When a Snail Crosses Your Path

When a snail crosses your path

Do you stop to say Good day?

Or walk past oblivious to its existence, 

Or do you just squash it anyway?

Well, a snail crossed my path one night

It inched forward ever so slow

I stopped to peer down over my nose

To ask him, "Snail, where do you go?"

He didn't answer

Not a sound did he make,

But as he moved silently along

A lesson home, I did take

In this hustle and bustle oh-so-noisy world

We scarce take time to breathe

To remember what living is all about

To enjoy the flowers and trees

The night I met the snail has long past

But the memory of him lingers on,

Life, my friends, is not yours forever

And one day, it'll all be gone.

12x12 Cafe, Suntec City

Going Green with a Bite. 

Took a breather to update about this health junkie must-visit cafe at Suntec City - 12x12. Sitting right next to Strip (ooh, I Love) for those avid waxers. I suppose the notion would be that those who spend time and money on grooming (a XXX Wax sets you back about $60) will want to keep their bodies beautiful from WITHIN as well. 

Hence, the feel-good crunchie munchies.

Watercress with figs and i can't remember what else made for a good fresh-tasting salad. Raw figs aren't as good as dried ones, but still yummy anyway. 

Our half devoured fitballs made from polished rice and with various fillings. We had (if my memory serves me well) salmon and asparagus, chorizo balls, Thai (coriander caution), Spanish ham and one other that i can't place my finger on, but remember it was super good. 

Let's not forget the Haricot Verts aka Stringless bean salad. Ooooh lala. Slurpes. Crisp beans with pine nuts tossed generously thrown in, a perfectly hardboiled egg cut into halves with a sundried tomato on top...... Can you tell that this was my fave dish? 

Ok, I am a total sucker for healthy chow and despite it not being the cheapest of lunch time options, I'm definitely going to frequent it more. 

Here's to going green from within!

Understanding Pain.

A swollen ankle.

It really doesn't seem like a big deal, but somehow, spraining my ankle over a friendly (or not so friendly, rather) game of futsal taught me to appreciate little things that I take for granted all the time. I know, it sounds silly and almost frivolous of me to discount the 4 limbs I was born with, the eyes I can see with, the ears I can hear with but I've lived all my life taking these things for granted.

Ok, maybe not all the years. There was a year I caught a bad bout of pneumonia and was rushed to the hospital at 4am, coughing blood into my tissue. I remember being petrified and thinking I had TB instead.

So what just happened to get my foot all mangled and ugly like it is today? As I sit here with a half-melted ice pack (due to our country's insufferable heat), I try to recall the day's happenings.

But it wasn't the fall that snapped me to realizing how important walking was to me. When the doctor told me no high-impact activities for awhile, I was horrified! What would I do for exercise? Already I can feel the blobs of fat layer themselves on my slowly-getting-weaker body. I can feel myself expand as I lose stamina. Gosh.

Am I like exaggerating a tad or what? Anyway, the picture above is my foot as of today, 4 days after my fall. It's a little uglier in real life and a nasty blue black marks my bad fall. But see below for how it swelled up the first night.

Things I learnt to treat a sprained ankle:

1. Never think it isn't serious, and try to continue running/ walking/ playing the fool. I did that and it worsened.

2. Try get an ankle guard as soon as possible, for stability and support.

3. Ice the swollen area every 3-4 hours, for about 10mins each time. (In our weather, Ice packs don't last very long, so I'd suggest more frequently for shorter timespans).

4. Elevate it whenever possible to keep the blood from clotting around the swollen area.

5. Learn your morphone from your codeine. (just kidding). See a good doctor, who can prescribe a strong painkiller. Remember not to let your productivity slide when you're being distracted by excruciating pain from moving your ankle too much. Also, make sure your doctor knows about any drug allergies (eg - I'm allergic to Aspirin, so well, between getting a tight chest, itching and some wheezing or feeling the pain from a fall I kinda deserved, I'll choose the dull ache in my leg anytime!)

Guess that's about all the tips that Doc Ee feels in the mood to share for today. Also I've got other things to do. Sorry for the boring-est post ever! :) But it's good to show off my souvenirs from a tumble!!!

I can't wait for my foot to feel better. It looks atrocious, but inside, I'm not afraid of the pain. The pain helps to remind me that reality does hurt. That i am not invincible, and that I can be stopped short just when I'm sure of myself. I need to recover, and I want to recover. I will recover by next week, and the threadmill will be my home once more.

Our ugly nation rears its head once again

Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.
That's what life should be about. Life is too short to nit-pick on the faults and mistakes of others. Sure, we all slip up, but need we be so judgmental? What kind of sad satisfaction do we get laughing at other's people misery?
I've gotten jaded in my one year back. There's such unhappiness in people's faces when they walk around. Everyone writes a letter to complain. The favourite pastime of the People is TO complain. It's gripe away, everyday.
Get a life.
Before you open your mouth, before you point the next finger. Stop, look, listen, THINK!!!!! There are families you are hurting with your spite and your malice. Stop being the biggest critic. Look at yourself before making condescending remarks insinuating you know best!

Sigh.

Grouchy.

Warning - Bitch post

Ahhhhh!!!

Something irked me yesterday and i almost forgot about wanting to post this! Was on the bus yesterday, yes, a super duper long trip home from Clarke Quay, and it ended up pretty packed. I thankfully found a seat, and settled in nicely, watching my fave L-Word on the tiny Ipod screen.

