When policemen wore shorts...

...Dan was still a little boy!  Guess which one he is. Even he doesn't know for sure. He was found on Facebook and tagged in this photo by a primary school/ JC mate whom he doesn't even remember. 

When winter ( and spring) feels warmer than summer

One thing that has puzzled me since coming to Beijing is how locals seem to tolerate heat much better than the cold. Given that its cold for almost 5 months a year, you'd think that people born and bred here would deal with the cold better than they do with stifling heat.  You would also assume that for someone coming from the topics, a Beijing winter would feel like hell even after several layers of clothes.

But it appears not.

It's frigid outdoors but indoors, most places are warm thanks to central heating. I love the toasty feeling but I hate it when it gets ridiculously hot. That's how it is in my office. Now that I've gone back to work, I remember why it is that my wardrobe used to be stocked with racer back tees. It was simply too hot in the office to wear anything with sleeves! My old seat was far from any window and come winter it would get so  stifling that I had to request for an electric fan ( which is impossible to find. No one sells fans in winter) . I had to make sure the fan blew only at me. Because everyone else sitting nearby; who were already covered from head to toe; would complain that it's too cold! Cold?? There I was hyperventilating from the smoke-soaked stuffy 32 degreee celsius air and people were feeling cold? Am I missing something here??

Then I realised it wasn't just me. All the foreigners who come from much warmer climes find the winter heating in our office intolerable as well. I'm now seated closer to a window, which can be opened to let in cool air from outside. But it's still too warm! The heat has irritated me so badly that I've taken to wearing regular cotton skirts without leggings ( but with boots still), short sleeve tees and my thinnest pair of jeans with peep toe shoes. I've even stocked a pair of slippers to wear in the office. Got some strange looks along my 200metre walk to work and locals in the office asking me  “你不冷吗？”. No, I am not. I feel like a chicken that's being slowly roasted from inside out! All that's missing is a tray under me to collect fat drippings. 

How ridiculous is it to feel warmer in winter than in summer? I'm almost grateful the heating will be turned off next week. 

Coco Curry House - Jap curry fastfood

Checked out a Jap curry place at B1 of Gemdale Plaza ( Maison Mode) and it was yummy!

Prices ranged from 25 - 50RMB for a plate of curry soaked meat/ veg & rice. You can choose your desired level of spiciness and how much rice to have. The amount of rice ranges from 200g to 500g... though I can't imagine eating 500g of rice!  I had the Hamburger Curry - a breaded and deep fried meat patty with generous amounts of spicy curry - topped off with an extra serving of potato croquettes ( comes in 2 pcs).  The meat patty had onion bits in it which made it super tasty. Dan had the Katsu Curry. The pork was tender and freshly deep fried, which made it taste good. 

My only complaint is the lack of fresh shredded cabbage which is typically a complimentary side at most Jap restaurants when you have curry. Salads here were separate orders.  Without the salad, the curry seemed like a very heavy meal. In fact I was full till the next morning! 

Coco Curry House claims to be part of a famous Japanese franchise with more than 1000 stores in Japan. You can check out the parent company's homepage for more info

Verdict - a great place for a quick, delish and extremely filling meal. Decor reminds me of conveyor belt sushi joints i.e small, plastic-y so definitely not a place for a romantic meal! 

Desperately seeking the old Hungry Rambler

I don't know if its because I haven't worked in a while or if something else has changed inside my head,  but somehow, work doesn't feel the same. It's the same office, pretty much the same people, same type of work but somehow, I've felt like something important was missing.

It hit me what it was on Thursday morning.  What's missing is the passion I use to feel for my work, that little spark that made me willing to stay late or work from home till 2 in the morning, that desire to not just complete the task, but to complete it beautifully.

That old Hungry Rambler seems to have disappeared. In her place is someone who knows that going home to prep and have dinner with Dan is a zillion times more satisfying than pulling off an event. An event is just an event What impact does it have to the betterment of my life? None.  So the new Hungry Rambler is trying to reconcile work with this new attitude. While sitting at my desk at 10.30pm one evening, I almost wished for the old Rambler to come back. The Old Rambler wouldn't have felt that awful staying late at work. She wouldn't have felt that it's a waste of time.  She would have taken some pride in finishing that silly proposal.

first day back at work

Except for the new faces, it was almost like I never left! My email account, it appears, was never really deleted. Just temporarily taken offline. So this morning, I had over 700 new unread mail messages that have accumulated since the day I left. Freaky. I trashed them all. 

Was assailed by momentary doubt today on whether I could get back into the swing of things when I started going through a couple of proposals and brand presentations for a new account I'm to work on. Couldn't seem to understand it ( nothing to do with language, it was in English). I read, then reread it trying to figure out what we want to communicate.. I could see the process, but I couldn't see the end positioning. Maybe I've gone stupid after 6 mths of bumming. Asked around a little and realised... No one who's read the presentation seems to be able to tell me what's the positioning! 

Phew.. I was rather relieved that it may not just be me after all.  Fingers crossed I don't say anything dumb at tomorrow's client meeting!