Back...

Sorry for the long hiatus. The holiday season has gotten the best out of me in more ways than I can think.

First of I started with a trip to Bali for a great wedding. My dad's business partner decided to tie the knot in Bali in front of his closest friends and family. This was a great example that showed that you don't really need to throw down the cash and make immense efforts to host a beautiful wedding. Props to these kind people. They hosted three simple occasions which was just enough to avoid burnout in physical and financial terms. I look forward to more weddings like these to come. I also met some great people there that made the trip even more enjoyable.

I then spent the next few days in Jakarta. Again a great trip whereby I got to reunite with the boys and shoot the shit. It was great to see them especially Avi and Puts after quite a while. I enjoyed the microwave story from Avi in person. It was told with the same conviction as on his blog. This time we got to ask questions.

I then made my way back to Singapore to find that there was absolutely no activity that week leading up to the Christmas holiday. No complaints although that truly hindered store progress. Not a good thing. However, I did manage to cook up a great logo for the Corporate ID. I also met with the Interior Designer and we discussed more possible solutions. Thanks to her though, I still don't have anything to post up here. However, we are working in stages and we will most likely start more construction work next Wednesday. This is to take care of majority of the gutting of the place. I will most likely have photos by the New Year.

Then to Christmas. This was spent at my buddy Resida's. I brought over a few bottles of vino and we spent the night shooting the shit. This usually starts with them giving me shit about being "Bombay" and then me answering back. This is exactly the sort of "Giving" I expected from her this Christmas. A great night.

The boys then headed down here to Singapore to run an absolute muck. That we did for sure. Seeing them again in a large group reminded me of the Melbourne trip. All that was missing again was Avi and Puts.

Then it was back to work. Because of all the work I was unable to update this darn thing. I will be more regular.

Next post will be store update.

Soundtrack of the day

Special Herbs 1&2 by MF Doom.
Madvillainy by Madvillain.

Further Progress

Good way to end the week....On a high...

I managed to sit down with the good people at Swear and place an order for a few styles.

I then met with the other good people who are taking on the design and styling of the store. The engineer was there so as to approve our ideas. Everything went smoothly except about breaking things down. The issue is that we may have to submit our ideas to the Building Control Authority for them to approve. They don't want us messing around with fire safety structures. We will have to submit the application and just work on other things for the meantime. That work will start next week. Finally...

We will submit the app and it will take two months for them to approve which means that we will have to start on roofing, ceiling and the stairwell. My only issue is that people will have to walk in to the first floor from downstairs, exit the store and then walk through the stairs from the outside entrance to get to the sneaker store on the second floor. Retail psychology says this is a boo-boo, but fuck retail psychology because they ain't neck deep in debt. Fuck em!

We plan to submit the app to sort that out in the near future so that we can make changes 2 years down the road subject to approval. In the meantime you will have to settle with walking into the sneaker boutique from outside. Enjoy bitches...

Post-Hard-Day-At-The-Office Drink Up

Christmas came early this year bitches...

Tough day at the office calls for a tough time at the bar.....Harry's new location just opened up right below our office. It was their grand opening. The weekend's gonna come around much quicker every week.

To be honest, I just saw a Guiness sign from way far. That only means one thing.....It's fresh on Tap!! The initial debate was to step in for 1 pint of Black Velvet (half Guiness, half Cider), but I'd be willing to put a wager on the fact that almost all heterosexual, misguided boys will almost always stay for another,.... and another,..... and another and then finally scraggle off drunk, broke and desperately looking for food. So I don't feel so bad.

Working class man's happy juice

Working class man's type of Women

Argghhhh......

Have a good weekend. Be safe! I will be considering Rishi's not here.

More sneaks

I will be meeting the good people from Swear tomorrow. They have some heat in their collection. Some of you may have seen the starry kicks on me sometime recent.



Some more heat from the crazy minds at Double Identity.

Back tomorrow!

Progress

Thought it would be a good time for an update.

I am working with the interior designer right now and have gotten some good ideas from her. We will be visiting the space with the Engineer on Friday to see if we should go ahead and remove the roofing to expose the beams. Hopefully there's treasure under there so as to add a bit more raw-ness to the store space.

