How has 2012 been for you so far?

Since my last post in 2011, it has been one crazy mess for me. Trying to juggle work(all the Court cases came up in the last couple of weeks) and trying to teach my understudy what I can, meeting and catching up with old friends, trying to make sure everything is done and settled before I reach Tasmania, ensuring I have everything I need when I reach…

2012 has been a rush of activity after activity, and I’m not even halfway through all that before school starts for me on 20th February 2012.

It’s been so crazy that I’ve suffered another outbreak on my face (some friends commented that I really look like a teenager now), and I spent the last 2 days just surfing the Net and well, sleeping.

They say that the most stressful event in your life is moving. I’ll say that what I’m going through isn’t too far the list as well.

I don’t really have too much to say at this stage, other than you’ll never appreciate how much work you’re doing and holding on to until you try to pass it on to someone else and realize the enormity of it.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the end of the month, when I can hopefully stop thinking about work and focus on preparing for the long stay ahead, and possibly squeezing in a couple of trips in that short 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, I wish everyone a happy Lunar New Year, as well as happy holidays!

The last day of 2011 is upon us, and there are many thoughts on my mind.
It has been an amazing year, and I will be expressing some of my thoughts here.

This will be a long post, as I want it to be a reference for me to refer to in the years ahead, and also for the people who wants to know a bit more about what I’ve gone through this year.
To sum up a year’s worth of thoughts in a post is going to be hard, but here goes.

For your convenience, I have segregated them into Work, WP, Heartbreaks, Life, others and what happens next.

Work:
Since I spend most of my working hours on work, I suppose this should be the first stop.

Though I started work in November 2010, it wasn’t really until the beginning of the year that work started picking up.
I remember being thrown into an environment where I was doing things I really did not understand, and I was basically just reacting to things, trying to stay afloat.

That didn’t work out very well though. It was one mistake after another, and before I reached Chinese New Year, the worse outbreak of my life decided to start on my face, which is probably not an inaccurate reflection of the internal turmoil I was facing. I was scared of doing things I didn’t understand, scared of making more mistakes whenever I did anything, and was virtually alone in that situation.

Source

Truth be told, I didn’t know how I survived through that and all of the entire year, but I know it started when I ironed out the expectations that my boss has of me, and being frank (and brave) enough to tell him I don’t know what I was doing- that certain things were beyond me and I needed help. Lots of it.

I also had to rely a lot on my classmates back in Temasek Polytechnic, colleagues and new friends. Let me say it now, Law has a very steep learning curve, and if you don’t have someone to guide you through it, you’re pretty much dead already. I’m thankful that I studied in TP not so much because of the syllabus (I don’t actually remember a lot about it), but because of the friends and connections I made that allowed me to know and call some of my saviors in my darkest moments of need. Thank you.

One of them I’ve spoken to was quite surprised I managed to hold on to the job in one piece despite the sometimes lack of support. It wasn’t until then that I started to take pride in how I managed my work, instead of feeling like I was being dumped from crisis to crisis. That perception shift really helped- I didn’t feel that helpless anymore.

Truly, 2011 was a year I learnt much about myself through work, and despite how I sometimes complain about work, I’m very thankful that it has helped to mold the way I am today.

The Workers’ Party:
It has been quite a year for my involvement in WP too. Things were heating up from the beginning of the year and I wasn’t able to commit as much as I wanted to.
Between the mental battles I had at work, there was another factor I needed to juggle – Distance. It’s no joke taking public transport for 60-75 minutes to reach a destination, join in the activities for usually a couple of hours, and then take the same journey back.

It’s one thing if the journey was comfortable as compared to the past, but we all know how really comfortable, quiet and reliable public transport has been the past year. Granted, the journey feels shorter with the iPad on my hands, but it doesn’t make it any less tiring.

One way to look at it would be to say that I’m not committed enough to the party. I would say I’m picking my battles- I can’t join as much as I like because I don’t want to look and feel tired everyday when I’m at work or with the Party, so I join the more important ones and show up occasionally so that they know I’m available.

