Iced tea.
Fireworks.
Cicadas.
Sun.
Blue skies.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
We're Famous!
Imagine my surprise when I saw this on TV.
five old japanese men collectively known as SMAP (one of the biggest boybands in japan) having a good time at our very own MBS.
smap shot a series of commercials (four in total i think) in singapore for softbank, one of japan's fastest growing cellular phone companies thanks to their monopoly over the sale of iphones in japan, cheap subscription plans and ads featuring a white dog as the father of a very dysfunctional family.
watch for the end of the commercial...the merlion gets turned into mr. white dog!
here's another one:
and here's one of the white dog and his off-kilter family:
five old japanese men collectively known as SMAP (one of the biggest boybands in japan) having a good time at our very own MBS.
smap shot a series of commercials (four in total i think) in singapore for softbank, one of japan's fastest growing cellular phone companies thanks to their monopoly over the sale of iphones in japan, cheap subscription plans and ads featuring a white dog as the father of a very dysfunctional family.
watch for the end of the commercial...the merlion gets turned into mr. white dog!
here's another one:
and here's one of the white dog and his off-kilter family:
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Summer's Here!
The sweltering heat is back.
the best part? the green mobile's air-con isnt working so the both of us sweat like pigs every time we sit in the car.
that aside, it's the third week of work and so far things are pretty interesting. although it's only a part-time job, i help administer scholarships and summer exchange programmes at the university's foreign students' centre and the work isnt repetitive, which is something that i like. plus i get time for myself in the afternoon since i leave work at 3.30pm every day. it's my idea of a good compromise between earning some pocket money and still having the leisure of spending (late) afternoons at home.
just this afternoon, i was on my way home from dropping ken off to a work dinner when i decided to make a quick detour to the department store.
the following is what happens when i am left to my own devices. two belts of the same design in two different colours. i just got too tired trying to figure out which colour to buy.
just allow me to say this: hurray to pocket money!!
the best part? the green mobile's air-con isnt working so the both of us sweat like pigs every time we sit in the car.
that aside, it's the third week of work and so far things are pretty interesting. although it's only a part-time job, i help administer scholarships and summer exchange programmes at the university's foreign students' centre and the work isnt repetitive, which is something that i like. plus i get time for myself in the afternoon since i leave work at 3.30pm every day. it's my idea of a good compromise between earning some pocket money and still having the leisure of spending (late) afternoons at home.
just this afternoon, i was on my way home from dropping ken off to a work dinner when i decided to make a quick detour to the department store.
the following is what happens when i am left to my own devices. two belts of the same design in two different colours. i just got too tired trying to figure out which colour to buy.
just allow me to say this: hurray to pocket money!!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
PAP Economics
The fever swirling around GE has begun to die down, but here I am getting all riled up.
the following equation is from a man who graduated with a first-class honours degree in economics (incidently, he also possesses an M.A. in development economics):
Unhappiness + Others who are happier = Net Happiness
a formula coined by sm goh chok tong in response to concerns raised by singaporeans with regards to the (over)heated property market and the policies of hdb.
in sm goh's words:
"for those who missed out, who can't buy this, can't upgrade and so on, they are really feeling the unhappiness. question is, was the policy good? unhappiness plus those who are happier, in total there's net happiness. there's no such thing called total happiness. i mean, don't believe in it. it's whether we can create net happiness in all of this."
for the old man's sake i really hope what he meant to say was that the government cant please everyone with their policies.
but to the untrained ear, it really sounded as if our ex-PM was telling us to build our happiness on the misfortunes of our fellow citizens, to wise up and not expect to have everything that we want. that we can only be marginally happy at best.
sm goh's remarks naturally resonated with many singaporeans, some of whom were so inspired that they proceeded to make a song out of his words:
funny but i never learnt about the economics of net happiness in school before leh.
the following equation is from a man who graduated with a first-class honours degree in economics (incidently, he also possesses an M.A. in development economics):
Unhappiness + Others who are happier = Net Happiness
a formula coined by sm goh chok tong in response to concerns raised by singaporeans with regards to the (over)heated property market and the policies of hdb.
in sm goh's words:
"for those who missed out, who can't buy this, can't upgrade and so on, they are really feeling the unhappiness. question is, was the policy good? unhappiness plus those who are happier, in total there's net happiness. there's no such thing called total happiness. i mean, don't believe in it. it's whether we can create net happiness in all of this."
for the old man's sake i really hope what he meant to say was that the government cant please everyone with their policies.
but to the untrained ear, it really sounded as if our ex-PM was telling us to build our happiness on the misfortunes of our fellow citizens, to wise up and not expect to have everything that we want. that we can only be marginally happy at best.
sm goh's remarks naturally resonated with many singaporeans, some of whom were so inspired that they proceeded to make a song out of his words:
funny but i never learnt about the economics of net happiness in school before leh.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Budding Addiction
Meet Serena Stone, budding fashion stylist.
