Sette anni itch

Last Friday we finally put together our office warming festa and invited nearly 50 of our closest friends and family to indulge in some really kickarse Indian food from Jade of India (our client). Apart from beer, wine and other spirits, I also set up a 'Mojito Mojo' corner - it turned out better than I expected. I melted brown sugar in advance and flavoured it with mint, and pre-cut the limes. Inspired at the last minute, I bought lemongrass stalks to muddle and mix the rum, mint, syrup, lime juice, fresh lime and soda. Buoniiiissimoooo.

It was a double celebration too as we were celebrating our company's 7th anniversary. Si, time just flew by! I had to say we had some trying times (imagine 4 women having PMS at the same time, not fun) but our friendship and love for what we do kept us on our toes. And I have to say I love you guys and am grateful for your support which has allowed me to run off to my motherland on numerous occasions. As part of our expansion plans, we have been interviewing some candidates for the PR executive position. It wasn't easy picking someone who would fit into our tight set-up. And we outrightly reject those applicants who think they are BFF (best friends forever) judging by the way they write in to apply for the job. "Hihi, i hear you r lookin' for an exec and I'd like to meet up for a chat!' Tehhhh! How can they write like that?

Anyway on sabato, I chauffeured my folks in my bro's Fiat to the wake of my mamma's godma. Funnily weddings and funerals are occasions where you'd catch up with people you haven't seen for years. In this case, I haven't seen my mom's godsisters for 23 years since I was a 10 year old punk. Inevitably they'd ask 'Wah you so big already. Are you married? Got boyfriend?" My folks came to my rescue and said 'No she doesn't have yet, still looking for the best one." After that, we drove to our old haunt at East Coast food centre and said hi to some of the hawkers there. It was actually quite fun getting lost in the car with mom and dad, and then stuffing our faces with laksa and fried hokkien mee.

Birthday gals galore

This weekend was coincidentally the birthday celebrations of three gals in my life - mia sorella (31), la mia amica Qin (34) and la figlia of my colleague/friend - Emma (1). It's amazing how fast kids grow up. She was just a newborn this time last year and now she's running albeit un po' unsteadily all over the place. Today she was wearing the blue dress I got her from Bangkok and was looking so carina in it.

Before Emma's tea party, I had also treated my mamma, nonna, zia, sorella and her boyfriend to lunch at Zhou's K, a relatively new Cinese ristorante in town. After some dim sum and half a Peking duck, we took a quick tour of Telok Ayer street where nonna used to stay in her youth and where she gave birth to my mamma. It was an interesting history lesson for us and a walk down memory lane for nonna as she pointed out her home almost 6 decades ago in the shophouse where Manna Korean restaurant is currently located. She said our great grandpa (whom adopted her) was a kind man who ran a successful business allocating coolies to visitng ships at the port.

Pap me up

It has been 3 years since I've done my last pap smear so on Saturday I made my way to Thomson Med Centro to see my gynae Dr J Wong who has since moved into her spanking new clinic. For your knowledge, a pap smear aka Papanikolaou test is necessary once you had done the deed at any point in your life and is recommended every 3 years to detect any cervix cancer or abnormalities. So if you haven't done it, best to do it soon. Think of it as your sexual health, like how you'd visit the dentist every 6 months to make sure there's no decay, disease etc. I think it's a prostate inspection for guys? Bo.

Anyway her clinic was a really nice set up; as I sat butt-naked on her hi-tech adjustable chair, I was marvelling at the equipment untill it was time for me to spread my wings for her to gently insert the speculum to obtain a cell sample from the cervix. Some of you might grimace at it but it was not as bad as you'd imagine. Trust me, there's a lot more things that are more painful than this. Since I had expressed concerns at the possibility of developing fibroids and cysts, Dr J followed up with a ultra scan which was like what you see on tv.

