Norway... beautiful place, nice people

Every day, I'll have people calling me from the other side of the globe, Norway. Apart from the business chats, they'd be teasing me like mad as well. They usually start calling me from around 2pm Singapore time, which is 8am their time. And so far, I've always had loads of fun speaking to them. Sometimes, they'll teach me useful Norwegian phrases, and I'll teach them Chinese. Cultural exchange is what I call it. Last year, I had the opportunity to visit Norway. It was a really pleasant trip.

I know it's been half a year since my trip but as I was speaking to Duke O & Prince H (nicknames I give then since they are so shy to have their names published... geez....), it just reminded me that I should really put up some nice pictures.

In the past, I've always had the impression that Norway would have been very very icy cold. I thought hat even in summer, their ground would always be clad with thick snow. From pictures in books and magazines, they always had Norway in snow clad mountain tips and fjords with a lot of snow on the banks.

But in August last year, I visited them. It was summer. And very warm! It was about 20 deg celcius when I visited. Very very beautiful. It wasn't humid. The people there were very friendly. The buildings were mostly made out of wood. In fact, when I went up to one of our offices in Hjelmeland, the entire office building was made out of wood. Like Ikea! All wood...

Scenery-wise, needless to say, was breath-taking. It was BEAUTIFUL!

So colourful...

See, beautiful isn't it?

Food wise, everything was too salty for me. Although I do enjoy quality smoked salmon, and caviar, eating it everyday and having it in almost every meal was definitely too much. During my trip, I had the pleasure of eating seafood EVERYDAY! Salmon, king crabs, mussels, oysters, shrimps, cod, turbot, halibut... Envy me people, envy me!!!! And of course, their dessert was absolutely fantastic.

Strawberry Hazelnut Parfait (I'm drooling!)

And of course I have to show you guys some scenery...... We went to Preikestolen, Flor & Fjære & Ramsvig.

Views from halfway up Preikestolen

Me at the top of Preikestolen... Mind you, it was scary sitting there!

Because next to me was all the way DOWN!

Flor & Fjære was just full of flowers!

Looks sour? Wrong. It was damn sweet!!!

Can't get apples any fresher!

Ramsvig, isle of serenity...

Me, trying to look pretty... (^o^)

Where we had our meeting, very woody!

More wood!!!

My favourite corner... The wine cellar/bar

It was a truly memorable trip, except for the flight up! I've learnt a whole load about their work and most of it really helps when I do my part of the work in this corner of the globe. Most importantly, my colleagues have become friends.

Baby-faced Prince H

Dragon Rider Duke O

These two guys are the ones whom I work very closely with in Norway. They taught me a lot, but also given me their fair share of heart attacks! Let's hope this year, I will have another chance to visit Norway. After all, I need to claim my container-load of chocolates from the Prince, and my container-load of Strawberries from the Duke. Right boys???

My Alcoholic Collection

Upon Tweetie's request, and since I've nothing much to blog about, I hereby "showcase" my tiny collection of alcohol.

Some wine...

Baileys, anyone?

I have a soft spot for liquor and wine. Just those nice bottles of different shapes and sizes sitting nicely on my shelves make me smile. I'll make my own cocktails occasionally. And experiment with different combinations of spirits and mixers. Hmm... No wonder I hold my alcohol fairly well!

Anyone high yet?

And now, after taking these pictures, I should fix myself a Margarita. Or should I go for a Lamborgini. Nah... Rusty Nail... ...

By the way... I have A LOT more stowed away safely. Can't be bothered to bring them out cos it's past 2 am and I don't want to risk breaking them!

Look what I've got!

HAPPY! I'm smiling from left ear to right ear!

My mother-in-law gave me a surprise "gift". It's a miniature CORDON VSOP EXTRA COGNAC!!! And very cute because it's only 20cl as compared to the 100cl bottle which i originally wanted. But still... 谢谢您！

Pork Cutlet Rice and..... St James... Again!

