it is the national day season and i am feeling patriotic. besides, if i wrote a glowing enough piece, maybe i would get a pay raise :P
it probably is my age now, but i am not feeling half as footloose as i used to be. i guess, i have been to enough countries to feel somewhat less curious about what the world out there is like. and frankly, after it all, i do feel...it is rather good to be a singaporean.
of course things could be better. there is always room for improvement. we don't have the terracotta army or polo buns. we could be less kiasu, more gracious. less demanding, more generous. we should complain less and smile more. oh yes, things could be better. but think again, things could be much worse too.
having been squashed on tokyo trains and left stranded by striking subway workers in London, i do appreciate our comfortable and reliable MRT. after shopping through a major street in HK, both little fish and me fell ill because of air pollution, so, never take the clean air back home for granted. there aren't many developed countries in the world that offer cheap freshly cooked food either. you just have to make do with cold sandwiches, even in winter :P . and there are some countries that you simply mustn't fall ill in. the list could go on, but i don't want to sound jingoistic. suffice to say, after travelling, i feel quite glad to see the 'Welcome Home' sign at changi airport.
there is only one other country in the world which i really wanted to live in - New Zealand, of the Lord of the Rings beauty. it looks picture perfect from every angle. in fact, i wanted to marry a New Zealander just so that i could migrate there. but here is the irony. the country has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
so, what exactly makes an ideal country?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Home
phew, a breath of fresh air back home.
It does feel good to be able to breath freely again. not sure if it is a sign of environment damage, in Xian and Beijing, but everything is covered by dust, and after a day out in the open, we all feel very well powdered.
after days of listening to tall tales about palace intrigue, foolish emperors and evil eunuchs, i feel strangely disoriented. spent most of the morning sorting out my spoils from China and reading my mail.
MYSTERY OF SILK STREET
tuesday morning, bright and early, we followed the map and navigated ourselves to a place where Silk Street was. it was a street filled with stalls, selling all kinds of imitation goods and curios. try as we might, we just couldn't find the place. finally, we asked someone where Silk Street was, and to our dismay, the local pointed to a shopping centre.
Apparently, the central authority cleaned up the whole street and put everyone into a building! now, that quite destroys the charm of shopping at street stalls, in the open. who wants to go to yet another shopping centre? sigh...modernisation.
V (formerly known as Bedi) and i gave up shopping after a while because all our renminbi ran out. we decided to shell out exhorbitant prices for drinks at a nice cafe and people-watch. the cafe was clearly local-run, and guess wat, a starbucks imitation. it calls itself Spr, and looks, well, just like starbucks, complete with the green logo. think they call it globalisation, China style :P a coffee costs RMB 35, which can pay for a meal for 2 at a restaurant in Beijing.
A phenomenon at Food Street, Wangfujing: HUMAN DUSTBINS
my friends, i know it's rather mean to say that people are dustbins, but that is what they are doing in Food Street. there are many stalls selling all kinds of food to tourists, and inevitably, a lot of food is wasted because people order more than they can finish.
so people stand beside the real dustbins, so that they can take over the unwanted food to eat. sometimes they also rummage the dustbins for edible scraps. it's very sad to be in such a state. i bought a stick of deepfried crabs which tasted horrible, so i wanted to throw it away uneaten. and this old lady simply took it from my hand and ate it.
It does feel good to be able to breath freely again. not sure if it is a sign of environment damage, in Xian and Beijing, but everything is covered by dust, and after a day out in the open, we all feel very well powdered.
after days of listening to tall tales about palace intrigue, foolish emperors and evil eunuchs, i feel strangely disoriented. spent most of the morning sorting out my spoils from China and reading my mail.
MYSTERY OF SILK STREET
tuesday morning, bright and early, we followed the map and navigated ourselves to a place where Silk Street was. it was a street filled with stalls, selling all kinds of imitation goods and curios. try as we might, we just couldn't find the place. finally, we asked someone where Silk Street was, and to our dismay, the local pointed to a shopping centre.
Apparently, the central authority cleaned up the whole street and put everyone into a building! now, that quite destroys the charm of shopping at street stalls, in the open. who wants to go to yet another shopping centre? sigh...modernisation.
V (formerly known as Bedi) and i gave up shopping after a while because all our renminbi ran out. we decided to shell out exhorbitant prices for drinks at a nice cafe and people-watch. the cafe was clearly local-run, and guess wat, a starbucks imitation. it calls itself Spr, and looks, well, just like starbucks, complete with the green logo. think they call it globalisation, China style :P a coffee costs RMB 35, which can pay for a meal for 2 at a restaurant in Beijing.
