Girls' Night Out

Last week, I realised something very important. Recessions may come and recessions may go, but good friends last a lifetime. And it's vital that we take time to appreciate each other as individuals and celebrate friendship. Profound huh?

Well, that was my feeble attempt to disguise my drunken misdemeanours if my parents ever read this blog. Because Corrine, Kon, Stef & I had a FANTASTIC girls' night out last Friday at Michaelangelo's @ Holland Village in Singapore. We drank, ate, chatted, drank, laughed, drank, teased waiters for a full five hours! Strange how it was so easily accomplished as opposed to a two-hour conference call. Maybe we should start serving champagne...hmm..never mind.

The girls toasting to friendship

The food was simple and very well done. We started with bruschetta and mussels in white wine sauce accompanied by some fresh rolls dipped in olive oil & vinegar. For mains, we had Caesar salad, spaghetti frutti de mare (seafood) and duck with braised pickled cabbage. It was "Mamma mia...molto deliziosa". We also managed to finish a bottle of champagne and a bottle of zinfandel, despite one of us being allergic to alcohol. It was "Mamma mia...hic!"

Lovely ladies waiting for....well, I'll just leave that to your imagination...

After all, wasn't it Ralph Waldo Emerson who said "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." ;-)

Let it snow...

All these Facebook updates about the snowstorms in England have sent me diving into the archives looking for long, lost photos of winters past. In my younger days, I loved the cold weather but many years and bouts of bronchitis later, I have learnt my lesson and returned to tropical climes.

Yes...found the photos...yikes...may not be a good idea to display them cos beanies and me don't go well together.

What did you say? You really want to see them?

Promise you won't laugh...promise?

OK here goes....

Right...that's enough. You can pick yourself off the floor and wipe those tears of laughter from your face. Yes, that's me sitting outside The Spinney, my residential cottage at the University of Birmingham, after the first snow fall of 1995. What's that demented white creature sitting next to me? That's my snow dwarf. I had every good intention of making a "man" of him but it was just too much work...plus my hands were turning blue from cold!

And this is me showing off my ski gear at Falls Creek in Victoria, Australia. It was my very first ski trip and probably my last. Way too painful - for my ego that is. I took 2 lessons with a bunch of six-year olds and they were skiing down green slopes by day 3 but not me. I spent the rest of the week slipping and sliding; flipping and flopping much to their amusement. Grrrr...

Before and after

I have a confession to make. When choosing photos for this blog, vanity often dictates that the most flattering photos end up on this page. So I think it's time for you to see what really happens to me at the end of the day, when I'm less than picture perfect.

When I found this giant smoked turkey leg at a San Antonio street fair, it looked absolutely delicious. Three hours later, I changed my mind. Seriously though, it tasted pretty good...in the beginning.

Bright and cheerful outside Macy's in NYC at 8am; tired and grumpy waiting for a bus outside MOMA at 6pm. Did I mention that I had broken my toe a week earlier? Limping around NYC on a swollen foot for a whole day was probably not a good idea.

Happy outside the Vacaville factory outlet in the morning, very happy with my shopping bags in the evening. What you won't see is the photo of me opening the credit card bill the following month :-(

Familiar faces & places

"Aunty Jo-Jo, why haven't you blogged for such a long time? Busy ah?" asked Reco, my Taiwanese friend yesterday. It was that gentle reminder that made me realise that Aunty Jo-Jo has been silent for most of December & January. Thanks Reco!

Well I have been on the road but mostly to familiar places to catch up with friends and family. Some of whom I haven't seen for a LONG time. First stop - KL. To attend Deva "The Stallion"'s wedding at JW Marriott Hotel. It was so good to catch up with the Family: ex-colleagues from my very first job at Arthur Andersen. We sat there teasing each other, imitating old bosses and laughing over the same old jokes while the spouses looked on in bewilderment. It was a pity that Li Ki & Lily couldn't join us.

