Ingredients
2 Eggs
Sugar
Butter
1 lemon
Sherry or Grand Marnier
How to make it
Separate yolks from the white. Beat egg whites till stiff. Squeeze juice from the lemon and grate some lemon zest ( Use only the yellow part of the lemon rind). Add lemon juice , zest , a dash of sherry or grand marnier and a table spoon of sugar to the egg yolks and mix in. Fold in the beaten egg whites with the egg yolk mixture. Butter the inside of 2 individual souffle moulds and coat the insides with sugar. Pour the egg mixture into the moulds and bake at 200 degree C for 10 minutes........Serve immediately & ENJOY!
Monday, August 13, 2007
How to make Homemade Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
6 tablespoons Rock salt
1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag
Ice cubes
How To Make It
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it. Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully. Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes. Wipe off top of small bag, then open carefully and enjoy!
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
6 tablespoons Rock salt
1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag
Ice cubes
How To Make It
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it. Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully. Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes. Wipe off top of small bag, then open carefully and enjoy!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Canine Soul
by Felix Heng
Siva was born a Hindu. His large family was deeply religious. Before he was born his mother made a plea and a vow to the Gods that if her 4th born was a son , she would name him after Lord Shiva and the boy would be a vegetarian on the day he was born. Siva was born on Friday 19th November. He attended the neighbourhood school when he was growing up but soon his parents realized that he was a gifted scholar and should attend a better Government-aided school so that Siva could realize his full potential. After completing his primary school education, Siva was sent to the Anglo Christian Secondary School, a Methodist school. Religious education was part of the school’s curriculum and soon Siva was convinced that his religious affiliation lay with the Christian faith rather than the Hindu one. Initially his parents could not understand how this could happen and wondered what they had done to deserve such a fate that their first born son could grow up rejecting the Hindu faith. They threatened to take him out of the school but soon relented when they realized that no matter what they said and did , Siva’s faith in the religion was so strong that it did not matter and that he was going to make religion his way of life. Siva knew from then that he had the calling and that he would train to be a minister and go to work in some under developed country spreading the Christian faith. That became his dream, to be a servant of his Lord. After leaving secondary school, Siva enrolled in the Bible college he graduated in 2 years and then spent the next 2 ½ years doing his National Service. After completing his National Service Siva went on to do a Degree in Religious Knowledge. He was commited to the cause and was determined to be ordained so that he could fulfill his dream of serving the church in a less developed country. He got his wish a year after getting his degree and was sent to the village of Balomo in one of the remotest islands in the Philippines.
When he told his family and friends about his “posting” all of them were apprehensive. They knew nothing about the place and furthermore he would be completely cut off from modern civilization and amenities like the computer and telephones. Shanta his sister immediately searched the net on any information about the place and came up with a shocking discovery. The village had a dark history. It was so remote that it would take 3 days just to reach it from the main town and that was all on foot. The inhabitants, all 550 of them lived in huts and believed in bizarre religion which was a mixture of rituals that bordered on voodoo and worship of dead souls both of humans and animals. They believed that the souls of man and animal was interchangeable. They believed that certain people had the ability to take on the soul of an animal and become that animal. Most of the reported cases have been that of a human being becoming dogs. It bordered on the werewolf premise where the bitten human then becomes the werewolf and goes in search of blood to quench it’s thirst.
It was a tearful farewell at the airport when Siva left. His mother gave him a gold chain with a pendant shaped in the Hindu Ohm; the Hindu symbol of the eternal word. She made him promise never to take it off and he said ok.
When Siva first arrived in the village he received a luke warm welcome only because the villages were not used to seeing foreigners. Siva did not feel too alienated because his dark skin made it easier to blend in with the villages who all tended to be dark-skinned. He met a couple of villagers who were Christian converts and immediately set about working on building a school and a church. It was not going to be an easy task as there were only three of them. He shared the little wooden hut that Boon and Long made themselves. It was small but comfortable and each of them had their own rooms.
It was during one of their many chats after dinner that Boon and Tong asked Siva about the chain with the Hindu Ohm he wore around his neck. They wondered why as a Christian he still wore that and he told them that he had made a promise to his mother never to take it off. Siva then broached the subject of the werewolf legend and the 2 men told him this story……….
Many years ago a villager was out hunting in the nearby forest and forgot about the time. Before he realized how late it was , the forest had turned pitch black and he found himself lost and walking around in circles. The forest was not the place to be lost in in the middle of the night. There were many wild animals all looking for food at night. Wild animals are basically nocturnal animals; they sleep by day and prowl the forests at night looking for food. The man was not about to be some animals dinner that night so he climbed a tree to seek refuge for the night. He knew that he was never going to find his way back to the village that night so the best thing to do was to climb into a tree and wait there till daybreak. Just before he dropped off to sleep amidst the scary jungle sounds , he heard something that startled him. It was a cross between a roar and and banshee screech. It sent shivers up his spine and it sounded too close for comfort. The man stayed as quiet as he could although his pounding heart sounded like a bass drum beating in his ears. A shiver ran through his whole body as the thing screamed again ; this time it sounded like it came from the tree behind him. He could hear the branches shaking as the screech pieced the black jungle night. As he turned around trying to see through the blackness in the direction of the screech, he saw a pair of yellow slanted eyes staring back at him . He felt a scream build in his throat but before he could utter a sound, the creature leaped at him. He felt the weight of it on him and fell to the ground with a thud. Razor sharp claws dug deep into his chest and he felt the wet mouth and foul breath of the hairy creature on his neck. He felt a sharp pain as the creature’s fangs entered his throat and a warm liquid dripped slowly down his neck. He could not scream anymore and it was a strange sensation that filled him ; almost pleasurable. The creature leaped off him and vanished as swiftly as he had attacked him. The man raised his hand to his neck and felt two puncture wounds. Apart from the pain on the side of his body from the fall from the tree ; he did not feel any the worse. As he picked himself up , his head started to spin and he fell to the floor. He touched his head as he felt a massive headache coming on. His face felt strangely hairy and as he touched his arms they were all covered with hair. His mouth felt different too and it was then that he realized that his physical appearance had changed and he was almost animal in form. He let out a scream but it came out like an animal screech; quite like a dog baying the moon. He felt very thirsty but it was not for water; he wanted blood. His sense of smell had gotten very intense and he could smell the smell of fresh animal blood. He moved swiftly in that direction. He soon came to a clearing in the forest. It was a small farm surrounded by a wire fence and he could tell that there was a chicken coop nearby. He made his way to the coop but as he neared the chickens sensing danger started making a racket. They were going beserk in the hen house . The beast burst through the door and started attacking the chickens, tearing their necks open and drinking their blood to quench his insatiable lust for fresh blood. The lights of the farm house turned on and soon the farmer and 2 of his men carrying guns and flashlights burst through the chicken coop only to see the hairy beast jump out the window. The farmer opened fire and he heard the beast scream a blood curdling yell as he fell on the ground. The 3 men ran around the coop and as their flashlights turned on the beast , they gasped as they saw that they had shot one of their neighbours in the head. All three of them swore they had seen a hairy beast that night jumping out the window of the chicken coop. It was definitely not a human being. Being a small village , the matter was hushed up but the story was passed down from one generation to the next. Today the villages still make prayer offerings at the edge of the jungle to the beasts in the forests so that they will stay away from the village. The food offerings were also for the numerous stray dogs that roamed the village. Secretly the villagers feared the stray dogs although there had never been any instance where anyone had been bitten by one of these strays.
Siva asked if there were any other occurrences since that first incident and was told that over the last twenty years there had been stories of men venturing into the forests at night and never returning. There were also tales of people being dragged from their beds and never been seen again. The village had an unusual number of stray dogs and no one knew where these dogs came from. The villagers believed that the missing people had become these dogs which now roam the village in search of food. There had also been incidents of farm animals found dead with all their blood drained from their bodies. Siva knew then that he had his work cut out for him. It was going to be an uphill task trying to convince these villagers to stop believing in their old rituals and magic and to convert to Christianity.
After several months of working at building the school and church, Siva began to feel that he was slowly being accepted as one of the villagers. They were beginning to feel that he was not a threat. Most of them were friendly and starting to be curious about what he was doing there. One night as he lay on his bed contemplating the next days events he was startled by a strange howling which seemed to pierce the night air. Boon and Tong had gone to the town that night to buy supplies and since it was quite a distance had decided to spend the night there and return the next day. Siva was all alone that night. The house was at the edge of the forest so the back fence bordered dense trees. His body gave a little shudder as he felt a cold breeze suddenly blow through the small hut. He got up to shut the window. His room faced the forest at the back of the house. As he reached out for the latch on the window to shut it he noticed the bushes near the fence moving . It was pitch black outside but the light from his room threw enough light for him to see the outline of the shrubs and trees outside. There was a lot of movement out there but he could not see who or what was in the bushes. Siva decided to just shut the window and not be a hero and investigate. As he lay down the howling started again and this time it sounded like it came from right outside his window. He grabbed his bible from the side table and held it against his chest. As he started reciting the Lord’s prayer , the window burst open and something landed heavily on his back. He reached out for it and he grabbed a handful of fur. The thing had dug its sharp claws into his back and he felt the hot wet slimy mouth on his neck. The next second a searing pain swept through his neck and he felt a hot liquid trickle down his neck. He screamed in pain and he blacked out. When he came to Siva’s head was spinning and he had a hard time trying to focus. His eyes seemed to be prism like and it was like he was looking through a kaleidoscope . He felt a terrible thirst and his sense of smell seemed to be heightened so that his senses were bombarded by so many smells all at once. He sat up and looked at his hands . They were covered in fur. He got out of bed and turned around to look at the mirror above the dressing table. He could not comprehend what he was looking at. Staring back at him was a face not unlike that of a dog or wolf. His face was covered with hair and there were fangs sticking out of his mouth. He screamed long and hard and what came out of his mouth was a ear-piercing howl. He jumped onto the bed and leaped out the window. The forest seemed like the only place to he could run to. As the black enveloped him , the dog felt safe in it. It still needed to seek out the strong sweet smell that it kept smelling and also needed to satisfy the craving it suddenly felt for fresh blood.
The dog saw a light through the dense forest and headed for it. As it pushed the bushes aside it saw a lighted window. In the room was a teenage girl. She was no more than 15 years old. She was lying on her bed reading a book. The dog approached the open window. She was totally unaware that it was outside. It’s breath was hot and saliva dripped from it’s lips as it anticipated the fresh young blood it was going to taste. It crouched under the window and in one swift leap was on the bed on top of the girl. The dog’s body pinned hers to the mattress. As she screamed it howled in unison and bit her deep in the side of her neck. As the blood pulsed out onto it’s face it licked it’s lips and drank from her pulsating vein. It’s keen sense of hearing sensed noises on the other side of the door. The door was locked and whoever was trying to get in was now kicking the door in. It heard shouting coming from behind the door so it turned and jumped onto the window sill to make it’s getaway. The door gave way just as it leaped from the window and in a split second a shot rang out. The dog felt a sharp searing pain as the bullet tore into his side. It screamed and all that came out of it’s lips was the cry of a wounded animal. It fell heavily to the ground outside and limped towards the dark sanctuary of the forest.
When Boon and Tong returned to the village the next morning they could not find Siva anywhere. They searched the hut and he was nowhere to be found. Just as they were unpacking their bags, a villager rushed in and told them that they found something by the river and that the both of them should follow him. As they approached the river, they saw a lifeless body of a dog lying half in the stream. Its blood was still flowing from a gaping gunshot wound in his side. As they approached the body, both men let out a gasp as they saw a gold chain with the Hindu Ohm sign around the dog’s neck. In the background, the village dogs howled in unison like they were moaning the passing of one of their own.
The End
by Felix Heng
Siva was born a Hindu. His large family was deeply religious. Before he was born his mother made a plea and a vow to the Gods that if her 4th born was a son , she would name him after Lord Shiva and the boy would be a vegetarian on the day he was born. Siva was born on Friday 19th November. He attended the neighbourhood school when he was growing up but soon his parents realized that he was a gifted scholar and should attend a better Government-aided school so that Siva could realize his full potential. After completing his primary school education, Siva was sent to the Anglo Christian Secondary School, a Methodist school. Religious education was part of the school’s curriculum and soon Siva was convinced that his religious affiliation lay with the Christian faith rather than the Hindu one. Initially his parents could not understand how this could happen and wondered what they had done to deserve such a fate that their first born son could grow up rejecting the Hindu faith. They threatened to take him out of the school but soon relented when they realized that no matter what they said and did , Siva’s faith in the religion was so strong that it did not matter and that he was going to make religion his way of life. Siva knew from then that he had the calling and that he would train to be a minister and go to work in some under developed country spreading the Christian faith. That became his dream, to be a servant of his Lord. After leaving secondary school, Siva enrolled in the Bible college he graduated in 2 years and then spent the next 2 ½ years doing his National Service. After completing his National Service Siva went on to do a Degree in Religious Knowledge. He was commited to the cause and was determined to be ordained so that he could fulfill his dream of serving the church in a less developed country. He got his wish a year after getting his degree and was sent to the village of Balomo in one of the remotest islands in the Philippines.
When he told his family and friends about his “posting” all of them were apprehensive. They knew nothing about the place and furthermore he would be completely cut off from modern civilization and amenities like the computer and telephones. Shanta his sister immediately searched the net on any information about the place and came up with a shocking discovery. The village had a dark history. It was so remote that it would take 3 days just to reach it from the main town and that was all on foot. The inhabitants, all 550 of them lived in huts and believed in bizarre religion which was a mixture of rituals that bordered on voodoo and worship of dead souls both of humans and animals. They believed that the souls of man and animal was interchangeable. They believed that certain people had the ability to take on the soul of an animal and become that animal. Most of the reported cases have been that of a human being becoming dogs. It bordered on the werewolf premise where the bitten human then becomes the werewolf and goes in search of blood to quench it’s thirst.
It was a tearful farewell at the airport when Siva left. His mother gave him a gold chain with a pendant shaped in the Hindu Ohm; the Hindu symbol of the eternal word. She made him promise never to take it off and he said ok.
When Siva first arrived in the village he received a luke warm welcome only because the villages were not used to seeing foreigners. Siva did not feel too alienated because his dark skin made it easier to blend in with the villages who all tended to be dark-skinned. He met a couple of villagers who were Christian converts and immediately set about working on building a school and a church. It was not going to be an easy task as there were only three of them. He shared the little wooden hut that Boon and Long made themselves. It was small but comfortable and each of them had their own rooms.
It was during one of their many chats after dinner that Boon and Tong asked Siva about the chain with the Hindu Ohm he wore around his neck. They wondered why as a Christian he still wore that and he told them that he had made a promise to his mother never to take it off. Siva then broached the subject of the werewolf legend and the 2 men told him this story……….
