90th Day

A quarter of the year has gone by so quickly
What have you done?
What have you achieved?

While almost everyone has been scurrying to finish projects
I haven't had any projects to complete
Except for the daily updating of this blog

What's in store for me in the coming months?
I'm sure it'll be exciting
I can't wait to find out

A Room For Two

We're off for a vacation sometime soon. It's surprising to realise but the hubs and I take vacations twice a year. We didn't take any vacations together last year as the hubs was country bound so he's been itching to take a break, dust off the camera and visit a place we haven't been to.

Suffice to say, between the both of us, there are very little places we haven't been to, either together or with someone else; me after having worked in the travel industry for so many years, getting heaps of opportunity to visit various destinations for educational purposes and him being sent to various destinations for business purposes.

This time we picked a destination out of a 'hat', so to speak, not owning a spinning globe. By the way, I chanced upon a spinning globe while shopping last weekend, about waist high with the stand and everything for a mere $4.5K. Who would spend that amount of money on a spinning globe? I could go on an indulgence vacation for that amount of money.

Anyways, speaking of money, we are on a budget for this vacation, as it's only going to be a week long vacation. But our choices of destinations didn't factor in the budget. After our destination was fished out of the 'hat', we realised that it was going to take a lot of research to fit our budget into the vacation because the air portion itself will more than likely take up 3/4 of the budget!

But all is not lost, scouring the internet for the cheapest air ticket was interesting. If there was a budget carrier who flew somewhere near, we would've taken it and found another way to our destination. We didn't even question the safety issue of carriers from the middle east as they had the most competitive rates. At the end, with the carrier that we booked with, I found that the airport taxes which included a huge chunk of insurance tax was more than the cost of the ticket itself. I never realised how much the taxes have ballooned up from the last time we travelled to that part of the world.

Now the quest for accommodation is up. We only need a place to rest at night, seeing that we'll be walking around aimlessly the rest of the day. A place that has clean sheets and no pet moss in their bathroom. It doesn't have to be a hotel, sometimes hotels are overrated. Where we're headed to, bed and breakfast establishments will do just fine.

Food Blog : Fried potato cubes

Homemade fried potatoes are always the yummiest. I was making one of my favourite dishes today and I guess it's a blessing that I only know how to cook in bulk. This dish will last me for the next three days.

Anyways, I've always liked the way fresh potatoes come out in the medium heat of a shallow fry. The taste is definitely different from the frozen processed potatoes that you can find from the frozen section of a supermarket.

Fried potato cubes

Formula 1 Grand Prix

Today was race day at Albert Park, Melbourne. A surprising win for Mr Button as he started in 6th position. This time I only watched the first 5 laps. It was going to be an interesting race as cars swung out of control at the first bend of the first lap. The safety car was out for two laps after that.

I can still remember when the F1 was held in Adelaide, a city street course. We lived 15 minutes from the city, but because of the way the suburbs surrounding the city was built, no tall buildings, race car sounds could be heard from our garden. I attended a session once with walkabout tickets. It was during Aryton Senna's time. I vaguely remember that there weren't all that many people walking around, could be because it wasn't race day and summer in Adelaide is extremely hot.

Last year, I was given some three day walkabout tickets for the night race in Singapore and the experience was so different. Grant that the weather was still hot and humid as I also watched the Porsche and Aston Martin races which were held in the late afternoon, but the actual race itself was amazing! I think being right next to the racecourse beats any grandstand tickets hands down. Depending on which area you chose to watch from, especially at the bends, cars were literally heading directly towards you. The heart beats a little faster each time you think the driver might just lose control of the car and crash into the safety barrier three feet from where you're standing. Hopefully we'll get free tickets again this year.

Qing Ming Festival

Also known as grave tending day. This year, for the first time in 2500 years, the 5th of April will be a national holiday in China.

Once a year, the Chinese visit columbariums and cemeteries to burn hell money and goods, check that the graves and area around it is neat and clean, plant joss sticks, offer food and wine and send a prayer or thought to their deceased relative. If you'd like to read more about it, Google is your best friend.