I am currently working with a graphic designer to iron out logos and work on branding and corporate identity. We'll then work on the website after the logo is done so as to show you lot that I'm around and headed in the right direction. I wanted to work with these guys too. Check out who they've done work for. They are on a similar wavelength I think.

I have placed an order at the good people at Still Life NYC. Some good things there.

I have also finished placing orders with the good people at Double Identity. Some of their stuff below. Feedback's always good!!




Another well-thought out interpretation of the trusted all-stars.

Here them are....

Here you are. Some before photos. I went to the store on friday to meet the interior designer. Great ideas. Let's hope they are executed soon. Our plan is to gut the entire place and then work from scratch. Again I want it spot on which is why I'm being a little bitch with shit like this. Take a look.







These are all first floor pictures. Thats all there is. Don't expect any after photos.

Enjoy the weekend. Be safe. I don't think I will considering Rishi is here.

Slow...

It's been real slow here. My routine everyday typically involves getting my ass out of bed, getting cleaned up and heading straight to the office. Sad to say but it's become a routine already, which is maybe good in a way.

I have been working with the interior designer. She knows her shit and is using the project to truly showcase her talent. I respect that. She can be found here. Yesterday they took a spare copy of my keys and have started to come in and take photographs of the place. Measurements are also going to be taken so that construction plans can be drawn up.

I will have first draft pictures to post up soon.

I'm also trying to get some of these shits for all you aged cats out there. Lemme know what you think.
http://www.highsnobiety.com/?p=3943

I went on a mass email spree to try and get info from all brands. I also bitched at Nike and told em that I saw all those weird stores in Melbourne with great product. It's not fair with them giving me all Tier 2 shit. Thats not cool. They mentioned that they will work the "Energy" products in later on when there's a buzz going around the store. Let's see how that pans out.

It looks like its going to piss down outside. Fuck Singapore weather and Fuck the Subway being so far away!!

Pest-Free

Got pest control to come in today for them to inspect the space for any termite activity. Everything came out clean so it's all good and ready for work. I just need to take care of some faulty flooring.

Interior Designer is ready for work so we get bizy on Monday.

I am going to collect the Bank Guarantee today at 2pm. They called and told me it was ready. I'll then get the employment pass. I'll be sure to show you guys what this thing looks like. To think that this little card had me by the balls all this time gives me the shivers. I can't wait to meet this thing. It's going to be a feisty introduction.

I'm placing other orders. All should be okay from now on. Smmmoooooooothh sailing....

Singapore

The holiday mode depression has finally worn off and I am back in Singapore working on things full swing. Melbourne had the most positive effect on me. I really needed that holiday to let loose and sort of prepare myself for the tough upcoming months. I'm still drinking a lot in Singapore though, and this is only my 3rd day here.

Good things have happened. I met with my cousin the first day I got here and we ended up having a few drinks.

I met with the Interior Designer yesterday. What was supposed to be a brainstorming and budget breakdown discussion ended up becoming a (surprise, surprise) piss-up session. Hey, if happy hour starts at 4pm instead of 5pm, I ain't wasting that extra hour.

The thing that has annoyed me most is the employment pass issue I am having. It is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. This employment pass is the key to everything. I mean everything! You need it to get a phone line, Internet acces, Cable TV. You need it to go to the bank even if you are opening a FIXED deposit account. Anyway, I still haven't been able to get one as when I was supposed to collect it yesterday, the Ministry of Manpower tells me that I need to deposit 3000 bucks at a bank and collect a banker's guarantee and bring it back to them. Next thing you know they're going to tell me to grow a Vagina. Believe you me, they probably would ask for something like that. That's how unreasonable these people are.

So I went ahead and got 3000 bucks and deposited it. The guy at the counter tells me that the guarantee will be ready in a week. This is when I flipped out. I instantly told him that without that damn pass, I would have no access to all the shit I mentioned above. Shit, I even told him that I have been going to bed at 7:30pm each night. Because of that I have been waking up at 6:30 in the am goddamnit..!

So fuck it. I did everything and am just waiting for things to happen. I am going to watch some fighting.

Out

Boys Trip 2006.....

Okay. Once again I'm not quite sure where to start. Sorry for the long lay off. We just got in from the Annual Boys Trip 2006. I'm trying to gather all my thoughts together.

What a trip........!

