縱貫線

縱貫線, you rock! You are so so MAN! And this chorus rocks!

They had a medley of their hit songs, really nice.

Aah….縱貫線, am going to wait for your concert dvd to come out. Why are your tickets so expensive??

I grew up listening to their songs, I guess my mum and sis have been very influential in the songs I listen to when young. We subscribed to Rediffusion which belted out oldies day in day out. And my sister listens to Chinese radio stations too. You just can’t help but want to sing along with them (look at the clap-happy audience), there is this sense of familarity and connectedness to your good old memories when you hear their songs. 周華健 is more my era, which I realise my era seems very old. When I see the audience, I only see people whose ages can be my parents or grandparents..goodness. I love his unique voice, his humor and wit, his cheerful personality, he does not seem to have grown old at all! And it can be said for all of them, went botox injections or something? 周華健 is one singer that has the ability to put a smile in the hearts of his audience, he always looks like he really enjoys his singing and what he is doing. Inspiring.

A Redffusion set, so vintage, so cool.

I seem to be so free recently. I have time to watch youtube, update blog… I have been asked to stay away from work, crowded places etc. Not that I have H1N1, but with bronchitis, I am more susceptible to get infected by other illnesses.

Macha Imo

From the Ministry of Food. Following an old post and finding a perfect excuse to enjoy macha imo again!

“The Imo series is a marriage between hot and cold desserts. While sweet potato is hot as it is deep fried, the Hokkaido milk base soft serve is very cold. The best way to eat our Japanese Imo series is to spoon a bit of everything and then eat them together. MOF uses premium grade A Japanese sweet potatoes imported from Japan. It is sweet enough so there is no need to add in extra sugar or syrup. *Please note that the soft serve ice cream will melt faster than usually due to the hot deep fried sweet potatoes.”

I had the mango version. Though I love mango, I realise not all mango-related desserts are nice. The mango syrup that was drizzled over the ice cream tasted fake, such a dampener to one of my favorite desserts. But I wonder why all mango syrup tastes so artificial, I have never come across one that makes me swoon over till I want to lick my spoon/bowl clean.

And mangoes taste awful when baked too. I had this mango and banana crumble at PS Cafe. The mangoes are all mushy and brownish and fibrous, I only finish it because it was expensive and I seldom waste desserts. Caramelized bananas when baked tastes so good but not mangoes, PS Cafe. I always hear good reviews about desserts at PS Cafe but I think this dessert is a crumbling failure, it tastes quite metallic, not sure is it the combination of awful mangoes and crumble on top or is it that mangoes and bananas are not best friends when caramelized together.

Before my macha imo, I had this Japanese dessert which I can’t remember the name. The pink and white powdered kueh-like thingy on the left makes me squeal with delight. It is so soft and chewy and gluntinous-like, which fits my hit-list of best texture combination. If not for the kueh thing, this dessert is quite normal as the taste of all the different ingredients feel rather separated.

And for the rest of the cast that day: tako sashimi and soba with kakiage (fried vegetables batter). Don’t be deceived by the huge portion, the soba is elevated with a strainer to allow the ice water to drip into the bowl.

My brush with H1N1

Yesterday was one of my most drama days ever in history. I have been having flu-like symptoms and I had close contact with a h1n1 patient on Sunday. Since I am a high risk patient being an asthmatic and upping the risk by recovering from bronchitis, I thought I better check whether am I down with bronchitis or h1n1 or BOTH. I called the respiratory specialist who has been seeing me to ask him for advice. He was not around but the nurse told me to self-quarantine for 7 days or go to hospital straight. Not fully convinced, I decided to go to one of the Pandemic Preparedness Clinics near my house to check for h1n1 virus. It should be PREPARED to do the h1n1 test. I was not very keen to call the ambulance and having the whole world goggle-eyed to see me being escorted by paramedics decked out in full protection gear and barricading the way as you walk. I will feel like a virus.

When the clinic nurse heard I had close contact with h1n1 patient, I started to feel that I am the virus. Her treatment towards me was more icy than the isolation. Hello…I thought this clinic was Pandemic Prepared for such cases. She told me the doctor asked me to go to the hospital now.

me: Now? On public transport? Can meh?

nurse: (audible sigh and a hint of exasperation) You wait. (came back) You call the ambulance 993 or you want us to call for you?

me: I thought this is a Pandemic Preparedness Clinic, can’t I do the test here?

nurse: Noo..ooo! (detect of panic) We are not able to do such tests here! You call the ambulance ok?