As my family is primarily Catholic, I didn't get exposed to this part of the Chinese culture until I got married. It is an interesting festival observed by my in-laws. For me, every year proves to be a little different from the last. I'm always intrigued with the paper goods that people purchase and burn. Other than hell money, there are some pretty interesting paper goods that people send over. Among them a mansion, luxury car with driver, mobile phone, massage chair, branded handbag and laptop. I guess anything you can have on earth, can be created with paper and burned.

I'm always looking out for something new, and couldn't find any new paper goods this year but was surprised when some firecrackers were used at both the columbarium and cemetery. It's a new occurrence this year and I'm sure it won't happen next year as there's a ban on firecrackers... the ban is currently enforced only during the Lunar New Year. As to why anyone would pop some firecrackers at a columbarium or cemetery, my guess is that the deceased relative really loved the sound of firecrackers while they were alive. You can't pop some firecrackers at a columbarium or cemetery hoping to scare evil spirits away, it's their resting place, they might decide to follow you home.

Just an observation, the Chinese believe that when you die, you go to hell. Otherwise you won't be burning hell money, right?

Eyeshadow

Another interesting Facebook advert. Why would anyone need so many eyeshadows? Especially if they're not a professional make-up artist. How long will it take that person to finish using it? I'm amused!

Battlestar Galactica's glitch

It looks like there's going to be a repeat of the technical problems which new tourist attractions go through here in Singapore with Universal Studios Singapore's (USS) highlight, the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster ride. It might be closed for an undetermined amount of time. At least this time the problem was detected before the park opened and not while there were people on the ride, unlike the Singapore Flyer. Roller coasters are frightful machines when the ride's in operation, what more when things go wrong.

I'm sure everyone's wondering how this was not detected prior to the theme park's opening, when they were running all their tests on the various rides. If it's a wear and tear problem, then it's going to cost the theme park a lot of money in order to keep replacing that particular part once a month. I don't think it would be a weather problem... at least not the extreme heat element as we've been experiencing heavy downpours the past couple of weeks. Hmm... maybe it is a water thing.

Oh, well... it's always best to give a new tourist attraction some time to 'settle'. I haven't been on the Singapore Flyer yet and it's been opened for more than a year... or is it two already?! Plus I guess I've been waiting for the construction around the immediate area to complete; a barrage, a city garden and an integrated resort.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Money... it's the root of all evil. Whether you have it or not, it still manages to mess with your plans. Decision making would be a whole lot easier if you just don't have the money. Money to take vacations or purchase things. Especially vacations.

We're due for a vacation sometime soon. The hubs didn't get to travel much the whole of last year due to work commitments. The last vacation we took together was to Hong Kong and Macau, but with my parents tagging along. I don't think I can thoroughly enjoy a vacation if I'm tagging along with people, other than the hubs. I don't mind taking a vacation on my own, because I love to aimlessly wander around a new place. Actually, I don't mind being alone. I've always been alright hanging out by myself. But I need the hubs to tag along as I can't read maps very well. He on the other hand knows things.

Anyways, now that we have a pocket in the calendar where the hubs doesn't have to attend any important meetings, we're stuck on where to go. We've been spinning Google Maps like a globe on a stick, but haven't figured out where we want the globe to stop spinning and point to. We're trying our hardest not to visit places we've been before, which actually limits our selection. We need a new world to take our vacations on!

Food Blog : Dried Mandarin Peels

Healthy snacking. As opposed to snacking on potato chips or any of the amazingly MSG-lined junk food that's out in the market, snacking on dried fruit is considered healthier.

This is one of the local favourites. If you did not grow up in an Asian country or are female, you probably wouldn't like this. The smell of it brings out the saliva in your mouth. The first taste is extreme sour and salty at the same time. Then the sweetness creeps in, after you've relaxed your short-lived-screwed-up-face-to-the-sourness and it's yummy to eat.

They've been known to help soothe your throat when you have a cough or sore throat, it's usually soaked and crushed in warm water, although I haven't tried it. Just the thought of the salt getting to the raw parts of my throat has put me off. But if you're Chinese, you might have tried that or seen someone drink this concoction at some point in time.

Pregnant women might suck on this as a way to get rid of the stale taste in their mouth.

