Dear Hong Kong,

Guess what, I miss your face. You are beautiful like a beautiful place.

When I was hungry, there was great food.From Agnes b. Le Pain Grille at IFC, to Fung Shing Yum Cha at North Point and Four Seasons' Caprice.

When I felt dumpy, there was crazy partying.

So I can't wait to see you soon! (like in 1.5 months)

Chillaxing at Isola, IFC

SoHo! My favourite place to shop

When I grow up...

I want to have an awesome Executive Biography.

It would be completed with an orchestrated smile, airbrushed skin and a lofty title.

But I will write myself the awesome Executive Biography.

Because of late, I've been scarred from reading the Executive Biographies of many Senior Executives, that are written by outsourced professionals with a misguided sense of humour.

• Some are empty-caloried fluff; others are so mindnumbingly technical that I'd rather read Sumiko's Sunday columns.
• Some develop the kind of creative conflict within the bio that makes the Sino-Japanese relationship look like a pillow fight.
• Some come with personal pledge creation like "My Personal Motto is Ever Onward!"
• Some so disturbingly personal that I won't be surprise to learn from the bio that the Executive uses Herbal Essences Shampoo and goes for bikini waxing twice a month.

Fall is the season for Hairy Crabs

Fall means different things to different people, the crisp air, the turning leaves, Halloween, and if you're really lucky, pneumonia. It's also the time when even I have the common sense to put some cloth over my bare shoulders and swap my tank tops for a cable sweater.

To the Shanghainese, Fall is the season for eating hairy crabs.

I have always assumed that the Shanghainese' love for hairy crabs, like their obsession with powerpoint presentations and their preference for women with hairy armpits, was just part of the many fascinating and complex cultural traits that a Singaporean like me will never understand.

I was in Shanghai in October, when the palm-sized crustaceans with bushy claws from the Yangcheng river matured, and I witnessed how the city went wild with cheer after 8 months of anticipation. There wasn't a chinese restuarant who didn't offer this not-to-be-missed delicacy.

Served with chopped ginger and vinegar, the hairy crab is prized for its rich and creamy orange-coloured roe. A lot of effort is spent shucking open the shell to suck out the roe, and the meat though sweet, it is thin. Bad ROI if you ask me.

But savour it with a group of friends over a few rounds of Chinese wine or sherry, it's not hard to see why they make a culture of gathering together each year during fall to have hairy crabs.

Sometimes it's easy to overlook simple joys like the change in season. And perhaps Fall is simply the season to celebrate friendship.

I'll be back before the winter chills. Till then ~

Bangkok - The land of unexpected adventures

Thailand is a land of smiles for tourists, and they say that if you know how to exercise your tourist rights, you'll never be bored or alone. Whether you are revelling in the company of with a bewitchingly beautiful woman with a strangely deep voice, or feasting on authentic Tom Yam Gung, more often than not, a traveller would stumble upon an adventure that wasn't quite planned.

Now, there is no better way to experience Bangkok than to take its mass transit system or the BTS. In fact, it is the best way about Bangkok, because one would have to be living in Siberia for the past decade to not have heard of the famed rush hour traffic jam that makes double boiling chinese soup seem like fast food.

So it all started with me losing my way after I alighted at the Chidlom BTS Station.

I must have looked really sweaty and lost in my 4 inch spikes and black Karen Millen dress after walking for about 300 meters in the Bangkok humidity, when a guy stopped me in my tracks with a smile playing at the corner of his lips. He is clearly not local.

"Hey beautiful, whatcha doin? Are you lost? Where you from?" he asked with a thick accent that I couldn't quite place.

I stared at him dumfounded. English-speaking people are really rare in this country and when you see one, the last thing you want to do is to say something dumb and fuck up your chance of ever finding your way around.

"Yes I'm a bit lost. can you please point me to Ploenchit Road?"

"Yes, I'm lost, can you point me to Ploenchit Road?" he mimicked.

"I'm sorry? Do you or do you not know?" I quizzed, my annoyance slightly rising. There I was, late, lost and alone with this dude who was obviously trying to be funny.

"I'm sorry? Do you or do you not know?" he mimicked again.

Annoyed, I threw my hands up in annoyance and tried to turn my heels to walk off, but he blocked my way and pressed on, "Hey beautiful, follow me I know the place that you want to go, follow me. Cmon, follow me. Are you going for a meeting? Can I sit beside you and watch you?"

"I want to follow you wherever it is - this place that you are going to", he urged.

This time, I was completely creeped out.

If it wasn't because he look like he is well-versed in tribal warfare and could probably outrun an Olympic runner, I might have unleashed my unfiled fingernails on his face or sprinted off in my 4 inch heels. But no, he looked like he could out-wrestled me even in a clown suit.

So being brilliant at figuring out situations like this, I did what any intelligent woman would do when faced with a confrontational man: I pretended to have period cramps and demanded that he help me to purchase a pack of sanitary pad from the nearest convenience stall.