That's right, I said it!!!

First of all, please remind me to buy the person who came up with the "boys trip" concept a round of cold ones, a car, a woman, a karaoke machine, whatever....I don't really care. All I want to say is that if you're ever in need to break free from your exciting-as-watching-paint-dry sort of life, round up a group of your tightest mates, pick a destination and run a muck. Rest assured you're going to be laughing (Shouu-laki anyone? Nipple Clamps?) and drinking and gambling (until you forget to return the rental car) and getting into trouble and eating as much as we did. I did all of it, except the damn nipple clamps!

To all my good mates new and old, you guys helped to serve up a truly great experience that I will not ever forget. Not only was it wicked fun to experience Perth and Melbourne with my good buddies, but it was equally great meeting other people and involving them in this trip. I made some new friends and met people that I have only good things to say about. You guys know who all of you are! I look forward to more of these trips to come.

To the boys that were there; Nathani, Inny, Ash, Giresh, PK, Rish....and the boys that weren't there; Puts and Avi....try not to ever grow up! Let's just stay stupid for as long as possible. It's better like that...

Last but not least, I have thrown up all the photos on this address for those of you that missed out on this trip.

http://community.webshots.com/user/surajmelwani

If you want any pictures removed because you may look like a knob or are smoking something or kissing someone you're not supposed to, please direct emails to me. I probably won't do shit about it but it'll still be nice to hear from you lot.

Out...

Back!

Sorry for the dissapearing act.

I have been in Singapore doing good things. I just got in about 2 hours ago.

I got the keys to my apartment and moved in already. Me and the parents went to IKEA to make the place a bit more liveable. I think they had more fun than I did.

I also got the store keys so I been showing the space off to all the vendors. Some of them are still a bit weary because they don't have the same vision of the place that I do. No worries, I'll show them how it's done.

A lot of the clothing brands have also been pissing me off. I guess I need to understand I would probably do the same if I had designed my own shit. That would piss me off if I worked on something so hard all season long only to find some tool marketing and distributing my label in a way that's not consistent with my vision. I probably have to get the possible interior solutions to those people and that might nudge them a little further.

I have been placing orders with others that have been easier. I will continue to do so after our Melbourne trip. However, I have assured myself and the people involved that I will not open up the store just because it should be open. I'm going to wait till it's stocked up so that people can enjoy the concept as a "whole" and not just the individual units. They'll be able to understand my message more clearly if the environment is complete.

Should work out okay. I'm beat. I'll post up more shit tomorrow.

Corso Como

This is 10 Corso Como in Milan. People in the game have been raving about this particular spot. I like the environmental design direction. It's absolutely deconstructed on the outside but boasts a clean and collected interior. I like that it does not bother to call out for attention to the people that don't understand or care. Rather, they leave it to the people that actually do know about it while at the same time not excluding anyone. Bit like myself. It's almost elitist in a non-elitist sort of way.

Im really feeling the run down windows, doors, and the dishevelled creepers all over the place. Look at the signage as well.

The thing that irks me a little bit is it's interior but the merchandising takes the cake.

The interior is cool and all but that whole absolute contemporary thing has always annoyed me because it somewhat looks all too perfect. Kinda like some architect and contractor has been paid enormous sums of money to execute their own vision without the input of the store owner. Maybe I'm paranoid but I get that feeling sometimes when I walk into all them high fashion stores. Kind of like the new Dior boutique.

Now to the merchandise. Here's where I start to shiver. The dude responsible for merchandise must have been toking on some bad shit when he pulled all this together. Get this, Bape's in there next to Prada thats next to Gucci thats next to Fred Perry thats next to Comme Des Garcons thats next to Nike. Hmmmm.....

Pro-Gress Report..

So I now have the proposal from my buddy Jason. He agreed to work on the project which is good news. The proposal was pretty straight forward. I pay him a flat fee and he goes off to Singapore for 21 days which can be broken up into three visits. I have to foot the transportation, lodging and food costs. I told him to go on a muesli and bake bean diet but I don't think he's up for that. Not a worry as Singapore has good cheap eats everywhere so I'm sure we can minimize those costs. I also mentioned to him that he could stay at my place so that should help reduce other financial burdens.

I also have another person in mind. Not that I am questioning my buddy's talents but this other resource is a creative agency in Singapore. The Asylum is a creative agency that works on everything from corporate identity all the way to interior design. They are real good and their actual store space is one that is similar to mine in that it's an old conserved Chinese style shophouse. They already know the deal so thats all good. I have spoken to the creative director's assistant and she sort of said that they would work on the project. I'm basically leaning towards them because of the fact that they would be more accessible and will have no worries when I need to yell at em to get things up to scratch. And they won't only limit themselves to 21 days of work.
I am waiting for further word from them so I can make my decision.

I collect keys to my apartment on the 14th of this month. I collect keys to the store on the 15th. I'm so anxious to get this shit going. I will be headed to Singapore on Friday the 13th. Hopefully I stay well away from any bad luck. I will be staying there until the 20th. I will then head back here to Jakarta, get crunk and stay that way until we fly out on Sunday morning. I'm very psyched to meet all the good people I know in Perth and Melbourne. Hopefully they feel the same.

All-Star / Mihara

I need these! Unreal interpretation of the trusted converse.

Itching....

So I got up Sunday morning and was itching for some sweets. I don't usually dig sweets or desert. I'm more into savoury things. I probably wouldn't mind eating a can of peanuts but I probably couldn't muster up the guts to throw down a couple of donuts. I know that excessive sugar would probably get me feeling sick after.

So I was looking through the internet and came across the Magnolia Bakery cupcake recipe. Magnolia Bakery is an insitution in New York and should not be overlooked when on a visit. Again I didn't care for desert back then so I didn't really go there at all. Maybe a few times to show people. They have a long line around the block most weekend nights and they also have a cupcake purchase limit. I tried their cupcakes and they were off the hook. But again, one of those things is enough. More than one and i'd probably hit the floor, both hands on my stomache while desperately gasping for air.

So I got the recipe here and I approached my old lady for some help in the domestic engineering department. She laughed pretty hard after she gave me the look. I'm pretty sure she was praying hard inside that I was neither a woman nor high nor a bit of both. All that came to a halt when I assured her that I was using this as a way to soften up to the ladies. I've never seen her more proud of me...

We had a bit of a problem initially trying to find all the ingredients at the supermarket. We don't get shit here. It's fuckin annoying. So we basically sorted it all out, settled for makeshift ingredients and baked away. Although it did piss me off when my mum would try to do things her own way and not follow the damn recipe I looked long and hard for. Trust Indian mums to do that. Trust you me, don't question their engineering skills!





I was already drooling up at this point. I didn't take my eyes off of the oven for a while.



Hungry? Shazaaam....
Bit of icing on them bad boys and we were done.

Note: Enjoy with over-eager sugar craving types. They'll be hypnotized by the sweetness of the frosting even if the cake is all crispy and burnt up top. They're bound to be impressed. Anyone willing and able to try the recipe should let me know how they did. Any of you attractive ladies that want to come over and discuss any cupcake issues can feel free to do so. You know where to reach me.

Housing

I may have found a place to live in Singapore....cough cough.....it is mighty small.....cough cough....

Okay, okay, I found a place near the store. Good news that. It's got decent space, the place is good and clean and I will be able to use it as storage. Bad news though, no cable tv channels as there is no cable tv. I can get internet, but I can't get cable tv. But then again, most of you that know me will testify that I don't watch much tv except soccer and fighting. Since we don't get much fighting here it's only soccer I can focus on. Besides, I would rather watch soccer at a bar getting toasted with good buddies around.

Speaking of getting toasted with good buddies.

My first day in Singapore required for some hard labor in the office. I was on booze detox for two weeks then but I was feeling real anxious that day so I needed to kick back. I have no will power. Weak! Daddy would be real proud. I managed to convince my equally weak cousin to go drinking with me.

Not sure if this is something familiar, but most people are members of clubs in Singapore. There's the American Club, the Swimming Club, The Singapore Cricket Club, etc. My cousin is a member of the Cricket Club. He doesn't like Cricket but like me he likes to drink. My initial impression of these clubs were that they were a hang out for the more elitist social circles in Singapore. After a few drinks everyone sort of loosened their ties and continued to work towards getting plastered. It almost reminded me of the scene in Casbar during post-work hours.

I also learnt that no drinking session is complete without a game of Balut.



