Long Live Jackfruits!

On some evenings, I am greeted by a cat on the ground floor of my building. I figured I'll call her Skitto but the name is still under review as it might be construed as mildly offensive. She is unlike any other cat I have met. On some days, she comes running to me like we are best friends. On other days, she runs away from me like I am a serial killer. I was baffled by this behaviour until one day, it dawned on me that she might be suffering from a bipolar disorder. If I weren't a white-collar worker, I could have been a veterinary psychologist!

This week is a very eventful one. Another social event approaches - the type that Simple Shu prefers to not participate in. It is a bother to find dresses (the theme is "Secret Agents and Spies") and think of make up, but if I am making any compromises to my regular routine, it would be okay to do that with my zoo friends, who share a lot in common with me.

I also failed a basic driving theory test by 1 mark this week. Failing is not only demoralising, it is also inconvenient. Oddly enough, after absorbing a lot of information on driving and road signs, I have just begun to notice signs on the roads that I never saw all this time. I wonder how much information of what we see with our eyes actually reaches our awareness. The brain is a curious thing. Last night, I gulped down a cup of coffee half an hour before bedtime in hopes of studying road signs. It failed to keep me up so I gave up and went to sleep. This morning, in spite of sleeping, I woke up feeling like my brain had been up all night from a caffeine overdose.

Jackfruit (the tree has practically a hundred uses in a lot of countries) is a favourite of many Asians. I was thrilled to receive a pack of dehydrated jackfruit chips from my parents the other day, which I cooked to (Shu's level of) perfection.

Raw jackfruit chips, preserved by dehydration

A delicious, finished product

We are what we eat

It almost feels like my body is syncing with a remote server in Europe since my trip there last August. I can feel the approaching winter and my body is gearing for the hibernation mode. My appetite has increased massively (towards comfort food) and so has fat stores in the abdominal area, obviously for insulation and the gradual release of nutrients when food is scarce. I also don't feel like socialising much (except with the inner circle of family and friends) and I assume it helps conserve precious energy stores. Even my leisure time activities are now centered around passively sitting, sleeping, watching or reading as opposed to swimming or hiking or dancing.

The other day, Ryuu and I finally (years since we first agreed on the plan) re-visited our old university. It was good to walk around campus, reminisce the past, notice how things have changed and yet how some things have not changed as all. It turned out that after all these years (6.5 years for me), the strongest memories we had were - not academic matters - but the best places on campus that had good food. It think it merely highlights that food plays a very important role in every student's life.

A sandwich machine fondly remembered by Ryuu who also swore the sandwiches tasted better back then

A green area by the Central Library that I used to sit and have quick lunches in between lectures.

The horrors of staying up overnight, frequenting vending machines for sustenance and studying for dear life.

The university had several new buildings that had popped up like mushrooms 

 Evidence of student extra curricular activities

Student residence areas

 Overall, it appeared like the campus has adopted a lot of green initiatives since our time

 The dining hall of my old hall of residence

Unfortunately, my phone battery died an hour or so into the trip and that put a dent on my plan to write a descriptive post of  the trip, complete with photos. Also, we stuffed ourselves with really good food from an Indian food stall at one of the student residences and that is the last thing I remember. Come to think of it, I don't even recall how I got home.

Good things

It's Friday, I'm thrilled for no particular reason and I'm in the mood for a post!

When I'm high in spirits, I tend to notice more of the good things that happen around me (and vice versa too). Like today, I was invited to a mini birthday celebration at work from a Project I don't even work in and treated to lunch by the good will of another person. Then I noticed that the friendly bus driver of a bus I take regularly greeted everyone one with a smile and he got the same reaction from most of them. Some even stopped to make mini conversations with him because he had an air of friendliness and helpfulness about him. Then I realised that in Singapore there is hardly a cop to be seen on the road and yet people behave in ways that are beneficial to them and others as they share a very small land space in close vicinity. It is amazing to think how a good intention of someone, even small, can have a ripple effect affecting several others.

Lately, I have noticed the posters below stuck in buses, trains and stations in Singapore. On digging up information about these curious posters, I learnt that the Land Transport Authority came up with the idea as part of the Graciousness Programme 2013 campaign. I must admit they've had a positive impact on me. I can't be sure if it is because it is unique (I have never seen this type of simplistic art style on a national level campaign in my time here) or if it is the powerful one-liners at the bottom that makes you question yourself loudly, but I like them and it is not often that I appreciate advertisements here.

This is my favourite one of the lot. The first time I saw these penguins asking me if I feel the same way, I wanted to shout a big "YES, I DO!" inside the train station. It's a good thing I have well functioning internal brakes that stop me from making an ass of myself.

Voices in the head

Recently, my company introduced a scheme where late comers have their wages docked. It's proven to be very effective so far. I have begun to notice my consistent punctuality in the mornings.

The conversations in my head in the mornings no longer go like this:

VOICE 1: Ah crap. It's the alarm.
*hits snooze* x several times
VOICE 2: Ok, now it is really time to get up and catch your bus.
VOICE 1: Can't we catch a cab just for today??
VOICE 2: NO. It is expensive (not to mention environmentally unfriendly).
VOICE 1: Screw you. *rolls over and sleeps a few minutes more*

Instead, they go:

VOICE 1: Ah crap. It's the alarm.
*hits snooze* x several times
VOICE 2: Ok, now it is really time to get up and catch your bus or you will have your pay docked and have to pay for a cab.
VOICE 1: GAH. *rolls out of bed*

Interestingly enough, my 17 minute segment of the train commute coincides with Singapore's sunrise. Watching the sunrise gives a renewed sense of hope. Today, I couldn't help myself think, "Mr Sun, you have been rising and shining for us everyday for the last 4.5 billion years, without so much as a holiday. I suppose I can't complain much about my work."

Flattery and flirtations seem to have the opposite effect on me. They are not met with the reaction the flatterer/ flirter expects.

Shu's automatic response to flattery and unwelcome flirtations.

Mirrors

Ever get the feeling that life is moving much faster than you can document it? I do a lot these days.

Also, I may have been slightly dyslexic all this time and nobody pointed it out. Then again, I am a bit of a hypochondriac who is untrained in psychology.

Mirrors are an interesting example of how light and chemicals can affect one's self image. Being just pieces of glass coated with a layer of metal, they help us form the mental image of what we look like on the outside. Funny enough, not all mirrors make you "see" yourself in the same way. Some (and I like these), like the ones found in fitting rooms of fashion-related stores, soften up detail and others give more detail than you might like to see in you.

They say we can't judge books by their covers. Well, we can't judge them by reading just two of their pages either. People are complicated like that.

This clip is too cute not to share. Roundedness can be endearing sometimes.