one mention in vogue was all it took to pique my curiosity. i think fans of online shopping may already know shopstyle.com for its extensive range of designer labels, but what really got me going was the stylebook application that allows you to pull any item available on their website to create your own personal look.
before i knew it, i was adding giuseppe shoes, throwing on stella mccartney jackets and spritzing prada perfume (all virtually of course, but still very very fun nonetheless), and this - ladies and ladies, is the very first look that i came up with.
this could well become an all-consuming addiction. maybe i'll try to control myself by creating just one look a day?
one mention in vogue was all it took to pique my curiosity. i think fans of online shopping may already know shopstyle.com for its extensive range of designer labels, but what really got me going was the stylebook application that allows you to pull any item available on their website to create your own personal look.
before i knew it, i was adding giuseppe shoes, throwing on stella mccartney jackets and spritzing prada perfume (all virtually of course, but still very very fun nonetheless), and this - ladies and ladies, is the very first look that i came up with.
this could well become an all-consuming addiction. maybe i'll try to control myself by creating just one look a day?
Monday, May 09, 2011
Cooking Up A Storm
I think I am on a roll today.
i rose bright and early this morning, thinking i should make the best out of my final week before work at the university begins next monday.
since i probably wont have much time for idle pursuits like pottering around the kitchen in future, i decided to put an end to my years of procrastination and get round to making my own gyoza.
gyoza are the japanese adaptation of chinese pot-stickers, little pan-fried dumplings filled with minced pork, chives and chopped cabbage. personally i am a huge fan of the japanese version because the dumpling skins are much thinner, which means crispy goodness and juicier morsels.
the cooking book said i could make 20 dumplings, and that was exactly what i ended up with (you really have to hand it to japanese recipes for their sheer precision).
fried eight of them to go with a bowl of chinese vermicelli soup for lunch:
i then proceeded to bake a lemon gateau cake with lemon sugar frosting for tea.
the recipe was dead-easy but the frosting was a little tricky because i didnt have any icing sugar at home. googled for substitutes and realised that i could actually blend regular granulated sugar with corn starch to create my own icing sugar.
the frosting turned out to be a little rough for my liking, making the cake five points short of perfection, but still it was moist with just the right amount of tangy sweetness. perfect with a hot mug of tea on a rainy afternoon!
i rose bright and early this morning, thinking i should make the best out of my final week before work at the university begins next monday.
since i probably wont have much time for idle pursuits like pottering around the kitchen in future, i decided to put an end to my years of procrastination and get round to making my own gyoza.
gyoza are the japanese adaptation of chinese pot-stickers, little pan-fried dumplings filled with minced pork, chives and chopped cabbage. personally i am a huge fan of the japanese version because the dumpling skins are much thinner, which means crispy goodness and juicier morsels.
the cooking book said i could make 20 dumplings, and that was exactly what i ended up with (you really have to hand it to japanese recipes for their sheer precision).
fried eight of them to go with a bowl of chinese vermicelli soup for lunch:
i then proceeded to bake a lemon gateau cake with lemon sugar frosting for tea.
the recipe was dead-easy but the frosting was a little tricky because i didnt have any icing sugar at home. googled for substitutes and realised that i could actually blend regular granulated sugar with corn starch to create my own icing sugar.
the frosting turned out to be a little rough for my liking, making the cake five points short of perfection, but still it was moist with just the right amount of tangy sweetness. perfect with a hot mug of tea on a rainy afternoon!
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Technical Update
Been having one too many blogwalkers spamming the comment box these days so I decided to remove it altogether from the page.
it's going to take a little more trouble leaving comments from now on, but at least we'll be free from spam : )
well, hopefully.
it's going to take a little more trouble leaving comments from now on, but at least we'll be free from spam : )
well, hopefully.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Fit For Royalty
The Dress has been revealed.
not to brag, but i had a feeling that sarah burton would be designing it (okay, there have been reports of leaked information from alexander mcqueen that kate middleton was very keen on having burton design her wedding gown after she saw the dress burton designed for tom parker bowles' bride in 2005), since it would have been the best way to pay homage to one of britain's most shining beacons of fashion.
perhaps the duchess of cambridge's choice was cemented by burton's first womenswear collection for alexander mcqueen last fall, which i thought brought some much-needed reprive and sensibility to mcqueen's satorial antics.
two thumbs up for burton, who succeeded in not only inheriting the best elements of the fashion industry's enfant terrible, but also designing a beautiful, timeless gown that is truly fit for a queen.
the duchess's choice may have been a tad conservative, but i liked that she didnt overdo any of the dress details or go with a ridiculous 10m long train. and the veil was simply elegant.
kind of reminds me of grace kelly's gown though, which to me is still the best wedding dress ever.
however, what really caught my attention was the long column sheath worn by pippa middleton, which was also designed by burton. simple, form-fitting, understated - now that's what i call a dress!
