Lady J on Shop: Buying second-hand

I’ve always had this belief that “One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. The concept of buying second-hand goods sounded a little foreign to me when I was growing up. If the shelf-life of our household equipment comes to an end, we simply buy new ones to replace. And what do we do with the old ones? We sell them to the neighbourhood Karung guni man. Same goes with our newspapers and magazines. We just bundle them up and pass them on to the Karung guni man who gladly takes them in exchange for a couple of cents.

The resident Karung guni man in the 80's

What’s Karung guni? It’s a modern form of rag-and-bone men that visit residences door-to-door. They used to be pretty common in Singapore in the 80’s and early 90s. These days, there are a little of a rarity but I still spot some of them making their rounds in my neighbourhood.

So what do they do? They make their visits in carts collecting old newspapers and other unwanted items. These items are then resold at specialised markets to be recycled and reused.

The term “Karung guni” came from a Malay phrase for gunny sack, which was used in the past to hold newspapers. The karung guni men would haul these heavy sacks on their backs ringing their hand-bells and shouts of this particular phrase - "karung guni, poh zhua gu sa kor, pai leh-lio, dian si ki..." [meaning “Rag and bone, newspapers, old clothes, spoilt radios, televisions, etc” in Singlish and Hokkien] can be heard from a far.

A common site at my neighborhood when growing up

Mom has sold many things to the local karung guni man and she’s often pleased that she made a couple of bucks from the sale. I guess Dad is just happy that the house is not cluttered with too many unwanted items.

So what happens to these second-hand items? If they are in good condition, they are usually being resold at flea markets or even sold on online auctions. Apparently, there are people who trawl these places in search for a good bargain. Well, Mom has always told me to steer clear of these places preferring that I don’t pick up more junk to mess up the home.

I probably tried my hand at bargain-hunting when I visited Melbourne with my friends after graduation. Armed with really little cash then as a student, we ventured into a thrift-shop just wanting to browse but walked out of the store some hours later with huge sacks of ‘treasures’. We found used clothes, jewellery and handbags for as little as 5 AUD. We were thrilled as we combed through the piles of racks happily in search of cheap bargains.

Off to the local Brocante store for some second-hand shopping

I’ve often griped that some of the things in Geneva are a little more pricey compared to what I could get back in Singapore. Some of my expat friends felt the same way too having relocated from the US. But one of them got round to scoring some really cool furniture and household appliances at the local broccante store. I later learned that Switzerland has an active second-hand (gebraucht, occasion) market, particularly in antiques, motor cars, gold and gem stones. There’s also a local second-hand furniture and junk store (Brockenhaus, broccante) in most towns. These items are usually in really good condition because many expats come and leave Geneva in a couple of years, and prefer to leave these items behind instead of bringing them back to their home-country.

So us girls made the trip to the local broccante store one afternoon. I had wanted to browse and possibly get some vintage cutlery and silverware. My friend S wanted to a raclette grill and/or fondue machine. While she didn’t get the item, I went home a happy gal with the desired plates that will be put to good use when we have guests over.

A gorgeous traditional fondue set up for grabs

There you have it, “One’s man trash can really become another man’s treasure”. You never know what you can get while hitting the thrift-shops, so keep your eyes peeled open for treasure may just lie beneath that layer of dust. Just wipe it off, brush it clean and it may just be a brand new item for you.

[Some images taken off the web]

Lady J on Love: Taking stock

Time sure flies. We are now into December and this marks my 7th contribution to the blog. Gee, where did all that time go? That would mean that we’ve been living for more than six months in Geneva by now.

I wanted to coincide this entry with the recent major national holiday that most Americans would have celebrated - Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is not widely celebrated in Singapore nor Geneva, I know how big this tradition is to my new American friends who will go round the table with their family and friends to give thanks and express gratitude for the recent year. I find the origin of this tradition really meaningful. Even though I have yet to partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal, here are some of the things that I’m grateful for about living in Geneva.

Honing my cooking skills
Before Geneva, there was Tokyo. It was a time where I learnt how to cook rice. You may think: How difficult can it be? For me, it was rather challenging as I never found the need to learn how to cook while living with my parents back in Singapore.

Beyond instant noodles

Armed with my basic cooking skills from Tokyo, I took on Geneva with confidence only to come crushing down when I learned that Asian ingredients are often hard to come by and expensive when they do. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, so I trawled the internet looking for easy-to-cook recipes that are suited for a noob cook like me.

