anyresemblance

Mission Impossible

I'm no super hero.  I'm pretty resilient,  don't get sick often, am adaptable to change but I'm heartily glad to be home for a bit.

In the first 7 weeks of this year, I have been on 14 flights (5 of those overnight flights) and had three weekends away from home.   My kid has started college for the first time and my other kid has entered her final semester.  Thank god, the dog still loves me.

I'm thankful that the work is rewarding but when I got home on Saturday morning, I was determined the rest of the weekend was going to be all for home life.  My oldest picked me up from the airport with dog in tow and we headed straight to Silo.  They've done a beautiful refurbishment.  No major changes but some good rearrangement of the front portion so there is more room for customers at the front waiting for takeaway and a nice bench arrangement along the wall to make seating cleaner.  I went in for croissants.  I said "shall I get coffee or will you make it when we get home?".  The eye roll told me she had done a hundred coffees at work and was glad to have someone else make it for us.  We ate the pastries and take away coffees at home and I set to imprinting myself on the house after she set off for her afternoon shift.

When I was married and my husband travelled, it would drive me nuts when he came home and started wielding a cloth wiping surfaces in the kitchen.  Now I do it myself, and I realise I did him a disservice as it was not so much a judgement on my housekeeping as a way of connecting back with the household.  Having said that, I definitely have different standards to my offspring.  Plus, I was aiming for that level of cleanliness we had when we were selling the house and had troops of people inspecting my housekeeping standards.

I wiped the blades of all the ceiling fangs, wiped down the plantation shutters, wiped the skirting boards, lifted the sofa cushions and vacuumed, took the rugs out and hung them over the deck railings and beat them (somewhat ineffectively) with a big stick, vacuumed the entire house, steam cleaned the floors and cleaned the stove.  I did not clean the oven despite it being on my list for months.  I am counting on high heat burning off any residual deposits and frankly cook anything high fat on the bbq anyway.

I took the dog for two walks, talked to my youngest for 30 minutes, went to Coles, restocked the fridge, roasted a chicken with tarragon and garlic while I had a bath and ate dinner on the sofa with a glass of wine.  I went to bed at 9pm and was glad to be home.

S had another early shift this morning so I got up when she left at 7.15 and took Charlie up Red Hill for a good long walk.  When we got home I had another bath, ate poached eggs, bacon and spinach for breakfast and messed around on the internet.  

For dinner we ate slow roasted pork, home made tortillas (the joy of my tortilla press) avocado smash and tomato salsa and then ate mini chocolate eggs while watching Say Yes to the Dress, Atlanta.  I also started reading Elizabeth is Missing which is very good.  I'm now in bed again before 10 and wondering if there is anything nicer than clean sheets, an early night and a good read.

Pluses and minuses

On the minus side I can't get connectivity to my work email. Which is probably really a plus.

On the plus side, Toowoomba is lovely, the rental house is amaze balls wonderful, the bride is super chilled and it's going to be a great weekend.

Jiggedy jig

Got the overnight flight home and fortunately scored an upgrade. I swapped my seat so s family could sit together, saw someone else swap so a young man could sit next to his grandma (aww), declined food and went straight to sleep. It's been an exhausting few days and I think there will be a few more trips to Singapore in the next couple of months but given I didn't even get to M&S,that's ok.

I had a two hour wait in Sydney (damn you, weekend schedules) but my daughter picked me up. Now I'm loading yet more washing in the machine and hanging out watching Castle and making Nigel Slater's bolognaisse. It's good to be home.

If it's good enough for Tom...

I ate dinner at Din Tai Fung last night, Michelin starred dumpling chain and as endorsed by Tom Cruise. What more could you ask?

Raffle(s)

The hardest thing about packing is getting your head around different temperatures and weather conditions in your destination.  I was determined to do hand luggage only this time around.  I was not at my most soignee as I was touting my three wheeled Bric suitcase.  I love this bag for its squashy covering which lets you stuff more things in but it lost a wheel on a baggage belt somewhere last year.  I don't even know quite when it happened as for a while I was thinking its tendency to topple over which was due to my unbalanced packing.  It's perfectly functional on its three wheels - except for its drunken collapse if you leave it anywhere other than propped against something.  

One of the wonderful things about travelling out from Canberra is that although the dash 8 planes are too small to take a wheelie bag in the overhead locker, they tag and take the bag from you at the foot of the stairs and then return it you on the tarmac when you land.  (I once stood next to Peta Credlin and Tony Abbott on the tarmac while they were waiting for her bag.  She is extremely tall.  He offered to carry her bag and she briskly dismissed him.  Despite loathing his policies and government, I admired his good manners.)  One of the baggage handlers was desperately trying to get my bag to stand in line with the others as it threatened to topple all of them domino fashion.  I realised it was my duty to save all baggage handlers from this humiliation and ordered what I hope is an identical bag in a different colourway from Peters of Kensington but it arrived after I left so the less than able bag is accompanying me on this swansong trip.