not to brag, but i had a feeling that sarah burton would be designing it (okay, there have been reports of leaked information from alexander mcqueen that kate middleton was very keen on having burton design her wedding gown after she saw the dress burton designed for tom parker bowles' bride in 2005), since it would have been the best way to pay homage to one of britain's most shining beacons of fashion.
perhaps the duchess of cambridge's choice was cemented by burton's first womenswear collection for alexander mcqueen last fall, which i thought brought some much-needed reprive and sensibility to mcqueen's satorial antics.
two thumbs up for burton, who succeeded in not only inheriting the best elements of the fashion industry's enfant terrible, but also designing a beautiful, timeless gown that is truly fit for a queen.
the duchess's choice may have been a tad conservative, but i liked that she didnt overdo any of the dress details or go with a ridiculous 10m long train. and the veil was simply elegant.
kind of reminds me of grace kelly's gown though, which to me is still the best wedding dress ever.
however, what really caught my attention was the long column sheath worn by pippa middleton, which was also designed by burton. simple, form-fitting, understated - now that's what i call a dress!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Long Overdue
We've been married for four months but our wedding pictures only arrived in the mail this week.
it's a small shame not being able to look at the photographs at the height of our nuptial glow, but we had fun trawling through the pictures anyway.
ken and i arent the posey-posey sort, so we decided to forgo the de-rigueur pre-wedding photo shoot in favour of a short picture-taking session after the wedding (considering how we were blanching at some of the poses our photographer had us do during the shoot, i'd say that was probably a very good move).
surprisingly though, most of the posed shots turned out pretty okay. here are a few of my favourites:
it's a small shame not being able to look at the photographs at the height of our nuptial glow, but we had fun trawling through the pictures anyway.
ken and i arent the posey-posey sort, so we decided to forgo the de-rigueur pre-wedding photo shoot in favour of a short picture-taking session after the wedding (considering how we were blanching at some of the poses our photographer had us do during the shoot, i'd say that was probably a very good move).
surprisingly though, most of the posed shots turned out pretty okay. here are a few of my favourites:
Friday, April 22, 2011
Basil Me Silly
On a whim, I brought home a huge bag of them from the fresh fruit and vegetable market in downtown naha.
i didn't know what i could do with such a mammoth pile of leaves, so i tried making my own basil pesto.
40 basil leaves, two tablespoons of finely grated parmesan cheese, 100ml of olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic were blended to yield quite a handsome portion of homemade pesto.
tossed in a saucepan with some penne, shiitake and bacon, the basil pesto made for an effortless, lip-smacking lunch.
the rest of the larger leaves were left to dry in the sun. i figured dried basil could come in handy for soups and oil-based salad dressings. plus, they'd make good company for the jars of rosemary and lemongrass sitting on my kitchen window sill.
when all the work in the kitchen was done, i caught up on some overdue reading (i know i know, it's a magazine and not quite such an intelligent read) over a hot cup of lemongrass tea.
best way to combat a headache, if you'd ask me.
i didn't know what i could do with such a mammoth pile of leaves, so i tried making my own basil pesto.
40 basil leaves, two tablespoons of finely grated parmesan cheese, 100ml of olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic were blended to yield quite a handsome portion of homemade pesto.
tossed in a saucepan with some penne, shiitake and bacon, the basil pesto made for an effortless, lip-smacking lunch.
the rest of the larger leaves were left to dry in the sun. i figured dried basil could come in handy for soups and oil-based salad dressings. plus, they'd make good company for the jars of rosemary and lemongrass sitting on my kitchen window sill.
when all the work in the kitchen was done, i caught up on some overdue reading (i know i know, it's a magazine and not quite such an intelligent read) over a hot cup of lemongrass tea.
best way to combat a headache, if you'd ask me.
Last Weekend
Turned out to be a pretty lovely one.
okinawa heralded the arrival of spring with the nation's first fireworks display of the year. we make it a point to attend the festival every year since it's held at the beach just ten minutes from our apartment. usually, the streets leading up to the venue would be flanked by food and game stalls and the place would be thronged with visitors, but this year, such pasar-malam gaiety was nowhere to be seen.
despite the shadows cast by last month's earthquake and tsunami, we had one of the best (free) seats in the house. beer, fried chicken, great company and an hour and a half's worth of man-made stars exploding across the sky. you can't possibly ask for more.
the day after, we marked Qing Ming by trooping down to the family grave for some tomb-sweeping. okinawa is the only prefecture in japan that still observes chinese customs such as lunar new year and qing ming, and the similarities with the practices carried out in singapore are uncanny. tombs in okinawa are huge and tortoise-shaped, making them very similar in appearance to some of the older chinese graves back home. offerings to ancestors consist of paper money (yellow in colour too!), joss sticks, brewed tea and お節-like food consisting of stewed pork, fish tempura and rice cakes. what's most interesting about qing ming in okinawa is that everyone sits down to a picnic at the grave after tomb-sweeping is complete.