After about 20 mins, I had the sudden feeling that someone was watching me. Or rather, the screen I was looking. I snapped my head to the left and noticed that this lady next to me was watching the show intently.

So i clicked "Pause". And she too realized that she had been caught.

Gave V. a call and LOUDLY exclaimed, oh babe, you wouldn't believe it but the lady next to me is like watching the show too!

Honestly, doesn't mean that this is a public space and that you can watch over my shoulder. I mean, c'mon. Don't you have any decency? it's almost as bad as reading a stranger's text message! This made me think back to when I was younger and I hated people reading the newspapers or books that you're looking at while travelling on public transport.

Sigh.

We've got a nosy culture here in Singapore. -shrug- Some might argue that it's being inquisitive, and this would be seen as a good thing. I beg to defer. There's a time and place for poking your head into other people's lives, and you know what? If it's not meant for you, don't look. Kind of like Pandora's Box tale. But then, I doubt many people in Singapore would have heard of it.

Nosy Nation. Save us!

Bon Appetite at Bon Gout Cafe

Hungry.

Both of us were starved and indecisive. With each meal being a whole new experience, we always try to go to somewhere memorable, rather than just another old coffee shop. I wouldn't consider myself a diehard foodie, but I do love eating. :)

Japanese has got to win hands down as my fave grub and with Singapore offering so many different types of Japanese cuisine, I guess I can say i'm in Heaven. We went to a dive shop sale (Great Scuba Sale) at Riverwalk, Circular Road, but I'll get into the whole diving she-bang later on. For now, let's have a quickie about the delish grub I put away last night.


V. brought me to Bon Gout Cafe (pronounced Bon Goo) at 60 Robertson Quay, The Quayside, last night as we both had a craving for meat, served non-Western style. Japanese and Korean BBQ seemed a little too heavy at 9pm for dinner, and she recommended the bookstore cum cafe for its great prices, delectable dishes and peaceful ambience. I was not going to be disappointed.

Understated and clean, Bon Gout had every table in the tiny place occupied. Us being the only non-Japanese in there! A little old Japanese lady brought us our menu, and took our order. We ordered a Wasabi Mayo Deep Fried Chicken to share and ooh la la, this was the first time I think I've ever had Wasabi Mayo with a punch! I decided to load on the calories with a Pork Cutlet and Bon Gout Beef Curry with Rice, while V had a stir-fried pork with Miso and Eggplant.

Hmm, kinda wish I had chosen the stir-fried pork because the Eggplant was cooked to perfection. Juicy and tender, it wasn't overcooked and soggy. And the miso flavouring sat very well with the finely sliced lean pork. Yummz..... Definitely would go back to this quaint joint, and perhaps I might bring myself a magazine or two to keep myself occupied while I soak in the delightful atmosphere.

In my one year back, I've found it hard to find a dining place that doesn't have droves of crowds to put me off. I loathe crowds and one thing I miss about Melbourne was the emptiness of it at times. How I could take a morning off at a cafe at Clarendon Street, or perhaps at the nearby Peko Peko Cafe that was my humble workplace for 2years or so. Finding good coffee in Melbourne was never hard and around every street corner would be a friendly face and a big smile.

Egads. Didn't expect this post to get me homesick.

And yes, it is Home to me.

"The Scream"

Lips that taste of tears, they say,
Are the best for kissing.
~Dorothy Parker

It was like a cry for help, an awakening, a deeper insight to another person’s pain and hurts. It was a reflection of my youth, the long journey of life that has seen love and love lost, deaths and new life.

I read my brother’s new blog today and it moved me. His talent and ability to write so beautifully astounds me. I am blown away. I suppose, my parents never knew that they gave birth to three children who loved their words. Children who expressed themselves the best through visuals and through language. Creativity has played a large role in our growing up days, and although it seems that since coming home, I scarce can find time or energy to focus on growing my talents, I know it still lives in me. It lives in all three of us.

There are days in our lives where we feel lost. Without any sense of direction and no meaning to life, we plod on. Our eyes blinded by the seemingly important things in our life – work, money, friends, we forget those most important and dear to our lives. In the 2 weeks my parents went on their exotic trip to the Mediterranean, I spent time with my grandmother. Together with my siblings, we worked hard to make her smile once more. It has been 4 long sad months for my grandmother. She lost her best friend, her confidante, the one person in life that she would lay down HER life for. It brought great happiness to listen to her speak, and at the same time, saying our goodbyes left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. One day, she would be gone too. And our entire family will come together once more. This time, to mourn the great loss of a wonderful woman – Granny.

My grandmother isn’t a nag. She is polite, never demanding, never rude. She taught us to always be true to ourselves, our religion, our family and to watch our manners. She taught us that it important, be it rich of poor, to be honest in whatever we do. Never get ahead if the means you have to lie to be someone. She taught me that it was sometimes better not to say something hurtful, then to say it. Beauty is from within, and she is one of the most beautiful ladies in the world to me. To us.

In the week my parents were gone, I spent more time with my siblings. I listened to them, I watched over them. I was not always there with them, but it felt good to know that we have each other to rely on. Life has gone back to how it always is, and I don’t want to lose grip of what we have. I need to keep reaching out. Time is of the essence, and like grains of sand in an hourglass, they slip through our fingers and out of our lives. Forever. No amount of money or pleading can bring the past back to us. And it’s good that way. We live and we learn. I’m learning to appreciate who I have now and to let them know that I do care. The day will come when I will lose them, and they will in turn lose me.

But until then, I will care.