So there I was standing in the middle of the road doubled over, clutching my lower abdomen in mock pain and shouting, "Quick, go get the Kotex pads with wings! I can't move, it's too painful!"

Needless to say, he was not amused. Barely a minute into my acting, he muttered a "dumb bitch!" and strode away, as if the episode never happened.

The moment he turned his heels, I straightened up, finger-combed my sweat streaked hair and sashayed towards the nearest building to get guidance to my destination.

The Crease-less Frequent Flyer

Please excuse me for not updating as I was busy trading my pillowcase for a suitcase.

As you might have guessed, a lackadaisical lifestyle never stood a chance against an adrenaline-charged, jetsetting one with me. So in a typical Isabelle fashion, packed 3 pairs of heels, stuffed my Blackberry into my Birkin, and then up and beyond, away I flew to where the market beckons.

For the next few months, I'll be weeviling through the thicket of Bureaucratese to master the legislature and economics of each country, and serving the diplomacy-pie with a smile to anyone who is willing to listen to my spiel.

But for a vain, busy girl like me who is constantly on the go, finding the time to take care of my skin and stay beautiful is one of the hardest, but necessary task.

In my never ending quest to find the right balance between simplicty and perfection for my skincare regime, I chanced upon Hada Labo's Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion, a miracle skincare product with a "One drop locks up an ocean" promise.

Hada Labo & the Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion

Hada Labo's Super Hayaluronic Acid Moisturising Line, is one of the hottest skincare product with a cult following in countries like Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Hydrating Lotion, in particular, is supposedly so popular in Japan that one is sold every 4 seconds!

The star ingredient, Super Hyaluronic acid, has twice the moisture retention capacity of Normal Hyaluronic acid.

It goes on like a toner but with a much thicker consistency, and a slight initial stickiness to it. But worry not, for the lotion gets completely absorbed with no traces of stickiness after I gently pat my face with my palm after application.

While the term "Hayaluronic Acid" conjures up images of skincare for old women with dry skin, the Super Hayaluronic Acid Hydrating Face Lotion by Hada Labo, was absorbed easily into my skin without much of a struggle. My skin feels so well taken care of that I don't even get the 'oily saucepan face' when I wake up in the morning.

In a world where we go for the niftiest gadgets, smallest credit card and all-in-one makeup kits, I found that the Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion is the perfect skin hydrating companion when I travel. Just 2 drops is all I need to keep my entire face supple, hydrated and nourished - through the night and in the day!

Being busy and keeping pace with your new lifestyle is not an excuse to neglect your appearance and disregard your usual skincare regime, because life is too short to waste time on being ugly. But you can keep it easy and fuss-free by investing in suitable skincare products.

Till the next time. XOXO.

PS: By the way, the KL Hilton is awesome in an omfg way.

Common Questions Asked of Interns

Ah, me! It's the time of the year again when school's out and interns come a flooding. I fondly recall a time not too long ago when I was a fidgety intern, oh-so-eager to please... But we're here not to talk about me or what happened but what is to come :)

You know what they say, intelligent bitches don't just happen, they are made by surviving le baptéme du fer. Now that yours truly is the one sitting at the other end of the table... picture World War 3 with black silk stockings and long eyelashes.

Be prepared freshies, or run and hide!

I don't know if kids these days study a 10-year-series or interview question 101, but I've never been a conformist and I pride myself in coming up with creative questions so disarming that it can cut the bull out of the most well-prepared interviewee to do a fair assessement based on my own observation.

So forget questions that sound as bland as "What are your strengths?" or "How would your peers describe you in 5 words". Because I know that nobody would ever give me "Lazy f*cker who doesn't bathe".

Nor will I be as mean as to ask you "What are the causes of the Korean Civil War?" although I'd be impressed if you can launch into a debate with me.

But I've never had a thing for empty vessel type overtly talkative kids, nor the type who are stupid enough to tell me that their favourite past time during the weekend is to go to church.

Having said that, I admire kids who have initiative, optimistic (in a never say never kind of way) and a keen interest in self-improvment in all aspects of their lives.

So here are some clues, for the smart ones who actually thought of asking me "who's my interviewer?" and then have the initiative to consult the google search bar for a nugget of information about me.

While my views are not representative of my company's I am first a person, then a corporate animal, and these are the top questions that I like to ask:

1) What is your favourite drink?

There is no right answer to this question, but the answer would show me that you have an idea about what I do.
2) What are your weaknesses?
3) What do you do during your free time?
4) Tell me an interesting piece of news that you came across today. Or if you think Naoto Kan is hot. You're screwed if you have no effin idea who that is.

There you have it, the rest will be a piece of cake. Rrraow!

Mid-Year Resolutions

Having New Year's resolutions is like the Thais declaring a war against their state, or Linsey Lohan announcing that she found a cure for cancer- there is a lot of fanfare but nobody actually takes them seriously.

