Words Just Came Out Wrong

I thought I had a bad start at work today.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that my morning was one big mess, but very soon, I realised it was nothing as bad as what you guys have been through.

In my self-centred world I have ignored the vague hints that I should have called you earlier or something.  I decided to write a line or two in here to express my regrets.  I was looking for the answers and searching for the truth, which didn't even come close to expressing what I wanted the lines to be.

And when that moment came, the moment when we met, all words just came out so spectacularly wrong. 

Has anyone any faintest idea what I am talking about? 

Some say silence is golden.  Others say tears are words the heart can't express.  I don't even have tears run down, but rest assured that you are in our thoughts - always. 



 

Cafe Loisl - A Unique Find

Living in this concrete jungle in Hong Kong can be intense, but there are definitely ways to escape without leaving.

Greeted by European in decor with dark wooden furnishing, fitted with round marble tables, black and white tiled floors, and with one of the oldest newspapers in the world - Wiener Zeitung hanging on the wall, for a split moment, I could really imagine myself in a little cafe in Austria.  

Veering between needing my caffeine fix and bewilderment on a crisp morning, I went ahead and ordered an Einspanner, which consists of 2 shots of espresso with rich and thick whipped cream relaxingly lounged on the top.  They definitely know their craft and I promised the lady owner, Sirkka (during my last visit), that I will blog about this surprisingly authentic rendition here when I returned to the real world!  Well, it took me a little longer than that and in between, I have already visited them thrice!

Sirkka, a foreign yet pretty name to me, is apparently quite a common Finish name. Her husband and herself are seriously passionate about coffee drinking and they knew it is not easy to find such a quaint locale in the bustling city of Hong Kong and the lack of it prompted them to open this Viennese coffee house.   

Sirrka was able to expound at great length on the various coffees available in the city (abbreviated summary: there is no other good coffee available in the city).  Not only was I fed with excellent coffee, I learned that European coffee culture originated from nowhere but Vienna.

Legend has it that in the summer of 1683, bound by a treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I against the Turks, the King of Poland led about 75,000 men to victory against the Turkish army that had for two months lain seige to Vienna.  The defeated Turks left behind bags of coffee beans which, upon advice of a spy, the Viennese then roasted. 

Thus, from the spoils of battle arose one of the greatest glories of - the Viennese coffee house, where even today citizen and tourists take their ease and restore themselves with gossip or solitude, newspapers, excellent coffee, and superlative pastries.

Cafe Loisl is a wonderful, unique find, pack full of character - a highly recommended coffee place.

The moment you step onto the small front terrace, I assure you can easily stay there all day and watch the time goes away.

Acquired Taste

I vaguely remember I used to absolutely hate coffee, veered away from spicy food, and never really enjoy binge drinking beer.  I am looking at my diet this week and observed where I stand right now.  All I can say is, I love them all.  Also, it used to all taste the same to me, but now I can tell the difference. 

Yup.  That definitely comes with age (along with the accumulating fat). 


As far as fat (I mean taste) is concerned, it definitely can be acquired.  I know personally for example, my first exposure to beer was in college and it was the typical crappy beer. I hated it of course but then you tend to act cool along with your peers so I would often be seen gobbling lager fairly quickly showing off!  Stupid move no doubt, because that was when they quickly handed you with a second pint!

Further down the road, I discovered just how many different varieties of beer there are in this wonderful world we are living in and found a few that I genuinely like and have stuck with them since.  Right now, needless to say is, quality vs. quantity (again, comes with age).

Same with coffee.  I remember working on the acquisition for the first few years I started work, the dreadful deal just didn’t go through.  Man it tasted bad, how can people take it in like water, I had no idea!   To me it was the strong association with wakefulness, alertness and productivity that got me gradually started.  Thanks to the over time and the burning midnight oils, these associations have caused myself to first be tolerant of caffeine and now actively can't quite live a day without.

Nowadays, it is also the association of coffee with a certain lifestyle, and realistically - I would say it is the "escape" moments in life which you so look forward to every now and then which created the need for it. It is also perhaps the pleasant company that you often have when having a cuppa which perfected the splendid acquisition.


