Top 8 highlights of 2013

8. I'm still loving my job.

Since I returned to the FutureGov Editorial team in August, I've been going to work with a renewed joy, eager to find out what exciting news I'm going to write. Best of all, I now have two great teammates and we - the Powerpuff Girls - really do rock!

7. Crossed Western USA off my list of places to go

Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco - checked! Went crazy shopping at Kate Spade outlet stores, took my virgin helicopter ride, watched a circus for the first time and had more bowls of clam chowder than ever. Special thanks to my two travel buddies - Daniel and Rain. Read all about it here. 

6. Took two months break from work

I didn't work at a cafe this time. Instead, took a real good break just catching up on sleep, meeting friends and travelling. Feels great being able to watch movie, go shopping or visit SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove on weekdays to beat the crowd.  

5. Discovered Pandora

Inspired by my colleague Melissa, I decided to invest in a starter bracelet, and thanks to Ivy, Adelene, Zhihui, KC, and Becky, my Pandora bracelet is looking real fine now. 

4. Become qualified Cafe Hunters

Armed with newspaper and laptop, we conquered cafe after cafe - from the most popular to the least accessible. My favourite so far still has to be Carpenter and Cook, which I believe has the perfect mix - quaint, interesting furniture, antiques with a lot of character, superlicious home-made desserts. 

3. Celebrated 30 years of amazing friendship

My bestie since 1983. Ivy is always curious about my life, ready to support me when I'm in doubt, remembering me through little gifts, and forgiving when I'm insensitive. I can't ask for a better bestie. Looking forward to celebrating 31 years in August!

2. We got engaged!

Exactly two years at the very spot we got together, he got on one knee and promised to take care of me for the rest of our lives. Since then, I've been having a blast planning for our big day. 

1. Bought our first home

Chances were slim - 900 units, 3,000 applicants - but we got it! We got to wait till 2018 before we can move in, so we can spend the next three to four years dreaming big on how we would like our future home to be. 

I'm Grounded

Don't ask me how I got my bosses to approve two and a half months of leave. I don't know too, but I'm super thankful they did. Yes, I could have gone backpacking again (Eastern Europe, USA, Laos and more still unexplored), but my boyfriend wasn't able to take time off work and definitely wasn't going to unleash me into the world alone.

A few searches on JobsDB, couple of emails, and a quick interview after, I secured my vacation job - service crew at The Ground Cafe & Bar, a newly opened indie cafe along Tanjong Katong Road.

My Many Firsts 

The menu reached my inbox a week before my first day. I'm glad it did because I had so much to learn! The Ground has great coffee and craft beers; I drank neither and knew close to nothing about either. So I spent afternoons memorising the tasting notes, watching YouTube videos on Beer101, and Googling everything that was unfamiliar. I can't say I'm an expert now, but at least enough under my belt to sustain a conversation.

Left: Introducing craft beer to customers
Right: I love my red gloves! 

My mommy complains all the time about how dirty my bedroom and bathroom is, so you can tell I'm not much of a cleaner. At The Ground, I swept, mopped, wiped, disinfected, washed, and more. I picked up the broom for the first time in over 20 years, I went on my knees and scrubbed the sink with bleach, and I washed more dishes and cups than in my entire life at home. But Adriel will tell you that I'm notorious for not washing them clean enough.

The Boss

Returning to Singapore after seven years of medical research and PHD studies, Adriel missed the great coffee culture he was used to in Melbourne. Armed with his passion for good coffee and beer, and a wealth of F&B and business experience from his family, he started The Ground Cafe & Bar.

Adriel (centre) really knows his beers

In his early thirties, Adriel is a cool boss; level-headed and not easily stressed. He is great in art, so if you see any cool drawing or handwriting in the cafe, he is the likely culprit. He also has a love for crazily expensive watches, when you next pop by, ask him to show you his collection of catalogues.

Aldric The Pizza Master

Aldric, Adriel's younger brother, rocks the kitchen which churns out all the amazing food The Ground serves. Ask Aldric to show you our super cool Electronic Darts Room on Level 2, it's perfect for parties, except for certain Thursdays when Aldric's team (The Ground Darters) uses the room for the local dart tournament.

The Food 

Of course I'm biased but come and try these for yourself and judge. The menu is pretty extensive, and is regularly updated, but these classics are my absolute favourite:

• Baby Back Ribs - super tender pork ribs glazed with in-house smokey bbq sauce, I like it more than those from Tony Romas!
• Caesar Salad - crispy romaine lettuce tossed in authentic caesar dressing with generous topping of bacon bits, buttered herbs cheese croutons and egg
• French Fries - I don't know how Aldric and his crew make it so crispy. Aldric tells me it's the oil but I think they are keeping something from me.
• Pizzas - my personal favourite is Meat Lovers!

The Ground's Signature Baby Back Ribs

The Drinks

The only coffee I know is Starbucks' Mocha Fruppaccino so you can guess I know nothing about coffee. But The Boyfriend can attest to the quality of The Ground's coffee, and so can many of our regulars. Two ladies come by at least once a week specially for our iced lattes. And many order a second coffee in one sitting because they love it so much.

The Ground now sells a whooping 58 types of craft beer, and Adriel is not stopping any time soon. You can imagine the most exciting bit is the tasting! I love the training sessions with Corrine, founder of The Drinking Partners, when we learn about the basics of brewing beer, origin and taste of some of the beers.

