30 Mar 2007 — One thing I really really miss with working in places like these is all the exciting arty-farty stuff out there — art fests, film fests, exhibitions, galleries. Heck! For that matter, I’ve not been to a cinema in ages… ooh, a dimly lit theatre, plush velvety seat covers, butter popcorn and a icy-cold Choc Top….

And damn, recently a dear old friend sent me an invite to watch his play and AGAIN, I have to miss out. But you don’t! So for those of you who are in Singapore in April, go check out Short & Sweet. It is the biggest short play festival in the world. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out this festival was first produced at the Newtown Theatre back in Sydney, Australia in 2002. Aww… Sydney… Aww… Newtown… boy do I miss that place…

Ten 10-minute plays packed with comedy, murder, betrayal, romance and a dollop of sex — sounds like the recipe for an exhilarating night out! Better yet, catch all 40 of them! And yes, do keep a lookout for Yeo Hon Beng’s “What If It’s Bad News?” featured in the Top 20, I’m sure it’ll be awesome! And if you see Beng, give him a big fat hug for me. He’s such a sweetheart. Aww… wish I was there.

29 Mar 2007 — Oh man, wow… I can’t believe how many of you wrote in to comfort me after reading my “Moonshine” entry. Geez… thanks guys, I’m really so so touched by all of you. I mean, being “stranded” here on an island isn’t really easy, but knowing I have the love and support of so many people out there sure lightens the load.

I must clarify though that it’s not every day that’s tough. Tiring yes, but tough, no. On the whole, I am doing well, and I still love, love, love my job to death. Of course too my whole mood has lifted with E being away; at least the little spark I have left at the end of the day is not being sapped dry the moment I walk through the door. As Rachael puts it, “she is damn high maintenance siah”. But no, that freak of a week was a bit of an aberration, a rarity more than a norm. I did hesitate ever so slightly before penning it down cause exactly I didn’t want to alarm anyone, least of all, my parents.

But I thought, to be authentic, I should also blog about the sad, frustrating moments, not just the happy perky instances, which admittedly are more typical of my entries. I wanted you to know that in reality, it’s not just fun and games here. As life is, there are of course “trying” times. But not to worry too much, like one of those ti-gam-ti-gam rubber balls, I do usually bounce back quite readily. And on the whole, I know this is just a passing phase, a minor hiccup along the way to fame, fortune and glory. Yah right. And just in case you were wondering… No, I’m definitely not about to throw in the towel again. Nopididoo, this time I’m going to stay put and stick it out — good, bad and the downright hideous. Human politics — it’s a tricky game, but if played well, the rewards could be rather gratifying.

25 Mar 2007 – No matter how old I am, my love of all things Japanese and adorable never falters. And very recently, I was thrilled to bits to receive the following items! Especially so here where anything that is NOT from any of the boutiques or the tuckshop is so very very rare and precious.

First of all, another care-pack from Billie…

This time filled with lots and lots of yummy Japanese snacks and sweets. And yes, I did check, all real Nippon stuff – none of those Chinese or Korean imitations. What more can a girl ask for…

Oh, and see how progressive the Japs are? They SO get the concept that life doesn’t stop just cause you’re handicapped…

Yes, even the blind should enjoy a bag of chestnuts if that’s what they’re after!
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24 Mar 2007 — Seriously, magic is all around us if only we take notice.

You see, there’s this little Frangipani plant that’s growing in a pot outside my room. When I first came, it looked really dismal.

Thing is, my roommate Rachael’s been using it as an ashtray. You think this is bad?!? This is after I’ve already emptied half of the butts! So in my mind, I’ve always thought, “Man… probably won’t be too long till we say sayonara frangipani.”

But days passed, and weeks passed and still it hung on… and today, it just BLEW MY MIND AWAY!

For this little plant, not only did it lived…

It is actually flowering! FLOWERING!!! Isn’t it gorgeous?!! And the flowers are sooo sweet-smelling too! My gawd, so touching can cry. In its quiet little way, this little plant has shown me that beauty and sweetness can emerge amidst adversity. When there’s a will, there IS a way. Lesson learnt — no matter how bad the situation looks, just hang in there and have faith, great things can be accomplished yet. And yes, I WILL SURVIVE!

24 Mar 2007 — I promised and I will deliver. So yep, after all the craziness of the week, let’s take a trip to Male to clear my head a little, take my mind off work for a teeny while. So where did we left off? Oh yep, we had just reached Male island itself after a pretty grueling journey.

And this is where we come to after we get off the dhoni. You can still see them on the right.

