1) Work is interesting and busy as always, but I'm getting more comfortable with the challenges and the hours every month
2) I've been able to balance out hectic weeks with short much-needed weekend getaways - I love you Tiger Airways/Air Asia!!
3) Kae and I are going strong - who says long distance can't work?
4) I haven't been sick in a couple months, I'm feeling healthier and stronger than I ever have this year...
I guess you could say I'm feeling like a Kanye West song...alright it's not going THAT good and I won't be throwing my hands up in the sky anytime soon (global econ crisis, not sleeping enough, still need to find a new place by Feb now), but I think these last few months should qualify as happy times, and I better wake up and acknowledge them :)
Bryan, Nikhil, and Sua came to visit me in Singapore for a boy's weekend in mid September. Nikhil had another week to go before the end of his assignment in Thailand, so you can imagine what he had his mind on by coming over to SG. We had a crazy time at Butter Factory with way too many bottles. What else is new? It was good to have the fellas around and just talk crap about life.
What would a month be without a few return trips to Bangkok for me though? Of course I made it, especially for Nikhil's farewell and Ally's birthday. Spent the first day chillin' at the Shangrila thanks to Kae's hook-up. Oh apparently there's been some mention of her getting a boyfriend in some Thai tabloids, ahhhh. Nothing bad or made up though, yet. Hopefully we keep it that way! I'm not afraid of what drama they might make up but it would be best avoided, know what I mean?
*Messing around in the Shangrila pool
*Swimming at the Shangrila, Bangkok
*The Bangkok tabloids are onto us!
Genius invention: Room Service. Overpriced, usually not that great, but sooo tempting, playing on the lazy nature of people - especially when in a hotel room! Bonus points: breakfast in bed after 8+ hours sleep, yess!!
*Ally's birthday party at Route 66, RCA
I grabbed a bite at a Shabu Shabu place in Central World. I've been eating this type of restaurant a lot lately - huge source of protein, not that many carbs, and bloody delicious. How can one resist? The "downside" to going to Central World to eat - a post-meal shopping spree.
*Kae on a shopping spree at Forever 21. Yes I carried some clothes, but I'll never carry the purse!
We organized Ally's "All White" birthday bash at Route 66, and booked out most of the stage area. There must have been 50 or 60 people, many of which fell victim to my JW Red Label assassinations. Troy showed up after midnight to surprise Ally a day early, how sweeet...Paul came along on the same flight from Singapore again too, I think he's addicted.
*We found this restaurant at Central World pretty hilarious...yes we're mature adults, apparently
Richard even showed up from Hong Kong, and Nikhil had his last big hurrah before taking off from Bangkok. We're going to miss the crazy fellas, but I would bet on him coming back within a couple years.
We threw a surprise birthday dinner for Ally the next day. She was so happy, she said it was her best birthday ever! I made a little speech for her, and Kae brought a delicious homemade cake. Hmm, how do we top that next year?
*May getting naughty dancing with Nikhil and Richard! No excuses.
I've been getting a lot of delayed hangovers lately, waking up after a heavy night and feeling so-so, then wanted to slump into a pile of jello by 4pm. Am I getting old?!
*Jiab's birthday dinner in Thong Lor
Jiab and Timo had their own birthday parties at Muse. I spotted out that place when it first opened, before it got so hot! Anyway I promised her to search around for a quality guy for her to meet, but I ended up getting preoccupied with my friends, especially J-dub. Know anyone!? We're talkin' boyfriend material, no playboys!!!
*Jiab's birthday dinner in Thong Lor
I saw Max Payne with Kae that weekend...don't bother, nuff' said. We did traditional Thai get to spend a lot of quality time together, and she even took me to a temple for a charity ceremony, giving a bit of money and penance to Monk's and to folks in real need.
I had another chance to go to Mongolia, the second time in as many months...except this trip, it would be -10 degrees Celcius. I think it was probably the coldest weather I had ever been in - even Lake Tahoe in the winter doesn't get that bad! It's safe to say I spent the vast majority of my time indoors, and eating warm food. Had some Korean hot pot that was probably the best in my life.
*Miat Airways, the national carrier of Mongolia and one of the most dangerous airlines in the world
The Mongolian people can come off as quite cold and rough at first glance, but you know they are actual quite a kind people once you get to know them.
My main purpose to being in Ulaanbaatar was to oversee our first big Smirnoff event at the best nightclub in town. Overall the party went well and looked fantastic. We had some really top local performers and the crowd was huge. A bunch of models and celebrities showed up too, including one of the Olympic gold medal winners from Beijing (in Boxing). Hopefully it's the start of something bigger and more consistent for our brand. I was pretty stressed out up until around 2 or 3am when the main show was over and there was nothing left to do but let loose and have fun.
*Decked out in Smirnoff style
*Beatboxer Ray at the Smirnoff "Red Revolution" party
*With our Mongolian top models at the Smirnoff "Red Revolution" party
*Ulaanbaatar and Smirnoff know how to party
*Represent!!
*Enjoying the party with Amaraa, one of our guys in Mongolia, after no further work can be done.
*Freezing with Thomas on the streets of Ulaanbaatar
*The view of Ulaanbaatar from the plane...it will drop to -30 in a couple months and be covered in complete ice
The flight back was terrible and I had to wake up to a working holiday after 4 restless hours on the flight. Oh well, shit happens sometimes huh?
