A day in the life of Kenough (idea of title stolen from el bulli)

I did 3 new things today. They were not contrived and instead spontaneous.

1) Ate Nasi Padang. I had it with chicken and fried egg. It was extremely good.

2) Cooked a snack as opposed to a proper meal to eat. I stir fried penne with chopped spinach and garlic in olive oil. Afterward, I baked the penne while they were spread on a baking tray. A healthy substitute for most snacks such as potato chips and it did indeed make me happy.

3) Ran from botanic gardens to siglap for dinner. Although I brought no emergency cab money with me, I had faith that I would somehow get there and true enough I made it. The journey involved running without being 100% confident of directions. From botanics, I just aimed for and ran on benjamin sheares bridge. Subsequently, I blasted in the general direction of the east. I got abit lost for a while as I have never been to, let alone negotiate through the Tanjong Rhu area before. Furthermore, I had to run on some off road grassy terrain for a while. The plan however was back on track swiftly. After more running, I felt compelled to take a pit stop by illegally entering SSC which was along the way. It wasn't that difficult to behave as though one was a club member seeking to re-enter the premise haha. To push things, I decided to ask a bartender for a glass of ice cold water which I promptly downed. From then on, directions were simple and I made a beeline to my intended destination where we had a 5kg fish (malik note this, it was a garoupa) among other dishes.

The end.
-kenough

Guys, just a quick update on the China situation...

It's been a rather interesting experience so far, and I must say that I've encountered new situations and challenges.
1. My appallingly lousy chinese has made daily communication with people a challenging task, be it PRC colleagues, the agent of my apartment, waiters, sales people, etc.
2. I've been feeling rather repressed when those situations arise cos I can't express myself proeprly, so to those ppl, I probably appear rather dull. Sometimes, to avoid ppl thinking I'm mildly retarded, I qualify by saying that I'm not local.
3. Office work has been very challenging. Although it's an international firm that I'm working for, there're often correspondences that involve chinese parties. So, I've been compelled to do some translation work which, unsurprisingly, I really suck at. Imagine translating legal documents and technical legal and shipping jargon when I can't even read my fucking secondary school textbooks properly.
4. The lack of family and friends for company has resulted in me having about half my meals alone, and spending idle/chill time alone mostly. I've been getting used to it, and although it can really suck eating alone, I tend to have more time and space to think, appreciate the present, its activities and its surrounding occurrences, as well as do whatever I feel like doing without considering the accomodation of others. There is a certain valuable freedom in this that I particulary enjoy, when most situations are situations that involve just myself and inanimate objects - it's man vs wild where you don't have to give a flying fuck about other things. But of course, that privilege can only satisfy me this far - the company of others, doing things together, shared experiences, and the relationships enjoyed still can't be trumped. But for now, all's kool.

From Shanghai with love.

For Juston

Hahaha you are not mad after all..
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