No, you are not 'running late', you are rude and selfish

I think this guy pretty much sums up what I think about people being late. I read this article last year and felt my heart sink when I didn't manage to find the link just now. But Google to the rescue and reading this article affirms my conviction that being late is not right. After all, with the prevalence of latecomers in your life, self-doubt creeps in and you wonder whether you are just being too harsh with your friends.

I'm pasting the article below for easy reference but click on this link to visit his page and leave any comments on his page. I thought this was a wonderfully written piece which explains why I'm so ridiculously annoyed when people turn up more than 15 minutes late. I take my leave sometimes and I'm obviously not apologetic about it. I'd rather be snoozing at home. For my wedding (if I ever manage to get married seeing how fussy I am about things), if you are late, the dinner might be over when you come!

(photo credit: mrmen wikia)

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No, you are not ‘running late’, you are rude and selfish 
Greg Savage

This post may offend some readers. But only because it’s going to cut close to the bone for many.

And I don’t care if I sound old-fashioned, because actually it’s nothing to do with ‘fashion’ or ‘generation’. It’s got everything to do with basic good manners and respect for other people.

So here goes… How did it get to be “OK” for people to be late for everything?

Because as far as I am concerned, it’s not OK.

In recent years it seems that a meeting set to start at 9 am, for some people means in the general vicinity of any time which starts with the numeral ‘9’. Like 9.30 for example.

People drift in at 9.10 or 9.20, or even later. And they smile warmly at the waiting group, as they unwrap their bacon sandwich, apparently totally unconcerned that others have been there since five to nine, prepared and ready to start.

10 people kept waiting in a meeting for 20 minutes, while some selfish pratt who idles his way via the coffee shop, is actually 20 minutes times 10, which is 200 minutes wasted – while you keep us waiting because you did not catch the earlier bus. That is over 3 hours wasted. By you! How much has that cost the business? Shall I send you an invoice?

And an arrangement to meet someone for a business meeting at a coffee shop at 3 pm, more often than not means at 3.10 you get a text saying ‘I am five minutes away’ which inevitably means 10 minutes, and so you wait for 15 or 20 minutes, kicking your heels in frustration.

And often these ‘latecomers’ are people who have requested the meeting in the first place, are asking for your help, or are selling something. Fat chance mate!

And it’s not only business.

Why do people, invited for a dinner party at 7.30, think its cool to arrive at 8.30? It’s rude. It’s inconsiderate. And it’s selfish, as I witnessed in a coffee shop near my home one weekend. Three “ladies who lunch” (a species not confined to, but heavily represented on, the lower North Shore of Sydney) were chatting loudly at the table next to me. One inquired what time the ‘drinks do’ was that night. The reply for all the world to hear was ‘Oh 7.30, but we won’t get there till 9 because by then it will have warmed up and all the interesting people will have arrived’. Nice. Imagine if everyone took that view. Cocktail parties would start at 3 am eventually.

Or a dinner at a restaurant where I was meeting two other couples. My wife was away, so I was flying solo. I arrived at two minutes to eight for an eight o’clock booking. At 8.20, I was into my second glass of Pinot and at half-past I got a text saying ‘on the way’. We finally were all seated at 8.45. There were not even attempted excuses from either of the two couples, who seemed oblivious to the fact I might actually have got there at the agreed time. Meanwhile I had put a huge dent in the bottle of Pinot, and was ready to go home. 

And it is not that we lead ‘busy lives’. That’s a given, we all do, and it’s a cop out to use that as an excuse. It’s simply that some people no longer even pretend that they think your time is as important as theirs. And technology makes it worse. It seems texting or emailing that you are late somehow means you are no longer late.

Rubbish.

You are rude. And inconsiderate.

And I act on it to. My dentist kept me waiting 50 minutes not long ago. I walked out, past a literally open-mouthed receptionist who had never seen a patient act on their frustration, only to get a frantic call from the dentist herself as I got into my car.

Sure she was “busy”, another patient took longer than she expected, blah blah.

But hold on, I am busy too! I would not keep her waiting 45 minutes if she came to see me as a candidate. And yet I am HER customer. I told her I have been coming to you for 15 years but don’t take me for granted. See fewer patients in a day if you have to, but see me on time or close to it. She has never kept me waiting again.

