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Bad decisions make good stories. And I always have a good story.

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Bluergh! Yuckiest pasta ever

Many of you probably know that I love pasta. And that I wouldn’t mind eating it for everyday (once I ate it for three meals straight). Not just any type either, but it has to be spaghetti in spicy tomato sauce. So I think it’s fair enough for me to judge which places serve yummy pasta and which places suck.

Had dinner at Orchard ION’s The Marmalade Pantry with You You on 15 January (lol wtf can you believe it has been 7 months because I can’t?!) and I can safely say it’s one of the most awful places I’ve eaten at. Of all pasta places I’ve tried, it would be right at the bottom of the list.

Not to be confused with The Marmalade Toast, also at Orchard in Ngee Ann City, which I’ve yet to visit.

the marmalade pantry

Nothing to say about the service, which was normal. What I cannot stand is the exorbitant prices despite how awful the food is. Probably because of the location and ambience. Quite empty when we went there actually.

marmalade pantry

Apparently they have a 1-for-1 promotion on Mondays, but it was a Tuesday when we went there, meh.
And I’m certainly not going back again -.-

marmalade pantry spaghetti carbonara

You You’s spaghetti carbonara with bacon, poached egg and parsley at $24.
Way too thick and creamy.

spaghetti carbonara

They don’t even have a lot of variety, only four different types of pasta dishes in all.

marmalade pantry seared scallop linguine

My seared scallop linguine with tiger prawns, also at $24.

First of all, it tastes like crap because I have no idea it would come in this weird, ill-tasting brown sauce. The menu said ‘bisque’ and I highly doubt bisque is supposed to look like that. It’s just… bleurgh.

Secondly, there were only two prawns and one piece of scallop, which I can only describe as ‘miserable’. I have eaten hotplate seafood pasta of similar prices at other places, all of which came with generous helpings of sotong/prawns/scallops/mussels/crayfish. Not kidding, I will post the photos another time in a separate entry.

seared scallop linguine

Eventually we got so sick of our food that we did a swop. Refreshing change but that doesn’t mean the food tasted any better. Guess I’m just appalled that expensive food can taste so bad. Forgot how much the total bill was but there was the 17% charge too so thank goodness we didn’t order drinks or anything else. The place is so overhyped -.-

Went to watch Silent Hill 2 after that which is another TROLOLOL should I take you seriously or not movie. I don’t hate it though… Trashy over boring, any day! The charm of both Silent Hill films (I liked the first movie) lies in the visual effects, setting, backdrop and atmosphere. Not the plot and definitely not the scares.

We laughed so hard even before the movie started because something was wrong with the screen so it kept expanding and closing. Oh, the one time we decide to go to Shaw Lido instead of our usual Cineleisure…

The poster was in 3D which I thought was cool, though we watched the Digital version. Holding cups of Smoothie King which has also become part of our tradition (more about that next time) 😀

Best friend of 7 years 🙂

Places that serve good pasta:

– My mother 😀 ☆☆☆☆☆
– Longhouse’s western stall at Upper Thomson Road ($5+, no extra charges) ☆☆☆☆☆
– Eighteen Chefs at Cineleisure ($8+ and comes with ice cream + iced lemon tea, 7% gst) ☆☆☆☆☆
– Trattoria at 313 Somerset ($15-$25+, 20% off total bill for students on Tuesdays, 7% gst + 10% service charge) ☆☆☆☆
– Pastamania but everyone knows that already ☆☆☆☆


Stomping forward

Edit: Oh great! Of all photos in this entry, Facebook/Wordpress picked the fugliest one to use as the thumbnail when sharing the link on my timeline (automatic action)!

So here it is… the announcement I was planning on making. There are two actually, one good and one bad. Neither really concerns anyone else but affects my life greatly so I’m just gonna talk about them here.

1) Signed on full-time at STOMP

Lol did anyone see this coming? I think my mind was already halfway made when I was still a part-timer there… I was just keeping my options open first in case something else came up. Contract ended on 31 July, I took one whole month off as a holiday (since I’ll have plenty of time to work all I want after this), and I’m officially joining again on 2 September 🙂 Signed the contract at the start of July actually.

