Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Post #50: Pls do not squeeze the animals

Or try to bite them (even if Boney M, the NYDC Mascot Dog looks delectably plush : )
[Picture taken on 9 Feb 2006, 1st Meeting in 2006 for the 32nd SSEAYP Public Relations Committee, at NYDC Suntec. In picture, from left: Wanlin Zookeeper and Ryan, our PR Comm Boss. Definitely one of the best bosses to work with, & always one cool dude with a zany outlook on life and things : ) One Ryan Clap! "Har-loow!"]

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Post #49: Pls do not feed the animals


Only the zookeeper can feed the animals.

[In picture, Zookeeper Wanlin feeds Saya the Polar Bear. Yes, with healthy yoghurt : ) ]

(Picture taken on 14 Jan 06 when Saya visted Singapore)

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006

You have 1 New Message


"To kinder gods & fiercer loves,
To brief jealousies & even shorter griefs,
To wine, to beer, to tea,
To sunset & coffee,
To family & friends,
Kung Hei Fatt Choi - Nizette"

(SMS message from Nizette on 28 Jan 06. Thanks, Nizette for being such a bundle of sunshine!)

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The church in the snow

Remember the church the dieheart romantic was talking about in an earlier entry? This is it.

Snow is wonderful.

Tucked under the blanket in my little toasty room- my little world feels especially secure and warm in such days of heavy snowing.

You wake up the next morning, late- because it feels so good to laze in bed- look out and see nothing but sparkling white. And for that blinding moment, you actually believed that all that white can cover the darkness of your world.

Snow is wonderful.

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(posted by the dieheart romantic)

Monday, March 27, 2006

Postcard Series IV: Operation Banana Split


With a fork and knife,
Chef Wanlin first makes horizontal cross-sections
Cuts of the banana.







Then longitudinal cuts were sliced
Down the other banana.


While the cold green tea and chocolate ice-creams
look on unflinchingly from the side,





Yepeng sits by the other side,
Watching Operation Banana Split
With an inscrutable expression.







*Camera did a 360 degree circle around the table, and found ...
Danny who is also observing the procedure
With a hint of trepidation writ on his face.


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Stuck in a Situation ...


This is exactly how Dash feels when stuck in a situation.

[Joyce generously gave me this coaster when I spotted this comic gem on her desk in 2005. Thanks, Joyce! : ) You are such a dear!]

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Sunday, March 26, 2006

My Red Slippers

Dash got these red slippers in the States during a one-month sojourn in Dec 2003. Dash liked its simple and comfortable design, and its happy red colour, and named them Fuzzy Left and Fuzzy Right. When Dash is not wearing Fuzzies, she often placed them in the above manner because they looked neater and more snug.

[Afterword: Fuzzies met an untimely demise after being chewed on by my family's new puppy. Oh well, I guess one must remember and re-learn to be less detached to material possessions.]

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(Picture taken by Yepeng in Sept 05 during the SSEAYP training at NACLI. Thanks, Yepeng!)

Friday, March 24, 2006

Postcard Series III: "X" in "X"


Picture in a Picture

[In picture are our gentle Arisa and Rams. This picture is taken on 23 Nov 05, and the picture that they are holding is taken on 13 Nov 05]






Bottles in a Bottle

[Picture is taken by a roadside stall in streets of Ho Chih Min, Vietnam, 25 Nov 05]











Boat in a Boat

[Errmm, ok, it's a lifeboat in a ship. But you get the drift, yes?]

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Reserve Assistant Fire Warden

This yellow helmet sits on the cabinet three cubicles in front of me.

Presumbably, the number "15" indicate the 15th floor my office is located. But I am always amused by the designation on the helmet, and wonder whether the reserve assistant fire warden has his/her own reserve as well : )

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Thursday, March 23, 2006

Yellow girl and white car in green mountains


Why is she shielding her eyes from the non-existent sun glare of an overcast day?

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(posted by the dieheart romantic)

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Curious George

This is Curious George. A most gently inquisitive primate. His movie is coming! Yay!