Me? Am I ever late? Sure, sometimes. That’s inevitable even with the best intentions. But I never plan to be late. I never ‘let time slide’ because my stuff is more important than yours.

I am not talking about the odd occasion of lateness. I am talking about people who are routinely late. In fact, never on time. You know who I am talking about!

And certainly I consider serial lateness a character flaw which I take into account when working out who to promote, who to hire and who to count amongst my real friends.

It’s that important.

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Oscar's Café & Terrace (Conrad)

The colour scheme's of this place is pretty interesting. A modern vibe (orange colour scheme) radiates, complemented by plenty of sunshine! The food arrangement is very tightly packed. You don't need to walk through large spaces to get your food.

Their seafood variety is considered wide compared to other buffets- crayfish, big prawns, mussels, oysters, crab legs, scallops etc. As usual, I always have an issue with cold food and so I cannot fault Oscar's for my personal preference. Prawns always taste better piping hot rather than freezing cold, just like how you'd rather have a hot cup of coffee than an ice mocha on a cold day (I make such bad assumptions).

I've no idea what the salt is for, but since it's next to the seafood, I suppose it's for the seafood. I thought it was really cool that there were so many kinds of sea salt! Somebody explain to me how they are different, pretty please?

The Chinese food section also had pretty interesting stuff. As though you are in a hawker centre, the meat is all hung up- gimmicky isn't it? But interesting nonetheless. Chicken rice lovers would love the range of sauces they provide. The chicken in the little dishes are very smooth, accompanied by two little slices of cucumber.

Besides chicken, another meat I want to mention is char siew (BBQ pork). The overall feel of Oscar's is a very polished one. This is reflected in the char siew, which is precisely where the problem lies. It lacks the brute and crudeness of the char siew we love.

Other Chinese dishes were very ordinary- broccoli with crab meat sauce, mee goreng (don't know what it was doing in the Chinese dishes section), cod fish etc. 

If you are looking for porridge or laksa, please make your way outside to the noodle bar. I found it quite troublesome but I suppose they have their reasons for doing so. 

The salad section is worth mentioning because it's pretty rare that they have so many ingredients for the salad! I loved all the dried fruits and nuts: Macadamia nuts, walnuts, pistachios, dried apple, dried orange, dried mangoes etc. Very delightful I thought.

The sushi was pretty ordinary.

This prawn and mango with spicy cocktail was quite good. The green stuff imitating crab roe is actually wasabi. I thought the tastes came quite well together- the freshness of the prawn, the sweetness of the mango and the pungency of the wasabi. 

As usual, I always leave the part on desserts to the last and write the most about it. This is reflected in my eating style as well, leaving it to the last and eating a lot of it. 

There was an assortment of nonya kuih. We especially liked the different flavoured kueh lapis. No matter which flavour it was, the butter taste was not overpowering and it was just a very light kueh lapis with very distinct layers.

I nearly missed the waffle station. The waffle was really delicious! I also liked the range of ice cream flavours. They are not your CVS (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) flavours but rather, swiss chocolate, coffee, passion fruit and mango and a few other flavours.

I was surprised to see little chocolate balls of exotic flavours. These included the passionfruit chocolate, and some other chocolate with lavender flower on it. 

 There was also an ice kacang machine.

Overall, this place has very good service. Every turn of my head will result in one of the waitresses thinking that I needed help. They also cleared the plates really quickly. Only minor hiccup was when one waitress asked one of us whether we had paid when we started walking out of the restaurant. What would have been more appropriate would have been to hurriedly check whether we had paid, which of course, we already had. 

I also was a little shocked when I saw two houseflies- one at the sushi section and the other at the soup section. I am not sure whether I saw the same one but what I'm sure of is that the flies shouldn't be there at all.

Food wise, I think this place speaks of quality more than quantity. At a rather expensive price tag of $58++ (Sat lunch) (here's a good guide for the prices on different days), this is a place for people who are into looking for buffets a little more special than the normal ones. Quality's good but sacrificing a little quality will get you cheaper buffets. 

