Sick Food is...

...none other than the old-fashioned chicken porridge which I made today since I can't quite stomach solid food these few days. I'm not quite sure what caused my bouts of gastric-like stomach cramps. I can perhaps, only attribute it to stress.

Porridge... brought back memories of Mom nursing and fussing over me when I was ill. She would actually wake up several times at night to check on me for the entire period of my bed rest when I was deemed immobile. Poor Mom! Always the volunteer nurse on-call when anyone in the family fell ill, even the cats! When there's nothing else I could eat, she'll cook me her Bubur Ayam (Chicken Porridge). The only food I could stomach without making me nauseous, and usually in small amounts. Hence, I have been conditioned to associate porridge with sick food, and the fact that it does look rather unappetizing. It makes me wonder why people have porridge for breakfast or dinner. I do find that quite strange as the only reason I would eat porridge is when I'm ill.

So, here's my version of Bubur Ayam. Food for the ill. Just making it made me miss my Mom.

Really easy to make and surprisingly, Silver Bullet who simply abhores porridge at all cost, tasted my Bubur Ayam and thought that it was allright and stole spoonfuls of my sick food. I can't quite taste anything...my tastebuds are just non-existent at this point, yet Silver Bullet said it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He agreed, nevertheless, it doesn't look all that appetizing. But, hey, it's Sick Food...my sick food.

Bloody Cabby!

Some cab drivers here are just bloody attitudinal. Isn't it their job to just frigging drive wherever the passenger wants to go? One would think so, but apparently, not so in bloody Bangkok! It really annoys me when they use the traffic as an excuse, especially AFTER they picked you up and 50 meters on, they tell you they wouldn't go anymore because of the bad traffic. Wouldn't it be better for them to get stuck in traffic with a passenger who is willing to pay for the ride, rather than no passenger at all and STILL get stuck in the same traffic? Really don't understand their mentality. It's not like they could go anywhere either!

I got one of these annoying cabbies today on my way home. One could argue that I could have just walked it as I'm only a 10-15 minutes walk away to home from the office. The reality was, I had acute gastrics and decided to leave the office earlier, after having spent the night at "The Bum". There was no way I could have walked with the pain in my stomach. To top it all, it was pissing rain with thunderstorm all over. I'm just not gonna walk home in such weather , in my pathetic condition. This joker, having picked me up right outside my office building and agreed to go where I told him to, suddenly just stopped driving and decided to let me off after driving for about a hundred metres. He must have known that I was in no condition to walk in such a weather, especially not when I was lugging my handbag, my laptop bag, as well as a bag of meds emblazoned with "The Bum" logo and name on it. Obviously he wasn't sympathetic enough and even had the cheek to laugh it off and pointed me to a bridge where I could walk to. All he could say was "lot tit mak, mai pai". What an asshole. Fine, Mai pai, mai pay, then. The classic case of me cursing him under my breath, slamming the door as I got out and refusing to pay for the short ride even when he has turned on the meter when I got in. The logic is simple: why should I pay when you decide to change your mind and refuse to get me to my destination?

While I think my logic of not paying is fair (to me), I must admit that I do worry as I slammed his door and walked away, as I never know what the bugger's reaction is gonna be. This is Thailand and Thais are known for their malicious anger, especially when they lose face. One never knows if he decides to turn on you and play nasty. Anything can happen, and I count my blessings for the fact that he didn't hurt me for a mere 40 baht ride.

* lot tit mak, mai pai: literally translated as "very bad traffic, not going"

Shocking Laws?

Looks like both Singapore and Thailand made it to the list! No surprises on Singapore, really. To those who don't really know of Thailand, it is true that you should watch what you say, lest you kena the infamous lèse-majesté.

An interesting read.

It's Earth Hour!

Indeed, the puclicity on Earth Hour has been quite hot recently. Almost everyone is preaching about it in the last few days, reminding us to turn off our lights at 8.30 pm for 1 hour, anywhere you are. The thing is, we don't really have to wait for "Earth Hour" to do our part for the planet, do we? In fact, extend "Earth Hour" as much as we can in our every day lives. All the little bits count and do I even need to spell them out?

