closer to vanuatu than answers

i'm no closer to any answers on my can i live in the mall that is singapore if i have a really fulfilling job, make tons of money, can bring my family and use it as a jumping off point to vanuatu dilemma, but i'm having a fabulous time.

1.  i've eaten sushi (and botched up photographing it because i was deliriously tired).

2.  and some other really gorgeous food.  those little golden rectangles are delectible pockets of mango and thinly-sliced scallop that were light, crispy and quite simply heavenly. the veg is rather spinach-like and is stirred together with a gorgeous sambal olek chili sauce and garlic. totally awesome and a good alternative to sushi if one must.

3.  and wondered to myself whether i could actually allow myself to eat sushi at every meal while i'm here (i chose something else tonight, as you can see, so i did not go with this option, tho' there's still a lot of sushi left in this city and i will have more before i leave).

4.  i wondered what the heck this was:

the waitresses were using these, i think it was some way of communicating to the cooks what had been ordered because they would come, stand in front of it, select a few and disappear around the corner.  fascinating, in any case.

5.  i've marveled at the sheer number of people wearing false eyelashes (i will try to surreptitiously take pictures of some of them tomorrow). 

6.  i've visited two scrap supply stores (read: heaven) and bought a few cool things (read: stamps, rub-ons, something fabulous called washi tape and yes, pretty papers). and i've spread it all out on the desk in my hotel room:

7.  i popped into the gap, bought a great dress (follow link to the very dress) which i already wore today and got a $10 (SGD, not US, tho' they're worth about the same these days what with the utter collapse of the US economy under the stewardship of the republicans...but i digress) gift certificate, which means i will have to go back.

8.  i viewed the new nano, but they were out of purple, so i restrained.

9.  i bought the new issue of martha stewart living. (sigh, i do love martha, despite the damage she's done to my psyche (what with the ironing the tea towels and all) so much that i paid $13SGD for it.)

10.  i bought thomas friedman's new book, hot, flat and crowded (tho' my version looks nothing like this picture on amazon) and listened to him being interviewed about it on CNN. it sounds like it's gonna be great, but i'm finishing this first. (my version looks like the one in the picture.)

11.  i've memorized the piece on CNN about whether or not south africa will be ready for the world cup in '10. dang, they repeat themselves a lot.

12.  i have yet to lens-shop for a macro lens for my beloved D60.

13.  and for the past couple of hours, i've been working in my art journal for the fabulous online course i'm taking.

i did a page called someday which listed all of the things that i will do someday (you know i'm a procrastinator):

and this one called need more, which listed all of the things i need more of (counterintuitively, not all were actual things, but stuff like patience, discipline, creativity and ideas):

and this one too which had only a little bit of journaling starting with i wonder...:

loving the SteadyHandFaultyHeart online art journal course (it's round 2) and it bodes well for singapore that i've had this spurt of creativity while i was here. and of course its proximity (relative to denmark) to vanuatu, where i will someday run away to. (in fact, i'm going to add that to my someday page.)

and now, it's ridiculously late here, so i'm going to go. catch ya tomorrow...do you think it's ok to have a list of 13 things? oh well, too tired now to care.

iPhone is the new black

gadgets and technology are the new snobbery.  according to a hilarious column by David Brooks from 08.08.08, what matters today is the buzz for the latest gadget or social networking site, where you download your music and what fancy new wireless headphones you have (he mentioned some finnish ones, but i don't know those). by the time things are in with the masses, you, to retain elite status, should have already moved on to the next obscure new wonder. 

MySpace is out, Facebook is in. Gmail is where you should get your mail, definitely not AOL and hotmail is soooo over. Plaxo is beginning to surpass LinkedIn, but although i joined, i'm unwilling to really move over there yet. Apparently there's a new site for music--Pitchfork, tho' i'm still using Limewire. the coolness that is Nintendo DS is kicking the Sony PSP's patootie, as is the Wii vs. PS3. i can see that Wordpress is gaining on Typepad, tho' i'll admit i'm quite content here on blogger.

one simply must have an iPhone (preferably the new 3G, since the first gen is so over) and at least one iPod. Apple has definitely been on the forefront of this new rule of design as a mark of snobbery and Brooks says that June 29, 2007, the date of the release of the first iPhone was the shift--that's the day that "the means of transmission replaced the content of culture as the center of historical excitement and as the marker of social status."

