Unimpressed

So I happened to be at Chevron House in Raffles Place the other day, and if you're familiar with the ground floor retail stretch, you will know that there is a Starbucks along one side of the stretch, same side as Burger King, and there is a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on the other. 

But it didn't always use to be Coffee Bean.

 

Before the 1963 Ice Blended peeps took over, it was Costa Coffee.

 

And it was during the time of it being Costa Coffee that my colleague and I met up with this gentleman who had connected with me through LinkedIn and, after a couple of missed dates, arranged to meet.

 

I don't go into meetings blank headed.

 

But neither do I like going into meetings with preconceived notions.

 

In that sense, I like to know just a little of what the other person is doing, or has done, and I like to go and listen to what it is they do and if they're out of the same circle, why they would be interested to meet someone in media & entertainment any case. (You don't need to arrange a coffee chat if you want me to do a 2D 3D animation for you)

 

So we went, and we chatted, and it didn't take long before I realized that behind all the stories of what he was doing- something along the lines of drinking water and fish- was really an extended justification for us to do up a video for him at the lowest cost possible.

 

Meaning: Free.

 

Look, I'm fine with pro-bono. I do get the occasional request, of which to date I haven't agreed to any because we're strict like that and there are many Causes and Missions in life out of which we have not quite decided on which yet and we haven't heard a strong enough argument to share in said Cause or Mission.

 

It's so strange, but really, do people think that they can waltz up to just about any company- whichever it may be- and then with just a simple, casual chat, convince the other to salute them in their Cause with a piece of work worth five figures?

 

Am I supposed to be impressed by the figures that you tell me you have achieved, when the world is already all about sustainable farming and giving back to the farmers? Am I supposed to share in the same Mission as you do because you think I share the same faith as you? And am I supposed to be won over by your great work because over a coffee chat you said you were this, this, this, this good?

 

Oh, seriously? Do we look like morons to you?

 

And does it look like we're that out of touch with the "real" world?

 

Maybe it is my gender or something.

 

I don't know.

 

Either my gender or my colleague's youthful appearance or the assumption that we only live in a make-believe, fantasy, "creative" world and have no understanding of real world issues.

 

Where do these assumptions come from?

 

And why do people assume that we need their help to achieve certain milestones for our work? I mean, do they think we not know where we stand and that we not know from whom we need win-win partnerships, or help even? Do they think that we do not know who it is we need to impress and why? Or is it just about anyone who comes and throws a few names down? 

A few years back there was this gentleman who casually mentioned that what we were doing for them would be shown to someone who was a personality, and who knew another very well-known personality of this particular medium from the media & entertainment industry over there on the Hills- and how grateful (!) to I-don't-know-who we should be for this granted opportunity.

 

In other words, slave and slog for this project, okay, because your work might be shown to these famous dudes, and you know, there are so many people like you (!) who long to get their work eyeballed by these dudes but they can't get even sniff their coat tails, but hey, I can get your work right to them.

 

I had no heart to tell this wonderful person that right down there in our email server were certain email exchanges between the very well-known personality and a colleague of ours, and that they had been there for a couple of years.

 

Revealing it would have made us sound like a bunch of liars, and since we don't operate in a world where we can go around showing emails exchanges under the Confidentiality Act for the sake of proof...

 

Neither had I the heart to tell him that we actually know our place, we have the paperwork if we needed to show, and that really, thank you for your offer, it is generous and magnanimous of you, but some of the people we work with are already there and introducing what we do for you to them would only make you look like a fool.

 

Now, don't think of me as one cynical, arrogant person. I get excited and impressed by the smallest of things cos I can see where it is going and I can the charm of it all. But telling me stuff like what I've shared above, this achievement, that achievement, this gateway, that gateway, I know so and so, I know so and so, all I can say is, like how the song by LeAnn Rimes goes, "that don't impress me much".

lobster mayo Sushi

It's a little hard to believe, but I actually don't quite remember the actual name of this beautifully shot, Instagram-worthy, wonderfully tasting sushi roll. It is the kind of shot that looks so great when posted on social media, but alas, I don't remember the name!

 

 

I know where I had it.