An excuse for a romantic dinner at home today as there is nothing but candles all around way before the stipulated "Earth Hour". I'm REALLY hoping others would give a damn. Yet, here I am sitting in my living room and noticing that there are several households from nearby apartment buildings who still have their lights on for several hours already. Quite sad, really. I understand that there are some who won't participate and really don't give a rat's ass. I wonder, what's their excuse?

Mr. Somchai

Looks like our Mr. Somchai even made it to the international news! Not bad for a local here, eh! Apparently, he also owns the Ultraman costume and keep them handy. More on the article here.

Calm after the storm...

Can you spot the 3 cats? I must admit that they all looked like they get along perfectly and even seemed at ease with each other's presence while keeping a fair distance from one another. All within my plain view. Only, 5 minutes before they all got to this position, all three have been at each other for a good hour, turning the place upside down. There was a fair amount of chasing, hissing, spitting, climbing, wrestling and "flash-runs" around the apartment. They drove me nuts and all I could do was spray them with water and raise my voice at them, hoping they would stop. They stopped alright and no longer than 5 seconds later, they were at it again.

Cats...a joy to have...can be such a handful. But, I still love them anyway.

Chicken Skin Man Found!

Those, my friend, are one of the best tasting deep fried chicken skins I've ever had. Only from the Deep Fried Chicken Skin Man, usually found along Soi 33. I was fortunate enough to chance upon him today while in the vicinity. Deep fried chicken skins might just sound disgustingly unhealthy to some, but hmmm....chicken skins...deep fried...really crispy...really yummy! Comfort food at its best.

Spiderman in Thailand

A heart-warming story. All in a day's work of this creative, real-life superhero.

Speechless; Useless

A fantabulous drum and bass from Kruder & Dorfmeister which puts me in the moment. Speechless has an annoying, wailing female voice in the background, but the beat is awesome. Useless is one with Depeche Mode. My current music addiction. Simply great!

Army pants illegal in Africa

So I found out, as I was researching on types of clothes to bring for our upcoming safari holiday. Apparently, no one in the country, except those in the military, are allowed to don on military type clothings or risk being arrested and dumped in jail.

Call me daft, but I never knew or even remotely aware of camouflaged army pants being illegal in that side of the world. I chanced upon several websites that stated this fact...and truth be told, I'm really quite surprised and even disappointed. I own 2 army-looking berms, 1 full-length army-looking pants and thought they would be perfect for the serengeti. What's more, I like the many pockets that comes with it. Very convenient for when you are travelling. My other travelling pants are mostly in black, which to my dismay, along with blue, are highly discouraged as they tend to attract mossies and the tsetse flies. Quite scary, come to think of it, but I suppose they are valid advice to follow and I certainly don't want my ass to be hauled in some African jail.

Quote of the day

Stolen off Mr. Sroy's handle on MSN:

"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes"

When drummed into you enough, you tend to believe all the critical comments about you. But what that criticizer did, is essentially trying to save his or her own ass at your expense. So, take what every one else say with a pinch of salt. Learn from your mistakes, but don't be judged down from other people's point of view.

I really like the quote.

Parrot saves the day!

A great story here - an affirmation of why we should never think that animals are stupid.

I want a parrot. Always wanted one. Only it seems cruel to keep it in the confines of an apartment. But I still would want a parrot someday.

Chai Latte

My love affair with chai latte started long back in Singapore with Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves. It's probably more of an acquired taste, but the first few sips got me hooked. A pity they don't have Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves here as I DO think they serve better coffee than the over-priced Starbucks. Recently though, I noticed Starbucks here had Chai Tea Latte on their not-so-regular menu and I just had to ask for it. It may be Starbucks, but it's the only chai tea I can get my hands on. Coffee Bean has spoilt me rotten and the chai which Starbucks made me, cannot be compared to what I would get from Coffee Bean & Tea leaves back in Singapore. What a pity! Oh well...better than nothing.

Liberated!

Finally. It has been a gruelling one week that felt like months in an attempt to work on a new business pitch and having to turn it around within a week. Well, technically, only 4 working days if the weekend is not included. For a pitch, the timing is almost ridiculous. But, we pulled through and I'm glad that it's over. I can breathe easy, for now.