in myself, i can see that it even goes down to the level of what little bag to put your gadget in...it must be a crumpler, but a golla (that's finnish) is also hottie, anything else (including the belkin that i have for my Touch) is distinctly nottie.

i have bose earbuds and never use those white ones that came with my iPod, tho' i can see that those white earbuds are themselves a mark of hipness because i've seen people using them who don't actually HAVE an iPod. but, of course, i fancy myself as far too cool for that. because part of this whole phenomenon as Brooks describes it is that you have to not only be "an early adopter, but an early discarder." i will definitely not be discarding my iPhone or my many iPods anytime soon and for now, i'm staying on LinkedIn.

p.s.  don't you love that fabric under my iPhone & crumpler? it's called "jarrinha" and it's by globaltex.i'm using it for curtains.

on gadgets and being back at work

this morning, i threw my glasses and my toothbrush into my makeup bag, stuffed it into the suitcase with the work clothes, put on my raincoat and set out in the pouring rain for the airport and a 55-minute flight to oslo. it was time to head back to work. i felt so ready to turn my brain back on and although the public transportation system in denmark went totally stupid in the rain and i wasn't sure i would make my flight, i did make it. but there was no time to grab breakfast in the lounge, so i was pretty hungry when i landed (since i prioritized checking out the new pilgrim fall line over buying some breakfast).

i grabbed a quick lunch and then the train to work. can i just say that i love my colleagues! everyone was rested after having most of july off. there are three new people and it was fantastic talking to everyone and catching up and getting to know everyone. i got great energy from everyone and feel so ready to dive back into writing stories and preparing presentations for the fall conference round. i do so adore networking and the fact of being a woman in the man's world of shipping and that's exactly what i get to do in the coming months. i think that the blahs i felt last week were just my brain trying to tell me that it was time to go back to work.

as i unpacked to settle into my hotel room in oslo, i realized that i have to admit that my gadget use has reached absurd proportions. i have in my possession 1 HTC so-called smart (not to mention ugly) phone, 1 slightly dented sony ericsson K800i phone, 1 3G iPhone, 1 black 4GB iPod nano (my podcast iPod), 1 nikon D60, 1 dell D430 laptop and 1 red nintendo DS. this is getting ridiculous! but they all have their purpose. and since i'm suffering horribly from iMac withdrawal (amazing how quickly i have blocked out the PC habits), i may have to get a MacBook Pro in the near future, which will be yet another electronic wonder to haul around in my giant crumpler messenger bag.

but, on the bright side, being away from the house has helped greatly on the inspiration front. just reading the IHT on the plane and paging through the august Scanorama (how did i miss an entire issue--i didn't fly anywhere in july!!), caused a whole page of scribbles in my blog idea notebook. but it does disturb me that i went an entire month without flying! that hasn't happened in at least 5 years. no wonder i had the blahs last week!

so, i hereby wish everyone a week full of inspiration and refreshed beginnings...

#4 - ode to the iPod

this week i'm writing each day about a person, place or thing that has had a big effect on my life. i'm going to be leaving aside parents, sister, husband and daughter because those are a given for having had a big effect and writing about that effect would be way more typing than i should do with the angry nerve in my left hand.

after three days of serious entries, it's time for a bit of levity.

i give you the iPod...ahem, or should i say iPods:

we have quite a lot of iPods in our household (those above are only mine, husband and sabin also have several) and 3 docking units with speakers to play them from. this is actually because of the importance of music in the daily life of our household. but could it be just any old MP3 player? no it could not. it must be the iPod. why? why the obsession with this particular little gadget?

because they're just so damn sexy. good design is very important in scandinavia and that has clearly rubbed off on me in my ten years here. i LOOOOooove the design of the iPod.  they're beautiful, sleek, shiny and even sparkly if you add bling like i did to my white 30GB one. (our friends refer to that one as the porn pod because they think it's almost pornographic that i blinged it out like i did.) (you can buy those stickers all ready made to just stick on.)

it all started when husband brought home a little black nano that his boss gave him as a christmas present 3 years ago. whoa, that was cool! and it was enough for the first year, until he left it on in the little pocket in the side of the seat along with his new bose headphones on SK944 ORD-CPH.  damn those business class seats. we were iPodless again and something had to be done.

