juggernaught

apartment found, furniture bought, moved in and settled down, and back in SEA for the past 2 weeks. Been out and about in SG and now in Msia. For once i've noticed there's change around in singapore. a couple of new roads, clubs and sights. Msia as usual, the pop-up of 5 new highways to god knows where every month. everything else kinda looks and feels the same. the food again as usual beats singapore.

it's good to have a break again. haven had one in aaaaages. like really ages. a case of beer a week just to get through a week of 15hrs a day, 35deg cel min kitchen temperature work week. chain smoking when i'm dead beat, wonder what them people are whining about in singapore who are still studying and have nothing to worry about having a roof over their head. haven lived on their own and had to manage their own expenses with the fear of having nothing to eat the next day just to keep that roof over their head.

australia really makes me appreciate having a car. plus driving to anywhere here is singapore is so much shorter cos it's so much smaller. never felt happier about having a car. regardless rented or owned. 4 wheels beats two wheels or feet anyday. although there are the specific drivers who waste little time to remind me that i'm back in singapore. them filthy cabbies. never ever patient and can never ever stick to their own lanes.

time sure flies by. quick note in relation to a few things. what you want, is out there for all to grab. doesn't mean it's gone once someone else grabs it, it's how badly you want it. so grab it with ur two bare hands, legs and teeth if you have to. it's worth it.

Moving Again

It's been a long while since I've been running after trains and trams and walking around half the day just to familiarise myself with new areas. Feels like when I just got to Melbourne all over again. Living in the city sure had it's pros when it came to walking. Everything was within a 20 minute radius and I never had to hop on the trams.

Been living like a nomad of late. Sleeping on the couch for 2 weeks straight now. Living out of the suitcase again and spending the least amount of money on meals (Macs, Hungry Jacks etc) just cos you know you have to save it for the transport and rationing out the miserable remainder of your money as well cos you have to save it for the new place. Even then it doesn't end there when the furniture hunt starts and you try to get your apartment up and running just so that you can start making the delicious and cheaper home cook meals. Plus the first few nights in a new apartment will be all so sweet in a way because you will be knackered from all the hassle you have gone through setting up the furniture and the cleaning as well.

Quit my shit-hole of a job at Sofitel. FINALLY! It's a wonder how a management system so horrendous actually survives in a 5-star worldwide brand name like Sofitel/Accor. No hygiene and the hiring of people who do not actually respect the job itself, let alone food. The rewarding and promotion of undeservant staff who are just better at licking balls than the other people who actually spend their time on making sure their job is done properly, thus the lack of opportunities to polish your superior's boots. Regardless of feedback given by not one but several members of the team, still nothing is done and the same hierachy and management is maintained. Having gone to a prestigious school in the name of Le Cordon Bleu and having to work in such conditions just did not do it for me. Not forgetting the fact that the situation that is present in the hotel is nothing short of a big disgrace of the food industry as well as a catalyst for destruction. Furthermore, it's a well known fact in the world that Australia is one of the biggest food hubs in the world with the wide array of cuisine styles found here.

Looking back on the 6 months that I stuck to that miserable job just to graduate, I can't help to feel that a huge amount of time has been wasted. Much more I could have learnt if I had not succumbed to the loyalty i had to my friends there, who also were part of a team that I myself was part of. Furthermore unknowingly and unexpectedly, among the peers of other departments, I had become looked upon as a figure of authority when my lazy sloth-like chef de partie wasn't around, which by the way was most of the time. I had never witnessed a bigger case of abusing authority than i had seen with her. I had very much wanted to stay in a job to help my friends being overpaid and doing nothing technical. It makes no sense though to stay and work and also do and undertake the responsibility of the chef de partie when there's no formal notice in the sense of a pay rise or a promotion, rather it is forced onto you instead. The position of authority is always a plus in a career, but only if there was formal recognition in writing.

At least out of all this mayhem, I have a few positive outlooks. The support and help of friends and family which i could never replace, and the fact that with all this walking and running in just these 2 days alone, I would have lost all the weight i had put on back in sydney. =p

from memory

it's been one heck of a 2 months ever since i started my job at sofitel. late nights, extremely early mornings, getting spanked every service, having alcohol for comfort. though on top of that, good laughs, good money and good food. haven had a chance to go check out the rock climbing gym here yet though. the one in the city only has high walls, which means i need to go with someone. i'm not about to leave my life in the hands of a guinea pig so yeah, no thanks.

