Food.... again?

Many ppl have said that I've keen interest in food cos i either tok to them abt food or i always write abt food on this blog. Some attribute it to the fact that mi dad was a chef, mi guess is tat its a coincidence but who knows. For those who have been reading Sunday Times, u'll know that on the last page of Lifestyle is always an interview with some renown ppl on food and they'll ask this qn,

'What will your last meal be?'

Today i shall answer this question too. My last meal shall be a nice bowl of my mom's minced pork porridge with a dash of pepper, dark soy sauce topped with canned braised peanuts and pickled vegetables(optional). I remember i used to really hate this dish, prob it was becoz i haven realise the best combination is with dark soy sauce, pepper and braised peanuts, now i can even eat one big bowl for lunch.

A simple meal is more than enuff to satisfy me before leave this world but before that happens won't it be great to sample some of the great food Man has come up with? No other species on this planet eat like we do isn't it. I certainly dun see lions cutting dears into small bite size meat and dip it in chili sauce and i feel all these has only got to do with Man mastering the use of fire. Some of my frens dun have such an adventure in food like i do, whenever i suggest trying somewhere new, some would say things like 'nice meh?', 'confirm nice not?' or 'I prefer this leh'. We shld be more adventurous in trying out the diff kinds of food, who knows u may like it but u surely would not unless u tried it. I do agree that the price is one factor most ppl take into account but there's always other cheaper alternatives worth trying out too.

So what would your last meal be?

The flu pandemic

I shall share smth i learnt from the exhibition i'm helping out. The flu pandemic has killed more ppl than the total WWI combined. That's at least a few hundred millions, u ppl shld head down to nat lib to visit the exhibition, really eye opener. Seeing the deadly effects of small pox is rather disturbing, esp the photo of the guy who kena it in his eye, the whole eye literally rot away. Yucks! Then there's the Al Qaeda video of them experimenting some deadly biological weapon and testing it on a poor dog. That's how sad infectious diseases are. Yesterday after coming back from work, i realise i'm down with flu too but i feel much better now, only a slight fever that comes n goes. I'm amazes with the number of panadols i've taken today, so far i've taken 6 since this morning and i'll prob take another 2 before i go to bed. Actually i dun really wanna work tomorrow since i'm down with flu today and its mi bro's ROM tml nite but seems somebody have been switching shifts pretty often and i've no choice but to go tml.

Work

For those who still have no idea what i've been up to, i'm now working at national library under the employment of Ministry of Info, Comms and Arts(MICA), helping out at their 'The Invisible Enemy' exhibition. The exhibition is about the major diseases that Singapore encountered in its history. Pretty interesting with lotsa info yet interactive enuff with games and quizzes to attract kids. The job itself is very simple and well kinda boring. All we do is hand out quizzes and surveys for ppl to do, count the ppl who visit the exhibition and walk ard to ensure things r in order. We need to wear office attire and guys need to wear tie and personally i dun really like this arrangement. Looking at the ppl coming to the nat lib r mainly students n families dressed casually, whereas our attire seems 'overkill', too formal in accordance to the visitors. But some ppl feels tat it reflects professionalism on our part, so be it then.

Its really interesting to meet all sorts of people when u're at the lib, from ppl who complain abt fines to high and the abolishing of the chopping return dates causing him to forget when to return to retirees hogging the sofas reading newspapers like he's gonna write a report of wad's going on around the world(U'll be amazed with the amount of newspapers they read). It really amazes me how these ppl can literally sit there n read the whole day, well not really cos they spend a considerable amt of time sleeping and they always 'forget' to put back their reading materials. luckily for the librarians keeping the place orderly, if not its gonna be a pig sty.

One thing i noticed is how kids are captivated by quizzes, i think they treat it more like a game. Normally kids would just run abt aimlessly and playing those interactive games we have, if not they'll be trying to destroy out virus models and stuff. But give them a quiz to do and they start running ard looking for answers, at least they learn smth from the quiz, i hope.

