Morning walk

for the past two weeks, i've been working as a freelance writer for bda, a company i interviewed at way back in february or march -- a job that pleases me immensely, considering the, uh, rather bumpy history i've racked up with bda since then. 

i used to cab it from the somerset mrt station to bda's office on kim yam road, but taking a page out of french women don't get fat, i decided to start walking to and from the office daily -- a good fifteen- to twenty-minute walk, twice a day.

i seem to have made a good call. for one thing, my ass is getting smaller and i lost two inches off my waistline after two weeks. 

plus, there is so much to see on my way to work -- and i love all of it. the first time i walked to the office, i loved being surprised by all these little things. now i love that they have become familiar to me, fitting neatly into a regular routine that i've established for myself.

first is the skate park beside the somerset mrt station...

followed by a real park.

across the street is killiney road, with its strip of little restaurants and shops. my favorite is freshly baked by le bijoux (ang haba ng pangalan, diba), where i grab a hot-out-of-the-oven muffin (chocolate banana is my favorite) on my way to work if i've had to skip breakfast at home. they also make great focaccia, which i've only caught on my way home once -- they're usually closed by the time i get out work by seven.

i thought this sign was horrifically painted until i saw the lovely stencil graffiti underneath it. 

the area my office is in is called river valley, so named for the major thoroughfare which is river valley road. it is probably one of the most expat-infested areas in downtown singapore, and is just about fifteen minutes away from orchard road, which means bleeding expensive prime real estate. 

the condos whisper "my company pays for this" in a cornucopia of foreign languages and accents as i stroll by. my walk to work in the morning involves a large number of white mommies, yayas with prams containing white babies, and some really nice landscaping. these pretty flowers are from the urbana condo at the corner of river valley close and killiney road.

turning right into kim yam road brings me into what seems to be singapore heritage country. aside from a few apartment buildings, most of the real estate on this road is in the form of restored or preserved colonial shophouses, which i love. most of them are rented by small companies for whom funky office space is a must (like bda) or galleries. one of the galleries i pass daily has this menagerie standing guard at the door.

then there's the temple. all i know of it is that there is a giant gold buddha at least two storeys high, it smells of incense at certain times of the day, and that bda brings its paper waste there for recycling.

oh, and that it has very traditional chinese carvings on the perimeter wall.

after the temple comes a construction site whose middle-aged indian guard gives me a huge smile and a hearty "good morning" every time i pass.  then i reach the home stretch of my morning walk, which i daresay is the prettiest part of the whole exercise.

seeing this every day for two weeks has always gotten my day off to a great start. 

i consider myself extremely lucky -- because this is going to be my morning walk to work for as long as i'm in singapore. 

because this week, i'm officially on board as bda's new full-time writer.