I was confused. What does PPC mean then? Left on my own since she had already closed the door on me, I decided to call another doctor but she was away. I was in a dilemma. Do I really have to call the ambulance??

I decided to be socially responsible and not take public transport. So I called the ambulance 993, thinking they will know best.

hotline: You take a cab to any hospital.

me: Hah? Can meh?

hotline: (rattling off) As long as you are not having a fever of 37.5 and above, you can take a cab to any hospital.

me: Are you sure or not? I was told I cannot take public transport.

hotline: You don’t take bus la. As long as you are not having a fever of 37.5 and above, you can take a cab to any hospital.

me: I read today newspaper that some h1n1 patients have no fever symptoms, you sure I can take ah?

hotline: (momentary pause). Why don’t you go to your own doctor and do the test?

me: They don’t want to see me, they ask me to go hospital straight. You sure I can take ah?

hotline: (longer pause) Both your doctors say you cannot take public transport?

me: Yes. But you say can, I will take la

hotline: (hint of shriek) OKok! I will despatch ambulance for you! You have to wait 45 mins and above because there is a high volume of demand for ambulances.

If I am a mystery patient testing the system of preparedness for H1N1, you all will sure fail. How can there be such discrepancy in the procedures? I heard later from Lai Wah another PPC clinic was able to do the swab tests. I waited 2 and a half hours for the ambulance. But the ride made up for it with siren and all. Haha. Not sure why the siren was switched on, I was not critically ill. They were driving so fast, maybe they need to go eat lunch or something. It was cool to see all vehicles giving way and traffic became suddenly so smooth. I thought their presence at my block will bring hordes of people as I was not sure what they would do. Thankfully, nothing as I imagined; one of the paramedics garbed in protective gear came out and gave me a mask.

That was the waiting area for all testing for H1N1 virus. The atmosphere was very sober. Everyone was wearing a mask and about 1 metre away from one another. All medical personnel was wearing protective goggles, mask, garb, gloves etc. Though the bustle of activity, the whirring of fans were louder than any conversations that could be heard. I felt like I was in the movie “Outbreak” eons ago on the Ebola virus. The screening was speedy, in no time, I had blood pressure, temperature, nose and throat swabs, blood tests, x-rays taken. And all equipment was cleaned immediately with disinfectant after use, even the toilets. Changing of seats was prohibited and the seat was disinfected immediately after the patient left. Some of them had IKEA leather seats…wow. Walking around the area was not encouraged.

Thus began the long wait…I was told it would take 6 – 8 hours for the results to be ready. There was nothing to do. I was not seated at the tentage where the rest of the people are. I was inside the building near the nurses’ workstation. People around me looked sicker than me. I had a horrifying thought: what if I had no H1N1 but because of my close proximity with those suspected, I got myself infected?? Weren’t that be an irony?? But it was too late to do anything..

But the medical assistants made my wait seem shorter. From time to time, they would come and offer us water, newspaper, food. I must say the food was really good, hooray for our government.  There was fried rice for those who were hungry. There were a variety of drinks, milo, canned chrysanthemums, water, and you can take as many as you want. I even saw cup noodles. Not long after, bread and biscuits made their appearance with more drinks again. And the last I had was a chocolate crossiant which was really good, the chocolate was of quality standard, where did they buy it from, I wonder.

The cleaning aunties were also very friendly. Somehow they were very amused by me and made small talk with me. Their working hours are really long, 13 hours. I must salute these medical personnel at their dedicated effort to serve the community in this high risk environment. Their jobs were not easy too especially they have to clean and disinfect the toilets at every use. There were hundreds of us, you can imagine the work. I waited and waited and started to become super bored. I was elated 5 hours later to hear from the doctor that I could go home and wait for results. But I had to wait for the ambulance again! That was another long wait.

auntie: Hah? You still here? (She has been coming to check on me once in a while)

me: Ya lor…still waiting for ambulance. So long la..they say not enough ambulance, should ask helicopter to fetch me mah..

auntie: Aiyah! You must go and tell the nurse, then it will be faster!

me: Can meh? (my favorite phrase of the day)

auntie: You come with me!

auntie: Nurse! She ask me about ambulance! I don’t know anything, you help her! She wait very long already leh!

