It was at this place that I made the decision that I really, really, really wanted (someone) out of my life.
It wasn't because of a disagreement or a quarrel or hatred- no, not any strong emotion like that- but because simply I realized there was just no more sharing with each other except what was carefully curated, and all the interference didn't make sense anymore.
Perhaps it is a bit extreme to say that there're people in my life whom I don't wish to see or hear to speak to anymore, but it's human, and when the existence of each other's presence becomes a bane to each other, then there's no point keeping each other in each other's life anymore.
Add to that the realization that there's no more hope for it to improve or change- there's just no point anymore.
It wasn't the environment of Yotel that made me come to this decision.
Of course not.
But Yotel did make me see that there was a world which I belonged to, and which I could be a part of.
Maybe me being on the 19th floor made a difference.
You see things differently.
You feel things differently too.
Some days the light's odd.
Some days the light's better.
How you interpret it is all very subjective.
I actually liked the coziness of the room, which, if you ask me, is not exactly how one might describe the place.
Yotel prides itself on having decor likened to that of a space-themed cabin.
The most fascinating thing about the room is its bed which is of the sort that can be raised up and down from a flat position to a reclining position to a sitting one.
What I liked, however, was the wardrobe area, and the hangers.
For some reason they made me feel like I had to be neat and structured in my placement of things.
Being a structured sort is one way to feel organized in Yotel's room.
That, or have what we call organized chaos.
I guess I belong to the former.
I like my things by the side and in rectangular shapes and squares.
That works for Yotel's style, I suppose, although the latter type can be comfortable enough just as well too.
I was determined to experience as much as Orchard Road as I could staying here this time.
And I did, with a bit of shopping, and, well, a lot of dining.
Lunch right after check in was at Itacho Sushi in ION Orchard diagonally across the road.
We were hungry, so we ordered something different, and we ordered more.
There was the Kagoshima wagyu sushi, and at another time we might have gone for the soy sauce salmon sushi with the cod roe sauce. but today we decided we'd have an extra order of soft shell crab, and sweet potato fries.
The crab was of a nice size, crispy on the outside, well fried and great to bite. Then I got the soft crab flesh beneath the crisp, of course, and there was the burst of flavor once bitten into it.
We couldn't resist our usual order of roasted salmon belly sushi, and a favorite order that I call salmon maki with tempura bits.
All this- at a late lunch hour- however made us feel very full and so we decided to make our evening meal a supper instead.
There's a place in Shaw Center right on Orchard Road, so we agreed we'd go to that after my hour-long (responsibility) was over.
Being not very hungry I thought we might just take only dessert (which is something the cafe is popularly known for)
But then we looked at the small bites menu and decided to try out their nachos as well.
We weren't disappointed.
Cafe De Muse might have a bit of a Korean influence somewhere, but their nachos were good.
Crispy, crunchy, filled with black olives, green olives, red peppers, chopped tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream, it was a great portion, and we had a wonderful time chatting and finishing it all.
Nachos weren't the only thing we had at Cafe De Muse.
We ordered a chocolate bingsu too.
This, I particularly loved.
There was this mountain of chocolate shaved ice, there were these huge cubes of chocolate (something)- I think it was dark chocolate- there was a drizzle of chocolate sauce all over, and on top of everything there was a huge scoop of dark chocolate ice cream.
I loved it so much I told my friend I would come back here next time and maybe order the same dark chocolate bingsu all for myself.
My friend laughed.
We, however, weren't done with the chocolate.
Not for this particular weekend breather in any case.
Because the next day we went to this place at the back of Tanglin Post Office, and we had another chocolate cake.
Best part, it wasn't just the chocolate cake that was good.
Our mains were notably perfect too.
Like the steak (I forget what cut it was) he ordered, which was gloriously tender, came with black pepper (or was it mushrom) sauce, and a wonderful selection of vegetables that included carrots, h and soft, delicious potatoes.
And like the fish and chips which I chose over the pasta because I felt like having something fried as much as I felt like having hollandaise sauce with fries.
I'm glad for the choice.
The batter of the fish was just how I liked it, and I almost wished there were pieces more than two.
This place on Nassim Hill I will say I really do like, and when opportunity comes, I hope to head back here for a meal again.
There weren't a lot of unique meals after that, but I didn't mind.
I'm more than happy whenever our breather comes with breakfast.
Which, yes, we did have here at Yotel- eggs, waffles, toast, salad, cereals, yogurt, dim sum and a bit of Asian here and there.
Coming here to Yotel was to relive an experience that I'd somewhat forgotten, and being in the space, and in the room, reminded me of how life does change, how things don't always stay the same, and how it's best that we define who we are, and at least try to carry on.
Maybe I might have been here on the Shaw Center side of Orchard this, but my mind wasn't completely absorbed by my surroundings or the hotels around me.
There were moments when the skies reminded me of Los Angeles, and gave me hope of a time when I would return there.