Many years ago a villager was out hunting in the nearby forest and forgot about the time. Before he realized how late it was , the forest had turned pitch black and he found himself lost and walking around in circles. The forest was not the place to be lost in in the middle of the night. There were many wild animals all looking for food at night. Wild animals are basically nocturnal animals; they sleep by day and prowl the forests at night looking for food. The man was not about to be some animals dinner that night so he climbed a tree to seek refuge for the night. He knew that he was never going to find his way back to the village that night so the best thing to do was to climb into a tree and wait there till daybreak. Just before he dropped off to sleep amidst the scary jungle sounds , he heard something that startled him. It was a cross between a roar and and banshee screech. It sent shivers up his spine and it sounded too close for comfort. The man stayed as quiet as he could although his pounding heart sounded like a bass drum beating in his ears. A shiver ran through his whole body as the thing screamed again ; this time it sounded like it came from the tree behind him. He could hear the branches shaking as the screech pieced the black jungle night. As he turned around trying to see through the blackness in the direction of the screech, he saw a pair of yellow slanted eyes staring back at him . He felt a scream build in his throat but before he could utter a sound, the creature leaped at him. He felt the weight of it on him and fell to the ground with a thud. Razor sharp claws dug deep into his chest and he felt the wet mouth and foul breath of the hairy creature on his neck. He felt a sharp pain as the creature’s fangs entered his throat and a warm liquid dripped slowly down his neck. He could not scream anymore and it was a strange sensation that filled him ; almost pleasurable. The creature leaped off him and vanished as swiftly as he had attacked him. The man raised his hand to his neck and felt two puncture wounds. Apart from the pain on the side of his body from the fall from the tree ; he did not feel any the worse. As he picked himself up , his head started to spin and he fell to the floor. He touched his head as he felt a massive headache coming on. His face felt strangely hairy and as he touched his arms they were all covered with hair. His mouth felt different too and it was then that he realized that his physical appearance had changed and he was almost animal in form. He let out a scream but it came out like an animal screech; quite like a dog baying the moon. He felt very thirsty but it was not for water; he wanted blood. His sense of smell had gotten very intense and he could smell the smell of fresh animal blood. He moved swiftly in that direction. He soon came to a clearing in the forest. It was a small farm surrounded by a wire fence and he could tell that there was a chicken coop nearby. He made his way to the coop but as he neared the chickens sensing danger started making a racket. They were going beserk in the hen house . The beast burst through the door and started attacking the chickens, tearing their necks open and drinking their blood to quench his insatiable lust for fresh blood. The lights of the farm house turned on and soon the farmer and 2 of his men carrying guns and flashlights burst through the chicken coop only to see the hairy beast jump out the window. The farmer opened fire and he heard the beast scream a blood curdling yell as he fell on the ground. The 3 men ran around the coop and as their flashlights turned on the beast , they gasped as they saw that they had shot one of their neighbours in the head. All three of them swore they had seen a hairy beast that night jumping out the window of the chicken coop. It was definitely not a human being. Being a small village , the matter was hushed up but the story was passed down from one generation to the next. Today the villages still make prayer offerings at the edge of the jungle to the beasts in the forests so that they will stay away from the village. The food offerings were also for the numerous stray dogs that roamed the village. Secretly the villagers feared the stray dogs although there had never been any instance where anyone had been bitten by one of these strays.
Siva asked if there were any other occurrences since that first incident and was told that over the last twenty years there had been stories of men venturing into the forests at night and never returning. There were also tales of people being dragged from their beds and never been seen again. The village had an unusual number of stray dogs and no one knew where these dogs came from. The villagers believed that the missing people had become these dogs which now roam the village in search of food. There had also been incidents of farm animals found dead with all their blood drained from their bodies. Siva knew then that he had his work cut out for him. It was going to be an uphill task trying to convince these villagers to stop believing in their old rituals and magic and to convert to Christianity.
After several months of working at building the school and church, Siva began to feel that he was slowly being accepted as one of the villagers. They were beginning to feel that he was not a threat. Most of them were friendly and starting to be curious about what he was doing there. One night as he lay on his bed contemplating the next days events he was startled by a strange howling which seemed to pierce the night air. Boon and Tong had gone to the town that night to buy supplies and since it was quite a distance had decided to spend the night there and return the next day. Siva was all alone that night. The house was at the edge of the forest so the back fence bordered dense trees. His body gave a little shudder as he felt a cold breeze suddenly blow through the small hut. He got up to shut the window. His room faced the forest at the back of the house. As he reached out for the latch on the window to shut it he noticed the bushes near the fence moving . It was pitch black outside but the light from his room threw enough light for him to see the outline of the shrubs and trees outside. There was a lot of movement out there but he could not see who or what was in the bushes. Siva decided to just shut the window and not be a hero and investigate. As he lay down the howling started again and this time it sounded like it came from right outside his window. He grabbed his bible from the side table and held it against his chest. As he started reciting the Lord’s prayer , the window burst open and something landed heavily on his back. He reached out for it and he grabbed a handful of fur. The thing had dug its sharp claws into his back and he felt the hot wet slimy mouth on his neck. The next second a searing pain swept through his neck and he felt a hot liquid trickle down his neck. He screamed in pain and he blacked out. When he came to Siva’s head was spinning and he had a hard time trying to focus. His eyes seemed to be prism like and it was like he was looking through a kaleidoscope . He felt a terrible thirst and his sense of smell seemed to be heightened so that his senses were bombarded by so many smells all at once. He sat up and looked at his hands . They were covered in fur. He got out of bed and turned around to look at the mirror above the dressing table. He could not comprehend what he was looking at. Staring back at him was a face not unlike that of a dog or wolf. His face was covered with hair and there were fangs sticking out of his mouth. He screamed long and hard and what came out of his mouth was a ear-piercing howl. He jumped onto the bed and leaped out the window. The forest seemed like the only place to he could run to. As the black enveloped him , the dog felt safe in it. It still needed to seek out the strong sweet smell that it kept smelling and also needed to satisfy the craving it suddenly felt for fresh blood.
The dog saw a light through the dense forest and headed for it. As it pushed the bushes aside it saw a lighted window. In the room was a teenage girl. She was no more than 15 years old. She was lying on her bed reading a book. The dog approached the open window. She was totally unaware that it was outside. It’s breath was hot and saliva dripped from it’s lips as it anticipated the fresh young blood it was going to taste. It crouched under the window and in one swift leap was on the bed on top of the girl. The dog’s body pinned hers to the mattress. As she screamed it howled in unison and bit her deep in the side of her neck. As the blood pulsed out onto it’s face it licked it’s lips and drank from her pulsating vein. It’s keen sense of hearing sensed noises on the other side of the door. The door was locked and whoever was trying to get in was now kicking the door in. It heard shouting coming from behind the door so it turned and jumped onto the window sill to make it’s getaway. The door gave way just as it leaped from the window and in a split second a shot rang out. The dog felt a sharp searing pain as the bullet tore into his side. It screamed and all that came out of it’s lips was the cry of a wounded animal. It fell heavily to the ground outside and limped towards the dark sanctuary of the forest.
When Boon and Tong returned to the village the next morning they could not find Siva anywhere. They searched the hut and he was nowhere to be found. Just as they were unpacking their bags, a villager rushed in and told them that they found something by the river and that the both of them should follow him. As they approached the river, they saw a lifeless body of a dog lying half in the stream. Its blood was still flowing from a gaping gunshot wound in his side. As they approached the body, both men let out a gasp as they saw a gold chain with the Hindu Ohm sign around the dog’s neck. In the background, the village dogs howled in unison like they were moaning the passing of one of their own.
The End
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Monkey Gourmet by Felix Heng
Mike was 30. At 5’6” and weighing 250lbs , he was definitely one of those who lived to eat. He loved his food especially if it was fresh and by that it had to be almost jumping off the plate. Steaks had to be dripping blood; he loved it rare. Sashimi was good only if the head of the fish or lobster was still moving when you were feasting on its body. Last year for his birthday , his friends brought him to a restaurant which served a specialty which featured a live fish which had half it’s body deep fried. It was served so that the head of the fish was still moving and wriggling while diners ate the deep fried bottom half of the fish. All Mike’s friends knew of his bizarre eating habits and one Halloween they stewed him a plate of innards which he slurped down much to their disgust. Mike loved going to the wet markets to watch the fishmonger chop off the heads of frogs and then skin them in one deft move or watch them chop the heads off live fish and lay them in straight rows. Their mouths and eyes would still be moving on the decapitated heads. Mike took a picture of that once and that was his Christmas card to his friends and family that year. He was glad he lived in Hong Kong as they still did the slaughter of poultry and other animals right there in the market and he liked that because it meant that everything was fresh.
It was only recently that Mike was introduced to a little Chinese restaurant which served a delicacy which he had heard about but never tried……fresh monkey’s brain. The consumption of animal brain is common in many cultures. In the Southern states in the US, you can buy canned pig’s brains. In France you can buy tete de veau or head of calf. The Chinese eat pig’s brain and believe it is full of nutritious value. It was a popular belief in China that eating monkey’s brain can prevent impotence. God knows he needed all the help he could get in that department. Every girl he ever went out with never went further than the second date. Maybe it was the choice of restaurants he brought his dates to or maybe it was his choice of dinner items that repulsed them. None of the girls he went out with thought that visiting the wholesale fish centre at 5am was an exciting date or would even try live raw food other than the occasional salmon or tuna sashimi.
The little restaurant called China Herbal, where Mike first tried the delicacy, was one which served mostly herbal exotic dishes. Monkey’s brain was its specialty and you had to order it weeks in advance. A special table was used when you ordered this dish. It had a hole in the center and the live monkey was pushed under it so that it’s head was locked in place and only the top part of the head protruded out the hole. The monkey’s eyes are just at the level of the table so that it could actually see who was at the dinner table eating it’s brain. The monkey was securely tied under the table and it was also muzzled so that it did not make a sound when the top of the monkey’s skull was removed with a knife. Liquor was mixed with the brain and guests used long ladled spoons to dish out and eat parts of the brain in it’s raw form. The liquor helped “cook” it. After that first taste , Mike was hooked. He would go back to the restaurant every month. It was an expensive meal but he was making more than enough as an investment analyst so he indulged himself once a month.
Mike walked to work as his office was only ten minutes away from where he lived. China Herbal was on his way to work and one day while taking a short cut through the alley behind the restaurant, Mike noticed a large cage about 10 feet by 10 feet which housed about 10 monkeys. He was fascinated by the monkeys and figured they were being reared specially for the monkey brain’s dinner. After discovering the cage he made it a point to walk that way every morning. He would stop at the cage and spend ten to fifteen minutes watching the monkeys and soon he was bringing bananas to feed them. The monkeys seemed afraid of him. It was almost like they knew that he was one of those who ate their brains. The first few times when he stuck the banana through the cage none of the monkeys even came close. They feared him. He was the enemy. Mike grew impatient and just threw the bananas into the cage . Once as he held the banana, a small monkey moved to within 2 feet of him and just as it reached out to grab the banana, Mike pulled back his hand. The monkey threw itself on the cage screeching. Mike fell backwards in shock. He had not anticipated that. He was furious at himself of being afraid of a stupid monkey. He reached out for a large wooden pole he found next to the cage and hit the side of the cage with all his might, denting it. The monkeys screeched their high pitched yells and swung madly around the cage. Mike got up , threw down the stick and ran out of the alley before anyone in the restaurant could come out to check what the commotion was all about.
Over the next couple of weeks, Mike would disturb the monkeys whenever he walked past the cage. They almost could sense it when he neared the cage as all the monkeys would retreat to the back of the cage and wait for his taunting with the large stick. He would usually bring a banana and stick it through the bars baiting them to come to him. Then , as they reached out for it , he would pull it back through the bars and poke them in the ribs with the stick. This gave him so much pleasure to see the frustration on the faces of the animals. He would stand there eating the banana and then walk away, leaving them shrieking in frustration.
It was on one of these occasions when he stuck out his hand a little too far and too long when one of the monkeys swung down from the top of the cage and ripped not only the banana from his hand but also his wrist watch. His $20,000 Frank Mueller watch now lay in the middle of the cage. Mike was furious and now desperately looked for a way to get his watch back. It was too far in the cage to reach with the stick. He also banged the stick on the side of the cage to stop the monkeys from grabbing the watch . He noticed that the door to the cage was unlocked. There was a rusty old padlock hanging on the hinge but it was not secured. He opened the lock and made his way carefully into the cage. It was large enough for him to stand upright . He carried the stick with him as a weapon. The monkeys were strangely silent as Mike made his was to where his watch was. Always keeping one eye on them , Mike bent down to pick up his watch . In that split second when he turned to pick up his watch , all 6 monkeys in the cage pounced on him. Two were on his back , there was one each clinging on to his legs and another two on his chest . He screamed and tore at them as he felt their sharp claws and razor-sharp teeth dig into his skin , ripping it apart as warm blood flowed down his limbs onto the cage floor. The monkeys screeching mingled with Mike’s screams. He was on the floor of the cage now and everything was spinning. The screaming monkeys had retreated again to the back of the cage and Mike lay on the ground . His clothes had been ripped to shreads and as he opened his eyes he noticed that his body was covered with brownish grey hair which was caked with the mud from the ground and blood from the multiple lesions he had on his now completely hairy naked body. He screamed as he looked at his hirsuite limbs. Instead of a human voice what came out of his mouth was the piercing shrill screech of a monkey. He thought to himself , “ This is all a nightmare.” As he screeched , the monkeys in the back of the cage screeched in unison. It was almost like they were saying “ Welcome to the family, Mike.”
The door to the restaurant flung open and a man ran out to see what the racket was all about. He carried what looked like a long pole with a noose at the end and a sack. As he opened the cage door , he stuck the noose in and looped it over Mike’s head. Mike screamed and tried to tell him what had happened but all that came out of his mouth were the futile screeches of a monkey. Mike was dragged out of the cage and flung into the large sack.
It was pitch black in the sack and all Mike could hear were sounds like they were in the kitchen. He had screamed himself hoarse and there were only quiet whimpers coming from his sore throat. He could tell that there were people rushing to and fro and that there was a lot of activity going on. Suddenly he felt the sack open and a large gloved hand grabbed him by the neck and he felt like it was choking the life out of him. He could not breathe. He was blacking out. Then he felt his body being held by metal straps. But he could breathe once again and swallowed huge gulps of air. As he slowly opened his eyes he saw that he was in a brightly lit room surrounded by eight people all talking and laughing. He saw cutlery laid out on the table and soon it became familiar to him. He realized where he was. It was the special dining room of the restaurant where he dined on his monthly indulgence. The room with the special table where they served their house specialty ……..monkey brains. He screamed as he very quickly realized that he was going to be the special treat for the night. His head was clamped so tight that he could not move an inch . There was a muzzle around his mouth so that only the barest whimper could be heard. He struggled to get out of the clamps but it was totally useless. The more he struggled and tighter the clamps became. He was helpless. From the corner of his eye he saw the chef walk in with a chopper whose blade glittered as it caught the light from the chandelier hanging above the table. He felt a sharp pain on top of his head; like an intense migraine , only thousand times worse. Everything started to spin right then. There was strong smell of alcohol; it was XO Brandy. It actually felt strangely intoxicating. Mercifully his body started to shut down and everything started fading to black but not before Mike watched in horror as the man right in front of him reached out with his long–handled spoon and dished something warm and greyish into his mouth……….a spoonful of delicious monkey brain.....his brain!
