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.