Oscar's Café & Terrace 
Conrad Centennial
2 Temasek Boulevard, Lobby Level
Tel No: +65 6432 748

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The Handburger (313 Somerset)

We bought a Groupon ($15 for $30) and decided to check out the queue at The Handburger at 6 pm. When we came out at 7pm, the queue was snaking round the corner- tip: Come early. 

Interesting menu where you could flip and zoom in to the one that you are craving for- although in all likelihood you will flip through every page anyway.

I had a Duck Confit burger ($16.80) while my friend had a Stuffed Portabello Burger ($14.80). Both came with either mushroom soup/salad/fries.

The mushroom soup is not campbell mushroom soup which many people despise (but I like it anyway). This is Real Mushroom Soup. It's not exactly runny but it would have been better if it were less dilute. A rather big bowl of soup and delicious!

After my run with duck confit at Saveur recently, I thought it would be cool to try it burger-form. Well, the skin was not as crispy as I would have liked it to be. The meat was also not as easily shredded. But I still find it a decent choice: Not wonderful, but acceptable.

This is a great option for vegetarians/people who are counting their calories. A portabello mushroom stuffed with spinach (for all popeyes wannabes), walnuts, parmesan cheese and beancurd. Feels healthy, tastes good. My only gripe (which my friend didn't agree with) was that the stuffing was too mushy.

Atmosphere was lively and noisy and good for big groups although you would probably have to wait for some time before getting in.

After using the Groupon voucher, we paid $7+ more. Worth it. A nice spin from the usual deep fried chicken burgers and a wide variety of choices as well.  We didn't try the milkshake but heard it was nice. For those who don't like sharing with tables with others, this is not the place for you. They dump you at any available space so you have to share tables!

The Handburger (313 Somerset) 

313 @ Somerset
313 Orchard Road
#B2-17/18/19
Tel No: +65 6509 6214

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Facebook Co-Founder moves to Singapore

I was reading mrbrown.com when I came across a funny picture in his blogpost.

(photo credit: mrbrown.com)

Later, it got edited probably after they got informed that... Singapore is not part of China.

(photo credit: CNN)

Seriously? CNN, I thought you could do better than identifying Singapore as part of China. If you had read the post Myths about Singapore, you wouldn't have committed such a mistake!

I read the online article anyway and the comments were assorted- some launching an attack on Singapore, some praising Singapore. But I nearly choked (partly because I was disgusted and partly because the comment was pretty hilarious) when I saw the comment below- questionable on so many levels. (I know the picture is a little small- just click on it to see the magnified version.)

(Credit: CNN) 

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Shin Nichi (Punggol)

After walking for more than 3 km at Punggol Waterway, air con was the only thing in my mind (you must surely know how hot Singapore is these few days). So it was between Popeye's and this Japanese restaurant. Since the prices at Shin Nichi looked pretty decent, we decided to have dinner here. 

I got myself a Mushroom Ramen Set ($14.80) and my friend got himself a Spicy Chicken Bento Set ($15.80). 

The Spicy Chicken Bento Set came with miso soup, salad and fruits. Both of us tried the spicy chicken and agreed that it was quite badly cooked. In other words, it tasted like what a novice would cook- just dump all the chicken into the wok/pan, add a few kinds of random sauces, do some stir fry, then serve it into a plate.

For my Mushroom Ramen Set, it came with sushi and dessert as well. It was char siew in the sushi. From the way the sushi was cut (you could see the meat on one side and not on the other side- not reflected in the picture), I think it pretty much describes the standards of the sushi master here.

There was enough ramen noodles and plenty of seaweed and mushrooms. The mushrooms were super big. However, while the mushrooms were juicy, they were rather salty.

When I was standing outside deciding whether to come in, I asked the lady outside what the daily dessert was. She said mochi- I really love mochi.

Later, a server and I had the following conversation.
Server: "Can we serve the lemon cheesecake?"
Me: "Um... I thought it was mochi."
Server: "We do not have any more mochi."
Me: "I don't eat cheesecake."
Server: "Oh. Let me check with the kitchen."
Me: "Okay."
(a few minutes later)
Server: "Okay, it's fine."