Making local carrot cake from scratch

I took a keen interest in food blogs and found myself salivating over the gorgeous food pictures. So with time on my hands, I started to dabble in baking. I found myself investing in a hand-whisk, food blender, processor and baking mats, to name a few tools. I never quite imagined myself loving the time spent in the kitchen but as my baked goods started looking decent enough to be eaten, I decided to document my baking and cooking adventures by putting what I cooked/ baked in front of a camera lens and photographing them.

My proudest achievement to date - learning how to make macarons

Looking back, I think I’m really grateful to be able to be given this opportunity to hone my cooking and, along the way, photography skills. I don’t know whether this will continue when we return to Singapore but for now, I’m pretty pleased with how my baked goods and cooked food have been turning out.

Appreciating nature
Having lived in concrete jungles for a good part of my life, I was never one with nature. But ever since I moved to Geneva, I slowly started to appreciate the changing seasons and the wonderful scenes that Mother Nature brings along with them. During my supermarket runs, I find myself taking a leisurely walk and just taking in what nature has to offer.

Sunset in Florence

Weekend getaways
We’ve been given the wonderful opportunity to travel extensively, to see other beautiful parts of Europe and what these other cities and towns have to offer. Geneva is really the perfect springboard for us to fly, drive or train to most cities in Europe. During our stay here, we’ve covered Austria, Spain, Italy and France, among other countries.

Taking part in Oktoberfest in a traditonal Dirndl costume

I’m definitely looking forward to December for that means that we will be hitting the slopes and indulging in one of our favourite wintersports – snowboarding!

I could go on and on with my long laundry list of the other things that I’m thankful for. But, the one big thing I’m truly thankful for is having family and friends who have supported us on this journey.

So raise your glasses and join me as we bid farewell to 2011 and wish you all the very best in the New Year!

Happy holidays!

Lady J on Shop: Going cold turkey on retail therapy

If ‘Shopping’ was a subject that I could take in school, I’d probably pass the exams with flying colours. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved shopping. I take joy in buying things; clothes, bags, shoes, cosmetics, etc. Funnily, even going to supermarket to pick up groceries can sometimes be considered a chore to some, but for me, it’s a joy to push the cart down the aisle to pick up the mundane household items.

My favourite type of activity

Just four months ago, we found out that we were going to be relocating to Geneva for about a year. Instead of checking out which apartments to rent, my attention instead turned to checking out where the shopping district was. A quick search on the web revealed familiar brands and I was put at ease for that meant that part of my shopping hobby could continue.

However, I was in for a rude shock when J brought me shopping. The famed shopping belt of Rive was hardly any comparison to Orchard Road (Singapore’s exciting retail and entertainment hub). I was used to manoeuvring shopping malls which housed practically everything my heart’s desire under one roof.

Geneva's shopping belt

But, presented before me was individual shops lined up neatly on the streets with two to three department stores (with a maximum of four floors) for me to explore. Shops were scattered rather haphazardly and if I wanted to get a specific brand of shoes, I would need to take a good ten-minute walk to get to the desired shop.

Well, since I couldn’t find joy in the physical act of shopping, I resorted to Internet-shopping to fulfil my retail-therapy fix. I’ve done that in Singapore, trawling on US/ UK shopping sites to purchase stuff. Yes, granted that it wasn’t going to be instant gratification since it would take about one to two weeks before the goods arrived, but it was the next best thing that I had.

I knew that in Singapore, if the goods purchased via the internet exceeded S$400, it would be subjected to a 7% Goods and Services Tax made payable to the government. As such, I’ve always tried to keep my online purchases capped at S$400 so as not to incur additional charges. However, in Switzerland, regardless of whatever goods purchased on the Internet. It will have to be subjected to a 8% Value-Added Tax made payable to the Swiss Government. Yikes! I sank into mild retail depression and surfing the internet surfing/shopping lost its gleaming appeal to me. Not to mention, it also became a quite an expensive affair to acquire the desired goods.

Queuing to get inside the Prada outlet at the Serravalle Designer Outlet in Italy

So what can this self-professed shopaholic do to get her dosage of retail therapy happiness? Seek greener pastures of course! Geneva is a spring-board to many cities in Europe. Short weekend trips to neighbouring cities of France, Italy and Spain not only allowed us to immerse in the individual city’s culture but also produced higher returns on shopping.

My favourite French word!