I was curious what sort of "tastes" others have acquired and went around asking a few of my friends.  I have a few more to add to the list actually - Vegemite is definitively one and...along the line of non-food category, golfing pops up, crying babies can qualify and, interestingly, living alone per say, can be another! 

Can you think of anything else?

Angel Of Love

You see an angel if someone picks an eyelash off your face. Simply because they don't want you to be seen looking like a fool. They notice these things because they really pay attention and are the first to notice if something is amiss with your beautiful visage!

You have just found yourself an angel if they don't mind running errands for you or cleaning up your messy apartment, or if they can order your food without having to be told what you want.

Somebody loves you like an angel if they don't mind the quietness in the air.

"Hey baby. I think I like you okay. Do you wanna grab lunch together? I think we have just enough to talk about to fill two hours!"

That's not love.

Somebody loves you if they don't care about how much or how little money you earn. It is a relationship where no one is selling something to the other.  No one is the prostitute.

Somebody loves you if they assume the role of caretaker when you are sick. And depending on what they say to you, you will know how much they care about your well-being.

"That is terrible. I hope you will feel better soon!" - earns you a stay in friendship jail;

"Do you need anything? I can come over and bring you get well remedies!" - gets you a cozy friendship suite.


Somebody will always love you and be your angel of love.   If you don't think this is true, then you are probably not paying close enough attention to the people around you.

 

This Time Last Year

I wish I could be more forward-looking but do you sometimes want to recall where you were and what you were doing at this time last year?  I do.  And how I wish I was more like Anne Frank who didn't seem to have a problem keeping a diary as a daily ritual. 

I can no doubt refer to the electronic version of my memory keeper but that's not what I really want. Until I found this one line a day: a five-year memory book! 

This 365 daily entries appear five times on each page, allowing users to revisit previous thoughts and memories over five years as they return to each page to record the current day's events. Nothing comes neater than that.

I highly suggest this to anyone who has always wanted to keep a diary but somehow cannot seem to stick with it. I also love the fact that each year you can look back and see what you were doing on that exact day the year before.

There is no pressure on this page to be absolutely brilliant, or to prove that every day was an amazingly life-changing day in order to make it worth jotting in your diary.   A line or two suffice and looks like keeping a diary won't be that off-putting from 2012. 

Have A Big Heart

I watched a documentary recently about blood donors and receivers.  It illustrated blood supply and demand are not always in balance and showed how some people, even with heaps of money, wouldn't have been fortunate enough to live an extra day without these selfless blood donors around. 

We all know how great it feels to do something you enjoy and have people appreciate it, even if you are not getting paid for it. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not to say you should give in order to get.  But if you think about it, the moment you put in more wood in a fire place, the fire will give off more warmth.  Give and give and you will surely receive.  Perfectly fine if you don't, but just don't be surprised when we look back on to our lives at some point and found out - it has been nothing but ash. 

Don't go set off a fire now.  I can suggest you with something less drastic to start with, such as - giving blood!   

Happy New Year + 6 Days!

Six days into the new year and it seems everybody has a plan for 2012.  A fresh, dazzling plan for the sparkling New Year. Splendid.  

What about me?  Do I have a plan? 

I do in fact. 

The idea popped up when the clock stroke 12 at midnight hour on new year day.  That was when everybody was furiously trying to get online, sending messages in Whatsapp and what not, only to find out hours later that none of the messages you intended to send got sent!  I then realised the majority of us forgot something very fundamental - hardly anyone cared to pick up the phone that minute and do the "I just call to say I love you" thing!  

Remember a few years back when we all tried to get through the line on the dot, trying hard to impress that special someone?  Well, my sis and I dialled home to our folks on that smashing first minute of the year and the line wasn't jammed at all.

It's never too late to do it now, I mean, it's only 6 days into the new year.  To attend to those you love, you don't absolutely need a reason to call them, really.  

We all know what to do from now on, don't we?  Just what ARE you waiting for?

At this very moment for me though, it is definitely about time to detox after the excesses of December.  During hibernation, I realised with introspection not being a strong suit, I shall not attempt making any New Year resolutions.  Not for real-life, and not for blogging-life.

Same old, same old.  You readers deserve much more than that, so please keep your arms and legs in the cart at all times and remain seated until the train has come to a complete stop.  Hang on. Alampy shall continue.   

Wish you all health and happiness throughout the year!