IeatUeatWEeat

If u have been reading newspapers, not too long ago the founder of the ieatishootipost.blogspot was featured on the Sunday Times. What really amazes me is the quality and skills used in taking those photos and the way the reviews are categorized, neat!

Reason for the title is of cos i'm toking abt food.

Last nite i tried the orchard branch of Waraku, a Jap restaurant with many branches spread across south and eastern S'pore. I had a Sukiyaki with Udon and it was really delicious. The beef wasn't too fatty and there's plenty of vegs just as i like it. Though i would much like to try its Shabu-Shabu, it way exceeded mi budget for tat day. I heard the Sushi Tei @ Raffles City is offering some real gd shabu-shabu at $12 and extra plate of beef at $8, i'll try it one day after work. Colin ordered some Mentaiko stuff, in english its 'Fish roe Kway Tiao Soup', he said it was okay but didn't look appetizing to me. But the Cabbage stuffed Omelette topped with pork was great, taste refreshing yet not too bland.

Just now for lunch I had Fish n Co's famous fish and chips. I wonder if its becoz mi taste changed but i feel that the tar-tar sauce doesn't taste tat gd now though the fish is really juicy and tender and the service by the staff of the TM branch was really good but i doubt i would go to Fish n Co for fish n chips now. I find the fish n chips at the kopitiam near mi house better la, this western food stall is actually really quite gd, even minghui walk 15mins here to buy it and their tar-tar sauce is definitely much better than Fish n Co's, though the fish fillet is not as thick but at $4.50, that will do. Anyway Colin said Fisherman Wharf is quite gd and much cheaper than Fish n Co's, though some tell me its not tat gd, maybe can try it myself some time.

Quoting from ieatishootipost:
'Don't waste your Calories on lousy food'

I found a job... finally. I'm going to work in National library helping out with their exhibition from next week til july. Its a 6 hr shift work but pretty hardcore, cos its 7days/week but since they're paying weekend rates for my work, i'm dun mind. So those of u who feel a need for some knowledge boost can find me there. I hope its not going to be too boring if not Paul and I may prob start doing some stupid things there to entertain ourselves.

Today i was played out by mi mom. The thing is mi bed is failing me, actually it already did collapse once then mi dad kinda repaired it cos mi bro is moving out soon when his new home is done up and he may not be moving his Queen size bed with him. Then recently i realised that the bed is coming apart again, so i decided to buy a new bed and mi mom told me to go look at King Koil, saying its at Century Sq 2/3 floor. I just went there but couldn't find it, the search shall continue tomorrow.

New friends old ties

I guess most ppl who know me and some of mi JC classmates do not know the ties between me and some of them, actually just 2, Colin and Chonghao. Colin and I knew each other since Pri 1, we were classmates back then, really close. I remember I had chicken pox then and he was the one who collected my homework for me, but after pri 2 we seldom contact since we were of different class until back in JC. Chonghao is another one who have ties with me since back in primary times. Back then we were tutored by the same tutor but i can't really remember when we actually met, i think shld be pri 4 or 5. Come to think of it Crystal shld be one of such person to me too. Back in sec sch days when the sch swimming team joined the SASA bedok swimming club, i've met crystal though not formally introduced and no conversation between us, not that i can remember. Tjc is such a nice place to meet old frens from primary sch, dunno why, but prob becoz of its locality.

Pity

If u haven been watching the news, a taiwanese fighter crashed into a camp in Hukou, north taiwan, near taipei, killing 2 singaporeans and a few others. The 2 pilots died too. Well, this is the very camp i went to 2 yrs ago and the year before that, for wad, i shan't go into the details but typical military training. First time i was there, i alr saw low flying jets above the camp in their trg, so low that it feels as if u could prob hit it with a baseball. And its really sad that such an accident happened, esp so u died on foreign lands. Anyway this accident prob will accelerate our pullout from their training grounds since some taiwanese dun really like the idea of us there. Let's just hope the injured are alright.