Remember my one of my earlier resolutions to go to New Zealand to pick apples? Well, like any New Year's resolutions, it never materialised.

But Mid-Year's resolutions are goals that are precipitated as a result of observations and experiences from the first half of the year, and then forecasted onto the next half a year. Simply said, they are the more realistic and trustworthy brothers of New Year's resolutions.

So here are my top 4 and I can assure you that they are not your usual run-of-the-mill list:

1) Learn Bahasa

I am seriously thinking of signing up for the Bahasa classes at the Community Club.

Already I hear guffaws from all you fancy schmucks. But what's the point of learning French and fancy German when I'm probably only going there once, at most twice in my entire life. When I took up Japanese, it was because I used to travel to the country a lot with my dad, and hence a basic grasp of the language was useful.

Nevermind the 'Hellos' and the 'How do you dos', I need to at least learn how to swear, say "I understand what you're saying" or act blur with a "I don't understand Bahasa" when I want to amuse myself with the kind of things that people say aloud when they think you do not understand their language.

Besides, coming from someone who made a boo-boo in Indonesia when I ordered "Selamat satay" and the guy just stared at me like his face would crack.

I only found out later that while I wanted to buy 10 satays, whatever I said actually meant something like "Greetings satay!" which not only doesn't make sense, it made me look really stupid. It's going to be a fantastic face-saving language if I travel out into the region in the next couple of months, and I expect to be doing that quite a bit.

2) Pick up Poker and be damn good at it
I wanna hold em like they do in Texas Plays, fold em let em hit me raise it baby stay with me, luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start...

Alright, I'll admit that the Gaga fever got to me, but what with the 2 new casinos opening in Singapore at the Integrated Sentosa Resorts and the Marina Bay Sands, I think it's time I do my part as a proud Singaporean to win back some worthy "foreign investment" - One. Game. At. A. Time.


3) Learn to play golf
Like snorting noodles through your nostrils or bungee jumping, I'll bet that learning to play golf is one of those evergreen items on everyone's list of "Things to do before you turn 30". Well, it is on mine.

Who cares if Mark Twain once said that golf is “a good walk spoiled”, and nevermind that I'd probably golf a grand total of ONCE a year. Golfing is just one of those things that at the ripe young age of 24, you don't really know why you want to do it, but you simply have to have the badge on your sleeve.

Besides, it's way cooler than telling people that you have the Certificate of Achievement for scaling the Great Wall of China, which nobody actually gives a fly about.


4) Join a gym/ dance class
Before my ass sags like a duffel bag and before I get thrown into TAF club. Nuff said.

The Best Press Release Ever

Anyone who has ever drafted a press release would know that it typically follows a standard format that addresses the 5Ws and 1H in the immediate paragraph after the title.

So imagine my shock when I received a call to draft an URGENT announcement, that if translated into a press release would potentially read like this:

Singapore. July XX, 2009 - XXX Company announces today that they are intending to buy some properties. They can't tell you where and what, but they can tell you that they are buying something. They can't tell you why they are doing this, but they can tell you that there are many implications. We don't really know when we can tell you the information, but we thought it's a good idea to do PR around this decision.

Their corp comms ought to be shot.

(Names and content of the conversation has been tweaked severly for P&C reasons)

The Intern

In the week that I was away gallivanting in Vietnam, a new intern came into our office.
Since there was an empty spot at my desk, she was asked to fill my space until I am back from vacation.
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I arrived at work unusually early that morning, and happily returned to my seat.

About half an hour later, the intern arrived in the office and made a beeline to the seat that she has grown accustomed to in the past 1 week, which of course I was perched prettily on.

Intern (to me): Isabelle?
Me: No, it's Muthu.
Intern: Where's Isabelle? And why are you sitting on Isabelle's seat? So where am I supposed to seat?
Me: Isabelle vas eaten up by me. Hee Hee Hee, and now I am going to eatchu!

The intern started crying.

Intern: Why, you are a horrible, horrible person and I hate you!
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Fine... that didn't happen. The intern wasn't a bimbo, and the conversation above didn't happen beyond the 1st line.

Being the nice AE that I am, I showed her to her new seat, and brought her some draft paper from my stash to doodle on.

But if I didn't talk about what went on in my head, there wouldn't be an entry, would there?

Contributing to the economy

It feels like Christmas when Pay Day coincides with a Weekend.

Now it's time for me to do my part as a good Singaporean by contributing to the economy, One.Dress.At.A.Time.

(P/S: Christmas in Singapore is just about shopping excessively)

Be Yourself Day

In lieu of Youth Day's celebration, Thursday was decreed to be a "Be Yourself Day".

I intend to turn up at work with a potentially lethal vodka breath, streaky makeup and smudged mascara - remnants of Wednesday Ladies Night's partying, and scare the living daylights out of everyone else. **** KTG!!! ****

OR

I could just NOT turn up at work.

That's being myself.