I also ordered what I hope is a grown up rucksuck from Tumi.  Their prices are eye watering but this was on sale from amazon but only to be shipped in the US (I assume so Tumi can keep their giant prices up in Asia) so I had it shipped to my colleague who, I hope, has brought it with her.  My goal was a rucksuck that looked business like and did not have tons of fiddly straps.  In the interim, I am using my daughters Hershchel rucksack which does not look in the least bit business like but at least spared by shoulders as I lug my tech world around.  Lovely as they look, large totes of any description wreck my neck and shoulders.

I saw my oldest daughter for 3 minutes at arrivals.  Enough time for a big hug and to feel her soft cheek again before she had to rush for her domestic flight.  My flight was uneventful (horrible cliche film with Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson, a better ensemble comedy drama which was remarkable for its obsession with Jane Fonda's breasts, 3 episodes of the Newsroom and 2 and a half episodes of Suits), I had a headache by the end but remarkably was off the plane, through immigration and in the taxi within 20 minutes of us landing.  However, it is absolutely pouring here.  I mean, buckets of water from the sky so the most important thing in my capsule packing should have been a mini umbrella.

After I checked in, I took the MRT to City Hall and met my colleague, S, who had flown in earlier from Hong Kong in a bar in Raffles where she was sheltering from the rain and waiting for the print shop to finish our job.  The print shop was due to shut at 6 but since she had given them a job worth more than a grand, they were happy to stay open for her.  We had gin and tonic and ate at the Halia bar.  We both had this amazing smoked salmon pate which came in a little kilner jar.  When the bar man opened the jar, a waft of smoke appeared.  It was delicious and wish I had the forethought to photography like a proper blogger but we were too busy stuffing our faces

On the road again

I'm in the lounge waiting for my flight to be called. Today's special is smoked salmon and ricotta. It's really good. See you on the other side of the sea.

Tabula Rasa

New Year's Eve was celebrated in the best of all possible ways with a cup of tea, home made ricotta doughnuts and a snoozy dog on the sofa.  I embrace middle age and sobriety.

I hesitate to put resolutions in place but there a few things for which I want to be accountable:

1. blog every day for a year (some posts may be late due to travel but need to show 365 for the year)
2. walk 5km every day (exceptions may be made for long haul travel but need to make up the km on a weekly basis.  This will require the overhaul of my jawbone to track)
3. write a letter on paper every week (see here) 
4. cook  a new (to me) recipe every week (again, travel schedule may require an indulgence in which case need a new idea to take home)

There are lots of other things I plan to do - go to Glasgow, get rid of more stuff, watch Breaking Bad - but that is enough to be getting on with.

The grandstand will disappear when there is no-one there to occupy it*

So Tony Blair is following in Mandela's footsteps in embracing "mad dog" Gadaffi. A hundred years ago or so, when I lived and worked in Libya, one of our favourite past times was collecting translations from Col Gadaffi's "Green Book". In the SPLAJ (Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), the Green Book was supposed to provide the same political guidance as the Chairman Mao's red book. It obviously lost something in the translation. You could buy quite nice postcards of various folkloric scenes which would be captioned with English translations of quotes from the Green Book: the party system aborts democracy headlined a picture of the Roman remains at Leptis Magna, democracy means popular rule not popular expression above a photo of some tastefully arranged pomegranates. Libyan friends had the running joke "Why is the Green Book like a watermelon? It's green on the outside, read inside, with lots of black spots". A bit of primary playground humour, but with the best will in the world, as a political philosopher Gadaffi is completely incomprehensible. I found more appealing the fact that he delayed the coup that brought him to power by a day since the famous Egyptian singer, Um Khaltoum, was performing in Tripoli and he did not want to spoil her night or enrage the crowds. And despite the human rights record, state sponsored terrorism and the like, Libya is the highest rank country in Africa on the UN's human development index. Say what you like about grandiose visions, Gadaffi has used much of the oil money to fund health and education, and very little on palaces for potentates. Doubtless it will soon figure on Lonely Planet itineraries. We drove once from Tripoli to Ghadames, a town on the old slave route from Timbukto up to the coast. It's now a world heritage site but at the time my girlfriend and I stayed in a small hotel in the town itself. We had a room opening out on to the courtyard. The staff were non-plussed at what to do with two female foreign devils in their hotel. They were very charming and brought us bowls of flowers, plates of sweets and subbuteo. I have an enduring memory of thrashing the receptionist at table football. The women's world was on the roof terraces. There were many mirrors on the walls of the houses to reflect light through the small slits in the mud walls. Our guide was Tuarag, one of the blue people of the desert, their faces stained with the indigo dye from their robes. I met my Libyan boyfriend on that trip. My mother despaired that I was going to marry him. Well, that idea didn't last long. * Muammar Gadaffi, The Green Book, Part 3, Ch 10, Sport, Horsemanship and Shows