When GE came I helped out in my own ways on and off-line, and I hoped that some people on the fence were swayed by my efforts.

It’s really no joke traveling home from Punggol East SMC. It really felt like someone up there have a cruel sense of humour when Bernard and Lilian asked me to join their campaign. Thankfully the Taxi fare hikes didn’t take place then – then again, I guess they were just waiting for GE to be over first.

I was just glad when the entire campaign was over. I’ve never read so many articles online in my life. I tried my hand at crafting a few of my own, and though most never saw the light of day as I felt they were grossly inadequate compared to some of the wonderful pieces written by students and workers alike, I was glad that there were many people who did care about what’s going on in the country, and that like me- they wanted to live in a better Singapore.

One of the greatest moments for the year would no doubt be the rallies.
Since I joined the Party only in 2007, and I wasn’t politically active previously, this would be the first time in my life that I’ve attended a lawful gathering so big in Singapore (Countdowns not included).
There were so many people there, so many people who wanted to hear what the candidates had to say. A lot of firsts happened those 9 days.

Source: WP Facebook Page

The pride I had when I recited the Pledge together with Pritam Singh that night, as well as the joy I felt when it was confirmed we had won Aljunied GRC.

If you’re one of those who attended a WP Rally in this year’s GE, let’s just say it feels very different when you’re standing on the other side.

Throughout all this, I begin to realise that there is much I can do without being physically present all the time, and I’m going to keep on working in that direction to help in my own way.
Either that or get my own car and transport somehow. Maybe this one?

Source: WP Facebook page

Love:
Many of my closer friends would know that I’ve been nursing a major heartbreak that happened a few days before my birthday in 2010.
There’s a saying that it takes the same amount of time you spent in a relationship to get out of it. They’re not exactly wrong.

Source

It was a very painful process trying to pick myself up from how far I’ve fallen back then. And it was definitely not as easy as some of my friends would make it out to be.
There were so many lessons I learnt through this heartbreak, that I really don’t know where or how to begin.

Maybe I’ll just list a few of them here:

1) When in depression, watch funny movies/shows.
Comedies really helped to lessen the pain of waking up to what feels like a meaningless day of work/battle.
And laughter is exceptionally important when all you feel like doing is to crawl back to bed and not move.

2) Stop thinking and just do things.
I got pretty busy at work, and I went out frequently with friends even though I really didn’t feel like doing it at times.
That helped to take my mind off things which was really important. I knew nothing would be done if I kept dwelling on it, and it was the first step to moving on and getting life back.

3) Have a support group of people that cares and understands.
No one in life will understand what you’ve been through. Heartbreaks are different for everyone, but some have gone through pretty bad ones themselves. These are the people who can empathize with you and give you a pat on the back when you need one.

4) Restrict time spent with friends who brush it off, do not understand, or laugh at your face about it.
It hurts so much whenever they laughed at how dumb I was. These friends are important in the later stages of recovery, but it can really feel like you’ve been stabbed whenever they start laughing about it. I survived somewhat, but I don’t think you’ll want to do the same.

5) Forgive yourself and move on.
You have to realise at some time that the person that needs forgiveness the most, is not the other party but yourself.
This was especially true for my situation, and you have to realise that as humans, we all make mistakes and it is no different in relationships.
As simple as it looks, its one of the hardest things to do. Its one of the things you have to do eventually, if you want to move on.

There are many more lessons I’ve learnt, but I don’t intend to list them all here.
If you’re in a heartbreak, I hope that you have your own support group to rely on. If you don’t mind, I can be here for you.
I’ve been in your shoes somehow, and will do what I can to help you get over it if you want to.

Life, friends, and the way ahead
Above all that, there’s still life and friends.

I’ve had the good luck and opportunity to catch up with many of you wonderful people this year, and I have also made the conscious decision not to contact some of the less wonderful ones.
For a few simple reasons actually. I believe that you are who you hang out with- if I don’t like certain things you say or do, there’s no point in me constantly meeting you if its just going to annoy me further.
Add that to the fact that ever since work started, time has become more precious and I would rather stay at home and enjoy some alone time, then to be criticized and lectured on things you think I should be doing, but am not.

