DIY-Caixin maggie mee + growing eggplant + Scaled by Ah Huat & Tiramisu Hero with YJ + Windsor Park hike & Omote with WH & Jess + new Vivifi mobile network + Give and Take + Omakase @ Hana with Potato as 2nd anniv lunch + Potatoh's Anniv Wedding Photoshoot + 2-Minute Meditations to create a lifetime of Happy

6/11/20 Fri: close to 2 months watching my caixin grow from seeds into caixin and then into my stomach lol. One wouldn’t be that mindful when chewing veggies normally, but eating my home-grown caixin for the first time, I actually paid attention to the bite the minute I sunk my teeth into the stalks haha~ I’m much like a kid here, only learning to appreciate the sweat and effort put in by the farmers out there. 亲力亲为；种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆，种菜心得菜心～ 你所付出的和得回的虽然未必成正比（有些枯萎啦、发育不良啦等等），回报多或少更不是重点，但是那份满足感（还有饱足感）还真是从零到一百呢。勤奋和坚持，必定换来一定的收获。这个，或许是现在天下的孩子都应该经历学习的。

Also put six egg plant seeds into two pots to try growing them... they have a bright blue glow to them~ don't look real eh. I waited for more than a week before I saw one seedling, and currently there's only two growing healthily it seems.

Met YJ at Lavender and we walked over to the new location which Scaled by Ah Huat Kelong moved to. Recommended YJ their mantou and mussels with curry, and the Canto grouper with sweet potato noodles. Tried roasted prawns ($17) which were not bad too... way more and better than the ones Jess and I had at Le Binchotan. We caught up on work and life because she said the last time we met was apparently our Kyrgyzstan trip in August last year omg! *跟这位记者聊天总感觉有说不完的话题lol.* After dinner, I wanted to have desserts at Tiramisu Hero. We ordered the original and lemon lavender-flavoured Tiramisu, and we both preferred the original one. However, I don't think they were fantastic either.

She bought me egg tarts from Joy Luck Teahouse at Ion Orchard, for this is a new franchise of a famous HK bakery that just opened here not long ago... I thought it tasted better than Tai Cheong's now haha!

8/10/20 Sun: WH, Jess and I took a Grab down from JE to hike at Windsor park. I looked up online and it said that Drongo Trail was worth a go and so we went onto that man-made 150m bridge. There were quite a number of hikers on a Sunday, and I actually have been to this area of Macritchie Reservoir with XY and SS some time ago. It's a pity the TreeTop Walk is closed at the moment for renovation till next year.

It only took us an hour or so to finish walking that area la! By the time we'd reach Thomson Plaza, it was only about 10am~ and Omote (ex-Sushiro) was not yet opened till 11am. We sat down at Koufu for a while, and I got greedy and ordered one chawanmushi for myself first haha. 

Good that we did not had to queue long to go into Omote. The new corner shop was spacious, and the decor was half-Japanese and half-Western modern style. I ate their omote chirashidon with premium set ($25)... very filling. Not wow but decent... maybe Sushiro was better, both taste and price-wise.

9/10/20 Mon: Swopped to a new mobile operator a few days ago online. Read through reviews before I decided on Vivifi no-contract 6GB SIM-only plan for about $10 a calendar month. I liked how they are still using Singtel's network and that generally, customer service seemed good. I went down to JE to collect my new SIM card (delivery to home meant an extra $12) and activated it that night. 

However, due to negligence on my part (I forgot I was under CIS plan, and by right new customers should email Vivifi to tell them that instead of via auto-porting), the network sud denly lost connection a few days later. Got a little anxious but was happy that the customer service guys got it resolved within the day itself. *Now I'm only paying 1/4 of what I used to pay with a Singtel contract la!*

Took me a month to finish reading "Give and Take" by Adam Grant, recommended by Potato.
“Some people, when they do someone a favor, are always looking for a chance to call it in. And some aren't, but they're still aware of it—still regard it as a debt. But others don't even do that. They're like a vine that produces grapes without looking for anything in return… after helping others… They just go on to something else… We should be like that.” – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor.
This quote in the book aptly-summarises the three types of people: Takers, Matchers and Givers. Who are you? (I suggest peeps go on to www.giveandtake.com to take a survey made by Grant to test your giver quotient before reading the book.)
At first, it looked not the kind of self-help book on top of my list, since I’m not big on successes as the ultimate goal in life, be it my relationships or career (which the interviewees mentioned in this book are in one way or another), but I reckon I was wrong. Success can never be the final goal in life. It’s an-added bonus that could come if we are or become altruistic givers (as opposed to a self-sacrificing one).

Not succeed first then give back, but giving first is a promising path to succeeding later. I do believe most people are willing to give by nature, but because of trust issues etc, we assume different identities depending on who the other party is (your Parents? Boss? Bff? Acquaintance? Stranger?), and under what circumstances are we doing something in (i.e. in a business relationship and you want a quid pro quo? for a beggar on the streets? At a charity event?). Grant looked into cases of successful givers in the likes of entrepreneur Adam Rifkin, venture capitalist David Hornik, comedy writer George Meyer, teacher Conrey Callahan, healthcare sales personnel Kildare Escoto and Nancy Phelps, consultants Jason Geller and Lillian Bauer and American president Abraham Lincoln and these people get to the top without cutting people down, and they find ways to extend benefits to people around them. Unlike takers like Ken Lay (Enron scandal)… *这是“恶有恶报”现世报吗？Oops.*
Takers are selfish, failed givers are selfless and successful givers are otherish: they care about benefitting others but adjust their reciprocity styles with someone who appear to be a taker by action or reputation. Otherish givers help without asking for something in return, but are careful not to overextend oneself along the way, so they don’t burn out.
One of the givers’ traits are in “powerless communication”… being modest can influence people. Takers tend to worry that revealing weaknesses will compromise their dominance authority. Givers are much more comfortable in expressing vulnerability, which actually builds prestige: they’re interesting in helping people and not gaining power over them, so they’re not afraid of exposing the chink in their armour. Too much though, and giving away too much credit can lead us to become pushovers and doormats. I reckon there should always be a “rule of thumb” that guides us as we give, and that lies in one’s head and heart.