Balut is a thinking drunken man's game. Not sure if that is slightly contradictory. Balut pits you against another person or two and you basically try to rack up as many points as possible with the dice by rolling for straight flushes, two's of a kind and three's of a kind, etc. Its hard to explain but its a good game to play over a few drinks as well as also for the sake of fitting in. It made me feel that much more elitist. It was great.

....

I haven't been regular with the posts. Sorry. I was busy on Friday trying to get the concept brief done. Surprise, surprise, I don't have it ready yet. I am waiting on that so I can send it off.

Some brands close orders next Monday so I need to rush.

I go to Singapore on Monday. I need to open a bank account and all that other business related crap. I look for a place to live on Tuesday. My cousin has told me some of those places are old looking. I've lived in New York City woman, nothing in Singapore can look old and run down to me. And I'm not a fussy guy so I should be fine in an old building. Considering that Singapore looks a bit like stuff out of the Truman Show, anything that's more than 5 years old with a bit of wear and tear to it is probably considered 'old'.

If I like something on Tuesday, I'm going to seal the deal on Wednesday so I can actually have a mailing address and a base to operate from. Let's see how that goes.

I am starting to worry about getting all these brands to support me. I hope they will. I hope they can see the idea that I'm trying to execute. A lot of people I have spoken with still find my vision slightly bluuurrrrryyyyy....

The last few days have been good for me.

I have realized that every single day brings some sort of progress.

Since I formalized the settlement with the tenant, I now have been assured of my store keys by October 15th. That was good news.

So the busy-ness starts now.

I started of Monday with a bit more swagger. I realized that every little thing I was working for that day would mean I was getting that much closer to store opening. With that in mind, I paid off the lawyer and worked towards getting the store concept brief all sorted. I've also been trying to look for a living space near the store so as to be able to walk to work or take the subway. My cousin's going to be helping me out with that. I have decided that I want a studio so that I can easily dodge people asking me if they can stay over my place when in Singapore. "Sorry son, there's only room for 1 + a lucky lady. Go away!"

I'm going to practice those words religiously. I might also just get a dog to scare away the non-dog people.

I'm planning to head down to Singapore on Friday to look at the two apartments my cousin has organized for me to see. Hopefully things work out there.

I spent the last two days working on the store concept brief. The concept brief is basically a sort of brief statement outlining things like your clientele, strategic direction, brands, location, overall vibe, etc. That stuff usually goes into the about section in your website. The idea is to keep it simple, direct, but well written. Kinda like the style you see in Avi's blog. The brief usually says a whole lot about a store and it's the first impression that you give off to potential vendors. Basically, it's crucial and I've spent a great deal of time on it. It's been edited to shit. The brief also includes pictures and moods as well as the logo of the store. Corporate identity is key. It is basically created using a combo of photoshop and illustrator and requires the expertise of professional graphic designers. This is why I went to see a buddy of mine to help me create it. It's also so that it can be sent via email to vendors for store approval.

I went to see Jason. This guy is talented and ambitious. Not only does he own and operate two cafes, he is a graphic designer by trade, he also revamps vintage cars and sells them, runs a creative company, etc. If my visit to his office did not serve as inspiration, I don't know what will. I sometimes think that I want to be in his shoes in 5 years. Running 5 different businesses I love with the similar creative direction I have gained throughout those years. I realized that whatever I learnt in school was not just about design; it was thinking out of the box in circumstances where creativity was necessary. That can be applied to so many things. If people understand what you're trying to communicate, you've made it Jack!

So me and Jason sat down and threw out random ideas and came up with some decent stuff for the brief. Out of nowhere I came up with the idea that he should help me with the store project. I'm a firm believer in keeping things consistent. Consistency is key and by no means should it be overlooked. I would rather communicate the idea to one person, get him to understand it so that he can then translate it into a language that interior designers, contractors, architects and everyone else involved can easily understand to ensure absolute consistency. Based on his experience, knowledge, creative vision and accessability, I feel that he would be perfect for the job. I threw out the idea his way. Sarcastic laughs aside, he said he would "Sleep on it".

I read a book at school once. The best quote in the book was it's title.

"It's not how good you are, It's how good you want to be".

