Kay's Space

"It helps when you’ve got good people."

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:35:00 +0100

“It helps when you’ve got good people.”

- My managing partner, on an induction that we conducted for the client. According to one of the clients, it was the best induction across all the brands and agencies.

One of the media ladies said pretty much the same thing to me, that my brand’s induction session was one of the best she’d been through, and much better than the other session in the morning. I’d worked really hard on it and I had even shared what I was doing with the other person who chose to do her own thing which fell apart in the end.

This was also the first time I had really conducted a big meeting and I was rather surprised that I wasn’t nervous at all. I hate presentations. I fumble. The first time I sucked so badly at it. The second time, I memorized my entire presentation and had my speech written out on Powerpoint notes. This time, by knowing the content of my work I was able to ad lib seamlessly, which quelled all anxiety.

I’m happy.

Kay's Guide to Spain

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:59:00 +0100

When to go to Spain

Getting around

Chorizos, churros and coffees [Sagrada Familia]

Waffles [Sagrada Familia]

Waffles [Sagrada Famalia]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:50:00 +0100

After queueing to go up the Sagrada Familia, we were famished and went to a little cafe nearby and had waffles! I had a chocolate waffle with straciatella and Cheri had a strawberries ‘n cream waffle. The lady forgot about the cream so it’s missing in this picture. It was a good waffle.

Barcelona by foot, bike, tube & cab

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:27:00 +0100

Part of Spain’s initiative to reduce its carbon footprint. Bicycles for rent. There are 3000 bikes across the city. A yearly subscription of Bicing costs €24 a year, after which the first half hour is free and every other half hour costs 30 cents. Bicycle rentals should be extended to short term tourist rentals but judging from the many bike rental websites you can find online (as I did when I was searching), you won’t lack the facilities if you’re looking at biking around Barcelona.

Public transport in Barcelona’s easy enough to navigate, with the Metro very much like those of Paris, Rome, Munich and Prague. A one-way ticket costs €1.30 and a card that gives you 10 journeys costs €7-ish. Much cheaper than London! Cabs are also affordable - Cheri and I wore out our feet one day and took a cab from Parallel to Santa Maria which cost €6.

But the best way to see Barcelona is by foot because the lanes are tiny and winding, and there’s so much to see between A and B. Sure it’s tiring but the architecture is beautiful. And the tapas bars plentiful. And sangria refreshing. Note: Don’t get into an argument with your best friend because your feet are hurting.

When to go to Spain

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:39:27 +0100

I didn’t read the guide books which all said “Don’t visit Spain in August!” It’s hot - the weather was pushing 30 degrees Celcius on the day we arrived and humid. Also, if Spain isn’t on a siesta, it’s on holiday and most shops are closed, at least all the independent ones. Summer in Spain is great if you like beaches, and beach parties, and did I mention the beaches?

If you happen to be in Barcelona on a bank holiday (public holiday), you’ll find that only roadside stalls (like these in the district of Catalunya) or tourist shops open. Happy shopping!

It's always about the weather

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:28:12 +0100

Apparently, the days that I was in Barcelona where it was hot and sunny and humid, it was miserable and rainy in grey London. Conversations about the weather fascinate me. I never understood the big commotion about the weather till I got here and started to actively like complaining about the weather. It’s a great ice breaker and it helps create a bond between people! My art director today said that he could talk about the weather all day!

The skies were nice and blue on Friday so I took a walk to the M&S on Cowcross Street. Farringdon is a pretty nice area, it’s got a touch of the old London.

A time to cook, a time to eat.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:57:27 +0100

There’s never enough time to do everything one wants to do. Even if one is a homemaker, there’s never enough time. I think. Those times when we’re bored out of our wits, there’s usually something that needs to be done, just that we’re not doing it.

For me, there’s never enough time to cook all the gorgeous meals that I’d like to cook. There’s so much preparation and pre-work when it comes to cooking. Even menu planning is a task not to be trifled with. So when I was off on vacation, I had the time (and energy) to go to the market and make sure I got the ingredients I wanted, and the time to chop and cut and cook. Cheri and I made this gorgeous Beef and mushroom stroganoff with buttered rice and it was totally yummy! Presentation of the rice was a last minute impulse but it just makes the whole dish look that much more together, I think.

