Oh PARIS!

It is "The City of Lights" indeed.

When I was there in 2003, I remembered falling for the city's charm despite being spooked by Monica Bellucci's film "Irreversible" (which I had the bright idea to watch just before I left for the trip! Brrr....). After watching the brutal rape/revenge movie based in Paris, I had a phobia of entering underground tunnels and hearing footsteps behind me throughout my stay - not very romantic, i tell ya. So, to everyone who are attending the wedding, please do not repeat the same mistake!

The Seine river that runs through the city comes alive at night and I suspect the word "romantic" was invented right here on this river. There is this magic hour effect at sundown that infiltrates your sense and makes you wanna kiss the next stranger that brushes past you on the bridge(choose a good-looking one first).

My dear designer friend(you know who you are!) is so excited about going to Paris for the 1st time that she kept sending me pics of the trends n fashion currently in vogue. Apparently, monochrome is the key styling trend and chic, black & white ensembles with cuffs, collars and contrasting edges are the "in" thing(whatever happened to colorful, happy, spring colours?). White coloured bags are the essential accessories for the complete Parisien look this season too. With no celebrity status(at the moment), I unfortunately don't have Christian Dior dressing me up for my debut on the Paris runway. Hopefully the Fashion Police won't fine me for my fashion outlaws!! Haha... ;p

Only 2 more weeks before we touch down at Charles de Gaulle airport and I can't wait!!!! It'll be the first time meeting his family and friends and for such a joyous occasion too! Despite being only an "outstanding" Catholic* all my life(I'll explain later), it has always been a dream of mine to be married in church and walk down that aisle proudly on my father's arms and seeing my mother tear(perhaps) as I reach the altar. Did anyone remember the church wedding scene in Guns'n Roses "November Rain" mtv? The heart shaped bare-back of the wedding gown was my fantasy then. Now, I am just happy if I can even fit into my gown. =)

* Outstanding Catholic - means that you are always late for mass and had to stand outside the church cos it is already full by the time you arrive! Apparently, this only applies to SG cos the churches in NYC are never full! Everyone is Jew! Just kiddin'... ;p

We just came across this slimming ad in a magazine and it cracked Emmanuel and me up!!!

Ingenius!

Hilarious and definitely point taken!!!
[Inset]

How the Snow Monster stole my Spring.

On Wednesday, we had a perfect spring weather of 17-21 degrees celsius with clear skies and the bright, friendly sun. The birds were busy foraging for food and chirping like birds on heat outside my window. I wore a billowing skirt with heels to go to the opera(Madam Butterfly) that night and I didn't feel cold at all! For the first time this year - I am NOT cold!!!

Just a side track - the Madam Butterfly production in the New York State Theatre was a HUGE disappointment as compared to the production I saw in London last May. :( *yawn*

Thursday was all doom and gloom as the overcast skies threaten to drown us earthly folks with its overburdened clouds. A bad sign... Bad, bad, bad...

Friday was a combination of hail/snow/rain/sleet since the night before and by 5pm now, the roads are all slushy and white(can't see any demarcations) and all traces of my beloved spring dissipated into thin air.

The Snow Monster STOLE my Spring!!! @#$%^&#?$!*%$#@!
Bloody hell...just when I started to dig out all my spring/summer clothes & shoes to wear and this outrageous theft of spring had to happen!!!

Ohh!!! We signed the lease today!!! Yippee!!!! The more I look at our new apartment, the more I am in love with it! Always nice to have a fresh new start in Springtime! *long inhale*

Pssst....I'm still on the mission to lose 3-5kg before the wedding and I must say the scale's not been kind to me. Guess I'll just have to endure the cruel girdle all over again. Please pray for me that I will not pass out in the church before I get to say "I Do".

Signing off!!!

Moving and Marriage

March is ONE helluva crazy month!!!

I spent last week looking for a new apartment all over Manhattan in the frigid cold(-11 celsius!) and snow storms only to emerge... TRIUMPHANT in Inwood! After visiting like 25 apartments, I became almost an expert on (1)Incompetent Brokers - you can sniff them from a mile away! (2)Crappy, run down century old apartments and (3)Shady dealings(cash under table to brokers). Only the broker who finally introduced our apartment to us is the most professional and responsible.