The End
It was only recently that Mike was introduced to a little Chinese restaurant which served a delicacy which he had heard about but never tried……fresh monkey’s brain. The consumption of animal brain is common in many cultures. In the Southern states in the US, you can buy canned pig’s brains. In France you can buy tete de veau or head of calf. The Chinese eat pig’s brain and believe it is full of nutritious value. It was a popular belief in China that eating monkey’s brain can prevent impotence. God knows he needed all the help he could get in that department. Every girl he ever went out with never went further than the second date. Maybe it was the choice of restaurants he brought his dates to or maybe it was his choice of dinner items that repulsed them. None of the girls he went out with thought that visiting the wholesale fish centre at 5am was an exciting date or would even try live raw food other than the occasional salmon or tuna sashimi.
The little restaurant called China Herbal, where Mike first tried the delicacy, was one which served mostly herbal exotic dishes. Monkey’s brain was its specialty and you had to order it weeks in advance. A special table was used when you ordered this dish. It had a hole in the center and the live monkey was pushed under it so that it’s head was locked in place and only the top part of the head protruded out the hole. The monkey’s eyes are just at the level of the table so that it could actually see who was at the dinner table eating it’s brain. The monkey was securely tied under the table and it was also muzzled so that it did not make a sound when the top of the monkey’s skull was removed with a knife. Liquor was mixed with the brain and guests used long ladled spoons to dish out and eat parts of the brain in it’s raw form. The liquor helped “cook” it. After that first taste , Mike was hooked. He would go back to the restaurant every month. It was an expensive meal but he was making more than enough as an investment analyst so he indulged himself once a month.
Mike walked to work as his office was only ten minutes away from where he lived. China Herbal was on his way to work and one day while taking a short cut through the alley behind the restaurant, Mike noticed a large cage about 10 feet by 10 feet which housed about 10 monkeys. He was fascinated by the monkeys and figured they were being reared specially for the monkey brain’s dinner. After discovering the cage he made it a point to walk that way every morning. He would stop at the cage and spend ten to fifteen minutes watching the monkeys and soon he was bringing bananas to feed them. The monkeys seemed afraid of him. It was almost like they knew that he was one of those who ate their brains. The first few times when he stuck the banana through the cage none of the monkeys even came close. They feared him. He was the enemy. Mike grew impatient and just threw the bananas into the cage . Once as he held the banana, a small monkey moved to within 2 feet of him and just as it reached out to grab the banana, Mike pulled back his hand. The monkey threw itself on the cage screeching. Mike fell backwards in shock. He had not anticipated that. He was furious at himself of being afraid of a stupid monkey. He reached out for a large wooden pole he found next to the cage and hit the side of the cage with all his might, denting it. The monkeys screeched their high pitched yells and swung madly around the cage. Mike got up , threw down the stick and ran out of the alley before anyone in the restaurant could come out to check what the commotion was all about.
Over the next couple of weeks, Mike would disturb the monkeys whenever he walked past the cage. They almost could sense it when he neared the cage as all the monkeys would retreat to the back of the cage and wait for his taunting with the large stick. He would usually bring a banana and stick it through the bars baiting them to come to him. Then , as they reached out for it , he would pull it back through the bars and poke them in the ribs with the stick. This gave him so much pleasure to see the frustration on the faces of the animals. He would stand there eating the banana and then walk away, leaving them shrieking in frustration.
It was on one of these occasions when he stuck out his hand a little too far and too long when one of the monkeys swung down from the top of the cage and ripped not only the banana from his hand but also his wrist watch. His $20,000 Frank Mueller watch now lay in the middle of the cage. Mike was furious and now desperately looked for a way to get his watch back. It was too far in the cage to reach with the stick. He also banged the stick on the side of the cage to stop the monkeys from grabbing the watch . He noticed that the door to the cage was unlocked. There was a rusty old padlock hanging on the hinge but it was not secured. He opened the lock and made his way carefully into the cage. It was large enough for him to stand upright . He carried the stick with him as a weapon. The monkeys were strangely silent as Mike made his was to where his watch was. Always keeping one eye on them , Mike bent down to pick up his watch . In that split second when he turned to pick up his watch , all 6 monkeys in the cage pounced on him. Two were on his back , there was one each clinging on to his legs and another two on his chest . He screamed and tore at them as he felt their sharp claws and razor-sharp teeth dig into his skin , ripping it apart as warm blood flowed down his limbs onto the cage floor. The monkeys screeching mingled with Mike’s screams. He was on the floor of the cage now and everything was spinning. The screaming monkeys had retreated again to the back of the cage and Mike lay on the ground . His clothes had been ripped to shreads and as he opened his eyes he noticed that his body was covered with brownish grey hair which was caked with the mud from the ground and blood from the multiple lesions he had on his now completely hairy naked body. He screamed as he looked at his hirsuite limbs. Instead of a human voice what came out of his mouth was the piercing shrill screech of a monkey. He thought to himself , “ This is all a nightmare.” As he screeched , the monkeys in the back of the cage screeched in unison. It was almost like they were saying “ Welcome to the family, Mike.”
The door to the restaurant flung open and a man ran out to see what the racket was all about. He carried what looked like a long pole with a noose at the end and a sack. As he opened the cage door , he stuck the noose in and looped it over Mike’s head. Mike screamed and tried to tell him what had happened but all that came out of his mouth were the futile screeches of a monkey. Mike was dragged out of the cage and flung into the large sack.
It was pitch black in the sack and all Mike could hear were sounds like they were in the kitchen. He had screamed himself hoarse and there were only quiet whimpers coming from his sore throat. He could tell that there were people rushing to and fro and that there was a lot of activity going on. Suddenly he felt the sack open and a large gloved hand grabbed him by the neck and he felt like it was choking the life out of him. He could not breathe. He was blacking out. Then he felt his body being held by metal straps. But he could breathe once again and swallowed huge gulps of air. As he slowly opened his eyes he saw that he was in a brightly lit room surrounded by eight people all talking and laughing. He saw cutlery laid out on the table and soon it became familiar to him. He realized where he was. It was the special dining room of the restaurant where he dined on his monthly indulgence. The room with the special table where they served their house specialty ……..monkey brains. He screamed as he very quickly realized that he was going to be the special treat for the night. His head was clamped so tight that he could not move an inch . There was a muzzle around his mouth so that only the barest whimper could be heard. He struggled to get out of the clamps but it was totally useless. The more he struggled and tighter the clamps became. He was helpless. From the corner of his eye he saw the chef walk in with a chopper whose blade glittered as it caught the light from the chandelier hanging above the table. He felt a sharp pain on top of his head; like an intense migraine , only thousand times worse. Everything started to spin right then. There was strong smell of alcohol; it was XO Brandy. It actually felt strangely intoxicating. Mercifully his body started to shut down and everything started fading to black but not before Mike watched in horror as the man right in front of him reached out with his long–handled spoon and dished something warm and greyish into his mouth……….a spoonful of delicious monkey brain.....his brain!
The End
Sunday, July 1, 2007
10 Things Your Supermarket Does Not Want You To Know
Top tricks and other secrets lurking at your supermarket.
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness
Grocery shopping seems like a harmless enough activity. It’s a chore, but it’s one that most of us do at least once a week, without giving much thought to what’s going on behind the scenes at the supermarket.
1. The shopping carts have cooties.
According to studies done on shopping carts, more than 60 percent of them are harboring coliform bacteria (the sort more often associated with public toilet seats). “These bacteria may be coming from raw foods or from children who sit in the carts,” says Chuck Gerba, Ph.D., a microbiologist at University of Arizona. “Just think about the fact that a few minutes ago, some kid’s bottom was where you are now putting your broccoli.” According to studies done by Gerba and his colleagues at University of Arizona, shopping carts had more bacteria than other surfaces they tested—even more than escalators, public phones and public bathrooms. To avoid picking up nasty bacteria, Gerba recommends using sanitizing wipes to clean off cart handles and seats, and to wash your hands after you finish shopping.
2. Dates are open to interpretation.
Except for baby formula and food, product expiration dates are not required by Federal regulations (some states, however, have their own rules requiring product dating). Labels that give a “Best if Used By” date are more of a suggestion than a safety issue—the food will taste best if eaten by the date on the label, but won’t necessarily be unsafe if eaten after that. If a product is stamped with a “Sell-By” date, that is how long the store should display it. Once you bring it home, perishable products (like meats) should be kept refrigerated and used within a few days. For more detailed charts explaining the shelf life of various products, go to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
3. Kid-friendly food is purposely placed within their reach.
Anyone who shops with a child (or several) in tow has to keep an eye out for products the kids grab and toss into the cart. “I always tell parents never to bring a kid to a store,” says Nestle. “The packages with the cartoons on them are often placed on low shelves where even toddlers can reach for them.” A trip down the cereal aisle will confirm this. “Sugary cereals are at kid’s eye level, while the healthier, all-bran options are usually on the highest shelves,” says Tara Gidus, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. It’s the same situation at the cash register, where candy and gum are strategically placed to encourage impulse buys by adults and kids can easily grab low-lying products.
4. They cut up food so they can charge more.
In the produce department there are luscious-looking slices of pineapple and melon, veggies cut up and ready for cooking or salads. At the meat counter, chicken breasts and beef are cut into chunks and marinated—ready for immediate grilling. There’s no denying that these pre-cut foods can make life incredibly easy. And nutritionists agree that if they get people to eat more healthfully, there’s nothing wrong with them. But realize that you’re also paying a tremendous premium—sometimes up to twice as much as uncut versions of the same food—just so you don’t have to bother picking up a knife.
5. Good-for-you foods require bending and reaching.
Not surprisingly, grocery store eye candy (which sometimes is actual candy)—those foods with enticing come-ons and delectable photos on the packaging that aren’t on your shopping list—are prominently placed to encourage you to reach for them. Even in the pasta aisle, you’ll find the most popular noodles (including packaged mac and cheese) at eye level. Look up to the highest or lowest shelves if you want to find healthier whole wheat options.
6. End-of-aisle displays are there to distract you from your mission.
“Food companies pay the stores to place their products where they can be seen most easily—such as in a display at the end of an aisle,” says Nestle. That prime real estate is likely to hold high-profit items or grouped items (such as marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers for s’mores) designed to inspire impulse buys. And although sometimes those aisle-ends are used to promote sale items, we will buy even when there is no discount. “People are 30 percent more likely to buy items on the end of the aisle versus in the middle of the aisle—often because we think what’s at the end is a better deal,” says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and author of Mindless Eating.
7. Bargains aren’t always a bargain.
Who can resist an offer like “buy five, get one free,” or “three for $1”? Apparently, very few people can. “Any time you see numbers in a sign, you’re likely to buy at least 30 percent more than you may have purchased otherwise. “So if you go looking for soup and the sign says “limit 12 per person,” chances are you’ll purchase several more cans than you intended to buy,” he says. And of course, if you buy more than you need, it’s not necessarily a bargain. Or worse yet, it could lead to over-indulging. “Mindless shopping leads to mindless eating,” says Wansink. “Once the stuff is in the house, you’ll eat it whether you really want it or not.”
8. You’ll walk the store the way they want you to.
There’s nothing haphazard about the layout of your grocery store. Sure, some of it is practical (like refrigerated cases along the periphery or meat cases in the back by the store’s loading dock), but some is carefully calculated to help you part with more money. Walk in the front doors and chances are you’re faced immediately with hard-to-resist items (not on your list) like fresh-cut flowers or just-baked loaves of bread. Just try walking past them en route to a carton of milk without tossing something extra into your cart. In fact, research has shown that 60 percent to 70 percent of what ends up in our carts is unplanned.
9. The salad bar can make you sick.
Raw produce at the salad bar, pre-made salads at the deli counter and other pre-cooked prepared foods all have the potential for harboring harmful bacteria (like E. coli, salmonella and Norovirus). “The biggest contributors to unsafe food are foods that are held at unsafe temperatures, handling of food by individuals with poor hygiene, and refilling partially used containers of perishable food with fresh food,” says Michael Doyle, Ph.D., director of the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement at University of Georgia. He recommends that consumers pay attention to cleanliness, freshness (all prepared food should be thrown out if not sold by the end of the day), and way food is stored (cold foods need to be kept at 41 degrees or below; hot foods at greater than 135 degrees). As for those bulk bins of candy and trail mix—while it might be a bit gross to think about people reaching in and “sampling” the goods with their dirty fingers, according to Doyle, the risk of catching anything from them is very low. “Harmful microbes are not likely to grow in bulk-bin foods because most of those foods do not contain enough moisture to support microbial growth,” he says.
10. They don’t always clean as often as they should.
Health inspectors routinely visit supermarkets to look out for the red flags that may signal unsafe conditions for your food. But you can do a little snooping yourself. Flies in the produce or meat departments could be depositing bacteria on raw food. Roaches scurrying across the floor could also be harboring dozens of different diseases. And of course, check the shelves and products for dirt and grime—cans that are covered in dust may be an indication that they’ve sat around past their shelf life.
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness
Grocery shopping seems like a harmless enough activity. It’s a chore, but it’s one that most of us do at least once a week, without giving much thought to what’s going on behind the scenes at the supermarket.
1. The shopping carts have cooties.
According to studies done on shopping carts, more than 60 percent of them are harboring coliform bacteria (the sort more often associated with public toilet seats). “These bacteria may be coming from raw foods or from children who sit in the carts,” says Chuck Gerba, Ph.D., a microbiologist at University of Arizona. “Just think about the fact that a few minutes ago, some kid’s bottom was where you are now putting your broccoli.” According to studies done by Gerba and his colleagues at University of Arizona, shopping carts had more bacteria than other surfaces they tested—even more than escalators, public phones and public bathrooms. To avoid picking up nasty bacteria, Gerba recommends using sanitizing wipes to clean off cart handles and seats, and to wash your hands after you finish shopping.
2. Dates are open to interpretation.
Except for baby formula and food, product expiration dates are not required by Federal regulations (some states, however, have their own rules requiring product dating). Labels that give a “Best if Used By” date are more of a suggestion than a safety issue—the food will taste best if eaten by the date on the label, but won’t necessarily be unsafe if eaten after that. If a product is stamped with a “Sell-By” date, that is how long the store should display it. Once you bring it home, perishable products (like meats) should be kept refrigerated and used within a few days. For more detailed charts explaining the shelf life of various products, go to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
3. Kid-friendly food is purposely placed within their reach.
Anyone who shops with a child (or several) in tow has to keep an eye out for products the kids grab and toss into the cart. “I always tell parents never to bring a kid to a store,” says Nestle. “The packages with the cartoons on them are often placed on low shelves where even toddlers can reach for them.” A trip down the cereal aisle will confirm this. “Sugary cereals are at kid’s eye level, while the healthier, all-bran options are usually on the highest shelves,” says Tara Gidus, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. It’s the same situation at the cash register, where candy and gum are strategically placed to encourage impulse buys by adults and kids can easily grab low-lying products.