I've been getting progressively better at both Muay Thai and my basic thai language lessons. I'm not ready to have a proper fight yet, but the workouts are getting a bit easier and the techniques feel much more natural. My thai vocab is "better," but not "good" by any measure. I wish Kae spoke less English! Well actually I don't, but it would definitely help my language learning.
Kanye West came to Singapore, which was a nice surprise. I bought three tickets to the concert on my credit card but my two friends bailed for one reason or another - lesson learned! Luckily I got one of Paul's friends and Estelle to come to the rescue pretty last minute. We met up with a few more friends and picked a spot on the floor. Kanye was really good live, and I had a great time (sucked down some super strong Amsterdam beer...10+% ABV, for a beer!), but there was some atmosphere missing because most people just weren't showing that they were that into the music. Must be an Asian thing I guess. In America the place would have been poppin'. Maybe it was too bright and sober in there? I don't know.
*Kanye West live in Singapore
*Kanye West live, with Yvonne
*Kanyeeee
*Gettin' down at the concert
I couldn't let two weeks pass without another trip to Bangkok! I spent Halloween there dressed up like the Joker, props to Kae for fixing my freaky make-up. We went to Met Bar, a pretty unconventional party spot but fun nonetheless. It was Mengmum's birthday as well, and at least almost everybody was dressed up. Most Thai people don't dress up for Halloween, but they do party - hey it was a Friday after all.
*Taxi drivers shit their pants at the site of me - we were so late to the party
*Scaring Kae at Met Bar - that's what she gets for putting on my make-up!
*Met Bar for Halloween
Instead of spending every night partying in Bangkok, I went with Kae to the grand opening of a new resort in Cha-am (near Hua Hin, a couple hours south of Bangkok). We got treated pretty well by the management, and got to see ETC live. The whole area is so beautiful and natural...a stark contrast to the urban jungle not too far away. I think one day I'd like to have two homes/condo's in Thailand, one definitely in Bangkok, but the other somewhere more relaxed and green...
*Springfield Spa & Resort at Cha-am
*The spiciest Som-tum EVER. Kae flapped her arms like a chicken! We couldn't feel our mouths for 10 minutes after finishing it.
*With Kae at the grand opening of the resort
*Kae getting interviewed for her bag creation at the resort
Obama won the election, to the large relief of most Americans and most citizens of the world in fact. I voted by fax, which was quite strange. I don't want to get too much into US politics because people are so divided and passionate about their beliefs, but I for one, and many around the world, am happy that an intelligent, passionate, and charismatic leader can take over the damaged reins left over by George Bush (let's face it, America is worse off after his Presidency by any standards, I don't care what party or political side of the spectrum you support). John McCain is actually a pretty moderate Republican and I respect what he has been trying to do in Washington on a few policies (such as campaign finance reform), but I'd still rather have Obama anyday. Funny how most people treat Obama as a black man, as black as any other African American. He's actually mixed people, his mother is white, from Kansas. He speaks like a genuine leader of men should...that is something Americans really need, especially those who have felt disenfranchised for so long but can now see a truly inspirational figure make it to a level that wouldn't have been imaginable a generation ago.
I was very surprised to see Proposition 8 pass in California though. I voted a resounding no to it (background - Prop 8 bans legal gay/lesbian marriage). I just don't understand why people feel that they must tell others who they can love. It's none of our business. Furthermore, why should the human rights of a small minority be decided by a largely ignorant and homophobic majority? Doesn't really make sense to me, and I'm saddened to see how many people in such a supposedly liberal and progressive state are just bigoted and closed-minded. Well, we did vote in Arnold to "terminate" Gray Davis (and my internship at his office).
*Brigitte showing off her shirt at Belle's birthday party, Escobar
I came back to Bangkok the next weekend for Tommy, Mink, Kapook, and Belle's birthdays. Another good couple of days away and with my old friends in Thailand again. Had a couple of massage vouchers to use up too - those strong Thai women have a way of physically melting the stress off your back.
*Happy Birthday Tommy - what's that you wanted from Singapore?
*Puu and Kae playing with Hurley at Daniel's house
Finally got a haircut and had to tell the guy to keep going shorter THREE times. Why do they insist on leaving the sides and back so long and full of volume?! I'm not an Anime character or a Korean pop star!!! You should see my old hairstyles over the years though...including a bowl cut, heavily gelled corn rows, all spiked straight up, and a dry comb over.
*Mink & Kapook's Nerds and Bunnies birthday party at Muse
I saw Tropic Thunder, a funny Ben Stiller style flick but not exactly hilarious or re-watchable.
*Mink & Kapook's Nerds and Bunnies birthday party at Muse
I'll be going to Phuket with 10 friends next weekend, then Samui the following (as well as Koh Nangyuan, as a birthday present to Kae). I'll also be in Bangkok again twice next month, Manila, and Hong Kong for 10 days holiday. Flying really doesn't bother me anymore, it's a good chance to catch up on reading or sleep, and with Tiger Airways it's as cheap as buying a bottle of Black Label in a Singapore nightclub!
This post wasn't so deep or reflective, I'm just not really feeling it today - bit burned out at work. But Kae is arriving in 20 minutes so I better get out of here and pick her up! Should be a fun weekend - I'll be seeing things in Singapore with her that I haven't even been to yet =P
Oh yeah I have a random casting in a Citibank print ad tomorrow morning as a confident young executive - wish me luck!
