Hello 2012

The new year for me began on a quiet note in the Udon countryside. Mr;p and I had knocked back a couple of drinks with his childhood pals, and we were just waiting out the last hour on the little bamboo hut in front of his house. When 12am came by, only the youngsters were in an exhilarated mood, blasting homemade fireworks into a star-lit sky and sending the neighbourhood dogs into a barking frenzy.

And so a new year begins.

While 2011 had been a peaceful year, one filled with lots of personal growth and development, 2012 looks set to be a year of challenges. The new year also brought some slightly disappointing news, but I guess it’s just part of the obstacles we have to overcome. Come what may, we both have each other and our loved ones, and these are much more precious than anything out there.

2012, bring it on!

Long live the king

For me, it’s hard to love Thailand without loving the king as well. Mr;p was very amused I kept singing the phrase “song phra charoen” (long live the king) today, so finally sat down with me and guided me through the Thai royal anthem, Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami (above). Catch the anthem at a Thai cinema near you.

ทรงพระเจริญ!

From home, to home

The first night back in Singapore, I was slightly disoriented and couldn’t fall asleep until 3+ a.m. Flying in on the last flight from Bangkok, it was already past 1 a.m. by the time I reached home. I popped over to Piggy’s room for a late-night chat, after which I decided to bunk in his room to share the air-con—a childhood habit that saw either one of us “sleeping over” in the other’s room so as not to waste the air-con. Sleeping on a mattress on the floor wasn’t comfy, so I returned to sleep in my own bedroom—and found myself a stranger on my old bed. The mattress and pillows were too soft, and the blanket too thin, and I tossed and turned several times before finally hitting slumber land.

It was a rather weird feeling. Everything at home was exactly as when I left it more than three years ago, yet it felt oddly strange and familiar at the same time. Guan Gong and my late grandparents are still keeping watch over the house from the altar; I can still remember the exact drawer to retrieve my art scissors; I will naturally prop my legs up on the table when seated on the sofa; a photo of my 18-year-old self still stares back at me…. This is home, where I spent over 20 years of my life. At the same time, home is also Bangkok, the little pad that mr;p and I had spent the past nine months decorating and living in. Despite the short time (and impending departure), we’ve become attached to our apartment and I almost couldn’t remember what it felt like to stay in the previous rented place. Sometimes I feel that I’ve never left Singapore, other times I feel like I’ve lived in Thailand my entire adulthood. Where is home?

Three plus years since embarking on the Tomyamland adventure, I’m none the richer nor wiser but I’m happy and contented with what I have now. What I may be lacking in money, I think I’m being paid back by having such great folks as my loved ones. I miss my shopping jaunts with my quirky mum; I enjoy talks of food and current affairs with papa; I love going out on ‘dates’ with Piggy to explore new places; and I deeply appreciate the words of encouragement and support mr;p always give me, no matter what I do. I’m very pleased that my time spent in the kitchen has paid off; I could finally help my mum to cook up a proper meal and let the brood have a taste of my cooking.

It’s cliche, but I guess home is where the heart is, where the heart finds contentment, comfort and joy.

Facebook and ageing

The thing about Facebook is that it lets you catch up with long-lost friends easily—i.e. if you really want to stay in touch—or simply stealing sneaky peeks on other people’s lives.

A guanyue senior, who’s a good six years older than me, recently posted photos of the first month party of his second child. I took a look at the album and saw several other grand seniors from CO. One of them, who we lil’ girls used to admire from afar for his boyish looks and who even tutored me with Physics during my JC days, has now matured to a middle-age-looking daddy of two.

If there’s one thing that Facebook never fails to remind me is, it’s 岁月不留人. And Facebook certainly makes it harder to age gracefully without anyone knowing, isn’t it?

Unrequited Love

A few weekends ago, mr;p and I watched the Thai movie, Sing Lek Lek Thii Riak Waa Rak, whose English title is “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” It goes by a tagline “89 percent of people have experienced such emotions,” which got me very curious after watching the trailer.

The trailer got me chuckling and reminiscing my own experiences with mr;p. It was like a checklist of the silly things I’d done as a teenager. Purposeful walks by his classroom to catch a glimpse of him; calling him at his home line (those were the pre-pager and mobile phone days); a couple of movie dates; him walking me home through the park; and me cherishing his every mementos (notes, textbooks, etc.)

If the trailer captured my attention, the movie lost it.

[*Spoiler alert!*] Nerdy Girl meets handsome guy senior. Girl has a crush on Boy, trying to get close to him at every opportunity. Girl becomes prettier and excels at studies because she wants to be compatible with Boy. Boy pretends to be oblivious to Girl’s crush on him because his best friend likes her. Boy finally expresses his feelings through a handmade scrapbook, which he leaves at the Girl’s front door but leaves to pursue his football career. Meanwhile, Girl goes away to the U.S. to pursue her studies and becomes a famous fashion designer. Nine years later, they meet again on a TV interview. The ending strongly hints at them becoming a couple.