Auntie is so smart! She act blur and gave an excuse to go enquire from the nurse. Because of her, I was able to process my request and got myself out of the place within half an hour! And they asked a merc maxi cab to fetch me home. Initially it was supposed to be 4 of us patients sharing a cab. I was a bit freaked out. But thank God eventually I was the only one.

I was dreading every phone calls that I received. But when after 10 hours later I did not receive any calls, I decided to call them. I was made to wait again for someone to pick up my call after asking me to hang on! But the wait was worth it in the end when I was told I was tested negative! Yeah! I was so happy that I shouted yeah and got one in the response too from the nurse.

Now am praying very hard I did not get infected while sitting there for 6 hours waiting for the results at the waiting area…

Random food posts

which is super outdated..so dated that this promotion at Kim Gary must be over.

I was intrigued to try this baked cheese veggies at Kim Gary, knowing that their baked cheese stuff are quite tasty.

Not this one though. It has no carbo, which I should have expected since it’s called baked cheese veggies..What despaired me further was I added worthless calories into my body. I thought it was healthy since it’s veggies so I ordered double cheese. Urgh…very jer lak and the creaminess does not taste any bit like cheese; except the top part. Whatever below tasted like double cream; together with the veggies felt wet and slippery. Not very appetising.

You can choose to season the fries and I chose their specialty powder. Tasted like five spice mix. I didn’t really enjoy the spice but the fries were very addictive; crispy on the outside and soft on the inside…yum.

Who knows Seletar Country Club serves such nice food? Do you? And quite reasonably priced too! I think they don’t charge service tax or GST, if I remember correctly. Nice and relaxing ambience, with high ceiling and golfing landscape.

Lai Wah had the fish noodle soup. I liked it, more so because it comes with yam! The fish is fresh and the broth is rich tasting, one of the better ones I have ever tried.

I had chicken wings and wow….can give ikea chicken wings a run for their money. It was so good I wanted to finish the whole plate, there were 10 in all, drumsticks and wings. The chicken was very juicy, seasoning was tasty which penetrates even to the meat, the skin was not oily and the crisp skin crackles and crunches with every bite, I was like longing for more even when my stomach was protesting. Glorious yum!

My recent travel destination

SAFRA Resort @Changi. It has been refurbished and it is modern, comfortable, clean and spanking new!

LCD TV with cable channels, with HBO ok.

The appliance next to the sink is a chiller box; I am impressed at their thoughtfulness. It’s so much more convenient than to freeze ice-cubes which will take ages..longer than the event itself. Their utensils are clean and well stocked; cooking is a breeze, saving you the money of eating out. The smell that wafted from the next door neighbour’s cooking was so drool-worthy, but we have to settle for food bought at the resort. Rather expensive though if you eat out everyday. But I must say JUMBO seafood hor fun is really nice, expensive but their ingredients are really of good quality.

I did not have a lot of time to enjoy all the facilities; especially the tempting pool. It was beckoning to me, the sun and all…sigh..if not for the fact I was recovering from bronchitis.. Thus I decided to enjoy the sun on a bike. There is a beautiful stretch behind the bungalows for cyclists; it was a great way to enjoy the sun, wind and the sea.

My trusty bike which I rented, a bit wobbly but the scenery made up for it.

The beautiful trees along the way made the ride so pleasurable. I enjoyed the fact that there was practically no one around, which was rather odd. Singapore is such a human-infested place that it’s difficult to locate peace. But I found it here.

Just desserts

Initially I was quite skeptical about going to MOF (Ministry of Food), to me; it’s another Japanese eatery offering homogeneous food like the rest of the Jap restaurants sprouting up all over the malls.

The main courses were so-so but I must say the dessert I had left a lingering longing for more. I forgot what is the name of this dessert but it’s soft serve vanilla ice-cream, with red bean, yam and sweet potatoes. It came with instructions how to eat the ice-cream but I forgot to take a picture, something about eating the cold ice cream and warm yam/sweet potatoes together. You would have thought it will be very sweet, I thought so too. But it’s not cloyingly sweet, somehow the chemistry of different sweetness go very well together. I love the fried yam and sweet potatoes, not oily and the natural sugars of the root vegetables are retained, providing a wonderful fragrance to the the whole dessert experience. Oishii!

This so-called Japanese premium ice-cream is bleah. It’s not creamy or smooth, does not carry the taste of the flavors it claims: yam, green tea and sesame. I can only taste ice not cream. It’s like eating colored shaved ice. From Zenden at Gallery Hotel.

