~Audi alteram partem~

You know your part of the story. Now hear the other side.
Cos everyone just want to be heard
.

10,593 days old

My colleagues know I need a new lipstick, and I like my wine.
(Check out my Gudetama photobombing my wine)


Jewels of Italy

Il Duomo, Florence, Italy
We took this picture ourselves from Piazzale Michelangelo.

So I finally visited one of my dream places: Italy! And let me tell you, that place is still dreamy.
We went to 5 cities: Rome, Pisa, Florence, Verona, and Venice, but my favourite is still Florence.

I originally wanted to share every details of my journey to, and in, Italy, but I ended up with 4 pages of essay. I don't want to torture you with that. So let me just start with answering the question I got a lot regarding my trip to Italy: What are your recommendations for Italy?

Well, my recommendation is actually to quit your job, withdraw everything you have in your bank, and just move to Italy already. But since we live in a cruel world with everyone judging us, here are more realistic recommendations:
  • You'll need internet there
Having internet is useful anywhere. But especially so for Italy. There are so many places to go, you could be standing next to a famous archaeological site and you wouldn't know. This is why you need to constantly check your Google Map. Also, there's thousands of great neighbourhood eating places, so whenever you're hungry, just whip up your Google, and see if there's one right next to you.
  • But don't buy SIM card in the airport
We were checking the SIM card sold in the airport because we're agitated about being disconnected (and Rome airport wifi is not so reliable). But then the seller said €40. We didn't even hear how many Gig of Internet before we said "no thanks". Outside, we still couldn't find a cheap SIM card, but in the end we bought one in Termini Station for €25 that provides 3 Gb of internet. Good enough for 10 days in Italy.
  • When in Rome, go to Pane e Salame
Yeah sure, go to Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and be like any other tourists. Or, you can go to Pane e Salame and have a taste of the best prosciutto+wine you'll ever tasted in your life. It is the #1 out of almost 10.000 restaurants in Rome. It's literally 2 minutes walk from Trevi Fountain. So if you can go to the Fountain, you can go to Pane e Salame.
  • Walk around Florence
Reserve at least 3 whole days of your trip in Italy just for Florence, and explore the city on foot. This city is BEAUTIFUL. Everywhere you turn is history and art and beauty. All the famous landmarks are within walking distance. The one place you shouldn't miss is Piazzale Michelangelo. This is where you can see Florence in its full glory from a hill (see picture above).
And there's of course the Florence Cathedral, the house of Il Duomo di Firenze. The beauty of it.. something you have to witness for yourself.
My only regret in Florence is that we only had barely a day there. Fret not, my love, I will come back!
  • Florentine steak is the food of the gods
You don't know the meaning of delicious if you haven't tasted the Florentine steak. I wasn't even hungry when we went for the steak. But when we were served a 1.2 kg worth of meat +2 side dishes, just for the 2 of us, I licked the plate clean.
The place we went to was Trattoria Osteria Da Que' Ganzi. It's ranked pretty good in TripAdvisor, #56 of 2000+ restaurants in Florence, and they well-deserve their rank.
Florentine steak
Look at this beauty.
Other random thoughts about Italy:
- Gelato is overrated, go for wine instead.
- Going during low season like in October is not so bad. It's less crowded and I enjoyed the cool weather.
- Don't go for restaurants, please. PLEASE. The best food (and wine!) are from the small eating places.
- Fun fact: There are ancient water fountains in Rome that still work and we can still drink the water. They also have a few of these in Venice, but I didn't see it in Florence. So there's no need to buy bottled water, just refill your empty wine bottles with these water fountains.
- Why, oh why, wasn't I born in Italy T.T

And last but not least, always remember:
 "It is a good life we lead, brother." 
"The best. May it never change." 
"And may it never change us."

Antinatalism

So I wasn't crazy,
     there's a word for it.
antinatalism

So I wasn't losing my mind,
     there's a philosophy about it.
Arthur Schopenhauer quote

So I'm not alone,
     there's followers of it.
Reddit Antinatalism group


Liar, liar on the wall

What sickening about liars is not that they lie.
But they have no remorse for their lies.

