Heap of Words

I started blogging when blogging was still in its infancy, back in the day in 1995 in the UNSW computer lab. Sounds like such a long time ago. Ah, those carefree days of being focused on doing one thing and not having to worry about much else, is as they say, over. What came out of that was a whole heap of words piled upon words, and soon the words that came after the initial first words became less meaningful and impactful, and I realised and came to terms that not every word need to have profound meaning, but it was more important for me to put them into words.

And then it came to a point where those words could be homed and placed somewhere that I could always return home to. This is where home really is for these words and for them to continue to exist in this void that is the internet. This old grand dame of zeros and ones.

I am quite bugged out by the irresponsible placement of google ads, and I will do something about it. Maybe shove them discreetly into one corner. Reading my own content has become somewhat of a land mine. I miss those days when content was ad free, I think I will do that. And find some other way to gather support to continue funding this home of words.

Watch Strap Stink

The stink from my watch strap is killing me. It’s an Apple Watch too! Unbelievable. But like all things rubber, the reaction with sweat results in an unmistakable stink. How I wish I don’t have this problem, but it seems to be quite persistent. The salty sweat stink is bothering me and I can’t seem to get rid of it.

So I went to buy a new watch strap and solved the problem.

Cabinet Reshuffle

I have also embarked on reshuffling my kitchen cabinet, as PM Lee also just announced today his slate of ministers. Of course his is a higher level reshuffling whereas my idea of a reshuffle is to facilitate easier access to the items that I need when I need it.

To me a cabinet reshuffle would allow me to have better access to the resources that would allow me to quickly address the challenges that I may have going on in my kitchen. The moment I open my cabinet, I know exactly the resources to deploy to meet the needs of the moment.

Omakase

I love omakase. The thought of having an expensive meal meticulously prepared for me mysteriously just intrigues me. The meal takes the all important decision making burden out of my hands as I place my trust wholly into the hands of the professional sushi chef.

I never knew this before, but in an authentic Omakase meal, the salmon fish is not considered premium. One of the most premium items would be fatty tuna or tuna belly. I totally love that.

Are More Retrenchments Coming?

Much has been said about the dulling economy and the impending slew of retrenchments that is coming our way. The challenge here would be to flatten the curve before we experience these spikes. Much like the COVID-19 efforts of the government to ensure that the spikes in number of COVID-19 infections are well controlled, likewise, spikes in unemployment within the economy should also be smoothen, to allow for newly unemployed persons to be matched with suitable jobs so as to transit them seamlessly.

Would the creation of COVID resistant jobs be the answer to the million dollar question? What kinds of jobs are resilient enough and can thrive in an uncertain economy? As they say, the problems of tomorrow cannot be solved with the solutions of today. What paradigm shifts of mindsets would help us combat this uphill batter?

Is it just a case of re-skilling the workforce with new knowhow to fit new jobs? Would investment into R&D to create these new services be the answer to transit workers with suitable transferable skills? Would government aid help to tide over the short-to-medium term structural unemployment?

Would technology enable us to create new income streams against conventional ways of making money. Would we see the birth of the new Tik Tok celebrity or YouTube sensation? Would rank and file retrenched workers have the creative resolve to innovate beyond their troubled circumstances?

That remains to be seen.

Dig and Flick

Ho Sim Lang

Nothing is as shiok as digging nose in privacy, but recently I realised that it is even more shiok to dig nose wherever you like. To be able to dig nose whenever, is real living.

I have always wondered, why digging nose is so exhilarating, and to be honest, I am not sure. But not knowing is also part of the excitement. It’s really interesting because everyday I would have some booger developed along the sides of my nasal cavity, and everyday I get to have a shiok feeling of digging the booger or pi sai in hokkien language in Singapore.

Digging nose is one of the cheapest thrills in this part of the world. Last time when I drove my uncle’s car — I borrowed it from him — I used to dig my nose at the traffic lights. It was also about that time that I realised that everyone digs their noses at the traffic lights. It’s like the national past time. Could it be the air-conditioning blowing too hard into our nostrils that’s causing the semi-moist boogers within the lining of the nasal cavity to harden and become slightly itchy? Maybe. Or maybe we are lulled into thinking that the time frame while waiting for the traffic lights to change is good opportunity for a good heartfelt dig.