i went armed with a camera to fulfill my intention of chronicling the day with photographs, but that task had to be set aside when i was handed a pair of workgloves and a small parang. the next time though, those gloves are coming off for some picture-taking!
two hours of grass-cutting and a short picnic later, us and the rest of the extended family ended the afternoon by settling down to a fancy japanese lunch at one of the city's fanciest hotels.
okinawa heralded the arrival of spring with the nation's first fireworks display of the year. we make it a point to attend the festival every year since it's held at the beach just ten minutes from our apartment. usually, the streets leading up to the venue would be flanked by food and game stalls and the place would be thronged with visitors, but this year, such pasar-malam gaiety was nowhere to be seen.
despite the shadows cast by last month's earthquake and tsunami, we had one of the best (free) seats in the house. beer, fried chicken, great company and an hour and a half's worth of man-made stars exploding across the sky. you can't possibly ask for more.
the day after, we marked Qing Ming by trooping down to the family grave for some tomb-sweeping. okinawa is the only prefecture in japan that still observes chinese customs such as lunar new year and qing ming, and the similarities with the practices carried out in singapore are uncanny. tombs in okinawa are huge and tortoise-shaped, making them very similar in appearance to some of the older chinese graves back home. offerings to ancestors consist of paper money (yellow in colour too!), joss sticks, brewed tea and お節-like food consisting of stewed pork, fish tempura and rice cakes. what's most interesting about qing ming in okinawa is that everyone sits down to a picnic at the grave after tomb-sweeping is complete.
i went armed with a camera to fulfill my intention of chronicling the day with photographs, but that task had to be set aside when i was handed a pair of workgloves and a small parang. the next time though, those gloves are coming off for some picture-taking!
two hours of grass-cutting and a short picnic later, us and the rest of the extended family ended the afternoon by settling down to a fancy japanese lunch at one of the city's fanciest hotels.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
To Feel Good
I think music nowadays has become disposible.
with the advent of the digital music movement, along with mp3s and ipods, people tend not to listen to the same things too often. play something you've downloaded cheaply off itunes five times and you're ready to buy a new tune online again.
and so to cater to fickle consumers, music factories have had to churn out more artistes, more songs and more albums just to keep up.
jay-z calls them "auto-tunes", and i think i'll have to agree. there are less golden melodies and more forgettable white noise dominating the airwaves these days.
i miss the days when i made my own mixed tapes, and when i mulled over which cd to buy because they were too expensive for a 15 year old.
some feel-good songs that you hardly hear on the radio these days:
Lenny Kravitz, "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" (and here he is, looking incredibly good in this live performance)
Mark Morrison, "Return of the Mack"
The Cranberries, "Linger" (i can still remember all of the lyrics!)
East 17, "Deep" (i loved east 17 before i ever began to like take that. my idea of the best boy band from england.)
PM Dawn, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (i think i only ever liked spandau ballet's "true" because of this song)
ah, the simple bliss of nostalgia.
with the advent of the digital music movement, along with mp3s and ipods, people tend not to listen to the same things too often. play something you've downloaded cheaply off itunes five times and you're ready to buy a new tune online again.
and so to cater to fickle consumers, music factories have had to churn out more artistes, more songs and more albums just to keep up.
jay-z calls them "auto-tunes", and i think i'll have to agree. there are less golden melodies and more forgettable white noise dominating the airwaves these days.
i miss the days when i made my own mixed tapes, and when i mulled over which cd to buy because they were too expensive for a 15 year old.
some feel-good songs that you hardly hear on the radio these days:
Lenny Kravitz, "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" (and here he is, looking incredibly good in this live performance)
Mark Morrison, "Return of the Mack"
The Cranberries, "Linger" (i can still remember all of the lyrics!)
East 17, "Deep" (i loved east 17 before i ever began to like take that. my idea of the best boy band from england.)
PM Dawn, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (i think i only ever liked spandau ballet's "true" because of this song)
ah, the simple bliss of nostalgia.
Of Cubs and Hindi Movies
Of late, the mood has been sombre.
cherry blossoms are close to blooming but this year, people are worried about celebrating in the face of misery and suffering.
to lift spirits (and also perhaps in line with media guidelines in times of crisis), there's been a bumper crop of light-hearted variety programmes showing evergreen song specials and funny video clips.
here are two that really made me laugh out loud:
this little cub, abandoned at birth by his mother, is terribly shy and doesn't quite mix well with others. watch what happens when zookeepers place him with other animals in a bid to help overcome his fear.
always wondered what will happen if you match a hindi movie dance sequence to a traditional japanese marching band song? here's a video to satisfy that curiosity of yours:
cherry blossoms are close to blooming but this year, people are worried about celebrating in the face of misery and suffering.
to lift spirits (and also perhaps in line with media guidelines in times of crisis), there's been a bumper crop of light-hearted variety programmes showing evergreen song specials and funny video clips.
here are two that really made me laugh out loud:
this little cub, abandoned at birth by his mother, is terribly shy and doesn't quite mix well with others. watch what happens when zookeepers place him with other animals in a bid to help overcome his fear.
always wondered what will happen if you match a hindi movie dance sequence to a traditional japanese marching band song? here's a video to satisfy that curiosity of yours:
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Married (Again)!!