She first squirt some gel on my tummy and proceeded to run a scope over it. We both watched the screen and didn't see niente - which was good. She said the surest way was to perform a vaginal scope which was to insert a camera-like device into the cervix that allows a close-up of the uterus and fallopian tubes. Amazing huh? I was more awestruck than freaked out staring at my tiny uterus flickerin' on the black screen. I said to her 'Wow it's very small hor' and she giggled saying 'Yes it's about the same size as a pear.' Imagine it'd expand to accomodate a baby or two (or even 6) - our anatomy is truly awesome (mitico!) She congratulated me that there are no signs of fibroids and cysts in the uterus walls or tubes so it's an all clear. Yay! As I was leaving, I thanked her and said that was almost enjoyable, which came out totally wrong. Luckily she giggled again or else I might seem a tad fetish.

*Do you know - sperm that are unsuccessful in their attempts at fertilising the egg may live in the womb as "wombfish"? I asked her if I could freeze my eggs for future use but she said no because it's not done in S'pore whereas there are sperm banks for men. Not fair right?? If you think about it, the rationale is so wrong. We women only release a precious egg every month whereas men produce gazillions of sperm in every ejaculation. Food for thought.

Spore hi-flyer

After the past year of shooting the incomplete Spore Flyer from the autostrada, I finally took a ride on it last Sunday on F's 33rd birthday. It was her treat to us and her family, and I must say the 42nd storey observation wheel surpassed my expectations - def quite comparable to the London Eye although it'd not be fair to compare the landscape. Ours is ever changing as we could see from the ugly mass of construction at the IR site to the waterfront stadium at Marina.

It's funny how so many attractions revolve around height and vistas (think Eiffel Tower, Great Wall, Umpire State Building ecc). Maybe it's the high we get from on top of the world. Fortunately F had gotten over her 'high' and hangover as a result of her festa al No.5 pub last Friday. She had overzealously downed a few very strong martinis which others were offering me too. I refused agreeing with them I'm a loser and weak arse. I've learnt my lesson not to cave in to bravado.

Anyway I could see her puke wave like hot lava rising up her throat and she had to push her way thro the crowded pub to the toilet at the back. I threw down my half-mangled chicken wing (the best in town incidentally) and fell on top of her when she also missed the steps. It was quite hilarious but we made it to the bagno where she did a prompt 'merlion'. Nice. I felt my own wave rising up and had to squat down to calm myself while this stranger soothed her with a sweet. We dragged her sodden arse to outside for some fresh air where she vomitato some more... And it was only 11pm.

The party continued senza her the next day at Giovanni's where we had a tapas and Sangria fiesta. We had bruschetta with mixed olives, anchovies, grilled sausages, asparagus with bacon, fried mushrooms, clams in vino, and my Spanish tortilla. Just peel and slice 5 potatoes, fry them in olive oil till almost done, and add 6 beaten eggs seasoned with some mixed herbs, pepe e sale. The egg will form a caked layer around the patate and resemble una torta when you cook both sides. Facilissimo.

Newbie on the block

Life was quite uneventful for the last 2 weeks so I haven't been very motivated to update my blog. The only highlight was our new working environment at Circular Road behind Boat Quay. For those not quite familiar with this part of Spore, be sure to avoid the dodgy end which thankfully we are NOT located at. We're kinda stuck in between the chao-ang-moh end and the dodgy mix of loud mamasan karaoke pubs and ah-neh clubs. And no, we haven't send a fruit basket to our ground floor neighbour Black Pearl pub; don't think the ah bengs will appreciate organic strawberries. It's a nice central site though and every morning, I strolled down the riverfront feeling quite pleased with the views.

Right across the river is the Arts House where we'll be having the cat photos exhibition in May - arggh! - a reminder that I need to get crackin' on it. Entries have been steadily streaming in and I managed to secure sponsorship for printing the photos. Cool bananas. I'm also excited that right after May, I'd be packing my bags for my motherland Italia again! Luigi is already sourcing for a nice monolocale (1-room appartamento) at Perugia and we're making plans to tour the Umbria region especially around the Trasimeno lake. Non vedo l'ora di andare - subito!