Most of my friends are back in Singapore from exchange/OCIP/vacations and it’s good to know that everyone is safe and mostly unscathed from their travels. Listening to the colourful stories about their disgusting room mates, near death experiences and the unsanitary living conditions just make me more excited about my impending exchange.

Right now, I just need to get my engine started, and focus on doing well for the semester. Being much less irritable helps, (good thing, yah?) but I’ve kinda lost my Mojo with talking to people. Time to pick it up again!

On a side note, probably living together with your other half isn’t exactly the best thing to do if you want the relationship to last. Just a casual revelation, don’t read too much it.

Such randomness.

其實我們每天都在學習。學會溝通的技巧，學會更自立，學會原諒，學會走出失落。。。
所以儅大家都在忙著寫下新年的願望，爲何不寫下一些今年學到的東西，讓自己更加記得那些顯得微不足道，卻又刻骨銘心的[人生課]。
你今年又學到了什麽？

23嵗，是該停止用 [父母] 來儅藉口了。

這是名勇敢追求自己夢想的朋友告訴我的。
或許我當下討論用的措辭過於尖銳，語氣有些負氣，讓他有了這樣的感覺。他說的也沒錯，可能是我的理想總是不夠堅定，信心也太容易被外在因素影響。所以始終只能妥協，選一些大家都能[接受] 但自己卻不是很中意的課程/職業。也可能因爲如此，總是表現平平，過這一個安逸卻平庸的生活。
但23嵗了。該是追求自己理想的時候了。自私嗎? 我想不會。他們應該也想要我快樂些吧。

最重要的，還是坐下來思考自己在追求的是什麽，而不是盲目的崇拜金錢。畢竟這幾年的追逐讓我有點近視。

執著與任性的差別。

身邊的人常常說我相當情緒化。而更了解我的人知道我的脾氣猶如一陣風；來得快去得快。或許是在大學裏，大家都相當和睦，我也沒有必要以咄咄逼人的語氣來武裝自己，捍衛自己的工作理念。我不相信我必須爲了和和睦而不斷的妥協，畢竟尊重彼此的工作理念是當初大家協議合作不成文的規定。
因爲如此，今年因爲職銜高的關係而多了與工作夥伴的摩擦。可能是長相和説話過於一針見血的問題，我總是顯得少了一點和善。順理成章的，成了衆人的箭靶。
有些時候，也因爲求好心切，一些不該浮現的心底話未經包裝就卻脫口而出。
其實經過今年的訓練，我發現，差別就在於説話。而更多時候我得學會聆聽。聼別人要講的，而不是劈里啪啦用文字把對方擊斃。

也得切記留一點空隙，讓別人有機會喘息，也為自己準備臺階。

P.S. 其實情緒化不是個缺陷。這是很多過於理智的人必須明白的。

把握時機，珍惜時光。

就是因爲我總是害怕傷害/失敗，我總是因膽怯而裹足不前。也因此，我失去了很多機會。其實了解我的人知道我做事常常也半途而廢，除非我知道付出勞力的結果會是有收穫的。
而第一次與死亡面對面喚醒了我。
她教了我：冒險的必要。所以我選擇完成我單槍匹馬游臺灣的願望。
她教了我：必須把握時機，珍惜身邊的人，事，物。別因誤了時機而懊惱，後悔。
她教了我：必須享受現在，今天的煩惱今天清。嶄新的一天就得用愉悅的心情面對。
她教了我：錢能解決的問題，就不是問題。
所以現在我也只能用金錢兌換時間，贖回失去的時光與機會。

老實說，我們還會有幾個十年可以過？

他們似乎忘了告訴你愛一個人，你也必需接納他的生活作息，接受他的家人，了解他的脾氣，喜好與厭惡的東西。

只是當你因此而更了解對方時，你可能更厭倦對方。你便選擇武裝自己，讓了解成了未來勒索，威脅和傷害對方的武器。日積月累的負面情緒卻只讓情況加劇。束手無策的我們只好等待著戰爭的爆發，準備收拾雙方炮火後零碎的殘骸和受傷的心靈。

又是誰說過愛情是偉大的，無私的，永恆的？

我只希望我不需要選邊站。

Anyway, looking at how things go, it looks like I should be able to get to UG for exchange in year 4. Meanwhile, I will have to evaluate all my options, complete all my administrative stuff and start planning for the stuff I want to do before I fly in September. Hopefully, I can complete them on my own.

Life looks great. And it will only look better from now on.

Dropped by 1-Caramel @ Rochester Park for their all day brunch. Honestly, Rochester Park is rather out of the way (we got lost la, don’t judge ok), but given the ambience and the serenity, it’s worth it to brave through the heat of the afternoon sun.

