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What would you do if your bag got clawed?

Charles and Keith is a Singaporean brand that was known for their shoes.  I remember buying a pair of shoes donkey years ago while I was working in Marina Square, and being so happy with buying something with my new job.

This was way before my blogging days, but here is a very old post of another pair I got here. Man, I still love those rainbow wedges. Now that I look back, I wish I had gotten 10 pairs of them so I could just replace it when it got damaged.

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Anyway! My best friends Juli and Hema got me a bag from Charles and Keith while I was back in Singapore, which was very sweet and thoughtful of them.

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They remembered that green is my favourite colour. And there is a detachable side strap so I can sling it over my shoulder. A function which I love, and find very useful as I ride a scooter so it puts my mind at ease that it wont suddenly drop off while I’m on the road.

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Inside is roomy enough to pack in my daily essentials like my wallet, mobile phone, keys, camera and whatnots.

In short, I really love my gift. Thanks Juli! Thanks Hema! 🙂

I love my bag so much that I was super careful with it, and made sure that I didn’t handle it too roughly in fear that I could accidentally scratch it. After all, my besties, whom I don’t meet up as often now, gave it to me, so I want to treasure it.

The irony of this story is that I left the bag on the bed for a bit to pray, and Janet the evil cat entered the room and started clawing it!

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I broke my prayers when I heard the horrible sound, and when I saw the damage, I was hysterical!

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In my anger, I cooked Janet the evil cat into satay. On the flip side, I guess I have a sort of  souvenir, so in a way, I can remember more of Singapore, I guess.

In any case, does anyone have any idea how to fix my bag? I doubt a cobbler could do anything about it.

If you liked this post, you may enjoy :

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Why don’t more Italians take the bicycle to commute?

While Cart and I were passing the Lakeside MRT station, we both saw a most interesting sight – it was a double tiered bicycle stand and it made us so intrigued, we had to stop and look closer.

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I liked how rather space efficient it is. You could put twice the amount of bicycles in the same amount of space. I remember some years back, the area would be all full of bicycles, haphazardly strewn around. This looks so much tidier.

We were puzzled however, on how it functions though. Are you supposed to lift the bicycle up on the second tier yourself? That sounds challenging for me, considering that a regular bicycle can weigh about 10 – 20 kg.

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It was only later that we found out that you could pull and slide out a lever to the ground where you could just push the bicycle in. Genius! And I think it’s free to use too.

There is also an interesting way how bicycles are parked in Japan, which I really like. Here is a video explaining about the process. It’s about 4 minutes long, but I was so impressed the entire duration.

The service is not free, but the good thing is, the bicycles will be protected from natural elements such as rain, and also the risk of thieves running off with it.

I really like that there are so many people around the world that use the bicycle to commute. I think it’s a very cost effective way as well as a very healthy way of travelling. It’s not only an Asian phenomenon, but also in certain European countries such as Finland, where Juli was at, not too long ago. And she told me how almost everyone there cycled everywhere.

I don’t really see much of this in Rome though. Not to say that there isn’t, there are. But the amount is minuscule. It seems that most prefer to commute using cars or scooters. I don’t even see kids and teenagers using bicycles to get to school. Instead, the vehicle of choice (apart from public transportation) would be a 50cc scooter or a those 50cc microcars.

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It probably has got to do with the frequent strikes that we have in Rome that makes people lose faith in taking public transportation. Or perhaps the risk of bad weather in Autumn and Winter.

I myself don’t have a bicycle as I travel a significant amount of distance, which makes a scooter (or the car when it is raining) more practical.

Nevertheless, I’d love to have my own bicycle (one with a pannier would be ideal) at least for going around the neighbourhood, getting some groceries and whatnots – it doesn’t seem to make sense wasting petrol just for the sake of getting some milk and bread.

In any case, I see more and more people in my neighbourhood each day, taking bicycles while going around. It’s a good sign.

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What Tarzan and I have in common

After landing in Singapore, it took a while for me to get adjusted to the place again – not that much the weather (although the high humidity was what really got me perspiring buckets) but more the amount of changes that I see.

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(No more Jurong Entertainment Center, but JCube)

I can hardly recognize my neighbourhood anymore – the empty plot of land near my parents house now has almost complete 18 storey building and not too far away, there was an area with at least 4 high rise buildings, is now completely a flattened land – my mind was struggling hard to connect the changes – My eyes sees it, but there is a nagging feeling at the back of my head that something was off.