Thinking that I would see my mochi, it turns out to be green tea cake. I do not eat green tea cake. I passed it to my friend and he didn't really like it. For a person who is normally not picky about his food, I think this really says a lot.

I really liked the lady outside the restaurant because she was very pleasant and friendly. I hope she reads this review just because I think the place has potential to do better. The decor of the place and the menus are beautiful- but they need a lot of improvement on the food.

They also need to make sure that they know what is in stock in the kitchen- don't tell me mochi at the beginning and make me eat a green tea cake. Also, the servers in the restaurant need to communicate better. They are efficient in refilling teas which is great. But one of them seemed to have trouble trying to tell me about the cake matter. This place needs to pull its socks up!

Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant
10 Tebing Lane, #01-03/04
Tel No: +65 6441 1938

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Guide: Monterey and Carmel (Best Bay Adventure Tour)

I was wondering why the name John Steinbeck sounded so familiar. This name was repeatedly mentioned throughout the trip. Only later did I realise that it was because he authored of Of Mice and Men. How's he related to this tour then? He wrote a book titled Cannery Row.

Monterey (Cannery Row)
Here's John Steinbeck.

We spent some time here. Cannery Row is where the sardine canning factories used to be and the last cannery closed in 1973. While it used to merely be a nickname for Ocean View Avenue, it became official to honour John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row.

There were shops that sold a variety of things but nothing attracted us. But you shouldn't assume that this isn't an interesting place because an elderly couple who went said that they could possibly have spent more time looking at all the knick knacks. You could also take a walk at the beach.

17-Mile Drive
After Monterey, we proceeded to the 17-Mile Drive where all the expensive homes and world famous golf courses are.

Two particular attractions stand out. One is the 200 years old Lone Cypress Tree which is the official symbol of pebble beach.

Another was the Bird Rock. All those white stuff? The couple next to me was asking why the snow hadn't melted at this time of the year. To that, the tour guide replied that it was simply bird poo. Quite fascinating how they managed to accumulate so much poo on that rock. With a pair of binoculars our tour guide passed to us, we were able to see the different animals perched on the rock. 

Carmel
Honestly, there wasn't much to do at Carmel. It was pretty but that was about it. We had lunch at one of the cafes here, people-watching and chilling.

Tour
The tour was conducted in a van, and on the day we went on tour, there were only four people, making things a lot easier. The tour guide was informative both on San Francisco and the places we visited. However, I felt that the tour wasn't particularly fulfilling and would rather go on a wine tour or visit the Muir woods instead! 

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Guide: What to do in Las Vegas

As the famous adage goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. As implausible as it may sound, it is actually possible to go for a sinless trip in Las Vegas! (I actually found it hilarious that Las Vegas actually means "The Meadows" in Spanish.)

Here are a few of my choice picks! A tip though- the hotels/casinos in Vegas look deceptively close but as I said, it's a deception. You have to walk an incredible distance to get from one casino to the next.

Your best bet would be to get take public transport and a day pass costs $7. This will get you pretty much everywhere. You have the choice of the Deuce or the Express- Express is best if your stop is on the line because it pretty much saves you from the crowd boarding and alighting at every stop.

1) Las Vegas Premium Outlets (North)
For you shoppers out there, you probably could spend a day and night here. We decided to go to the North one instead of the South, because many people say that it's more worth it to do so.

Tip: Get yourself a discount booklet for $5. I think you will end up saving a lot of money. Have a look at the different kinds of discounts offered first before deciding where to get the booklet though! It saved us quite a bit of money. Get yourself a free map as well so that you will know which stores to rush into.

 When you're hungry, there are different eateries here in the food court.

2) Bellagio
There are two attractions you need to catch at Bellagio. The fountains and the Conservatory and Botanic Gardens. If you are feeling hungry, you could go for the buffet too!

3) Mirage and Venetian 
There's water at Bellagio and there's fire at Mirage. We were standing across at the balcony of Venetian just because everybody were huddled there. It's cool just for a few moments, but that's about it.

Since you are at the Venetian, you may take a look at the gondolas, but unless you really love looking at gondolas, you will be better off somewhere else. 

4) Catch a show 
If you don't catch a show in Vegas, it's like saying you went to New York without watching Broadway. We caught Mystere.

