Poetry

The Straits Times will be running a Poetry Page for maybe 15 weeks.  It is quite interesting.  I am always mystified by poetry.  When they do not rhyme, it does not seems to be poetry.  Paradise Lost is story of heaven.  I thought it is prose as it is quite a thick book.  Then I noticed the lines are in single sentence.  So it is an incredibly long poetry and reads like prose.  So it confusing. 

It is also Paradise Lost that I found a lot of Angels and Archangels described in western occult books.  So I think it is the key book that many western mystic use to explain their world.

Exams Over for B1

B1 has been studying so hard for his paper today.  He just came back and sighed.  He wish he did better.  I think it is the pressure of time and after the exams, he is regretting now writing certain points.  I used to kick myself after exams for forgetting to write on points that I know and did not write.

Now he can relax and next semester he will have a heavy load.  This semester he took only two papers.  It is tough studying Law.

Easier Ride in a Hot Afternoon

During lunch time, I went cycling.  B1 is tired of studying for his exams and joins me.  It is so much easier and more fun to ride when there are hardly any soul in the PCN.  We ride to Punggol Point and it is high tide and fishes are plentiful.  So I caught a lot of small fishes in a very short time and my arowana and goldfishes had a wonderful feast!

Meeting my Aunt and Cousins

It's been a long time since I met my cousins.  I think it was during the funeral of my uncle.  That should be maybe 10 years ago or more.  Today, we met on happy occasion.  My grandniece full moon.  My eldest sister invited her and they came.  I am surprised as I lost contact with them.  I have a wonderful to catch up with them.  Unfortunately, of the 5 cousins only 2 are married.  3 girls are not married as they prefers not to look after another person.  While it is true the female do the heavy lifting in terms of looking after the spouse, it is good to have company and also the man do give care albeit not as much.

I am still basking with my meeting with them this afternoon. 

B2 has night duty.  So we go to Chong Pang for dinner as it is near his camp.  The hawker center was extremely crowded and the braised duck is closed on last Sunday of the month.  So we go to the coffeeshop with the roast meat.  We had charsiew and chicken.  For $10, the serving is small.  We order Seafood fried rice from the cze char stall.  We order the biggest serving $10 and is rewarded with a huge plate.  We also had bak kut teh which I think it full of msg.  The oyster omelette from the bbq seafood is not bad at $8.

After dinner, we adjorned to the fruit stall and bought 2kg jackfruit, 10 mangoes and 3 packs of durian.  We had a good day.

Bustling Whampoa Hawker Center

We went to Newton Circus for dinner.  Unfortunately, it is closed for renovation until Monday, 24th.  So as we drive towards home, the next hawker center is Whampoa.  There is a very popular fish steamboat at the market side.  The wait is more than an hour.  So we go across the road to the hawker center instead.  There are more people but more stalls are open and plenty of choice. 

We tried Szechuan Delicacy and it is not bad.  Fried Kway Teow is also quite good and wanton mee is in the Lost and Found TV series.  We tried pork satay from two stalls.  The one in the middle of the hawker center selling only satay is better than the one facing the shops and has BBQ chicken wings and satay in their menu. 

Haneda Airport Lounge

I like Haneda Airport Lounge.  There is a soba station which I can order fresh soba.  My drink is served.  So it is a pretty good experience.  I no longer travel as much, so next year will likely be my last year as Solitaire.  Then I will not have any lounge benefits anymore.  Haneda Lounge belongs to ANA.  It is the best lounge among all the other star alliance lounge SQ uses. 

Thursday Night in Roppongi

It is my last night in Tokyo.  I kind of went rampage with my gluttony.  After finishing my meeting, I ate pork tori.  I do not know what it is called in Japanese as Yakitori is for chicken only.  After the pork-on-a-stick, I had ramen.  I was actually interested in soba but soba is so rare in Roppongi.  After ramen, I make my final stop in Starbucks which I ordered my favorite Caramel Machiato.  Since I am not likely to come back, I add a cheese cake and a milk bread stick.  What is fabulous evening I had eating my heart out.

Cravings

I ate yakiniku for dinner with salad.  I had coffee after dinner and now I am craving for some sweet cookies or biscuits.  I need to end my meals with a sweet note.  So I may have to walk out to a 7-11 or 24 hours supermart to get my fix.  Maybe it is because I did not have any carbo with my dinner.  So I am low on sugar.

Bookstores are Falling like Dominoes in Tokyo

My favorite pastime is walking about looking for bookstores to browse.  I thought Japan is quite set in their ways and Japanese reads alot of comics.  This time, two bookstores near the hotel are closed.  Maruzen and another which is quite big near Ruth Chris Steakhouse are gone.  It is like US, Canada and home.  Borders, Chapters, WH Smith are gone or seriously downsized.  The 2 bookstores in Roppongi near my office are still hanging on.  I do not know if my next trip will see their demise.  I no longer travel as frequently.  So it is quite a lot of change when the period between travel lengthens.

Sitting next to me in the train, a young Japanese woman was reading comics using her phone.  So the end is near for paper books.  We may only see them in museums in future!

