Seasons' Greetings from Joanna (2007)

Dearest Family & Friends,

I trust you have had a wonderful year! As I think back on 2007, two words perfectly reflect my state of mind - GRATEFUL and BLESSED. It is a simple statement of God’s goodness, for which I have done so little to deserve.

Many of you who know me well will understand that change is a constant in my life. This year has been no different. In September, I accepted a new job at AMD with responsibility for the Asian region and am now based in Singapore.

Here are just some of the many blessings that I’m grateful for in 2007:-

• Starting the year with a BANG when the roof of my hotel room came crashing down on the spot I was standing just 3 minutes before!
• Blogging my way to fame on 2 of my favourite topics: BBGS (back2bbgs.blogspot.com) and travelling (aunty-jo-jo.blogspot.com)
• Re-claiming my musical skills by signing up for Play By Ear piano lessons. My repertoire has been steadily increasing and I was practicing so feverishly that my neighbour thought I was a piano teacher :-)
• Spending a weekend in Belgium with Martin, Claudia & their 3 kids. It was the first time the little ones had ever met a real-life Asian so I felt like a natural history exhibit! I enjoyed their company and my first visit to Brussels’ La Grande Place, Mannekin Pis, European HQ and Galeries St Hubert – the world’s first shopping mall built in 1847
• Experiencing the spring floral paradise that is Keukenhof Gardens (Holland). The thrill of walking into a park filled with thousands of tulips, lilies and flowers of all kinds was a dream come true
• Discovering inspirational Dutch painters from the Golden Era like Vermeer (whose painting “Girl with the Pearl Earring” is now one of my all-time favourites), Gerard ter Boch and Jan Steen
• Celebrating my 37th birthday in New York City with my sister Julie and dearest friends, Isabel & Andrew. Their boys are gorgeous and the accommodation …sigh…how does one describe a house with views of Manhattan & the Statue of Liberty?
• Soaking in the quintessential NYC delights like “Spelling Bee”- this season’s Broadway hit, the Warhols and Mondrians on display at the Museum of Modern Art, strolling through Central Park, Gray’s Papaya hotdogs and massive pastrami sandwiches from Carnegie Deli
• Puzzling over the “weird”ness of Austin, the capital of Texas – which isn’t really like Texas at all! I just couldn’t get enough of the Tex-Mex food especially the breakfast burritos
• Visiting China for the first time, after my ancestors left four generations ago. I’m amazed at how fast the country is developing, how hungry the people are for knowledge and business skills and how proud they are of their historical heritage. The ancient classical gardens of Suzhou are pristinely beautiful, while Shanghai is BUSY, with a capital ‘B’

Here’s wishing all of you a Happy New Year and

a Fantastic 2008!

Johor Baru Rocks!

This weekend, I joined the legions of Singaporeans who make a pilgrimage to Johor Baru (JB) in search of cheap food, massages, manicures, food, DVDs, hair styling and...err..did I mention food? I seem to have eaten so much in the last 24 hours!

Firstly, let me say a big THANK YOU to Kon, Julius and Lucinda for being such wonderful hosts. Kon very graciously invited some of us "girls" to spend the weekend in JB with her family. Corrine, Stef & I needed no convincing the moment we heard the words "massage", "manicure" and "shopping".

(L to R) Kon, Stef, Aunty Jo-Jo, Lucinda & Corrine enjoying a Malaysian breakfast

The day started with a delicious breakfast of roti canai, nasi lemak, lontong, mee hoon goreng, and lots of teh tarik. The eating place was just a 5-minute drive from Chateau Kon, a gorgeous palatial home that is filled with bric-a-brac from the family's travels. We were especially impressed by the beautiful photos of Venice taken by Julius.

Four girls who obviously love their pedicures too much!

The girls happily traipsed off to the nail salon for their pedicures. We were all very grateful for the professional services of Lucinda, our pint-sized nail consultant, who helped us to choose exactly the right colour of nail polish to match our personalities.

The pampering continued with a massage session that was ....aaaaahhhhhhh...exactly what we needed to de-stress. Although we had been taught never to let anyone walk all over us, it felt good - very good. Thanks for the treat Kon, you're an angel!

Lunch at Ah Koong's Fishball Noodles

More food followed at Johor Baru's best fishball noodles joint. It was the springiest, tastiest fishballs I've had in a long time. And the lime juice was a perfect complement to the meal. Thanks for the recommendation, Julius!

Lucinda with the find of the day - ice cream toast

After still more pampering at a hair salon and some intense shopping (someone even tried on 15 pairs of jeans!), we headed wearily to Old Town Kopitiam for a Ipoh white coffee treat. Of course when we got there, we ended up having more than coffee. Lucinda ordered the house specialty of ice cream toast which looked so good that all the adults felt compelled (wink...wink) to help her finish it. Thanks for being so generous, Lucinda. You're a star!