4. They cut up food so they can charge more.
In the produce department there are luscious-looking slices of pineapple and melon, veggies cut up and ready for cooking or salads. At the meat counter, chicken breasts and beef are cut into chunks and marinated—ready for immediate grilling. There’s no denying that these pre-cut foods can make life incredibly easy. And nutritionists agree that if they get people to eat more healthfully, there’s nothing wrong with them. But realize that you’re also paying a tremendous premium—sometimes up to twice as much as uncut versions of the same food—just so you don’t have to bother picking up a knife.
5. Good-for-you foods require bending and reaching.
Not surprisingly, grocery store eye candy (which sometimes is actual candy)—those foods with enticing come-ons and delectable photos on the packaging that aren’t on your shopping list—are prominently placed to encourage you to reach for them. Even in the pasta aisle, you’ll find the most popular noodles (including packaged mac and cheese) at eye level. Look up to the highest or lowest shelves if you want to find healthier whole wheat options.
6. End-of-aisle displays are there to distract you from your mission.
“Food companies pay the stores to place their products where they can be seen most easily—such as in a display at the end of an aisle,” says Nestle. That prime real estate is likely to hold high-profit items or grouped items (such as marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers for s’mores) designed to inspire impulse buys. And although sometimes those aisle-ends are used to promote sale items, we will buy even when there is no discount. “People are 30 percent more likely to buy items on the end of the aisle versus in the middle of the aisle—often because we think what’s at the end is a better deal,” says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and author of Mindless Eating.
7. Bargains aren’t always a bargain.
Who can resist an offer like “buy five, get one free,” or “three for $1”? Apparently, very few people can. “Any time you see numbers in a sign, you’re likely to buy at least 30 percent more than you may have purchased otherwise. “So if you go looking for soup and the sign says “limit 12 per person,” chances are you’ll purchase several more cans than you intended to buy,” he says. And of course, if you buy more than you need, it’s not necessarily a bargain. Or worse yet, it could lead to over-indulging. “Mindless shopping leads to mindless eating,” says Wansink. “Once the stuff is in the house, you’ll eat it whether you really want it or not.”
8. You’ll walk the store the way they want you to.
There’s nothing haphazard about the layout of your grocery store. Sure, some of it is practical (like refrigerated cases along the periphery or meat cases in the back by the store’s loading dock), but some is carefully calculated to help you part with more money. Walk in the front doors and chances are you’re faced immediately with hard-to-resist items (not on your list) like fresh-cut flowers or just-baked loaves of bread. Just try walking past them en route to a carton of milk without tossing something extra into your cart. In fact, research has shown that 60 percent to 70 percent of what ends up in our carts is unplanned.
9. The salad bar can make you sick.
Raw produce at the salad bar, pre-made salads at the deli counter and other pre-cooked prepared foods all have the potential for harboring harmful bacteria (like E. coli, salmonella and Norovirus). “The biggest contributors to unsafe food are foods that are held at unsafe temperatures, handling of food by individuals with poor hygiene, and refilling partially used containers of perishable food with fresh food,” says Michael Doyle, Ph.D., director of the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement at University of Georgia. He recommends that consumers pay attention to cleanliness, freshness (all prepared food should be thrown out if not sold by the end of the day), and way food is stored (cold foods need to be kept at 41 degrees or below; hot foods at greater than 135 degrees). As for those bulk bins of candy and trail mix—while it might be a bit gross to think about people reaching in and “sampling” the goods with their dirty fingers, according to Doyle, the risk of catching anything from them is very low. “Harmful microbes are not likely to grow in bulk-bin foods because most of those foods do not contain enough moisture to support microbial growth,” he says.
10. They don’t always clean as often as they should.
Health inspectors routinely visit supermarkets to look out for the red flags that may signal unsafe conditions for your food. But you can do a little snooping yourself. Flies in the produce or meat departments could be depositing bacteria on raw food. Roaches scurrying across the floor could also be harboring dozens of different diseases. And of course, check the shelves and products for dirt and grime—cans that are covered in dust may be an indication that they’ve sat around past their shelf life.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Annoying Ads on Radio ( Class 95)
When these ads come on they always make me either switch channels or turn the radio off........
The Mercedes ad where the guy speaks like he has something stuck up his a*** and he says something about peeing over the fence actually the word is "peer" but he pronounces it as "pee" hahhaha
The Ah Seng Subaru ad.........absolute nightmare........the Ah Seng/ Ah Lian thing is SO OVER!
Do you have anymore annoying ads to add to the list?
The Mercedes ad where the guy speaks like he has something stuck up his a*** and he says something about peeing over the fence actually the word is "peer" but he pronounces it as "pee" hahhaha
The Ah Seng Subaru ad.........absolute nightmare........the Ah Seng/ Ah Lian thing is SO OVER!
Do you have anymore annoying ads to add to the list?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
MIND READER !!
http://www.mysticalball.com/
I figured this one out...........one lunch for the answer.........hahhahaha
I figured this one out...........one lunch for the answer.........hahhahaha
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Martha Stewart and Me............
Martha's way #1: Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar
cone to prevent ice cream drips.
My way: Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's
sake, you are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it
anyway.
*****
Martha's way #2: Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto
the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time.
My way: Buy the precooked kind you nuke in the microwave for 30 seconds.
The hard part is getting them out of the plastic bag.
*****
Martha's way #3: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag
with the potatoes.
My way: Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix and keep it in the pantry for
up to a year.
*****
Martha's way #4: To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt
to the water before hard boiling.
My way: Who cares if they crack, aren't you going to take the shells off
anyway?
*****
Martha's way #5: To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to
room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen
counter before squeezing.
My way: Sleep with the lemons in between the mattress and box springs.
*****
Martha's way #6: To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply
add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan,
and bring to a boil on stovetop.
My way: Eat at Chili's every night and avoid cooking.
*****
Martha's way #7: Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before
pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
My way: Feed your garbage disposal and there won't be any leftovers.
*****
Martha's way #8: When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan,
use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess
on the outside of the cake.
My way: Go to the bakery. They'll even decorate it for you.
*****
Martha's way #9: If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still
cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an
instant "fix me up"
My way: If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too darn
bad. My motto: I made it and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it
tastes.
*****
Martha's way #10: Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the
refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
My way: Celery? Never heard of the stuff.
*****
Martha's way #11: Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before
baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.
My way: The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg
whites over the crust and so I don't do it.
*****
Martha's way #12: Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to
soften it.
My Way: Brown sugar is supposed to be "soft"?
*****
Martha's way #13: When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to
help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
My Way: The only kind of corn I buy comes in a can.
*****
Martha's way #14: To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a
pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to
the surface, throw it away.
My way: Eat, cook, or use the egg anyway. If you feel bad later, you will
know it wasn't fresh.
*****
Martha's way #15: Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub
it on your forehead.. The throbbing will go away.
My way: Martha, dear, the only reason this works is because you can't rub
a lime on your forehead without getting lime juice in your eye, and then
the problem isn't the headache anymore, it is because you are now blind.
*****
Martha's way #16: Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice
cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
My way: Leftover wine?
*****
Martha's way #17: If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex
dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars
easy.
My way: Go ask the very cute neighbor to do it.
*****
Martha's way #18: Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just
slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
My way: Mashed potatoes will now be replacing the antibacterial soap in
the handy dispenser next to my sink.
*****
Martha's way #19: Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer.
* Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes,
brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous
china.
* Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or
cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.
* Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and
immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
* Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka
Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
My way: Put your jewelry, vases, and thermos in the toilet. Add some
Alka-Seltzer and you have solved a whole bunch of problems at once.
cone to prevent ice cream drips.
My way: Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's
sake, you are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it
anyway.
*****
Martha's way #2: Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto
the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time.
My way: Buy the precooked kind you nuke in the microwave for 30 seconds.
The hard part is getting them out of the plastic bag.
*****
Martha's way #3: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag
with the potatoes.
My way: Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix and keep it in the pantry for
up to a year.
*****
Martha's way #4: To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt
to the water before hard boiling.
My way: Who cares if they crack, aren't you going to take the shells off
anyway?
*****
Martha's way #5: To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to
room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen
counter before squeezing.
My way: Sleep with the lemons in between the mattress and box springs.
*****
Martha's way #6: To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply
add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan,
and bring to a boil on stovetop.
My way: Eat at Chili's every night and avoid cooking.
*****
Martha's way #7: Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before
pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
My way: Feed your garbage disposal and there won't be any leftovers.
*****
Martha's way #8: When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan,
use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess
on the outside of the cake.
My way: Go to the bakery. They'll even decorate it for you.
*****
Martha's way #9: If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still
cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an
instant "fix me up"
My way: If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too darn
bad. My motto: I made it and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it
tastes.
*****
Martha's way #10: Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the
refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
My way: Celery? Never heard of the stuff.
*****
Martha's way #11: Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before
baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.
My way: The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg
whites over the crust and so I don't do it.
*****
Martha's way #12: Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to
soften it.
My Way: Brown sugar is supposed to be "soft"?
*****
Martha's way #13: When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to
help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
My Way: The only kind of corn I buy comes in a can.
*****
Martha's way #14: To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a
pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to
the surface, throw it away.
My way: Eat, cook, or use the egg anyway. If you feel bad later, you will
know it wasn't fresh.
*****
Martha's way #15: Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub
it on your forehead.. The throbbing will go away.
My way: Martha, dear, the only reason this works is because you can't rub
a lime on your forehead without getting lime juice in your eye, and then
the problem isn't the headache anymore, it is because you are now blind.
*****
Martha's way #16: Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice
cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
My way: Leftover wine?
*****
Martha's way #17: If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex
dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars
easy.
My way: Go ask the very cute neighbor to do it.
*****
Martha's way #18: Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just
slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
My way: Mashed potatoes will now be replacing the antibacterial soap in
the handy dispenser next to my sink.
*****
Martha's way #19: Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer.
* Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes,
brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous
china.
* Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or
cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.
* Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and
immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
* Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka
Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
My way: Put your jewelry, vases, and thermos in the toilet. Add some
Alka-Seltzer and you have solved a whole bunch of problems at once.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Father's Day .......A letter from a Father
A father’s letter Oct 17, 2006
Dear child,
* The day you see me as old, have a little patience and try to understand me.
* If I get dirty when I eat, if I cannot dress myself , have patience.Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you.
* If I repeat the same things a thousand and one times - do not interrupt me - listen to me.When you were little, I had to read to the same story you a thousand and one times until you get to sleep.
* When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold me.Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I invented, to get you to bathe.
* When you see my ignorance on new technologies - give me the necessary time and not look at me with your mocking smile.I taught you many things - to eat good, to dress well - to confront life.
* When at some moment I lose my memory or the thread of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not my conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to me.
* If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know when I need to and when not to.
* When my tired legs do not allow me walk, give me your hand the same way I did when you made your first steps.
* And when someday I say to you that I do not want to live any more, that I want to die, do not get angry - some day you will understand. Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived.
* Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the best thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you..
* You must not feel sad, angry ... at seeing me near you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did you when you started living.
* Help me to walk, help me to end my way (life) with love and patience. I will repay you with a smile and the immense love I have always had for you.
I love you!
Your father.
Dear child,
* The day you see me as old, have a little patience and try to understand me.
* If I get dirty when I eat, if I cannot dress myself , have patience.Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you.
* If I repeat the same things a thousand and one times - do not interrupt me - listen to me.When you were little, I had to read to the same story you a thousand and one times until you get to sleep.
* When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold me.Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I invented, to get you to bathe.
* When you see my ignorance on new technologies - give me the necessary time and not look at me with your mocking smile.I taught you many things - to eat good, to dress well - to confront life.
* When at some moment I lose my memory or the thread of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not my conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to me.
* If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know when I need to and when not to.
* When my tired legs do not allow me walk, give me your hand the same way I did when you made your first steps.
* And when someday I say to you that I do not want to live any more, that I want to die, do not get angry - some day you will understand. Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived.
* Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the best thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you..
* You must not feel sad, angry ... at seeing me near you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did you when you started living.
* Help me to walk, help me to end my way (life) with love and patience. I will repay you with a smile and the immense love I have always had for you.
I love you!
Your father.