Interesting Japanese Technology

We had meeting with our customers and had lunch box.  The lunch box is tied with a scarf, very traditional and the food is cold.  There is a string to pull and then the lunch box steamed up warming up the rice box.  My first experience with technology.  My colleagues too as we are not sure exactly how to make it work properly.  After some trial, we manage to make it work.  We have nice warm food although the heat is not consistent.  If we have patient to wait longer, I believe the food will be warm up properly.

Beautiful Weather and Random Rambling

The weather warms up.  So it is quite nice in airconditioned atmosphere and no wind.  I had a good day of work and it will be easy for tomorrow.  My colleagues promised Tonkatsu dinner tonight.  They know my taste.  It is either tonkatsu or yakitori.  I am thinking of asking them to switch to yakitori.  Let's see if they are willing to change.

Two of my colleagues in Japan who does Customer Service are gone.  Their job has moved to Malaysia, probably for cost reason.  I think it is a mistake. 

I had ramen for lunch.  It is quite salty.  Last night's dinner was ramen too.  So I am getting tired of ramen. 

My Japanese colleague told me economy in Canada is very good.  He has a friend who used to work there and now back.  I checked in the internet and found the news.  I have not been following news in Canada.  But good economy does not mean it is easy to get work there.  So it is still a retirement country for me.

Lost!

My office is only 10 mins walk and I got lost this morning.  I did not pay attention walk for 30 mins before I decided to give up and call my colleague to pick me up.  I cannot believe this.  Maybe senility is setting in!!

Seems Like Sunday

I keep thinking it is Sunday today as I will be flying off to work tomorrow.  I dislike flying on weekends.  It confuses my sense of timing.  The morning start as regular routine with B3 going for his CCA. 

Mummy is with me, so no tea in the hawker center.  She needs airconditioning.  So I decided to go to Ah Kun in Seletar Mall as there are seats usually.  This morning, it is so crowded.  So we have to try our luck with Toastbox.  Luckily, we managed to secure a table.  So we have the chuan tong or traditional breakfast - milk tea with butter toast plus two soft boiled eggs.  I prefers Ah Kun kaya toast over Toastbox.  I like the Kowyin style i.e. thick brown bread toasted and split in the middle before spreading kaya and butter.

For lunch, we go to Waterway Point.  It is so crowded even at 2pm.  Most of the resturants have long queues.  So we ate at the food court.  The ayam penyet is pretty good.  Now it is the end of day and I have to pack up for my trip tomorrow morning.

Eating Out on Friday night

I know all the resturants has long queues on Friday evenings and weekends.  So when B1 suggested eating out this afternoon, I thought we can beat the crowds by going to a hawker center.  Boy! was I so wrong!!  We try to go to our regular hawker center opposite ITE in AMK Ave 10.  There is a long queue of cars trying to get into the carpark.  Impossible!  So we abandon our plan to eat there.  Luckily, we know that there is cze char in the Industrial Park canteen and we went there instead.  Plenty of carparks and the men are drinking beer. 

We ordered large hor fun, chye poh omelette and Hakka deep fried pork.  The meal cost us $29.  Not bad for 4 albeit we are not that hungry.

Taste-wise, it is average.  I will go there again as it is good value and easy parking. 

Many Burnt Grass Patches

The dry weather is causing bush fires.  There are a few places along the PCN that are charred.  Luckily the rain today is quite heavy.  So lots of green sprouts can be seen in one of the burnt ground.  I also noticed there are less animals and birds out and about.  It may be due to the heat that I go at cooler time.  Cooler time means more people on the PCN and therefore the animals hide rather than forage for food.

Chronic Hip Joint Pain

My right hip joint has been sore for many weeks.  I wonder if the hernia repair is causing this problem.  The tui na says the muscles are weak causing this problem.  However, I worry that since it is on the same side as the operation site there may be a link.

Social Status and Hierarchy

Korean dramas are interesting to watch and follow.  While it is a microscopic len, it can be educational although I will not take it too seriously.  It seems like the society is very status concious and social economic status is always used as a comparison.  The language also have formal and casual forms.  To address the seniors, there are so many different level.  So Koreans have brought the Confucius teaching to a total different level!!  Confucius is the one who setup and teach social hierarchy.  So watching the Korean dramas give me a tiny window into the social behaviours of the Korean Society.

Ninja Warrior

I just saw this amazing video post by a female friend.  Unfortunately, my computer skills is not good so could not paste it in this blog.  The video is by Lauren Abraham titled Training like a Ninja Warrior.  4.4 million views so far.

Regular Monday

It is a regular start to my work week.  I enjoys the challenge as well as dealing with issues.  It is very warm and I go to Owen Road Hawker center to eat the freshly prepared chee cheong fun.  It rained during lunch, so after tucking in my food, I had a cuppa of locally brewed coffee.  Many hawker stalls are closed on Monday.  My favorite Teochew porridge is close as well.

There is a bakeshop which sells swiss rolls and beancurd tarts.  I bought the bestseller, chocolate swiss roll and a loaf of fruit cake.  It is quite a nice day.