Shopping in the form of bargain hunting was taken to another level as I diligently checked out the Europe Summer Sales, resisting the urge to purchase until the desired item was at least 50% off the retail price. We also made a couple of side trips to the factory outlets where greater savings of up to 60% can be enjoyed on previous seasons’ collections. Well, I couldn’t really care if I was decked out in past season’s collections as long as it’s affordable, wearable and most importantly stylish enough to bring me through fashion’s fickle trends.

By the time we had packed our bags and returned back to Singapore for a short vacation in August, we felt that we had all shopped out and I decided to put retail therapy on hold for a while. Well, that was until the Great Singapore Sales plus the recent Club 21 Bazaar Sale came along and busted this recovering shopaholic’s plan.

The sale that busted this "Shopaholic's" recovery plan

[Image of Geneva's shopping belt taken from the Internet]

Lady J on Play: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side

Being born and raised in Singapore in the late 70’s, ‘kampongs’ (local term for village) were slowly starting to phase out to make way for new development largely due to Singapore’s rapid expansion, the emergence of tall buildings started to take over the land occupied by the villages. This was probably one of the reasons why I remained as a ‘City Girl’ and the only jungle that I’ve been familiar with is the ‘Concrete Jungle’ where tall buildings and sky-scrapers ruled.

I remembered vividly when the plane landed at the airport in Geneva, I was half-expecting to find a vibrant city. Some of our friends who’ve been here raved about the beautiful landscapes. Silly me thought they were referring to pretty buildings set aside the natural mountains in the Swiss Alps. When our taxi drove us to our temporary apartment, I looked around our surroundings and marvelled at the quaint architecture, excited about the prospects that the new city had to offer.

The first couple of days in Geneva, J and I took time to explore the famed tourist sites of Geneva. Half a day was all we spent to cover sights like Old Town, the Flower Clock and the Jet D’eau. We even had time to check out the Patek Phillipe Museum as we had too much time to spare. As we slowly started to settle into our new lives in Geneva, I was bored with the famed shopping belt of Rive and wanted desperately to explore other parts but I didn’t know where to start.

One of Geneva's most recognised landmarks - the Jet D'eau

On the other hand, J had already took the road less travelled and started to explore the other sights of Geneva through his weekly runs. Starting first with an exploratory run through the park near our place before running further to the lake. On one of his runs, he proudly told me that he actually ran to the border of France, all within the 40 minutes of his running routine.

Feeling a little sore that I had been lazy, preferring to just head to the familiar sights in Geneva, I sought my friend’s - L's - help to explore some nature sites. L had also recently relocated to Geneva around the same time as we did but she has been far more adventurous in exploring the city.

A date was fixed for us to go on foot to explore one of the many green parks that Geneva has to offer. I was kind of nervous for I’ve never been much of a walker but yet I had wanted to go out and play - basically to see all that luscious greenery that Geneva has to offer. The weather was sunny and perfect for our little walk around the park.

Enroute to Parc Eaux Vive

We headed to Parc des Eaux Vives on foot and as we entered, I felt like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ stepping inside another dimension that I’d never seen. Lush greenery surrounded the compound and there were different groups of people just basking in the sunshine and having a good time in the park. I know that Singapore has several green parks but I’ve never been to any of them. I’ve never been an outdoor person and my playground usually comprise of a series of shopping malls where I can meandered the floors or tiny lanes at ease.

I see young adults lying on the greens taking full advantage of the sun and doing a little tanning on the side, parents and their kids playing badminton on the greens, an elderly couple just sitting by the benches talking to each another and dogs running around freely. My senses were suddenly awakened by this scene and the lovely flowers that lined the pavements of the park. The weather was pleasant making it a relaxing walk around the park.

The luscious green fields

It then struck me as I wondered hard on why it had taken me so long to actually explore a park for it never occurred to me that I could actually have fun at the park. I guess one of the main reasons why I never bothered exploring parks back home is largely because of the heat and the humidity. I didn’t want to be drenched in perspiration or end up with unsightly bite-marks from the mosquitoes or sand-flies on my legs.

Here in Geneva, the sunny weather -- minus the horrid humidity that we’ve been used to in Singapore -- made all the difference in making my park experience more enjoyable. I didn't break into a sweat even after my 1.5 hours of walk.

After this ‘green’ epiphany, I started to be more aware of my surroundings and develop a new-found appreciation for nature. I'mnot going to turn into a hiker overnight but we’ve definitely been doing more exploring of the neighbouring cities with awesome panoramic views. We’ve been real lucky to be given an amazing opportunity to be in Geneva where the scenic backdrop for nature is ever-changing and I should be doing more to seize this opportunity when I’m heading out to play.