Joanna, Corrine & Julius at Danga Bay

The perfect ending to the day came when we strolled along the boardwalk of Danga Bay admiring the beautiful sunset, a loving bride & groom and and a enormous chicken...enough said :-)

Of course we couldn't leave JB without one more dose of food, so off we went to one of the best Chinese restaurants in JB. The menu consisted of specialty tofu, deep-fried red snapper, stewed yam & pork, sambal potato leaves, broccoli, garlic prawns and salted vegetable soup.

I wonder why I'm feeling so full...

Settling in Singapore

Aunty Jo Jo with her gorgeous friend Li Ki admiring Christmas lights @ Orchard Road, Singapore

Last September, I re-located back to Singapore after almost 10 years. The transition has been very easy because so many of my friends have also made the move. However, I did ensure that my new job requires 50% travel to avoid the "cabin fever syndrome", which is quick to take hold in an island nation.

Some things I really enjoy about Singapore...

• Friends from Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland and UK who have all re-located to Singapore
• Singaporeans seem to have become friendlier, funnier and much more tolerable - or maybe I've mellowed and become more tolerant :-)
• The business climate is exciting and challenging
• International cuisine, arts & theatre is more interesting than KL
• Living only 15 minutes away from the airport
• Err...dare I say it...earning Sing dollars is so liberating

Other things I'm not so fond of...

• Not having a car! (I hope to remedy that soon)
• Trying to catch a cab on rainy days
• Ludicrous rental for condos and apartments
• Crowds along Orchard Road and Vivo City

Weird Austin

Aunty Jo-Jo @ the Texas State Capitol

I've just returned from the headquarters of AMD, my new employer, which is based in Austin. Being my first trip to Texas, I expected to see dusty cowboys in boots & ten-gallon hats riding through town on saddled horses. But thankfully, Austinites have kept their city delightfully "weird" and I found a pleasant green city with a fantastic music scene instead.

View of Lake Travis from the balcony of my hotel room

I spent almost a week attending a Leadership Workshop at a hotel on Lake Travis. While we were locked in windowless rooms most of the time, the scenery that surrounded us was beautiful. We went out on a dinner cruise one night and had lots of Shiner Bock (great Texas beer!) and Mexican food. Some of the mansions that dot the shores of Lake Travis belong to famous Austinites such as Michael Dell, Sandra Bullock and Andy Roddick.

Aunty Jo-Jo having fun with her new friends, Richard & Kim

I met some really funny & smart people on this trip. And I'm looking forward to working with them. It's amazing how beer always plays a major part in any bonding experience :-)

Aunty Jo-Jo with her Texas-sized mint chocolate ice-cream pie...yummy!

However, the one thing that Texas delivered on was the FOOD. I absolutely love Tex-Mex cuisine. Breakfast tacos, salsa & chips, enchilada, re-fried beans, queso catfish were some of the delights that have become my new favourites.

Now you know the *real* reason I'm looking forward to my next trip to corporate headquarters!

Turning 37 in the Big Apple

I turned 37 last week, and it happened in one of my favourite places: New York City.

This birthday was extra special because I celebrated it with my sister Julie and some good friends, Andrew & Isabel. I'll remember this for a long time.

Isabel & Joanna @ the Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway to watch "Spelling Bee"

Isabel surprised me with a real treat- tickets to "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", Broadway's No. 1 hit this season. The production was a laugh-a-minute, and thoroughly enjoyable. Although it appeared innocent and playful on the surface, the 6 elementary school characters managed to address some serious issues. I could identify with Marcie Park- an overachieving Asian schoolgirl who's petrified about not living up to expectations, and wanting to break free. The other characters were equally loveable, despite their idiosyncracies.

Julie & Joanna @ Carnegie Deli, Seventh Avenue at 55th St

Food is always on my agenda, and this trip was no different. We ate the biggest pastrami sandwich in New York at Carnegie Deli. It's called the "Woody Allen" and had lotsa corned beef and lotsa pastrami, just like it said on the menu. Despite sharing, we had an uphill battle to finish the sandwich. But we managed, with the help of lotsa pickles and sauerkraut. Needless to say, we didn't bother with birthday cake after that :-)

The Carnegie Deli is described as a quintessential Jewish kosher style deli, but our waiters were from Bangladesh, Thailand and China. Huh?

Aunty Jo-Jo @ MOMA beside Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

I capped off the day with a trip to New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) because that's where Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is displayed. Hmmm...I must admit being a little disappointed because it wasn't as large or vibrant in real life. My favourite Van Gogh is still an image of a patch of grass in the asylum at St Remy, which is on display at the London Art Gallery.

Still all was not lost because I discovered a host of other wonderful modern works by Mondrian, Picasso and Warhol.

Aunty Jo-Jo @ MOMA admiring Andy Warhol's "Campbell Soup" series

This painting surprised me. I've heard of Andy Warhol but always thought his work was too pop and modern for my taste. And yet when I stood in front of his famous "Campbell Soup" series, I got it. It felt playful and homey, and yet was as meticulously executed as a Monet or Rembrandt.

This MOMA collection has definitely piqued my interest in modern art.