Another common sight along the jetty are these private boats — afterall, the Maldives is a destination for the rich and famous.

Sharing the waterfront, the Coast Guards.

As we start walking a little more inland, we come to this square. In the foreground, the Maldivian flag, and in the background, the Shaheedh Hussain Adam Building, headquarters to the Maldives Police Service.

This part of Male still looks pretty lush, lots of greenery. Erm, but not for long…
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22 March 2007 — Man… I’ve had such a tough week. Hefty workload aside, it feels as if I’ve been attacked from every direction possible — backstabbed by my two-faced monster of a roommate, betrayed by receptionists, sacrificed by my boss, you name it…

Yukie asked me last night, “How are you?”
I replied, “Not so good.”
And she asked, “Why?”
And I replied, “I’m too tired to talk about it.”

I thought about calling Billie. I really wished he was here.
But if I call him, I had to explain the whole situation from scratch. And I’m just too damn tired.

I ended up walking to the beach. I sat down and faced the ocean.
God replied, “You don’t have to talk about it. You don’t have to say a word.
I already know, and I am here for you.”
I cried and cried and cried.

18 March 2007 – Ok, I’m back with the next Male installment. So since we’re actually here to work, let’s get to it.

So imagine ourselves back at the MAT airport.

Step this way through to the Hilton lounge.

This is what it looks like on the inside. Actually it’s really due for a reburfishment, starting to look a bit dated.

And yep, this is the rather dull and drabby corner we’ve been assigned to revamp. At the moment, it houses two computers for guest use.

During the first trip, we caught up with Maad, the supervisor over at the Hilton lounge.

More recently, we were all ready to rumble… we chucked out the comp booths and replaced it with a new set of cupboards that Engineering built us in 3 days.

The therapists, Asih and Mod have also arrived to lend a hand. Still looking rather messy…

But finally, here’s the end product. May I present…
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17 March 2007 — Hello, hello! Ahh… finally a WHOLE day off! Yep, Tara just found out that for us supervisors, we can only accrue up to 4 days off instead of the 8 we previously thought, which means I’ve already chocked up more than enough hours, which means no point for me to continue taking half days off!!! Yipee!!! You have no idea how SHIOKODOK this is man…

And as promised, let’s take a trip to Male! A bit of background info first: for the last month or so, Yukiko and I were placed in charge of setting up a mini spa over at the Hilton lounge in the MAT (Maldivian Air Taxi) seaplane-port. The plan was to offer ten minute complimentary treatments to arrival guests who were enroute to Hilton, and also inform them about our welcome treatment, otherwise known as the “Eiru Revival Ritual”. Eiru means sun in Dhivehi, and the idea was to energise and revitalize guests from the strains of travel. Our aim was to promote early awareness of the spas and increase our guest capture rate. Yukiko and I were pretty much thrown into the deep end and had to learn how to swim, quick. From training therapists to organizing equipment, from rostering to creating the welcome treatment, from designing vouchers to even setting up the therapists’ apartment in Male, I daresay it was a massive undertaking for us two newbies. All in all, a steep learning curve, but my gawd, was it worth it! The very first treatment that was booked in brought tears to my eyes. Really, it was like having a baby, the anticipation and seeing it come to fruition. Totally awesome!

But I’m jumping ahead, first there was tons of planning to be done. And to do that, we had to get to Male. As scenic as the journey was, this was no mean feat, as you shall soon see. In total Yukiko and I went twice, once to scout and once to do the actual set-up. It was only Male, but considering how often we left the island, it was still pre-tty exciting.

See, whilst waiting for the seaplane, we even had drinks (soy coffee that is) at Rangali, as if we were going away for a real holiday or something?!?

Ok, got the news that the plane has arrived. Let’s go!
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14 March 2007 — I know I know, I haven’t blogged. Thing is, Yukiko and I have been put in charge of this huge project of seting up a mini “spa” if you can call it that, at the Hilton lounge at the MAT seaplane “airport”. So not only have I been tied up with that, the last five days I was also in Male with no internet access. So I promise you’ll hear and see all about it, but in the meantime, I just wanted to share the good news that I received my very first tip!

Yep, US$20 from a lovely (well, anyone who’s gonna tip me has got to be lovely) British couple, David and Joy. They came for my nutrition workshop, and apparently they got so much out of it they felt compelled to present me with a “gratuity”, if it did not offend me that is. I reassured them that I had absolutely no qualms whatsoever with accepting monetary gifts. Haha, but seriously, it felt really good to be appreciated.

Ok, ok I promise I’d tell you all about my Male trip. Later!