Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Getting psyched up for North Korea

A bunch of us are in the midst of planning for a trip to DPRK next spring. It was something we talked about in Beijing, when our friend John was in a shop buying North Korean propoganda posters. We found out that they also arrange tours to Pyongyang. And now, John is gathering the troops and doing a whole bunch of research and planning. Thank you John :)

We are also reading about this very mysterious country so that we'll get the most out of the trip. Strangely, we managed to share a book without getting into fights! You can also get this book here.


This afternoon, I was watching the re-run of Nat Geo's, Undercover in North Korea, hosted by Lisa Ling, the sister of the journalist who was held captive by North Korea in 2009. It was like watching bits of what I was reading. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen. Also, watch this video on North Korean Mass Game. It's amazing how precise their timings are.

We're so excited about our trip. Can't wait to tell you more!

Bike ride to Marina Barrage


We initially wanted to get to Marina South Park but we got so confused with all the new roads in this part of the country that we ended up at the Marina Barrage. There is never a reason for us to go there, so this is our first trip since it was built about 2 years ago. We were pleasantly surprised to see a lot of cute kites up in the sky. I'm thinking I should organise a kite-flying day. It should be fun, even though we've never flown a kite, ever.

Saw this exact same whale kite in the sky. Way too cute. I want!

P.S. Marina South Park is no longer around. Gardens By The Bay is now under construction to take its place.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Fatboy's: The Hangover Cure!


Something big, fat and greasy usually does the job of fixing a torturous Hangover. We discovered Fatboy's at Mohammed Sultan. It's great value-for-money. At around SGD$12, you can get the Wimpy Burger (egg, bacon, cheese, chunky beef patty on sesame seed bun), or make your own burger. And there's also the option of having more booze to fix the pain, at decent prices too.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Mo time!

Its Movember again! Somehow I missed the whole grow-your-mo -thingie last year and regretted that deeply. I have always been a secret fan of mustache and Movember is a good excuse to come out of my mo-closet. And of course for a good cause!

This year my aim is togrow very traditional pencil mos aka "kalapuikot". Fish fingers is probably the closest translation to this. At least back home in Finland "kalapuikot" is pretty solid concept in the world of mos.

Even though my personal meter shows 30+ , for some reason never been able to grow very bushy mos. Lets cross the fingers that this time, and for a good cause, that I will have a proper results at the end of the month.

That said, I promise to donate one SGD per each comment for this post (up to 200 SGD). Additionally posting at least twice a week a picture of my mo development. And challenge you to join to Movember!

Oh! And the official Movember (Singapore) page and Facebook page.

Let the journey begin...

Day 1. (Shaved this morning).


Day 3.
Some nice progress. This is usually the phase when all fuzz from the towels or piece of napkin sticks to your face and nascent mo. In worst case no one is telling you this and you spend half a day happily not knowing that your something is dangling from your face. Although, this might be a a bit embarrassing line to completely stranger: "Excuse me sir, something is dangling from your face" Might cause some tricky situations....ya?


I was thinking yesterday that how long should I wait before shaving everything else but mos. I think that its quite important phase because then you switch from "trash looking" to "proper and acceptable mo carrier" and you officially have mustaches. Should I include "Official Mo Carrier" line to my business card? Anyway, probably this has to happen on next Monday when workweek starts again. Hopefully I have decent fish fingers then...

Remember that sharing is caring! You comment, I donate. Spread the word!

Day 5.
Finally it was time to switch from "trash face" to "proper mo carrier". Here pictures before and after shaving.



Now the real work and excitement starts. Bushy or not at the end of the month?

Day 7.
Look at my mustache. Now look at yours. Now back to mine. And yours. And mine again...

I can see my mustache. I can see the looks on the bus. I can see the looks in the elevator. It seems that my colleagues are very polite because only one has commented so far my mos. But he has mos as well. And he is Finnish.


I have been trying to find other Movember mates on the street, but have seen next to none so far. In Europe Movember is quite big thing annually and there is lot of buzz in the media with a lot of celebrities participating and creating nice buzz around it. Which then translates to all kinds of mo related events and parties. Maybe we should have one as well?

Somehow I have the feeling that there are still lot of ground work to be done here in Singapore when it comes to facial hair. Or is facial hair more angmoh thing? Anyway, I'll keep hunting...


Day 10.
Double trouble. Backtrack from last Saturday.

And yes, we had couple of beers before this picture. And some more after...

Day 11.
Today, the girlfriend is making an official complain on this man's little Movember project. Don't get me wrong, I think Movember is a fun movement for a good cause. But not quite fun for me, when a guy with a moustache keeps trying to kiss me with his extremely prickly moustache just to get a reaction from me, on a daily basis (he will attempt to do it every hour if he can).

What does this mean girlfriend say to him each time he tries to kiss her? In the most loving voice, "You are so ugly! Please stop kissing me."

All I can say is, please help make this prickly hairy project all worthwhile by making a comment. He honestly has a really mean girl who greets him every morning with "You are so ugly!"

Anyway, I found a nice little idea that might help spread next year's Movember.

I found it here. It is perfect, coz the guys need something to keep their little growth clean :)


Day 12.
I have seen this phase once before while our Eastern Europe road trip which ended to Berlin couple of years ago. That said, everything beyond this point is new and exciting. I really hope that I can reach the point where my mustache starts hanging instead of just being spiky facial hair. What worries me a bit is that mo is not growing evenly. Even the color scale seems to vary...Mocapped or impatient?


Day 16.
Girls from TBWA Tequila Singapore made a nice Mo attack to local Maxwell Food Center. Respect!




There is not much progress on my personal front. Are they selling any mo-fertilizers? Maybe I`ll visit Chinatown today and lets see if old uncles can assist me...

Still 10 days to go and final week of Movember is ahead. Lets pick up the pace and keep commenting!

The Mo' the merrier!

Day 17.
I took the mos out today for a bike ride.

Day 24.
I had a chat with my mom on skype couple of days ago and her first comment was: "What on earth! What are those slime stoppers what you are carrying?"

I am getting there! Finally I have reached the hanging phase and got quite bushy mos. They have changed slightly color and are bit darker now. Additionally I have cough myself many times playing with mos. Its very addictive! Hmm...maybe I should keep them...

Couple of days still to go, so keep commenting for a good cause!


Day 26. End of the Journey
Here we are. Last day of Movember and it's time say goodbye my dear (and addictive) mos. It has been a funny and annoying month with lots of mo work and excitement. Does it grow or not. Lots of uncomfortable looks from strangers, friends making silly jokes, but overall, more cheers than jeers. Best part was when I saw that someone noticed my ugly mos but was too embarrassed to make any comment.

Aim was to get bushy fish fingers and at the end I am very happy with my results. Final days I was able to feel their weight, see them but perhaps most irritating part was itchiness. And when food stuck to your mos. Luckily Tyttö was usually around picking up the stuff and taking care of me.

Final statement.

Farewell my dear friend.
1/2 of cookie brush.


Yes. Thats all.Back to the normal life.

Thanks to all supporters for all your comments! Money is going to a good cause. I am sending the money tomorrow so you still have a chance to make final donations.

Next year, I am definitely going for Walrus style...