And if you don’t believe you’re on the latter, it may be because I’ve been busy (just like you), and couldn’t find enough time or energy to meet. Lets try to catch up again soon!

I believe I’ve learnt quite a bit from each and every interaction that I’ve had this year, and I hope to continue learning from your experiences and words.
As they say, it is much better and faster to learn from the pain and experiences of others, than to keep making your own mistakes.

Ultimately, I believe life is about choices and finding a balance between work and responsibilities, fun, play and alone time.

If you’ve read this far on what must be one of the longest posts in this blog, I commend you and will let you into a fact that you may already know.

I’ll be headed to the University of Tasmania (which is in Australia by the way) next year on Valentine’s day to take up my Bachelor’s in Law. It’ll be a three year course, and I’ll be coming back every mid-late November til February to work and well, catch-up.

I intend to busy myself over there even though I keep hearing there’s nothing much to do after 5pm, and I will continue to learn new things and to improve myself. You will see a different Aaron Peng very soon.

And if you’re wondering why the whole post been about learning and improving, Its because I believe that if you do not improve, you will fall behind others and eventually be made redundant. Life without learning is death.

Don’t remain stagnant my friends. Last but not least, thank you all for being in my life, and I apologize if I have inadvertently hurt you in any way.

Goodbye 2011, and lets all look forward to a wonderful and memorable 2012 ahead.

Source

If you’re salivating at my earlier visit to Nando’s, good news! This is your chance to dine in at Nando’s … for free!

With 4 flavors to choose from: Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot & Extra Hot, Nando’s is on an island-wide quest to search for the most popular flavor here in Singapore. And I’m glad to say, you really do have a choice and a say in this matter! (Unlike certain hikes and changes as of late)…

Simply visit the Nando’s Facebook page here and like it, add the app to your Facebook, fill up your details, vote for the flavor that you think is the best and most popular here in Singapore (I chose hot, extra hot is too much for me to handle!), and that’s it! Incidentally, I managed to get a Peri-Surprise voucher, which entitles me to one Peri Wedges with Creamy Perinaise free. Feel free to let me know what you’ve won, and maybe we can all visit the restaurant together. The entire process took me about 1 whole minute by the way. And you definitely stand a much higher chance of winning in this competition then TOTO or even 4d.

The results will be announced on 6 February 2012, and if you’re one of the 100 winners chosen from the people who voted for the most popular flavor, you’ll be invited to a special Nando’s party themed after the winning flavor! I really wonder how the Extra Hot party will be like… I reckon no one will be able to eat much, its really spicy and definitely not for the faint-hearted~ More importantly, to ensure you thoroughly enjoy yourself, the lucky winners will be able to bring two friends to the party too!

Unlike the two recent elections where you can only vote once, simply follow the steps below to get additional voting & winning chances:
1. Dining in at Nando’s entitles you to one more vote at the restaurant.
2. If you don’t feel like spending too much money, vote at the roadshows- locations will be on their Facebook page.
3. Invite 5 friends or more to the Facebook page to get another voting chance.

Pick up the physical voting cards or simply vote in Facebook now! Its that easy!

We are in a bind.

Think about this situation.
You have a friend who likes to wear really short skirts and low-cut tops.
She lives in a deserted area and usually reaches home very late.

Slutwalk aside, as a close friend, what would you do?
If she ignores your warning and well intentions to continue her actions. What can you do?
Would you 1) Threaten to tell her parents, or 2) Let her be?

Fast forward down the line, and she has an uncomfortable encounter with a flasher, or worse.
She becomes so traumatized, that from then on she develops a highly charged fear of men, and her life is never the same again.

Now, what if this person was your girlfriend, or fiancé?
What would you do?

We are constantly faced with decisions like these in our lives. Some more than others because they have loved ones to look out and care for.
Their children for example, their wife or girlfriend, or even their siblings and family.