 

I know what it consists of.

 

I know roughly when I had it.

 

I just don't know what it is called.

 

Blame the lapse of time- it has been a couple of months at least, or the fact that I savoured it up not too long after this picture was taken and so didn't put in effort to take note of the name.

 

Nevertheless, if you happen to be dining at Ichiban sometime and want to have a nice little slice of tempura coated sushi topped with a dollop of lobster mayonnaise, well, you know how it looks like.

 

And I can assure you it looks as bright as it does here, and tastes as good as it does here, too.

Cannelloni, fashion, China

Crisis Communications took Centerstage for Dolce & Gabbana in the People's Republic of China last week.

It was not the kind of publicity they had anticipated, and it certainly was a far cry from the kind of publicity they had planned for. Instead of fashion journalists, influencers, celebrities and the Who's Who of the glittering, glamorous world of fashion extolling and praising their "Love Letter" one-hour long extravaganza runway show in Shanghai, they found themselves inundated with a PR crisis, and a Retail crisis they could not possibly have imagined.

Wednesday it was announced that the "Love Letter" extravaganza show was cancelled. Thursday news broke that their products were being dropped from several major online platforms, and Friday Lane Crawford in Hong Kong announced that they were dropping off retail for D&G too.

All in all, not a very good week for the Italian luxury fashion brand.

Racial and Cultural sensitivity is a massive issue these days around the world, and I suppose such caution towards such sensitivities were thrown to the wind by the content creators of the promotional videos of the extravaganza.

I shan't go into detail of what those videos are- just google them and you'll see the news trending top on the search engine- but let's just say that it involved a gigantic plate of spaghetti, a very large pizza, a thick, well filled cannelloni, one Chinese model dressed in chinoiserie, and a pair of chopsticks. 

And of course, what fuelled the fire was the revelation of the co-founder's Instagram comments that represented his personal PR style.

Unfortunately what had previously worked for the markets of US (ugly Selena Gomez) and UK (synthetic children of Elton John) or even Europe did not go down so well with a good proportion of the mainland Chinese, and the diaspora this time.

There are just a few things my head just cannot get around.

Like, why, of all the bloody things in the world, did they use chopsticks as the main concept. Thousands of years of Chinese history and you make a joke about it. Sure, the Italians aren't the youngest civilization on the planet but hey, not so nice to diss each other, isn't it? 

Also, why, of all the frigging themes one can have in the world, did they decide to portray us Chinese finding the cannelloni too large to pick up with our chopsticks as if we didn't know how to eat it and as if we didn't know to use a fork and knife? I mean, it isn't like we're ignorant fools, and neither is it that we don't know how to appreciate a good Italian meal.

Here is a luxury Italian brand promoting a gorgeous, glamorous runway show in Shanghai for the likes of the rich, the uber rich and the luxe in the country.... and their ads are basically saying that these (customers) do not know Italian food, are ill exposed to foreign cultures, are only familiar with the usage of chopsticks, will try to use chopsticks (aka our own styles) for everything, and are stubborn-brained.

Look, even if some Chinese dude pissed you off in the course of business, transferring your disdain and resentment into social media content was not the wisest thing to do. 

There are a few things about the Chinese culture that I believe strongly one must never touch, not even as a joke, unless it is between us own Chinese, then good and fine. Don't touch our martial arts, don't make fun of our operas, don't chuckle at our language, and don't ever, ever, ever f**k with our food.

We're defensive like that.

Sure, we Chinese may be part of the diaspora and we may not be that fantastic with our chopstick skill (tofu challenge, anyone?) or we may hail from all the different provinces in China and so do not understand each other very well. We may even argue and fight, but that's our business and wise it is anyone else that don't mess with our s***. 

Someone mentioned to me that she thought the peeps from the fashion industry were disconnected from the rest of the world, that they thought of themselves as kings and queens and who surrounded themselves with like-minded people, bootlickers, and worshippers, that they sought to think of themselves as an elusive, elite, royal bunch who interpreted the world on their own terms and had everyone to trail behind them.