melbourne has been a lovely host so far. an abundance of good food, alcohol, coffee, beautiful people and sales. have a lovely cosy home that i enjoy lazing the day away in sometimes, though it's a bit of a struggle when you have a rat for a room mate who's room smells worse than a corpse rotting in the sewers. on many occasions, he has gravely stepped on the wrong side of me and i'm just about that close to kicking him out of the house. not that i'll have any difficulty getting someone else to move into the apartment.

started my soccer here in melbourne again. getting back my A game. though my pair of futsal shoes ripped just after the third time i played. hate them shoes without stitching. at least they were cheap. time to go hunt for another pair. miss buying them jerseys as well. dirt cheap in SG compared to here. Man utd jersey for 130? i may be a fan but i'm not stupid.

patching friendships can be quite funny at times. but at the end of the day, friend's better than a foe. though you'd have a hysterical past to remember sometimes. it's funny how people get misunderstood sometimes. after when the accuser realises that it doesn't make much sense, it get's a lil bit more comical. then again there are those that you just don't ever wanna be associated with.

getting out of singapore has changed my views in life. why worry? live for the moment. =) that's if you can see the sense in it though. live everyday like it's your last. then again you do have to attain a certain hiatus in life to do that as well. have i? i really don't know. but it sure as hell feels damn good doing so.

aussies. ugh!

aussies, them lazy bastards. they're probably the no.1 life hazard in a country who's aiming to compete with the top in the world. over-extensive holidays, outrageous rules with their electrical companies, and just plain inefficiency in everything they do. Yes the money is good here, the lifestyle is like being on a holiday 24/7, the food here in melbourne is fantastic, but then you have to remember, there are the cons to deal with as well.

moved into my new apartment recently. trusted the agent's word that he had done a thorough check of the apartment. Again, a load of bullshit. Things missing, broken chairs and lights, the place was filthy with torn and stained carpets, cockroach infested. Simply put, the previous tenant had left the place in a total mess. So much that you would doubt him/her as a human being, and wouldn't think twice of putting him/her under the animal category. apart from the state of the apartment, there's the electricity to deal with again. booked for it to be connected on the 21st of april. Checked and double checked the procedures that had to be carried out. was told that the electrical box was outside of the building. Therefore, i wouldn't need to be at home for them to connect the electricity. So after multiple phone calls back and forth between the agent, the connection company and myself, the date was booked for the electrical company to connect the electricity to my place, or so i thought. after a long day at work and sitting in the dark from 6pm-9pm, still no lights or power. what's worse? it's the long easter weekend. so FML. Therefore, i've been sitting in darkness, doing the tango with the shadows on the wall in candlelight. i basically have to leave my curtains open to get light in the night from the spotlight opposite my apartment. oh and i can't vacuum the carpets either. so the hair and dirt and dead insects and whatever you can think of, are still stuck on it. the cleanest place is the kitchen as the floor is tiled and i can scrub and mop it.

just started my job at Sofitel recently. was originally supposed to be in banquets, but they threw me up to room service, which is even better. they pretty much got me on service on the second day of work. fun =). then i heard i was gonna be staying on in room service instead of heading back down to banquets cos there's a chef in the restaurant no.35 who wants to go to banquets instead. just so that she can train her knife skills. knife skills? bullshit. banquets is like a factory production. everything's done before hand and you're just there assembling everything. knife skills my ass. looks like she doesn't know what she's gonna be in for. good luck! i love where i am now. who said no one wants you on service when you've got no experience. who said they won't look at potential when you're new. i'm gonna prove them wrong. Hello room service, hello no.35, thank you and i'm lovin it.

Le Cordon Bleu. So much repute and prestige, yet so god damned disappointing. The fees they charge and the manner that the school is run just makes my blood boil. coming to melbourne was probably the best choice i made in my life so far. after so much trials and tribulations, this is one thing i will never regret. it feels like melbourne is where the world meets. there's everything here. good coffee, good food, beer's cheaper than water, and the people here have more brains than those in sydney too. yes there is the bigger south-east asian influence here. i find that i kinda came back to singapore here cos everywhere i go, i get the thick singlish accent with all the "lah, loh, sia, issiiiit?". not to forget the singapore restaurants here, or so they think. Really is there a cuisine such as singapore cuisine? anyways, LCB, no i do not wanna continue my studies with you, and if i can successfully convince my parents to have me switch schools, i most definitely will without a second thought. everyone in the industry knows you guys charge more than everywhere else, no they did not expect the prices to be mind blowing either. when they knew of it, courtesy of moi, you should have a look at their faces. it's daylight robbery you guys are doing in truth. those prices for that kind of limited content? bullshit. if i switch to william angliss, fees would be cheaper, the burden would be less on my parents and i would feel so much happier going to school. LCB, you guys can be put in comparison with the electrical companies here. Quality control, shit. Fees, shit. Efficiency, shit. Inefficiency, australia's best.