The cafe is located on the 2nd floor of the building. We had to walk past the kitchen to get to the seats. Plus, we were the only customers around and the staff was busy preparing food for dinner so it felt as if we were intruding. Nonetheless, the cafe had a really relaxing atmosphere and the seats overlooked the greenery in the area. The staff was very attentive as well!

For drinks, I ordered Iced Latte ($6.20), while my buddy ordered the mixed berries drink ($8). It’s good that the drink isn’t over sweet and was made with real berries. Some cafes don’t really go easy on the sugar syrup sometimes.

When the Big Breakfast Platter ($20) came, we went “oh no!”. It was huge! We took quite a long time to devour the spread of german sausages, spinach, roast tomato, baked beans, toasted bread, bacon, potato and scrambled eggs. We particularly loved the spinach and roast tomato. The spinach was sauteed with a generous portion of garlic, while the roast tomato was really juicy!

We also ordered Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon ($14). The Hollandaise Sauce was creamy and buttery enough for my liking, but it kind of lacked the tanginess that Epicurious offers. I loved the roe toppings which made it really unique though.

Overall, it was a nice place to chill over all day brunch. But for the ala-carte menu, it may be a little steep for a weekday lunch. For the budget conscious, 1-caramel offers $12/$18 set lunches from Mondays to Fridays. The sets do come with cupcakes/cakes as well! Too bad we didn’t have the tummy capacity to finish one cake ):.

So if you are looking for a quaint cafe to spend some quality time with your close friend/ other half, head over to 1-caramel!

1-Caramel
1 Rochester Park, Level 2, Singapore 139212
Nearest MRT Station: Buona Vista
Tel:67741302 Fax:775 9477
Website: http://www.1-caramel.com/

And it is one of those times when you get the chance to sit down, look in the mirror, and ask yourself;
What do you really want in life?

Am I just contented with living the life of an average student?
How did I perform as a friend, co-worker, brother or a leader?
What really motivates me and keeps me going?
What do I truly like to do?

I guess these are just some of the questions I am trying to seek for answers too.
Slowly, but surely.

While I was travelling back from school yesterday there were 2 Korean ladies looking really lost, pointing to their maps, alighting at Jurong East and coming back to the train again. I was telling myself “these people really need help.”

So I gathered enough courage, took a deep breath, put on my (fake) Ducktours smile and offered to help them. Apparently, they wanted to get to the US embassy to settle some stuff ‘cos they wanted to bring their daughter/niece to Singapore to study accountancy (What a coincidence right?), and they are surveying the environment before bringing her over.

So, I left my contact details with them ‘cos they suggested meeting up for tea soon to know more about studying in Singapore. And then it comes the awkward moment when they asked if I have a culturally neutral English name.

“errr. no. how about just calling me James (that’s a convenient name that I used on the Hippo Bus)”

“That’s great! Anyway, you don’t sound Singaporean, we can’t comprehend the accent here.”

“Oh really? Perhaps that’s because my generation is exposed to English from a young age?” I didn’t really want to explain my ability in code switching.

Just before I alighted they complimented that I have beautiful eyes too. (*Beams*) Weird right? Maybe I’ll be crazily popular in Korea even though I can’t get into my sch’s FOC; ‘cos I not good looking enough in Singapore. (ROFL)

That thought of getting an English name lingered in my mind until I got home. I needed one since I will be going for exchange and it’s more convenient for people to remember me in the working world anyway.

After scouring the web and looking for a name that resonated with myself, something caught my eye.

A fighter, A companion.

Kayden Cho. How does this sound?

有些大厨煮的菜比较合大众的口味，当然比较畅销。菜的外观当然也隔外出众。

也有那些厨师为了让客人源源不绝而选择不断更新菜色。 当然菜色是美味，但顾客离开的原因都是因为菜色缺乏[灵魂]。

另一些厨师则有一名忠实顾客。在厨师界中，他们才是最被羡慕的。

其它的餐厅则常常无人问津。。。我说啊。。。顾客不上门能怪他们吗？是厨师行销不当还是菜色根本不合任何人的胃口？其实厨师也没必要刻意的招揽生意。若客人因此而真的进入餐厅，发现煮的菜不合胃口而离开，这只会让你更难受，更自责。反观的，若厨师选择守株待兔，等到菜花发黄才觉悟也太迟了。还是他应该选择更换菜色呢？但是。。。又。。。

所以啊，为了避免这些不必要的麻烦和顾虑，我选择不当厨师，不为别人煮菜。

会更快乐吗？我不知道。

而你又是哪一种厨师?

真的很讨人厌。