What's This? #2

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Congrats to Heather for being the first to figure that it's a chocolate chip cookie. ~~Ego stroke~~

That was way too easy. So let's try Challenge Number 2.

What's this?

Friday, March 24, 2006

Was inspired by Melvin's flipside!to put a photo up for scrutiny in the name of fun. Macro shots are fun to experiment with and if done by a master, can yield beautiful pictures. I'd blotched an attempted artistic shot so passing this super close up of (insert answer here) as a guess item. If you have about 10 seconds, try to figure out what it is! I think it's pretty easy. First person to guess correctly gets an ego stroke.

UPDATE
Mystery Object: Chocolate Chip Cookie

The students have cooking class every Friday and they baked lots of cookies. The smell was heavenly, but for someone who'd been trying to stick to a low carb diet, it was sheer torture! Eventually, I caved in. Like Jekyll & Hyde, my inner Cookie Monster took over and I polished off 7 large cookies... but it's worth it.

Creative Outlet

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Irfan who didn't listen to anyone but himself. One day, he was playing on the computer and his teacher, Ms Sue, told him to stop. But he didn't.

She warned him that she will give him 3 chances, and if he still didn't want to listen to her, he will lose all his computer privileges for the whole month.

First chance, second chance and third chance came and went. Irfan could no longer play on the computer for the entire month and he was distraught... frustrated... and VERY angry.

During art lesson, the class made a birthday card for a girl called, Teruni. Each student drew lovely pictures about birthdays, but Irfan had other plans...

One more reason why Life's not fair for regular women

Pinched my waist in the bathroom with lots of resentment while squinting hard at the mirror. Had that unavoidable moment of body-image inferiority complex.

If only all the fats that women consume know exactly where to deposit themselves, then we can finally reject that extra helping of rich dessert with, "No more for me thanks, I'm worried that my boobs will get bigger."

Upgrade

Couldn't sleep so back staring at the cold screen. Upgraded my Haloscan account and all the previous comments left behind last year returned. It's fun to read them again. Am getting this a warm fuzzy feeling all over and I feel like hugging someone.

Light Years

Monday, March 20, 2006

It's the end of the 1-week school break and the end of snoozing while most folks had to drag their feet to their respective work places. I entered school grounds trying to shake off the blues. Same grounds keeper, same smiles on same faces, same strange smell along the corridor where I bumped into the Principal. She told me about a bath time phobic boy she met yesterday at church and had a debate over the importance of bathing.

Using the greatest role model she could think of, the principal noted, "But Danny, even Jesus Christ bathes."

Danny replied, "No way! Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, if he ever bathes, he'll electrocute!"

My gloomy Monday brightened for the rest of the day.

Dense and Re-Density

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Found this on my table when I returned home.

Singapore has the Yellow (Light), Blue (Pure) and Red (Ultralift - I think...)range. I use the Orange (Stop) range which was discontinued last year and whenever anyone I know is heading down to Australia, I'd ask them to help me grab a box or two. Mom came back from Australia after making sure my little brother is settled back in his hostel and bought enough supply to last me for the entire year. So I quickly deduced that she got this strange purple one from there as well.

The next thing I noticed was that it's for "Mature Skin" combined with the picture of an older woman. I wonder....

I took the cream out and asked mom if she's sure that this was for me since it's for mature skin (quietly hinting that it's suppose to be for her).

She looked at me inquisitively and asked, "You won't be using it?"
Me: Don't think so. How about yourself?
Mom: Why don't you use it on your neck? It'll be very useful."

And in that short exchange: (suspiciously) Dense Mother, 1 vs Baffled Daughter with a wrinkly neck, 0

Pinch Me Awake

Friday, March 17, 2006

Made another life changing move.

Am glad that I can still experience irregular sleep pattern, tight chest, heavy heart, wet cheeks, bit of nausea and a strong need to scream because it means that I'm still alive.

Am also glad that I would rather gorge on cheesecakes and then plan to exercise all the calorie damage off later (injured toe and all) because it means that I still want to live.

Wet Kitchen Floor + Unsuspecting Klutz equals

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

A sorry excuse of a gymnastics split and an injured middle toe.

I smashed my left foot against the refrigerator base this afternoon. When the initial numbness subsided I could barely bend the middle toe... and as I'm typing, I think it's starting to swell up.

Flashback to 5-6 years ago when I fractured my little toe while dancing (a solo indulgence of mine) in the shower.

I'll get an x-ray tomorrow. But I hope to do some serious running on the same day if it's not to uncomfortable.

Update: No fracture (thank goodness), just tissue trauma. I can somewhat bend the toe without flinching now.

Fired Up

Spotted in an insignificantly tiny space of today's newspaper.

4 Teens Suspected of Murder

Tokyo: Japanese police were set to arrest four teenage boys yesterday on suspicion of killing a disabled homeless man by throwing a fire bomb at him, the Kyodo news agency said.

Mr Makoto Amazutsumi, 60, died after his cardboard box shelter caught fire last October.

Police suspect the boys throw the fire bomb after being scolded by another homeless man. - Reuters

Was in Tokyo last December and I got to witness the other side of Tokyo - without the bustling crowds and bright lights. Had a late night and was walking back to the hotel from Shinjuku station when I saw homeless old folks shuffling in droves into quiet corners of the station to set up their homes for the night. The station security guards walked quietly among them at a respectful distance. Their cardboard boxes looked crisply new for recycled materials that had been put to daily use.

First, up with the sides, then a quick check of their belongings, tuck themselves inside and with the last cardboard piece, sealed their shelter from the fluorescent lights. I'm sure that by next morning, these people will be long gone before the first horde of early commuters enters. Winter's bitingly cold in the city, and as I was shivering under my layers of turtleneck, sweater and jacket as the wind blew, these folks had to make do without warm futons and heaters.