Went Vivo City with my colleagues for dinner yesterday. Took a while trying to figure out what to eat when someone (can't remember who) suggested the HongKong Kin Gary cafe. So we went. We were fairly early, so not much dinner crowd. The menu was just typical HK cafe style with the usual rice and "instant noodles" thingy.

I went straight for the pork cutlet rice (猪扒饭） under SW's recommendation. Tweetie did the same but with hot milk tea （热奶茶）. SW had the shredded pork rice with an egg. MK & MA both were interested in baked curry. So we ordered. I completed my set with iced milk tea (冻奶茶）.

The yummy pork cutlet rice & SW's shredded pork rice

Tweetie... like as though she cooked it!

The pork cutlet rice was savoury. Not too salty, but pity the 2 slices of pork cutlet was a tad too pathetic. If they had made it once big piece, then it will be perfect. (Shall I start charging them consultancy fees?!)

MA dying to tuck into her delicious baked curry

SW clearly enjoying her iced milk tea

MK and her very complicated Mango coconut milkshake??

After dinner, we walked around a bit to get the food digested. Tweetie did some shopping and bought a nice turquoise-blue top. And very much expected, she just changed into it immediately and wore that for the rest of the night.

Tweetie in her new top

After all that mucking around Vivo City, we made our way to St James. It was still raining when we walked over. Although there was a sheltered bridge and a covered walkway all the way to St James, it didn't cover fully to the back where POWERHOUSE was. So the 5 of us silly girls just ran all the way there in the rain!

We got in, and the bouncer told us the cashier hadn't arrived yet, so we were let in to enjoy the air conditioning (-_-) but had to wait more than half an hour before the cashier decided to turn up and issue us the 5 drink coupons.

Anyway, the music started off as (-_-) (-_-) (-_-) in the beginning. We got our drinks and then sat and chatted and people watched for a while. Of course we didn't forget to hog the camera!

MK,SW, me, MA & Tweetie in the front

MA and her lychee martini

Tweetie & MK

We decided it was boring in POWERHOUSE after awhile, and then decided to walk around exploring. We went upstairs to BELLINI ROOM. Looked down from the corridor into the various other rooms.

MA caught sight of a live band performing and Tweetie told her it was MOVIDA. Latino music. And MA got very excited. So we went down. Into MOVIDA and partied on. MA & Tweetie were hilariously all over the dance floor shaking their asses off. It was really funny to see them dance. But of course they had their fair share of seriously sensuous moves... ooohhhh.....

Then of course we hog the camera somemore.

See what I mean? We could get enough of ourselves!

And 3 musketeers who treated us to some champagne & cocktails because it was one of their birthdays (sorry don't remember which one and their names! But thank you very much)

And not to miss out some action on the dance floor. Tweetie & MA twisting and shaking away!

Hmmm... Who's this man?

We moved back into POWERHOUSE after we were so tired laughing and dancing. Had to queue to get more drinks. Tweetie was still shaking her butt away to the music. More fun and laughter followed. Suddenly, MA said she lost her mobile phone! Must have been a pick-pocket. She had her phone in the pocket of her jacket and it was tied to her waist. So some jerk must have seen it and stolen it. Curse the idiot!

Anyway, MA lodged a report with the bouncers at the front entrance, filled in some forms. Party over. SW had to almost drag Tweetie into a cab. MK and myself hopped into separate cabs and so did MA after she was done with her report.

What an ending...

MRT Ride

It's been quiet a while since I last took the MRT. Since I left the office at abt 10pm last night, I thought I should just try and catch a bus followed by the train.

I made it to Harbour Front MRT station just in time to see a train waiting for passengers. It was quite packed and the door closing signal was going off. I attempted to walk a little faster just to jump in. But there was this Malay lady with a trolley luggage and a plastic bag dashing across my path. She missed crashing into my by an inch! And as she went past me, there was this whiff of un-mistaken smell. DURIANS! YUCKS!!!