Check out his left feet! Hand and Feet painting : )

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Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Coffee to go

Coffee to go with a Slice of Life

(Picture taken on 5 Jan 06, 11:07pm. We had earlier braved the storm to attend the post-SSEAYP meeting with NYC fellows. After the meeting, some of us were tryng to look for a place for drinks. After settling down, good-natured Yepeng was trying to enjoy this aromatic cuppa when Dash insisted on taking its picture : )

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Moomin and Snufkin Enjoying a Quiet Moment

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? - Adam Smith
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Saturday, March 18, 2006

Random Shots I: Socrates and his Bevy of Friends

On my shelf, Socrates sits with his Bevy of Friends: (from left)
- Nippon Maru Sake (still untapped)
- Forever Friends Bears (2)
- Cheshire Cat
- Gaffy Giraffe
- Gander Goose

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Friday, March 17, 2006

Happy St Patrick's Day!


Drink Guinness and Avoid Leprechauns

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(Mis)Adventures of the Superheroes II: When Spiderman's Parachute Gets Caught in Clothes Line ...















[In left picture: Sussy, JPY 2005, my homestay buddy in Brunei, and she is undoubtably one of the most caring homestay buddies any PY can be blessed with : ) Picture taken in Room #220, Cabin Home of Sussy, Soe MPY and Lim Yian SPY.]

(For the other (Mis)Adventures of the Superheroes)

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Out of Office Auto-Reply

Another Moon, Your Life





"月亮绕地球, 地球绕著太阳走。 我以为世界是座宁静的宇宙"
- 五月天 《纯真》

(Picture taken outside ChengPin Bookstore, Dunhua Street, Taipei, Taiwan on 24 Dec 2005)

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Thursday, March 16, 2006

Scrumpie

His name is Scrumpie.
Thus named presumably because he is
One of the most scrumpticious bears I have seen.

Postcard Series II: Our Life Boat Drill With Rams

So this is the Life Boat Station onboard Nippon Maru. Station #4.
Where we are supposed to meet if the bell rings. That is, if we are not lost in our panicked attempts to navigate up and down the decks in the ship, and/or if we have not slipped overboard in the slippery darkness...





And this is the Life Boat.
Our Lifeboat, if the need arises.
*Fingers and toes crossed.... Ouch! Cramp, cramp, cramp! Ok, unfurl unfurl!






[Rehearsing our Worried Is-Help-Coming? looks]
"Help! Help!" *Blow the whistle, wave the light!


(From left to right: Peiling, Kwai Fong, Rams, Siok)





[Relaxing into our usual Happy-we-are-saved! looks]
"Yay, Help is here! Yay!"



(From left to right: Peiling, Kwai Fong, Rams, Siok)





"Heh! With Rams around, who is afraid of a little water? : )"


(From left to right: Kwai Fong, Rams, Siok, Peiling)

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a winter house


the dieheart romantic spent a year living in a tiny room in this pale yellow green house. when he looked out from his little attic window, he could see a run down church diagonally across the road. it was a small church and it was a very narrow road.


the dieheart romantic has never seen anyone entering the church, not even on sundays.

maybe it had been shut down but the outer facade did not betray this and in fact, has helped to keep its appearance of quaint spiritual solitude. or maybe it has but a tiny congregation and the dieheart romantic has never chanced upon them?

now in this blistering heat, thinking about the cold winters then and that little church across the street, the dieheart romantic wonders about the things he never really knew.

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(posted by the dieheart romantic)

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

This too shall pass


A Solitary Merry-Go-Round
Conspiciously Lost

(Picture taken outside ChengPin Flagship Bookstore on XinYi Street, Taipei, Taiwan on 26 Dec 2005)

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Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Postcard Series I: A Batty Hatty Idea


#1


(From left to right: Song, Yepeng, Siok)




#2


(From left to right: Siok, Song, Yepeng)




#3


(From left to right: Song, Siok, Yepeng)




#4


(From left to right: Song, Tze-chen, Siok, Yepeng)

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(Mis)Adventures of the Superheroes I: When Salted Egg Superman is caught in mid-flight ...

(Picture taken outside Duang Prateep Foundation,
Bangkok, Thailand, Nov 2005)

Monday, March 13, 2006

The Secret Cat Diary

DAY 761
Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded... Must try this at the top of the stairs...

And today, in a valiant attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favourite chair. But this only drew a few cries from them, afterwhich my captors dutifully cleaned up the mess. Must try this on their bed (again).

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5 Signs that You are a Dog Person



#5 City officials come to your home and say "Your dogs are barking." And you can't figure out what the problem is.
#4 While proudly showing off your family album, your guest asks, "Isn't there anyone else in your family besides the dog?"
#3 You sit on the floor if the dog got in the chair first.
#2 You and the dog come down with something like flu on the same day. Your dog sees the vet while you settle for an over-the-counter remedy from the drugstore.
#1 Your friend's dog acts as Best Dog at your wedding.