What sickening about childish people is not their immaturity.
But what they do that hurt the people around them.

Phuket

A beach in Phuket

Finally, we visited Phuket.
Thailand's biggest island (almost as big as Singapore), which is also the favourite for foreigner.

It reminds me a lot of Bali, though. I still thought I was in Indonesia even on the second day. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing! I get to explore the hilly island on a bike. Great food, friendly people, beautiful beaches calling you to sleep the whole day without any worries, what's not to love!

Here are a few memorable things (among many!) I experienced there:
  • Did I say food?
From street food to restaurant food, local food to Western food. Just pick a random seller, it'd most probably be delicious.
Delicious Thai grilled foodDelicious Thai steamed squid
Delicious Thai foodPizza and bbq ribs
  • Uber ist not gut
Unlike Jakarta, Uber is is not that much cheaper from Taxi services. In fact, there is actually no Uber in Phuket. The market is monopolised by Grab (at least as of Sept 2016). We spent about SGD35 to go from airport to our resort (one way!). But Grab still offers the convenience of just keying in your location+destination in the app, and you can just sit prettily for your pickup.
  • They don't know Cha Tra Mue!
This is probably the only "disappointment" we have. The first thing we look for in Thailand, of course, the famous Thai tea. But apparently the Thai tea we know is actually more of Bangkok tea, only famous in Bangkok.
  • Phuket is not cheap at all
Contrary to popular Singaporean beliefs that Thailand is cheap, Phuket is not.
Sure you can get views like this when you eat at a restaurant:
Restaurant in Patong Beach
But the pricing is almost exactly like Singapore. Around $10-$18 per dish.
But then again, the service is waaaaaay better than Singapore. Good thing is, most restaurants accept cards, so if you don't mind the 3% charge, swipe away!
  • But it can get very cheap if you know how
Taxi/Grab is expensive, yet the tourist spots are quite far away from each other. It's way better to rent a bike. A car is good too, but the roads there are narrow, so, take your pick.
Don't miss the Weekend Market, or as the locals know it: Naka Weekend Market. There are plenty of cheap but nice items for souvenirs and a plate of any food is only around THB25, which equals to SGD1 --ONE DOLLAR! We stayed there for about 3 hours just to eat miscellaneous things.

That's a quick recap of my adventure in this famous island. It's too bad that I didn't get to explore the surrounding island like Phi Phi or James Bond island. But that'd be another adventure for another chapter.

Incredible thoughts

I have this REALLY interesting colleague who always says magical things. This is basically my face every time she says something:

She's been entertaining me from May 2014. And her latest pearl of thought is so incredible that I can't resist the temptation to share it here:

"so cool, no wonder they still enjoy working under great pressure of productivity."

So cool
                           No wonder how
they still enjoy working
under great pressure of productivity.

Under great pressure of productivity.
Under great pressure of productivity.
Under great pressure of productivity.

A t-shirt material right there:

Some of her other incredible thoughts include, but not limited to:
  •  The meaning of STD does not make sense
  • Google search is down (but it's ok if you turn it off then on again)

The groove


"It's always good to see people who are.... aspirational," she said as she closed the conversation.


Image of God

"...if man is made in the image of his god, and man is a corrupt entity
- wouldn’t it stand to reason that god is a corrupt entity?"

Jika manusia diciptakan menurut rupa tuhan, dan manusia adalah sebuah wujud yang curang
- bukankah sebuah argumen yang benar untuk mengatakan bahwa tuhan adalah sebuah wujud yang curang?

Why are we trying to save the world?
What has the world done for us, except hates us.
Kenapa kita berusaha menyelamatkan dunia?
Apa yang sudah dunia ini berikan pada kita, selain kebencian.

-Inspired by Harley Quinn and her love for Puddin'

Lessons today

"Being nice is not something to do."

"It's better to be the enemy of a good person,
than to be a friend of a bad one.
Lebih baik menjadi musuh seseorang yang baik, daripada menjadi teman orang yang jahat.
-Anonymous 

A weekend well-spent

I think I've never written anything about my travels. I need to make it a habit so I can have written memories about the interesting things in my life.