Bandung

So last week I gathered up Inny and Jani and conned em into hitting up Bandung with me. Living in the U.S has made me realize that going out and getting comfortable with the immediate environment around you is more than just about being outdoors and doing activity. It's pretty unreal what there is around us. I did a lot of it in Boston and New York and surrounding areas and it was pretty good to see all the different stuff around those places. Not only are sites and sounds different, but even attitudes, fashions and other cultural aspects follow suit. All this in neighbouring area codes.

Bandung is no different here. Bandung is a city about 200 kms away from Jakarta but these two cities are completely different. The drive up is usually pretty easy with the new highway and all. The view's not bad either. You can either take the train up there or drive up yourself. We chose to drive down so we could run a muck on the way there.

Recently I've pretty much taken my camera wherever we've ended up so as to work on my photography skills. I have none so far but at least I'm trying. Give a brotha a break.

Fortunately because I was on camera duty, I was relieved of the burden of driving. Driving responsibility was left to Wardi, sleeping to Inny, picture-taking to me and Jani. We did okay for the drive up.

We cruised around for a bit and had absolutely no idea where we were going. Good thing Wardi was handy with the map. 15 minutes later we ended up at the newly built Ciwalk, which is short for Cihampelas Walk. It is an outdoor sort of mall which I thought was a nice change since I'm from Jakarta. It also had some local designer stores with their own unique designs. The stuff was interesting. They also had the usual J Co. (Indonesia's home-grown answer to Krispy Kreme) and the ever-present Starbucks. I don't do donuts but I couldn't help but notice the "Tirr-I-miss-u" donut at J Co. How the fuck do they come up with cheesy shit like that? How?

We hung out for a bit and then made our way around town. Hit up a few more stores and an exotic pet store and then pretty much hunger set in.

We then headed up to a restaurant called the Sierra. It was set on top of some hills. It had a pretty good view which is supposed to be real nice at night. Apparently thats a good spot to take it easy at in the evenings with the piano band and all. The only thing that had me wincing was their menu. Like most people I'm not a big fan of restaurants with 10 different cuisines. If I wanted 10 different cuisines I would visit a food court. But then again, looking out at the view made me realize that food is probably not the main reason that people come there.

Anyway, here are the results of the day. All of us enjoyed experimenting with the camera.


Out.

Sorted X Settled

Got the place back....bring on the world.....!

Tough town no more....

I got up this morning and breathed a sigh of excitement. I was awaiting good news. Just as I was getting ready to head out the lawyer called and broke the news. He informed me that the tenant wants to move out under 3 conditions (WTF?):

1) Tenant will surrender the keys back to me by October 15th. Thats earlier than expected.
2) Tenant will take the agreed offer and collect the security deposit back but it has to be paid by next week.
3) Tenant will not return the space in its original state meaning that she won't clean up the place and do the necessary restoration work.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is it not a global practice to leave a space in it's original condition and then collect your security deposit? If it's not in the original condition, do I not have the right to keep the security deposit? Since when could beggars be choosers?

Decisions, decisions.....

Lawyer is in further talks to try and negotiate for me to have the right to the security deposit. I could just take the offer but I would be shelling out too much cash. Wouldn't make sense.

Let's see.

I also just got done registering the business. That was a good experience.

Eventful...

Today was eventful.

I'm not sure where to start.

I couldn't get myself up this morning thanks to Ro's antics last night. I went out with him to Loof and then to M.O.S. Before, I went out drinking at some neighbourhood bars myself to start of the night. The humidity has been fucking with my eyes. Every beer I lay my eyes on seems to be calling out my name. My ears must be fucked too.

So I went out drinking at this bar around the corner from my hotel. It's called Addicted Place. It's actually pretty addictive since it's a good setting with cheap booze. I've been thinking of making my way back there. I was actually thinking of going there to cap off tonight but I chose to give it a bit of a break.

I then went to Loof to meet Ro and his buddies. There was some Levi's event there which was cool. They had Jean installations all over the place. Definitely consistent with Loof's strategic direction. Further on, we headed to M.O.S. I know, I know, but when in Rome.....you know how it goes! Anyway so we hit up Pure over there. Started with Whiskey, ended with Lemon Drops. The best part was chilling with Ro and his buddies. They were all really good people and it was great meeting them. Ro's got a good setup.