From one of our tasting sessions

The Customers

Since I couldn't travel, I wanted a job in a hostel so I could still meet other travellers. I tried applying to hostels initially but none would take me for such a short stint. To my surprise, I managed to meet and befriend a good number of people at The Ground. Unlike my time at Billy Bombers (a decade ago), the cosy and slightly slower pace at The Ground gave me more opportunities to chat with customers. Just to name a few new friends:

• Uncle Patrick who is 'conquering' our beer list by trying at least four beers every time he drops by
• Kargolov, Russian bodyguard and martial arts coach, who is easily thrice my size. He spelt his name for me but I misplaced it. 
• Jeremy Tordjman, French guitarist making his name at the major Asian music festivals
• Royston, Randy, Sharon and friends who we have given the honorary title of "The Tower Guys"
• Chance, the Hollywood scriptwriter and martial arts coach, who gave very generous tips 
• Father and son, who are having fun in Disneyland Hong Kong this week
• Charmaine and Pear, and the entire sales and marketing team from St Regis Hotel - an absolutely fun bunch 
• and many other great and friendly customers who I didn't managed to get their names

Adriel and Aldric with Uncle Harry, Uncle Patrick and Friends

Charmaine, Pear and the Sales & Marketing Team from St Regis

The Support
And all the love I got from my friends who came to visit - thank you!

• The Fun Gang - Jalene, Kevin, Jaso, Adele, Thomas, Siew Huey, Keith, Yvonne, Daniel, Alex, Jerrain, Jayson
• Wendy & parents
• Daniel & Roy
• Dunman High friends - Yvonne, Ninart, Osborn, WeiKai & Bernice, Vivien & Alan 
• BTPC - Kengyi & Dorcas
• Friends from work - Richard, Winnie, Mike, Lisa, Timothy, Dan 
• Family - Mommy, Sheh Li, Yujia, The Boyfriend, Bestie Ivy & Ben

Celebrating Jaso's birthday

Wendy and parents

Daniel, the second customer to try the BrewDogTokyo

Kengyi & Dorcas

Ninart and Yvonne

Meeting up with Osborn after 15 years

Hanging out on a Friday evening

I didn't want to tell you this but...

...but the journalist in me can't resist a scoop.

And I try to convince myself that such a great place won't stay a secret for long anyway. So I'd rather take the credit of telling the world about it.

Mirage Resort sits on the beach front of Pulau Besar, which is 20 minutes away by speed boat from Mersing Jetty. With a capacity of 40 guests, it is a boutique resort with a rocking service crew who are extremely attentive and friendly.

Compared to its more publicised neighbours - D'Coconut and Asiana - this resort does not fare well on first impression, without a pool and wall-papered rooms.

My seven friends and I took the plunge, or rather we were pushed off the edge, simply because all other resorts were full. And we were undeservedly rewarded with an amazing weekend.

Here are ten reasons why Mirage Pulau Besar should make top three in your next list of weekend getaway destinations:

10. High staff to guest ratio means your every need is attended to.
9. Mancoral, one of the staff, gives free pool lessons and makes a mean dish of sweet and sour prawns.
8. If you gather a party of 35-40 people, you can book the entire resort!
7. You don't have to fight for a good spot on the beach.
6. Their BBQ lamb is wicked!
5. The in house Pirates Bar dishes out free beer if you get the party going.
4. Your friends and you can sit by the sea, around the camp fire, and under the stars.
3. With a simple email, Chris books everything you need - mini-bus, boat, rooms, food, and activities!
2. Are you not sick of Batam, Bintan, Tioman, Redang, and the other touristy beach spots?
1. At that price, it's a real steal.

For the entire weekend (Saturday morning to Monday evening), I spent:

• Accommodation and most meals at Mirage Resort RM 340
• Mini-van from Eunos MRT to Mersing Jetty and back SGD 45

the perfect garden picnic

I didn't have the $347 Laura Ashley picnic basket set, but I had awesome weather, lovely garden setting, and a birthday boy to grace the occasion.

Picnic Menu

• Fresh rocket salad with goat cheese, baby tomatoes, salted cashew, and smoked salmon
• Bread sticks and honey crisps with pink creamy caviar dip
• German bratwurst, spicy Italian and English Cumberland sausages
• Italian strawberry mini custard tart
• Fresh watermelon cubes and chilled fruit juice

Fortunately both of us survived the food which I prepared, and made it to the Lion King musical in the evening. So no birthday boy was hurt in the production of this picnic.

the food critic, back by popular demand

I successfully sold the idea of a second food review video to Mommy by telling her how much my friends enjoyed the first one (I'm telling the truth!).

Watch till the end and see how many stars - out of five - my mum gave to Jack's Place's roasted turkey breast with chicken ham.

Nerds and leather go together

My boss, James, knows I have a soft spot for nerds. And it’s sort of true. He is a nerd with a leather… bible!

The conversation was a little more succinct this time, concluding outstanding issues raised last Friday and taking the last opportunity to clarify doubts. He has spoken to Pastor and I have discussed with Kengyi.

• How are Christian relationships different?
• Are we ready to make sacrifices for the other person?
• Where do we go from here?

We were on the same page (I think) on most issues. For the rest, we will have to work at it along the way. I foresee it is going to be ‘long-suffering’ for him because of all my weaknesses and stubborness.

He pointed me to Ephesians 5. The guy leads in the relationship and ‘lays down his life’ for her as Christ did for the church. “He wears a crown of thorns,” he said.

Speechless and impressed.

He is such a bully

Satan claims that Job worships God because of how God has blessed him. God allows Satan to prove Him wrong by taking everything – children, friends, status, wealth and health – away from Job.

Job cries out to God but receives no answer. He is a righteous and godly guy – so why is he suffering?

God answers at the end of the book. Who are you to question me?

I know that God has the authority and power to do all things and he judges what is right and wrong.

But doesn’t that make him a little of a bully?

(Answer to come soon)