Singapore update

Saturday I took the MRT along Orchard Road and started at the Forum shopping centre which is full of kids' clothes shops but mostly too young for my girls - great for the 2-6 year olds with lots of very expensive Italian frillies - it's a shock when DKNY for kids looks cheap by comparison. I resisted the temptation to try on some turquoise, soft, buttery leather slides in D&G despite the encouragement of the sales assistant. Note to self: shop assistants in designer shops in Singapore are not snooty and do not look at you like they think you are up yourself for even passing the doors. Spent a while admiring cute bags in Prada - sort of Raoul Dufy-esque. Very pretty. Must ask friends going to China next month to look out for the copies for me. I did buy a hand bag in Che Che - I think it's a New York label - which I am happy with. I met M for lunch and she took me off to the jewellers where she had been considering some ear-rings. I got seduced by a pendant in coloured sapphires. As I handed over my credit card I reminded myself that my insurance money is imminent from the great heist and I deserve it but it was scary just the same. The delightful shop assistant added my bag to the tax free refund which was very sweet of her. Last night we went to dinner at my friends, Sandra and Peter. They live in the penthouse flat, 20 stories up. It's an older style apartment with big rooms and balconies all round. We had a bbq on the roof with geckos running up the walls. Sandra guides at the museum so is very knoweldgeable on SE Asian art which was fascinating. They bought a big screen and they show movies up on their roof top. I've known her since I lived in the same apartment building in Hong Kong. The weather was perfect: warm and balmy with a light breeze but I was exhausted. I'm reminded how I get jet lag going to Perth and that a small time difference is harder work for me than a big one when I travel to Europe and the US. Sunday morning I went back to the jewellers alone since the ear-rings I had bought had such tight clamps that they pinched my ears - my ears are pierced but these have both posts and clamps. They loosened the tension in the spring and they are now great. Then I walked back down Orchard Road. I spent a while in the Kinokuniya bookshop. What an amazing place. You can check on a little terminal at the entry if they have the book you want in stock and it prints a little slip with its location. They have the most amazing collection of comics and graphic novels including an enormous selection of manga comics. They have (being a Japanese store) the most amazing stationery collection - the kind that makes you think your life will be instantly organised if only you have 6 different coloured folders and pens. And the most beautiful art, interior design and garden books. I had to exercise restraint and remind myself how heavy books are in a limited luggage allowance but I was very impressed. I bought Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks, a New Zealand comic artist. I eventually got down to Little India where I wanted to buy some fabric but by that time it was so hot and so crowded and my legs were so tired I just sta down for some delicious Indian vegetarian food and gave up shopping. I did have a fabulous pedicure to soothe my tired feet. It cost me sing$60 and lasted for 90 minutes which I thought was cheap. Sunday night I caught up with a work colleague in the 70th floor bar of the Swissotel. I think it was called Equinox. My pal had told me on a clear day you can see both Malaysia and Indonesia but this was not one of them. The waitresses looked identical and we pondered if it was like that Seinfeld episode where they wonder if the waitresses are all recruited for their large breasts but it turned out they were the owner's daughters. Then we did what you do in Singapore, yes Stef, we ate chilli crab. My friend was recklessly wearing white linen but she didn't let that stop her. Monday and Tuesday were work but on Monday night we had dinner at the terrace restaurant at the Beaufort Hotel on Sentosa. It was so beautiful sitting on the open terrace with torrential rain crashing down around us. It looks like a fabulous place to stay. I walked a lot. I looked more than bought but still got some lovely things. I ate delicious food. it was fabulous and I love visiting Singapore. I'm thinking about whether to take the kids up there this winter. I know they'd love the night safari which I didn't do this time but is one of my favourite Singapore things.

Singapore Sling

Arrived in Singapore last night. I got an upgrade on the way up so was lucky enough to have leg room and, for once, an interesting seat mate. I watched The Last Samurai. I have to say I enjoyed in, in spite of myself. Ken Watanabe is HOT. Since Tom and Nicole split, I've sometimes wondered if it's unAustralian to enjoy anything he does but I liked this movie. (BTW, via Beth I have discovered hersite. Her writing on movies is great) Singapore has the shortest immigration queues I have experienced in the last 2 years. We were through in 3 minutes. New development was machine gun toting soldiers in the airport. For me, one the quintessential sounds of having arrived in Singapore is the ting, ting, ting in the taxi to show he's exceeded the speed limit. I love that highway from the airport, the balmy night, the trees and the blossoms. I'm staying at the Swissotel opposite Raffles. I actually don't like Singapore Slings - too sickly - but I love the mix of the old and the new in Singapore. There's a 3 hour time difference and I'm an early riser so, of course, I have been awake for hours but the shops won't open until 10:30. Today is a shopping day with dinner with my friends who live here tonight. After the exhausting emotional drama of the last week, I am so happy to be here.