A phenomenon at Food Street, Wangfujing: HUMAN DUSTBINS
my friends, i know it's rather mean to say that people are dustbins, but that is what they are doing in Food Street. there are many stalls selling all kinds of food to tourists, and inevitably, a lot of food is wasted because people order more than they can finish.
so people stand beside the real dustbins, so that they can take over the unwanted food to eat. sometimes they also rummage the dustbins for edible scraps. it's very sad to be in such a state. i bought a stick of deepfried crabs which tasted horrible, so i wanted to throw it away uneaten. and this old lady simply took it from my hand and ate it.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Get the ads coming
i just don't get enough hits on this blog. in fact, little fish says that my blog is downright boring, but i figure that this isn't the reason. what kind of blogs get the most attention? those that write sensationally about sex, or food. it looks like cyberspace citizens only like to gratify their basest instincts. so when a blog muses on issues of philosophy and current affairs, nobody is going to read it.
fine, if this is the way things are going to be, guess i have to be more pragmatic, and give the audience what they want. be warned. what is written below is R(21) material.
Fatal Attraction
She sees him and he sees her.
they do it, and so she is going to get pregnant.
Then she eats him up because there is no more need for him to stay around.
there, you depraved lot! i hope you are happy now! the sex life of spiders is exciting, isn't it? this entry is all sex and and violence and food. what more can anyone ask for? think google is going to put some ads on my blog soon :P
fine, if this is the way things are going to be, guess i have to be more pragmatic, and give the audience what they want. be warned. what is written below is R(21) material.
Fatal Attraction
She sees him and he sees her.
they do it, and so she is going to get pregnant.
Then she eats him up because there is no more need for him to stay around.
there, you depraved lot! i hope you are happy now! the sex life of spiders is exciting, isn't it? this entry is all sex and and violence and food. what more can anyone ask for? think google is going to put some ads on my blog soon :P
Monday, March 26, 2007
Goodbye
it is always difficult to say goodbye
and so i didn't.
they say that a modern city slicker meets more people in one day than an ancient rural dweller met in his whole life. i think it must be true. so many people come in and out of our lives that we will go crazy trying to keep in touch with everyone.
and so we don't.
it is only pragmatic to allow strangers to enter regularly, and to let friends and acquaintances fade out quietly, unmarked. but somewhere in my heart, there is always a sense of loss. there are people whom i would have liked to get to know better, and there are those whom i would like to meet again, but life doesn't offer such chances.
so yesterday, i taught my last sunday school class in grace chinese church. i didn't tell the students that i wouldn't ever be teaching them again, because i have other plans for my life. after all, a sunday school teacher is a sunday school teacher, and there would always be others. besides, what could i say that would be meaningful? and most importantly, i do hate saying goodbye, knowing that even if we promised to keep in touch in the spur of the moment,
we most likely wouldn't.
and so i didn't.
they say that a modern city slicker meets more people in one day than an ancient rural dweller met in his whole life. i think it must be true. so many people come in and out of our lives that we will go crazy trying to keep in touch with everyone.
and so we don't.
it is only pragmatic to allow strangers to enter regularly, and to let friends and acquaintances fade out quietly, unmarked. but somewhere in my heart, there is always a sense of loss. there are people whom i would have liked to get to know better, and there are those whom i would like to meet again, but life doesn't offer such chances.
so yesterday, i taught my last sunday school class in grace chinese church. i didn't tell the students that i wouldn't ever be teaching them again, because i have other plans for my life. after all, a sunday school teacher is a sunday school teacher, and there would always be others. besides, what could i say that would be meaningful? and most importantly, i do hate saying goodbye, knowing that even if we promised to keep in touch in the spur of the moment,
we most likely wouldn't.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Special Day
yesterday was a big day for our family, and everyone relevant turned up punctually .
mum celebrated her birthday early, so we get to feast on KFC, pizza and curry chicken. *yummy* there was so much food left over that i could dine on it today. still taste good :)
before the pig-out started, daddy announced the good news- Mum had just accepted Christ, on the very day. well, it wasn't exactly a great surprise to us anymore, because she had been attending church quite regularly with us for the past few months. still...it was quite a moment. truly, God moves mountains quietly when we are not looking.
