Walk On By

My feet are so sore. I thought those days were over when I left my previous job. Apparently not. I was sent to go buy jellybeans, liquorice allsorts and triangular wafers (the kind you stick in your ice cream) for a photo shoot. The last time I saw liquorice allsorts, they were in Marks and Spencers. So first place that came to mind was Marks and Sparks at Wheelock. Got there and found out they don't sell liquorice allsorts anymore. Uh oh. I couldn't think of any other place that sold those sweets. I needed a supermarket like Cold Storage at Guthrie House. You know, the more "ang moh" type supermarkets that sell these "ang moh" sweets? The only place I could think of was Tanglin Mall. So, not wanting to spend more money and time on transport (picture this - my office is in Raffles Place and I am in Orchard Rd. Didn't want anyone to think I was skiving. Wanted to get the stuff ASAP), I decided to WALK from Wheelock Place to Tanglin Mall. In the blazing sun. In heels. I sometimes marvel at how I managed to get a university degree.

Anyway, upon reaching Tanglin Mall (I was ready to collapse at the able hands of a foot spa therapist), I made a beeline for the Marketplace (a.k.a the supermarket). And lo and behold, the mind that got me a university degree led me to the pack of liquorice allsorts. Mission part one accomplished. I had to go get the wafers. The Marketplace didn't have them. 7-11 didn't have them. Cold Storage didn't have them. The Isetan Supermarket didn't have them (are you starting to get an idea of how far I walked?). Then, my genius struck again. I remembered having ice cream with the wafer at Haagen Daaz. So I plucked up my courage and was totally prepared to go grovel and flash my winning smile, since I didn't think they'd sell their wafers like that. I put on my most innocent face and boldly walked up to the guy at the counter and asked if they had any of those wafers. They did. Then I asked if I could please-have-one-or-two-or-maybe-three-and-I'd-be-happy-to-pay-them-for-the-stuff. Guess what? They do sell them after all. As an extra topping. So I paid 70cents for 3 wafers in a funky aluminium foil-lined Haagen Daaz bag. Groovy :)

Then at about 5.30pm, the boss asked me to go deliver something to an office in Shenton Way. Which meant more walking. And it didn't help that I got lost. Now I know where the Singapore Exchange is. I also know where the major banks are and I know where Lau Pa Sat is in relation to my office. Once again, the humidity and the not-made-for-walking shoes prompted some grumbling on my part. But I was glad for the exercise :) I've walked so much today, it's probably a week's worth of exercise!

Ok, maybe not ;)