I’m officially done with school now that results are out. The last 20 months has been filled with challenges, but the good news is that I’ve weathered all of them and am graduating with distinction.
I feel truly blessed.
Exams have been over for a good 3 weeks now. After having a well-deserved rest after the 20-month struggle, I’m back at work in full force.
I must say that my life now as an insurance sales manager at UOB is no easy feat but I’m very heartened to know that I’m working with a leader who steers the team in the right direction and motivates us to give our best and fights for and together with us.
Shall take this time to affirm my goal of promotion come December. Will fight with all my might from May to November. To all my loyal clients and those I’ve newly acquired, and those who place their trust in me, I won’t disappoint you.
If you haven’t heard, Spotify has reached our shores! Spotify is an online music streaming service that you can access anywhere with your mobile devices. One may ask, what difference is there, using this compared to the good old-fashioned iTunes? Likely objections – first off, at S$9.90 a month that is by no measure cheap. Secondly, this service is not for you if you don’t have a WiFi connection at home or a stable data network (my music skips and pauses involuntarily when I’m on Starhub LTE; no problem on SingTel LTE though). I’ll leave shitty telcos to another post.
I’ve been using Spotify for almost a week now and I must say I really enjoy it a lot.
1. Support originals
It’s quite a pain to have to visit a CD shop these days to find an album, sample it, and queue up to part with my money. The chore doesn’t end there – I have to rip it, import it onto iTunes and then sync it to my phone. It’s much easier to key in 16 digits of my credit card, expiry date and start buying music. iTunes isn’t cheap either – it costs an average of $1.28 per track. For $9.90, you can only purchase 7.7 tracks a month. For $9.90, you get to access millions of songs on Spotify. That’s a lot of bang for 10 bucks, if you ask me.
2. Playlists
Build your own playlists from the millions of songs available online. I create a playlist on my Mac and it’s instantaneously available on my iPhone 5, HTC One, iPad, Toshiba. Can’t be bothered to build a playlist? Simple follow someone else’s lists. Have a friend whose music taste is similar to yours? Follow his playlists! Like an artist for her work and want to be updated once she releases a single? Follow her!
3. Radio
Well, any music streaming service will be incomplete without a radio option. I have TuneIn Pro on my Android so I usually use that to access Internet radio around the globe. Spotify, however, takes the concept of radio a step further by constructing a radio station based on a current song you’re listening to!
Pretty impressive in my opinion.
4. Sociability
Social media is integral to many services these days. Find friends, follow them and share what you’re listening to on your Facebook. You’d be surprised that some of your very decent, geeky-looking friend is into trance/house or even Korean Pop. Trust me, my jaw dropped when I saw ASOT and Avicii on my friend’s playlist.
Have a special message you want to send to someone? Construct a playlist of sweet nothings and then send it his or her way!
5. Collection
I need to re-emphasise on how extensive Spotify’s collection is! Unless you listen to Tibetan hymnals, I’m quite sure you can find what you listen to.
Paying $9.90 a month to have access to any music I want anywhere and be able to download them onto my device in high quality?
Just a little tip for everyone out there, you can get a free trial! Download Spotify on your mobile device and sign in using your Facebook for a free 48-hour trial. After that, register your credit/debit card for another free 30-day trial. 32 days for free? Why are you still here reading this?
Exams are finally over! Sat for my last paper of my undergrad life and walked out with that “HELL YEAH!” face. Please refer to photo above.
Finally my life can return to normalcy – more time for family, work, friends, gym, swim, run, you get the drift.
Major apologies for this really long hiatus as I haven’t found any inspiration to write. On a related note, I’m already toying with some post grad ideas but before that, let’s take a short break from academia.
So in April, Glenlivet threw a little party to launch The Glenlivet Pioneering Spirit. There’s no better fit than home-grown Azimuth to be featured at the event. (I’m sorry this took forever!)
[az-uh-muhth]
noun
1.
2.
Azimuth enjoys its success today largely due to its focus on direction, shared director Alvin Lye.
Million apologies for the hiatus on this space! My mid terms are killing me and I finally have time to sit at my desk and cook up stuff here! I’ve come to notice that a lot of my friends have converted from iOS/Symbian to Android of late and decided to come up with…
Sam’s Top 10 MUST-HAVE Apps on Android!
First of all, I’m not sure if any of these apps have any minimum system requirements. Most of you should be running Ice Cream Sandwich on your devices or at least Gingerbread (you know it’s time to switch if you’re not on either!). Feel free to drop me a comment/personal message and I’ll gladly tell you why you should get a HTC One X instead of a Samsung Galaxy S3. My experience with Samsung has been exasperating and time-consuming but that story is for another day. Note: replies will be intermittent because I’m working on my term essay which is due in July!