after the feast was a good time of bonding for everyone. the fat one wanted to play indian poker, but the rest of us were content to let our brains rest after the strenuous meal, so it was good old black jack. no thinking needed :P
mum celebrated her birthday early, so we get to feast on KFC, pizza and curry chicken. *yummy* there was so much food left over that i could dine on it today. still taste good :)
before the pig-out started, daddy announced the good news- Mum had just accepted Christ, on the very day. well, it wasn't exactly a great surprise to us anymore, because she had been attending church quite regularly with us for the past few months. still...it was quite a moment. truly, God moves mountains quietly when we are not looking.
after the feast was a good time of bonding for everyone. the fat one wanted to play indian poker, but the rest of us were content to let our brains rest after the strenuous meal, so it was good old black jack. no thinking needed :P
Saturday, November 04, 2006
MAGIC EYES
my dear friends,
masterofboots IS BACK!!!
i really want to thank everyone for your encouraging messages and prayers. the messages are still in my hp, and i read them before i went into THE PLACE :)
the greatest challenge of lasik is purely psychological actually. i mean, there is never any real pain because of all the anaesthetic drops. but, it takes incredible will power to obey the instructions. i mean, instructions like: 'i am going to draw on your eyeball with a pen and you musn't blink' :P *help*
then, i realise how perverse humans can be. the more you are told not to do something, the more you can't help doing it. really! the doctor kept saying 'look at the red light, don't look right or left.' and guess what, i had a terrible, terrible urge to move my eye ball.
but it's all over quite fast, and BeDi was waiting outside the laser suite :) and i am walking around with my new magic eyes. they still feel strange and sore now. and funniest of all, i kept wanting to 'take out my contact lenses', before remembering that i am not even wearing any! considering that i have worn spectacles for almost 20 years, this really MAGIC - the magic of technology. hahaha GP students can put this in their essays.
ok, shouldn't be on the computer, considering that i only had my eyes fixed yesterday :P dont' want to ruin my magic eyes.
masterofboots IS BACK!!!
i really want to thank everyone for your encouraging messages and prayers. the messages are still in my hp, and i read them before i went into THE PLACE :)
the greatest challenge of lasik is purely psychological actually. i mean, there is never any real pain because of all the anaesthetic drops. but, it takes incredible will power to obey the instructions. i mean, instructions like: 'i am going to draw on your eyeball with a pen and you musn't blink' :P *help*
then, i realise how perverse humans can be. the more you are told not to do something, the more you can't help doing it. really! the doctor kept saying 'look at the red light, don't look right or left.' and guess what, i had a terrible, terrible urge to move my eye ball.
but it's all over quite fast, and BeDi was waiting outside the laser suite :) and i am walking around with my new magic eyes. they still feel strange and sore now. and funniest of all, i kept wanting to 'take out my contact lenses', before remembering that i am not even wearing any! considering that i have worn spectacles for almost 20 years, this really MAGIC - the magic of technology. hahaha GP students can put this in their essays.
ok, shouldn't be on the computer, considering that i only had my eyes fixed yesterday :P dont' want to ruin my magic eyes.
Monday, October 16, 2006
time capsule
the cast of the tempest reunited once again because prospero got married. and at the wedding, we decided to open our 10-year time capsule. it is such a strange feeling looking at something that we, in our foolish youth and naivete, wrote. it was really quite a moment, especially when...the groom found out that he did not actually contribute to the time capsule :P i, the keeper of the holy grail, could have just died, died, died, from the sheer embarassment. but at least, other members of the table got back what they wrote.
it is quite something remembering the hopes and dreams and fears that we recorded in the time capsule, standing at quite crucial crossroads of our life then. still, i suppose we were really naive then. i somehow imagined that the decisions that i made about university etc would direct the rest of my life, not quite realising that so many other things could happen in life, and what is one turning?
i was amused to see that me at 18 years old wrote about the situation in the balkans and the middle east, and attempted to predict what would happen ten years later. some things have changed greatly, and others have remained the same...what is 10 years in the development of history?
it was rather sad to see that some of the people who contributed to the time capsule have long been lost to our group of friends. well, 10 years is a long time and i do count myself lucky that i am still friends with so many of the cast of the Tempest :)
there are a few unclaimed notes: ann, des, ailin, yucky, and some mysterious person who wrote in chinese. please contact me to get your scroll back :)
it is quite something remembering the hopes and dreams and fears that we recorded in the time capsule, standing at quite crucial crossroads of our life then. still, i suppose we were really naive then. i somehow imagined that the decisions that i made about university etc would direct the rest of my life, not quite realising that so many other things could happen in life, and what is one turning?