I don’t really know, but it’s super shiok when I dig a nose one out, and it is semi-dry and still malleable and clay-like. I can dig and flick, which is the next best thing to digging. The flicking action of priming the pinky with the flesh of the thumb gives it that extra flexible action like a catapult, and there it goes! Flying cast into the wind and letting it fly unfettered towards whichever direction that you want it to go. It’s a very carefree feeling.

It’s like sharing your love with someone else.

There was once I was with the wifey and the son and we were waiting for the lift to come in Shanghai China and I felt the great need to do as the romans do, and I reached in and dug out a semi-moist piece only to be discovered by the wifey because the son shouted to her and sabo me. In my hurried guilty state, I did a quick dig and flick and the booger flew and landed on my wifey’s chick.

I nearly died. The son laughed so loud, I almost couldn’t bear to open my eyes. It had landed on the round of my wifey’s lovely cheeks. Semi-moist and lime greenish due to the intense pollution in the dusty air.

Surprisingly, she half-screamed and gave me a icy cold death stare before all of us broke out in rapturous laughter because the son was so amused by the quick dig and flick that landed so horribly on my wife’s face. It was so funny, I didn’t dare to do another dig and flick for the entire trip. Just glad to be alive.

Let Nature Walk You

We have recently started walking into the many nature parks in Singapore and it’s no surprise that many have also embarked on their little treks around the island. Interestingly, there are quite a lot of nature parks for us to wander around.

We were at Lower Pierce Reservoir Park just over the weekend and came across a beautiful stink bug, a baby wild boar, a cricket, a large school of water boatmen, a spider, a snake head fish, a squirrel which scared me silly, a terrapin that took a peek out of the water to see who we were, an interesting electric blue dragonfly that I didn’t managed to capture using my iPhone 11 Pro. I have always thought the iPhone 11 Pro was a camera marvel, I guess I was wrong. The image came out blurry and all I could see was the fuzzy electric hue of the insect.

I was decked out in my brand new evadict trail running jacket, and my evadict trail running shirt, and I was literally melting. Look good, but might be a little of an overkill. In a sense, everyone seems to be trying to outdo everyone else, walking with the latest trail gear money could buy that would have otherwise been invested in that holiday away. Alas, everyone’s stuck at home on sunny island.

We found a little piece of trail that had almost nobody walking while we were there. The Venus Loop at Windsor Nature Park. A small and narrow trail, that most would shun, but it was a gem. The trail was rocky, and uneven, and sometimes, eerie, but it was precious and priceless. Kind of like having nature walk you as a guide.

Lo-Fi Muse #19-001

Lo-fi musings

See

A customer service officer was attending to a senior and realised that she was using an iphone X .

CSO: “hello Madam, I see that you are a smartphone user! That’s great, you would need to download our app to access the full range of information.”

Senior: “app? What app?!” (Senior glancing at her phone)

CSO: “you got to go to the App Store and search for the app and..”

Senior: “wait wait, I don’t know what you are talking about. I use this phone to call my Daughter only..”

CSO: “There.. thereee.. ” (pointing to the phone) you got to go to your App Store and then search for our app and then download it. It’s easy. All the information will be there after that.”

Senior: “Wait wait. Where is this store? How do I get there? And what is this App that you keep referring to?!

CSO: “erm, the apps on your iPhone?”

Senior: “this?! (Shaking the iphone) For your information young man, my Daughter gave me this so that she can call me.”

Think

Communication is not a one-way street, active listening is involved, and if we don’t listen in to the people around us, how do we then create products that people would buy? How do we channel the right information to our customers? How do we meet the needs of our customers?

Act

What would you do differently?

Fighting the email monster

“It’s fierce.” Those are the words of a seasoned traveler. And it doesn’t wait for you to touch down. It just keeps coming until your email quota bursts.

Speak Right

Speaking right is important because it shows your beliefs and your stand on matters arising. Furthermore, the odds of you saying the wrong things are also lowered.

So what happens when you have to mix with people who have different values or beliefs from you? Well, there is such a thing as non-conforming, and keeping to a standard.

So if my friends swear, I would usually not participate. Why not you might say? Why yes is what I would say. Simple reason is I have very little compulsion to swear.

The fact is, I use my mouth to praise Jesus. And I use it to speak good things. So to use it to swear, is not very smart in my opinion. Anyway, your choice.

Being Sick

When you’re sick, it messes with you. My mind loses reality and all that self-condemnation and fear gets intermingled with the fake reality that messes up our confidence in Jesus.

