Swing low, sweet chariot...

...coming forth to carry me home.

Some days, working in Japan, you do feel like a salaryman toiling anonymously at your homogeneous desk surrounded by other little rats, all running at the same speed on their little rat wheels.

Being a 'Japanese' company, Beacon has done away with certain creature comforts like ROOMs. Everyone from the President to the office boy sits at a desk, surrounded by a 100 other desks... privacy be damned.

Welcome to my rat wheel... one look and you can see how one's surroundings can inspire boundless creativity. Some days are worse then others, on Tuesdays Arano-San, in desk number 237, brings in his home-made rancid squid innards for lunch, resulting in a serious case of superfluous flatulence. On Thursdays, Mitsui-San in desk 242, likes to indulge in sashimi from the cheap sushi restaurant across the street, the smell can only be described as - putrefied guppy meets rotting rectum of dead dog. Aside from the occasional slurp and if you're lucky, a hushed exclamation of 'Sugoi!', it's dead quiet from 930am till the end of the day.

This is probably the most 'un-ad-agency-like' agency I have ever worked at...

Ahh, to be on a white sandy beach on the Pelion peninsula sipping a cold brew, while the catch-of-the-day is slowly sizzling on an open barbeque pit... only the lucky few know how to strike the right balance in life, right Vi?

Fall in full swing...

Autumn is upon us. There's a sweet chill in the morning just enough to give you a little shiver in the shadows and some of the trees are starting to brown. It's still warm enough to walk around without a coat, but cool enough not to break a sweat... the weather is almost perfect.

The Tays are in Tokyo all this week. Followed by the Leongs. Seems to me all the Singaporeans I know are holidaying in Japan. While the seasonal climate is perfect for a visit, the current economic climate will surely put a damper on their enjoyment, with the Japanese Yen having risen quicker then the 'rising sun' and the Singapore dollar collapsing like Palin's popularity, the exchange rate has taken close to a 20% hit. Just last month it was ¥77 to a Singapore dollar... today, it's ¥64.

I sure hope that Aso does something to manage the stink...

Sherrine, who is a wonderful cook, has promised to cook up a storm tonight. I wonder what Adrian can do to top that?

Nicole pic

Not for another 12 years my dear...

Mei's first drive in Tokyo

Mei and Nicole taking a mini Toyota out for a spin! It's her first time driving in Tokyo, but not to worry people and pedestrians, it's a hands-free, electronically guided car on a Toyota test track on Odaiba island... even then, I'm sure I noticed a few wary eyes incase the car leapt off the track.

Fried Sashimi's look changed... yet again

I thought the Imperialistic Japan look was a bit heavy for my light-hearted blog, so I changed the feel, yet again.

Complaints can be forwarded to www.talktothehand.com

The Chungs are heading home...

...for a vacation.

Our nonchangeable-nonrefundable-noncheap-noneverything cattle-class tickets have been booked and paid. I for one cannot help but gush on the joys of traveling in economy, the wide, spacious seats, the passionate yet understated service and savouring haute cuisine at 35,000 feet... Oooh! I so look forward to 7 hours of pampering and indulgence that I can hardly contain myself and the best part is, I get to do it all over again 12 days later.... the joy in my heart!

For those of you who are used to traveling in business class or even first class, I urge you to stop paying more, save your money or your company's money, the only way to fly the friendly skies is to cram yourselves into the back of the plane like the rest of us, you'll be in for a truly enriching experience, reminiscent of the days of classic train travel. Perhaps like the Orient Express I hear you ask? Or the Flying Scotsman? Maybe the Indian-Pacfic?

No, no, no it's more like when the Nazis stuffed the Jews into the cattle cars and shipped them off to Auschwitz to realize the Bush Doctrine... sorry, I meant Hitler's Final Solution.

We'll be invading Singapore hawker centres on the 18th of December and devouring our way through till the 29th.

Hope to catch up with everyone then...

Tokyo, safe from an alien invasion...

With the Space Battleship Yamato patrolling the skies of Tokyo, no alien species would dare invade. I'm not sure about the rest of you in other parts of the world, but I feel safe today.

Nicole pic

Nicole on the Dipsy ride at the funfair in Minato Mirai, probably the last ride this year as autumn is here and winter isn't far behind.

Random pics

Fancy a Spash of gum? Delicious with a spash of liquid in the middle...

Or a dried out durian for US$70? But, you do get to keep the nice wicker basket...