exclusive pleasures

It will never happen, but a comfortable schedule should be one sprinkled with regular time-out at the friendly cafe at the corner of the street or in an unpretentious restaurant that serves no-frills good food. Prices should be affordable and most importantly, the atmosphere and vibes must strike the right chord. Make it too gaudy and the place will come across as having poor taste. Sexed it up with a poor mix of music and even the best cappuccino cannot compensate for it.

The things that invariably impress me are simplicity, good service, a decent selection of cakes and bite-sized food, and good coffee (not necessarily in that order). The furnishing must be pleasing because one goes to a cafe to relax and chill. (Don't bother if you have to ask what's the connection.) And in the words of my King of Komfort friend (so labelled because he is a ruthless connoisseur of all things comfortable in life, which, I should add, does not necessarily equate with all things expensive), toilets of restaurants are most critical: they cannot be shabby-chic; they must be swanky. 

That's a swanky statement to make.

The saddest thing about tiny Singapore (which is growing tinier as its population continues to grow) is that no place can ever stay as an exclusive haven. The moment a gem even in the most secluded, god-forsaken location sprouts up, it will very shortly become a haven lost. I discovered during my recent respite that the only way to enjoy that bit of exclusivity and pleasure at such places is to visit them during weekdays. But unless you are a millionaire-turned-retiree or a care-the-world-not swaggering lad who lives by his own time, the possibility of you enjoying time-out on a weekday is probably very slim. Life's a bitch and we know it.

Sunday's almost gone, but you don't have to start mourning - 'coz tomorrow's a public holiday. As my ex-classmate's Facebook status says: 3-day weekends should be made mandatory. Now, that's another swanky statement I support.