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One of the biggest change I noticed is how very crowded everything seems. The neighbourhood where my family is living has a significant amount of traffic now, even during non working hours. While before I migrated to Rome, I had fond memories of riding my scooter in the evenings where there was hardly any cars on the road.

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(I like this design though, you can fit twice the bikes in the same space)

And heading to the smrt and the bus terminal for example, has more people than I ever remember. Being in big crowds in a contained space tends to makes me anxious. I feel like I’m a teeny tiny ant with an entire colony in front of me.

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But when I tell my Singaporean friends about the changes, I’m flabbergasted as the typical response that they give me, “Changes? What changes? I don’t see it!”

Of course for them, the changes are very gradual compared to someone who visits the same place, say … once every two years?

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(Janet the evil cat. I wont forgive you for clawing my new bag!)

Anyway, the point of this post is that, I just feel a little apprehensive that with each change, I’d feel more and more disconnected each time I come back. Kind of like Tarzan (the book, not the Disney version) After growing up in the jungle and then returning back to human world and picking up new habits, when he returns back to the jungle, he doesn’t feel like he belongs to either one.

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It’s kind of like how I’m feeling right now. After living in Rome, you just naturally pick up some habits (Not to sound pretentious) that when you come back, things seem incredible. Like seeing women going out in public with wet hair. That’s really strange to me now and uh … rather unattractive #sorrynotsorry

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One could say that change is inevitable, especially in the name of progress and that change is an evolution for the quality of life. Nevertheless, I think it’s nice to have something from the past to remember by.

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But I’m still thankful to have my friends and family. I’m drifting away, and they are like my anchor. Without them, I don’t think that I have much to feel any connection. Maybe this is what all people living overseas long term feel like.

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Hullo!

Hi everyone!

I’m now in Singapore for a couple of days now and am still trying to adjust to the humidity. Have been perspiring buckets in just a few hours after showering! Hahaha!

The first couple of days that I’ve been here has been quite a shock to me. There are so many changes – there are buildings that I remember which are already demolished and there are empty land with fully constructed buildings, complete with inhabitants! It took a long while for me to process.

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Each time when we returned back, I’m always amazed at how much things can change in a year or two but things still feel the same in a couple of days later, it feels like “I’ve never left”. I feel the gap is increasing however because now I’m starting to feel “it looks familiar but it’s not the same”.

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(Suddenly I’m reminded of an Outer Limits episode where a man crashes his car into an area which happened to be a time wormhole and he jumps 10 years into the future each time he wakes up from sleeping)

But change is inevitable and I guess I’d just have to deal with this and basically enjoy the limited time that I have here and try to reconnect with the people that I love 🙂

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Sidenote : Does anyone know if I could rent motorcycles in Singapore? It’s been challenging trying to go to places and do loads of things without your own transport.

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Watch out! We’re on our way!

Hi everyone!

By the time that you read this post, Cart and I will be on our way to Singapore! It’s been about two and a half years since I’ve been there last and I’m so excited to meet my friends and family again. And ketupat! And ayam masak merah! 😀

We’re taking Qatar airlines by the way. I hope that everything goes well considering the news that we’ve heard on the radio. Also not looking forward to the 12 hours wait for our transit flight like how we did on Emirates. What on earth do we do from 7pm – 7am? I wont even be having my netbook with me -_-”

In any case, with that, Marina’s Bloggariffic will be on a semi hiatus till the end of August. Nevertheless, I’ll try to post an update here least once a week. But in the meanwhile,  if you like, you could follow me on twitter, instagram and facebook for updates! 🙂

And to end this post, here are some goodies that I’m bringing over to SG  :

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I still think these are not enough but I’m crossing my fingers that we could fit these in our suitcases.

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And this is homemade pesto made by ME! (Cart says that it tastes good, so you know it’s tasty) And I’ll be using this for a dish that we’ll be serving in the open house event 🙂

Hohoho! Ok, that’s all for now. SEE YOU SOON!!! 😀

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How I spent Eid 2013

Ohmygosh, what a busy day it has been! I would have liked to blog yesterday, but I just didn’t have the energy to update as usual. But I’m feeling so much better today after two days of eating properly … so here is a post for you! 🙂

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Anyway on Wednesday afternoon, I called my parents up in Singapore. It was already dusk for them and thus Syawwal. I wish them a happy Eid, while Cart and I were waiting in anticipation for it to be our turn. With the announcement from the Centro Islamico Culturale D’Italia, we found out that we were good to go too. Yay Raya time!

