ADD and perfectionism.

At the cafe...

I'm writing on the public computer at a swanky cafe in Vivo City, overlooking Sentosa. No prizes for guessing which one I'm at and by the time you get here, I'd already left. haha Anyways, I'm not used to using a keyboard anymore, I mostly use my notebook so my typing becomes a lot retard.
I attended a wedding dinner last night. My cousin's. The legendary party girl is going down the dumps. Oops. She's marrying a great guy whom she has spent the last decade together with. Good for them. I'm just not the marrying kind. Sorry. Anyways, I was late, as usual. DH had work so we took a bit of time to get ready. Before that, I was watching Paris's video on The Superficial. I know I shouldn't have spent my get-ready time on the comp. As expected, I had my usual crisis. A wardrobe full of clothes, but nothing to wear. I decided on a gathered, layered black dress that made me look like a 12 year old. Threw on my crop jacket, my usual charm necklace and my platform Chris Lou's for good measure. At least I look somewhat grown up. DH was looking swanky, his new crisp white tailored shirt with ginormous stand-up collars and ultra chunky cuffs. He was wearing the new twisty cufflinks I got for him for christmas. Nice.
Took a cab and rushed in while the food music was playing. The bride and groom was already in. We were ready to dig in moments later. Great! No waiting. Honestly, I'm not a banquet person. I'd escape at the mention of it so I'd be dragged to one screaming and crying if I ever had to. This one was my second this year. A month ago, it was my other cousin. I wore pants. SO?
The dinner ended surprisingly quickly with little to no awkardness. I got to try Wolfblass's new Eagle hawk range. Cabernet Sauvignon, no less. Young wine, but has good flavor and is robust. Leaves a tingling spicy feeling on my tongue right after. Good stuff! Everyone left soon after since it was a monday. I took a stroll down Orchard Road with DH. I don't remember much except I was drowsy and sputtered nonsense. DH won't tell me what. :P I'm surprised I managed to stumble home with my patent leather shoes intact. LOL
I'm out today to get fabrics, the Moleskine exhibition at PageOne and generally to drink coffee, lots of it & to bask in lovely Tuesday. I totally love my job! I've already listed a really lovely wristlet for V-Day. ;) Its really really nice and I really want to keep it. Sigh.



More coming! Visit me.....