Off the Grid: Istanbul
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Space Invaders Snow Art
Created by Simon Beck
Egg & Burger, Etiler.
An American-style retro diner tucked in a small street off the posh Etiler district in Istanbul. It could pass off as totally American but my judgmental sharp eye caught the dotted “i” in a sea of capital letters EGG & BURGER DiNER on their serviettes betraying it as a Turkish franchise. The chicken burger I had is reminiscent of a succulent Zinger x10 and the milkshake is just 90% worthy of a Billy Bomber’s but overall, a yummy lunch in the company of cute cats.
Early Sunday morning when I came home from Jenney’s birthday celebrations from the Asian continent, I received a whatsapp message from Shaojun. She said one of the veteran actors in Singapore, Huang Wenyong, just passed away from cancer.
I worked with him in my early years as an assistant producer in Channel 8, the mandarin channel. We made cooking programs, explored Chinese culinary which included lots of visits to grand hotels, posh restaurants and free food. Perks of the job! We made silly game shows with cans of food and other food products rolling around on sushi conveyer belts. My executive producer back then, Lawrence really liked working with him so we always tried to get him as our host.
He never made fun of my bad Chinese, was always on time or early, called me often to know the schedule and was very professional. For an AP, this was heaven because I could rely on him to be at the makeup unit even before I got there. I am a chronic latercomer as you know.
I remember when people ask me who I liked working with during my time in Mediacorp, I would not hesitate to say it was him. When I made my first foray into acting (with actual lines!) and stepped into the bright lights of studio 6 for Crime Busters x 2 叮当神探, he was the first to say, “又是你啊?!” (It’s you again?!) He remembered me as the mandarin-speaking Malay AP. I was so nervous on my first day in the studio. Having always been behind the camera, it wasn’t an easy task to stand in front of the lights. He gave me a lot of tips as to how to angle my body so that I will be lit well and look better for the camera. TV really adds 10 pounds more to you ;)
I will remember him fondly. The lunch breaks we had in packed hawker centres, the attention he received but just calmly handled. The discounts, bargains and cheeky banter with fans and aunties wherever we went to film. RIP 文永大哥 We will miss you.
Song: http://fizy.com/s/1dlict
primitive radio gods - standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand
1. PLUTO is no longer considered a planet! That just totally blew my mind. It was something I memorized as a kid and now we kicked Pluto out just cos he’s smaller than everyone else. The reason I had to know this answer was it appeared as a question in one of the quizzes I gave to the kids this week.
2. Bananas dont have the same effect for everyone. That is, some people eat it and it helps them with their diarrhea whereas for someone like me, banana helps my digestion and to move things along. In general, in Turkey, people eat bananas to stop them from… well, shitting!
I love Daria. She was and still is my idol.
(via teacheron2)
i made a thing
this was more useful than university
(via annakomnene)
Meanwhile, during a game of Icomania… gosh I was so proud to solve these puzzles!
You guys know how I love showing off my cheap finds. Case in point: my awesome finds in Amsterdam when I rocked up to the flea market at closing time and got a bundle of clothes FOR FREE. In fact, I’m wearing the owl topshop top and grey singlet today. (You gotta also remember that I was talking to a native american man who was picking up clothes that the vendors left behind and these clothes were wet from the rain but I had a foldable shopping bag and dumped it all into my bag. They were my size too!)
Back to my story about the song Thrift Shop, the first time I heard this was in the car coming back from Anadolu Kavagi and F turned up the volume all the way. Then the next day, in the car going to Ataturk Arboratum, Jenney turned this song up too and she was rapping along to the lyrics. Here’s a sample:
They be like, “Oh, that Gucci - that’s hella tight.”
I’m like, “Yo - that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt.”
Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition
Fifty dollars for a T-shirt - that’s just some ignorant bitch (shit)
I call that getting swindled and pimped (shit)
I call that getting tricked by a business
Those are awesome lyrics that definitely captured my anti-consumerism stance. I rarely buy things at full price and I don’t go for brands. The only time I am aware of these brands is when I go through piles of clothes at my favourite Merkezi for 5 liras a pop, I have yet to find a good thrift store in Istanbul because new clothes, albeit factory rejects are available everywhere since Istanbul has a huge textile industry. I have been trying to tell my kids not to buy brands but I don’t think they understand that mummy and daddy’s money can go a longer way than that Nike, Adidas and Converse shoe. Maybe I should go on a hunt for second-hand shops. The ones I have found are overpriced since they claim to be “vintage”. Come on, they are just clothes you stole from dead people ;)
Last nite I started watching this series thanks to my student Irmak in 7th grade. I guess what got me watching were all her reblogs of the main character and who I thought was her hipster love interest. Turns out he is gay but what I liked most about this series are all the songs I listened to when I was a teenager in their soundtrack. It is pretty epic when you have Stone Roses, Eels and “Return of the Mack” whoaaa that just blew my mind. I found myself back in polytechnic; awkward, only slightly plus-sized (as compared to now) and hanging out with a group of girls who wore cheongsam tops on fridays as a sign of solidarity. Wish I had a photo of that. The cheongsam top would look awesome now. Can someone send me one very ethnic cheongsam “Made in China” top please? Anyhow, I’ll keep on watching tonight if I manage to find an episode that does NOT have russian voiceover. I opened one up and bam, there was Vladimir talking at breakneck speed and describing everything, much like the dubbed versions of Georgian soaps where one person did all the talking!
I used to have these glow-in-the-dark stickers on my ceiling back in my parents’ home in Sembawang. I put them up when I was 23 I think. You’d think I was a teenager when I did it right? I also had the words “U R A GODDESS” made from glow-in-the-dark letters to motivate myself when I woke up in the morning before I left for my job as an Assistant Producer with Singapore’s national broadcaster.
As the years went by, Goddess became God and other letters fell off and disappeared and the sentence made no sense. Sometimes, I wake up in my apartment now in Istanbul and imagine myself back on my 4-poster metal bed (it was big, black and awesome) back in Sembawang, Singapore. I try to remember the sunlight streaming through my white, very thin cheap curtains from Ikea and I remember the mirror that came in 4 pieces that my dad painstakingly installed on my wall. I remember the chest of drawers I bought with my own paycheck when I needed storage space. I remember the wardrobe to my right donated by my aunt. I put on a coat of varnish on it haphazardly and it became mine for the ten years or so we lived in Sembawang. My mind’s eye is now in the green “country-look” tiny kitchen where only two people from my family can comfortably stand at any time. I remember the stove top and the fridge and the simple pasta meals I made which my mum and sis scorn and laugh at but eat anyway. My dad still does not know how to enjoy spaghetti bolognese.
I should return to marking Quiz 4. I have 3 classes to go.
PS: Not the actual bed.
fiyahcitizen Asks:
marianaahmad Said:
thank you. the photos on yours are very nice. where are u writing from?
“part store, blog, magazine and wishlist.”
I might live in a lady bear cave (actually I do, it’s along Akasya Sk in Istanbul) but last nite I found myself adding an app called Fancy on my ultra slow android phone. Against my better judgement (the one that is very against blind consumerism), I think it is such a sleek and fancy site that is aiming to beat pinterest. I pin on a rather regular basis and this is different because you get to CONSUME the things you pin and the price tags are attached so you get an idea of how much they are. They also have these fancy boxes curated by celebs like Ashton Kutcher and Pink for USD 39 a pop. I am itching to get one for my graphic designer sister as a surprise. (She never reads this so I can say anything I want on the internet muahahah). First I have to get her work address.
During my free period, I got my ticket and camping pass for Positivus in Salacgrīva, Latvia. So exciting!! So far, the confirmed lineup includes Sigur Ros, The XX, Foxes and my least favourite Crystal Castles. (I don’t really hate them, it’s just they bring up the fondest memories of Summersonic in Tokyo :) Last nite, I found out that this festival is recruiting volunteers so I went in to have a look at the application form. After questions like, “What was the best internship you’ve done?” and rate on a scale of 1 to 5 your Russian, Estonian, Latvian language level and tell us how you can spread the word about the festival to your school/university, it all means I’m a little TOO OLD for this shit. GAH! I’d never have pegged myself as too old for anything. Just look at what I’m wearing today: Neon pink blazer, fushia top, pink singlet and purple skirt with my hiking boots. I am a headache to look at. You’d need shades to protect yourself from the burst of colour. Is this too old for ya?