The Food Chart
apples
Protects your heart
prevents constipation
Blocks diarrhea
Improves lung capacity
Cushions joints
apricots
Combats cancer
Controls blood pressure
Saves your eyesight
Shields against Alzheimer's
Slows aging process
artichokes
Aids digestion
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Guards against liver disease
avocados
Battles diabetes
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
bananas
Protects your heart
Quiets a cough
Strengthens bones
Controls blood pressure
Blocks diarrhea
beans
Prevents constipation
Helps hemorrhoids
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Stabilizes blood sugar
beets
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
Protects your heart
Aids weight loss
blueberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Boosts memory
Prevents constipation
broccoli
Strengthens bones
Saves eyesight
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
cabbage
Combats cancer
Prevents constipation
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Helps hemorrhoids
cantaloupe
Saves eyesight
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Supports immune system
carrots
Saves eyesight
Protects your heart
Prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Promotes weight loss
cauliflower
Protects against Prostate Cancer
Combats Breast Cancer
Strengthens bones
Banishes bruises
Guards against heart disease
cherries
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Ends insomnia
Slows aging process
Shields against Alzheimer's
chestnuts
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure
chili peppers
Aids digestion
Soothes sore throat
Clears sinuses
Combats Cancer
Boosts immune system
figs
Promotes weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure
fish
Protects your heart
Boosts memory
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Supports immune system
flax
Aids digestion
Battles diabetes
Protects your heart
Improves mental health
Boosts immune system
garlic
Lowers cholesterol
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
kills bacteria
Fights fungus
grapefruit
Protects against heart attacks
Promotes Weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol
grapes
saves eyesight
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Enhances blood flow
Protects your heart
green tea
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Helps stops strokes
Promotes Weight loss
Kills bacteria
honey
Heals wounds
Aids digestion
Guards against ulcers
Increases energy
Fights allergies
lemons
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy
limes
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy
mangoes
Combats cancer
Boosts memory
Regulates thyroid
aids digestion
Shields against Alzheimer's
mushrooms
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Kills bacteria
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
oats
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
prevents constipation
Smoothes skin
olive oil
Protects your heart
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
Smoothes skin
onions
Reduce risk of heart attack
Combats cancer
Kills bacteria
Lowers cholesterol
Fights fungus
oranges
Supports immune systems
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Straightens respiration
peaches
prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes
aids digestion
Helps hemorrhoids
peanuts
Protects against heart disease
Promotes Weight loss
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Aggravates diverticulitis
pineapple
Strengthens bones
Relieves colds
Aids digestion
Dissolves warts
Blocks diarrhea
prunes
Slows aging process
prevents constipation
boosts memory
Lowers cholesterol
Protects against heart disease
rice
Protects your heart
Battles diabetes
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes
strawberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
boosts memory
Calms stress
sweet potatoes
Saves your eyesight
Lifts mood
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
tomatoes
Protects prostate
Combats cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
walnuts
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
boosts memory
Lifts mood
Protects against heart disease
water
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Conquers kidney stones
Smoothes skin
watermelon
Protects prostate
Promotes Weight loss
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure
wheat germ
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion
wheat bran
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion
yogurt
Guards against ulcers
Strengthens bones
Lowers cholesterol
Supports immune systems
Aids digestion
Protects your heart
prevents constipation
Blocks diarrhea
Improves lung capacity
Cushions joints
apricots
Combats cancer
Controls blood pressure
Saves your eyesight
Shields against Alzheimer's
Slows aging process
artichokes
Aids digestion
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Guards against liver disease
avocados
Battles diabetes
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
bananas
Protects your heart
Quiets a cough
Strengthens bones
Controls blood pressure
Blocks diarrhea
beans
Prevents constipation
Helps hemorrhoids
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Stabilizes blood sugar
beets
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
Protects your heart
Aids weight loss
blueberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Boosts memory
Prevents constipation
broccoli
Strengthens bones
Saves eyesight
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
cabbage
Combats cancer
Prevents constipation
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Helps hemorrhoids
cantaloupe
Saves eyesight
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Supports immune system
carrots
Saves eyesight
Protects your heart
Prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Promotes weight loss
cauliflower
Protects against Prostate Cancer
Combats Breast Cancer
Strengthens bones
Banishes bruises
Guards against heart disease
cherries
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Ends insomnia
Slows aging process
Shields against Alzheimer's
chestnuts
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure
chili peppers
Aids digestion
Soothes sore throat
Clears sinuses
Combats Cancer
Boosts immune system
figs
Promotes weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure
fish
Protects your heart
Boosts memory
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Supports immune system
flax
Aids digestion
Battles diabetes
Protects your heart
Improves mental health
Boosts immune system
garlic
Lowers cholesterol
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
kills bacteria
Fights fungus
grapefruit
Protects against heart attacks
Promotes Weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol
grapes
saves eyesight
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Enhances blood flow
Protects your heart
green tea
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Helps stops strokes
Promotes Weight loss
Kills bacteria
honey
Heals wounds
Aids digestion
Guards against ulcers
Increases energy
Fights allergies
lemons
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy
limes
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy
mangoes
Combats cancer
Boosts memory
Regulates thyroid
aids digestion
Shields against Alzheimer's
mushrooms
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Kills bacteria
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
oats
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
prevents constipation
Smoothes skin
olive oil
Protects your heart
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
Smoothes skin
onions
Reduce risk of heart attack
Combats cancer
Kills bacteria
Lowers cholesterol
Fights fungus
oranges
Supports immune systems
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Straightens respiration
peaches
prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes
aids digestion
Helps hemorrhoids
peanuts
Protects against heart disease
Promotes Weight loss
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Aggravates diverticulitis
pineapple
Strengthens bones
Relieves colds
Aids digestion
Dissolves warts
Blocks diarrhea
prunes
Slows aging process
prevents constipation
boosts memory
Lowers cholesterol
Protects against heart disease
rice
Protects your heart
Battles diabetes
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes
strawberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
boosts memory
Calms stress
sweet potatoes
Saves your eyesight
Lifts mood
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
tomatoes
Protects prostate
Combats cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
walnuts
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
boosts memory
Lifts mood
Protects against heart disease
water
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Conquers kidney stones
Smoothes skin
watermelon
Protects prostate
Promotes Weight loss
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure
wheat germ
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion
wheat bran
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion
yogurt
Guards against ulcers
Strengthens bones
Lowers cholesterol
Supports immune systems
Aids digestion
9 Lives......A Short Cat Story
9 Lives by Felix Heng
Whoever coined the phrase “ it’s ok to be alone as long as you’re not lonely” probably never experienced it himself. Being alone almost always makes one lonely. Robert knew this feeling well. For him the days stretched endlessly and the nights were even longer. It has been 5 years since that fateful day when he tempted fate by ignoring his wife’s plea to heed a silly superstition; the one about black cats crossing one’s path.
It was supposed to be another wonderful Saturday by the river. Since they cleaned the Singapore river, the clean man-made beaches drew the crowds every weekend. Those guys from The Waterways Project certainly did an awesome job. Made up entirely of volunteers, these dedicated people spend their weekends scooping up rubbish from the riverbanks , keeping the river clean and a great place to picnic.
Mary was busy in the kitchen preparing the picnic basket. Isabel, the maid had asked for a day off today to attend a friend’s baptism and they had said ok. So, now she was straddled with preparing the picnic lunch. She had made the egg sandwiches which the kids loved and threw in the longans she had picked up at Giant Supermarket yesterday. They were so cheap but she had to push her way through the 3-deep crowd of aunties and uncles who were standing there breaking off the twigs from the longan fruit so that they would weigh less. Mary felt a little guilty doing that but what the hell, she thought everyone else was doing it. At least she wasn;t like some of them, popping the fruit into their mouths when they thought no one was looking. In between screaming at the kids to get dressed Mary finally closed the picnic basket and headed out to the car. Robert was no where to be seen. As she came back into the house, the kids rolled down the stairs. Jack and Susan, 7 and 4, were in their swimming gear and all ready to picnic. Mary yelled for Robert that they were late . They knew that since the river was cleaned, families throng it especially on weekends and if they were just 15 minutes late , their favorite spot would be taken. They bundled into the car. Robert bounded down the staircase, grabbed the car keys and ran out , slamming the front door behind him.
He started the engine and backed out the drive way when Mary screamed “STOP!”. He hit the breaks and screamed at her “ What?” She had seen a black cat dash across the path of the car as they were backing out of the driveway. Visibly shaken, Mary told them that maybe they should cancel the picnic. She had always been superstitious. She would always knock on wood if someone had said something bad or unlucky or walk around ladders or sprinkle water on her head before she stepped into the house after going to a wake. She had always been that way, for as long as she could remember . Even when she was growing up , Ah Mah had to run to the bakery to get her red bean anpan buns before she left for school on exam days. Without consuming those anpan buns her examination questions would be too difficult for her or she would surely fail her test. Her whole family was superstitious. It could have stemmed from their religious beliefs. Their whole life was built around superstitions. She had amulets hanging from her neck as a child. She wore coloured string around her wrists. Even her name at home was changed so that the spirits would get confused and stay away from her.
Mary sat in the car shaking uncontrollably as Robert tried to pacify her and tell her that everything would be ok and that they would just go for the picnic and everything would be fine. He said he did not even see the cat and that she probably just thought she saw it. None of their neighbours had cats as far as they knew so where would a cat appear out of the blue. Although still not convinced , Mary agreed reluctantly that she may have imagined it.
The kids were their usual noisy selves in the back and in between screaming at them to keep quiet, Mary nagged Robert to drive faster as she really wanted them to have their usual spot or they would have had to walk quite a distance from the car park to get to the other shaded area. Robert hit the gas and as he took a bend in the road just metres away from the public car park, something black dashed in front of the car. He swerved to avoid it. The front right tire clipped the road divider and sent the car into a tailspin. It flipped 3 times before coming to rest upside down against a tree. Robert opened his eyes. He felt nothing but smelt blood and burning rubber. He looked up and yelled for Mary and the kids……….he heard nothing but a deafening silence. As he turned his head to the left he saw a lifeless body next to him; twisted in a most unnatural way. He recognized the t-shirt. It was Mary. Half her head was a gaping hole and her eyeball was drooping out of the other socket. Robert screamed until no sound came out of his throat and he blacked out from sheer terror and exhaustion. He lived this dream over and over again.
Robert woke up in a darkened hospital room. It was very quiet and he was thirsty. It felt like he was caught in a cement mixer and every bone in his body ached; even his hair hurt. It was all very surreal; almost like having an out-of-body experience. He had to wake up from this dream. He usually could wake up from bad dreams. He just had to tell himself “ok this is not fun, time to wake up now”. It did not work this time. No matter how hard he tried, he was still on the bed wrapped in bandages. His legs were in casts and there was a drip hooked up to his arm. As he lay there wondering about Mary and the kids, the door swung open and a nurse and doctor walked in. He mumbled “ How are Mary and the kids” . The doctor and nurse looked at each other and the doctor replied that they had all died in the accident. Robert heard the words but did not understand. He heard it like someone had told him something under water. All he heard were the words “ all dead” . He screamed again and it was like screaming in an empty room with no one to hear him. As he screamed he saw Mary and the kids walking towards him and as they come near he noticed they have cat faces. He screamed again but no one can hear him. “Maybe if I scream loud enough everyone will see their cat faces too” he thought. He touched the tattoo on his right arm as though by rubbing it hard enough, Mary would magically appear before him and everything would be alright. They had had matching tattoos done on their right arms on their honeymoon in San Francisco. It read “Always Forever” within a red heart. They were so much in love. Whenever he was nervous or felt alone just rubbing the tattoo always made him feel comforted, like she was right there with him. She had always been his pillar of strength. Someone once commented that he had married his mother. She was always “mothering” him and he liked it that way. His mother had her opinion about that but in her own way she liked Mary inspite of her overbearing superstitious nature.
5 years passed. Robert had spent much of that time in the Woodbridge Psychiatric hospital , He had lost his job and was forced to sell the house and move into a HDB apartment. He was a total basket case after the accident and spent his time in the office staring at the computer screen or just talking to a companion who wasn;t there, His boss had no other choice but to let him go. He was very reluctant as Robert was one of his best salesmen. Something drew Robert to the river so with the help of his parents, he bought a resale flat in the Kallang area. They had asked him to come to live with them but he refused saying he needed his independence if he was to get better.
After endless searching for a job, Robert landed a job with the AVA , The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority. He liked the job. He was a cat culler! There was much satisfaction for him; catching those ugly, dirty, despicable animals. He caught them and they were put to sleep. He wished that he could see the process through to the end; that would be such a “fulfilling” job. But for now, he was just contented catching those worthless creatures for someone else to have the pleasure of ending their miserable lives. He savoured the thrill of the hunt. He loved the thrill of cornering those fleabags and slipping the wire noose around their scrawny necks before tightening it and feeling them writhe and squirm trying to get out of the ever-tightening wire noose. He loved the look and feel of their desperation when he hurled them into the back of the paddy wagon…..Stupid creatures who took away his family……….
He caught an average of ten cats a day. Maybe, he thought, no one would notice if he took one home. He reached out and grabbed one by the neck and placed it into the big gunny sack he brought. The cat struggled for it’s life as though it knew that it rather be put to sleep than face what its captor had in store. It was the end of his shift and Robert headed home with his prized possession. He walked home as he had done everyday. Today there was a lightness in his step as though he could not wait to get home with his prize. Beads of perspiration flowed down his brow and his t-shirt is soaking wet by the time he pushed open the door to his neat but spartan one bedroom apartment. He looked around to see if anyone noticed him entering his apartment with the gunny sack. His neighbours had long since ignored him because he never returned their greetings; rushing by them, head bowed low. He riped off his t-shirt and panted as he flung the gunny sack in the direction of the kitchen. He stood naked in the kitchen and grabbed the knife from the drawer. His hands shook as he reached out for the gunny sack and slowly untied the knot. This was almost like foreplay he told himself; it was so exciting. The cat, actually merely a kitten , was all silent and quiet. Maybe it was already dead from being thrown about so wildly. Robert reached inside, felt for the soft furry body. All of a sudden the cat lurched out, claws barred and drew blood from his hand. He screamed in pain but instead of withdrawing his hand he reached out and found the kitten’s small neck. He grabbed it with such force that he actually snapped it. Mercifully the kitten was already dead and would not feel the pain it was about to endure, He pulled out the already lifeless kitten and started to sever its head with the somewhat dull blade. There was a sickening sound as blade met flesh and blood spurted all over the man’s naked body. He was now laughing uncontrollably and continued to saw until every drop of blood was drained from the now beheaded animal. The pleasure he felt was almost orgasmic. Robert walked to the shower with the cat’s head in his hand and proceeded to take a shower as he lovingly caressed the cat’s head. He washed the blood off his body and watched it flow down the drain. It was like a ritual cleansing. He had gotten rid of one more pest the world could do without and it was one step closer to his “vindication”. All clean now he placed the cat’s head in the refrigerator. He picked up the knife and lifeless headless body. He placed the body in a black thrash bag and hurled it down the rubbish chute. He smiled to himself and congratulated himself for a job that was complete and he had a “trophy” to show too. He felt hungry, the first time in a long while; he felt like having fish tonight.
9 ; that was how many cats he needed to kill to be completely cleansed of the guilt. 9 lives would absolve him of the guilt of not having listened to his wife that fateful morning when she pleaded with him in the car to cancel the picnic. The next 5 cats were just as easy to get as the first. A couple of them almost got away but he still managed to bludgeon them to death with a hammer, always careful not to hit the head as those were his trophies. He now had 6 heads in his refrigerator. He also started carrying a sharpened knife to work, just in case he had to help out finish off the job. So far no one has asked him to help, but you never know.
He had to work late that Thursday so instead of going home and having to fix his dinner, Robert decided to stop by the hawker center on his way home. It was almost 11pm. He enjoyed the fish soup at a particular stall which stayed open past midnight. The fish was always fresh. He sat by himself at a corner table and just as he was finishing the last few drops of soup he spotted a man at the next table slurping on a large bowl of laksa noodles. He was obese. Robert guessed that the man was about 300 lbs and because he was only about five feet nothing, he looked even bigger. He was a slob. His shirt front was stained with droplets of laksa gravy. Robert thought to himself “ those laksa stains are going to be a bitch to get out” . As he watched the man rapturously eat his laksa, savouring every strand of noodle , every bloody raw cockle, Robert stared at the man’s face. The man’s features started to change. His tongue flicked back and forth and his nose twitched. His eyes turned a funny runny yellow colour and his face took on a feline appearance. Even his mannerisms were very feline. Beads of sweat gathered on Robert’s brow as he knew what he had to do. He waited, sipping patiently on his drink as he watched the fat cat finish his dinner. “Eat up my sweet feline” thought Robert; “ enjoy your last meal.”
As the fat man got off his stool, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and lumbered off. Robert followed him into the darkness. The man turned into a dark alleyway. He needed to relieve himself. As the droplets of urine hit the pavement, Robert pulled out the knife from his bag; looked around to see if there was anyone around. The side street was empty this time of night and many of the street lamps were out but he saw the fat man very clearly almost as if he had cat’s eyes that could see in the dark. With 2 swift strokes, he ran the knife back and forth along the fat man’s neck severing the jugular vein. The knife was so sharp the man felt nothing and slumped to the ground. In the shadows Robert watched as the life pumped out of the man’s neck. The body shook involuntarily, legs kicked outwards at his unseen assailant.. The man hardly made a whimper as his blood drained from him. Robert remembered how growing up as a child in a kampong, he had watched his mother slaughter chickens by cutting their necks, twisting their heads under their wings and then throwing them in the garden to bleed to death. He remembered how he and some friends would just stoop around watching the chicken bleed to death. It would flutter it’s wings and jump up and down in its final dance of death, They would take bets as to how long before the chicken would stop moving altogether. After the body stoped moving, he bent over the body and with several hard whacks Robert severed the head completely, popped it into his bag and headed home with trophy number 7.