Meaning  I’ll be there for nearly a year then! Amazing how time flies, isn’t it?? Six months of internship and I immediately continued for another six months without a break. Love how everyone is starting work now and I’m the one on holiday 😛

The only universities I applied to were NUS (FASS) and NTU (Comms, English Literature) but I didn’t get into either, which is fine since I had this backup plan. And I decided that if I were going to a private university instead, I would take at least one year off first for my own reasons.

So yeah I really enjoy this job, so much more than I ever enjoyed poly. People have been nothing but nice to me, plus it has taught and given me so much! Feel so fortunate to be able to get a full-time job there without having to go for any interviews (yuck) though I’m both excited and nervous about returning in September. Because the job scope is a lot wider and with that comes more challenges.

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That’s six months’ worth of daily meeting notes… I have a whole 11 months’ worth now LOL

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Colleagues love commenting on my choice of wallpapers.
Once I minimised my browser tabs to reveal the screen on the right and someone burst out laughing instantly.

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This photo makes it seem like we are all slackers hahaha. But no okay, this is just one of the slower afternoons when it’s approaching 6.30pm. We’re usually mad busy.

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With Erin, Vanessa (both interns who have already left) and Sarah 🙂

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At this really good Thai food place for lunch!

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Our department got a box of presents for Christmas and I picked out this toy dog 😀

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One time we received a box of Magnum ice cream and a bottle of champagne from PR people too!

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Their new champagne and expresso flavours 😀
Be jelly, people… be very jelly.

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LOL thanks for the candid photos, Terence. I look like a pregnant woman who got caught in the act of eating food she shouldn’t. Think the reason is partly because this dress is too big so I always hunch my arms and shoulders in reflex, to keep if from slipping off my shoulders.

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One thing I like about working is that it keeps my life routinely organised and I have allocated days to go running at the gym. Usually Mondays and Thursdays though I increased it to three days during my last few weeks. Though I refuse to exercise on Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays because they are meant for relaxing.

Ugh I haven’t gone running at all now that I’m on holiday though, because I feel so unmotivated. I like the gym because everything is there, there’s air con, and they calculate everything for you. Swear I’ll start again when I return to work.

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The less people around, the more I like it. Worst is when all the treadmills are occupied and I have to go do something else first. Lol believe it or not, I read fics on my phone while running to pass the time. I know, wtf right? I just place my phone on the treadmill before me and scroll occasionally. Yes, it’s possible and keeps me going. Main reason why I love the gym.

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This is like my best record… running for an hour. I amaze myself sometimes.

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Went to the Geylang bazaar last Tuesday (6 August) with Xinyi, Huimin and Sarah. My virgin trip! Editor drove us there 🙂 Actually planned to go the week before but we ended up working till 9.30pm and the boss (meaning my editor’s boss) bought everyone KFC for dinner.

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Really good and unique coconut ice cream!

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I have more photos actually, but will post them another time. Now for the second announcement which I really don’t wish to talk about but will have to face up to anyway, sigh…

2) One of my guinea pigs passed away

The younger one (five and a half years old) died few days back on Saturday, 10 August. It was unwell for the whole week and I had a very bad feeling about this time, all the worst scenarios materialised in my head. Two days of public holidays so I couldn’t get to a vet till Saturday, where I made the most painful decision of my life to euthanize her.

Apparently she had a spinal injury, though I’m not sure how it happened because I didn’t see the furball fall or hurt herself. Add old age (average lifespan of guinea pigs is 5 to 7 years, many don’t make it past 5, and the vet said most local guinea pigs she had come across aren’t older than 6), being overweight, slim chances of recovery, a bumblefoot condition (she had had it for over a year on one front paw and we tried treating it but it didn’t improve, though both her movement and appetite were never affected) and being in extreme pain into the equation.

So I agreed to euthanasia, bawled so hard at the clinic that I had a headache and vomited when I reached home. I still feel like crying everytime I think of her now. She’s buried at the grass patch near some shrubs under my block. I just wish her final days weren’t ones that were spent in pain. Why can’t everyone, human or animal, die peacefully and painlessly in their sleep when their time is up?

Now I’m worried that my remaining guinea pig (six and a half years old) will get depressed over the loss. It happens because guinea pigs are social animals. Thankfully she seems fine and is eating normally, though she seems sad at times.

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Mimi, thank you for a wonderful five and a half years together. I hope you were as happy as you made me and that you are in a better place now, where there’s no pain and suffering. I will always miss you ❤