Took a quick picture with my horrid camera as I didn't want to used the flash in case I disturb them. There are 3 (and a half) shelters as well as a couple more behind the yellow barricade.

As I walked on I could not help but feel respectful of how organised and tidy they were. Those cardboard boxes situated along the exit tunnel were perfectly parallel to one another. While some were not tucked away behind pillars, it still looked quite discreet. The forgotten people of society, but they still have a lot of personal pride.

The news of a homeless man dying at the hands of some kiddos' vengeful prank was upsetting for me. It's bad enough sleeping on hard floors with only a cardboard box to shield against the elements. I guess the kids were disturbing the peace so they were told off by a cranky homeless person. Instead of hurrying back to their respective warm cosy homes and not letting machismo take over, they set one homeless folk on fire.

Seriously...

I hope those 4 hotheads get crammed into a cardboard box before getting not one but four firebombs thrown at them.

Your Diagnosis Results

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

I regret to inform you that you may have emotional impotence. It's fairly similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (like those suffered by victims of war) but contextually milder.

Voluntary emotional and psychological detachment are main symptoms of emotional impotence (EI) and is relatively scenario-selective in most cases. While patients can still laugh at sitcoms and engage in lively chatters with other people, these same folks with EI experience absolute mental shut down when faced with situations or objects (including individuals) that reminds them of their pain.

Fortunately for you, it is at an early stage and can be contained with regular medications (lots of alone time) and occasional socialisation. Exercise and healty diet will help too. I understand from your accounts, that there had been a series of incidents that might have caused and aggravated your condition. And it is best that during this recovery time, that only minimal confrontation of any matter related to these incidents should be entertained.

Check back with me in a month or so.

Lose the Skirts

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

You know that you're working in a very secluded environment when you're the object of fantasy of 2 adolescent boys even though you're neither Paris Hilton nor Charlize Theron.

Was called into the Principal's office and wondered which of my kid lodged a complaint to the parent about my sadistic teaching style. She sat me down and gave a couple of preping sentences like "Don't worry, this is all part of your learning curve." etc. Then with a slight smile said that two boys in my class have been *ahem* experimenting and using me as their main star.

As part of the "precautionary measures", I'm to

1) Refrain from showing them any motherly sort of affection such as petting them on the head and pinching their cheeks as I'm not old enough to get away with it. (Pretty fair since habit die hard from my days with the babies and kinders)

2) Dress simply (or even better, look like a walking drapery)

3) Lose the short (it's at knee length already!) skirts.

As a finishing touch, she said, "Don't feel bad about it. It's not your fault that you're young, gorgeous and sexy."

Now why didn't I feel good about it?

Sigh.

Maybe it's time I re-discover my tomboy days of oversized t-shirts, baggy jeans and chucky boots.

Faces of Singapore

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

What does it take to get a local like me to re-explore what this country has to offer? Someone from out of town.

And what does it take to re-establish contact with a friend you'd never seeen for a good 8 years even though we're both freakin' living in the same country? Someone many miles away.

A friend from Japan dropped in last weekend and I'd the honour to show him around on Sunday. Was introduced to Ryo through a first Japanese friend I'd made from my stint in Melbourne, and he knows Debbie who was my ex-schoolmate who I've not met for nearly a decade since we'd left secondary school.

Small world and big irony.

Start the day (alright, half the day) with a sumptuous spread of Indian food served on traditional banana leaf. Next, take cutlery away from foreign visitor and force him to eat with his hands with the excuse of truly experiencing the culture to its fullest.

Capture the look of contentment on his face (I came, I saw, I conquered) and gawk at his ability to polish off large amount of food.

As a good host, get into the action as well. For pride and country!

Popped by Haw Par Villa, a park filled with strange (and to some extent gaudy) figures out of Chinese mythologies.It's been YEARS since my last visit and I was surprised that it's still opened after all these time. Originally wanted to spend a quick 10-15mins there, but ended up walking around for an hour.

I've no idea why there's a mini Outback in the middle of a chinese mythological park, but hey perfect opportunity to catch up on a quick siesta.
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Poor Ryo fell into a manhole on his first day in Singapore (see his left leg). It was in pretty bad shape so this will be a fitting tribute to him. "Ren" meaning "Endure"

Quiet on a Sunday afternoon.

Haw Par Villa's main attraction is the 10 Courts of Hell where the dead are judged on the sins they'd committed in their lives and if guilty, are to live out the punishments matted out. The more serious the sin, the more gory the punishment. Remind me to pay my taxes like a good citizen.

Looks like the folks at banks will be in for a really hard time.

Take the rickety bridge over to another place. Far from the hassle of life and only quiet reflection allowed.

My 2 friends, Ryo and Debbie.

Welcome to the Southernmost Point of Asia Continent. Okay Ryo, this is the photo from my camera, I'm looking forward to the picture from yours.

Twilight and the sea

Ryo's just enjoying the sea breeze.

The idyllic life. Soccer in the evening and catching up over tea.

View of the largest Merlion in the world. Heard that it shoots out some laser beam things from it's eyes in the evening. Too bad we couldn't hang around long enough to see it happen.

1...2....3. Smile!

Ended the day with a walk at the Night Safari. Still vaguely remember being there when it first opened and sitting on a tram and hoping that it would travel fast enough so that mosquitos couldn't catch up. It was a huge difference from the last time I remembered, live performance, eating places and little shops selling knick knacks that's more than just the usual stuff toys. Until the day I can afford an SLR camera, this sign is the only thing my commercial digital camera could take in the darkness.