what i want for my birthday

Those of you who know me know that I'd rather get you what you really want for your birthday, than engage in some roundabout guessing game. True, surprises are nice (and by all means, do surprise me!), but I don't believe in wasting money on something the receiver might not like.

In true practical fashion, this is goddazz's wishlist for those who care to look:

• any CD by Stefanie Sun and Lisa Ono (have been wanting to buy their CDs for the longest time but haven't gotten round to doing it)
• CDs by any other jazz greats, jazz compilations, lounge music or French music (the kind you hear in chi chi la la shops or occasionally, in Delifrance)
• Corrinne May's 1st 2 albums (I already have The Gift and Beautiful Seed, thanks to 2 sweet people in my life :))
• a black medium sized handbag that can take me from work to play (not an A4 size document bag; this is really hard to find and I take my hat off to whoever succeeds)
• an aromatherapy burner, preferably with an unconventional design (e.g. funky), needs to be easy to maintain (not white, no glass that might be smeared with soot or metal that is likely to rust from washing). my guess is earthenware or porcelain will be easiest to clean and maintain, but surprising alternatives are always welcome

* to avoid duplication, please let me know if you're getting me one of the above. Gab has already gotten me the Amelie soundtrack, so I deleted it from the list

Apart from the material, what I really wish for is good health, a greater love of God and others and the result, a peace that permeates the soul, radiates from the heart and an anchor that will not be shaken when storms come. Happy birthday on the way!

restaurant blacklist

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge (Takashimaya Level 2)

This is not meant to be a slam fest but I do feel I need to alert people who think these are great places to go (oops!).

First up, the Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge, favourite of many Japanese tai tais and winner of some such 'best tea place award' by a women's magazine. Despite a number of rave reviews, its exceptionally pretty blue and white china, and warm and genteel ambience, this place leaves much to be desired for the following reasons:

• my poor friend's teacup arrived with a pucker of red berry lipstick. an unwelcome kiss indeed!
• scones are served with a mess that I would describe as red gelatinous jelly instead of the usual high fruit content jam--eeks! hardly fit for royalty; Her Majesty would be deeply displeased :P scones with jelly are the ultimate crime against true scone lovers!
• when I asked the waitress what the 'UV tea' tasted like, she looked at me blankly and said 'no idea, haven't tasted it before'. Later I found out that even though we had 3 different types of tea on the table, they all tasted and smelt the same. Extremely disappointing for a TEA place!
• a green tea cake that looks like beautiful green moss but is dry and crumbly when you get to the bottom; oh dear, too much cold air do not maketh moist moss!

Blacklisted restaurant no 2 is Sketchers at Bugis Junction (sorry could not find a picture). Just as, if not more, horrific!

• a jumbo appetiser platter that we think is good enough to feed at least 4, but to our horror, the jumbo is a pea of overfried snacks you could do better to cook yourself at home
• STALE rubbery seafood in the seafood marinara linguine
• steak drenched in a mountain of creamy mayonnaise sauce. I feel like the cow died an unjustified death only to be drowned in a viscous pond.
• the wait for our food was about 20 minutes despite the restaurant being empty cept for 2 tables. I cannot imagine how long we'd need to wait if it were full!

Enough said. Now AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!! You have been warned.