Yet, the reality is, our standing in Jesus has not changed, but our perception of reality has become somewhat warped due to the emotional imbalance of being sick. Our mind loses control of our bodies. We become enslaved to the running nose and itchy skin and woozy feeling of drowsiness. The meds meant to help you are partly causing you to hallucinate and messes up your thoughts.

I know when I get well, my thoughts will be calibrated and my mind in its right place – with Jesus. The beauty of not being in the right state of emotional wellness, Jesus is there with us all the way. Keeping us safe and sound, like now, in my state of semi consciousness I am conscious of my standing in Christ.

Eat Out Better

Eat Out Better

These days I haven’t had the inspiration to cook, partly because by the time I get back, it is already that kind of timing. Fighting rush hour, fighting time, fighting other rush hour commuters fighting you. 

By the time I am back I have no time to ponder and consider what I need or want to cook for the night. No time for Creative inspired ideas. It’s straight into the OR (operating room) and start washing, chopping, cutting and drying the ingredients. 

So I thought I should plan my menu way ahead, separate the Creative process and give it the space that it needs. Plan simple; cook simple and maybe in the process save some money. 

Here goes:

Menu 

Tuesday:

Dishes: abc soup, tua cai & snapper

Ingredients: 1 x corn, 1 x carrot, 2 medium tomatoes, 250 grams ribs, 1 x tua cai, garlic, dried shrimps, 1 x snapper, ginger, chicken stock, leeks, onions, chinese sausages, hakka wine

Thursday:

Dishes: kiam chye duck soup, minced pork with sichuan veg, fried egg with scallops

Ingredients: half a duck, tomatoes, preserved plums, kiam chye, 3 x tomatoes, ginger, garlic, minced pork, sichuan veg, eggs, chinese scallops

Friday:

Dishes: stir fry frogs, sautéed mushrooms, celery & minced pork, prawns in tomato sauce

Ingredients: 2 x frogs, spring onions, ginger, oyster sauce, sesame seed oil, cornstarch, button mushrooms, minced pork, Australian celery, large prawns, tomato ketchup, garlic

Shopping list:

1 x corn

1 x carrot

5 x tomatoes

250 grams pork ribs

Half a duck

500 grams kiam chye 

Preserved plums 

500 grams ginger

500 grams garlic

Tomato ketchup 

$5 minced pork

Sichuan veg 

6 x large prawns 

Oyster sauce

Australian celery

2 x frogs

Punnet of button mushrooms

Cornflour

Spring onions

Tua cai 

Dried shrimps 

Chinese scallops

Hakka rice wine 

Chinese sausages

Leeks

Chicken stock

1 x snapper

Medium onions

Eggs

Light soya sauce
Ah forget it lah. Eat Out Better.

This is the story of the little boy 

This is the story of the little boy and his power ranger toy and the other toy which I can’t be bothered to remember. So anyway, he was playing with this other toy so much that he neglected the power ranger toy that was in his hands. 

The question was what was so fascinating about the power ranger toy that he needed it and why did he needed the other toy?

No one knows. 

Julie Julia and Me

Julie Julia and Me

I hesitated too much, way too much for my own good. And when it is time to act, the opportunity is often over and the moment has passed. One of the reasons why I started this food blog was the movie Julie Julia featuring Amy and Meryl. I totally loved the story, and it resonated well with my passion of cooking.

And then I thought, “why not write a food blog”, and chronicle my experiences as a servant-less home cook, trying out recipes and venturing to make them my own. It will be all about my journey in the kitchen, preparing and cooking wonderful dishes.

Each time I watch re-runs of the movie Julie Julia, I am instantly inspired, happy, and at peace with myself. And I am reminded of why I often end my recipes with the classic “Bon Appetit!” – as Julia would say. Looking back in retrospect, I am indeed deeply inspired by the movie more than the book.

Blah.

 

Nothing Beats Ink and Paper (Musing)

image

Nothing Beats Ink and Paper (Musing)

That’s right. To be able to write words with ugly handwriting is a forgotten pleasure. To write wrong words and crossing cancelling striking them out, a rare luxury.

No spell check typos. Just plain ugly handwriting. No backspace delete or spacebar tabs. Just printed ink on parchment. Truly a delight. Nothing beats ink and paper.

The Value of Being Random

There is nothing more satisfying than the ability to be random. That being said and done, of course it takes certain genius and much effort to be consistently random. Plus, you would need to have the all sensitive element of time as well. That is well and truly challenging.