It's also a great accompaniment to fresh cut fruits like the guava or water apple. Cut them into strips, instead of adding the prune powder, to the fruits.

Dried Mandarin Peels

Vacations

I used to be a travel consultant for a travel agency. What exactly does a travel consultant do? They provide you advice on your travels.

Armed with heaps of information, some through repeated ramblings and personal experiences, others through brochures and browsing information through the internet, it was fairly easy for me to sell a destination. Even a destination I hadn't been to. But I think what made the job a little easier was that the customers almost always knew where they wanted to go for their vacation and where they didn't.

Now that I'm on the opposite side of the table... I've been wishing for a GDS (which is an airline reservation system) system to be available to me to search for the cheapest and shortest routes to destinations which I can't get to with just one non-stop flight. Google Maps help a little, but it just takes me longer to do it. Maybe sometimes, the service fees that travel consultants charge is actually justifiable.

Mustafa Shopping Centre

There is a shopping centre here in Singapore that is opened 24 hours a day, close to 365 days a year. And they sell almost everything under the sun! Groceries, toiletries, clothes, jewellery, accessories, cars, electronic goods, money exchange and the list goes on!

It's been a few years since I last stepped into it. Only because it's out of the way, in a suburb called Little India. I remember the first time I visited it, I was extremely impressed with all the goods available for purchase and the pricing was a little cheaper or at par with what the going rate was elsewhere. The walking path among all the goods is narrow, enough for two people to pass by at an angle while someone stops to peer at the goods on either side. I can't believe they're able to stock so many things under one roof. Due to its overwhelming tourist and locals alike luring abilities, the whole building was recently reported as a fire-safety violation. I can just imagine the possibility of being stuck in there in an emergency, it's that packed! But they've managed to control the number of people entering the building, so it remains open and it's still as crowded as ever.

Anyways, I brought a friend there today and she shopped her heart out! I think if she didn't have to worry about the time or her aching joints, she would have spent more time sifting through all the thousands of styles available for little boys too. We managed to find heaps of lovely dresses for little one year old baby girls. Cute designs at extremely reasonable prices (about half what you would pay in the city) and after three hours, we only managed to walk around one area of the building. We didn't even venture to the jewellery section!

It's a must visit for everyone and I think I'll keep taking my guests there. Probably not on a Sunday though... that's when most of the foreign workers are given the day off and flock to Mustafa to shop and enjoy the air-condition.

Food Blog : Popeye's

A few years ago if you needed to have fried chicken in Singapore you would've only thought of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), because they were the only fast food joint serving fried chicken. We used to do that, but less frequently than we had cravings for as they don't cook their chicken very well. Most of the drumsticks and thigh parts still sport bright red bits or dark red bits near the bone.

MacDonald's tried to introduce fried chicken to their menu, but that didn't last very long. Currently they only serve the drumlet and mid-wing portion on their menu. So KFC has been the one fast food joint we could get fried chicken from. That is until Popeye's opened a branch here.

Their first branch was opened at the airport. It was a bit of a drive to get to, from where we live, but sometimes we'll make the trip just to satisfy our fried chicken fix. They currently have 3 branches here in Singapore, two at the airport and one at the Singapore Flyer (which is Singapore's answer to the London Eye)

The chicken is evenly marinated, crispy on the outside, evenly cooked on the inside, juicy and mildly spicy. They serve yummy cajun fries and are not afraid to add more than cabbage to their coleslaw. A little on the pricey side, but you do get delicious fried chicken for what you pay for.

Popeye's Fried Chicken

Deep Blue Sea

I don't really know why, but this is one of my favourite movies.
Could it be because of Thomas Jane's muscular torso? Maybe...
Or the Orca-like killer sharks? Scarily fascinating creatures...

Anyways, the movie, if you haven't watched it, is about a group of scientists who might have found the cure for Alzheimer's by breeding their own sharks and harvesting their brain juice. Of course, the bigger the shark, the more brain juice. Ah... but the bigger the brain, the more intelligent the shark gets.