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Saturday, March 11, 2006

Choose Your Own Adventure I: One Little Frog

Dash used to read this "Choose your own adventure" book series in her childhood. In a nutshell, the reader gets to choose the actions of the protaganist, and hence determines his/her fate/adventure. And Dash remembers the excitement of being able to make the choice for the protaganist. Hence, Dash has put together a story of a little frog (who bears no semblance or relation to Yepeng Frog). And Yepeng Frog holds the adventure/fate of little frog in his hands : ) The ending will be updated after Yepeng Frog makes his choice.

One little frog
Sitting at a well

In he look
And down he fell

Little frog jumps high
Little frog jumps low


... ... ...


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An Amusing Read

This book page inside a glass display at one of the exhibitions in the Sinagpore National Library provided me with an amusing read : )
"One summer’s day, many hundreds of years ago, Buddha decided to give every year a name so that it would be easy to tell one year from another. But although he thought very hard he could not decide what to call them. He still had not made up his mind when he begun to feel rather unwell and had to go to bed."

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Little Brown Cat

Little brown cat
comes to my house in the night
where are you all day?


(Posted by the Dieheart Romantic)

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Thursday, March 09, 2006

Recipe for Chicken Marinade

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons Japanese mirin or Chinese rice wine (optional)
3 tablespoons hot chili paste (adjust to your own tolerance level)
3 kg of chicken (thigh meat is the best for this)

Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least 12 hours (one day or more is preferable).

Cooking Tip
Over baked or grill is the best and least fussy way to eat this. BBQing is great too but it tends to burn, so lightly rub away the marinate off the surface of the chicken (especially those on the skin) before BBQing.

Deep frying is possible too but your chicken might taste good but looks like shit.

(posted by the dieheart romantic)

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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Leave a Rhyme here!


Emails in a flurry,
Sends everyone in a hurry!





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Monday, March 06, 2006

More haikus!

The hot summer drill
bores into a sense of place
where the mind turns dull

(posted by the dieheart romantic)


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Sunday, March 05, 2006

On Sincerity

“A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” - Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

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Friday, March 03, 2006

Dash


[Checking hinself out in his superhero costume]
Dash: Look, I'm The Dash. The Dash likes. Yeah-hah!


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I is Co-Incidental II

"There was an open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it."
- Annie Proulx, "Brokeback Mountain"


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Thursday, March 02, 2006

Guess where?

Anyone can guess where this picture was taken?
A prize awaits the one with the right answer.







(posted by the dieheart romantic)

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I is very sad!










Sigh.
TOTO was a disappointment. Didn't even win $20. I is not greedy!
I only want 2.8 million dollars. Is that too much to ask for? I is very sad.
Plus, I have a headache!

Who are all those people in all those photos in this blog? How come the dieheart romantic knows noone?

Here's a haiku for all you folks out there:

My urbane bathroom
is sanitized and spotless

whence come the fruit fly?



(posted by the dieheart romantic)

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The KGB Brothers and Karen


From the 24 March 2006 onwards, we will be bidding our farewells to the KGB Brothers (Ah Kwee, Ah Guan and Ah Beng) and Karen, their lovely assistant. Like the early hawkers, they push this cart to all the floors to sell their food - from Kopi to Teh, Chwee Kueh to Nonya Kueh, Nasi Lemak to Fried Bee Hoon, Tau Huay to Tau Suan. Apparently the KGB's father was the first here, and the KGB brothers then took over from him. In all, they have been here for the past 20 over years in this very same building. Now, this is what I call Family Business : ) We are sad to see them go. But well, to look on the brighter side of things, they have been a most wonderful part of MCYS Family history and our experience!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Gallery of Masters

Wanlin our Zookeeper,
Master of all the Animals
She is always the one to make sure all the animals eat, sleep and have fun! Love her! Love her! Love her!






Saya the Polar Bear
Master of Camera
Thus named because she looks lovely in her furry winter coat. A beautiful soul she has, always caring about the animals and people around. Lovely lovely lovely!


Yepeng Frog
Master of Drinks
Seen here with a coffee can. He offers one of the most delightful companionship, always delivering insightful remarks that causes all the animals to laugh. Kekek



Chome the Anaconda
Master of Many Things
We love Chome! We love Chome! We love Chome! Enough said

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