Got an Android and not sure where to start?
Drumroll….
Wish your phone knew when you wanted the screen to pan to landscape and when to stay in portrait (reading while lying down in bed?) With Smart Rotator, you can choose which apps are restricted to landscape, what *ahem* stays up (no, not those two apps) and the rest, flexible.
Once again, I am facing problems with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus which I have owned for less than half a year. I will be making a trip down to the service centre again tomorrow (it’s been less than a month since the last time!) and I hope Samsung offers a satisfactory solution.
It’s without a doubt that World Gourmet Summit attracts the best talents from all around the world and bring them together to showcase the eclectic styles that these stellar, acclaimed chefs helm from corners of the world. If anybody deserves a special mention, it has to be be Ronny Emborg.
Photo credits: A La Carte Productions Pte Ltd
Often referred to as “The Wizard’s Apprentice”, and voted by many as world’s greatest chef, Emborg is a unique rising star on Europe’s gourmet sky in the true sense of the word. His unconventional way of staging molecular cuisine, new nordic and nouvelle cuisine in one also quickly earned him his first Michelin-star WITHIN one year.
Photo credits: Restaurant AOC
He defines restaurant AOC as “the sensory kitchen” – a kitchen of pure tastiness that enhances the pleasure of dining with the full use of taste, sight, color, and smell to a higher level of gastronomical excitement.
Every weekend in AOC is experiment day. Ronny Emborg and his crew will experiment with ingredients and nature’s produce to come up with something new that is not used in AOC’s kitchen. The continual exploration and experimentation is probably what catapulted AOC to the success that it enjoys today. One of the most peculiar but surprisingly delectable creations will have to be…
FROM ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO BREAD. Yes, guys. That’s burnt bread. You’d wonder who will eat this and that immediately piqued my curiosity. How does anyone serve burnt bread and have a Michelin-star under his belt?! And this VERY, VERY lucky casual blogger got a taste of it at his workshop as part of the WGS 2012.
The bread is crispy, aromatic and does not taste burn. Not even one bit. Served with smoked cheesecreme and roasted salmon flakes, this is to die for. It takes hours to beat the salmon from its creamy, fatty fillet state into flakes. Brimming with dedication and creativity, this man deserves his bragging rights.
Restaurant AOC is now on my bucket list and I can’t wait to go to Denmark.
Here are some of the other dishes he presented at the Jam Sessions and his workshop.
Photos of dishes my own and shot with a Canon S-95.
I’ve had the amazing opportunity to have tea with Vikas Khanna at the beautiful Song of India as part of the World Gourmet Summit which happens weeks ago.
Vikas is an inspirational man. He speaks of food earnestly and shares with us what food means to him. His mantra – “using food to create jobs, nourish the world”. Food, to him, is more than just physical nourishment – it encompasses spiritual nourishment as well.
Finger food served at the tea.
First up, the Salmon Tikka. The red comes from beetroot. Vikas chose red for it represents blood and life. Spiced with ginger and cumin, this injected life into my taste buds and awoken them from the sleepy stupor induced by the humidity and blazing sun.
Venison Gustav spiced with kashmir nuts to warm the senses. I didn’t think much of this because I’m not a fan of venison.
Panna Cotta. Here’s the twist – the little pods you see? That’s not vanilla. It’s…. BETEL NUTS. The quintessential Indian spice. One mouth of this can send jolts of memory into one’s mind. Chef Vikas’ Panna Cotta has reduced an 80-year-old man to tears for it invoked so much childhood memories one can be so detached from. Vikas has used his food to provoke emotional connection from when he first opened his restaurant in USA 5 years ago. The crew, from assistant chef to cleaners, have not changed much since opening to their first Michelin-star. And with great humility, he dedicates the accolade to everyone in his restaurant.
I’ve been kicked right down, I’ve been spat in the face
I’ve been pulled way down o the lowest place
I’ve been lied to, shamed, I have been disgraced
Been ex-communicated from every holy place
I’ve been beat up and robbed, I’ve been left for dead
For the way I look, for the things I saidI’ve been put on the street, I’ve been left in the cold
Had my dreams held up, had them shot for holes
I’ve been laughed at, burnt, been the butt of the joke
I’ve been lit up in flames, I have gone down in smoke
I’ve been stabbed in the back while they promised the earth
Tried to keep my head high for all I am worth
perhaps always 