Favourite scenes:
Thomas Jane swimming with a harmless shark trying to get the license plate unstuck
Stellan Skarsgard's hand getting ripped off
Samuel L Jackson gets eaten alive... without any warning

Blood and gore... that's what I like. I wonder if there's an uncensored version.

Opening Days

Universal Studios Singapore (USS) opens today... and it's raining at the moment.

I've always been to theme parks where the weather is not humid. When it was announced that Universal Studios will open a branch here, no one really knew what the sustainability of USS would be. Like when the Singapore Flyer was opened (that's a replica of the London Eye, if you're wondering). It was met with some anticipation, not a lot as there were heaps of construction going on surrounding the area and a month or two into the opening, they had to shut the whole thing down due to some nut or bolt notwithstanding the heat.

So USS is a smaller theme park, it's only opened from 9am to 6pm. There is one roller-coaster track with two types of rides, one sitting, one hanging. You could probably finish the whole park in half a day, barring any queues and I don't know if I want to try it out. It's hot and humid here in Singapore. Ice cream melts the moment it leaves the dispenser.

Maybe I'll give it a year...

Overcapacity

This is the first time this message has popped up. Such a cute whale!
Does this mean that Twitter is now the 'in' thing?

Overcapacity

Snapshot was taken from Twitter.

Nobody by Wonder Girls

I grew up listening to songs from the late eighties early nineties. Lyrics then had some meaning... then came the naughties and all the lyrics started to not have much meaning. Something must have happened to the song writers.

Now that we're in the tenties, I've started to look for alternative songs to listen to and to me, Korean pop has made it bigger than Canto pop. Maybe I'm just a little slow on the uptake. Grant that I have to look up the english translation for most of the songs as I don't speak much Korean, but you can half guess that most of them are about love. There's almost always a 'sarang' in the song somewhere. Anyways, catchy tunes and really, really, 'chongmallo', interesting dance steps! Most of the singers are in groups of 5 at least, boy bands, girl bands. Not to mention the cute factor in both the guys and girls as they're all YOUNG, oh, so young.

The song of the month is Nobody by Wonder Girls. I'm sure there are others but I keep hearing this being played at the shopping malls. So far, this is the most interesting video of the song. Tells you something at the end... remember to check the toilet roll!

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Wonder+Girls/track/Nobody

Shabu-Shabu dinners

Ever since coming back from Japan about 18 months ago, the hubs and I have been reminiscing about the food, especially a Shabu-Shabu (S-S) dinner which we had in Osaka. For those of you who are not sure as to what a S-S dinner entails, it's one where you gently swish pieces of thinly sliced meats into a boiling pot of water. It's similar to the concept of the Chinese steamboat or hot pot.

What was special about this particular meal is the soup stock. We're very certain that what was presented to us was just plain water. Feeling a little cheated as a chicken or pork soup base is always served, we went on with the dinner, placing pieces of vegetables, mushroom, tofu and slices of meats into the pot. At the end, after cooking and eating all the raw ingredients, the soup left in the pot was surprisingly tasty! Was it the kind of meat? Vegetables? We didn't add any salt, pepper or soy sauce into the soup.

So we've been trying to recreate that whole experience and I think we've nearly done it. After a long hiatus, it's the second week of our S-S dinners and we're quite impressed with the end result The soup is surprisingly thick and a myriad of tastes hits you as you slurp it.

The pot is also a major factor in the yummy-ness of the soup. There are only the two of us to feed, so we decided to buy a smaller pot. I think on the bigger pot, there is too much water to the ratio of meats and vegetables the both of us can consume leaving us with tasteless soup.

We've got another two rounds this week. Hopefully it will only get better and I'll remember what was added to the soup in the right amounts.

B grade movies

Lazy weekend again. Spent nearly every minute at home, sleeping *grin* Ah... it's great to be able to do that. But as a consequence, I'm still wide awake at this time of night.

Tired of surfing the net, no real topic to search for at the moment, I turned on the telly and decided to pick the channel with the least amount of advertisement breaks, Star Movies. There's truly nothing entertaining to watch in the middle of the night. I wonder why they don't put on good movies after midnight. Maybe we should really switch to digital telly, having the choice of watching what we want, when we want, would be great.