So now you are no longer registered as a swinging single in Japan.
the day we got married all over again at the city office.
the day we got married all over again at the city office.
Saving Lives
To prepare for the father-in-law's eventual discharge from hospital, the entire family was herded to a lifesaver's course yesterday.
while ken's dad is out of the woods, he remains susceptible to cardiac failure. although we have indicated to doctors our intention to care for ken's father at home, the hospital reminded us that we'd have to do so with the knowledge that an episode similar to what took place last month might happen again with little or no forewarning. so in the case of an emergency, the family would have to function as the first and most crucial source of medical aid.
under the watchful eyes of ken's father (who sat in for the course), we were briefed on the proper way to call for an ambulance and given a demonstration on administering CPR. we even had a go at the AED (automatic external defibrilator). if ken's dad had been a plastic CPR doll, he'd have come back to life no less than 8 times in an afternoon.
there's something very heartwarming about ken's 83 year-old grandfather as he listens intently to the nurse, carefully taking notes. the man is still very light on his feet despite his age, but performing CPR for a full 2 minutes at a go is no mean feat even for me, let alone for a tiny old man tasked with caring for a person 20 years his junior.
there are still many things we have yet to figure out. like fitting everyone's schedules so that ken's dad will not be left alone at home, or applying for the right kinds of public health insurance and inquiring about day care and home nursing.
but i'm sure we will get there. for now, i am really liking my new family.
our kit for the day:
the family being briefed on the importance of CPR:
ken's dad watches on intently:
ken's mom giving mouth-to-mouth:
ken and his grandfather's turn to try:
while ken's dad is out of the woods, he remains susceptible to cardiac failure. although we have indicated to doctors our intention to care for ken's father at home, the hospital reminded us that we'd have to do so with the knowledge that an episode similar to what took place last month might happen again with little or no forewarning. so in the case of an emergency, the family would have to function as the first and most crucial source of medical aid.
under the watchful eyes of ken's father (who sat in for the course), we were briefed on the proper way to call for an ambulance and given a demonstration on administering CPR. we even had a go at the AED (automatic external defibrilator). if ken's dad had been a plastic CPR doll, he'd have come back to life no less than 8 times in an afternoon.
there's something very heartwarming about ken's 83 year-old grandfather as he listens intently to the nurse, carefully taking notes. the man is still very light on his feet despite his age, but performing CPR for a full 2 minutes at a go is no mean feat even for me, let alone for a tiny old man tasked with caring for a person 20 years his junior.
there are still many things we have yet to figure out. like fitting everyone's schedules so that ken's dad will not be left alone at home, or applying for the right kinds of public health insurance and inquiring about day care and home nursing.
but i'm sure we will get there. for now, i am really liking my new family.
our kit for the day:
the family being briefed on the importance of CPR:
ken's dad watches on intently:
ken's mom giving mouth-to-mouth:
ken and his grandfather's turn to try:
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Time For A Prayer
It is complete and utter destruction.
the worst earthquake in the history of japan since the government officially began keeping records in the meiji era, the earthquake that took place off the eastern seacoast of miyagi prefecture in northern japan yesterday afternoon has wreaked extensive and debilitating damage on many parts of the country.
just looking at the news footage on tv is painful.
entire towns submerged
cars and huge fishing trawlers swept up against buildings
houses floating away on an ocean of mud and water
people stranded on the rooftop of hospitals and schools waiting for help
nuclear energy facilities in danger of implosion
burning petroleum tanks and refineries
a car with its headlights on and horns blaring, washed away into the sea
thousands encamped in central tokyo due to a transportation deadlock
hundreds and thousands of households left without electricity and water
there was footage of an old lady clasping her hands to her mouth as she watched her town being flushed away by the tsunami. another woman crying out for help from under the debris of a demolished house. one young woman crying out her son's name to a search-and-rescue team. a man walking distractedly through a street that had been laid to waste by the disaster.
it is damage of an extent not entirely and immediately comprehensible to people. it seems almost unfair that we have been spared the catastrophy and given the privilege of watching the terror unfold across from a television screen.
people who have experienced an earthquake will tell you that it is not something that you can ever learn to get used to. the earth starts to rattle and there are ungodly rumbling and creaking sounds that come from below you, almost like the voice of the earth groaning. your apartment building shakes from side to side, and things start to fall. you are paralysed with fear and you can't even move, let alone remember to evacuate.
it's a terrible cliche, but again i am thankful that the kinds of disasters that we have to endure in singapore are limited to man-made flash floods triggered by a questionable barrage. it makes you grateful that we never have to worry about our physical safety being threatened by natural calamities.