It is an easy life as a real estate broker in Manhattan. U get customers knocking on your doors every minute and apartments flying out of the office in seconds! Shopping for a rental place in NYC is a "chop-chop" biz.

You see it, you like it, you get it. NO hesitation.
If you hesitate - it is GONE.
In the blink of an eye.

Deals are closed on same day that you view the apartment and you can probably move in in the next 2-3days once credit check and all paperwork are done. Brokers get 15% of your annual rent and with easy businesses like in NYC, you can easily get US$180k/year for an experienced middle manager broker w/o doing much work.

Tho' our new place is all the way up there in the northern tip of Manhattan, it is still next to the park, bigger than our current place and at an even cheaper rent! Saving US$500 a month on rent may seem like peanuts to some New Yorkers(some who pay US$5-10k on rent per month) but it means more operas, trips and shopping for us(poor academic scientist & housewife)! Oh, savings too, of course! How can I forget? Touche... ;p

As the wedding date looms nearer and nearer like a huge scary shadow over our thoughts, we frantically scramble to get all the necessary paperwork done with the church, the embassy and the hotel. Bureaucratic staff are so full of shit and delays. Inefficient is all I can say about them.

The US offices dealing with bureaucratic stuff are obnoxious, rude and simply downright unpleasant that any visit to their offices will leave you with a bitter-sour aftertaste like bile. Their phone skills leave you wondering if they were even educated at all(seriously) and if they just like bullying people over the phone cos they are in reality losers at home and at work? Maybe they were trained to intimidate and belittle anyone who needs help? Is that their motto? If not, why is such behaviour tolerated by the citizens of the United States and deemed "acceptable" in a society that promotes democracy?

The government(and all people working under its umbrella, might I add) is meant to serve the people in an ideal world. But here, you are in the hands of these cruelites and if they want to be aggressively rude to you and talk to you as tho' you have a lower IQ than them, you are hardly in any bargaining position at all cos they are THE GOVERNMENT PEOPLE.

Citizens of The United States - I urge you all to VOTE WISELY in your 2008 elections and stand up against such fools, for pete's sake! WAKE UP!!!!!! Anyone under the command of a fool can't be any smarter!

Just to get a certified copy of our marriage certificate in NYC took me the whole morning visiting 4 different offices in different buildings all over downtown getting the necessary stamps, chops and signatures. In Singapore, all you have to do is apply via their website in 5mins and it will be mailed to you in less than 7days. What more can I say?

With the brokers and bureacrats out of my sight, I earnestly hope we will have a smooth moving transition and a even smoother wedding in Paris!

With only love, hugs, warmth, friends and family to surround us - I am sure April will be one great month!

(Sorry about the long ramblings. Just one more thing - USA sucks.)

Cardinal Spotting, Squid Ink Pasta & Apple Streudel Weekend Fun!

The title says it all!

These are our lovely cardinals found all over Central Park(the bright red is male and the shyer one is the female). Armed with our cameras, we shot these bright beauties on a bright Saturday morning while also on a lookout for blue jays(no luck that day). Hanging over a tiny stream, I found this icy bough and thought it looked like a reindeer in some bizarre way...
Back home, Emmanuel decide to test our stomachs with this venomous looking squid ink pasta from some japanese instant mix. Ooh-lah-lah...our shit turned out ink black for the next 2 days!! Yucks!!! A bad impersonation of The Valley of the DEAD.

Unable to stay away from the oven for too long(I had made a promise not to bake anything sinful till after the wedding), I finally couldn't resist and decided to take my baking instincts to another level by making the Austrian-style apple streudel.
It turned out to be one of the most fun I had!

The dough is stretchy and not sticky/oily and feels like I'm making roti prata without the ghee! There were no holes until I got too excited and punched a fist-sized hole through it in the end. Damn.

Note: All mistakes are always man-made.

This is actually a very healthy recipe with almost no butter and very little sugar. And flaky, thin crusty streudel filled with apple-cinnamon creaminess and vitamin goodness. Mmmm....