Although I think many girls would probably resonate with the “ugly duckling turned swan” part, I don’t like the movie on several counts. Why must nerdy girls always turn pretty before boys are willing to take a look? Why can’t you let their characters shine more than their looks? Why must they get together in the end?  The director prefers giving the movie a happy ending, but I prefer an ending that stops when Boy and Girl’s paths diverge as they each pursue their own aspirations.

I discussed this movie with some of my female Thai colleagues. Our conclusion: The producers are just trying to capture the teenage girls’ eyeballs, giving them the (bordering on false) hope that it’s very possible to meet your crush again in future and you will fall head over heels in love.

Such cases do happen in real life, but seriously, most often than not, when Girl meets Boy again as adults, the infatuation’s long gone.

Unrequited love are sometimes beautiful because it ends before it can get anywhere.

Hmm…

The fickle me have another idea brewing once again. Sometimes I do love talking to different people—it does help me to hatch ideas. Nope, I’m still very much in love with my foodie blog but it’s something else this time. In order not to jinx it, I’ll only reveal if I really act on it. ^^

iPad and folks

My IT-savvy dad has an iPad too, and in fact, he got his two weeks before mine. He’s been wanting to learn to surf the Internet for ages and we decided that iPad will be a better tool since the handwriting recognition typepad allows him to write Chinese. Our Sunday night chats are now entirely conducted on iPad’s Facetime, which has helped me shaved a great deal off my overseas phone bills. It’s almost like being in the same room with my folks: my mum checking out her appearance on the self-facing camera, my multi-tasking dad talking to me while watching the tv, and the brother who’s often not seen but heard from somewhere in the house. Technology does help to bridge the distance. Last I heard, my mum told me she prefers Zuma, a turtle shooting balls game, to Angry Birds. Gasp!

smart vs. intelligent

me: Am I smart?

mr ;p: Yes, you’re.

me: Am I intelligent then?

mr;p: No, not there yet.

me: ?!?!

But deep then, I agree with him too. Haha.

Xinfully

There hasn’t been much updates on this space of late because I’m spending most of my weekends creating and crafting content on another blog: Xinfully. This half year, especially since getting our own cooking space and with further encouragement from mr;p, I find myself getting more interested in cooking + food culture + Southeast Asia food heritage. And the cooking interest coincides with the purchase of my iPad, which makes it easier to follow even more food blogs and international food magazines. It also feels good and empowering to know that I’m able to whip up something palatable, and at the same time, exercise my styling and photography skills during my culinary forays. I’m currently limiting myself to not more than two cook-style-shoot sessions per week because it’s a still a challenge for me to man the stove, arrange the dish in an attractive manner and then photograph it while it’s still hot and piping. But there is so much great online content pertaining to any and every interest, so I’d like to join the bigger community out there in developing and sharing an expertise (to be). It’s still a personal project in progress, but do drop by and lend a word of encouragement.

third year, going into fourth

This July marks my third anniversary in Thailand.

Gosh, it’s been that long (or short)? Some friends remarked that my absence felt longer than that; after all, my Siamese love affair (no, I’m not referring to mr;p) started a few years before my move to Thailand.

Living apart from my family has given me the much-needed space to grow up and live life as a real adult, one who has to pay monthly rents on time; plan my daily meals (no more warm, home-cook dinners waiting after work); learn to run a small household; and to manage my expenses so there’s enough to live, save and send money back home.

These few years have given me various opportunities to seek and sharpen my interests. I’m not totally sure yet, but I can feel myself inching closer and closer. Time will tell, but zest, diligence and optimism are vital. The exposure to new cuisine has paved the way to a more daring and discerning palate. Spicy kaeng, fermented sauces, fresh herbs, stinky bamboo, ants’ eggs, duck tongues, cow’s blood stew, well, I can eat them all.

Thais used to comment that I “phuut thai kaeng” (good at speaking Thai), but I don’t hear that anymore; in place, Thais say I “phuut thai chaat” (speak Thai clearly), which I’ve come to realise is a higher accolade because the latter implies my pronunciation and accent is nearing a native level. And of course, my command of Thai slangs and expletives has grown by leaps and bounds with the daily mingling with my lovely Thai colleagues. I love trying new terms learned on mr;p, who’s often highly tickled by my new vocabulary and say, “now who taught you that? It must be either P’ Aor or Jeep.”

Immersion is definitely the best way to pick up a language, and I’m glad that my improved grasp of Thai has led to more meaningful conversations with local friends and colleagues. I enjoy lunches and drinks with the girls in my team because they often share bits and pieces of their personal lives (boyfriends’ quirks; marital woes) and provide insights of their own country and politics—which is hard for many to express fluently in English. It took me a lot of hard work to get to this level of understanding today.

And with an imminent departure sometime in the near future, there are days when I feel sorry to leave. Where can I get a 7-Eleven with CP cheese sausages and Leo beer? Where can I get to dine on fried som tam and kai yang beside a petrol station? Who’s going to teach me cheeky Thai words?