In spite of the heat it was nice to come here instead of a mall. I learnt that tortises have sharp claws that they used to go up the slope of the pond seemingly to lounge in the sun, and are not that slow, sometimes scurrying back into the lily pond.
It’s been hard getting back into the swing of things but I figure short and sweet posts are better than radio silence.
My life has been blessed though with angelic nieces who bring more joy than I could imagine. I do have a bias for little girls who are truly sugar, spice and all things nice.
I feel greater serenity looking back at my recent photos in a cool environment. It was sweltering hot, but for the shade the trees provided. Coming here in the wee hours of the morning would be ideal. I like being out when everyone else is still in bed.
It’s amazing how much better you feel when you just spend just 10 minutes to clear a surface. Even a task as simple as emptying your drawer of receipts. If you do this every day, soon you’ll have a load off your mind.
Somehow a cluttered space makes me feel more distressed. But when my living space is orderly I feel so good. A whole weight off my mind. And it doesn’t have to be a huge effort. Baby steps will do. A little bit here, a little bit there and it all adds up.
Similarly if I just loose 1 kg it makes a huge difference to how I feel physically and mentally. I am able to do more without that extra weight on my back.
I am not the most disciplined person but when I get motivated and into the groove, I can be quite the machine.
Blogging this to motivate myself to be accountable and get back on the bandwagon. Often we need to be our own cheerleaders. I need to believe in myself when no one else does. I guess we all need to so I hope this motivates you too.
There’s something about this place that makes me feel serene. A tinge of nostalgia and the quiet and emptiness helps (before the lunch crowd arrives).
Back to Changi beach and before that a relaxing brunch at Jacob’s Cafe. If it wasn’t so blazing hot I wouldn’t mind swimming here. Wish most days could be cool and drizzly, although I know not many people share this desire. Saw families having picnics on plastic sheets, with homemade food like nasi lemak and was thinking maybe we should do that one day. The planes arriving make this beach rather unique and I do love the soft imported sand. This beach has always been nicer than the one at East Coast and I’m hoping that after East Coast beach is renovated it’ll surpass this. I have high hopes.
Found the green kiwi Japanese style jelly rather pretty. Felt a bit less sinful, but perhaps I’m deluding myself that this dessert was mostly ice? I have terrible food habits and tend to medicate myself with junk. I know it’s bad but it’s an addiction and I could write a whole book about it. Do certain food make you happy too?
Just felt like taking a photo of the traditional kopi cup. This was from a stall at the Tiong Bahru Food Centre. I don’t take my coffee black but like how it looks before I stir in the condensed milk.
The River Safari is a mixture of an aquarium and a zoo. I enjoyed the it more than I thought I would. I’m not usually an outdoorsy type of person.
My favourite exhibits would be the pandas, red pandas (more like raccoons or weasels but they look cuter like a half bear half squirrel) and frisky golden monkeys known as squirrel monkeys that you can get really close to. Signs posted warn you not to touch them or they will bite. What I liked the most is that unlike the zoo next door, the River Safari is well sheltered as I can’t bear the direct heat of the sun. The last time I was at the zoo I was so zapped of energy.
We skipped the boat ride (known as the Amazon river quest) as the earliest slot we could get was about 3 hours later and we didn’t figure that we would be hanging around the exhibits for that long. Also I read on tripadvisor that some people were not that impressed with the ride.
There’s a perpetual queue at the zoo so you have no choice but to book tickets online. I would suggest that they allow birthday folk to skip the queue too but at the moment they don’t. So most birthday people would forgo the chance for a free ticket rather than waste time & feel frustrated queuing on their birthday. Hope someone at the zoo reads this as it will mean they are sincere about the birthday treat.
Also lately I have been updating Instagram more frequently than the blog. I think it’s the instant gratification of getting likes. Only in this era. It’s a bit like getting stars when you’re a kid.
My partner keeps asking me why I haven’t been updating my blog. Apart from the computer that keeps crashing and the tiny font on the iphone that’s hurting my eyes, my wifi being down (yup, excuses), I just basically lost the flow. Doesn’t feel too great and I need to come back to it.
It’s true what they say. Once you don’t do something every day it gets harder and you loose that momentum.
Another thing. It’s hard to keep running something which you are not monetizing in any way and actually loosing money instead. Just doesn’t make practical sense. So perhaps I should stop thinking of potentially monetizing the blog as selling out my soul. I can still exert some control in that area as other bloggers have been showing me and only accepting products they truly believe in. I wonder if I could call out for sponsorships just for products or places I already love. That I have been raving about for years.
I have been writing too much about Singapore in general, when I intended the blog to be more about life in Singapore and life from the perspective of someone in mid-life. Life that anyone living in any part of the globe can relate to. Also want to get away from too many food posts as I am feeling like quite the glutton. And food blogging makes you eat way too much, even stuff you don’t really like just for something to blog about.
I have been reading a lot more when I stopped blogging though, so that’s one good thing that came out of my temporary desertion.