Wyvern : The story was about a lizard-like flying animal, something akin to a dragon, without the smoke puffing thing. It has decided to kill the residents of a remote village, and keep their bodies as nourishment for its three eggs when they hatch. A stranger comes back to town after a long hiatus and saves the day. Very unbelievable. The whole story was rushed through. I think the producers over-cut the film. I was expecting another creature to appear after the first one was killed, but none came. How did the eggs get fertilised? How come it was so easy for the wyvern to get killed? Yeah, it stuck its head inside the semi-trailer just before the road ended, plunging to its death.

Lava Storm : An earlier version of one of my favourite movie, Volcano. No volcanic eruption, but lava starts to come through from under a water basin and ruin everything in its path. I didn't stay up to watch the end, because the storyline was rushed through and very unbelievable. I already knew what's going to happen in the end. Everyone lives. Maybe it's the fault of the actors, or the casting. Ian Zerring was one of the lead actors. I remember him from 90210, the original series. He was playing a teenager then, I guess it's been enough years between then and now that he can be cast to play the father of two teenage kids.

There's a reason they are called B grade movies and the actors, B grade actors.

Parental Guidance 101

I was looking through some plates and bowls in an emporium of sorts today and I overheard the following conversation

Mom : Why did you go off like that?
[Kid starts to bawl]
Mom : Do you know how hard it is to look for you?
Kid : I want daddy!
Mom : Go, go to your father
[Father walks into the picture]
Dad : Why did you disappear like that?
[Kid is still bawling]
Dad : You're short, how am I going to find you?
[Kid doesn't stop bawling]
Dad : What would you do if mom and dad went home? How would you go home?

That made me look up. I usually don't pay attention to parents when they discipline their children, but this one takes the cake! The parents would actually not remember that they brought their child with them. I guess being a parent is not inbuilt. You'd have to learn as you go along. How frightening for us kids!

Anthems

The local government has recently mentioned that all new applicants for citizenship would have to go through a basic course which I think covers a little bit of history, some language skills and to learn the national pledge and anthem. That's actually not much to ask, but I'm sure there will be some groaning. Although, there are some nationals, who've lived here all their lives, who don't know the meaning behind the anthem, only because it's in its national language which happens to be Malay.

For those who grew up attending school here, it wouldn't be all that difficult to remember the pledge or the national anthem. You almost sing it everyday during assembly, if not once a week. Yes, you sometimes mumble through it, but you roughly remember the words... even if it's all at the back of your mind.

I remember growing up in Malaysia, on top of the national anthem and pledge, we had to memorise the state anthem plus the school pledge. The national anthem was sung more often than the national pledge was said. As such, I don't even remember the national pledge.

Anyways, at one point in time, we had to relearn the state anthem as we were making up words or mispronouncing them. It was hilarious.

For all you Selangor folks, here is the state anthem:
Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Selamat di atas takhta
Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku
Rakyat mohon restu bawah Duli Tuanku
Bahagia selama-lamanya
Aman dan sentosa
Duli Yang Maha Mulia

vBlogging

There are various ways to blog. Ever since the concept was invented, people found all sorts of sites to post their thoughts and views. Some even earn money from it, providing their readership increased, which means you'd have to think and write interesting things. Others, like me, just want to pen down thoughts. You never realise how many thoughts go through your head until you wonder, in the middle of the day, what you should write in your next blog.

Anyways, I was searching the web for something, I can't for the life of me think what it is now, it was such a long time ago, and I chanced upon this vBlog. Here's taking blogging to another level. I think the reason why I keep going back is the quality of her videos. How she takes the time to piece it all together, it's a joy to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/user/communitychannel

Food Blog : Coconut Macaroons

One of my favourite biscuits. Only because I like coconut. And I like most desserts with coconut as an ingredient, topping or sauce.

This particular brand of cookies started out in Australia and they have a branch open at the basement of the Takashimaya shopping centre.

Coconut Macaroons from cookieman

Impulse Purchases

There's a little in all of us. Probably more in me than others.

Supermarkets have learnt to place interesting things along the checkout counter. They are items available within the supermarket, but people might not think to buy them from their aisle.