I believe there are two approaches to this scenario.
One, to give them the freedom to do whatever they want and pray that things work out right, even though you can see that pothole right in front of them.
Two, to ‘limit their freedom’ by controlling what they can or cannot wear, or set a curfew so that they will not reach home after dark.

At first glance, approach one seems to mirror the western democracy style of raising kids, while approach two is the more typical Asian way.

Studies and opinions have been split on which of the above method is better, but as a parent or a loved one: Approach one ensures that they make mistakes on their own, and lessons that they learn which has hurt them deeply will no doubt be a lesson they can and will remember for a long time. Conversely, for approach two, kids have grown up hating their parents for not giving them the respect or privacy they want and think they deserve. Other than running the risk of being hated, there is also a high chance that you are protecting and sheltering them so much, then when they eventually make a mistake, they will be at a major loss as to how to react, as they have made and learnt enough from the mistakes they have done so when they were younger.

Have you ever taken things that didn’t belong to you when you were young? When you were caught, people tend to be more forgiving because you were young, and they believed you didn’t know better.
Fast forward 20 years, and people are generally much less forgiving to someone who does the same thing.

Another simple scenario to give would be fire. As kids, we’ve been told multiple times that fire is dangerous, and that we shouldn’t play with it.
That didn’t stop me from having a fascination with it, spending what remains of my pocket money on matches and lighters and burning papers and flyers that were readily available. Thankfully, nothing major ever happened, except for this one time when I burnt my finger, and it left a physical scar forever. Since then, I’ve had a healthy respect for fire.

To sum it up, people don’t like being told what to do. No matter what age they are at.
Giving and voicing a reason for why they’re not allowed to do certain things are okay if they understand the logic behind it, but .. will most people really understand without the pain attached to that lesson? Or more importantly, how long will they remember the lesson for, before they make the same mistake again?

What do you think? What would you do?

Curious about the crime rate in New York? Read on for more info.

Bigger Graphic Here

Was invited last on 3rd December to visit Nando’s Tampines Mall as they were having an event.

I must admit though, I’ve heard stories about about prices being more expensive and the food not as good as in neighboring Malaysia (where its really popular). Hoping to disprove that theory, I managed to get myself (together with a few other bloggers) an invite at the newly opened Nando’s in Tampines Mall. This would mark my first of my many subsequent visits to Nando’s.

Yes, that’s me standing beside the giant black chicken. I really do think its quite cute~
(Picture courtesy of Hpility)

This post will be a highlight of some of the more memorable dishes I had on my quest-for-chicken saturday afternoon.

First off, a shot of how the Tampines Mall outlet looks like on the inside. The layout of the restaurant has a soothing and comfortable feel to it, and I noticed that not surprisingly, there were many families dining in for the afternoon.

Their Wild Mushroom Soup & Bread is absolutely heavenly. Consisting of mushrooms, chicken chunks and spices, this is an excellent appetizer (or appeteaser as they call it) and is a must try for mushroom lovers!

One of the other appetizer we tried were the Chicken Livers & Portuguese Roll. I’ve never really been a fan of chicken livers per se, but I couldn’t stop myself from taking piece after piece. The portuguese roll was also a welcome addition.

Coming up next were the Chicken Kebabs. Each skewer came with four succulent chicken breasts with baby tomatoes, onions and fresh peppers. Definitely better and tastier than your pasar malam varieties~

Onward to the main dish. The real reason why most people came to Nando’s. The flame grilled chicken.
As a chicken lover. I’ve mainly confined myself to fried chicken of many varieties. Its convenient and good enough for my fix. But after tasting the flame grilled chicken, I can understand why people come back for more.
The meat was smooth, juicy and tasty. It also wasn’t too oily for my liking, and the portion was just right.

Last but not least, the desserts. We ended the afternoon with this dessert plate, consisting of the Caramel and Chocolate Cheesecake, Natas (I thought they were egg tarts too) & Chocolate Crunch Rolls. Not being too sweet (even the Caramel cheesecake), it was a perfect dish to end the wonderful afternoon.