La vita è bella

This movie pretty much sums up my sentiments that even in your darkest hour, you can derive pleasure in the simplest things in life. That you still will be able to conjure up a smile and laugh at yourself when faced with life’s adversity. It is, but the littlest thing in life that makes the situation much more bearable.

I’ve always loved foreign films and La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful) is one movie in which the story of human spirit is portrayed really well within the realms of a doomsday situation – a Nazi concentration camp in this case. The main character, Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni), is always over-the-top cheerfully jovial. He does appear to be somewhat whimsical and even spastic, but is always smiling at and in the face of misfortune. The story carries a vivid imagination of a father and a husband who, in my opinion, acts the way he is to save himself from spiraling into desperation; and at the same time, gives hope to those around him. It is indeed a selfless attribute. The last bit of the movie is one of the most powerful symbolisms of human spirit where Guido had marched off together with the German soldiers in his silly, whimsical way while passing through a little box his son was hidden in, and, in doing so, managed a wink and a huge smile to his son in hiding. He probably knows the deal, but such is the magnitude of simple selflessness and making the best of things at hand.

You really gotta see the movie if you haven't already. If you had, then you know what I'm talking about. A definite classic (released in 1997) and I'd watch it again for the 3rd time.

The littlest things...

...in life are almost always easily taken for granted. Too caught up are we in our everyday life that sometimes, just sometimes, we forget to just pause and take a step back. We get caught up in our own little world, we forget that sometimes, just sometimes, not everything is about us. Perhaps, it has never been about us. While we get rancorous and livid at the world, we too tend to forget that the entire universe does not just revolve around us.

Too caught up are we in an insular space of frustrations that we forget. We forget to remember to enjoy the littlest things is life that make our existence that much more meaningful.

Like hearing the voice of a loved one who has been away, in the middle of the day, while you are struggling to beat the deadline; even if it was for a brief a moment.

Like coming home to a bunch of cats and it makes you feel happy and peaceful inside to just see them hanging out; even after a 14-hour work ordeal and feeling all beat up and sucked dry.

Like having a good friend who calls just to check on you if you are doing alright; even if it feels like it was unnecessary at that time.

Like having your mom texted you on your mobile just to ensure that you are not in dire straits; even if it seems like she is nagging away since you should not still be in the office at midnight and having to go home alone.

Like getting emails and messages from trusted, good old pals, bringing you nothing but joyful news and that it uplifts your spirits just hearing it straight from them; knowing full well that, no matter what, you are friends for life and that they are there for you.

Like having a really quiet moment at home in the middle of the night when the TV is not working and the only sounds you hear are that of the crickets and passing cars on the expressway.

Like knowing, somehow just knew, of friends and family far away who are probably thinking of you, from their vast physical distance.

Like having a really hyper kitten on your lap who is just relentless in trying to gnaw your fingertips away as you start typing really, really fast...leaving gibberish on your screen. And you can't help but laugh at yourself, as you pull her jaw from your aching paws while giving her a kiss on her forehead, as all she really wanted was a little attention and she'd be on her way.

I am, but blessed by these little things - all of which I'm thankful for; I would solemnly attempt and remind myself not to take it all for granted. There are other things in life worth putting up your life for...the daily miserable egotistiscal power struggle at the workplace or how others are ruining (or running) your outlook of life, are not some of them. There are better things to do than feeling all scornful and bitter.

Live and let live.

Quotes of the day

• So much knowledge, no where to impart.
• Irony is when you realized that your knowledge and intelligence are abused by being slaves to the idiots.
• One seems to have much more to gain by being a cretin at the expense of a more capable, knowledgeable person.

A personal observation. Think about it.

Effects of stress?

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME.

P.S: Pardon the bad picture quality in trying to capture the "red spots" there. My photography skills kinda sucks.

