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.

The Jungle Book

I figured I'll post this to wish Happy Birthday to my awesomely talented, driven, loving, generous and pretty sister in the best language I speak.

Sadly, we are miles apart with oceans and mountains between us, but she's been a pillar of strength for all of my life (and counting) playing various roles of sibling, subordinate mother, friend, guardian, advisor, partner-in-crime and an ally. Of the most notable, she refined me from a "Mowgli" to a (cleverly disguised) respectable looking citizen with essential social skills, she has pushed me to be bold and daring and she has always been supportive of my tough decisions.

(Left) Shu's sister and (Right) Shu. Aren't I adorable?? Well, not really. The family still testifies that I was a holy terror at that age. Then one day somewhere during adolescence, I was abducted by aliens I think, and later returned to my thankful parents as a good child. Nobody knows what triggered the shift in temperament.

I got the sweet end of the deal, coming in 9 years after her  (and no one else between us!) with guaranteed showers of extra attention, love, gifts, free rentals and hand-me-downs. When it came to me, she spent her meagre savings generously so I can have the best of everything she could afford - roasted chicken drumsticks from John Keells and pineapple gateaux from Devon's (a big deal back then), clothes, shoes, visits to the salon and allowances to spend. We even had many animal rescue operations and projects together.

Although I have grown older to about 1.5 times her size in dimensions, she still looks to me like one of her own children and who can complain?! It is really surprising considering I have mass murdered and decapitated most of her dolls, destroyed her story books with scribbles and such, smashed her toys, shattered her social image with public tantrums and even beaten her up, to name some of the gruesome things that Shu junior-the-terror was better known for.

Happy Birthday, Akki and it goes without saying that you are immensely loved!

Speaking of sisters, my parents announced that we have a new baby sister (scroll to the next image). They keep adopting stray animals and children, possibly to fill the void we have left. She is adorable and my parents can't stop talking about her whenever I call them.

Pini Junior suffers from ADHD and has managed to destroy a lot of furniture during the few weeks she has been there

Settling In

When we were born, all we had in our possession were a few jigsaw puzzle pieces and the board it came in. As we get older, we find the missing pieces here and there in places where life takes us and this puzzle slowly takes shape. Travelling sort of helps with this project. Experiencing something new or realising something new or noticing a new change in you after you've travelled is the equivalent of having found a yet another piece of the puzzle that you are meant to complete. This might also be why there are Westerners travelling far (physically or intellectually) to the East of the globe to find missing pieces to their puzzles and the Easterners go to the West to find some of theirs.

Who's in the mood for puzzles?

It is not often that we (the quieter people) talk to random strangers. If you think about it, the start of a conversation with a stranger has the potential to change the course of your life (for good or bad)! On a less extreme scale, my unplanned chat with a stranger in a taxi stand yesterday saved me $5, reduced our would-be carbon footprint by about half, got me to my destination fast and very comfortably too.

A few months ago, I was collecting a couple of winter clothes for my trip (my friends from cold places laugh at me when I say I find 18 degrees Celcius unbearable. Give me 30 degrees and I'll be more than happy) when I saw a promotional advertisement from National Geographic. They were giving away a free fleece jacket with a new magazine subscription! I was sold within seconds, mostly owing to my unhealthy dependency on fleece blankets which make me feel warm and safe....from what could only be deduced as Yetis. I found someone else to dump the magazines on because I was not too keen on them. I just wanted my fleece.

Then the folks at Natgeo got mixed up with addresses (to my relief, my jacket came to my mailbox just 2 days before flying off!). In addition to where it was intended to go, I ended up getting an extra copy of the magazine. On asking for reasons why this happened, I got the following reply:

The reason why you also received a copy of the magazine was because previously the account was registered with your mailing address. We changed the mailing address later but by then a copy of the magazine had already been dispatched to your address and it couldn’t be intercepted.

Please rest assured that the situation is resolved right now. [Assured? Are you kidding me? I got a free copy! And I was not complaining.. Hahaha and Thank You for that!] If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us quoting the above membership number. 

Anyway, on reading this free copy that got offloaded on me by chance, I learnt that reading it was a lot of fun and informative (unlike how I felt about the same thing over 10 years ago). I was so amused by an article called Big Bird by Olivia Judson on cassowaries that I forgot I was in the train today and actually started to miss the zoo.

I found this awesome track playing on radio this morning. It's such a feel-good song, by Sara Bareilles with her powerhouse of a voice.