Grant quoted author Simon Sinek’s words which I agree much with: “Givers advance the world, Takers advance themselves and hold the world back.” Potato and I were recently on the topic that “knowledge should be free to be shared around” and we are for that. I hope people practise the concept of “paying it forward” like otherish givers, be it in our personal or professional lives. 

Rating: 3.75/5

Now, news has it that Inferno, the highly-rated horse in Singapore, will be flying to Hong Kong to represent us in the HKIR: Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) on 13 December, and top gun Zac Purton has even agreed to take the reins on him given the seemingly-weaker field of international (due to Covid-19) and Hong Kong runners this year.

Mike and I even discussed the possibility of me flying over as a media rep to cover the event, but I do understand the chances are slim with the situation the Club is in and the pandemic, albeit air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong will begin end November.

In my opinion, no local representative has shined as much as Rocket Man (granted EL Padrino has won an international race in Korea a few years back too). Debt Collector, Quechua, unbeaten-in-Singapore-Spalato (one that I liked a lot but if not for that injury he sustained in Hong Kong, who knows how he would have fared in the Hong Kong Sprint six years ago). Inferno may have won the 3YO races and the Lion City Cup here, but I doubt those are enough to prove his competency on the world stage. Of course, there is indeed nothing more for him here, and I'd love to see our horses dominating the races in Hong Kong after a long, long time. Best of luck should he run.

13/11/20 Fri: I made a lunch reservation for PotaTOH's second wedding anniversary at Hana restaurant to try their $38++ 15-course omakase set. *We wore the PotaTOHs couple tees that I bought on Taobao because it's cotton anniverary for us this year~* The chilled jap somen and tofu with goma sauce starter was very much to my liking! Their grilled hokkaido scallop with Mentaiko was shiok~ I’m not a fan of shisamo usually because they are salty, but this tempura shisamo was yums. The waiter told us to start eating Akami sushi, then Ika sushi with roasted sesame, caramelised aburi salmon sushi and lastly, yellowtail sushi with truffle kombu. Both Potato and I didn’t really like the ika sushi, and I thought the tuna tasted a bit off too. The pan fried Asari butter with garlic was too salty for me. Truffle was overbearing in the steamed egg dish. I liked the shimeiji miso soup because I am bias when it comes to shimeiji hehe! The Tempura Hana Donburi was nice! Last was their home-made cheesecake...I'm not a cheese person but this tasted milkier and it was so nice I finished everything lol!

It was a relaxing two hours of lunch with Potato and happy 2nd year of marriage and 5th year of dating to us. Can’t wait for our house soon! Took a but to MBS to buy two cakes (choco and berries) from Origin + Bloom for MIL's birthday on Sunday.

16/11/20 Mon: And we're back to a Monday like the day we "set a date" five years ago. PotaTOHs shall welcome the next chapter of living together and work to overcome challenges that come our way. Wedding photoshoots paint the beautiful pictures of marriage, though my eyes are more on the one alongside me in this life journey. Let's continue to trust, communicate and respect each other. Sharing the last set of wedding photos we took at Sum Studio last June! It was late evening by the time we shot these, and the smiles were already quite "frozen" haha~ *Never mind since the day will never fail to bring a smile on my face whenever I think of the shoot! :D*

This book, Instant Calm: 2-Minute Meditations to create a lifetime of Happy by Karen salmansohn, was a really short and relaxing read.

It’s in the language Salmansohn uses in her book. I felt happy throughout this short read. Sensory meditations relax the mind, release anxiety, retrains the brain to focus better even in stressful times and reset the brain and body to deal with anxiety with inner strength and greater clarity (even said to have as much effect as antidepressants).
Enjoyed literally staring at the images in the book, why essential oils are used in meditation, why chanting “om” (like what I do in yoga classes) with that vibration in throat and chest sends cue to the brain to tell it to relax and that the song “Weightless” by Marconi Union is purposefully designed to calm people! (Don’t drive while listening to this...). Touch meditation like earthing (i.e. walking barefooted on earth) allows negatively charged electrons to flow into us, at the same time releasing positively charged particles into the ground so you reduce free radicals and fight inflammation in a way. Acupressure, touching your pets and hugs are all good practices too.
Mindful eating like simply focusing on your banana, chocolate and honey etc is intriguing. *Always been a fast eater, which means I’m not exactly kind to my stomach.* Slowly but surely, we got to stop talking and focus on the taste and chewing it.
It’s all about mindfulness in whatever tasks we do. I’m no good at multi-tasking in the first place, and ever since I learnt the greatness of mindfulness, all the more so I want to stop trying to do many things at one time. 

Rating: 3.25/5