Oklah..actually, more to "tak glam" rather than an offending one since I have got legs the size of an elephant's thigh. Those red blotches appeared out of nowhere a few days ago. I would have given the monkeys a run for their money at the rate I've been scratching away like a mad imbecile. I counted and there are altogether 17 ugly red blotches. All on both of my legs and 1 on my index finger. That's EIGHTEEN! Some are round and fat. Some are small and ovalish. They all are bumpy and itch just the same. I have no idea where they came from and I don't think it was some insect bites either. They just appeared in lumps when I got to the office and just got bigger when a few of those lumps started to merge together. It looked like hives and I had it once more than 5-6 years ago. Apparently, that was from stress. At least that was what the doctor said. But he only confirmed it after asking me if I had been rolling around on the grass. To which I said, I would probably be happier if I got to do that, but I had been in the office only for the last 18 hours and the furthest I walked to was from my desk to the toilet less than 3 metres away. I couldn't have rolled off the ground even I had wanted to, with or without grass.

Sigh...stress does the strangest things to the human body when you least expect it.

Jaded?

Currently in deep consternation asking myself if Thailand has finally gotten to me this time. It feels like I am a fingertip away to reaching the end of the line. My patience is wearing thin. I'm worn-down with anything and everything about Thailand and the whole hullabaloos of its resident homosapiens. Everything seems like a goobledygook and don't even get me started on Thai work antics. End May would be my 4th year in Bangkok. Time flies. It's not like I could just pack up, and leave everything behind when I've had enough. There are still 3 cats to think about who needs to be fed. Yes, yes...I know, of course the husband too lah! The truth is, I'm still earning an honest, decent living out here and I would not trade the experience here or the lifestyle outside work for anything else. I'm sure this is just a phase. I hope it's a phase. Sometimes, you just need to take a step back and reflect. Sometimes, you just can't be too insular, lest you get sucked up into a belief system that doesn't match your own beliefs, thereby stagnates you.

I think having some time OUT of Thailand for a while would be good for the soul. And my sanity. I'm really looking forward to our holiday in Tanzania. Or anywhere else for that matter. Just get me out of this frigging country for a while.

Short Quips

Points to ponder:

• Being a day-to-day key client contact does not automatically qualifies an individual as a leader.
• A boss is not necessarily a leader material just because the title deems so.
• You can't quite teach a person HOW to think.
• Stop the frigging discussions and start doing the actual work.
• Everybody wants to lead and have their say, but nobody wants to do the frigging work.
• A leader does not callously leave a big job to the team and expects them to figure it out on their own without proper guidance.

My Therapy: Fried Macaroni

Situation at work has bogged me down recently and to combat the stress, I make myself happy by cooking! Cooking is indeed my theraphy and even after a crazy, long day at work, I really don't mind the work in the kitchen. I find it fulfilling and I don't have to deal with unnecessary politics with knives, blender, stove and meat at hand.

My stress dish of the day is whiping up my mom's Fried Macaroni, topped up with thinly sliced omelette. Not a typical run off the mill ang-moh style pasta, this one is quite different and available only in the kitchen of Madam-MomFadz and now, mine! It is curry-based and for some reason, I can never get enough of my mom's. This happened to be the best tasting ones I have made so far, as kindly verified by Silver Bullet. I didn't make any adjustments to the ingredients, so I guess I'm getting better at this dish. Want some?

Trees a-blooming

A pleasant view from our apartment with this one tree in full bloom. The flowers may be pink, but I have to admit that it's a nice view. It has also been rather windy and what a breath-taking sight to see many petals falling off the ground right from my balcony. Haven't quite seen it like this before. I was so buried in work at home and could have easily missed the lovely sight had it not been for Fudge as she was the reason I got out of my seat to get her off the screen door! I guess, things do happen for a reason.

If you really look closely, you can make out the petals falling

Cats, not kids!

Fudge has been a handful of late and just extremely relentless. On top of being vocal, she can't seem to keep her paws to herself. She entertains herself a lot and will somehow get up to some mischiefs that last throughout the night! She climbs everywhere and anywhere her claws will take her. She doesn't seem to tire, but I feel exhausted just by looking at her runnning and climbing around the house like flashes of lightning. It gets worse when she's joined by the other 2 cats whom she'll gleefully disturb. Andy doesn't take her nonsense too kindly and gets aggresive. She hisses and spit with agitation and sheer hatred with daggers in her eyes. If looks could kill.

Recently, she's been caught red handed climbing up the screen doors and going up as high as possible while meowing as loud as possible. Spurts of water sprayed on her seems to work well. The 4th picture is Fudge acting sorry right after getting a spray, a flick on her forehead and a scolding.