The was a sudden absence of cats wandering in the HDB estate over the next few days. A lady , calling herself the cat lady had started a farm for cats in Ponggol. It was a “safe haven” for the strays so that they would not be culled. She and some volunteers had been patrolling the estates catching the strays and bringing them to the farm so that they would be safe. Robert thought these “cat people” were insane to spend so much time and effort trying to “save” these useless, smelly and murderous animals. Soon, he thought, these people would turn into cats themselves if they were not careful. Cats had a spirit in them to cast spells on people who got too close to them. That’s what Mary used to tell him that’s why she never allowed the children to have any pets especially cats. Mary also hated cats because when she was a little girl she was scratched on her hand while playing with a neighbour’s cat. From that day onwards she avoided them like the plague. She especially hated it when they would wander around some of the hawker centers and actually come up to the tables looking for food. Sometimes she would kick at them but she always remembered the pain of that scratch on her hand so she would prefer to give them a wide berth. She had had to go to the doctor for a tetanus shot and that hurt even more than the scratch.
After another “disappointing” day at work with nothing to do, Robert decided to take a walk to the Singapore river after his usual dinner of fish soup. Its almost 8pm and as he approached the bus stop at Kallang Bahru, he saw a young girl sitting there waiting for the bus to arrive. As he approached her, she looked at him and gave him a disgusted look. He was still in his work clothes and his disheveled hair gave him an unkempt look; almost like one of those homeless people she sometimes came across when her flight stewardess job brought her to places like San Francisco. They were covered with filth and God knows when they had their last shower. She turned away from Robert as he approached. He saw her disgusted look and as he passed her he saw her pointed ears and whiskers protruding from the sides of her cheeks. He smiled to himself and continued walking past the bus stop. A few metres away he doubled back behind the bushes next to the bus stop. The street was quiet that time of the night and no one was about. The girl had taken out her lipstick and little mirror and was applying a gloss to her lips. Robert moved so quietly and quickly, she did not even look up when he grabbed her from behind and in a split second ran his knife along her throat slicing it open from ear to ear. She hardly made a whimper. Her lipstick and mirror fell to the roadside with a clink as he dragged her lifeless body behind the bushes, he smiled to himself thinking “ Number 8 one more to go”; one more gruesome "trophy" in his refrigerator. He loved to open his refrigerator to admire his "trophies". The cold air had stiffened the hair on the heads and each one had their own scream frozen on their faces for eternity.
Robert woke up feeling strange as though he was up all night. He suddenly felt what it was like to be a nocturnal creature. He felt alive at night and strangely very tired and sleepy by day. He dragged himself out of bed and felt the stubble on his chin. He was not a hairy person by any means but this morning as he ran his palm along his chin and cheek he was surprised to feel and unusual growth of hair. He didn’t think anything of it as he stumbled to the bath room. Eyes half closed he brushed his teeth and after a few rinces of water he reached out for the razor. It was one of those old barbershop 6 inch blades which he had actually used on some of his “escapades”. He liked to keep the blade gleaming and sharp . He loved the feel of the cold steel against his cheek and neck. After he lathered up , eyes still closed he placed the blade against his neck and opened his eyes………….his mouth dropped open as he looked into the mirror as staring back at him was the face of ……..A Cat! He moved backwards rubbing his face vigorously trying to wipe off the cat face . Nothing happened . With a scream he slammed his fist against the mirror shattering it. Robert saw literally hundreds of cat faces screaming back at him. He raised the blade and started cutting up the cat face . As the blood squirted all over the mirror and bathroom floor, Robert ran the blade against his neck almost severing it as he fell lifeless to the floor.
A cat wandered aimlessly outside the apartment and sensed the door was ajar. It meowed hungrily as if it smelled a banquet inside. Its meowing was a signal to the other hungry cats in the neighbourhood to come for food. Soon the other cats arrived, pushed open the door and wandered in to feast on what was inside.
24 hours later a lady walked by Robert’s apartment and smelled a horrible stench wafting from the half opened front door. As she pushed the door open , she was startled by a cat which rushed past her. She noticed it had blood stains on its mouth. She pushed the door open and screamed as she saw ten to fifteen cats feasting on the near naked body of Robert Tan. She ran out of the apartment , fumbled for her cellphone and called the police. She was hysterical and in between sobs , the conversation between the lady and the police sounded so much like cats meowing at each other………………..
It was Sunday and the Clean River Committee was in their boat cleaning the Singapore river. With their nets they fished whatever rubbish and debris they spotted floating in the river. Soon the river was to be dammed to turn it into another water source for Singapore. Although there were campaigns to educate people on the importance of not littering in the waterways, the Committee still “fished” out a sizeable load every weekend. Recently there had been bizarre “finds”……headless bodies of cats and other animals; maybe someone was performing a bloody ritual somewhere along the banks of the Singapore river. Suddenly someone spotted a floating “object” on the side of the river. As the boat pulled up alongside , they used a net and scooped it up. The people on the boat gasped as they lifted another headless body of a cat out of the water. Someone called out , “Hey Look! the cat has a tattoo of a red heart with the words Always Forever!” and somewhere in the bushes by the edge of the river a cat's moanful meow pierced the quiet Sunday morning...........
THE END
Whoever coined the phrase “ it’s ok to be alone as long as you’re not lonely” probably never experienced it himself. Being alone almost always makes one lonely. Robert knew this feeling well. For him the days stretched endlessly and the nights were even longer. It has been 5 years since that fateful day when he tempted fate by ignoring his wife’s plea to heed a silly superstition; the one about black cats crossing one’s path.
It was supposed to be another wonderful Saturday by the river. Since they cleaned the Singapore river, the clean man-made beaches drew the crowds every weekend. Those guys from The Waterways Project certainly did an awesome job. Made up entirely of volunteers, these dedicated people spend their weekends scooping up rubbish from the riverbanks , keeping the river clean and a great place to picnic.
Mary was busy in the kitchen preparing the picnic basket. Isabel, the maid had asked for a day off today to attend a friend’s baptism and they had said ok. So, now she was straddled with preparing the picnic lunch. She had made the egg sandwiches which the kids loved and threw in the longans she had picked up at Giant Supermarket yesterday. They were so cheap but she had to push her way through the 3-deep crowd of aunties and uncles who were standing there breaking off the twigs from the longan fruit so that they would weigh less. Mary felt a little guilty doing that but what the hell, she thought everyone else was doing it. At least she wasn;t like some of them, popping the fruit into their mouths when they thought no one was looking. In between screaming at the kids to get dressed Mary finally closed the picnic basket and headed out to the car. Robert was no where to be seen. As she came back into the house, the kids rolled down the stairs. Jack and Susan, 7 and 4, were in their swimming gear and all ready to picnic. Mary yelled for Robert that they were late . They knew that since the river was cleaned, families throng it especially on weekends and if they were just 15 minutes late , their favorite spot would be taken. They bundled into the car. Robert bounded down the staircase, grabbed the car keys and ran out , slamming the front door behind him.
He started the engine and backed out the drive way when Mary screamed “STOP!”. He hit the breaks and screamed at her “ What?” She had seen a black cat dash across the path of the car as they were backing out of the driveway. Visibly shaken, Mary told them that maybe they should cancel the picnic. She had always been superstitious. She would always knock on wood if someone had said something bad or unlucky or walk around ladders or sprinkle water on her head before she stepped into the house after going to a wake. She had always been that way, for as long as she could remember . Even when she was growing up , Ah Mah had to run to the bakery to get her red bean anpan buns before she left for school on exam days. Without consuming those anpan buns her examination questions would be too difficult for her or she would surely fail her test. Her whole family was superstitious. It could have stemmed from their religious beliefs. Their whole life was built around superstitions. She had amulets hanging from her neck as a child. She wore coloured string around her wrists. Even her name at home was changed so that the spirits would get confused and stay away from her.
Mary sat in the car shaking uncontrollably as Robert tried to pacify her and tell her that everything would be ok and that they would just go for the picnic and everything would be fine. He said he did not even see the cat and that she probably just thought she saw it. None of their neighbours had cats as far as they knew so where would a cat appear out of the blue. Although still not convinced , Mary agreed reluctantly that she may have imagined it.
The kids were their usual noisy selves in the back and in between screaming at them to keep quiet, Mary nagged Robert to drive faster as she really wanted them to have their usual spot or they would have had to walk quite a distance from the car park to get to the other shaded area. Robert hit the gas and as he took a bend in the road just metres away from the public car park, something black dashed in front of the car. He swerved to avoid it. The front right tire clipped the road divider and sent the car into a tailspin. It flipped 3 times before coming to rest upside down against a tree. Robert opened his eyes. He felt nothing but smelt blood and burning rubber. He looked up and yelled for Mary and the kids……….he heard nothing but a deafening silence. As he turned his head to the left he saw a lifeless body next to him; twisted in a most unnatural way. He recognized the t-shirt. It was Mary. Half her head was a gaping hole and her eyeball was drooping out of the other socket. Robert screamed until no sound came out of his throat and he blacked out from sheer terror and exhaustion. He lived this dream over and over again.
Robert woke up in a darkened hospital room. It was very quiet and he was thirsty. It felt like he was caught in a cement mixer and every bone in his body ached; even his hair hurt. It was all very surreal; almost like having an out-of-body experience. He had to wake up from this dream. He usually could wake up from bad dreams. He just had to tell himself “ok this is not fun, time to wake up now”. It did not work this time. No matter how hard he tried, he was still on the bed wrapped in bandages. His legs were in casts and there was a drip hooked up to his arm. As he lay there wondering about Mary and the kids, the door swung open and a nurse and doctor walked in. He mumbled “ How are Mary and the kids” . The doctor and nurse looked at each other and the doctor replied that they had all died in the accident. Robert heard the words but did not understand. He heard it like someone had told him something under water. All he heard were the words “ all dead” . He screamed again and it was like screaming in an empty room with no one to hear him. As he screamed he saw Mary and the kids walking towards him and as they come near he noticed they have cat faces. He screamed again but no one can hear him. “Maybe if I scream loud enough everyone will see their cat faces too” he thought. He touched the tattoo on his right arm as though by rubbing it hard enough, Mary would magically appear before him and everything would be alright. They had had matching tattoos done on their right arms on their honeymoon in San Francisco. It read “Always Forever” within a red heart. They were so much in love. Whenever he was nervous or felt alone just rubbing the tattoo always made him feel comforted, like she was right there with him. She had always been his pillar of strength. Someone once commented that he had married his mother. She was always “mothering” him and he liked it that way. His mother had her opinion about that but in her own way she liked Mary inspite of her overbearing superstitious nature.
5 years passed. Robert had spent much of that time in the Woodbridge Psychiatric hospital , He had lost his job and was forced to sell the house and move into a HDB apartment. He was a total basket case after the accident and spent his time in the office staring at the computer screen or just talking to a companion who wasn;t there, His boss had no other choice but to let him go. He was very reluctant as Robert was one of his best salesmen. Something drew Robert to the river so with the help of his parents, he bought a resale flat in the Kallang area. They had asked him to come to live with them but he refused saying he needed his independence if he was to get better.
After endless searching for a job, Robert landed a job with the AVA , The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority. He liked the job. He was a cat culler! There was much satisfaction for him; catching those ugly, dirty, despicable animals. He caught them and they were put to sleep. He wished that he could see the process through to the end; that would be such a “fulfilling” job. But for now, he was just contented catching those worthless creatures for someone else to have the pleasure of ending their miserable lives. He savoured the thrill of the hunt. He loved the thrill of cornering those fleabags and slipping the wire noose around their scrawny necks before tightening it and feeling them writhe and squirm trying to get out of the ever-tightening wire noose. He loved the look and feel of their desperation when he hurled them into the back of the paddy wagon…..Stupid creatures who took away his family……….
He caught an average of ten cats a day. Maybe, he thought, no one would notice if he took one home. He reached out and grabbed one by the neck and placed it into the big gunny sack he brought. The cat struggled for it’s life as though it knew that it rather be put to sleep than face what its captor had in store. It was the end of his shift and Robert headed home with his prized possession. He walked home as he had done everyday. Today there was a lightness in his step as though he could not wait to get home with his prize. Beads of perspiration flowed down his brow and his t-shirt is soaking wet by the time he pushed open the door to his neat but spartan one bedroom apartment. He looked around to see if anyone noticed him entering his apartment with the gunny sack. His neighbours had long since ignored him because he never returned their greetings; rushing by them, head bowed low. He riped off his t-shirt and panted as he flung the gunny sack in the direction of the kitchen. He stood naked in the kitchen and grabbed the knife from the drawer. His hands shook as he reached out for the gunny sack and slowly untied the knot. This was almost like foreplay he told himself; it was so exciting. The cat, actually merely a kitten , was all silent and quiet. Maybe it was already dead from being thrown about so wildly. Robert reached inside, felt for the soft furry body. All of a sudden the cat lurched out, claws barred and drew blood from his hand. He screamed in pain but instead of withdrawing his hand he reached out and found the kitten’s small neck. He grabbed it with such force that he actually snapped it. Mercifully the kitten was already dead and would not feel the pain it was about to endure, He pulled out the already lifeless kitten and started to sever its head with the somewhat dull blade. There was a sickening sound as blade met flesh and blood spurted all over the man’s naked body. He was now laughing uncontrollably and continued to saw until every drop of blood was drained from the now beheaded animal. The pleasure he felt was almost orgasmic. Robert walked to the shower with the cat’s head in his hand and proceeded to take a shower as he lovingly caressed the cat’s head. He washed the blood off his body and watched it flow down the drain. It was like a ritual cleansing. He had gotten rid of one more pest the world could do without and it was one step closer to his “vindication”. All clean now he placed the cat’s head in the refrigerator. He picked up the knife and lifeless headless body. He placed the body in a black thrash bag and hurled it down the rubbish chute. He smiled to himself and congratulated himself for a job that was complete and he had a “trophy” to show too. He felt hungry, the first time in a long while; he felt like having fish tonight.
9 ; that was how many cats he needed to kill to be completely cleansed of the guilt. 9 lives would absolve him of the guilt of not having listened to his wife that fateful morning when she pleaded with him in the car to cancel the picnic. The next 5 cats were just as easy to get as the first. A couple of them almost got away but he still managed to bludgeon them to death with a hammer, always careful not to hit the head as those were his trophies. He now had 6 heads in his refrigerator. He also started carrying a sharpened knife to work, just in case he had to help out finish off the job. So far no one has asked him to help, but you never know.
He had to work late that Thursday so instead of going home and having to fix his dinner, Robert decided to stop by the hawker center on his way home. It was almost 11pm. He enjoyed the fish soup at a particular stall which stayed open past midnight. The fish was always fresh. He sat by himself at a corner table and just as he was finishing the last few drops of soup he spotted a man at the next table slurping on a large bowl of laksa noodles. He was obese. Robert guessed that the man was about 300 lbs and because he was only about five feet nothing, he looked even bigger. He was a slob. His shirt front was stained with droplets of laksa gravy. Robert thought to himself “ those laksa stains are going to be a bitch to get out” . As he watched the man rapturously eat his laksa, savouring every strand of noodle , every bloody raw cockle, Robert stared at the man’s face. The man’s features started to change. His tongue flicked back and forth and his nose twitched. His eyes turned a funny runny yellow colour and his face took on a feline appearance. Even his mannerisms were very feline. Beads of sweat gathered on Robert’s brow as he knew what he had to do. He waited, sipping patiently on his drink as he watched the fat cat finish his dinner. “Eat up my sweet feline” thought Robert; “ enjoy your last meal.”