I thought they banned durians on the MRT? Bloody hell! It was absolutely pungent. I wanted to tell her off, but she had already gotten into the train and the doors had shut just behind her, narrowly missing the wheels of the luggage. Damn!

No choice. I sat down on one of the stone (or was it granite or marble???) benches in disgust and waited for the next available service. Surprisingly, barely 1 minute after the earlier train left the station, an announcement on the next train approaching came on.

Happy! I looked around and saw the station relatively empty as compared with just a minute earlier. The train came, I walked in and strolled all the way to the front (my fav spot). Sat down comfortably, took out my Palm PDA and started writing this blog.

It was a smooth and quiet ride. But as I was writing this entry, I couldn't help but notice that the train travelled very slowly between Serangoon and Kovan station. Why ah? Hmmm... ...

Anyway, time to get off the train. At least it was nice and quiet, and I had a place to sit comfortably with no smelly durians!

Think those MRT personnel should also put dogs on patrol to sniff out those disgustingly pungent durians and possibly help curb terrorists attacks.

The Devil Wears Prada

Have been reading this weekend. EJ bought me this book before she went back to Korea. The Devil Wears Prada. I thought it had a very good storyline.

I watched the movie too. Starring Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, and Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs.

The story's abt this fresh grad Andrea (or Andy) who goes in search for an editorial job in NYC, and chances upon Runway magazine, THE fashion magazine in THE industry. Instead of getting the job as an editor, she gets the "to-die-for" position as Miranda's (the most successful & respected person in the fashion scene) personal assistant.

Although her new boss was a monster, Andy's friends helped her get thru the torture. Thru her strong will, determination and hard work, Andy became Miranda's must trusted Personal Assistant. However, as time went by, Andy's perspective changed. She had also lost her boyfriend (whom she'd neglected due work commitments).

As time went by, she realised that she had to decide between career and her loved ones. All this while, she had the impression that she took on the job because she didn't have a choice. However, it didn't quite appear so... ...

** I put myself in the shoes of Miranda and thought for a moment. I am known as the queen of this industry in this SEAsia region (because there are currently no other females in a similar role within the organisation). And I wonder if I'm as tough as Miranda just to maintain my position and earn my respect.

** I put myself in the shoes of Andy and a different light came into my mind. I'm working so hard to earn my keep. And inevitably get embroiled in a society where men take the lead, and politics are a just another cup of tea.

** Both Miranda & Andy were tired at the end of the story, but, the show must go on. In my case, I'm still wondering... ...

Update 23 April 2007 12:48am

I Just surfed into Alec Su's blog and realised that he too watched this movie and he too wrote abt it in his blog! Erm... Great minds think alike??!!

Furry Bunnies

Sometime just before Easter last year, I adopted 4 baby bunnies (1 died 2 days after I brought them back) who were abandoned along Upper Pierce Reservoir area.

1 year on the remaining 3 are doing very well. Ash is the fattest of them all. Soot has the tendency to bite ppl's fingers. Snowy (who's the only male) just enjoys humping the other 2!

Sleepy Snowy

A very annoyed Soot

Soot was sleeping when I decided to snap a pic of her

Ash just looking innocently cute!

All 3 of them are doing very well. Plenty of food and hay to chew on. They are currently the size of a standard tissue box (just imagine how fat they are!)

Chicken Rice, St James, A new bottle of liquor etc.

EJ came down to Singapore on a business trip over the last few days. Actually, we were quite busy during this period because of some re-structuring of the company etc etc... But still, we managed to set aside some time to spend with her.

A very sweet EJ playing with her HP

And Tweetie was also very sweet. She had been organising activities for EJ to keep her occupied throughout her stay. Took her shopping in Chinatown, nice dinners and party too. I would usually be the one doing all these, but recently really too much to handle and not in the right mood to think.

And a very sweet Tweetie looking... SWEET!

