I'm now back in PNG with all the usual PNG problems with broken-down air-con and potable water systems and the like. More seriously though, the recent landslides in Enga province did affect some of my colleagues but didn't impact the location where I work. That being said, we do encounter small landslips that block roads and halt transportation of camp supplies every now and again as we're in an earthquake-prone area. Now that I've marked myself "safe", let me share the Facebook posts from the next part of my "CNY at home" series (the rest can be found here: 1235).
Yes,
this is a shop being crystal clear but I've never seen something so
rudely put before. In fact, I think some items are a little suss. No
receipt/invoice issued - is that even legal in Singapore? And anyone can
tell me why is a picture of the phone needed for PayNow?
Was
so looking forward to my first char kway teow but this was so
disappointing (I asked with chilli and it came without and had to be
added on the side). With nothing much in it, it costs $6.9! Luckily the
D24 durian ice kachang made it up (a little).
Back
from a sweaty run around the Serangoon Gardens neighbourhood. Boy,
there are some mighty big mansions and rich people around!
#AllAboutTheFlex
Dinner
with the friend I went to Bangkok with last trip and staying over at
her place tonight, so we can go jogging together early tomorrow. This is
what I call a healthy social life. 😊
Here
are the food pics taken that haven't been posted yet. Post-jog now and
ravenous, it's time for another round of food (breakkie)! #LifeIsGood
Someone
told me I look the same in all my pics. My response - am I supposed to
wear makeup and wigs to look different in every shot? PS: Thanks for a great catchup, friend, and putting me up for one night. Great jog too as always. See you again next time!
Does anyone know what this building is and why are cars stacked like that?
It's my last full day in Singapore today and gotta seize the day, starting with the weirdest sign I've seen so far in a lift.
The elegant lady that I call Mummy, at my sister's pretty apartment. #FamilyCatchup
Funny how I only take gym selfies when I'm overseas. Can someone tell me why? 💪💪💪 #FlexLikeABoss
Had
a very interesting experience last night visiting a yet-to-be-developed
housing estate (they still exist in Singapore). It looked really spooky
and cool but I'm sure when I visit again in a year's time, it'll
unfortunately be filled with hordes of people in vapid malls.
#PlantationCrescent PS: This estate is not yet registered on Google Maps and Google Earth.
Here
are the remaining pics of the yummies I've had this trip. Still
outstanding are Hokkien prawn mee and 五香虾饼 but there's always next time.
#FatDieMe
It's
been a great trip, especially not having spent Chinese New Year with my
family since 2020 when COVID broke out. Till next time Mummy. Now, more
importantly, do I #Flex better or her? 💪🤣
If you know my blog well, you'' know my next post will be a musical one. Stay tuned!
I am currently preparing for Rotation #18 by reviewing emails and handover notes (yawn!), but I still have time to post the next installment of my "CNY at home" series. Here are the other parts of the series (1245).
It's
the year of the Dragon and Mummy had to express her artistic culinary
flair for this year's #lohei accordingly. She's good. #CNYDay2
It's
the year of the Dragon and Mummy had to express her artistic culinary
flair for this year's #lohei accordingly. She's good. #CNYDay2
It's 捞起 (lohei) time! #龙年快乐 #YearOfTheDragon
Eating
and chatting non-stop from 1.30pm to 8.30pm... that's reunion for you.
The old family photo albums were fun to look at. #FamilyWefie #CNY
Time to guess where we're heading off to again this drizzly morning. Hope we don't get crushed by crowds. #CNYDay3 #WithMummy
Did you guess right? We are at Chinatown! It's not as packed as we thought. Coffee time now. #LoveThisShot
The person who devised this contraption should be employed to make futuristic military weapons!
Even
a no confidence vote for the Prime Minister can lead to security issues
in this volatile era in Papua New Guinean politics. Hope all this will
be put to bed by the time I return to work.
I thought the CNY gorging would put a dent in my diet-watching armour but phew! #CrisisAverted #PostGymSelfie
Simple home-cooked fare is the best show of a mother's love. Well, not so simple actually but you get the point. Yummy!
Looks like the Little Red Dot is as competitive as ever, with school exam results used as an ad at the tuition centre itself.
It's so good to catch up again old friend! #Flex
Dinner alone on Valentine's Day. Why not?
More home-cooked goodness that money cannot buy! All thanks to my super Mummy! #FatDieMe
Watch out for my next post which will be made from the Southern Highlands of PNG.
Good news everyone! I have recovered with no long COVID symptoms and currently knee-deep in a new game "Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth" while reviewing contractual terms for the employment of Mummy's new domestic helper. I might even be dialing into the video interview of the candidates! In the meantime, without losing another minute of game time, here's the second part of my "CNY at home" series (other parts are here: 1345).
Enjoying my kueh bangkit soft serve at Maccas. 🍦#CoconutLover
Did you guess right? We're at Jewel!
Another day has started and boy do Mum and I start it right. #PrawnMee #BarChorMee
A
wave of mixed emotions surge inside of me when I saw this. It's a
reality we all need to grapple with, so why not face it head on
practically and positively? This is also one of the reasons why I love
my home country.
Damn! I was SO hoping that this acquisition will go ahead!
Do shorts go any shorter than that? PS: That mirror needs a serious cleaning!
Very rich dinner of last night. Thanks for the company and hospitality Phoebee, YingYing and Ivan! #Yums
Karaoke-ing with a friend of 28 years! Great to see you again Will!