As the fat man got off his stool, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and lumbered off. Robert followed him into the darkness. The man turned into a dark alleyway. He needed to relieve himself. As the droplets of urine hit the pavement, Robert pulled out the knife from his bag; looked around to see if there was anyone around. The side street was empty this time of night and many of the street lamps were out but he saw the fat man very clearly almost as if he had cat’s eyes that could see in the dark. With 2 swift strokes, he ran the knife back and forth along the fat man’s neck severing the jugular vein. The knife was so sharp the man felt nothing and slumped to the ground. In the shadows Robert watched as the life pumped out of the man’s neck. The body shook involuntarily, legs kicked outwards at his unseen assailant.. The man hardly made a whimper as his blood drained from him. Robert remembered how growing up as a child in a kampong, he had watched his mother slaughter chickens by cutting their necks, twisting their heads under their wings and then throwing them in the garden to bleed to death. He remembered how he and some friends would just stoop around watching the chicken bleed to death. It would flutter it’s wings and jump up and down in its final dance of death, They would take bets as to how long before the chicken would stop moving altogether. After the body stoped moving, he bent over the body and with several hard whacks Robert severed the head completely, popped it into his bag and headed home with trophy number 7.
The was a sudden absence of cats wandering in the HDB estate over the next few days. A lady , calling herself the cat lady had started a farm for cats in Ponggol. It was a “safe haven” for the strays so that they would not be culled. She and some volunteers had been patrolling the estates catching the strays and bringing them to the farm so that they would be safe. Robert thought these “cat people” were insane to spend so much time and effort trying to “save” these useless, smelly and murderous animals. Soon, he thought, these people would turn into cats themselves if they were not careful. Cats had a spirit in them to cast spells on people who got too close to them. That’s what Mary used to tell him that’s why she never allowed the children to have any pets especially cats. Mary also hated cats because when she was a little girl she was scratched on her hand while playing with a neighbour’s cat. From that day onwards she avoided them like the plague. She especially hated it when they would wander around some of the hawker centers and actually come up to the tables looking for food. Sometimes she would kick at them but she always remembered the pain of that scratch on her hand so she would prefer to give them a wide berth. She had had to go to the doctor for a tetanus shot and that hurt even more than the scratch.
After another “disappointing” day at work with nothing to do, Robert decided to take a walk to the Singapore river after his usual dinner of fish soup. Its almost 8pm and as he approached the bus stop at Kallang Bahru, he saw a young girl sitting there waiting for the bus to arrive. As he approached her, she looked at him and gave him a disgusted look. He was still in his work clothes and his disheveled hair gave him an unkempt look; almost like one of those homeless people she sometimes came across when her flight stewardess job brought her to places like San Francisco. They were covered with filth and God knows when they had their last shower. She turned away from Robert as he approached. He saw her disgusted look and as he passed her he saw her pointed ears and whiskers protruding from the sides of her cheeks. He smiled to himself and continued walking past the bus stop. A few metres away he doubled back behind the bushes next to the bus stop. The street was quiet that time of the night and no one was about. The girl had taken out her lipstick and little mirror and was applying a gloss to her lips. Robert moved so quietly and quickly, she did not even look up when he grabbed her from behind and in a split second ran his knife along her throat slicing it open from ear to ear. She hardly made a whimper. Her lipstick and mirror fell to the roadside with a clink as he dragged her lifeless body behind the bushes, he smiled to himself thinking “ Number 8 one more to go”; one more gruesome "trophy" in his refrigerator. He loved to open his refrigerator to admire his "trophies". The cold air had stiffened the hair on the heads and each one had their own scream frozen on their faces for eternity.
Robert woke up feeling strange as though he was up all night. He suddenly felt what it was like to be a nocturnal creature. He felt alive at night and strangely very tired and sleepy by day. He dragged himself out of bed and felt the stubble on his chin. He was not a hairy person by any means but this morning as he ran his palm along his chin and cheek he was surprised to feel and unusual growth of hair. He didn’t think anything of it as he stumbled to the bath room. Eyes half closed he brushed his teeth and after a few rinces of water he reached out for the razor. It was one of those old barbershop 6 inch blades which he had actually used on some of his “escapades”. He liked to keep the blade gleaming and sharp . He loved the feel of the cold steel against his cheek and neck. After he lathered up , eyes still closed he placed the blade against his neck and opened his eyes………….his mouth dropped open as he looked into the mirror as staring back at him was the face of ……..A Cat! He moved backwards rubbing his face vigorously trying to wipe off the cat face . Nothing happened . With a scream he slammed his fist against the mirror shattering it. Robert saw literally hundreds of cat faces screaming back at him. He raised the blade and started cutting up the cat face . As the blood squirted all over the mirror and bathroom floor, Robert ran the blade against his neck almost severing it as he fell lifeless to the floor.
A cat wandered aimlessly outside the apartment and sensed the door was ajar. It meowed hungrily as if it smelled a banquet inside. Its meowing was a signal to the other hungry cats in the neighbourhood to come for food. Soon the other cats arrived, pushed open the door and wandered in to feast on what was inside.
24 hours later a lady walked by Robert’s apartment and smelled a horrible stench wafting from the half opened front door. As she pushed the door open , she was startled by a cat which rushed past her. She noticed it had blood stains on its mouth. She pushed the door open and screamed as she saw ten to fifteen cats feasting on the near naked body of Robert Tan. She ran out of the apartment , fumbled for her cellphone and called the police. She was hysterical and in between sobs , the conversation between the lady and the police sounded so much like cats meowing at each other………………..
It was Sunday and the Clean River Committee was in their boat cleaning the Singapore river. With their nets they fished whatever rubbish and debris they spotted floating in the river. Soon the river was to be dammed to turn it into another water source for Singapore. Although there were campaigns to educate people on the importance of not littering in the waterways, the Committee still “fished” out a sizeable load every weekend. Recently there had been bizarre “finds”……headless bodies of cats and other animals; maybe someone was performing a bloody ritual somewhere along the banks of the Singapore river. Suddenly someone spotted a floating “object” on the side of the river. As the boat pulled up alongside , they used a net and scooped it up. The people on the boat gasped as they lifted another headless body of a cat out of the water. Someone called out , “Hey Look! the cat has a tattoo of a red heart with the words Always Forever!” and somewhere in the bushes by the edge of the river a cat's moanful meow pierced the quiet Sunday morning...........
THE END
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Do you Remember......................???
When..........
It took five minutes for the TV warm up ?
Nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school?
It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents ?
It took five minutes for the TV warm up ?
Nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school?
It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents ?
People went steady?
Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, "That cloud looks like a ...........?
Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seal because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?
Being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home? Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threatBut we survived because their love was greater than the threat.
Do you still remember
Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, "That cloud looks like a ...........?
Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seal because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?
Being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home? Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threatBut we survived because their love was greater than the threat.
Do you still remember
.........Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, the Lone Ranger, Astro Boy, Bubble gum cards
........when you first learnt how to ride a bike
.......The pom pom or ting ting man ( depended on what sound he made to announce his arrival) with his bicycle cart filled with goodies
..........Tikam Tikam where for 5 cents you could pick on folded piece of paper froma cardboard chart to see if you had won anything from a sweet to a silly plastic toy or even money.
..........Ice cream potong from the ice cream man who sold homemade ice cream on sticks or between 2 slices of bread ( sometimes the bread was coloured a garish green or pink)
.........eating ice balls sold by Indian men who used their bare hands to mould those wonderful iceballs brightly coloured with green and red syrup
.........playing all those games that children used to make up using just sticks , stones and tin cans
( and as I am reminded of the following by my dear friend melpomene)...............
untraman, kuti kuti and Shintaro ( I think his last name was Hatisusah..........or something close !)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Rich & Famous in the USA
So Paris Hilton is back in jail.............again.......it is so amazing how anyone with celebrity status , money or power can be above the law in the US. Ok so the girl cries when she's made to wear those awful no name clothes and eat that awful prison food.....that's so not cool! She's shivering in the cell because the walls are bare and there's no carpeting on the floor........poor darling. I cannot believe the sheriff made that decision to let her carry out the remaining days of jail time at home on house arrest.............hey! you think they'd let all those other ladies in jail do the same thing when they start crying and shivering..........NOT!! The sheriff should have let Paris spend the rest of her jail time in one of those ladies' homes...........that would have been a real sentence! And what does she do the minute she gets out on house arrest? She orders 100 cupcakes and plans a home coming party! UNBELIEVABLE! Maybe she wanted to show off her new fashion "accessory" around her ankle!
OK so now the girl is back in jail, she will now probably go on a hunger strike or some other attention getting thingy that will cause a media frenzy and will probably be let off for good behaviour altho I can;t see how the way she's behaving can be considered good behaviour. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many teenagers who look to her as a role model..........I don;t see why but they unfortunately do. She's like the worst role model anyone can have; spoilt and always having her way and never having had to work a day in her life and to top it all off.............really stupid........for her sake I hope her stupidity is all for show. At the end of all this, she'll probably write a book or have a new reality show all about her prison stint..............and make more money and fans..........who said life was fair huh?
OK so now the girl is back in jail, she will now probably go on a hunger strike or some other attention getting thingy that will cause a media frenzy and will probably be let off for good behaviour altho I can;t see how the way she's behaving can be considered good behaviour. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many teenagers who look to her as a role model..........I don;t see why but they unfortunately do. She's like the worst role model anyone can have; spoilt and always having her way and never having had to work a day in her life and to top it all off.............really stupid........for her sake I hope her stupidity is all for show. At the end of all this, she'll probably write a book or have a new reality show all about her prison stint..............and make more money and fans..........who said life was fair huh?
Monday, June 4, 2007
How to Choose a Financial Advisor by Suze Orman
Client Beware: How To Choose A Financial Advisor
(1) Any financial adviser who calls you cold-whom you don't know and have never heard of-should be sent packing. Hang up. A successful adviser doesn't have to look for clients. Clients seek her or him out.
(2) If an adviser has time to come to your home, something is probably radically wrong. When I was seeing clients—long before I wrote my first book—I didn't have time to breathe, let alone get in a car and drive for half an hour across town to a client's home and then drive back again. (3) You should make it a point to visit a potential adviser's office, in any case. You'll want to pay careful attention to how he or she keeps his or her professional space. Is it neat? Are files in order? Is it busy?
(4) If you are married or have a life partner, a potential adviser should have found this fact out by asking and should see you only if you agree to bring your partner along or else have a very good reason why you prefer not to.
(5) A good financial adviser will ask you all—not some, but all—of the following questions: How is your health? (This is No. 1, in my opinion, since if you're not healthy you'll need first and foremost to plan for your medical care and possibly your income if and when you cannot work.) Are you in debt? (This is No. 2.) Are you responsible for aging parents? Do you have a will or trust? Will you inherit money someday? Do you need to make a major purchase like a new car or a new roof for your home? Do you have a retirement plan? Are you funding it to the maximum allowed by law? Do you have adequate insurance? Are you saving for your children's education? Only after an adviser fully understands your financial situation should he or she ask you how much money you have to invest.
(6) An adviser should be a Certified Financial Planner, or CFP® Professional, just as I am. That means that he or she cares enough about his or her clients to have gone through a two-year certification process, with continuing education requirements mandating that he or she stay up-to-date on the kinds of information that you need.
(7) You should be told up front how, and how much, a potential adviser will be paid. You shouldn't have to ask. The correct method of payment is by fee only. Any adviser who wants to be paid through commissions charged on the investments he or she makes for you has an incentive to move you in and out of stocks and other investments, perhaps in direct opposition to what's best for you.
(8) An adviser should never ask you to write a check to him or her. You should write checks only to a brokerage, an insurance company, or another financial services firm.
(9) If you already have an adviser, that adviser should be calling you in down markets as well as in up markets. Has your adviser called you in the past 12 months?
Monday, May 28, 2007
HR advice from a retired Human Resource Practitioner
It would seem the Human Resource Management is Common Sense unfortunately common sense is never common.
Advice for HR Practitioners
Advice for HR Practitioners
* Never allow the HR function in your organization to be relegated to an administrative function. It is more than signing annual leave forms, churning out worthless weekly manpower reports which no one reads or making sure the cookie jar in the staff rest room is filled.
* Always treat the people you encounter the way you want to be treated.
* Always be "available" for employees. Do not answer the phone when you are "dealing" with someone; give the individual your 100% attention.
* You are the "balance" between Management and Employees. Maintain it.
* Always maintain your integrity. If no one trusts you, you cannot do your work effectively.
* Never make promises you cannot keep.
* Never be afraid to make difficult or unpopular decisions if you know it's for the benefit of the organization and / or employees.
* Always maintain your integrity. If no one trusts you, you cannot do your work effectively.
* Never make promises you cannot keep.
* Never be afraid to make difficult or unpopular decisions if you know it's for the benefit of the organization and / or employees.
* You will never satisfy 100% ; use the 80 / 20 rule.
* Never be afraid to say you don;t know and that you will find out. Don;t try to "wing it"; you will be "caught". Make sure you get back to the person with the info asap, if not your integrity will be shot.
* Don't build boundaries for yourself. For example when you have to recruit for a specific position, don't start out by excluding certain groups of people ( aka discrimination); female, handicapped; 50-somethings
* Hire the best person for the job. When I was working for Apple Computer, it was refreshing to see that the Company believed wholeheartedly in this. The best person for the job was not the person who was technically the best , neither was he/she the one with the most experience either. We had an English major heading the Engineering Department and an experienced supply management person doing HR. We tend to "hire with blinkers". Part of the problem is convincing the Hiring Manager that the person is suitable for the job. As an HR professional thats your job.
HR Advice for All :
* Learn to "play the game"; don;t fight the system; you will lose. If you don;t like the game , then leave for another organization ( game) .
* Get a mentor.
* Never leave a job without another one lined up.
* Severance or Retrenchment benefits don't last that long. It may seem like a large nest egg at first , but it's not, unless we're talking about "golden parachutes" that are in the millions of $ but other than the CEO who gets those ? .
* When you are faced with retrenchment always remember closed doors , open others. Look at possibilites that you never imagined............be creative; hobbies can be turned into successful businesses.
* Don't stay unemployed for too long; it will be difficult to go back into the job market. Potential employers have a "problem" with this; although I don;t know why.
* Don't burn bridges. Singapore is very small ; remember the six degrees of separation rule ( Google it if you don;t know what I'm talking about)
* Take on whatever projects your boss hands you; bosses like "gung ho" staff and guess who will be remembered when its time for promotions?
* Never leave a job without another one lined up.
* Severance or Retrenchment benefits don't last that long. It may seem like a large nest egg at first , but it's not, unless we're talking about "golden parachutes" that are in the millions of $ but other than the CEO who gets those ? .
* When you are faced with retrenchment always remember closed doors , open others. Look at possibilites that you never imagined............be creative; hobbies can be turned into successful businesses.
* Don't stay unemployed for too long; it will be difficult to go back into the job market. Potential employers have a "problem" with this; although I don;t know why.
* Don't burn bridges. Singapore is very small ; remember the six degrees of separation rule ( Google it if you don;t know what I'm talking about)
* Take on whatever projects your boss hands you; bosses like "gung ho" staff and guess who will be remembered when its time for promotions?
