Holiday Holiday!

So far I've surprised even myself with my last min impromptu holidays... :) And so in "just-do-it" fashion, I just booked a super short getaway to Siem Reap, Cambodia for later this month... Discovery of unexpected window of opportunity came on Monday (upon finding out that some official thing I was supposed to staff that week had been cancelled) and it immediately got me itching for another holiday hehe. Though mum had kindly agreed to be my travel companion this time round, always feel like I end up imposing on her when potential travel buddies can't accompany me... Hmm i suppose it's also cos I popped question to ppl out of the blue ha. In spite of my distaste for huge crowds, still decided to go to NATAS fair this morning to hunt down good travel deals in kiasu Singaporean fashion... :P Though had to pay admission fee of $3, I actually left exhibition with net gain of $4.5 'cos I koped a copy of the latest edition of Asian Geographic on India (Not that I am usually so cheapo, but I was pleased 'cos on way to EXPO I had originally intended to buy the mag for own reading pleasure) Didn't end up booking anything there, but the Incredible India! and Yokoso! Japan booths made me very tempted to squeeze in smthg else late this year... I suppose I'll see how it goes :)

Need to adopt "just-do-it" mentality more to other aspects of life.. :(

That our work/social environment influences how we think and act is something that ppl might not be actively aware of... Feel like only when something un-routine happens, then I realise, hey whatever my passive brain believes is the norm might really be the exception... But cos you face the exception on a daily basis, your mind sometimes fools you into thinking that it's the norm... I say this because after a Berkeley gathering last night and after attending some scenario-planning exercise at MND this morning, I suddenly realised that the average working crowd might not be that 'aged' after all :P (What a duh! "discovery" eh) Not that my colleagues are old, but I guess I cannot deny that they have by and large arrived at the setting-up-a-family stage of life. Furthermore, I really seldom experience say, going up to my workstation in a lift full of people about my age! My fellow lift passgengers are on average abt say, 35-40 yrs old.... (Qualifier: Not that similar age = can click, but I'm using age as a kind of proxy for gauging issues/things that matter most to ppl) And brainstorming/interacting with abt-same-age peers this morning also made me somewhat miss hanging out with ppl my age, whose conversation topics are at least of more immediate interest to me. Not that anecdotes from kid-loving colleagues are boring; but you know, I hardly ever meet ppl in HDB who would be passionate abt the same things as me. Which, come to think of it, can be somewhat disappointing, though I've never really felt that way. And it made me understand why in a college town one can feel much more inspired abt life, abt wanting to change the world VS a workplace where the majority's priority is to remain status quo as long as they get to earn their keep and get by pretty comfortably.

Casualpoet

This is a pictureful post of a tiny place.

Casualpoet was definitely more obscurely located than I had imagined... If I hadn't looked up its address beforehand, I would NEVER have noticed it. Because it's tucked away on the 3rd floor of a shophouse in Chinatown. Who would believe the existence of such a cute peaceful little haven above a row of noisy eateries :P So I skeptically scaled the flight of concrete steps... 2nd floor was some dubious massage place i think... kept going... till the above greeted me. The US customs declaration form stuck beside the door felt esp nostalgic. The contents read 'Art Prints', with a little welcome msg beneath it.


After browsing through their quirky but overpriced collection of mags/journals/books, I settled down at a seat by a window for a late lunch. Alas, still not too good at getting my lens to focus on the spot I really want; and only captured clearly the chicken skin of my chicken chop :P It was average-tasting, and somewhat overpriced. But ok lah, tog with the food, I bought myself a nice peaceful spot for an hour or so.

The table tag reads "free wifi for friends with laptops". Seriously, this feels so much like a place I would hang out at in Berkeley.... to just study/chill.

A nice little pin by the window.

The window I sat beside, with lil pots of plants and The Portable Jack Kerouac for browsing.

Postcard packs were also on sale... Ah, the Eiffel tower never fails to mesmerize ;)

Contents of a postcard pack neatly arranged on a wooden ledge.

Seriously, this place felt like someone living out his/her dream/fantasy... rather than a store that would be commercially viable/financialy sustainable... They have really interesting and pretty tasteful items on sale, but I wonder if anyone really buys them... There were also quite a few good 2nd hand titles on sale, and customers were encouraged to give these 'pre-loved books' (their way of describing 2nd hand books) a home. Food was so-so, with a limited selection of breakfasty items, but i mean, it's just such a nice quiet place to chill... To catch up with a friend and relax... The staff were also nice and were quite ok with my snapping away... Though one fellow customer was somewhat curious when I seemed more interested in taking pics of my food than eating it and asked if I were a food critic haha. Another great thing abt this place is that it's so uncrowded (apparently it's still quite new and I guess still unheard of). Oh well, least I hope it will remain this way till the next time I visit.
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Hehe, the pic below is of my shopping find of the day. A retro-ish hairband from Miss Selfridge that was on sale! Though I doubt I'd have any occasion to wear such a crazy thing to work, I just couldn't resist buying it...