So, first ever travel journal: Jakarta.
I haven't been there since forever. I can't even remember since when... Was it 2007 or 2008, or after that. 
Didn't really want to ever visit Jakarta because the traffic is traumatic. 
But a close friend is getting married so we have a excuse reason to go. 

I have to say this time the experience has been much better.
Jakarta is kinder to me this time.
  • There was less traffic. 
It helps, of course, that I arrived at 11 pm on Friday and went to the airport on 3 pm on Monday. And I was late meeting people most of the time, but hey, at least I got to meet them on the same day instead of the next day!
  • Uber ist gut
Seriously. It's much better than taking Taxi. It comes immediately, and it's dirt cheap. I was pleasantly surprised.
  • Partying, partying, hey!
Got to go some fancy places in Jakarta, like the Cloud Lounge. The place is meh, but what's good is I got to meet some old friends (and new)! The rare kind souls that I was lucky enough to befriend.


And not forgetting the best thing about visiting Indonesia: FOOD

 Bebek goreng and nasi bakar.

LOTS OF FOOD:

Mi kepiting, sate babi, crab noodle, pork satayChurros in Jakarta
Mi kepiting, sate babi, churros + Spanish coffee.
Gado-gadoSiomay Bandung
Gado-gado, and siomay Bandung.

And a lot more, but too many to list here. 
I might not be back to Jakarta any time soon, but now I have a better memory of this crowded city.

Next stop: Phuket!

Innie Outtie

Introverts are like a closed book, which you have to open and read yourself. Some have a lock you can't open, some can't be read because it's written in different language, some can't be understood even after you read it.

Extroverts are like audio-book that has an autoplay function, which off or pause button is so hidden, it's seldom can be found.

(Yeah, yeah, that's not what introvert/extrovert mean, but that's how I see them)


"Take your time"

I wish people stop saying "take your time".
I know sometimes it means 'it's not priority, please do other more important thing first'.
But this permission to take one's time only works for people with high integrity.

For lazy people it means 'oh I don't have to do it now, I'll do it when they're actually panicking about it'.
So let's stop giving lazy people permission to take their time.


The only time we should take we time is to stop and think.
Take our time to make a decision, take our time to take a deep breath so that we don't say that next sarcastic thing that 'hurtful sometimes', or on the other hand, take our time to think up of the most sarcastic thing we can come up with.

Otherwise, please don't take your time.
When we work on something, or preparing to go somewhere, or realising our dreams.
Have a sense of urgency.

Ms. Temper and Grumpy Cat


Most of our problems come from the inability to say no.

Kebanyakan dari masalah-masalah kita adalah ketidakbisaan untuk mengatakan tidak.

Nam Jung Gi

"Only money that makes you comfortable when accepting is truly yours.
Money that makes you uneasy when taking, it always comes back to bite you."

Wisdom from the dad in Ms. Temper and Nam Jung Gi

Reality vs expectation

What I say:
"Hi team, please remember to send in your weekly report. Here is the link. Don't hesitate to email me if you have any question."

What I really want to say:
"Please do your freaking work and remember the freaking deadline and not make your team leaders remind you every freaking week. This is not a freaking high school where your teacher has to remind you to do your freaking homework. Your teacher is being paid to do that, now you're being paid to do your works you little shitheads."

Alexander

Alexander the Great quote

Heartless



"You laugh at me because I'm different, 
I laugh at you because you're all the same." 

- Jonathan Davis

Toupe

This is my favorite cat. If Sheldon has his chair, I have this cat. "In an ever-changing world it is a single point of consistency."
She's not mine, though she's a free cat. Or free-range cat, the way the hispters call it.

We call her Toupe (or Toupée, if you're feeling fancy) because the marking on her head looks like a wig with middle parting.

fat cat

Look how fat she is. No, she's not pregnant. 
We thought she was pregnant, but she's been like that for the past 2 years. 
Life must've been good for her.

fat cat

Andrei Chikatilo

Andrei Chikatilo quote

Varys


"The storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish,
and I keep on paddling."
- Varys, A Clash of Kings

Just Vary's less cute, more epic way of saying 'keep on swimming'.

Gone and forgotten

I'm taking a moment of silence for the fallen blogs: