‘en het leven is zo móóóói!’ – A homage to Shirley Hooy

 Amazing People #2 - Shirley Hooy

I’ve had an extreme case of writers block recently with my blog down to lack of mental stimuli coupled with some extreme working hours at the Big D. Each time something happens that I feel is worth blogging about I’m constrained and never produce anything. For those repeat viewers who don’t me and found this by chance may think my life is nothing but temple visiting in Asia and hopeless love stories; there is more to Jack Smith than that I promise you.

I’m writing this blog in an almost baron MRT carriage bound for home after having worked until 11pm; I thought this time would be pretty perfect to get cracking with something I’ve been meaning to blog about for a few weeks; my dear Friend; Shirley Hooy.

Shirley Hooy 1972 - 2012

Three weeks ago; on the 31^st July 2012 I received a phone call from a colleague of mine based in the Big D in India. She rarely calls me regarding anything but on this day when I answered there was life missing from her usually bubbly Indian accent. She skipped all pleasantries and asked me straight up if I’d heard about Shirley. I retorted with “Which Shirley?” since I moved to Singapore I now sit opposite a Singaporean lady named Shirley also so at first had no idea what she was asking me. When she mentioned Shirley Hooy’s name my brain added 2+2 together and the answer to the sum caused my heart to sink. It’s a horrible feeling when your heart sinks like that, when you know something awful has happened; it’s sheer dread. My colleague then delivered the blow which would result in a trip to Europe I never wanted to make. My dear friend and colleague from the Big D in Amsterdam had passed away. My orange light had gone out. 

Information flowed through from her and from various colleagues in Amsterdam. My brain is fantastic at denial; it simply will not register something terrible has happened until the people closest to me, those I trust the most confirm it. My heart knew but my brain refused to accept. I made a call to two other friends of mine in the Netherlands; Marijn and Fred who both confirmed the news. I was a useless 195cm tall structure of flesh & bone for the remainder of that day unable to comprehend Shirley; who was such a good friend to me in Amsterdam, who came to Singapore to help with the decentralization of Customer Operations, the lady who taught me most of my filthy Dutch vocabulary, my smoking buddy, a woman I hadn’t met until three years ago who loved me as a friend and whom I loved back in the same light was gone forever. 

From left to Right; Claudio, Shirley, Sandrine, Me, Mauro and Grace

The following week I’d planned a trip to Sydney; paid for my flights & accommodation and was actually for the first time packing my bags before the day of my flight really looking forward to the first break I’d had for 3 months from work. For those who know me and know me well; I’m a very emotional boy and I like to think although I’ve done some things I regret deeply in my past I have I’m a good soul. On the news; I delayed my flight to Sydney, cancelled my hotel booking, cancelled my annual leave at work and booked the first flight available at the weekend back to Europe. After rushing-in, in total Jack style I realized I thought to myself - What they hell have you done boy? You’ve just spent 1,500 GBP on a hotel and flights to Europe for what? What could I do? As I moved away from the shock of Shirley’s death I started to be more self amicable, comprehensive and in reviewing my thoughts about money I felt ashamed. I felt ashamed that the friendship I had from this person; the life experiences, good and bad times I’d shared with her I was questioning whether or not they were worth 1,500 GBP. What is money actually for? Is it to survive? If so; I have more than enough to survive. I could move myself out of this Gadget crazed Digital iPod era we are in and live for a fraction of what I do now. I was going back to Europe, back to the Netherlands, back to Amsterdam and to Shirley’s small village about an hour outside of Amsterdam called Nieuwekoop to pay my respects to her; one of the most genuine people I’ve had the good fortune of meeting, a true authority of authenticity and to her family. She may have not been perfect but no matter how good you think you are no one is perfect. 

I flew out the same weekend to attend the funeral on the Monday; Fred was kind enough to take me from Sloterdijk station where I had bumped into Marijn; all the way to the funeral and back. We arrived about an hour early and found a very traditional brown Dutch café with broodjes (sandwiches), toasties, cakes, coffee, tea and of course beer. During the food; I looked at Fred & Marijn and realized how much I actually missed them, how close I’d become to both of them in my short time in the Netherlands. I smiled briefly; enjoying being back amongst friends temporarily lost, amongst the cows, the clogs, the seemingly endless fields, the windmills, the canals and then felt guilty almost immediately with no idea why. Shirley would want us to be talking about boobs or about girls with good asses; she was almost one of the guys.

Me & Shirley @ Clarke Quay, Singapore

The funeral started and about 10 other colleagues from the Big D in Amsterdam turned up at the funeral; some of them like Shirley, Fred and Marijn casualties of the reorganization which thrust me into the arms of Asia. It was nice to see them too even if for the wrong reason. My Dutch is pretty poor; in fact it’s terrible – I know about 30 – 50 words and about 10 pre-set common phrases and sentences. I can formulate the most basic of sentences on my own but have not acquired the ‘Dutch Ear’ the ability to understand the Dutchies when they begin to rattle their words out like the lead from a fully automatic machine gun. For once; I was thankful for this – speaking in Dutch; a barrage of Shirley’s sobbing closest friends and family starting with her husband stood up in front of a bursting Church to pay their respects to the woman lying in the wooden box. I only understood the bare minimum – except the odd English word that crops up.

Since I’d heard the news I was frustrated that I hadn’t cried; it’s normal right? To cry over a loss – even though she wasn’t family or a long term friend she’s gone, gone forever. About half way through the funeral Shirley’s oldest daughter Emma which is 8 grabbed hold of her dad to comfort him and that was it; the taps were open I sobbed like a child.

At the end of the funeral; we proceeded outside to take Shirley to her final resting place. The mechanism that carries the coffin to the grave was there waiting for its payload. The taps were open again after the coffin was delivered to its carriage; for the first time I’d noticed it was plain; unvarnished and unpainted with the exception of messages left for her in multi-coloured ink by her children. A child’s drawing of itself with tears in purple ink. Her coffin was lowered into the ground and people left leaving a few of us Big D folk left; I walked passed her coffin hanging in the balance waiting for the closure the layers of soil bring and said my Goodbyes. On the way out; I met Casper, Shirleys husband and gave him a card and a gift that the team in Singapore had prepared and passed him my condolences. I’d met Casper before and he seemed to be a great guy, he thanked me from the bottom of his heart from coming from Singapore and in that moment I felt the sinking heart, the despair and sorrow again that Shirley was gone.

For the rest of my time in Amsterdam I felt empty; normally elated to back amongst the canals and the coffee shops I had moments staring into space where it kept hitting me she’s gone. Never to text me or Whatsapp me again, never to post something on my Face book; she was my biggest fan.

My final words are for her and her family; Casper, Robin, Emma and Thijs I will miss your wife and your Mother for the rest of my days; I will never forget her. She was my colleague and a dear friend.

Shirley, It’s crazy I’m writing to you when you’re gone but thank you for the laughs at work, thank you for the smoke breaks we took together, for the bitching about the Big D, for the pictures of the boobies and kontjes you posted on Face book for me and Marijn, thank for showing me how to tie a tie, thank you for the time in Singapore we had. Thank you for being my friend, sleep well.

Robin, Emma, Casper, Thijs and Shirley xxx

‘en het leven is zo móóóói!' - And this life is so beautiful

~TGM~

Jakarta, Indonesia

The journey of the boy from Sunderland on his Asia Pacific tour continues with a memoir from my travels to Indonesia...

In early April myself and Cindy in our search to discover more of Asia's wonders decided to take a trip to Indonesia. This decision was fueled by the proximity of Jakarta to Singapore (2hr flight) and of course the ridiculously cheap cost of air transport from A-B and back again.

After we booked the trip and as the trip drew closer we were doing more and more research daily on what to see and what to do in Jakarta with an ever increasing sense of worry, as the harder we looked, the more seldom activities inside the Indonesian capital seemed. One website entitled "Get out of Jakarta" highlighted the congestion, pollution and lack of tourist attractions in Jakarta. Most websites such as lonely planet and trip adviser recommended exploring neighboring cities such as Bandung or the 1000 Islands all of which required earlier planning and pro-activeness something which myself and Cindy both lack :) .... So we arrived in Jakarta and decided to embrace the City itself as much as we could and visit the other areas recommended in Indonesia on stand alone separate trips.

When we landed in Jakarta it was late, around 1am and the queue at the immigration was outrageous. What was more outrageous was that there was no queue dedicated to Indonesians. In most other countries I've been to they have fast lanes or dedicated lanes for nationals but not here. What else was outrageous was the way they handle VOA here (Visa Upon Arrival). When the immigration officer was checking my passport he then asked me to pay him around 85USD cash in his hand for my Visa.. At this point Cindy had already gotten through successfully and i asked why Cindy hadn't been charged? His reply was delivered cold like a hit man giving you a bullet to the back of the head "She's Asian". Not wanting to cause a scene or go to prison I obliged him his cash in his hand payment for my Visa and walked through into the airport a little annoyed and very suspicious.

When we left the airport the Taxi's were hovering like flies around shit and one man ran over to us, took our bags and escorted us to a cab without us having asked him. A bit blurry at that time of the morning I questioned the situation but in fear of causing uproar or potential injury (as I'd read lots of online horror stories about Indonesia) I went along with it. He took us to an unmarked SUV and we got in, we agreed a flat rate (which seemed awfully high for South East Asian standards) before the "cab" took off and we went on the dramatic Indonesian highways and expressways towards the City Centre where our hotel was situated near the famous eating area of Sabang.

Indonesian Rupiah - Crazy currency - Money is what makes the world go round they say, it's especially true in Jakarta

Ready to embrace City Centre living in Jakarta and wanting to avoid the posh places I'd be told to go see we simply taxi hopped from one place to another; between Malls and restaurants. The name "Bluebird" becomes a quick friend in Jakarta; air conditioned, cheap and rip off free Taxi traveling.

Like most of the under developed parts of South East Asia; there are lots of bikes and I mean A LOT of bikes. It's cheaper to buy than a car, cheaper to run and with the added benefit of weaving in and out of traffic owners can avoid the monumental traffic jams one experiences daily in Jakarta. Safety doesn't seem to matter or it loses out to necessity and cost.

How to fit a family of four on  Bike

On our travels we did see and found a few places of interest in Jakarta Centre, one place that was interesting but equally as pestering and intimidating was the Antiques Market at Jalan Surabaya. It's approximately a 1KM road full of "antiques" it's really wonderful to see, especially the variety of Java masks and figurines on display. It's a bit unfortunate that this street holds some very talented craftsmen and some very interesting items while at the same time the majority of the shops are owned by very pushy locals who make the overall experience of browsing at the goodies impossible almost the verge of harassment. If you like haggling or are partial to the concept of schadenfreude, you may like to see how low the locals will go to get the sale.

Jalan Surabaya Antiques Market

Right behind Jalan Surabaya we found a really murky looking river with all sorts floating in it, people were washing their clothes in it and while we were looking taking photos a guy came past us and started fishing in it... not sure if he was fishing for food or fishing for gold but either way it took us back slightly; he was however a good sport and posed for the camera :)

City Fishers

In the centre of Jakarta we saw a building, a finger pointing towards the sky and with nothing else to do; we followed it. Soon we came to a perimeter, an iron railed fence that seemed to stretch forever. Eventually we came to a break in the fence at the entrance to a park; the Medan Merdeka Park. The finger we saw pointing to the sky is the National Monument. The monument is very impressive at night, a neon blue salute to the Gods by the Indonesians..

National Monument @ Medan Merdeka Park, Jakarta.

After a few bits & pieces of sight seeing we were on the hunt for food, good food and Indonesia shares some very fine cultural delicacies with Malaysia; while searching the Ancol Dreamland at the port of Jakarta for food I found the below graffiti which I liked a lot..

If you don't understand my silence you'll never understand my words..

That sums up the sight seeing I did in Jakarta; I know a tiny amount but to be honest we weren't super inspired by Jakarta. I've heard from other colleagues and friends that Jakarta is wonderful and full of delights but unfortunately In my brief time there I didn't see much of this... I promise Jakarta, I'll visit you again.

Now finally onto the food...  :)

Right next to our hotel a few doors down actually there was a wonderful, traditional Indonesian coffee-house called Kopitiam Oey. Kopitiam which basically means Coffee or Coffee House is probably closest in style and atmosphere to a Cafe where light food is served along with a variety of drinks. This place is amazing and worth the detour if you are not staying close to Sabang..although there are a few outlets in Jakarta so it's worth checking first..

Traditional Indonesian Cuisine @ Kopitiam Oey - Jalan H Agus Salim

The menu includes a horde of taste-bud electrifying Malaysian, Indonesian and Chinese dishes along with the epically wonderful condensed milk sweet teas and coffees from this area of the world..

Nasi Goreng Sapi - Fried Rice with Beef, Fried Egg & Multi-Coloured Prawn Crackers

Roti Bakar "Grilled Bread" with Strawberry Jam

Ayam Loempia "Chicken Spring Rolls" - and yes, it's the Dutch Spelling...they also were colonialists if you didn't know..

Pisang Goreng "Fried Bananas"

Sambal Goreng Kentang "Fried Potatoes with Chili"

Birdseye View of Teh Tarik "Pulled Tea" - the Indian sweet tea  made with condensed & evaporated milk commonly found in South East Asia

In addition to photo stream of local foods we found some of the best Sea Food I have ever eaten in my entire life at the Ancol Dreamland; the best shrimps, calamari, cray fish and other oceanic treats that are sure to delight both your taste buds and wallet.. unfortunately I'm a shit photographer and couldn't get any decent shots :) Next time I promise.

So other than constant perspiration, eating and visiting the few tourist attractions Jakarta has to offer we didn't do much else.. oh wait, Indonesia is great for shopping too!

Lots of bags - small amount of money = Great

So that was my trip to Jakarta...because I didnt maximize my trip means I have to go again right? ;)

Thx for reading.
¬ Love ¬

The Missing Transformer – Polvorón!

I wonder how many were lured here by the promise of a potentially new and exciting Transformer, a robot in disguise? Only my Spanish and my Filipino associates knew what this post really was about by the title alone…It does sound like a robot though right? No? Anyway..

As a man with an incredibly sweet tooth I’ve always loved cakes, pastries, biscuits, sweets – all the heavenly tasting things that are bad for you. To help satisfy this perpetual craving I’m lucky to be a European. Europe is the home of; Belgian Waffles, Italian Tiramisu, French Chocolate éclairs, English Apple Pie, Dutch Oliebollen, German Black Forest Gateau to name but a few.. a whole plethora of sweet delights. Since I moved to Asia however I have been heavily disappointed by Asian desserts with the exception of Cendol (A Malaysian ice brown sugar dessert).

In my office in Singapore I have many Filipino colleagues, one in particular introduced me to an originally Spanish delight still popular across all of Spain and the ex-Spanish colonies in particular very popular in The Philippines. This delight is known as Polvorón from the Spanish word Polvo meaning Dust. Made from dried powdered milk, butter and flour it has a strong sandstone / cakey texture which causes unbelievable dry mouth but the taste and texture I adore; and now probably class it as my favourite Asian sweet food.

They are so popular in the Philippines there are lots of different variants; original, cookies and cream, coffee and pinipig (which is kind of like polvoróron with rice crispies inside) and the most famous are those under the Goldilocks branding.

The Classic 'Original' Polvorón

Polvorón will never take the place of a bowl of steaming hot apple pie with custard from my heart but while I’m here in Asia surrounded by nasty Chinese bean paste abominations and Diabetes inducing Indian desserts they will surely quench my sweet tooth without the need for additional trips to the dentist.

Until next time.

Turning 27

Hello friends or foes, we meet once again..

So a couple of weeks ago (May 15th to be precise) I turned 27 years old...officially in the bracket of late 20's..

When you're 20-23 maybe even up to 24 you can put yourself in the "early 20's" bracket, then 25-26 I'd class as "mid-20's" and 27 onwards is the decline.. "late 20's" up to the day of the big 30.

Sitting here typing this really puts things into perspective..30 in three years? Very scary indeed. It's not all grim I guess, I have three full years left in my 20's and I intend to make the most of them... without bringing skydiving into the picture.

I'm not one for big birthday parties, I don't like making a fuss really...how I see it is that yes, it's my birthday but there are probably some 5 + Billion people on this planet who's birthday is not May 15th and the world doesn't stop spinning for them right? In the usual Jack style too.. I'm celebrating one year closer to being old? It doesn't make sense right? Like celebrating watching your bank account deplete or something..

As part of the mandatory celebrations anyone must have on their birthday for me Family is most important, to kind of tie into my birthday my parents and my sister flew from England to Singapore for a week.

To be honest, the most exciting thing about having my family here or the thing I looked forward to most other than seeing them of course was the food here in Asia. I wanted them to sample as much Asian food as possible; and by Asian food I don't mean Curry & Chips..

Cindy teaching the folks to eat with Chopsticks in Sushi Tei - Classic photo :)

The first night they arrived we went for Korean food; Korean BBQ to be precise in Tanjong Pagar. The Korean BBQ went down very well with my old man and with my sister but my Mother did not like it one bit. She didn't like wrapping the BBQ meats in lettuce, she didn't like the seafood pancake or the Kimchi - her favourite part of the night was leaving.

The second night I did the proverbial boyfriend thing and introduced my parents to Cindy. Cindy a girl who always looks pretty really made an effort than evening she had her hair done for the occasion and had splashed out on a very chic dress making her look probably the prettiest I've ever seen her, she cast her spell well and truly on me and on my family that night.. for hours and hours afterwards and even now almost a month on they tell me how much they loved her, let's not mention the comparison to NL here...not yet anyway.

After the introduction we went for Japanese Food at Sushi Tei in China Square, near Chinatown and to my surprise they loved the food. They ate everything from Sushi to Maki, from Chicken Karage to Ebi Tempura and the pièce de résistance they ate Unagi which for those not versed in Japanese is Eel. It doesn't come as a long black snake on your plate but when you know what it is it's intimidating first time round for us westerners. They loved it all. My sister was the most adept at quick gain Chopsticks, in fact she picked it up probably as quickly as I did... my parents were totally hopeless bless them.

To top off one of my favourite nights in a long time Cindy bought me a birthday cake! The first cake I've had in many years..

The deepest, most moist Chocolate & Banana cake ever - Thank you Cindy ;) 

Day 3 - There isn't to be honest THAT much to do in Singapore except Shop, go to Sentosa Island and visit a few landmarks but not of them (with the exception of Marina Bay Sands) have any oomph really. We went shopping and i showed the folks my place I'm staying at and for dinner we went across a bar at Somerset, across the road from the mall the Somerset MRT links into - it's called 5 or something like that but does some of the best bar food I've ever eaten in all my years. Onion Rings, Mini Burgers, Pizza, Chicken Wings all really good - none of this frozen bag from Iceland malarkey you get in most pubs and bars in the UK.

On Thursday we went across to the bar at the Big D for a quick drink and my parents funnily enough bumped into NL which was one of the most awkward moments in recent months but never the less I was very much looking forward to the evening; on Thursday evening Cindy picked us up and we headed over across the causeway into Malaysia and to Cindy's place in Gelang Patah for dinner. We even got my folks the traditional Malaysian drink Teh Tarik and they loved it which I never expected! 

Cindy and I cooked my parents some Chicken with Broccoli & Mushrooms in a Soya Sauce, Tamil style Marinara Shrimp and Asparagus wrapped in bacon with mountains of white sticky rice. They ate up ever last morsel of food.. earlier before dinner I had told them even if they didn't like it they were obviously obliged to eat it but they assured me they loved it and I believe them to my core; it's the only time my family gets quiet; When they are eating!

The following day (Friday) me and my folks took a flight out to Phuket in Thailand and Cindy hadn't come along as she had originally got the dates confused with her girly trip to Bali, not that Bali is for girls just that she was going with a girlfriend of hers - just to clarify :) At the last minute my Dad insisted Cindy come along and I agreed wholeheartedly and we booked her a last minute flight, she got 1 day's short notice leave off work and flew across to Phuket the following day. I don't want to spoil the Phuket trip for you all so I'll make a separate blog about that sometime.. it takes me so long these days with long working hours to do anything productive outside of the work place so God knows how long it will take but it will come :)

So.. after a few time fast forwarding days in Phuket (you know those days that the hours just fly by as if someone had your life on fast forward?) we arrived back in Singapore with about 12 hours to kill before my parents flew back to the UK. I used this time wisely; clearly on the hunt for more food and took my parents to my favourite white-man restaurant in Singapore; Fish & Co. We ate fish and chips and although a mockery to the Fish lots we can acquire from Grangetown Fisheries round the corner from my folks house we sat and were merry as if I was back home. 

Thank you for coming to visit me on my Birthday, Thank you for being a wonderful Father, a wonderful Mother and a wonderful Sister to me. I love you all very much and count the days until I see you again. Last but not least thank you to Cindy for being so lovely, for cooking the best Chinese food my parents have ever eaten and for being so adorable my family now seem to love you more than they do me! :)

Left to right: My sis, me, Cindy, The Old Man and the Old Lady finishing up our Japanese adventure with a can of Asahi

P.S - How awesome is it when your mother flies 13,000 miles to see you and offers to Iron all your work shirts for you? :)

Best Mother 2012 Award Winner - Mrs Karen Smith x

Until next time...
Peace

The Master has left the building...

Amazing People #1 - Chris Chi-Hong Tang

Good Evening everyone..

It's 8.15pm on Sunday the 13th May 2012, I'm writing to you from the hard semi-comfortable wood IKEA chair in the living room of my place in Singapore. In front of me I have a double shot Cappuccino from The Coffee Bean (like Starbucks only not quite as good for those who haven't heard of it), my personal laptop from which I am writing this message, my work laptop as I've done some heavy overtime this weekend for the Big D as I'm on leave all next week and my unconscious roommate Enrique half naked face down on the sofa recovering from two days of excessive alcohol consumption.

I'm feeling rather melancholy writing this blog but I need to endure this sadness to give thanks to a wonderful human being; the human being in question today is a gentleman known to many as simply The Master, by his English name Chris Tang and his Chinese name Chi-Hong Tang.

After more than 10 years of traveling in excess of 200km a day (yes you read correctly, 200km a day!)  working for the big D in Amsterdam Chris' last day in the business was 23rd April, another attrition in a long line of amazing people I had the pleasure of working with in the Netherlands. I never fail to fall into this pit of melancholy when someone I've known leaves this business but the pit is deeper when it's someone I directly worked with, someone from my old team for example like Marijn, Shirley, Katarina, Jelena, Jenny, Eva, Jeroen, Kitty, David and now Chris...

It's a long standing tradition that when someone leaves the Big D (I presume also the broader corporate world where emails are the foundation of your work communication) they send out a big email thanking everyone, some do the corporate thing even in farewell emails and others do very non corporate things which always amuses me. The man in question wrote a truly sincere email with no hard grudges and no sly comments towards the business which is always easy and tempting to do I should imagine..

The Master - one of the most sincere people I've ever met..

I'm making this blog to say thank you; Thank you for holding my hand in the corporate world for those first few months.. When I was new I asked so many questions, so many questions so many times and I could see stress and frustration on the faces of most, when I couldn't ask anyone else or when I was obviously struggling in silence Chris was there. He taught me how to work with the system (and how to trick it). He taught me how to communicate with the customers and how to communicate corporately with peers and stakeholders. Although I'm only a ground worker, a low level employee - I owe him a lot, without him I doubt Id be here in Singapore today.

For a reserved conservative guy we also shared a few moments talking about ladies, very differently from how we talk about it back in Sunderland but I'll also remember his comments "Dangerous, dangerous for your heart this one" *smiling to myself*

Chris, if you are reading this thank you. Thank you very much.

I dont want to diminish the impact my other colleagues and friends who I've lost along the journey also had on my life, those mentioned earlier... Marijn Baaij, Shirley Hooy, Katarina Bekavac, Jelena Dzida, David Peeters, Eva Latozinsky, Kitty Long, Jeroen Lantzendorffer, Mila Costa, Perla Romero, Peter J Harrison, Ulrika Quaison, Jenny Bergman, Carla Bowe, Mauro D'Errico, Fred Drenth, Rianne Van Schie, Dieuwke Swain.. all of you, have helped me on this journey they call life in one way or another and you know you have. If I hadn't given it before you will always have my eternal gratitude and a place in my heart guys (except you Marijn, you only have my gratitude - I know you'll call me gay if I give you the last piece).

Ex-Asia Team Colleagues - from Left to Right - Katarina, Chris, Wei Wei, Dieuwke, David and Mila

Chris and the others, I wish you all the best for the rest of the journey they call life and I'm sure what you do or where you go you will be succesfull as you are some of the finest people to ever walk this earth.

Love you all (except Marijn)

TGM