it's been quite a ride for me recently. exposed to lots of new situations, which only adds to experience. loving melbourne now, i think i'll love it more as time goes on. there's definitely more to do than sydney here. the only one thing i can't wait to get started on? Rock climbing. the love of my life. In the meantime, i have to just sit here in the cafe to charge my laptop and ipod here. or i'll be dead for the next few days. Friend's helping with my iPhone and my crappy spare phone has only got half battery life left. hope it lasts just till 630am tmr morning to wake me for work. if it dies tonight, i'm dead. -.-"

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Been in melbourne for the past week now. So far all i can say is, i'm simply loving it. The population here is smaller, but due to some crazy timing issues, the streets will never be empty, yet never too packed to get around. The only bad thing? People tend to love to stop dead in their tracks when they're walking along the streets. Be it in your path, on the path or in the middle of the road with oncoming traffic. Yeah. It's like an addiction to being horned at. Other than that, weather's better than Sydney, the people are and the food are as well.

Everytime i have to get somewhere, i take the fastest possible route. Once i've done what i need to get done, that's when the fun begins. Taking in the sights, sounds and extremely nice smells(with the number of different cuisines and restaurants on every corner of the street), i set off on another adventure while i can. Crossing roads and dodging people, turning into every unexplored little street, and i will never fail to find something new and interesting. From really really really good coffee, to another korean grocery store, to another cheap and good restaurant or a really posh and beautiful restaurant. It's that many to an extent that even if i spent everyday for the next 6 months dining at a different restaurant, i would never be able to dine at every single restaurant. For the first time as well, every place has got a different system of payment or service or something. Sometimes it just gets confusing. Then again the exposure saves you from the embarrassment of having an extremely perplexed look on your face when you're faced with something new and unusual. Then again i'll say it's normal here but it just shows you haven't been exposed much yet.

The best part about the city is that it's just Melbourne. The city is organised in grids like how New York is. The names are also in order, which makes it so damn easy to get around on foot. After 5 days of non-stop walking for practically the whole day, not only have i found the quickest way to work on foot, but i know the city on the back of my hand already. Next thing i have to do is to explore outside of the city. Heard rave reviews on places like Fritzoy, have to find the nearest friendly bouldering gym, have to head to the beach to have a look around as it isn't as over-rated and crowded as Bondi in Sydney, and i've yet to take the metro as well. Have done just about everything you can do in Melbourne city, it's time to try what lays out of the city in the suburbs.

In the midst of all this exploration and madness, I managed to stumble upon the William Angliss Academy on one of my "exploits". With a grand campus, 11 kitchens with a bench, stove, oven/kitchen aid(cuisine/pastry) to each student, a huge restaurant kitchen with an independent pastry kitchen and a cuisine kitchen for restaurant service that would host 100 or more guests, a proper culinary shop with cheaper prices and a wider range of tools, cheaper uniforms with better quality and a little more than half the tuition fees that of LCB, i think it's enough evidence to prove that the LCB Sydney campus is indeed an operating international scam. With no proper campus, sharing it with TAFE, an over-expensive culinary shop, Cert iii only running for 3 months, which is 9 months short and teaching 4 modules less than the William Angliss Academy, it's just more evidence to show that we have been paying inflated, or over-priced tuition fees for LCB Sydney. Apart from the Culinary department, they have an independent Coffee Academy where you can take up coffee course as an elective(they teach latte art too), a course for Bartending(they have a proper bar with all the alcohol and facilities), and a whole building that is solely for the theory aspect of the course plus Hospitality/Diploma etc. Not to forget, they have a Bachelors in Culinary(molecular gastronomy and nuitrition) Hospitality Management(which covers both the restaurant and hotel aspects) on campus, whereas LCB has only got a Bachelors in Restaurant Management where you can do on the Sydney campus, and a Bachelors in Hotel Management which you would have to head to Adelaide for.