Good Afternoon Nap

What a lazy man I am.  I have a nice lazy day.  In the morning, we go to Adam Road so that B1 and B3 can have breakfast before going to the CJ Koh Library.  It is exam time for B1 and B3 can follow to do his homework.  We bought 3 packs of No. 1 nasi lemak home for brunch with B2.   After dropping off B1 and B3, we went to Chong Pang Market.  It is incredibly busy with massive amount of cars waiting for carpark lots.  So we decided to park opposite and take a long walk in the hot sun.  No choice as B3 requested for green mangoes that is in season.  We bought 2 kgs of jackfruit, 18 green mangoes and two bags of seedless grapes- one green and other black.  Total cost $34.  Pretty good!

In the afternoon, the heat makes me drowsy.  So turning on the aircond, I had a nice long nap.  It is a nice way to while my Sunday afternoon.  After my nap, I had ice cream, jackfruit and bak kwa.  It is dinner time now and I will have light dinner with the family.

A wonderful day is coming to an end.

Headaches in the Morning

I feel quite sick this morning.  I have headaches and then found out my wife and son also have the same symptoms.  I suspected the Chinese tea as I just finished drinking it.   So did my wife.  But B1 pointed out he did not drink the tea.   It could be the weather i.e. the temperature as well as the pressure.  I feel the malaise and nausea.  So my lunch is canned sweet peanut soup.  After the sweet high cal lunch, I felt much better.  But it because a nagging headache that last until now.  I am not debilitated, it is just not feel chirpy at all.

Buying Pork

I go to a popular fresh pork stall in AMK Ave 1 and Ave 10 wet market.  I was there early and the queue is short.  I always watch what people ahead of me buys and how much they pay.  Every time, I see they buy lots of different cuts i.e. pork ribs, lean meat, ribeye and pork belly.   It take some time to cut out and weigh the meat for my predecessors.  Then when it come to the total bill, it is like 20 plus dollars.  Whereas for me, I get a pork belly plus rib or pork belly plus collar meat, my total will be 30 plus dollars.  I have to pay so much more.  I usually get 1 kg or 1.5 kg per cut since I bbq them.  My boys and I are basically carnivores.

Dominant Left Equals Weak Right

My right leg is giving me problem at the hip.  The tui na master explains that it is my weak right muscle that cause this.  I suspect this as well as I felt it when I cycle.  However, I had been cycling for years and only recently my right hip joint is sore and painful.  I also suspect my hernia repair may be a possibility.  If there is an inflammation, it will be sore as well.  If it is sore muscles, usually rest will solve the problem.  This time rest only give relief but the recovery is not complete. 

I am still troubleshooting my hip joint.  Another possibility is my bikes are not adjusted to my body and thus I am straining it unnecessarily when cycling.  I enjoys exercising but when it starts to cause pain, I am doing something wrong.

Rain, Small Rain

The clouds were dark and heavy, so I expected heavy rain.  However, it only shower a little and then stopped.  I tried to collect the water for my fish tank but only very little fell to the ground.   The water is quite dirty as it hardly rains and so all the dirt on the surface run off with the rain water.  My plants are thirsty and the grass patch is yellow instead of green.  It is tough to be a plant these days!

Tui Na Master Doctor

My low back is stiff and in chronic pain.  So I decided to go for adjustment.  I arrived at 12pm, put in my name and then wait for my turn.  It is 2:30pm before it is my turn more than 2 hours wait!!  I counted his slips.  There were 17 when I arrived.  At about 2 pm, another 6 or 7 patients came to queue.  So if I used a conservative 30 patients per day, his gross sales is $1,800!  Saturday is his rest day.  So even if we assume 20 days, it is $36K per month.  He is highly skilled and able to resolve a lot of pain.  So he deserves his earning.  He is earning like a regular specialist doctor.  I am happy for him.  He is one of the best I experience so far.

Mating Pair of Cobras in the PCN

Scorching Day

Mercury rising!  It is a scorching afternoon.  My brother-in-law recommend we go to Taman Bedok for lunch.  The bak chor mee take half an hour to come.  It is quite good but very salty.  I also got a plate of roast duck with char siew.  The lunch was pretty good and reasonable in price.  But I am very thirsty on the way home.  The msg is a too much for me.  Since it is so hot, we spend some time in the airconditioned Fairprice. 

In the late afternoon, I ride to Punggol Point.  It is so popular.  The kids are dipping into the sea.  Many have small fishing nets.  They must have thought it is like longkang fish.  Just scoop them out.  Dinner was simple sandwich with pickle, olives and capers.

Home Nice!

I am glad to come home.  I like the food in Seoul and the COEX mall is not like before.  Everything is bright and shiny.  It is very nice and modern.  Walkway is wide.  But I sense less crowd.  I guess the people are not coming back as quickly.  The bookshops are reducing their English language section.  So it is not so exciting anymore.

After I reached home, I went fishing to feed my arowana.  I have quite good catch today.  The tide is high and fishes are plentiful.  So it is quite fun to stop early.  I also can go for a short swim which is nice as the weather is warm.  Due to the sleep debt from the trip, I am feeling sleepy early.  So home is the time to catch on sleep.