I've got jeans!

Which is an achievement worth blogging because while I have at least three pairs of jeans that are still in serviceable condition, my recent (inadvertent) weight loss means that what was once snug now is hanging-off-my-butt. And the current crazy work schedule didn't exactly put me in the right frame of mind to go shopping after work, even though I am in town pretty much everyday.

So today: a deliberate trip to Far East Plaza, where the clothing shop in the basement immediately to the right of the descending escalator opposite Gelare is now officially my favourite place to get jeans in Singapore, because the retail assistant (whom I suspect is also a co-owner or the owner's wife) not only immediately offers genuine assistance when you walk in, but is extremely astute at picking out jean styles and sizes to suit your person as well.

It was pretty much a verbatim repeat of my last visit there:

Woman in the shop: Can I help you? Looking for jeans?
ME: Yes.
Woman (immediately pulls something off the rack): This is our latest. The cutting is very nice. Want to try?
ME (looks it over briefly): Can I get my size?
Woman (sizing me up, literally): I think this one can fit you. Go and try.

So I do, and the jeans fit perfectly, and five minutes later I walk out of the shop, a happy customer.

The only difference being that I bought two pairs of jeans today, because the woman was so prompt and helpful.

The rest of Far East Plaza was a bust. Where has Womb gone?

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Technorati Tags: Singapore, shopping,

Two degrees of separation (or not even)

In which I whine about how Singapore is Too. Damn. Small.
Among my current clients, I count:

• The best friend's ex-boyfriend from way way back.
• Someone who went to school with Wahj way way back.
• The old government department I used to work for, including people who used to be my bosslets and colleagues a few years ago.
  

Only the last instance was a case of me knowingly taking up a job with people I already knew. The first two were pure and somewhat serendipitous surprises.

Familiarity is fine and dandy (which is partly why I took the job with my former department), but I would also like to meet some new people, please!

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Technorati Tags: Singapore

I'm a weak-minded fool and you're all sly, crafty old rats, redux

Previous post here.

No time to blog.

So I Twitter. Do you?

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Technorati Tags: Twitter

I took the weekend off

I wanted to blog about the weekend, but then the week of work overwhelmed me, and here we are on Thursday, and I'm feeling like I desperately need a weekend off again.

Yes, a weekend off --- that is what I gave myself for the first time in months (years?) last weekend and it was very surreal.

For one thing, a weekend off meant no touching the laptop between Friday night and Monday morning. No email. No Googling. No catching up on friends' blogs or writing a post for mine. No immediately checking out a cool website when Wahj told me about it over lunch. No using the cell phone to surf the web, either.

It was very weird.

Did I get a little antsy about how much email might be stacking up over the 60 hours that I didn't check my inbox? Yes, but it didn't take me that horribly long to clear it all on Monday morning, plus I was in a much better frame of mind to do it.

It's not clear yet if I'll be able to take this entire weekend off in the same way, but I heartily recommend it for everyone. The Internet? Who needs it!

All I need is my cell phone.

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Monday morning to-do

I need two character referees who have known me for two or more years, who must be Singapore citizens and not related to me.

And, obviously, who don't mind being thusly named in a government form.

It's not as easy as it looks.

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Oops

I forgot to blog.

More accurately, I have been trying to spend a little less time on my laptop, so when I'm not having to do work, I try not to be at the computer, which kinda makes it hard to blog.

As for how I am doing generally, leave it to the inimitable Suzie to put her very finger on it, even over MSN:

ME: i think i am more "two steps fwd, one step back"?
Suzie: it's more of, two steps forward, maybe one step back, oh maybe not, wait, wait, er, how about another one back, oh whoops, back and forth, aiya, just sit down lah.

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Prophetic much?

Who said this in 1970?

Life is not just eating, drinking, television and cinema. ... The human mind must be creative, must be self-generating: it cannot depend on just gadgets to amuse itself."

Well, obviously, I'm screwed.

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How to get quoted by Reuters

1. Write a quirky! blog! post! about the haze.

2. Make your email address available on your blog(s).

3. Answer email promptly when interested journalist wants to chat about living under haze conditions.

4. In fact, spend half an hour (or so) on the phone with very nice and interested journalist, chatting airily (pun fully intended) about living under haze conditions last year.

The result: I get to inspire the opening anecdote in the news story, "Asia struggles to stop relentless 'pollution calendar'" (thanks, Dad!), even though in terms of being quoted, there's only a brief and none-too-sparkly quote.

Ah well, you can't have everything.

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Technorati Tags: Singapore, haze, Singapore news