Fudge really does drive the entire household crazy with her ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). She gets scolded all the time, but you just can't get angry with a cat for too long. Especially not with Fudge since she seems to know that she can tug at your heart-strings by snuggling up with you and settle on your lap moments after being scolded.

"The trouble with cats is that they've got no tact." - P.G Wodehouse

The masala one, that one.

Tosay, tosai, dosa, dosai, thosai, dhosa...? There seems to be many variation of its spelling, although I'm more familiar with "tosay".

Had a home-delivery tosay recently which costed us 350 baht (SGD 15) for a pathetic plain one and one with chicken masala. Can't believe they are so expensive here. Almost not worth it I'd say, especially when the taste is nothing to shout about.

One of the best tasting ones I've had was strangely in Laos more than 2 years back. The Masala Tosay there was just amazing - in fact Indian food in Laos were actually pretty good and not too expensive either. Which reminds me of the frequent after-school Tosays meal I used to relish with Anakinsoon and a few other friends at one of the small Indian stalls along Bugis street. It was one of the best around then and costed us like 50 cents (..?). Well...that was at least 12 years ago, but it was one of my fondest memory of Tosays! Some things you just don't forget.

A weekend in Petchburi

It's always nice to be able to get away from the bustling and polluted city of Bangkok for a short trip to somewhere more pleasant and quiet. The opportunity presented itself last weekend as Silver Bullet's department organized an outing where the staffs were encouraged to bring along family members. It was essentially just a one night stay-over at Chez Nous Boutique Resort, located along Chaosamran Beach at Petchburi, just about 2 hours drive away from Bangkok.

Getting there was a nightmare, though. The road leading to Petchburi province is a a total chaos and a mess. I wasn't even the driver, yet I felt like I was hit by succession of heart attacks as many a pedestrian just popped up along the barricades of the highway and trying to cross over 4 lanes of road as vehicles were travelling at high speed! Add that to maniacal, inconsiderate Schumacher -wannabe drivers. Sheer madness! These people are just suicidal.

It was, otherwise a nice, quiet and fuss-free resort to chill at. It wasn't much of an outing per se, as I do think that the main excuse for the "outing" was nothing, but to eat. Lunch and dinner were the only activity we had as a group. At lunch, there were already talking about where they'd be having dinner! I gotta to admit though that the seafood was really fresh.

We now can add one more location that's not too far away from Bangkok to our list. Something which we would not have been aware of, if not for this outing. We'd definitely consider the Che Nous Resort again for a short retreat.


View of the main fountain and our room


The pool and view of the sea



Fresh all-seafood lunch at a nearby restaurant with its resident cat and mynah




Scenery taken from a moving car on the way out of the resort towards home

Beggarism

There are no shortages of street beggars in Thailand. I passed them by every day on my way to work, on both sides of the roads and always at the same spot like the day before. I wonder if they only “work” from 9-5 since I don’t see them anymore in the evenings. Although I do feel sorry for them, I don’t usually give them any money as I don't know for sure if they get to retain their keeps. From what I heard and somewhat affirmed by some of the locals, there’s a syndicate running behind these sorrowful looking beggars. That means, these ‘beggars” get dropped off at the exactly the same spot every day and whatever money they collected at the end of the day will go to the syndicate. I don’t know how much truth there is in such things, but it makes me think twice if I were to spare them any change. I would rather give them food or if they sell small packets of mints on the streets, I would buy it from them; let them keep the change. At least they are making some effort to earn an honest living, rather than just sit around and rattling their empty containers asking you to donate. Unfortunately, most of them have become nothing but a blind spot to me.

Recently, I saw a food vendor on wheels, whom, while pushing his cart through the narrow soi had stopped right in front of this one particular beggar and gave her a box of food from his cart. The reaction from this beggar who I avoid eye contact with on a daily basis, was not what I would have expected. She actually glared at him, open and closed the box twice, and had it shoved aside as if she was being insulted. It did look like she was none too pleased. (I managed a peek and it looked like delicious fried rice freshly prepared and even covered in glad wrap!) Whatever happened to beggars can’t be choosers.