I then left, got some food and flailed around there looking for my hotel while still in a drunken stupor. Good fun

That was just last night.

That was why I slept in.

I started of this morning at the CPF office. Not sure what that stands for but its important to sort out to be able to apply for a business registration. It felt good to read those words on the picture.


Not surprisingly they rejected my CPF Singpass application. Singapore's not given me a good welcome with stuff like this. Apparently CPF needs my Employment Pass number to get my Singpass, but the only way to get an EP, I would need to register the business. The only way I can register a business at ACRA is with a Singpass. Lost? So was I.

I decided to head back to the office to get some lunch. Shortly after, I left for the hotel to drop of my stuff before heading to a friend's house. On the way there I spotted the Venu freestanding concept store on the side of North Bridge road. Those that don't know, Venu is the sole distributor of Puma and all of their other collaboration projects. They have Mcqueen, Neill Barrett, Mihara Yasuhiro and some other stuff at their stores in Ann Siang Hill and Palais Renaissance.

I then headed to my buddy Resida's. She studies at Raffles Design Institute and majors in Fashion Design. Let me be the one to tell you, this is one fierce broad. Resida is so talented that if there was one person I would like help from with the store in terms of buying and selling, it would almost definitely be her. She knows her stuff and is constantly trying to learn more. She also brought out her final projects to show me. I wasn't dissapointed at all. We have a similar vision. Furthermore, she agreed to help me out with the store later on. We agreed on minimum wage.


Resida lives with her roomie Tasha who has a beast of a French Bulldog. After Boston I've become a real dog person so it came as no surprise when the dog started to give me subtle grunts as an indication to piss off. I think he was worried it was me that was going to give him rabies instead. Trust me I would have. Let me introduce 'Tora'.




Check out my facial expression. How could you not want to show love to a hero like this.



I passed out on the couch for a little over an hour thanks to the humidity. That was a nice break from the fashion paper we were working on for Resida's final.
I then capped off the night with a cold beer over dinner with Res, Tash and Tora at a nearby restaurant. Again the humidity was messing with me and didn't make dinner very comfortable. I need to invest in some shorts and slippers.

Hopefully tomorrow's better. I get the answer from the tenant then.

Marching on.....

Went to the lawyers and shaaazaaam, I was caught off guard with some news. Lawyer now informs me that the tenant in the store space I own wants to lower the 'takeover' fee. Basically she is willing to negotiate. Go figure! How weird that this comes at a time when I'm actually here to rent another space. How weird that this comes at a time when I'm supposed to confirm rental of the space by Saturday. I was initially pissed off when the lawyer told me this because I felt like she's been busting my balls all this time and is doing it again. I didn't want to get my hopes up like last time and I am definitely making sure I don't.

I then told the lawyer to draft up a letter stating my offer, a deadline for response and a date by when the space should be vacated, which is November 15th. That's right after melbourne so that should be a pretty eventful month.

I will post an update as soon as I get an answer.

Hopefully the ball-busting stops here!

Singapore

Got into singapore yesterday and went straight to check out some real estate to look for another store space to rent. I saw some real cool places in other streets around the area. I will post pics later. I have so many other posts I wanted to put up but haven't been able to edit them.

So I saw a few good spots in other streets. These were real great spaces that would allow for me to operate the store downstairs and live upstairs so as to cut costs. That would also allow for more play and less work.

I went to the first space and it was pretty cool. It was all ready for moving in and setting up. The floors were exactly how I wanted them to be. All dingy and busted. The walls had water marks and mold growing in some places. I really wish I could throw up some pictures so as to show these little details more clearly. The second floor (living space) looked good. I was already planning where to place the bed so as to maximize the flow of chi. I may need to call Inny to ask for his feng shui help. Not really! I was actually planning where to strategically place all the mirrors to maximize showmanship. Iffyaknowdaameann. This place also had an attic. Perfect for when I need to abduct shoplifters!

Second place I went to was pretty cool as well. This had everything as the previous one. Slightly dingier though, which was good. It also had a sun/stair well which allowed for a lot of sunlight and it had a balcony. Ironically, it was overlooking the space that I own. The only problem with this place was that it had too much walking traffic!

I will be off in a bit to look at two other places.

Just a thought....

Alcohol does questionable things to good people.....