Taking a step back and honing a new-found appreciation for nature

Lady J on Eat: Food Junkie

I’m a junk food aficionado. Back in the day when I was holding a corporate job, the magical hours for this tummy to growl and rumble would be 11am and 4pm. I would reach out for that bag of potato chips that would be sitting on my table and chomp away happily as the stress melted away. I’d worry about the calories later.

As you can imagine, potato chips are a staple in my home and are always on the grocery list when it is time to stock up on necessities for the home.

When we found out that we were moving to Geneva, the one thing we did before leaving Singapore was to fill our shopping cart with all the local food that we could find at Giant Hypermarket (a local supermarket in Singapore). From Asian sauces, canned food and our favourite instant noodles, to my favourite snacks (of course), we were practically shopping for an army. Kiasu-ism (Singaporean slang for "fear of losing"), perhaps? Not exactly, for we just wanted to be prepared, in case we couldn’t find the food we love in Geneva.

Red Rock Deli Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream Chips - THE BEST!

Before the movers came, J came over to inspect what I’d packed. He frowned upon the bags of chips that I had secretly snucked into the box. "Potato chips?!" he exclaimed. I pried the bags of Red Rock Deli Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream Chips from his hands and stuffed them back into the box. "These are imported from Australia, I’m sure they don’t have them in Geneva," I retorted. "We're going too far away, so just let me have those chips!" Of course, he refused and those two precious bags of chips were unloaded from the box.

When we arrived in Geneva, one of the first things that we did was to stock up on groceries for the apartment at the local supermarket near our neighbourhood. A visit to the supermarket would of course not be complete without the customary visit to the snack corner. I was expecting to find a huge selection of potato chips lined up for my picking, but what stood before me was just four shelves of chips from two to three different brands with simple flavours that I could choose from: "natural" or "paprika". Not very exciting at all! Where are the flavours like "honey dijion mustard" “sweet Thai chilli” "cheese" or even "honey roast chicken"? Where are the Pringles and Lays? Those were not in plain sight.

The potato chips section at the local supermarket near our place

Instead, guess which snack had huge rows for the picking? Why, chocolate of course. This is Switzerland after all so I guess the Swiss are really into their chocolate. I was sorely disappointed but grabbed a pack of chips to satisfy my craving. Thankfully, a visit to the larger supermarkets in Geneva yielded better results for the selection of potato chips and I grabbed a couple of packets with different flavours to stock up for good measure.

My secret stash of potato chips procured during our weekend trips around Europe

On a recent grocery shopping trip with a Singaporean girlfriend who’s lived here for over 14 years, I sheepishly asked if the Swiss are huge on snacking for I noticed that the selection for junk food namely potato chips is pretty limited. She smiled and said that the Swiss are generally more health conscious, preferring to snack on fruits or diary products such as cheese or chocolate. I retorted, “Chocolate! That’s not healthy at all!” She chuckled and explained that while chocolate may not be the most healthy snack around, it does contain a number of nutrients (potassium and magnesium) as well as vitamins such as B, D, and E.

I researched further and found that there are actual health benefits to eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Apart from tasting good, it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure and can also act as an anti-depressant. Dark chocolate is good for your heart for it contains a large amount of antioxidants that can protect the body from aging caused by free radicals. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well.

After-dinner chocolate treat :)

Well, well, what do you know? With this newfound knowledge, I’m now walking into specialty chocolate stores in Geneva to check out their selection of dark chocolate. I’ve fallen in love with dark chocolate that are infused with fresh and fruity flavours such as “orange", “framboise (raspberry)” and “ginger”. And, we started to enjoy having a small bar of dark chocolate after our meals together with our cup of coffee or mint tea.

Will I ditch my love for potato chips and turn into a “choco-monster” instead? Who knows? But living in Geneva and with chocolate being the epicentre of sweet Switzerland, I just might.

Health advisory from Lady J: There’s nothing wrong with snacking, but please do so in moderation.

[Photo credit: Red Rock Deli]

Lady J on Love: Roller Coasters

As a tween, I've always loved taking roller-coaster rides. Probably because mom always imagined it to be the dangerous ride at the amusement park. But there's something exhilarating about these rides, screaming at the top of my lungs and feeling the winds rush through my hair. I loved the adrenaline rush and that's how I wanted my life to be: a roller-coaster ride, an adventure that surprises you at every corner.

Guess what? I sort of got my wish, for my life after my mid-twenties was exactly a roller-coaster ride. Never a dull moment since meeting my husband, J.