"Overheard in La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. An English couple queueing to go up to the top. [sign..."

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:36:00 +0100

“

Overheard in La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. An English couple queueing to go up to the top.

[sign reads Waiting time 120 minutes.]

Girl: “120 minutes? I’m not bloody waiting 1 hour and 20 minutes!”
Boyfriend: “Er, that’s actually 2 hours.”
Girl: “2 hours? What’s 2 hours?”
Boyfriend: “120 minutes is 2 hours. Not 1 hour and 20 minutes.”
Girl: “Oh. That’s even worse! I’m not bloody waiting 2 hours.”

[Couple waits 2 hours.]

”

Cheri and I in Barcelona! We were having a late breakfast...

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:40:00 +0100

Cheri and I in Barcelona! We were having a late breakfast outside the Sagrada Familia. I had chorizitos (mini chorizos) and coffee. She had churros and coffee.

My best friend was here in London for two weeks on vacation! It was great! I took time off from work and we went around London and then to Barcelona! Weather in London wasn’t so good and weather in Barcelona was so hot and sunny that I returned to London tan!! My version of “tan” mind you, with a tan line on my foot!

"I’m back from Barcelona where it was hot, hot, hot! Pics and stories to follow."

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:43:05 +0100

“I’m back from Barcelona where it was hot, hot, hot! Pics and stories to follow.”

The best chocolate cake in London

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:01:39 +0100

Welcome to Maison Bertaux. Situated on Greek Street in the Soho area in London, it is a patisserie with a chocolate truffle cake (I don’t know the official cake name) to die for. If you’ve been reading my blog and my disdain for English M&S half a centimeter thick icing (and for that matter, I think cakes sold at Chinese bakeries in Chinatown with coloured butter cream ghastly too!), this is totally different; it’s a rich velvety dark real-chocolate cake. The tarte aux fraises is out of this world too with it’s French custard. It is my preferred cafe. I first went there when we couldn’t get a seat at 1882. If you ever go or have ever been, let me know what you think of it.

London bus drivers want higher pay

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:37:23 +0100

In the news recently - London bus drivers rallying for a uniform pay of £30,000 accompanied by a 38 hour work week. How ludicrous does that sound? Some graduates start on a £15,000 salary; you’re lucky to get £22,000 as a fresh grad. I’ve never seen so many strikes ever before in my life - the Tube strikes are the best because transport is already so expensive - a single paper ticket costs £4 and a single trip on a pay-as-you-go Oyster costs £1.50 - so obviously the money isn’t being used effectively and someone’s having a really nice long expensive lunch break.

For people who don't like water

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:08:00 +0100

It’s strange for me to see people not drink water. Water is so basic. But recently, just last week in fact, I was in the kitchen at work and a lady in her 40s said with regards to the recent addition of Oasis concentrate in our kitchens, “… it sure makes drinking water easier…” and walked out with a pint glass of Oasis cordial.

It’s even worse to see kids not drink water. Andrew’s sister’s kid doesn’t drink water. That’s because Andrew’s sister doesn’t drink water. They drink Oasis. It stresses me out because I don’t agree with it.

I think the marketing team who decided to position the drink as a water substitute, and the advertising agency who came up with the tag line and campaign are simply brilliant. They’ve obviously tapped into a very strong insight - there is a large who don’t drink water in the UK and they feel guilty so they drink Oasis.

Read about the Cactus Kid Oasis campaign here.

I can't write

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:21:03 +0100

I realize, as I read, and I write. that really I can’t write. I don’t have the drive in me to write and the thoughts that gather in my mind don’t want to be put into written form. When I was much younger, like my 12 year old cousin, I used to write short short stories and I used to jorunal. My dad once took me to Sentosa to explore the magic grove something-or-other so that I could enter my story in a children’s writing competition.

