Italia qui io vengo!

Allora 2 more days. I had done all my handover at work and bought more presents including the wedding gift for Luigi's cousin, my self-designed postcards for tutti, an old-skool lantern for Paolo and mooncakes for Elena e Alberto for a tea party at their garden in Milano.

Yesterday as I was looking thro' my drawers, I found a pretty journal - a present from Elg 2 years ago before I left for my Europa-Italia 2005 trip. Inside, he had scribbled a message "C, I hope you find what you're looking for. From me, I hope you find the peace you so dearly need. Love, E. Happy birthday!" I was grinning so much I had to sms him to thank him and I told his wife M what a sweet man he is lah.

Funnily it made me reflect the different reasons for these two long trips and how different I am from 2 years ago. 2005 was all about rediscovering strength and freedom. Without that miraculous self journey, I wouldn't be who I am now. This time, 2007 is going to be a self-indulgent treat and also to thank those who starred in my Italian escapade - I never imagined I'd meet them again! Of course, I wouldn't forget to count my blessings (everyday!) and am so thrilled to be able to share this unique experience with my best mate Ferne. We're soooo prepared to stuff our faces silly with proscuitto e melone, pici pasta, panforte, tortellini, Lambrusco, ecc!

Dario finalmente!

I woke up this morning groggy; my mind was conversing with me in italian - all I remembered were 'abbia', 'abbiamo parlato', ecc. Couldn't recall which stronzo was bugging me, probabilmente Luigi. F and I tried to dial Dario's tel again but got the weird non-tone. Desperate, F suggested we fax him but I told her let's give him the cut-off until domani. If he didn't revert by then, we'd move onto plan B - which is non existent yet, hahaha.

My faith paid off because just when I came back from buying teh halia from my favourite ma-ma man, an email popped up from il mio preferito contadino Daaarriiooo!!! "Ciao Carlyn, you stay in the house, principalmente cucinerremo cereali e legumi per le salse. Siamo vicini alle vendemmie. la fattoria è a Palazzuolo di Monte san savino (Arezzo) in Toscana. Da Arezzo ci sono treni per Monte San Savino e alle 13 p.m a Monte San Savino c'è il bas per Palazzuolo. Fammi sapere quando arrivi e vediamo dove andare a prendervi. Puoi anche chiamarmi sul cellulare. Saluti Dario"

Which means... 'we will be making sauces. we are near grape harvest. The farm is at Palazzuolo... From Arezzo there are trains to Monte S S and at 1pm, there's a bus to P. Let me know when you arrive and we'll see where to go and pick you. You can also call me on my cell.' YAYAYAYAYAYAY! *Cartwheels* *Backflips* Now we're all sorted!

Dear Dario

Allora, 6 more days to go and still no contadino Dario! However today Bridget, the wwoof coordinator, emailed a list of farms who needed help in Settembre and Dario was on the list! Che scemo! I replied her saying I needed her help to get in touch with him and she then said she left a message on his machine *cross fingers*. The thing was I tried calling him twice but didn't get a familiar dial tone. Maybe he was mowed over by the cows or fell into his organic tofu-miso bucket?? Or choked on una fetta di panforte??

I had yet to pack but my mind was already feverishly working up a mental checklist of what to bring. Do I have room for my 3 pair of shoes, dictionario, guidebooks and Pecora? Shall I trim my hair? What clothes to pack?? Decisions, decisions! Shall I bring my favourite black short skirt and risk being pinched in the arse? *evil grin* Ooh lets!

Dove sei contadino Dario?

Allora 10 more days to go. And I'm telling myself not to panic because the truth was I hadn't found an organic farm to volunteer at! Arghhh. I contacted almost 8 farms and all of them replied to say they're tutto pieno (all full) in Settembre, save for a glimmer of hope from Dario who replied 2 weeks ago with 'Hi! You stile interested to came? Saluti, Dario' And my reply was 'Si si certamente!' asking him for info on how to go to his fattoria between Siena and Arezzo in Toscana.

Alas, he hadn't replied and time is ticking away. Should I just call him and say 'Ciao Dario! Madonna, perche non mi rispondi? Mi hai fatto paura!' (Why you don't reply? You made me scared!) To be kiasu, I also emailed this new farm near Firenze which needed help with their grape harvest. Hopefully someone will reply me soon or else we'll think of plan B!