Mee Goreng

How does that look for a home-made Mee Goreng? It still doesn't taste as authentic as the Indian-style Mee Goreng as you get from the hawker centres in Singapore, unfortunately. But when the craving gets in the way, I do what I can. It was finished in just 2 days, so I guess it is palatable.

The recipe was taken off the Internet with some improvisation on my part.
Ingredients:

• 1 lb yellow egg or chow mein noodles
• lb boneless mutton [I had used beef)
• 1 tspn light soy sauce
• 1 tspn dark soy sauce
• black pepper
• a pinch of sugar
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 green chillies, sliced
• bean sprouts
• sliced cabbages
• 2 potatoes, peeled, boiled [al dente], halved, cut into small thick slices and tossed in 1 tsp chili powder & 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 fried bean curd cake, sliced
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 10 shallots, thinly sliced, fried golden brown for garnish
• 3-4 limau kasturi [kalamansi lime], cut into into wedges
• Seasoning Sauce Ingredients (mix them together and blend) :
  - 5 fresh red chillies
  - 1 tsp turmeric powder
  - 1 tbsp soy sauce
  - 4 to 5 tbsp tomato puree

Method:

1. Slice mutton and marinate [20 mins] with 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and black pepper
2. Heat wok to smoking hot, add 4 tbsp veg oil, add onions, stir-fry for a few seconds
3. Add marinated mutton and stir-fry briefly [medium-rare or medium], remove mutton, set aside
4. Combine seasoning sauce with 1-2 tbsp water
5. Add sauce to wok, bring to a rapid boil, allow to thicken slightly
6. Add noodles, stir-fry to thoroughly coat noodles with sauce
7. Add bean sprouts, salt to taste, stir-fry
8. Add potatoes, fried bead curd, cabbages and the set aside meat together, stir-fry
9. Push mee to sides of wok, add a little oil, pour in beaten egg, cover with mee and leave to set for about 1 min
10. Add lime juice and stir-fry noodles well until 'dry' and slightly charred

Serve in a plate. Garnish with fried shallots, limau kasturi [Note: the squeeze of lime is what brings the flavors together] - and serve.

DSLR's Test Series

Silver Bullet's recent and earliest attempts using his Canon DSLR. They didn't turn out all too bad, considering cats can be quite finicky subjects to work with. Fudgie turned out to be quite photogenic in pictures as compared to the other two. The bottom two are my favourites - there's a lot of depth and substance in the way she looks, even though she's only just a cat. I thought it was pretty well-done for a first-timer!

I'm alive!

Right around the same time sometime last year, my walk back to the office from Bumrungrad Hospital after visiting a subordinate who had given birth to her 1st daughter, almost cost me my life. As I made my way out of the hospital at the ground floor, I had to cross a small soi to get over to the other side. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize I was to come into a corner where at the same time, a huge-ass pick-up truck decided to make a left turn just as I made it across the road. The moron obviously failed to check his side mirrors of possible pedestrian crossing and had cut his turn a tad too short for a truck so big.I realized there and then that I was trapped. There was no where I could move as I was stuck in a tight corner with a pillar behind me and half the truck was already turning past me. It was then I realized I could have been brutally crushed, especially if he had sped his way through. Instinct took over and I pounded on his truck real hard with all the might of my two bare hands as my legs were already caught between the truck and the pillar. I imagined he must have heard the thunderous thuds somehow, as he slowed down and eventually stopped, probably wondering where the sounds were coming from. All I could think of, was to quickly get out of that spot I was in and as far away as possible. Of course, the driver did not bother to get out of his truck or roll down his window to check. He just drove off. I continued walking back to the office with wobbling knees, a racy heartbeat, a dazed mind and pretty much shivered for the rest of the day. It did occur to me at that time though, that if anything were to happened, I should be lucky that I’m already at the hospital’s premises! Nonetheless, it was scary. It took me more than a week to recover from that incident and, one of the reasons I remembered the timing so clearly was because it was weeks before I was to get married.

Today, I was being reminded of the harrowing incident again as I walked towards the same hospital to visit yet another pregnant subordinate. Only this time, it is her 4 YO daughter who has been hospitalized for a few days due to high fever. The closeness of the timing is almost uncanny.. My heart started racing as soon as I got to the vicinity of the hospital. I shuddered as I got closer to that same spot I was stuck in. I even stopped short in my tracks and frantically tried to find another way to get to the main building. I managed to find an alternative way and avoided that bit altogether. What happened a year ago is still etched deeply in my mind. I supposed it is not my time and I am thankful to be alive.