Even writing this, I have the urge to hit the backspace button and hold off to another day. I’m fighting this urge to send these words back to my head alone. But these words are just fleeting aren’t they? Floating on the world wide web stored in some cache somewhere. I have to run. Work calls.

Necessity

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:03:24 +0100

Now that I’m in London, it’s absolutely necessary for me [to learn] to cook dishes that I take for granted back ome in Singapore. Olive fried rice is one of my favourite dishes. I think its roots are Thai. My mom started cooking it in recent years and it’s a favourite dish of my dad’s too. I never thought of making it till my aunt asked if I liked olive fried rice and I said yes, so we went to Chinatown and she showed me the olive leaf rice. Next up - Thai chicken/pork & basil stir fry.

I love this ad for its insight.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:36:00 +0100

I love this ad for its insight.

Cupcakes

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:36:23 +0100

I love cupcakes. To look at, that is, not eat. The cake bit is usually too bland and the icing too sweet. This cupcake is from the Humming Bird Bakery on Portobello Road where it is every man for himself, elbow to elbow to tooth on a Saturday.

London unforgiving

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:08:39 +0100

London life is really fast paced. The tubes are overcrowded and always delayed. Accommodation (rentals and owned) is exhorbitant. There are too many people in a given space. There are too many people finding it tough to make ends meet. Especially in the current economic climate.

Tonight on the tube, a man stepped on the toe of my boot and didn’t bother to apolgize. He then tried to squeeze past me on the way out of the carriage. And a woman appeared to want to squeeze past me but simply couldn’t because she was behind. I wonder whether these people do this to just anyone or if they do it because they think I’m a “bloody tourist.” It’s funny. Apparently [and I don’t know how or if true] there are more non-native-Londoners in London than there are Londoners.

But as individuals, people in London irrespective of race or nationality are generally nice and polite and it’s really nice to start the day or conversation with a “how are you?” and not a demand or request. South Bank at dawn is simply amazing and London is beautiful when it’s transformed by the warmth of summer.

Cooking to new heights

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:33:00 +0100

My aunt being here has been a culinary experience altogether. So far, I’ve learnt to make [the best] tonkatsu I have ever tasted (better than many if not all) the restaurants I’ve been to which might not say a lot for the restaurants I frequent but), black forrest cake (again, much better cake than English crap cake) and today, I made char siew. I don’t usually eat cha siew because the stuff that you get at restaurants and food courts are usually dry and dyed a bright red with horrid food colouring; I only eat my grandmother’s char siew. Now I too can make char siew. (I just realized that I repeated the word “char siew” quite a few times.

I never bothered learning to make all these things back in Singapore. Eating out is so cheap compared to eating out in London, and available. So many things are just not available here in London or availabl in rather limited places. Hainanese chicken rice for one, and then you don’t get proper chili; you get Thai sweet chili sauce instead. And oyster omelette like that of Newton Circus. The chicken rice I can do with Prima pre-mix. Skills to make the oyster omelette I am sadly lacking.

Well I’m headed to sleep now coz I have to be in early for work tomorrow. It’s Monday again so we’ll be having lunch catered - gorgeously delicious sandwich platters from Pret and boxed salads. Ho-hum.

Twilight London

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:04:00 +0100

It’s been such a long time since. Or maybe it just fees like it has. Work’s been busy but I’ve generally been able to leave at a reasonable time the last 10 days or so that my cousin Adeline’s been in London. My aunt and other cousin Desiree arrived a few days ago.

Last night after a satisfying dinner at Masala Zone, we trooped down to Caffé Vergnano at the Southbank Centre where I had an indulgent large caffé gusto (with amaretto). We spent the next 2 hours taking pictures and posing and doing silly things. Summer’s great coz the sun doesn’t set till late. But this is British summer and it’s been raining its brains out all week so far and gorgeous and sunny last week.

Am using a Panasonic FX500 on loan at the moment. It’s on part-time loan till I figure out my next steps with regards to a compact camera and/or a replacement camera for my FZ50. I haven’t had a compact camera in my bag for over a year and I really do miss being able to pull my camera out of my (small) bag and snap a pic! My dad recommends waiting till September to see what the Leica offers are.