I don't know if such a description would apply to everyone in the industry, but I've met a fair few, and seeing what I see here, well, poison begets poison, and yes, there definitely are.

tea for Three @ Marche

Very, very, very rare is it that I get to do the Ladies' thing and enjoy an afternoon high tea. And although many a time have I wished one upon myself, it sadly being not, when the chance does come, it thus becomes a particularly special occasion to me. 
 

By afternoon tea, I do not speak of the food alone, or even the ambience, but of the companionship, because going out for afternoon tea means that for those couple of hours I am with a great female friend, a buddy, or a loved one.

 

Of course, not so romantic a reason can also be like that of this day, where on the afternoon we'd planned to meet at Marche, due to a dastardly stressful work meeting that ran overtime and which I was coming straight from, I ended up running an hour late behind our scheduled lunch appointment and thereby hit into the high tea hour.

 

Still, it was a very good choice. :)

 

Marche's high teas are pretty good. They're not the dainty type you find in hotels- forget nice porcelain pots, scones and clotted cream- but the offering is fun, the food is hearty and who is to argue with the selection of coffee and tea? 
 

I was so excited to see her when she turned the corner pushing a stroller with adorably asleep toddler son inside. We took the lift down, two adults, stroller and asleep toddler, headed straight to the tables where the play area was, settled in happily, then off I went to make the order. By the time I returned, the toddler was awake. 
 

We greeted each other, little boy and I, which was really more of me saying a shy hello to him and he looking up at this stranger with a tinge of curiosity in his eye. But I guess the camaraderie between his mummy and I was apparent, for he wasn't scared by me (thankfully!) and it wasn't long before he caught sight of the play area and ran straight there.

 

Tree houses and a fireman's pole are more exciting than hanging around with Mummy's friends.

We had a most wonderful time that afternoon, little boy, his mummy and I. His mummy and I had not seen each other for close to a year, and so, to be able to sit and catch up with each other on our goings-on, and, to be able to speak with each other comfortably on stuff that really mattered to our own selves, was absolutely cool.

Blessed is the one who has a loved one with whom one can be open and speak comfortably over chocolate brownies, smoked salmon finger sandwiches, potato rosti, and pretty little tarts.

Blessed too is the one who receives the privilege of helping to keep an eye over the little boy, offer him strawberries and raspberries from the tarts, and invade the play area like a big kid just to watch him play.

Because this is what having afternoon tea with a loved one means.

This is what sitting there for four whole hours chatting comfortably with each other and singing joyful action songs with the little one means.

It is a Time that I do not, and will not, take for granted.

And I'll say this:  Even though it has been a few months now, one of the most precious memories I have of this summer is seeing her cross the road, backpack behind her, tri fold stroller slung from her shoulder, shopping bags and a box of takeaway in one hand, and the little hand of her toddler son tightly clutched in the other.

Because the road she crossed is a road that we both are very familiar with.

This is a road that we have passed through as many years of our lives has been since we were children, and at that moment when I gazed back on her, I suddenly saw all the years that had passed, I saw how our lives had changed, and I saw where we stood now.

All at once, I felt thankful for her, I felt happy for her, and I felt proud of her. :)

sashimi in Ichiban's Bowl

 



What looks like a fairly ordinary meal of thinly sliced salmon sashimi arranged in a circle over a bowl of Japanese rice is, to me, one of the most comforting and reassuring meals I can have on those days when I happen to be in town.

 

There is much one can order at Ichiban. They have the conveyor belt.  They have the seasonal offerings. They also have a pretty extensive menu, and although from time to time we get this set with beef, starters, chawanmushi and fruit included, more often than not, it is this bowl that we go for.

 

The slices are fresh enough for me. The rice is smooth enough for my liking. There's a generous accompaniment of sesame oil of which I always request for extras, and then there's also miso soup with cute little cubes of tofu and seaweed swimming about inside.

 

Yes, a satisfied diner am I with this meal, and a happy one I am too. 

 

See, I'm not an elaborate diner. I don't really like to think about my meals when I am eating them. I just like to savor the taste, the experience, the feels, the texture, the quality, enjoy whatever it is that I'm putting in my mouth, and that's it.