No one beats Mummy's ngoh hiang (aka lo bak) and I got a preview/taste before it hits the reunion dinner table. Yummos! #CNY
Somehow I can hear Mummy say "just... one... more... potted... plant..." in her sleep. #PlantMama
Let the festivities begin! Here's wishing all of you a happy reunion dinner tonight! #CNYEve
What
more can I say but "you've done it again Mummy". And just as well, this
dinner has inspired a new song which I've completed today called
"等我回家". Can't wait to record it! #ReunionDinner
Sinking my teeth into my first pineapple tart of the year during Chinese New Year? Priceless. #HuatAh
Chinese New Year 34 years ago. #SameHouse #WithMummy #OldLiao
Found atop a watching platform on Pulau Ubin. Looks like this elevated structure has found its match, and then some. 🤣
I was home for a little less than three weeks over Chinese New Year and that trip's air tickets were bought while waiting to board the plane back to Melbourne from Singapore at the end of the previous visit. That's how excited I was about going home, after being apart for a few years due to COVID. In the next series of posts, I'll be sharing the happenings from this trip again through my Facebook posts during that period. Expect the usual 3 F's—family, friends and food! The other parts of this series can be found here (2345).
I'm finally here, and a coffee shop banquet dinner with the family to start my trip right!
So many delicious things but can't eat them all. If only 🥟🥟 were here to share yummies with me...
Other than "flat white" being on the menu, I really don't know what makes this place "Australian".
Reminds me of the Merlin trials of "Hogwart's Legacy". #Gaymer
Back at a FWB's place where he has 100+ pieces of artwork at home plus loads more in storage! #ImpressedAsUsual
Guess where I'm heading to this scorching day? #VirginTrip
Like going back in time. #AchievementUnlocked
I'll never take this for granted. #BreakfastOfChampions #RotiPrata
You know you're back home when you see different languages being used creatively. #NoDuriansOnTrains
It's like a continuation of our Bangkok trip 6 months ago. Thanks for the catch-up!
Somehow
娱乐场 sounds more wholesome than 赌场... But they still have to make it
clear when you get further inside in case you're too blinded by greed,
here at the world's top spot for money laundering.
Home-cooked dinner of last night which I forgot to post as I was too hungry and busy eating! #MumIsTheBestCook
Very oily but oh so satisfying! #Laksa #CarrotCake
As an avid gaymer, I not only play but also do covers of the theme songs that I like. My last cover was from "Horizon: Forbidden West" and you can listen to it here. Since then, I've complete quite a few games including "Hogwart's Legacy", "God of War: Ragnarok" and "Final Fantasy XVI".
I'm currently back at home recovering from COVID (all thanks to Ision) and this is the second time I've gotten it (I also got it from him the last time). Fortunately, I'm feeling well enough today to resume playing "Dragon's Dogma II" with the intent to finish it by the end of my break, before moving on to "Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth". As you can clearly see, I'm heavily into the RPG genre.
This month's musical journey is my cover of "Blood Upon the Snow", which is the perfectly-written theme song to "God of War: Ragnarok" by the ultra-talented Bear McCreary and Hozier (original version is here). Writing game soundtracks is talent on another level and I wish one day I'll be good enough to do just a little bit of that, but in the meantime, do enjoy my cover. I hope I've done this song justice!
Today is my 4th day back in PNG for Rotation #17 after a relaxing break mainly playing PlayStation 5 game "Dragon's Dogma II" (Ision is now playing too in my absence). During my break, I also applied for another FIFO job based in Egypt where my ex-boss is working now. This is a funny story because he left the company and took over my current's boss's previous job (they were back-to-backs before).
When my ex-boss departed, I did ask him to pull me into whatever company he ended up at, as I really enjoyed working with him. That was at a time when my old company just got taken over and I was extremely unhappy with how the re-organisation was managed. But fast forward one and a half years, though there's still unresolved frustration, things have eased as people inevitably resign to fate when there's nothing they can do to change things around. Hence, I'm not desperate to leave now but he did ask me to apply for the job, and since I did ask him to pull me in, it's only right that I put in an application.
This would be a step-up and a much more difficult position as well, so I asked for a pay rise and quoted a seemilngy impossible number to test the waters as I really don't know what the current "market rate" is for that region. Let's see if I hear back from them. This is not a new position but rather they are back-filling someone who has transferred, so the recruitment process won't be a protracted one.
In the meantime, let me settle into this new hitch and leave you with the next installment of my busking-in-busy-Chinatown series, where I covered the song that drew me to my all-time idol Faye Wong (in the original key no less), and it's titled "我愿意" or "I Do" (the magical-sounding and crystal clear-voiced original is here). Also, do check out the other entries in this series (here: 12345) and I'll see you all here next month!
It's been a REALLY hectic 4 weeks but now I'm almost through it as I have my bag packed and ready to leave PNG for Brisbane where I'll have a full-day meeting before enjoying my well-deserved rest back home. I have several things to look forward to this break and of course that includes new PS5 games "Dragon Dogma 2" (trailer here) and "Final Fantasy VII Remake: Rebirth" (trailer here). Aren't they beautiful? I'll finish the former first hopefully by the end of my 4 weeks off before I buy the latter.
When I'm at work, I don't have much time to myself and so I lose out on my number one hobby. No, it's not gaming but song-writing. I realised recently that I'm probably addicted to writing songs (not sure how many people are like me). That being said, it's a very pleasant addiction and I totally am willing to indulge and go deeper. As for my other addictions (no, it's not coffee).... let's just leave it there.
So, without further ado, let me present this month's musical offering. It's a new composition telling a fictional story of how a guy is trapped in a maze of despair after a gut-wrenching breakup and the poor soul cannot find his way out. Enjoy!
