Of working relationships and farewells

The time we spend at work - and consequently in the company of other office denizens - comprises a substantial portion of our waking hours. Over time, social relationships develop as a result of working together, sharing the same water cooler or by simply being within earshot.

It's no surprise then that we sometimes feel a sense of loss when people leave, especially after being comfortable around them for so long. Knowing that you can shoot someone point-blank with a fully loaded nerf gun, expect to be pelted in return with a half-dozen foam stress balls, and be all cool in time for coffee can be a very reassuring thing. It's these little things that add spice to daily cubicle life.

Some people just don't get it. Unfortunately some of those who do, leave anyway. Not that I can blame them.

Today, —
(Ok, so it's actually around 2am in the morning of the following day right now, but I've changed the posting date just to make 'today' and 'tonight' sound logical.)

Today, two such have-it people marked their final day at the office. Not surprisingly, a drinking session was arranged for tonight to commemorate the occasion.

To me, drinking sessions over the years have become synonymous with departures, since I practically never step into a bar for any other reason. Personally I think it's just another excuse for alcohol- and smoke-happy people to indulge themselves, but well.. meat, poison, whatever.



See you around, Big Bert (not pictured) and Aoki (spotlight above). Don't be strangers.

Also, of Oso
Joined up with my folks shortly after for dinner, at an Italian restaurant named Oso along Tanjong Pagar Road. We got there at 8:30pm but there was a delay in getting our reserved table ready, so I took the opportunity to fish out my camera for a quickie:



(This photo honestly looks much better when viewed at actual size, please click on it to see.)

The restaurant packs tables tastefully if a little too efficiently, placing sofa-bench-seated tables close enough to each other to peek at the next party's spread. The seats were well-cushioned and comfy, though the legs of my table weren't very balanced and kept rocking at the slightest hint of elbow pressure. Modern decor, subdued lighting and a good choice of diningware added to the comfy, slightly posh feel, though it was slightly spoilt by the volume of conversation floating across the room.

I had the sea scallop cioppino soup ($11), a polished tomato-based broth which was fairly good, and the sea bream al sale ($29), oven-baked in sea salt and filleted before serving, which turned out to be amazingly juicy and tender. Yummy. Also sampled the poached veal tonnato with fish sauce and capers, and J's risotto nero (squid-ink risotto), which held a firm texture and contained juicy morsels of squid. The risotto is definitely a winner in my book.

The warm dark chocolate crostata tart with milk ice-cream ($12) was a bit too sweet for my liking, but I polished it off anyway (no thanks to J and mother who both bailed after a spoonful each).

Wrap-up: great Italian food, above-average service, upmarket. Nice place for a good dress-up dinner.