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This was our last breaking fast meal. Gado gado! I know it doesn’t look appetizing, but it’s so delicious. Completely vegan! Thank you Kynne for sending me the peanut sauce 🙂

(Sidenote : Paying 2 euro for bean sprouts is such a cut throat. So what if it’s organic. I might as well grow it myself!)

In the morning, I went for a quick run (just to start my engines before my 10km run next week) and then we got ready and rushed off to the Grande Moschea di Roma. With past years experience, I thought that it would be a good idea to use public transportation as it is very difficult to find parking areas during these times.

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Unfortunately for us, ATAC (the public transportation in Rome) wasn’t organized properly. The Flaminio-Civitacastellana train line which was supposed to run every 10 minutes came every 40 (!!!) minutes instead.

So we took the chartered bus provided. It was just our luck that the bus driver didn’t know the route, and took longer than he was supposed to. I knew something was off when a passenger ran down to ask directions. And when we passed the auditorium twice, the entire bus was complaining. We didn’t manage to get to do the Eid Prayers in time in the end.  That was such a disappointment.

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As a consolation, we got to do a jenazah prayers after the sermon.

(By the way, I don’t know if it’s the culture here but there were so many women bringing their children here and they were running around, and shouting. I don’t think that’s right)

Going back home was a horror, as not only was it blazing hot, we were in a huge crowd of people. I felt like someone placed a bonfire near me. It was so uncomfortable to say the least. What a terrible idea it is to take the public transportation and I don’t want to go through that again!

The combination of heat, the long wait and anxiety just zapped out my energy. We were supposed to have Cart’s parents over for dinner, but I was so tired, and just cannot make it so we had to postpone it. As soon as we reached home, we immediately headed to the bed and slept.

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(The swordfish looks so pitiful)

The next day, feeling slightly better, we did some marketing. I know the traditional thing to do is to get ingredients for food like Ayam Masak Merah, and Rendang and whatnots. But it’s too much fuss to search for the ingredients for them in Rome. Moreover, Cart’s parents prefer to eat Italian food (just like my parents prefer to eat Malay food even when overseas)

We made trofie con pesto e fagiolini e patate, Orata al forno and caponata. It was such an action packed evening – tidying up the house and prepping the food. We even had a blackout at one point. Hahaha!

Nevertheless, when we were done, it was a lovely evening chatting and eating. Simple, but I like this new tradition 🙂

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Selamat Hari Raya!

Eid is just around the corner! Yay!

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To be honest, this year’s fasting period has been extremely tough. It’s the longest that I’ve experienced so far, coupled with the heatwave that we are having, made me feel very weak. Which in turn made me feel very frustrated when trying to do regular activities, which in turn made me super emotional and weepy and on a short fuse.

All my years of fasting, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before. I’m impressed that Cartcart was able to contain himself much better than I did.

In any case, I’d like to take the chance to wish my bloggariffic family a Happy Eid and I look forward to spending time with friends and family in Singapore next week! It’s been too long!

And oh! I’ll be having an open house on the 18th August. If you are in Singapore on that day, I do hope that you could make it! 🙂

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Summer is the time when burglary is on the rise

Our mutual friends got robbed earlier this week while they were away on vacation. I was stunned when I heard about it. More so when I heard how professional they were – they didn’t touch the kindle, the xbox, the PC, the tablet … and instead managed to carry off with the safe, which was filled with keepsakes.

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I can’t imagine the distress that they were feeling. I felt really bad for them. And they weren’t themselves when we met them last Tuesday.

Coincidentally yesterday, police arrested a band of burglars comprising of 51(!) people. It was reported that they were trained to break in houses and they have been going all around Rome, breaking in houses, possibly for years.

You know, they could even be the same people who tried to burgle our house some years back. But that’s the issue during the summer and especially July-August where it gets insufferably hot making most Romans go on vacation. It’s mostly dead in the residential areas if you were to come here during these times making it ripe for the pickings for thieves and burglars.

Luckily, I was home while they were attempting to break in. But they were really good. They weren’t noisy, and didn’t made any unusual sounds, to the point that it sounded as if it was the cleaning lady doing her weekly mops. So imagine my surprise when I heard the door open and I saw two strangers at the door.

We’ve changed our locks to the deadbolt type since. But I’m a little bit nervous nevertheless, as Cart and I will be gone most of August. So we need to think about where to put our valuables. For sure I’ll be putting my savings in the bank. They can steal my computers – they are all broken anyway :p