The oreo cheesecake it offers only tastes great with the fondue chocolate which is its saving grace.

Pan Pacific Orchard 10@ Claymore has the largest fondue fountatin I have ever seen with the widest array of selections to dip into the molten chocolate. Dates, prunes, figs, apricots are some of the more unique selections they offer. I had to restrain myself not to overindulge, I was so tempted to drink the chocolate . The time I went, the restaurant has a one-for-one buffet special if you pay with citibank card.

Bakerzin is also offering a super good deal. Half-price for Chocolate Amer till end May. The chocolate is dense and rich with a lovely bittersweet taste.

Silent Retreat

As a closure to my youth discipleship course in TTC, all students were to go for a 3 days 2 nights silent retreat with our lecturer. The retreat was held at Canossian Convent at Bukit Timah Road.

It was really an eye-opener. We were not encouraged to talk to one another during the retreat except for sharing time. We were not supposed to talk during lunch time too. Even if you really need to talk, you had to speak in whispers. You can imagine how quiet the whole place is. You are just by yourself, your thoughts and God.

For the 1st time in my life, I had a chance to experience what it is like to live in solitude, in the way of nuns, monks, priests.. My room is a testament of simple living with bare essentials. It was small but comfortable. I love staying in my room; even if it is to just while away time. Perhaps there is this knowledge that I need not do or worry about anything that makes the time very relaxing and peaceful.

There is also this mega-sized labyrinth (for more information on labyrinth) unlike those I went before with stations and directed thoughts and prayers. This labyrinth is a maze of nothingness, you just need to follow the path which took me about half an hour. Throughout the time, I had a great conversation with God and had a lot of time to reflect on my thoughts and conversations.

That was my lecturer walking the labyrinth.

Though I only managed to attend 2 days 1 night, it was a very good break for me especially after a series of unfortunate events. It was through this retreat that I realise how much God loves me, I was very much ministered by His words and presence. My life must be so noisy that I cannot hear Him speak to me. I thought I will need a while to settle into solitude and comtemplation. I was rather awed that within a short span of time, God taught me a few faith lessons that I badly needed. I was so encouraged by the encounters I had with Him during the retreat. But it also reminded me that even as I go back to the reality world, I need to set aside solitude time like these; to take stock of my life, work and ministry.

Victoria the Artist

Whenever I talk to Victoria about art, her face will light up and an animated conversation ensues. It’s great her interest in art is further kindled by the recognition she receives from her school’s art club. She is part of the SYF art competition team this year, I must say her drawings are very impressive. I am really proud of her and delighted to know she has discovered her own potential. That day, I decided to involve in this part of her life that means so much to her; by seeing her in action at her art lessons in Art Loft, Singapore Art Museum.

She is seen here building a playground.

I wondered why her playground is so ’spiritual’, I thought the cross was a spiritual symbol but according to her, it was not. Lesson learnt: don’t read too much into an artist’s work, sometimes you can overdo it.

Below are some of her art pieces. She is holding a 3-D swimming pool.

Victoria’s ambition is to be a famous artist, not just an artist but a famous one. I think she already has one quality of an artist, her art work is abstract enough. Forgot what she told me this is; roadway or sth…?

Funny Daniel. His elation at seeing me is not because he misses me but he knows he can play games on my ipod. I asked him is he more excited to see my ipod than me, he gave an embarrassed laughter. So cute

Daniel the Aikido Master

Daniel, my godson, is the little boy on the left at the front. You will see him trying to slam the master later. After watching him for one session, I am quite impressed by the strict discipline of this martial practice. Nobody talks in class, which is amazing especially when most of the participants are kids. Everybody bows like clockwork. I thought it is kind of boring, the movements are so repetitive. I am surprised kids will want to join, this form of martial art seems to be against all their nature as kids. Daniel also enjoys it. Strange. Maybe one day when he can slam me, he will have the last laugh.

Alone

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-46

I cannot imagine the loneliness Jesus must have gone through being separated from His Father in those hours. The agonizing pain of knowing God turning His face away must be a tremendous suffering; and He chose to obey His Father’s will. Salvation is not given without cost; it costs the life of the son of God.

Today I sat alone in service.  Today I was a lone passenger on a bus. I was able to somewhat experience my Savior’s forsaken moment in that period of loneliness, albeit a litle glimpse into it. His agony must be millionfold.