Perspectives.

Exactly a week ago, I was sipping on a glass of wine with the sound of crashing waves in the background. Today, I'm home exceptionally early on a Friday with a stack of ozalids waiting to be proofread by morning. The contrast is fascinating - life certainly takes us places doesn't it? :)

It's been awhile since I had a small pocket of time to reflect back on the days gone by, and it seems like a lot has happened in the past few weeks. There's been a couple of rough patches on the personal front, but I do believe that the best way to live is to let the bad things go, and I think I've bumped my way through just fine.

Life on the work front's busy, as is the usual, but very exciting too with lots of new happenings. I remember my days as a communications intern at Sentosa when I had to constantly call writers up to chase for their RSVPs, and telling myself that I would never do that to someone else when I'm on the other side of the fence. Fast forward five years and I have become exactly that sort of writer. I always tell myself I'll try to sort my schedule out to see if I can fit the event in, only to forget about it entirely when work piles up.

Talk about ironic! But I'm trying to rectify that.

For now, it's TGIF (for a little bit) and back to work. :)

Walking in paradise.

Walking in paradise.

Falling asleep to the crashing waves outside my door and waking up to a private pool. Definitely not the kind of luxe I'd splash out on myself but man... it feels good.

In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high.

Now that I officially write for a living, writing purely for my own pleasure is no longer as cathartic as it used to be, but it is still a good form of release whenever and wherever introspection strikes.
I've been at this job for awhile now and it hits me, every now and then, just how lucky I am to be doing what I love. And I try as much as I can not to take it for granted and to grasp on to that tiny bit of magic beneath the daily grind. There are times when I bumble about trying to find my footing; others when things go so well I feel like I own it - the former keeps me in check and serves as a reminder of how much more I have to learn; the latter serves as a tiny pat on the back on my growth so far. Most importantly, the fluctuating balances keep me on my toes so I don't slip into a rut.

I will be embarking on one of my career's firsts in less than two days - something short, but nonetheless exciting, thrilling and just that bit nerve-wrecking. Thank you stars, for aligning the way you do for me. :)

Serendipity.

Serendipity.

It's beyond happenstance.

Normalcy.

Normalcy.

The thing about integration is that you can never remove one part without compromising the others. These interminable links and the unfamiliar need to watch my tongue in front of these others has tipped the balance. Where can I go where I need not fear the grapevine? Who should I turn to when I really just want to be me?

What's left after I've bypassed my support system to guilt and a weighing sense of responsiblity? I would like my life back but I'm not sure that's possible anymore.

30 days later.

30 days later.

It's certainly been awhile, slightly over a month actually. That's how long it took to document my entire Aussie trip but I'm glad that's done and I can get back to web catharsis. Several things have happened while my introspection was on hiatus, of which the most momentous would be starting work full-time. I can't quite believe it's been a month actually - I've gone full throttle from day one and time has whizzed by.

It was, as jumping headfirst into new situations tend to be, a little trying at the beginning as I struggled to find my footing (after a long vacation!), but I've since settled into the job. I guess I forget sometimes, especially when work gets really intense, how lucky I am to be doing and loving what I'm doing. I love experiencing all that my work exposes me to and there's so much to learn from the excellent mentors around me. Blessed I am indeed.

I have at the same time closed a chapter in my life. All that's happened this year has really got me thinking about what I want in life and I realised that I'm not willing to trade in the many things this relationship required me to in order for it to work. Right person wrong time or wrong person right time - I don't know. What I do know is that there's still that insatiable hunger in me to lead my life according to my own rules and I'm not ready to compromise any of it for anyone just yet. It's taken me awhile to get here but the freedom is liberating.

Stay tuned. :)

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 7

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 7

Final breakfast at Baffi & Mo.

I thought I'd skip the java and have a hot chocolate with the girls, but man did I need a caffeine hit after the late night packing. And I really wanted a good latte before I came home. So yes, dairy overload.

Eggs benedict - yum.

B&M's famous potato hash - yum too.

Gingerbread hotcakes with Persian fairy floss. This looked like it came out of Hansel & Gretel but it was really way too sweet for breakfast.

Redfern's a semi grungy, semi new-agey sorta neighborhood. Very nice. And look at the vain bitch all dressed to match the colourful door... ;)

Goodbye Sydney, goodbye Australia. You've been very good to us indeed (minus the excess baggage charges)!

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 6

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 6

Breakfast (not brunch!) at Sydney Fish Market.

It was really cold and rainy, like most of our mornings in Sydney actually.

Oysters galore.

Grilled seafood platter.

Big eh?

We were absolutely stuffed from the seafood, but we couldn't leave without trying out the sticky date muffin at the deli...

Nor the lemon muffin...

Nor the lemon tart... haha!

Toby's Estate, yum!

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Walking off all that food at The Rocks market.

There seems to be one of these Christmas stalls at every market.

Tea break at Pancakes on the Rocks.

The Devil's Delight (a chocoholic's dream) came highly recommended by many friends but...

I'm still a purist at heart.

I don't know how she did it but C found enough room for a grilled corn.

The rain had eased by then but it was still a pretty wet day.

Goofing around's part of holiday fun!

Like we'll go to Sydney and miss the landmark?

I really wanted to go to Luna Park (in the background).

Fake or not, he was the only aboriginal I saw.

Our last Australian sunset.

Packing woes. Explains the excess baggage charges.

Gave up packing to go for dinner at Madang, a Korean bbq restaurant two minutes from our hotel.

Super yum. Best Korean bbq I've had!

Korean ahjuma pretending to host a cooking programme; Korean ahjuma after too much soju. Teehee.

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 5

The Aussie Diaries - Sydney Day 5

It was a rainy Saturday and even though we got off a good kilometre away from the right stop, we still made it to breakfast at Bill's in Woollahra.

Yes, we were there for a taste of the legendary scrambled eggs...

Keeping ourselves well entertained as we waited for our food.

Ricotta hotcakes - good, but Circa still rocked my socks.

Sweet corn fritters.

THE scrambled eggs - good, but a tad overrated as we'd been earlier warned. Oh well, been there, done that!

The rain hadn't eased by the time we left Bill's to head to the Paddington markets and a sales assistant at one of the boutiques we popped into even said, "Great day for shopping huh?" followed by a very sympathetic smile. Ah well, the weather just wasn't on our side in Sydney.

I left with a bag for work and ALOT of awesome chocolates.

BFF. That's us after signing a good portion of our lives away at Aesop.

Met up with Karen for tapas and sangria at the nearby Miro. Our hotel was right smack in the Korean quarter, but also only a short stroll away from a good selection of Spanish restaurants. Yum. I don't think I can ever have tapas without having chorizo. Spanish lap cheong. ;)

After a quick look around Surrey Hills, where I got to see Kylie Kwong's "Billy Kwong" restaurant, we hopped on a cab to Karen's 'hood - the super happening Newtown. All the tapas had conjured up an inexplicable craving for frozen yoghurt, but the gelato from this quaint ice-cream shop solved that pretty quickly.

I can't remember what I had, but it was good and the tables were really pretty.

The super, super nice Karen jiejie.

I look the same but can you see a hint of exasperation on her face? Mich and I were driving her nuts with our nonsense. ;)

"I am the Indian and you are the coconut tree."