Too much happening too fast. First stop tomorrow though, first day in Sofitel Melbourne. Here's a personal promise, imma kickass in Sofitel. Who knows, if i might be able to make my mom think along the right track, and i do well enough in Sofitel to keep the job and maybe even attain a sponsorship, that's gonna be one foot into the industry and a huge step towards getting my PR status as well. Yes i've been told by many that i'm worrying about too much at my age. Then again now thinking about it, when it comes to enjoying life, i'm sure i'm No.2 to no one. But when there are things that matters and comes before enjoyment, i guess that's when you have to know where your priorities lie. That's when you know, that the results that you reap from your hard work and perseverance will be your source of enjoyment.

these past week has also given me time at night to think about certain things in life. like what has happened in my life so far. The wrong decisions that has slowed down my development in my career, the mistakes, the people who i wish i could start all over again, the people who i wish i never met etc. As we all know, there are no U-turns in life. If normally only get one shot and getting something done right. Second chances are rare and if they do come by, you don't grab it only with both hands, you grab them with your teeth as well.

new lease

schools over. 9 crazy months. 12hr days, 6 days a week for the past 2 and a half months, never-ending assignments, and a crazy theory exam. got past all of if including the practicals, which was pretty much a breeze. got through with zero failures. zero failures. one half of me is relieved, the other half wondering what's coming up next.

secured a job in Melbourne for my internship. new city, one city off my list. good money, good reputation, works best for me. something new and good to learn, and to add to my resume as well. a new job, new experience, what could be better? australia's biggest indoor gym will by my neighbour as well. i'll be earning 3 times the amount i could earn in singapore as well. life just got really good. it's now all up to me to keep the job and make my own name and fame. starting from scratch, let's hope i get to riches at the end of the day.

not just the job that makes me happy, but a wonderful person decided to knock on my door and enter my life too. independent. cute. great sense of humour. humble. thinks considerately of others. takes up the challenge if put across to her. doesn't give up. she even went to the extent of headin to melbourne on her own to get a job cos she wanted it so much. respect to that. i don't think i can find another like her nor will any in my previous relationships put up a fight against her. she beats them hands down. yeah so what if she isn't so tall, so what if she isn't that pretty, so what if she isn't aneroxically thin. i prefer a healthy woman who i can trust with looking after the household in the future. i have actually found someone who doesn't step on my head and knows her place. who is always aware of the line that isn't supposed to be crossed and who actually truly does accept me for who i am and not for my money or my education or whatever. someone who i can really depend on when in times of need. someone who wouldn't run away and discard you when you really need her to be there. someone who won't scream at me to get her way.

great new job, great new city, great new girl, great new experience. if i believed in god, thank you god. life just got really good. i hope it will continue down this road too.

there's no cure for stupidity

just something off the back of my head. you can't cure stupidity. though it is a choice that you can make. that choice is just between you using your brain or not. some people have the inability to make that choice cos maybe they were born disabled or something. but some normal people choose to have that inability to use their brains. now that's even more sad than the disabled.

yes i'm addicted to korean drama again. can't help it when i'm hanging out with koreans day in day out and i'm picking up korean just like how i picked up my malay. though korean is a lot tougher. well at least some words, and i mean a FEW, look like chinese characters. something to stimulate my brains so that i won't grow senile in the kitchen. that way i can dream of yoon eun-hye instead of having puff pastry puffing in my head while i'm asleep. breath of fresh air i must say.

i haven graced the climbing walls in a month. miss the smell, the chalk, the lactic acids building up in my forearms, the thrill and exhilaration, the challenge, and watching samantha berry climb. so graceful she is, yet intimidating and daunting at the same time. some stare at her in envy, i stare at her in awe.

superior cuisine and patisserie. make your own gateau for the pastry exam, no worries for the cuisine practical component though. just that the stoves and ovens are cranking up again. it like that in intermediate for me, now superior as well. and i'm paying through my nose for this school. total bullshit. gotta start flipping through my books for my theory exams soon. 4 weeks time and i'll finish 2 papers. then i'm left with the 2 practical components. gotta start on my cake too. crap. someone lend me an oven??

restaurant service has been fun so far. i think it kinda helped me decide which component i'd like to take up for my diploma. most probably choose cuisine cos i hate sugar. but working in a real time kitchen like environment for once kinda helps release stress. especially when you know that who you're working with has got your back. you guys share a common interest and help ease each other through it, at the same time keeping and carrying out the respective responsibilities. the only difference with this from the real industry is that you are not afraid to make a mistake because you know that there is someone there to cushion your fall, meaning the chef in charge of us. though doesn't mean we can take that for granted and make those deadly mistakes. the environment also helps us pinpoint who the heck we do not want to work with. kinda funny when you see it happening.

i think i need to get a life. i'm stuck in the kitchen too much. especially LCB kitchens. shit. can't wait to start work. might end up going to melbourne. 4 chefs keep pushing me there. one's exact words were, "Go to melbourne for your IP. Sydney's got nothing but shit." i like that chef. at least he's frank. well if so happens that i do go inter-state for IP, i'll have to think about money again. oh well. at least it'll look good on my resume.

laila's coming up from singapore on wed. wish sadiq, keem, hatta and the rest could come along as well. lepak one corner again. miss those times. oh well. one's better than nothing. =)