Countdown to Italia

The countdown has began and it'd be another 12 days to next Sunday when I'd board the flight to Italia with Ferne. Elena would be picking us up alla stazione centrale di Milano (I'm looking forward to the 4-hr train ride from Roma! I soooo loooove trains) and she already planned the itinerary during the 3 days of our stay with her famiglia, including her husband Alberto and carissimo figlio, Paolo. One of the places we'd be visiting is Camogli, a charming fishing village near the famous town of Portofino, where good fish and vino await. I looked it up and it resembled the quaint villages of Cinque Terre, where I visited in Liguria.

Gosh, I still have to buy a few things for the trip - gifts, travel insurance, sunblock, toiletries - practise my italiano (help!) and most importantly settle any outstanding work. More projects had poured in at the last minute and I hope the girls'd be able to cope without me for a month while I galivant in Italia! Good thing we got an intern to join us in Settembre for 6 months. I'm also praying that I'd recover soon from my persistent cough which has been bugging me for a month now. The kind doctor said it might be an allergic cough and had prescribed a stronger medicine which gave me such a high. Arhhh, shiokiest...

Eco Not Ego

On Sunday while nursing my usual caffe latte, I came across an article in the papers which moved me to write in to their forum. It showcased these green citizens who were committed to small gestures in their lifestyles, and by doing so were making big statements about their cause and beliefs. As such, I decided to pen a letter to congratulate them and encourage more people to follow their shining examples.

Attention to the Forum Editor
After reading the article "Eco Or Ego" on Sunday 12 August 2007, I had to write in to express my admiration for the people featured. Going green is an uphill task and not an easy decision in our world of convenience. But having said that, it takes so little to make an effort to recycle, reduce and reuse in our daily lives. For example, for 2 years now my colleagues and I have been bringing our own lunch boxes in our own bags for takeaways from the hawker centres (we work in the CBD area). Initially some hawkers expressed amusement and some even berated us for causing inconvenience to their operations (just because it takes a few seconds more to pack the food into our boxes; anyway we've stopped patronizing these stalls).

We find that we need to tell the hawkers we are 'saving the environment' and some of them have soon gotten used to our colourful lunch boxes despite the occasional odd stares. No doubt it is a simple practice but it also takes a lot of commitment, faith in the cause and courage to carry out your beliefs. Imagine if more people adopt this habit and even start using our beautiful traditional tiffins, it will help to reduce the thousands of styrofoam boxes, plastic containers, plastic utensils and plastic bags used for takeaways everyday.

Corporations can also implement easy environment-friendly policies such as stipulating a minimum airconditioned temperature at a comfortable 25 to 26 degree Celsius, which should be sufficiently cool and not Antactic-cold. How many times have we walked into freezing shopping malls, cinemas and hotel lobbies, and consequently suffer unnecessary colds and flu? Whenever I gave my feedback, the standard absurd management response is that the aircondition system is centralized and that there is nothing they can do (come on, who are you kidding?). Just the other day while shopping at a major department store, I also had to tell the cashier not to pack my friend's household purchases in a paper bag which was then packed in a bigger plastic bag. To me, it just seems like an awful waste of resources.

In the new green world, convenience is becoming a dirty word. Everything is so blindly and conveniently handed to us that people forgot where our water, electricity, food and goods come from and the amount of precious energy and resources it take to make and dispose them. Singapore is far from being a green society among the other First World nations. The first step it needs to do is to create more transparency to educate its citizens, young and old, on energy and resources management.

Planting trees once a year or bringing your own bag every Wednesday are a good start but just not good enough in the long run. As it is, the current realities of global warming are alarming and frightening, and the global environmental decline far outpaces the protection and conservation measures. Everyone should see themselves as global citizens and start making conscious wiser choices which in turn should be supported by companies and governments worldwide. Just remember every action has a consequence and it will have a trickle-down effect on the next generations.

Siamo Singapore

It was Singapore's 42nd birthday yesterday and the whole nation had their eyes on the inaugural National Day celebrations at the new Marina floating stadium - the largest one in the world (hurray, another 'world-class' feather in our cap!) My parents and I watched the whole hoohah on telly over a sumptuous dinner while homegrown Kit Chan serenaded us with the sentimental ballad 'There's No Place I'd Rather Be'. She sang of roaming the world from Cairo to Mumbai, LA to UK, only to realise she would rather be home with her family and friends - and probably missing the shiok chicken rice, safe airconditioned malls and berry quick check-ins at our no. 1 Changi Airport.

My friend C was so inspired (and free) that he wrote an alternative version of the song!