* Unfortunately the boss IS always right but in the "rare" instance where he/she is not , don;t state the obvious...........just let it slide.......pointing out your boss's mistake is NOT a good career move.
Heaven is..............
Have you ever wondered about this "place" called Heaven? Is it really a place in the sky somewhere, surrounded by clouds with angels flying around ? Well, thats how its always portrayed in pictures and movies. I believe its a place very much like our earth with trees and rivers and flowers BUT with one big difference.............the souls "inhabiting" it. Forget the concept of angels and flying around with wings on your back............that's Hollywood. I believe we will not have physical bodies and one "concept" that will be totally different will be the concept of space and time. How often have you heard people say especially us Christians that when someone dies we will meet again in heaven. Many times we think in terms of what we understand that to mean here on earth. We expect that the people we meet in heaven will be exactly the same as when we had last remembered them to be before they died. Will we meet grandpa as he was when he died , all old and decrepid ? He died when I was 6 years old so how will he recognize me now that I'm a lot older? I think we will "meet" as souls. The meeting will be the meeting of memories. It will be 2 souls meeting and they can meet as children, young adults or old people; it doesn;t really matter then will it? Time and space will have little meaning because your soul can be anywhere at anytime. Think about the concept of "beam me up Scotty" on Star Trek. You can be anywhere , anytime with whoever you want to be with. You can be 10, 50 , 100 places at the same time.
So if there's a heaven is there a hell ? I want to think that there'll be more of a "holding" place where people may be given the chance to "redeem" themselves. Maybe that's where reincarnation comes in. Maybe we will get reborn if we aren;t good enough for heaven. Have you ever thought maybe our lives on earth are our own "hellish" experience. Our lives on earth are a chance to do good and maybe redeem ourselves. So, could earth actually be Hell? Well, maybe not Hell but Purgatory where we're supposed to "redeem" ourselves. Which then begs the question......so why do some die at child birth ( a mistake?) and some live to be 100 ? So will we be reborn as cockroaches? I dont know. It'll be kind of difficult to redeem yourself if you came back as a cockroach. Which brings us right back to the age-old question of the meaning of life. What are we doing here? There must be a reason why we're here. I guess that'll be another posting..................
So if there's a heaven is there a hell ? I want to think that there'll be more of a "holding" place where people may be given the chance to "redeem" themselves. Maybe that's where reincarnation comes in. Maybe we will get reborn if we aren;t good enough for heaven. Have you ever thought maybe our lives on earth are our own "hellish" experience. Our lives on earth are a chance to do good and maybe redeem ourselves. So, could earth actually be Hell? Well, maybe not Hell but Purgatory where we're supposed to "redeem" ourselves. Which then begs the question......so why do some die at child birth ( a mistake?) and some live to be 100 ? So will we be reborn as cockroaches? I dont know. It'll be kind of difficult to redeem yourself if you came back as a cockroach. Which brings us right back to the age-old question of the meaning of life. What are we doing here? There must be a reason why we're here. I guess that'll be another posting..................
Monday, May 21, 2007
Exciting Things to do in San Francisco
* Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 & Ghiradelli Square
* Shopping at Union Square - Macy's , Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus
* Shopping at the Outlet Mall at Gilroy
* The San Jose Flea Market at Berryessa Road
* The Golden Gate Bridge
* Lombard Street
* Ride the Tram
* Sausalito
* Muir Woods
* Stinson Beach
* Carmel
* 17 Mile Drive
* The Castro
* Twin Peaks
* Beach Blanket Babylon ( needs advanced booking)
* Alcatraz (day or night tours; needs advanced booking)
* Coit Tower
* The Painted Ladies ( Alamo Square)
* Goldern Gate Park ( Japanese Garden; Conservatory of Flowers; the AIDs memorial grove; Stow Lake; golden gate park windmills; the De Young Museum )
* Chinatown - Chinatown backalley tour ( www.chinatownalleywaytours.org)
* Japantown
* Clement Street ( the second Chinatown )
* Shopping at Union Square - Macy's , Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus
* Shopping at the Outlet Mall at Gilroy
* The San Jose Flea Market at Berryessa Road
* The Golden Gate Bridge
* Lombard Street
* Ride the Tram
* Sausalito
* Muir Woods
* Stinson Beach
* Carmel
* 17 Mile Drive
* The Castro
* Twin Peaks
* Beach Blanket Babylon ( needs advanced booking)
* Alcatraz (day or night tours; needs advanced booking)
* Coit Tower
* The Painted Ladies ( Alamo Square)
* Goldern Gate Park ( Japanese Garden; Conservatory of Flowers; the AIDs memorial grove; Stow Lake; golden gate park windmills; the De Young Museum )
* Chinatown - Chinatown backalley tour ( www.chinatownalleywaytours.org)
* Japantown
* Clement Street ( the second Chinatown )
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Friends
How many of you have friends whom you have known since you were little? I can count the number of such friends on one hand which is really sad. I often wonder what ever became of some of them. I only have 2 friends whom I've known since primary school with whom I am still in contact with , Vincent and Edmund and even these 2 I rarely meet. I guess we grow apart when we start leading our own lives and different interests pull us away from one another.
I remember I "lost" my best friend in primary 3 when one day my teacher walked into class and announced that all students who lived in postal district 12 ( in those days it was only 2 digits) had to leave the school and go to a school neaerer their homes. My first reaction was whew! I live in district 11 thank God and then in the next instant I realized that my best friend Ng Beng Hwee lived in district 12; Oh No!!! We promised to call and write and exchanged telephone numbers and addresses. I think we made 2 phonecalls and exchanged one letter. I never saw or heard from Beng Hwee again.
In primary 4 , I lost another classmate , Koji Aiba. Koji was an expat kid. He was always so clean and neat and tidy. He wore these really expensive looking school uniforms ; well they looked and felt different from the starched cotton uniforms the rest of us wore. I figured his parents probably bought his uniforms in Japan. He left the school too after a couple of years. I guess his father got transfered back to Japan. We exchanged addresses but never wrote.
And then there was KC; my best friend in Secondary 1. He was physically the biggest boy in class. It was always good to have the biggest boy in class as your best friend ; you were never bullied. KC came from a very rich family. He was dropped off at school in a big shiny black mercedes with a driver and he lived in a HUMONGOUS house in Queen Astrid Park. BUT you would never know he was a rich kid when you met him. He is the most humble person I have ever known and he never ever flashed his wealth. KC left Singapore in Secondary 2 when his parents sent him to boarding school in Geelong, Australia.I remember wishing then that my parents were rich enough to send me to Geelong too but I knew they couldn't. So I said goodbye to my best friend once again. I gave him a vinyl record ( remember those black disks with a hole in the center? the CDs of our time hahahha) of the Titbits ( a 3 girl group that had just won the RTS Talentime). KC was in "love" with one of them ; I think her name was Bernadette deSouza. KC and I exchanged several letters and then I never heard from him. Last I heard , KC married a top Japanese geisha and now lives and works in Hong Kong running his father's empire but is totally "inaccessible" because of his social position and standing.
My friends tend to be "clustered" according to periods in my life.....from Anglo Chinese School days, from University of Singapore days, from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland days,from San Francisco days, from the different organizations I've worked for and from all the periods in between. Every one of my friends is special to me because they bring back different memories both good and bad; happy and sad. So, if you have any friends you've had for a long time; treasure them because they are like rare gems and very hard to come by and once lost they may be gone forever.
I remember I "lost" my best friend in primary 3 when one day my teacher walked into class and announced that all students who lived in postal district 12 ( in those days it was only 2 digits) had to leave the school and go to a school neaerer their homes. My first reaction was whew! I live in district 11 thank God and then in the next instant I realized that my best friend Ng Beng Hwee lived in district 12; Oh No!!! We promised to call and write and exchanged telephone numbers and addresses. I think we made 2 phonecalls and exchanged one letter. I never saw or heard from Beng Hwee again.
In primary 4 , I lost another classmate , Koji Aiba. Koji was an expat kid. He was always so clean and neat and tidy. He wore these really expensive looking school uniforms ; well they looked and felt different from the starched cotton uniforms the rest of us wore. I figured his parents probably bought his uniforms in Japan. He left the school too after a couple of years. I guess his father got transfered back to Japan. We exchanged addresses but never wrote.
And then there was KC; my best friend in Secondary 1. He was physically the biggest boy in class. It was always good to have the biggest boy in class as your best friend ; you were never bullied. KC came from a very rich family. He was dropped off at school in a big shiny black mercedes with a driver and he lived in a HUMONGOUS house in Queen Astrid Park. BUT you would never know he was a rich kid when you met him. He is the most humble person I have ever known and he never ever flashed his wealth. KC left Singapore in Secondary 2 when his parents sent him to boarding school in Geelong, Australia.I remember wishing then that my parents were rich enough to send me to Geelong too but I knew they couldn't. So I said goodbye to my best friend once again. I gave him a vinyl record ( remember those black disks with a hole in the center? the CDs of our time hahahha) of the Titbits ( a 3 girl group that had just won the RTS Talentime). KC was in "love" with one of them ; I think her name was Bernadette deSouza. KC and I exchanged several letters and then I never heard from him. Last I heard , KC married a top Japanese geisha and now lives and works in Hong Kong running his father's empire but is totally "inaccessible" because of his social position and standing.
My friends tend to be "clustered" according to periods in my life.....from Anglo Chinese School days, from University of Singapore days, from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland days,from San Francisco days, from the different organizations I've worked for and from all the periods in between. Every one of my friends is special to me because they bring back different memories both good and bad; happy and sad. So, if you have any friends you've had for a long time; treasure them because they are like rare gems and very hard to come by and once lost they may be gone forever.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
My Favourite Poems
Robert Frost (1874–1963)
The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Do Not Stand & Weep - Mary Frye 1932
Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush; I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.
Gone From My Sight by Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speckof white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast,hull and spar as she was when she left my side.And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone," there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"
And that is Dying.
FRIENDSHIP by Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey
In those quiet hours
when dreams are born
and restless visions haze:
in that sleepy place
I step out and walk
through a timeless maze.
it's at this place
where I see your face:
your image lingers there
I walk the places we have walked
And remember sweetly
where we've talked
of princes, kingdoms,
pain, thoughts of growing old
and wisdom
bought at the price of our youth.
In those quiet hours
I think of you
The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Do Not Stand & Weep - Mary Frye 1932
Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush; I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.
Gone From My Sight by Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speckof white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast,hull and spar as she was when she left my side.And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone," there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"
And that is Dying.
FRIENDSHIP by Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey
In those quiet hours
when dreams are born
and restless visions haze:
in that sleepy place
I step out and walk
through a timeless maze.
it's at this place
where I see your face:
your image lingers there
I walk the places we have walked
And remember sweetly
where we've talked
of princes, kingdoms,
pain, thoughts of growing old
and wisdom
bought at the price of our youth.
In those quiet hours
I think of you
My Favorite Restaurants in San Francisco
Sunflower Restaurant ( Vietnamese ) ( Cheap and Good)
506 Valencia Street ( at 16th Street)
Tel (415) 626 5023
Manivanh Thai Restaurant ( not your average Thai dishes, different, very good)
2732 24th Street ( at Potrero Street)
Tel (415) 824 6059 ( closed on Sundays)
New Aux Delices Vietnamese Restaurant ( excellent Vietnamese food at low prices; try the Vietnamese potstickers a bit like chee cheong fun with meat inside)
1002 Potrero Ave ( at 22nd Street)
Tel (415) 285 3196
Singapore Malaysian Restaurant
( if you're really craving for it.......chicken rice and Penang laksa - quite good )
836 Clement Street
Tel (415) 750 9518
Crustacean ( Euro - Asian ) ( a little pricey but worth it; Crabs and Garlic noodles to die for )
1475 Polk Street ( at California Street)
Tel (415) 776 CRAB
Ton Kiang ( Wonderful Dim Sum; must-try roast duck and crispy prawns)
5821 Geary Blvd( between 22nd & 23rd Ave)
Tel (415) 387 8273
Liverpool Lil's ( Great Pub food)
2942 Lyon Street
Tel (415) 921 6664
Sumi ( Asian Fusion; Small intimate restaurant with great food; try the calamari appetizer )
4243 18th Street ( at Diamond Street )
Tel (415) 626 7864
The Stinking Rose ( anything with garlic even ice cream!that was a little strange)
325 Columbus Ave ( at Broadway)
Tel (415) 781 7673
Burma Superstar ( Wonderful Burmese food , always packed )
309 Clement Street ( Between 4th & 5th Street)
Tel (415) 387 2147
Le Charm Bistro ( Excellent French at reasonable prices)
315 5th Street
Tel (415) 546 6128
St. Francis Soda Fountain ( Great shakes, burgers etc)
2807 24th Street
Tel (415) 826 4200
E&O Trading Company ( Asian Fusion - interesting twist to asian dishes; try the corn fritters appetizer)
314 Sutter Street
Tel (415) 693 0303
The Slanted Door ( Vietnamese Fusion; try the shaking beef its really good)
at the Ferry Building
506 Valencia Street ( at 16th Street)
Tel (415) 626 5023
Manivanh Thai Restaurant ( not your average Thai dishes, different, very good)
2732 24th Street ( at Potrero Street)
Tel (415) 824 6059 ( closed on Sundays)
New Aux Delices Vietnamese Restaurant ( excellent Vietnamese food at low prices; try the Vietnamese potstickers a bit like chee cheong fun with meat inside)
1002 Potrero Ave ( at 22nd Street)
Tel (415) 285 3196
Singapore Malaysian Restaurant
( if you're really craving for it.......chicken rice and Penang laksa - quite good )
836 Clement Street
Tel (415) 750 9518
Crustacean ( Euro - Asian ) ( a little pricey but worth it; Crabs and Garlic noodles to die for )
1475 Polk Street ( at California Street)
Tel (415) 776 CRAB
Ton Kiang ( Wonderful Dim Sum; must-try roast duck and crispy prawns)
5821 Geary Blvd( between 22nd & 23rd Ave)
Tel (415) 387 8273
Liverpool Lil's ( Great Pub food)
2942 Lyon Street
Tel (415) 921 6664
Sumi ( Asian Fusion; Small intimate restaurant with great food; try the calamari appetizer )
4243 18th Street ( at Diamond Street )
Tel (415) 626 7864
The Stinking Rose ( anything with garlic even ice cream!that was a little strange)
325 Columbus Ave ( at Broadway)
Tel (415) 781 7673
Burma Superstar ( Wonderful Burmese food , always packed )
309 Clement Street ( Between 4th & 5th Street)
Tel (415) 387 2147
Le Charm Bistro ( Excellent French at reasonable prices)
315 5th Street
Tel (415) 546 6128
St. Francis Soda Fountain ( Great shakes, burgers etc)
2807 24th Street
Tel (415) 826 4200
E&O Trading Company ( Asian Fusion - interesting twist to asian dishes; try the corn fritters appetizer)
314 Sutter Street
Tel (415) 693 0303
The Slanted Door ( Vietnamese Fusion; try the shaking beef its really good)
at the Ferry Building
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