5) Fremont Street Experience
Fremont Street is off the strip but it is still very crowded. The Fremont Street experience is basically an attraction where there is a canopy above. There are free concerts going on.

There is the Viva Vision show and it plays every hour. Videos are projected onto the canopy above and if you go to Fremont Street, you will look like every single one of them in the picture- all looking up. For the few seconds that the whole Street was in darkness before the show began, it actually felt like bliss.

For interest's sake, I actually googled "las vegas light pollution" and arrived at this result. The Las Vegas lights can be seen from outer space. If you are wondering why you can't see stars in the night sky, you know the culprit. 

There are skimpily clad women walking around and therefore, this place might not be suitable for children... but nobody in their right mind would bring their children to Las Vegas. Disneyland beckons! 

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Guide: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon (Adventure Photo Tours)

Like Grand Canyon, this tour will get you out of Las Vegas. This tour is like a McDonald's combo meal. Just like how you get to eat not only the burger but also get to enjoy the fries and drinks, you get to visit not only the very famous Zion National Park but also the Bryce Canyon.

Website 
Just a mention about Adventure Photo Tour's website, I thought it was interesting that they actually had a Chinese website too. It's not that I can't understand English, just that I thought it's pretty much going the extra mile to attract Chinese tourists. The thing I'm really curious about is, do they have Mandarin-speaking tour guides?

Tour group size and van
The tour group size was the largest I have had in a few days and the tour was the most expensive amongst all the tours I went on. There were 11 people on the tour and that completely filled the van up. The thing I liked about the van, however, is that it had a high door, so that I didn't have to bend my back too much to get in and out of the bus, as I did in other tours. I also appreciated the fact that we were given a fact sheet although honestly, I do not see how it enhanced our tour experience unless you thought a piece of paper could improve your photography skills by leaps and bounds.

Breakfast 
Breakfast was a brown paper bag full of random items- including a muffin, a packet of peanuts, a granola bar and a cheesestick. I think that's more than enough to fill a hungry person up.

Zion National Park 
You will get to see the Virgin River at the Zion National Park, the Checkerboard Messa and interesting formations such as the hoodoos in the Zion National Park.

Lunch 
Lunch is taken on the bus which is totally fine because this saves time. You get a sandwich, a packet of chips and some famous amos biscuits. Water and orange juice is also available throughout the day. Sunblock and hand sanitiser are also available.

Bryce Canyon National Park 
I really liked the Bryce Canyon National Park. When you look down, all you see is the forces of Mother Nature's hand and it's incredible how the human mind works to conjure different images of these limestone rocks. My photos do not do justice to the rich colours you will see when walking the trail. Some daredevil tried to sit on a tree branch very close to the edge- what a photo it would make if he suddenly became superman.

Getting back
On the road back, we stopped at Wendy's to get some dinner. We reached back at the hotel at around 830 pm. On the road, we watched two very relevant shows- one was on Vegas (Vegas Vacation) and the other was about Zion National Park (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).

Tour Guide
Our tour guide, James, was a photographer. We are thankful for the fact that he was very helpful throughout the trip, in offering water and other necessities and taking photographs for us. He also gave us ample opportunities to get out and onto the bus at several points to take photographs. He also gave a lot of information, although his rather monotonous tone made me fall asleep halfway through. I know it's my fault that I fell asleep, but believe me, I really tried to keep awake. (Contrary to popular belief, I did not spend the night before gambling in the casino.)

We also watched two videos on Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. While these are very informative, it sure can't beat a tour guide pointing out the actual things we see in the video. When we were taking a short hike to Sunset Point at Bryce Canyon, everybody in the tour group who participated in the hike were asking each other- So, which is the Thor's Hammer? Although we saw it in the video, it was difficult for us to spot in amongst the many formations. James did not follow us on the hike, leaving us to our own imagination.

Overall
Compared to the price we paid for the Grand Canyon Trip, this is a lot more expensive. James was a good tour guide but it would be cooler if he could bring us around to point out the different well known formations during the trail. Without a car, I suppose this remains a good option to take if you want to visit both Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon although I find it important to inform you that, you will spend most of your time in Zion National Park stopping 5 minutes at each photo taking point.

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