Three years into our courtship, J decided to pack his bags and leave for Tokyo where a new job offer awaited. Things were fine and dandy but I wasn't sure if I could survive the long-distance relationship. I wasn't going to sit around the house, mope around or better yet go all crazy wondering what he was doing in the Land of the Rising Sun. When he popped the question before his departure, I took the plunge and said YES. Mom thought I was crazy to accept the proposal. I guess she was just looking out for me, for fear that he would have a change of heart.

At Farm Tomita in Furano

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, as cliché as it may sound, absence did indeed make the heart grow fonder. Dates were in the form of online video calls and daily email updates. I also relished our bi-annual holidays to Tokyo that were often peppered with side-travels around Japan with J.

With my classmates from the Japanese language school at the local Hanami (Fireworks) boat party

After a year or so, we finally tied the knot at the end of 2006 and the life as I knew it was packed into 20-odd boxes to be shipped to our new home in Tokyo. My life as an expat wife began. I never really had to cook or do household chores when I was living in Singapore, so I struggled with the laundry and started from scratch honing my paltry cooking skills.

Snowboarding in Niseko, Hokkaido during winter

Ten months later, J's company decided to relocate him back to Singapore and so, 100 boxes and furniture in one huge container accompanied us home. Did I enjoy my short stint as an expat wife in Japan? For sure! In between domestic chores, I roamed the streets freely, sat around in cafes on the busy streets of Ginza, Shibuya and Shinjuku and marveled at the fashion-forward Tokyoites. During winter, I practiced hard at our new-found hobby - snowboarding.

Fast-forward to 2011. A new job offer in Singapore with the opportunity of a temporary relocation to Geneva came knocking. We discussed at length whether he should take up the offer as life back home was on track. Did I want to stay in Singapore and do the long-distance thing? No, for the 14-hr traveling would just kill me.

Do we really want to rock the boat? Not really, as we had just moved into our new place, established a close circle of friends, and were spending most of our time with family and our superbly adorable fur-kid, Sparky, whom we love to bits.

But I knew it was one of J's dreams to work in Europe, and the relocation was going to be for about a year. As the supporting wife, I encouraged him to pursue this dream with me by his side. But what does this second relocation mean for us, or more specifically, me?

Another turn in the thrilling roller-coaster ride, I guess. It would be a good chance for me to take a break and reinvigorate our marriage with more time. I traded my corporate wardrobe filled with frilly dresses and high heels, and reprised my role as a "domestic princess." Well, if I am going to be stuck at home doing household chores and cooking, I might as well give myself a fancy title.

I embraced my new challenge and thought to myself that surely this time round it will be a piece of cake, having done the "expat wife" stint in Tokyo. But it ain't true. I forgot a little thing called "cultural difference" between Asia and Europe. Oh, and let's not forget about the standard of living in Geneva compared to that in Singapore or even Tokyo.

Jet d'Eau - one of Geneva's famous landmarks

According to the Global Cost of Living survey 2010/ 2011 conducted by Mercer, Geneva ranks fifth as the world's most expensive city for expatriates. Tokyo, on the other hand, is now ranked second. However, having lived in Tokyo previously, I felt that the standard of living in Geneva is somewhat compromised.

Yes, things aren't cheap in Tokyo. A decent meal at a random noodle shop would cost me at most 1000 yen (USD 12). But here in Geneva, a simple salad with a drink at a take-out can cost me CHF 19 (USD 22). A bus-ride to town would cost me about CHF 3 (USD 3.5).

I felt miserable at the loss of my financial freedom and having to tighten the purse-strings. The loneliness started to set in and roaming the shopping streets along Rive lost its appeal after a while. I busied myself with chores and spent most of my waking hours in front of my MacBook, but I craved for friendship.

I whined about how miserable my expat life has been. Friends hearing of my sorry plight cheered me up, cyber-friends and twit-peeps sent me virtual hugs, shared their experiences and encouraged me to go out there and find new hobbies.

So, I did. I changed gears and instead of wanting a fast ride, I decided to go on a cruising mode. I picked myself up, made a couple of new friends and kept myself busy with new cyber-projects.

Is this roller-coaster ride going to be smooth-sailing from now on? I hardly think so, as we're still trying to adjust to the ways of living here in Geneva. Singaporeans who have been living here for a while tell me in time to come, we will fall in love with this city. I'm still waiting for that day to come, but I guess as with all great love stories, mine can and will be nurtured.

Our love affair in this new city awaits

[Photo of roller-coaster sourced from the Internet]