there really is so much to be thankful for.
the worst earthquake in the history of japan since the government officially began keeping records in the meiji era, the earthquake that took place off the eastern seacoast of miyagi prefecture in northern japan yesterday afternoon has wreaked extensive and debilitating damage on many parts of the country.
just looking at the news footage on tv is painful.
entire towns submerged
cars and huge fishing trawlers swept up against buildings
houses floating away on an ocean of mud and water
people stranded on the rooftop of hospitals and schools waiting for help
nuclear energy facilities in danger of implosion
burning petroleum tanks and refineries
a car with its headlights on and horns blaring, washed away into the sea
thousands encamped in central tokyo due to a transportation deadlock
hundreds and thousands of households left without electricity and water
there was footage of an old lady clasping her hands to her mouth as she watched her town being flushed away by the tsunami. another woman crying out for help from under the debris of a demolished house. one young woman crying out her son's name to a search-and-rescue team. a man walking distractedly through a street that had been laid to waste by the disaster.
it is damage of an extent not entirely and immediately comprehensible to people. it seems almost unfair that we have been spared the catastrophy and given the privilege of watching the terror unfold across from a television screen.
people who have experienced an earthquake will tell you that it is not something that you can ever learn to get used to. the earth starts to rattle and there are ungodly rumbling and creaking sounds that come from below you, almost like the voice of the earth groaning. your apartment building shakes from side to side, and things start to fall. you are paralysed with fear and you can't even move, let alone remember to evacuate.
it's a terrible cliche, but again i am thankful that the kinds of disasters that we have to endure in singapore are limited to man-made flash floods triggered by a questionable barrage. it makes you grateful that we never have to worry about our physical safety being threatened by natural calamities.
there really is so much to be thankful for.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Life's Curveballs
Just when I was thinking of writing about death and mortality, it happened.
it's odd really, sometimes how things take place.
my mom used to tell me that when she was much younger, she was so busy with caring for the family that she never had the time to worry about her own health and well-being. now that we're all grown though, she finds herself having to come to terms with her own mortality and the fact that she is growing old.
i think it is when people find something that they want to live for that they start worrying about dying. that we are mere mortal flesh is fearful because that means the things that we yearn and live for can be taken away from us with a very sudden and unfortunate stroke of fate.
that thought struck home two mondays ago.
it was close to midnight and we had been spending the night quietly in front of the television when his mom called with the news.
ken's father had woken up to go to the bathroom when his heart suddenly failed. my mother-in-law frantically called for an ambulance and ken's brother, who works in a hospice, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while they waited for help to arrive. the medics had to revive ken's father with an external defibrillator because his heart had stopped beating.
memories of ken's grandmother dying suddenly from a stroke kept coming to mind as i drove us to the hospital, because ken was in singapore when it happened and he couldnt make it back home in time to see her.
before we were allowed to see ken's father in ER the doctors kept telling us they werent sure if he could be saved. they told us his pulse was wildly irregular, that of the three arteries grafted in a bypass some 8 years ago two had failed. they reminded us of his father's medical history (he was born with a heart condition) and asked if we would allow them to attach him to a life support machine.
the main problem with going ahead with life support is that once a patient is placed on it, they cannot be taken off it because of Japanese laws prohibiting euthanasia. in the event that patients fail to recover or lose all brain activity, their lives would inevitably be prolonged for an indeterminate period of time through life support.
all of this information was presented to us by no less that three doctors while ken's father remained in ER. we asked for time to think about the possibilities and implications, but werent allowed the luxury of thinking the situation through given the circumstances.
ken and his family eventually decided that saving his father was ultimately more important that the fear of unwittingly prolonging his suffering in the future, and so the decision was made in favour of life support.
i have never seen the going-ons inside an emergency room, and being face-to-face with a loved one on the brink of death and fighting for life is something i can find no words to describe. there were tubes attached all over his frail body, and a hole had been cut at the side of his neck to drain liquid accumulating in his lungs.
over the next four days, we took turns to keep vigil as ken's father floated in and out of consciousness. we talked to him and held his hand, played his favourite music, had his old friends come visit.
ken's dad is now back in a normal ward and for now, things are looking good. although his heart had stopped when he collapsed at home, little damage was done to the brain, a fact doctors attribute to ken's quick-thinking family and timely medical attention.
over that week i realised a few important things about life and family. though unfortunate, what happened to ken's father brought the family closer together. i was deeply touched by how everyone kept their spirits up and their hopes high, and even in the most trying of times, we all remembered to laugh and make light of the situation. most of all, i realised that you can really make someone better just by being that one thing worth living for.
it's odd really, sometimes how things take place.
my mom used to tell me that when she was much younger, she was so busy with caring for the family that she never had the time to worry about her own health and well-being. now that we're all grown though, she finds herself having to come to terms with her own mortality and the fact that she is growing old.