 

I don't need fanciful arrangements (although I appreciate the art), I don't need overly attentive service (although it is nice to have someone see you when you need a glass of water), and I'm afraid I fall within the category of diner who expresses so little interest in the wheres, hows and whys of her food that being bombarded with a gamut of knowledge whilst I'm eating is too overwhelming for me.

 

I like my meals wholesome, no frills, and simple.

 

And something like this, affordable, enjoyable and tasteful in a casual, light, vibrant environment hits all the right notes for me. :)

a Week.. what a Week

Last week didn't start well.

 

Neither did it end well- at least, not as well as I had hoped it to.

Something I didn't like happened on Friday that culminated what was, I feel, a challenging summer,

 

There are certain times during any year that I can sincerely claim to be exhausting, draining, dazed, miserable and  tiring. These are times that pull the resources out of me and activate a survival mode, and each time I seem to think that I cannot survive.

But, given the fact that I am typing this, of course, I do.

Past few years these challenges seem to have taken place during the summer season (hence my personal intense dislike for summer, sorry to summer-lovers), but there have been years when such challenges take place in late autumn, or early winter.

Last week, by all things, would probably be marked as one of the late autumnal ones

 

Except that this time I didn't have the occasion to mope through my misery on the weekend because there were work meetings to go for, work phone calls to prepare for, papers to look at, and emails that one had to prep for.

 

There was no time to think. 
 

There was no time to space out and daze my poor brain and to reflect on the goings-on.

 

What leaves me feeling concerned is that I'm right now at a stage where I can't space out, I can't put my mind to what has happened, I can't reflect, it is just not coming together, and I suspect it is affecting me in more ways than one.

If you've ever heard of someone being zombie-fied, well, I think I'm right now one. What happens is that I wake up, I go about the day, I do the chores, I shower, I have my regular meals, snacks even, but there's just that lack of enthusiasm, that lack of eagerness. I'm doing stuff for the sake of doing. It doesn't interest me, nor does it excite me.

That's how it has been.

Thank God my appetite hasn't completely disappeared, that the food I'm eating tastes like dust in my mouth, and I'm still hunting about the pantry cupboard for that snack I wanna eat.

Thank God too that I haven't come to a stage where I huddle lifelessly under the covers and stone, or daze there with no desire to slide out of bed.

I still have the desire to self-care, I still have the desire to get onto social media and see what's happening in the world whilst throwing in a comment or two. And I still have the desire to get a can of Tiger Radler beer and guzzle it down.

So it is altogether not too bad a way of coping.

But there's just one month to Christmas, and I wish I could enter into the real mood of the season soon.   

keyboard Tragedy

Second time in a year this has happened, and trust me, I am not in a very good mood about it. For someone who uses her keyboard quite extensively, for someone who has a special obsession with how the keys underneath her fingers feel, and for someone who really loved how well fitted the keys on her Asus laptop were, having to resort once again to this black $12 keyboard with the super loud clickety sound is a blessing tinged with a bit of aggravation.

 

But there's nothing for it, not when my Asus keyboard is in an extremely sorry state with two keys warped (only two!),  two keys missing (also only two!) and none of the shops at Sim Lim Square have this particular size of keyboard in stock.

 

I was there this afternoon, scouting between the 3rd floor and the 5th. At first I thought it would be great and fine at this shop on the 3rd floor, and that I'd go back with a new keyboard and all, but lo and behold, after the dude unscrewed, removed, and unscrewed some more, at the moment when it was going to be nicely soldered back, he discovered that the actual size required was slightly smaller than the one he got.

 

Of which they didn't have the stock, and which I'd have to wait two weeks for. 

 

I didn't want to leave my poor battered keyboard there, so they put it back, connected it, soldered everything back, put back the case- and now I'm back to square one. -_-

 

By the way, don't ask me how the damage even happened.  I don't know. It just did. One day it was fine, next day it was not. Bleah.

 

And even though I don't like to whine, I think it rather unfortunate to stick the poor hapless customer with a $64 payment policy for diagnostics when they turn up at the service center. They are there needing to get a problem solved. It seems rather mean to make them pay for an 'expert opinion' not knowing whether they can get it solved there and then, or not.