Having been served by courteous crew of Nando’s who attended to our very need, I hereby declare Nando’s safe, and that Joanne Peh may be hard pressed to find a reason to complain if she received the same treatment as we did that afternoon. Thank you all for that wonderful afternoon! (If you must know, you will no longer be charged for cold, warm or hot water. How’s that for a surprise?)

Other things to note:
Nando’s is a Halal restaurant, but because they serve alcohol, there is no Halal sticker affixed.
The above items are just some of dishes I would recommend and is not a comprehensive or exhaustive list. Do feel free to try out the various dishes and let me know your thoughts on it.
Most dishes come in four flavours- Extra Hot, Hot, Mild, and Lemon & Herb. There’s a competition going on for that, and more information will come in a subsequent post.

You can get your fix of flame grilled chicken at the following malls:
The newer ones at Tampines Mall & Katong Mall, the others at Bugis Junction, Plaza Singapura and Tanglin Mall.
All stores open at 10am and close at 10pm, other than Katong Mall which closes at 3am on friday and saturdays, and 1am on other days.

What with the Bubble Tea craze back in Singapore again (anyone remember what happened in 2001 where there were Bubble Tea shops everywhere?), the next trend is upon us.

Soya Beancurd or well, tau huay.

Most of us are probably familiar with famous Rochor beancurd, a wonderful hangout if you’re in town and its after 11pm.
Others would probably be familiar with Lao Ban, or 51 Beancurd, their direct competitor. These two go way back I tell you, but that’s another story for another time.

I was invited on saturday to visit a small stall that has just opened in Golden Mile Food Centre. Beancurd enthusiasts would no doubt notice that 51 Beancurd has opened on the basement floor, but that’s not the focus of this blog entry today.

On the first floor of Golden Mile Food Centre, on the right of middle flight of stairs, is a Beancurd stall that opened somewhere in July.

HongKong IBean

Boosting a wide variety of flavours (Almond, Strawberry, Green Tea, Original and even Durian), the owners of the stall has been constantly improving and refining their standards with feedback from their customers. That’s the good part, cause it means I wasn’t involuntarily being taken as an experiment subject.

Friends of mine would know that I’m not particularly inclined towards sweet stuff (25% sugar for all my bubble tea products please, on the rare occasion I do get myself one), and I was pleasantly surprised to note that all the flavors I tried were richly flavoured without being too sweet. Of particular interest to me was the durian and strawberry flavors.

The flavors:
Durian: It didn’t smell or taste too strong despite real durians being used (I heard it was hell trying to get all the fibers out), but its oh so good that I almost reached for another bowl by myself. Most importantly, no lingering smell of death on your breath after eating it!
Strawberry: I haven’t been a fan since I was exposed to several sourish ones in a row some time back, but like the durian, the essence of the flavor was there without it being too sweet (and definitely not sour). Kids will love this.
Original: Definitely more tasty than the ones I’ve tried from your major brands. Not too sweet too, that’s what I like most about the entire stall.
Almond: Never been a big fan, but the almond taste isn’t so strong that it will throw you off.
Green Tea: Not so strong like certain Ice-cream brands I’ve tasted, but I’m pretty sure authentic green tea lovers will like it.

If there’s one thing to note, these are the new generation of beancurds, where the sugar syrup is pre-mixed with the powder and flavorings. This means that the sweetness has been pre-determined, and if the comments from my family (and hundreds of other customers) are anything to go by, they’re doing very well on this aspect.

Prices are decent, Original and Almond at $1.50, Strawberry and Green tea at $2.00 and Durian at $2.50.

Verdict:
Next time you’re in the area, do swing by this shop and get your fix of beancurd. You won’t regret it.
The Durian is a must-try!

Address:
505 Beach Road, Singapore, Singapore 199583 (Golden Mile Food Centre aka Army Market)
#01-64 (On the first floor of Golden Mile Food Centre, on the right of the middle flight stairs)

Open from 9am – 9:30pm daily.

Follow their Facebook Page here for incoming promotions.