i think it is when people find something that they want to live for that they start worrying about dying. that we are mere mortal flesh is fearful because that means the things that we yearn and live for can be taken away from us with a very sudden and unfortunate stroke of fate.
that thought struck home two mondays ago.
it was close to midnight and we had been spending the night quietly in front of the television when his mom called with the news.
ken's father had woken up to go to the bathroom when his heart suddenly failed. my mother-in-law frantically called for an ambulance and ken's brother, who works in a hospice, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while they waited for help to arrive. the medics had to revive ken's father with an external defibrillator because his heart had stopped beating.
memories of ken's grandmother dying suddenly from a stroke kept coming to mind as i drove us to the hospital, because ken was in singapore when it happened and he couldnt make it back home in time to see her.
before we were allowed to see ken's father in ER the doctors kept telling us they werent sure if he could be saved. they told us his pulse was wildly irregular, that of the three arteries grafted in a bypass some 8 years ago two had failed. they reminded us of his father's medical history (he was born with a heart condition) and asked if we would allow them to attach him to a life support machine.
the main problem with going ahead with life support is that once a patient is placed on it, they cannot be taken off it because of Japanese laws prohibiting euthanasia. in the event that patients fail to recover or lose all brain activity, their lives would inevitably be prolonged for an indeterminate period of time through life support.
all of this information was presented to us by no less that three doctors while ken's father remained in ER. we asked for time to think about the possibilities and implications, but werent allowed the luxury of thinking the situation through given the circumstances.
ken and his family eventually decided that saving his father was ultimately more important that the fear of unwittingly prolonging his suffering in the future, and so the decision was made in favour of life support.
i have never seen the going-ons inside an emergency room, and being face-to-face with a loved one on the brink of death and fighting for life is something i can find no words to describe. there were tubes attached all over his frail body, and a hole had been cut at the side of his neck to drain liquid accumulating in his lungs.
over the next four days, we took turns to keep vigil as ken's father floated in and out of consciousness. we talked to him and held his hand, played his favourite music, had his old friends come visit.
ken's dad is now back in a normal ward and for now, things are looking good. although his heart had stopped when he collapsed at home, little damage was done to the brain, a fact doctors attribute to ken's quick-thinking family and timely medical attention.
over that week i realised a few important things about life and family. though unfortunate, what happened to ken's father brought the family closer together. i was deeply touched by how everyone kept their spirits up and their hopes high, and even in the most trying of times, we all remembered to laugh and make light of the situation. most of all, i realised that you can really make someone better just by being that one thing worth living for.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Cream of Pumpkin
It's freezing here. In Okinawan terms, that is.
rarely do temperatures dip below 15 degrees in winter, but this year the thermometers have been hovering at 12-14 degrees for the past few days. in case readers are sniggering about how i seem to be making such an issue of okinawa's relatively balmy-sounding winter, a walk outside will be all it takes to silence the cynics.
it doesnt snow here, but the strong northern winds are enough to freeze your underpants off. and it helps little that we are living in an old, rickety apartment that seems to be letting in drafts of cold.
so now here i am, clad in three layers of clothing and typing with cold fingers. tried to fend off the shivers by trying out a very simple recipe for cream of pumpkin soup (thank you ma for giving me your women's weekly cookbook..it is a godsend!) for dinner today and it was mouth-watering, lip-smackingly delicious!
started off by caramelizing half a brown onion and four cloves of chopped garlic in a pot, before adding in one large potato and half a pumpkin (both cut into chunks).
then i added three cups of chicken stock (take the shortcut like me and just dissolve two knorr chicken cubes in warm water) before letting the mixture come to a boil.
i let the soup simmer for a further 20 minutes to soften the vegetables, and then processed the soup by passing the entire mixture through a sift (which was a huge pain in the ass, by the way). i then returned the pot of soup to the stove and added in a quarter cup of milk.
all the hard work sifting by hand paid off eventually because the soup turned out so robust and flavourful that i didnt have to add any salt! just a generous sprinkling of coarse black pepper and my dinner was ready!
one painful regret though - i didnt have any bread at home to go with the soup and i was too chicken to venture out in the cold to buy some. Tsk.
note to self: buy a hand blender so you can try making all other types of cream soups!
rarely do temperatures dip below 15 degrees in winter, but this year the thermometers have been hovering at 12-14 degrees for the past few days. in case readers are sniggering about how i seem to be making such an issue of okinawa's relatively balmy-sounding winter, a walk outside will be all it takes to silence the cynics.
it doesnt snow here, but the strong northern winds are enough to freeze your underpants off. and it helps little that we are living in an old, rickety apartment that seems to be letting in drafts of cold.
so now here i am, clad in three layers of clothing and typing with cold fingers. tried to fend off the shivers by trying out a very simple recipe for cream of pumpkin soup (thank you ma for giving me your women's weekly cookbook..it is a godsend!) for dinner today and it was mouth-watering, lip-smackingly delicious!