Music Preferences vs Intelligence

A somewhat unscientific study of intelligence and music. Assuming its true, stop listening to Gospels and tune in to the sound of Radiohead. Hey! Even Green day didn't make it all too bad. I'm glad most of my choice of music are in the high(er) scoring scales. I'll give Beethoven a pass... afterall, I'm not THAT intelligent.

911 abused

What would you do if McD runs out of nuggets for the day? A woman had apparently called 911 - not just once, but 3x! Such ludicrous thing can only happen in the United States of A.

Calvin & Hobbes

Easily one of my favourite comic strips and I just had to post today's strip in case you missed it. The imaginary friend bit, I had to laugh!

...

...

...

... So...can I be your imaginary friend? I'd really like to know what it's like to mess with your head ;D

692 and counting

Finally got round to fiddling with my new gadget, a birthday gift from far away Holland. 692 is the number of songs currently uploaded in my Ipod Nano. That's worth 2.1 days of non-stop music! There's still 2.5 GB worth of empty space left where I can still upload photos and movies! The battery life actually lasted more than 8 hours and that's just amazing. Nano is of no comparison to my 5-year old 1st generation Ipod Mini, which was officially discontinued sometime in 2005. I remember having to fork out more than SGD 300 (I think!) when Ipod Mini first came out and it only had 4 GB with no other fancy functions - just music. I also had spent a fortune on Altec Lansing speakers specifically for Ipods because it was the only one (then) that could dock an Ipod, making it look even more cool (then!). It lasted me quite a while that Mini, until 3 years ago when the bugger refused to work unless connected to a power source. Simply because, the battery has gone kaput and it was perpetually docked to the Altec Lansing so I could listen to some music at work. Even at its peak, the battery life lasted no more than just a few hours when fully charged.

Next to the Nano, the Mini looked a tad gargantuan and dare I say, UGLY! Oh well, the Mini has run its course and I'm wondering if I should try to sell it. Perhaps, if I keep it for a few more years, it will become an antique? My only issue with Ipods is that you can't use it interchangeably with Mac and Windows. Not that I'm still using Mac, but still, they should do something about that. Oh! and I found out that my Altec Lansing speakers, while can still be used for Nano, cannot be used to charge the Nano's battery. WTF!

Halitosis in Thailand

An article from a local newspaper reported that as many as 9 million Thais have smelly mouth. Now, that's a lot of Thais nationwide with stinky breath! The moment they open their mouth, they literally take your breath away. I'm not too sure if those who has the unfortunate disease of having mouth odour are actually aware of their condition. Assuming they don't, my question is, when you do encounter halitosis sufferer up-close, how do you tell them the truth without hurting them? Should you just buy them a set of oral care and attach a renown dentist's namecard as their birthday gift? Same thing with people who have body odour, would it be really impolite to give them a gift set of deodorant and perfumes? It's a terrible disease to have and given my penchant for foul smell, I am acutely susceptible to anything stinky. Still, it's a hard subject to broach, whether you are friends or only acquaintances. They might take it the wrong way and hate you for telling them such things. But I do hope that someone closer to them would actually offer a heighten awareness of their condition. For me, tell me outright if I'm smelly. You don't know how much I'd appreciate such things. At least, I can then go do something about it.

New Toy

Silver Bullet is now a proud owner of a DSLR Canon EOS 40D after spending months contemplating on the purchase. It is a sleek-looking camera no doubt, but I'm a little intimidated by it. I fear I might just ruin it if I touch it...so it's best to leave the camera in the hands of those who know what they are doing. I'll just be putting up pictures taken from his DSLR from time to time.

Next to that is my Olympus mju 770 SW. Now my camera is really looking like a kindergarten toy next to his professional-looking camera. It is after all water-proof and shock-proof...and more suitable for a novice photographer like me who sometimes can't even get a focused shot, even with a point-and-shoot camera. Think I'll stick to my kindergarten photography skills for the time being :).