at first, i thought i could get along with just one, the white blinged out one. 30GB is a lot of music. 5,924 songs, 9 videos and 135 photos to be exact. but then one day, it was full. and i still had other things i wanted on it. and i didn't want to throw away anything that was already there. so i got another one, a black 30GB one. and when nike came out with that running shoe tie-in, i had to get the green nano because i was SURE to start running regularly if only i had that. (strangely, that hasn't really worked, hmmm...) and let's face it, it's better to use a shuffle for running (we each have one of those too, i just forgot to include it in the picture). 

then, they went and changed the design of the nano. one couldn't be seen in the gold lounge with the old model, right? that wouldn't do at all. and i began to want them for different purposes. the smaller black nano has only podcasts on it, for example. and it's easiest to carry in my purse. 

then, my dear sister bought me the iPod Touch, which is the most beautiful, sexiest one of all. and which has only my "music of the moment" on it, since it's only 8GB, you can be selective about it and not use it really for storage, but for the best bits. i tend to carry it and the nano around in my purse, the big ones stay at home in the docking stations now, but at least one of them is playing all day long.  

it's odd that a small gadget can bring such joy, but it really can. i love getting out my iPod on the train and lovingly putting it away when i reach my destination, just seeing it when i do that makes me smile. i wouldn't get through all the painting i've done this week and have yet to do without the Scissor Sisters or the latest Alanis on full blast to accompany my brushstrokes.

music has such a capacity to soothe when you're wound up, or to get your heart rate up when you're feeling lazy. it can put you back in a good mood when you've had a bad day. it can underline your bad mood if you feel like wallowing in it. you can get it all out of your system, just by listening to the right song. it's so great that music is so portable now, so you have the ability to change your mood right there tucked inside your Crumpler (which is also brilliant design, i must say).

and tomorrow the 3G iPhone will be released, also in denmark! i'm so excited!!

heaven is in manila

groggily made my way to the airport this morning, the coffee i grabbed at the hotel before i left, doing its work to wake me up. checked in (being assigned a window seat (not my thing), but since the flight was full, not really arguing about it).

made way through passport control, located the tax free refund shop(s!) and got cash back on camera and gap purchases. then looked for the henry kloss. no luck in the shop where i thought it would be. :-(

made attempt to find highly desirable hendrick's gin (loved by a small handful of people, all over the world), but apparently not in singapore. :-(

bought highly cool blinged out heart-shaped hair clip at chomel.

checked price of nikon D60 in camera shop. was reassured that i got a good deal.

finally located shop with black iYiYi, but no iSongbook, cutting down on deliberation over which one to get. bought last iYiYi in the airport at discount price since it was display model. tried BOTH iPods that were in my possession in it to ensure that it worked before agreeing to purchase display model.

very nearly bought PSP in lavendar while waiting for the iYiYi to be packed up, but grabbed hold of the reins and resisted.

boarded plane. seated in row 55! wondered whether plane was large enough to accomodate so many rows.

forgot to mention totally fabulous new coach purse and wallet which accidentally fell into my possession (mental note: do not convert prices into danish kroner, it makes them seem extra cheap).

was seated next to coolest possible person on the plane--italian captain who was joining a bulk carrier in manila (more about that tomorrow since i'm currently hitting the wall (it's 2 a.m. and i've had two nights of 3 hours of sleep)).

arrived in manila, baggage came off belt in the first 5 bags, manila pen limo waiting for me right outside.

greeted by the lovely staff at the manila peninsula who said, "so nice to see you again, ms. broberg." and escorted me to the club floor to check in.

quick change of clothes (sending most of them to laundry and dry cleaning) and popped over to the giant mall across the street for manicure and pedicure (which looks lovely and cost a total of $8 USD including tip for BOTH!!).

located the gap and experienced nirvana in the jeans department.

bought new version of manila mug (featuring cool red jeepney) at starbucks (along with much-needed double latte).

back to hotel to bathe and then meet old friends for a WONDERFUL dinner at sala.

it's difficult to express (at this level of sleep deprivation) how great it is to be back at the Pen. but it's wonderful beyond belief. it's like my soul comes home when i enter the doors. and there's absolutely NO sign whatsoever of the tanks that burst through, guns blazing, last november, just a few days after we left. to be honest, it wouldn't affect my love for this place in the least if they burst through while i was standing right there. it's heaven. heaven is in manila.