Then there are the big items. Sometimes an impulse purchase might just be the right item to buy. I've been long complaining about how I hate ironing. I guess if I'm living in a cold country, I wouldn't mind. But it's humid over here, coupled with the steam from the iron, it's like standing in a sauna. Sometimes it gets so hot that I have three fans blowing at me, or I'll be dripping sweat all over the clean clothes.

I wasn't even thinking of upgrading or changing. The previous washer is only 3 years old, but after the first wash... I didn't have to iron any of the shirts that came out of it! Talk about miraculous. Now I just have to look out for easy-care cotton clothes and I might never have to iron ever again.

Our impulse purchase

The Washer

I grew up with the top loader washing machine. It has always been the washing machine in my house. Naturally when I got older, I never thought about what front loaders could do and when I got my own place, I went along with whatever washer that came with the place, so far, it's been the top loader.

Top loaders are generally much cheaper as compared to front loaders (by about 3 to 4 times), but top loaders have been known to destroy your clothes. Clothes come out almost dry from a top loader, but a bit wet from a front loader. That's because the spin cycle for top loaders can go up to 1800 rpm. That's insane! It's like an internal wringer. Clothes come out all tangled up and you'd have to pry them apart before hanging them. Oh, I had privy to a dryer once and think that they're overrated in countries near the equator. Besides, they take up too much electricity.

Top loaders need to fill the drum with water, before being able to wash the clothes. Front loaders spin the drum as the water is splashed through the clothes (I had a fun time sitting in front of the front loader watching it work!)

Top loaders somehow feedback dust particles into the drum, even with their magic filter, and your clothes have a fine layer of dust on it. In a front loader, every tiny particle stuck onto your clothes is siphoned out of the drum together with the water.

Some shirts do not require ironing after coming out of a front loader... that's the best bit of a front loader. So if you're thinking of purchasing a new washer and haven't been using a front loader, go for it. It will set you back a bit, but the joys in owning one outweighs the angst of facing another wrinkle-causing-dust-catching top loader.

Food Blog : Banana Chips

As an alternative to the potato chip, various countries have come up with fruit chips. They are great to munch on and comes across as healthy. I've tried some pretty yummy apple chips from western countries, it retains the sourness of the apple and is great for curbing one's "itchy" mouth between meals.

But nothing can beat the way the Malaysians fry their fruit chips. These ones are a variation to the banana chip. Where they are normally cut thickly width-wise, these are cut thinly length-wise and lightly salted.

Banana Chips

Morbid Thoughts : Births & Deaths

I was doing some research online (I love living in this century as I don't have to chug down to a library, scour the encyclopedias or micro-finches, although... I love the smell of old books, for this information.) about deaths, relative to births and the following thoughts crept in

i ~ Governments encourage births with monetary bonuses
ii ~ Dying costs less than birthing
iii ~ The upkeep of a dead person is a whole lot less than a living one
iv ~ Pictures are taken at a birth, memories are sketchy at funerals
v ~ Major plans are happily disrupted for births, begrudgingly cast aside for deaths
vi ~ Birthing rate is on average at least twice the dying rate
vii ~ After birth, your first poo is one of the happiest moments

Similarities
i ~ You get a new home... upon birth and death
ii ~ Tears are shed... one happy, one sad
iii ~ Minimal motor control just after birth, just before death
iv ~ Both incidents bring friends and family together
v ~ Life as you know it, will never be the same again

Here are a couple of interesting sites:
http://www.hammeruncut.com/realtime-death-toll-counter/
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/population/

Watching the counters move in China is fascinating!

Fried Wonton Noodles

I had the weirdest albeit surprisingly yummy lunch today. After running an errand at Jurong Point, I settled on having some noodles for lunch. I usually don't like Char Siew (which is a heavily marinated grilled pork loins dish) because not all places know how to marinate it well enough that there's no pork taste to it and it has to have bits of fat and tendon within the meat, and not just be a dry piece of meat.

