The kind of love where almost nothing else matters

18 Nov 2010 5 Comments

by Tiara in Transit in Singapore Tags: , , ,

Ms J moved her gifted 15-year-old daughter (Little lil), 2 gorgeous dogs weighing in at 120kg together, an amazingly good-natured 17 year-old cat, a house full of furniture, and her life to Singapore from Sydney over a month ago for nothing but love.

At 43, after having had her heart-broken by men (twice divorced), being severely disappointed with men, and is VERY capable of living her life without being dependant on a man, I find it truly admirable that she still has the courage, and passion, to gamble with love.

Ms J – ‘I say to Mr T that “life began at 40 because that’s when I met you”‘

I sat across from Ms J and Mr T in the touristy but very pretty social area of Boat Quay by the water, watching Mr T at his best play the politically incorrect, daringly humorous, ‘OMG I can’t believe he hasn’t been arrested in Singapore yet’, drunk clown. And I feel the warmth of love and acceptance, with a slight waft of ‘there must be something wrong with me’ reverberate from my good friend Ms J as she smiles embarrassed yet completely charmed by his antics – It was simply adorable.

I envied this kind of love – The kind that gives you the back-bone to take these life changing risks . The kind where almost nothing else matters!

Then the envy turned into the realisation that this is exactly how I feel about my own journey – that I had left everything (career, property, love, pets), and taken on the risk of having nothing when I returned, in order to be free.

OMG – I feel this way about MYSELF!

Ms J – Weekend in Singapore

17 Nov 2010 2 Comments

by Tiara in Transit in Singapore Tags: , , , ,


My good girlfriend Ms J and I like having a few cold ones. In fact, we love it!

So when I made the decision to spend the weekend visiting her in Singapore, I apologised to my liver before-hand.. having had many liquid lunches and dinners with Ms J in Sydney that involved laughter, massive memory loss, and an aching, oversized, swelled up liver, I wasn’t expecting any less from an impromptu meet up overseas in a foreign land.

A couple of Ms J moments that spring to mind are the unplanned marathon karaoke sessions where Gloria Gaynor’s ‘ I Will Survive’ is belted out in succession, 17 times! But I only ever remember singing it once. And I may remember stealing microphones off others in selfish, drunk, attempts to complete duets on my own.

And then there was the time Ms J and I had several casual drinks of vodka and an extensive gas-bag in my courtyard one sunny afternoon. My flatmate said to me the next morning ‘It was so funny, I came home in the evening and you both were sitting outside in the dark, deep in conversation having a great old-time, but neither of you were making ANY sense..’

With this in mind, it didn’t come as a surprise when directly after arriving in Singapore, while still in the taxi straight from the airport, Ms J turns to me and asks ‘We’re going to make a quick stop off at the supermarket on the way home… what would you like to drink?’

Steps to make a morning flight from KL to Singapore more challenging.

15 Nov 2010 7 Comments

by Tiara in Transit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore Tags: , , , , , ,


– Drink heavily the night before, get pissed and talk nonsense PASSIONATELY while standing over everyone in an authoritative manner.

– Wake up after only 4 hours sleep, still in clothes from the night before, aware that something has died in mouth. Have a little spew. Pack bag with undies and passport. Then just before running out the door remember important articles like clothing, phone and wallet.

– Fight off intense nausea in the 60 minute car ride to the airport. Have plastic bag ready incase an uncontrollable urge of regurgitation occurs.

– Continue to fight off intense nausea waiting in the 30 minute Tiger Airways flight check-in queue. Deep lemaze breathing in-between loud periodic sighs whilst wishing for death helps pass the time.

– Quickly shovel down a lasagna (cheesy hang-over food) in an attempt to curb reflux during flight.

– Run into duty-free shop to grab a bottle of Bombay sapphire and Smirnoff Vodka. Argue with duty free sales agent over why it’s prohibited to sell alcohol and ciggies to people flying from Malaysia into Singapore. (Fail).

– Pass out cold for 1 hour flight. Try not to let the electric eel like nerve twitches freak out the person sitting next to me.

– Land in Singapore determined to buy duty-free alcohol. Confidently walk into Singaporean duty-free shop and ask for Gin and Vodka, whip out Aussie passport and say that I have ‘just arrived from OZ’. Cashier then asks for boarding pass. EPIC FAIL. Walk away.

– See friends waiting in the arrival hall and, in sheer excitement, bypass customs. Get yelled at by customs agent. Bag is scrutinised extra long in the customs scanner. Pray to god that there’s nothing in bag. Bag is cleared. WIN!

Finally exit the airport into the arms of my good friends Ms J, Mr T, and Little Lil 🙂

Camcorder for duds – What not to do on a business trip

29 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by Tiara in Transit in Kuala Lumpur Tags: , , , , , ,


Leaving Penang behind us, my boss and I spent the remainder of our trip in Singapore, and after finishing up with all our on paper duties, we were keen to invest in the other past time Singaporeans are famous for– shopping!

I don’t know how we got this brilliant idea, but somehow we had it in our heads that we both needed a new camcorder. My boss has young children and wanted to capture all the moments of their childhood. And I am, admittedly, a marketers dream, a consumer who could see a reason and necessity for almost anything.

Tip 1 – Never purchase expensive electrical goods with someone who doesn’t know anything about the electrical product in question. ‘excuse me, does this come in pink?’

Tip 2 – Never purchase expensive electrical goods with someone who gets easily excited by aesthetics ‘look how little it is!! And it takes photo’s and videos too! bonus!!!’

Tip 3 – Never purchase expensive electrical goods with someone who is easily impressed by an enthusiastic salesman. ‘ wow, I’ve never ever heard of this brand but it must be a really outstanding product!’

Tip 4 – Never take shopping advise from someone who does not handle their own budget – (thinking time 1,2,3,4) ‘fuck it, lets just get it, fuck it’ (followed by lots of nodding)

Quick side note ‘ Fuck it’ is a famous thought prior to landing in brokesville.

My boss and I perfectly suited each of the above categories, and if you can imagine us both as cheerleaders while our salesman pitched and scored a home run, you’re not far off from what was the reality of the situation. Not only did we believe we had a win, we were under the illusion that we had cheated the other team! Buying 2 (TWO) of these camcorders and getting a ‘discount’ for the double purchase!

We left the store high on our victory, and have since taken many blurry photo’s and grainy movies.