Seated L-R:Connie, Yee, Manjit, Raten

Standing L -R: Sreedhar, Joanna, Rajen, Shirley

Mum's birthday celebration @ Victoria Station / Hunting down hawker food @ New Lane

I also made a stop in Penang to celebrate Mum's birthday. The birthday girl chose to dine western-style so we reserved a table at Victoria Station Steakhouse. My parents also invited their church pastor, Earnest & his wife Ee-Hui. The steaks were delicious and our conversation was lively & animated. It was a very enjoyable evening, probably because the pastor, his wife & I are around the same age so my parents had the excuse to act "young"...haha...

Also took the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to my second-favourite hawker centre in Penang: New Lane. It's right next to Sunway Hotel in the heart of Georgetown. There are dozens of stalls lighting up the night with an amazing array of Penang delights. We had our fill of curry mee, chee cheong fun, dumplings, chee chap chok and nyonya kuih...burp...

Aunty Jo-Jo with her beautiful godkids: Katelynn (pink), Kiersten (white), Jared (blue) & Justin (orange)

Then it was back to Singapore to celebrate Christmas with my beautiful godkids. The twins holidayed with me and I loved spoiling them. The most exciting thing we did was a train ride from Orchard Road back to my condo in Kembangan. After which Kiersten declared "Phew...we made it!" They also provided many hours of entertainment with song & dance routines including "Ke Len Lai" and "Hokey Pokey". History was also made when I got a chance to introduce the twins to my favourite boys, Justin & Jared. Both families had a delicious seafood & Hokkien mee dinner at Big Eater. After which Jared declared "We finally get to meet the twins..after so long!"

I really should blog more often about familiar places and faces. After all, they make up the memories that never fail to put a smile on my face :-)

Season's Greetings from Joanna (2008)

Dear Family and Friends,

How quickly the years have flown! This is the 8th edition of my Christmas newsletter and I'm so grateful for your feedback and encouragement. An amusing refrain that I've heard over the years is this - "Joanna, where do you get the energy? I'm tired from just reading your letters!" Ha..ha..I promise not to disappoint this year :-)

2008 has been a very fulfilling year on a personal level because I spent six months living in Shanghai, China. During that time, I kept a blog journal entitled The China Diaries, which you're welcome to read in full. Some of the highlights include:

• Visiting Xian and seeing the 2000-year old terracotta armies of Qin Shi Huang with my parents
• Climbing the magnificent Great Wall of China
• Entering the majestic Forbidden City in Beijing
• Exploring the noisy, bustling streets of old Shanghai while living comfortably in Pudong - the new city
• Sailing along the Grand Canal that stretches almost 2000 kms from Hangzhou to Beijing
• Eating scorpions, whole frogs and duck's tongue and all other manner of bizarre Chinese delicacies
• Seeing the treasures of the Chinese dynasties at the National Palace Museum in Taipei
• Making some wonderful new friends along the way
  

More than anything, I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn the language, history and culture of my ancestors. Being able to speak Mandarin is really a dream come true.

Some equally memorable moments in 2008 include:-

• Exploring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Phrom in Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Boarding a school boat in Tonle Sap Lake to present stationery to Cambodian schoolchildren
• Learning about the battle of Alamo in San Antonio, Texas and seeing Davy Crockett's rifle and hair!
• Celebrating Barack Obama's win with Californians in Sacramento
  
• Tasting meatloaf for the first time at Mel's Diner in San Francisco
• Enjoying my fill of musicals with "We Will Rock You" and "Avenue Q" in Singapore, and "The Color Purple" in Sacramento
  
• Accepting Permanent Residency (PR) in Singapore, which effectively binds me to this city state for the longer term
  

And as I reflect on this past year, my heart is filled with gratefulness. I thank God for carrying me safely through these journeys in a fragile world of earthquakes, terrorist bombings and political & economic strife. My prayer for 2009 is that all of us will continue to dream big dreams, live full lives and believe that the world can be a better place because we're all M.A.D (Making A Difference).

Here's wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and a wonderful 2009!