started off by caramelizing half a brown onion and four cloves of chopped garlic in a pot, before adding in one large potato and half a pumpkin (both cut into chunks).
then i added three cups of chicken stock (take the shortcut like me and just dissolve two knorr chicken cubes in warm water) before letting the mixture come to a boil.
i let the soup simmer for a further 20 minutes to soften the vegetables, and then processed the soup by passing the entire mixture through a sift (which was a huge pain in the ass, by the way). i then returned the pot of soup to the stove and added in a quarter cup of milk.
all the hard work sifting by hand paid off eventually because the soup turned out so robust and flavourful that i didnt have to add any salt! just a generous sprinkling of coarse black pepper and my dinner was ready!
one painful regret though - i didnt have any bread at home to go with the soup and i was too chicken to venture out in the cold to buy some. Tsk. note to self: buy a hand blender so you can try making all other types of cream soups!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Back Home
And finally over with the pack-unpack, pack-unpack routine of the past months.
with the bathroom and shower freshly scrubbed of months of misuse and neglect while i was away, the apartment properly cleaned and the transition from "just living together" to "married" complete, i am enjoying my downtime trawling the internet while listening to 91.3.
thank goodness for live streaming. because now even though i'm a couple thousand miles away, i can still have the comfort of knowing that ECP is experiencing bottleneck traffic because of road works on the extreme right lane just after the bedok north exit. and oh, how i've missed the american twang of our local deejays' english!
this is just a very random update, but after reading the sybarite's rave about it and using it for my wedding, i decided that this was the best way to go:
with the bathroom and shower freshly scrubbed of months of misuse and neglect while i was away, the apartment properly cleaned and the transition from "just living together" to "married" complete, i am enjoying my downtime trawling the internet while listening to 91.3.
thank goodness for live streaming. because now even though i'm a couple thousand miles away, i can still have the comfort of knowing that ECP is experiencing bottleneck traffic because of road works on the extreme right lane just after the bedok north exit. and oh, how i've missed the american twang of our local deejays' english!
this is just a very random update, but after reading the sybarite's rave about it and using it for my wedding, i decided that this was the best way to go:
until now, that is!
i've heard more than a few good things about Majolica Majorca, a japanese line of cosmetics best known for their eye make-up. their mascara regularly makes the top spot in the beauty product rankings of japanese fashion magazines and they are also the brand of choice of those hip fashion queens in shibuya.
despite its huge popularity however, the brand is still considered a pharmaceutical-line product and goes for cheap in japan (1,260 yen).
which of course, only gives me more reason to give it a go.
majolica majorca has three types of mascara and a brush-on colourless lash base, all with equally confounding english names and all aimed at doing different things for your peepers such as adding length to pumping volume to creating the illusion of thick lashes.
i tried the "lash expander frame plus" mascara and am pleased as punch to report the following:
1. Definitely oil-proof! Does not smudge.
2. Has a wonderful two-way applicator that is easy to use for mascara dummies like me. Also prevents clumping and over-application.
3. Instantly adds length. It's really amazing watching your lashes grow longer upon application because the mascara contains fibre wigs that attach themselves to your real lashes, making them look longer.
4. It really looks natural!
So yes, with this glowing report card Majolica Majorca has earned a place in my personal beauty book of favourites.
Next stop eyeliner!!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
The Bread Factory
All thanks to Ros, actually.
She descended upon my serangoon apartment like a stork bearing gifts, quietly dropping off her much pre-loved breadmaker at my doorstep before leaving for new york.
back when she was in sapporo, the little japanese breadmaker would fill her tiny apartment with the smell of freshly baked bread on cold, wintry mornings. ros thought she would do a good turn by passing her mobile bread factory to the one who resides in okinawa, since the breadmaker would be far too heavy to make the trip to america and rendered useless in singapore because of the different voltage requirements otherwise.
buoyed by her happy memories of crispy onion and bacon bread, i decided to give the breadmaker a test drive. with an electric current transformer my dad salvaged from his workplace, my mom and i succeeded in baking our first loaf of bread this afternoon!
ros, say hello to Walnut Bread:
and this is the nifty little box that made it all possible:
She descended upon my serangoon apartment like a stork bearing gifts, quietly dropping off her much pre-loved breadmaker at my doorstep before leaving for new york.
back when she was in sapporo, the little japanese breadmaker would fill her tiny apartment with the smell of freshly baked bread on cold, wintry mornings. ros thought she would do a good turn by passing her mobile bread factory to the one who resides in okinawa, since the breadmaker would be far too heavy to make the trip to america and rendered useless in singapore because of the different voltage requirements otherwise.
buoyed by her happy memories of crispy onion and bacon bread, i decided to give the breadmaker a test drive. with an electric current transformer my dad salvaged from his workplace, my mom and i succeeded in baking our first loaf of bread this afternoon!
ros, say hello to Walnut Bread:
and this is the nifty little box that made it all possible:
Big Thank You to Ros! : )
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