i was amused to see that me at 18 years old wrote about the situation in the balkans and the middle east, and attempted to predict what would happen ten years later. some things have changed greatly, and others have remained the same...what is 10 years in the development of history?
it was rather sad to see that some of the people who contributed to the time capsule have long been lost to our group of friends. well, 10 years is a long time and i do count myself lucky that i am still friends with so many of the cast of the Tempest :)
there are a few unclaimed notes: ann, des, ailin, yucky, and some mysterious person who wrote in chinese. please contact me to get your scroll back :)
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Globalisation
funny thing, this globalisation phenomenon. these few days i really experienced what thomas friedman described as 'the flat world' syndrome and i am quite ambivalent about it.
nowadays there is just nothing new to buy anymore when you travel. everything is available everywhere, anytime. shopping overseas just became less of a big deal. i saw some japanese snacks in cute packaging in tokyo, and decided to buy them for my students because i thought they were unusual. last week, i saw the same products in..BISHAN NTUC. i am very sad. actually, this isn't the first time it has happened. (jen, remember the tinned smoked oysters in sydney?) this means that before i go anywhere in the world, i should go and tour the supermarkets in singapore first :P
the denizens of the north pole have commented that the clothes i bought from Harajuku look like they can be found in This Fashion. i got really cross with them, the truth can be too honest. but it also means that i might as well buy things from This Fashion and pretend that they are from japan. or maybe i should try shopping in tibet instead. i heard that they just got a new train service.
Yesterday a few members of the cast of the Tempest met up for yet another farewell dinner to see yucky off to work in Hong Kong. the funny thing is, after a while, it is easy to lose track of where that fella is. the other day he called me and announced that he is BACK, and my first question was...from? did i even notice that he was gone in the first place?
after all, he comes back so very often, from all strange corners of the world. in fact, he said that he would be returning to singapore every fortnight or every month. i might end up seeing him more often than i see other friends.
funny thing, this globalisation business, that makes Hong Kong look like next door.
nowadays there is just nothing new to buy anymore when you travel. everything is available everywhere, anytime. shopping overseas just became less of a big deal. i saw some japanese snacks in cute packaging in tokyo, and decided to buy them for my students because i thought they were unusual. last week, i saw the same products in..BISHAN NTUC. i am very sad. actually, this isn't the first time it has happened. (jen, remember the tinned smoked oysters in sydney?) this means that before i go anywhere in the world, i should go and tour the supermarkets in singapore first :P
the denizens of the north pole have commented that the clothes i bought from Harajuku look like they can be found in This Fashion. i got really cross with them, the truth can be too honest. but it also means that i might as well buy things from This Fashion and pretend that they are from japan. or maybe i should try shopping in tibet instead. i heard that they just got a new train service.
Yesterday a few members of the cast of the Tempest met up for yet another farewell dinner to see yucky off to work in Hong Kong. the funny thing is, after a while, it is easy to lose track of where that fella is. the other day he called me and announced that he is BACK, and my first question was...from? did i even notice that he was gone in the first place?
after all, he comes back so very often, from all strange corners of the world. in fact, he said that he would be returning to singapore every fortnight or every month. i might end up seeing him more often than i see other friends.
funny thing, this globalisation business, that makes Hong Kong look like next door.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Ginza and Tsujiki
Size
i am hungry and dinner is waiting, but nihon no tomo is sleeping :( that's why i am blogging again.
only one size is allowed in japan - M.
if you are bigger than M, daijibu desu yo, you can just buy slimming products. there are many many in japan. if you are smaller, i don't know what you can do. the shops don't seem to stock any other sizes at all. so if you are of the wrong size, it's really just TOO BAD.
besides, there simply isn't enough space for people to grow fat, really. nihon no tomo' s toilet is so small that if i were to put on weight, i can't even turn myself around in the space! Tokyo is just too crowded.
i finally found a bank to cash my travellers cheque. the service there took very very long, though there was no queue. but they served us tea and sweets, gave me a very pretty floral envelop to put my money in, and bowed us out with a flurry of farewells. so, you leave feeling pretty good anyway :)
Tsukuji fish market is really interesting. i had the biggest, fattest and yummiest scallop i have ever tasted in my life. on the other hand, sea urchin tastes like raw crab roe :P
with my pathetic map reading skills, i somehow navigated to Ginza anyway. i bought a really really pretty bag in Ginza, shopping belt for the rich. very pleased :) by then the money from my cheque is all blown, so, the only place left to go is...home. its time to assess my loot and damage :P
tomorrow, nihon no tomo and i have to commit a crime - we are going to have to throw away our rubbish secretly, cos i generated just too much rubbish in these few days, and it costs too much to throw away so much rubbish. never ever complain in singapore again.