Anyways, I didn't think that it would be yummy, after purchasing it, so there was no picture taken, but I will take a picture and post it the next time I have it. The Char Siew wasn't dry and I kept wondering why there wasn't a pork taste to it. Halfway through the meal, it dawns on me. I bought this from a food court where every store is halal. The meat I was tasting was chicken. It was marinated to look like "Char Siew" plus it was chicken thigh. That's why it was so yummy. The fried wonton was made of minced chicken and it had crispy water chestnut in it too. *yum*

A twist to the original Fried Wonton Noodles. Two :thumbs up:!

Morbid Thoughts : Family

When I first started to think about this post, I was sitting through a wake and there were all sorts of thoughts running through my head. I can't believe that my brain still works faster than I can type. I wonder how the legendary writers from before the typewriter days did their writing! Maybe that's why my teachers always told me to write in point form first, it will help with the composition later. I've never been one to listen during class, so if my writing sounds haphazard, that's just the way my brain works.

Anyways, onwards with the blog.

I guess I'll start with Family. Death is part and parcel of life. You can't escape it, even if you're a vampire. The time you spend living is gazillion times longer than dying. Some might even say that the moment you are conceived, you're counting down the days to your death. Morbid.

Death comes painful to some, a relief to some. Sometimes death hurts the family more than the person experiencing the death itself. The bigger the family, the more pain is felt. I won't want to be the last one standing. Maybe that's one of the reasons I'm keeping my family small.

Planning a funeral brings people together. I've been lucky to have been privy to a few different kinds of funerals, both Western and Eastern. For the Easterners, a wake is held for relatives and friends to bid the deceased a final good-bye, safe journey and hopefully onward to a better life. Relatives and friends whom you haven't seen in the longest time turn up for the wake, food and drinks are served and like weddings, a great way for the living to catch up well into the night.

The funeral itself, being a somber event, is something akin to a send off at the airport. Prayers are said, words are said, tears are shed, thoughts are sent and these days, the entire coffin is loaded into the incinerator.

Time moves again for the family, the event is over. Belongings are packed, kept, thrown and in time, forgotten. Someone's left the house... till we meet again.

Killing the Kettle

I should probably change the title, shouldn't I? The hubs will wonder if it was intentional and not accidental.

We usually boil our water, wait for it to cool and then drink it. When I was living in Malaysia, I think I used to drink the water straight from the tap. I vaguely remember that boiled water was only for the thermos flasks. While I was living in Australia, I drank water straight from the tap. Nowadays, my parents have fixed a filter, so we don't drink tap water, per se, anymore. But in Singapore, I boil the water, wait for it to cool then drink that. By the way, the water in each of the countries taste very, very different. Every time I go back to Australia, it takes me a couple of days to get used to the water again.

Anyways, I decided to give the inside of our kettle a scrub this morning, the water was actually starting to smell funny. We usually use a descaler, which is a chemical solution that's added to your boiled water that makes the limescale magically disappear. I think it didn't work the last time... maybe it's because the weather these days is too hot and the water that gets piped through has taken some melted bits from the various pipes. I try not to think of all the weird things that live in pipes. Yes, boiling the tap water saves my mind from going into overdrive.

So while scrubbing the kettle, I noticed that the plastic was cracked at some places. Hmm... time to get a new kettle. We've probably had this for close to five years. Kettles should be changed every five years. And I was thinking of the kettles that we used to have, as in when I was little. There was no auto-stop mechanism, only a whistle, and you'd have to physically turn it off. Did we keep that kettle for more than 10 years? I remember that it was made out of stainless steel. Maybe stainless steel kettles do not get scaly.

Meanwhile, I must have got the switch a little wet and it short-circuited just as the second round of boiling was starting. This caused the wall sockets around the house to trip and kind of crashed the internet. Luckily I didn't have any assignments to hand in or needed to send an urgent email somewhere.

Bye-bye, kettle, you've served us well for the past 5 years!

Food Blog : Chocolate Rice Roll

Out of all the chocolate cakes I've ever tasted, this is still the best and fortunately the least expensive. At $1.50 a slice, from the Polar Cafe, it's enough for dessert without overfilling your tummy. The cake itself is light, not overly sweet and the chocolate rice is the best bits of the cake!

Chocolate Rice Roll

Lose to Win

Nowadays, people pay you to lose weight. I love this century!
Snapshot taken from FB