The lure of anime

Since I'm so bored at home during this vacation and unable to find a job, i've been doing a little thinking. Why do people like to watch anime? I'm trying to figure out the lure of this genre of entertainment that has gained huge followings(including me) in the last decade or so. I'm not sure if i've figured it out, but i think i've figured its reasons for its success.

#1: Its moving comics on TV
Comics has been around since god knows when, probably ever since Man figured out drawing. Who knows whether those cave drawings archaeologists found were actually by our ancestors to record their daily lives or the unknowing doodle since there's absolutely nothing to do when the sun sets, maybe other than sex. So comics or rather drawings became the primary form of our entertainment but it has its limits. It only engages 1 form of our senses. By moving comics onto TV, we not only enhances the satisfaction we get from sight, we add sound to it, adding life to it.

#2: Anime(comics) have no limit to imagination
Main difference between dramas and anime is that dramas have a framework it must obey, at the very least it has to obey the simple fundamentals of physics. I agree that in period dramas where martial arts is involved, they do not really obey the laws of physics, u see Little Dragon Girl(direct transl) flying around like nobody's business. But what u also see in these kinda shows are CGI or computer generated imagery that is often unrealistic and out of sync with the 'real' part of the show. U dun get this in anime since the whole show is animation and its supposed to be 'unreal'. U can smash the male protagonist's head with a brick, crash him through brick walls and he's supposed to be remain alive. U definitely dun find that in dramas, well, sometimes u do, but he's prob in deep coma after that. Thus writers can come out with stories beyond the wildest imagination without paying heed to some common sense as long as its interesting, that's wad fans have come to accept.

#3: There's a hero in everyone
Because of its exaggerated storyline, it tends to show the 'perfect' hero where the good always triumph over the evil(most of the time). I believe that there's a hero in everyone, a perfect model he/she strives to become whether knowingly or subconsciously. Anime normally portrays such characters in it, be it the leads or the supporting cast and fans watch them because they feel they can relate to the characters in the anime. Some may even feel they're the character shown in the anime, saving the world or wadever. It makes them feel closer to heart.

#4: Its cheap and convenient to produce
Producing an anime can be made from just one PC, no demanding celebrities needed, no need to book filming grounds, rain or shine u can still make that anime. Thus the amount of anime produced and shown in the last decade in terms of time, i believe beats those by dramas, movie, etc hands down. It proliferating our lives and gaining a bigger share of airtime. Works just like advertisement, they keep showing it until u subconsciously buy it the next time u shop. Sounds like brainwash huh, not so serious lah.

Well, if u read until here, i applaud u for ur patience for all we noe, what i've just said is crap and i'm glad u've been through it with me, thanks... when's the next bleach episode coming up, golden week only 1 week hor, dun rest too much. Oh, for those who reads bleach comics and wondering why there's no bleach this week, its because of Japan's Golden week holiday.

The Sandman

Read a rather interesting review on Spiderman 3 today on The Straits Times under the life section. It said that based on the sand oozing out from Sandman, he'll be a billionaire 10 times over if he came to Singapore.

Nice meeting Jingsheng at the gym, Wanting at TM Soon Chong in the lib today! Rare for me to meet people when i go out.

Its been sometime since i last updated... if u dun count those clips from youtube of cos.
I have been looking for a job ever since my exams ended and of cos some entertainment during that free time, u dun expect me to look for a job 24/7 rite. Not much luck though in my job hunt, though some company approach me to be some financial planner but tat doesn't seem to be a temp job and they prob got the wrong guy. Such jobs are more suited for eugene rather than me.

My tuition is gonna take a 1 mth break after this wed but i rather worried for her actually. She doesn't seem to be very concerned abt her mid yr exams, still need me to help her do her notes and study schedule.

The entertainment i was toking abt earlier was actually PC games. Its been a long time since i last played a PC game due to the slow processing power of mi PC before it died on me of cos. Now i'm trying to play some rather graphics intensive game on mi new laptop, switching all the graphics quality to low of cos. But its still a little laggy when artillery shells and hordes of fighting occurs in 'Company of Heroes'. Fun game, worth playing for all.

World of Warcraft in The Simpsons