i am hungry and dinner is waiting, but nihon no tomo is sleeping :( that's why i am blogging again.
only one size is allowed in japan - M.
if you are bigger than M, daijibu desu yo, you can just buy slimming products. there are many many in japan. if you are smaller, i don't know what you can do. the shops don't seem to stock any other sizes at all. so if you are of the wrong size, it's really just TOO BAD.
besides, there simply isn't enough space for people to grow fat, really. nihon no tomo' s toilet is so small that if i were to put on weight, i can't even turn myself around in the space! Tokyo is just too crowded.
i finally found a bank to cash my travellers cheque. the service there took very very long, though there was no queue. but they served us tea and sweets, gave me a very pretty floral envelop to put my money in, and bowed us out with a flurry of farewells. so, you leave feeling pretty good anyway :)
Tsukuji fish market is really interesting. i had the biggest, fattest and yummiest scallop i have ever tasted in my life. on the other hand, sea urchin tastes like raw crab roe :P
with my pathetic map reading skills, i somehow navigated to Ginza anyway. i bought a really really pretty bag in Ginza, shopping belt for the rich. very pleased :) by then the money from my cheque is all blown, so, the only place left to go is...home. its time to assess my loot and damage :P
tomorrow, nihon no tomo and i have to commit a crime - we are going to have to throw away our rubbish secretly, cos i generated just too much rubbish in these few days, and it costs too much to throw away so much rubbish. never ever complain in singapore again.
Harajuku, shibuya
Anime meets Gothic!
Despite my poverty stricken state, i still went to Harajuku. after all, it's what i came to japan for! (apart from seeing nihon no tomo) it was really as weird and wonderful as i thought. young people dressed up as anime characters, adams family, samurai, whatever. i took some pictures of them, but actually, they were so intimating that i hardly dare to ask them for permission.
wandering in omotesando hills makes me wonder where all the rich people come from. i am only a poor kyoshi! the things were so expensive that nihon no tomo and i could only stand and gawk at people making elaborate desserts, and wonder how much that would cost. saw a miniature eiffel tower made of chocolate!
after shibuya, we were so tired that we could barely drag ourselves home. i think it was fighting the shopping crowd in harajuku that really killed us. i insisted on cooking dinner at home, so, instead of resting when we got back, we started washing rice, chopping onions, frying fish. i learnt to make miso soup...it was a very late dinner. too wilful of me :P poor nihon no tomo :P
after days of research here, i have compiled a list of fashion tips for guys back home. who says that guys don't have to dress up? this is how you can look jap-idol cool:
1. get a koizumi haircut - long and flowing
2. wear funky glasses - thick and colourful rims
3. always wear more than one shirt - dress in layers
4. wear hats/ caps
5. eat more mcDonalds so that you can grow taller :P
Despite my poverty stricken state, i still went to Harajuku. after all, it's what i came to japan for! (apart from seeing nihon no tomo) it was really as weird and wonderful as i thought. young people dressed up as anime characters, adams family, samurai, whatever. i took some pictures of them, but actually, they were so intimating that i hardly dare to ask them for permission.
wandering in omotesando hills makes me wonder where all the rich people come from. i am only a poor kyoshi! the things were so expensive that nihon no tomo and i could only stand and gawk at people making elaborate desserts, and wonder how much that would cost. saw a miniature eiffel tower made of chocolate!
after shibuya, we were so tired that we could barely drag ourselves home. i think it was fighting the shopping crowd in harajuku that really killed us. i insisted on cooking dinner at home, so, instead of resting when we got back, we started washing rice, chopping onions, frying fish. i learnt to make miso soup...it was a very late dinner. too wilful of me :P poor nihon no tomo :P
after days of research here, i have compiled a list of fashion tips for guys back home. who says that guys don't have to dress up? this is how you can look jap-idol cool:
1. get a koizumi haircut - long and flowing
2. wear funky glasses - thick and colourful rims
3. always wear more than one shirt - dress in layers
4. wear hats/ caps
5. eat more mcDonalds so that you can grow taller :P
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