'There's No Place I'd Rather Be' (Uncensored version)
I’ve run the streets of Cairo and Bombay,
Pursued by snatch thieves all the way
I’ve been mugged in NYC
And snubbed in gay Paree
Experienced Delhi Belly
Which was not okay.

I’ve eaten cardboard pao in old Beijing
Been boiled alive in Japanese hot springs
I’ve seen the Canyon Grand
Where I got stuck in quicksand
So it’s not without relief that I can sing:

There’s no place I’d rather be
To sanitise my sanity
And even though I’ve braved the world
I’d rather brave the GST

From reclaimed shore to shining sea
On floors and floors of HDB
We all co-exist so happily
And multiculturally

Yes, there’s no place I’d rather be
To chiak hong and lim kopi
And even if I move abroad
I’ll still return sporadically

Where the Merlion stands proudly
Drenching tourists with its pui
And courtesy is free for you and me
Paradise, republically.

‘Cause there’s no place I’d rather be!
(Copyright 2007)

Casa dolce casa

Just today dad hauled in some freshly caught fishes and asked me to shoot each one while giving me the run-down of which tastes good. He's a proud opinionated stubborn man but can be very affectionate and comedic with kids and our cats. As usual Mom was cooking all Sunday and found time to watch the Thai horror flick 'Shutter' which scared the shit outta me. I borrowed it for her since she's a horror fan. True enough, she said it was not that scary?! Non e' possibile!

I was telling my friend F that I couldn't wait to have my own apartment (only 3 more years to go before I can buy a HDB flat!). I had wanted to move out last year but when I hinted to my mamma, she swore she'd disown me and promptly list 101 reasons why home is better than 'outside'. She's right of course; I don't have to pay rent - just a monthly allowance for the free homecooked meals, occasional laundry, petsitting and housecleaning services. And I can laugh at Italian men who still lived with their mamma. Shame on me.

But the flip side is I have to tolerate the mismatched furniture, overflowing fridge, messy-as-hell storeroom (accumulated stuff of 5 members & 3 cats) and dad's stinky salted fishes and fishing cages in the living room (displayed as installation art perhaps). Yes I'd miss it all but I'm looking forward to my own casa where I can decorate it my way, entertain friends whenever I want and walk around in my lingerie or naked for all I care.

You'd know it when you've reached a stagnant plateau and it's time for new changes, no matter how hard it is to get away from the free TLC. However for now, I'm loving the attention from mamma and papa. When I got sick recently, mamma would make me liang chui (chinese herbal brews) and eyeballed me as I downed glass after glass. At dinner, dad would give me the best fish and asked if I want to eat the fresh crabs or octopus. So if I move, I'd miss my parents dearly. Will I ever grow up and out of this?

Shoe me lor

Shoes. Scarpe. I never care much for shoes. Now I have almost 30 pairs and dress myself based on what's on my soles. So you can imagine my dismay when my favourite green travelling pair gave way over the weekend (the sole cracked and broke) and I have to throw them away. Bwwwaaahhaaa! I should have bought 3 pairs of it in different colours. Yes, shoes are like a good bra; you should really stock up on a great find.

The good news is I have another excuse to buy a pair to replace it, but I didn't have much luck shopping yesterday so I convinced F to sell me her red pair (haha, that's what best friends are for). My dear friends also bought me vouchers to treat myself to a new pair of running shoes when they found out that I have the same pair since college (that's 14 years ago!) But I still love them - a pair of black Filas - despite the cracks showing. I'm a hoarder, so shoe me. When I see a good thing, I cling on with my Cancerian pincher till it's sadly time to let go.

That's why I'm probably one of the few people who still has her childhood collections of stickers (since 7), colouring books (since 6), seashells (since 8), old smelly bolster (since 15) and clothes (since 20 - yes luckily I can still wear them!). Call me old fashioned but I am a sentimental fool.

See It Today!

Yaaaayyy! Today newspaper did a big story on the cat photo exhibition today - almost one whole page which was quite unexpected! And the thing was I didn't even send any news to them but they got wind of it from a friend of mine who let the cat out of the bag, hahaha. But in any case I was glad and grateful they picked up the story because we could create more awareness and spread the love for our feline meow meow friends :)

As it is, I'm planning a bigger and better exhibition next year in May (because I will be away in Italia from July). And hopefully this time there will be a grander venue (National Museo forse??) with at least 50 photo entries, doorgifts for the preview and sponsors to raise funds for the Cat Welfare Society. Yoohoo!