Anyway, I did join them for dinner on Wednesday. Went to Mandarin Hotel's Chatter box for dinner. Ate chicken rice (what else), and ordered rojak and some brinjal thing. The chicken rice was unfortunately a let down. The rice was not fragrant enough, and the chicken meat was so tough. Soup was too salty. I heard their head chef had quit on them...sad... But the rojak was good. still a tad too salty, but otherwise good flavour. The brinjal thing.... forget it. Cannot make it is how I'd describe it.

Chatterbox Chicken Rice

At the dinner, we also had KH, RK and another whatever-her-name-was lady. They are contracted ppl who do some work for our company. We all don't like KH because he's super irritating. Talks whenever and wherever. Can't stand it. says all the wrong things all the time, and keeps talking abt sensitive political issues (he's from a neighbouring country). Worse when he keeps comparing Singaporeans with his own country-men. Once, Tweetie was so upset with him over some comments that he passed, she told him to go back to where he came from! Hahahahahaha...

RK. is Singaporean. I thought also talked too much. But realised after a while that she is harmless. Just trying to make conversation. The whatever-her-name-is, on the other hand, does not even have to open her mouth to speak and we already find her a pain. She's been a nuisance at four quarters and thinks Singapore standards in everything is super low. Another creature we need to send back!!!!!!

Anyway, after dinner, we headed to ST JAMES. EJ wanted to drink, Tweetie wanted to party, and I felt like singing. And I heard ST JAMES had them all (Including the new KTV). We waited at the lobby for our taxis. Miss whatever-her-name-is decided she need her beauty sleep and left us there and then. Suits me. I didn't think she was needed anyway. She was so short and skinny, I was afraid I might have to worry about losing her in the crowd!

Tweetie decided to call for 2 taxis because the queue was quite long and there were 2 different queues and no taxis coming. And while waiting for our taxis, KH just had to quarrel with the guys who opens car doors and helps you waive for a taxi (can't remember what you call them)! I thought it was embarrassing... -_-

Finally the taxis came, KH & RK went into the first one, EJ, Tweetie and myself in the second one just minutes after. Tweetie realised that she didn't have KH's HP number when we reached ST JAMES! So we just headed straight into MOVIDA. Plonked ourselves down and ordered our drinks and enjoyed.

EJ, Tweetie & me @ MOVIDA

I think it must have been an hour after we drank and "danced" a bit (Tweetie danced a lot, I just shook my bum in my seat) when I suggested we go sing karaoke.

We wondered around and found our way to DRAGONFLY, climbed 2 flights of spiral stairs before we reached MONO. There was only 1 huge plush red-themed room left. We took it after much hesitation and suspicions about KH's sincerity on buying us any drinks at all.

EJ, Adam (our dedicated waiter), Tweetie, RK & me

We had a fun time singing with Tweetie being the best entertainer (all round), and RK had very smooth and soothing vocals (loved her rendition of Sandy Lam's 至少还有你). Unfortunately, EJ could only find 1 song, My Heart Will Go On (She's Korean, and MONO barely had any Korean Songs!!!). KH was totally hopeless on the mic (and I think he knows!!) cos each time he takes the mic and opens his mouth to sing, we all burst into fits of laughter! Adam, our waiter-of-the-day freaked out at one point and offered to go get some mixed nut refills whe KH was trying to sing.... hahahahahahaha......

At some point in time, we made a 2nd order for our drinks, Adam recommended this :

Belvedere - Vodka from Poland!

And ordered cranberry juice & orange juice as mixers for the vodka. Ooooh... I loved the cranberry combination. It simply reminded me of a drink another colleague ordered for me when we were in Norway... Ooops... Off topic...

And guess what, we couldn't finish the bottle of vodka, so I brought it home! Cos Tweetie says it'll compensate for the Eiffel Tower-looking bottle I wanted earlier but got given away instead.

Anyway, it was a truly fun night we had, and I think we left at abt 10.30am. The next day, EJ & myself stumbled into the office by 10am, followed by Tweetie.... All looking super panda! hahahaha...

And it was a very long and tiring day for all of us after that... I can't remember how I got thru the rest of the day... Zombie-fied is all I can come up with!