Book, Dinner & Dog

When the man said he would be out with his mates for dinner and drinks at Roberson Quay, I was like, 'Yay I'm coming with you too!' Hahaha. BUT, I'm taking the dog along to have some quiet time at another restaurant, and read my book. This is why I love the Kindle. It isn't kind on the eyes, but it saves me a ton of shelf space and allows me the option to read at night in dimly-lit venues.

Decided to spend the evening at Summerlong. I had visited years ago when the restaurant first opened and after tasting a few of its dishes, I decided it kinda suck. Avoided it ever since, and especially on weekends when it overflows with brunch-loving humans, children and dogs. This second visit was like, four years later. Hahaha. The menu has changed, the service and kitchen crew would have changed too. Worth a try. 

Ordered an easy platter of dips — cauliflower hummus, tzatziki, smoked eggplant and spicy feta. Served with warm flatbread, it was the perfect dinner for me. It was light and gentle on a stomach that has been protesting about putting too much beef in it. While the dips are okay, they're nowhere near the standards of a few other legit Mediterranean or Greek restaurants in some other parts of town. Lingered over the dinner. Against my better judgment, I picked a house red pinot noir over some blood orange spritzer. I should have ordered the latter. Very few house wines are decent. Zzzzz.

Didn't want to stay at home with the dog. Didn't want to leave her alone either. So this was a nice respite. I was tired from cleaning house all week, and wondering if she would get the runs again. (I still haven't pinned down the trigger for Monday and Tuesday's epic shits.) Didn't make a date with any friends since this was such a last-minute decision. I'm happy dining alone. Glad that I finished the book. Well, a detective mystery novel doesn't usually take long to comb through. We were able to choose a table at the far corner where Choya had space to sprawl out. She was happy there. After checking out the human and dog traffic passing by, she decided to have a sip of water and nap.  Whewww. She even deigned to get up to check out the lengthening shadows, looked cute, and bestowed a few passers-by with a sniff of their outstretched palms.

Gorgeous Pet Tags

I don't mind leather, but for very practical purposes, Choya doesn't wear leather collars and I don't use a leather leash. I make a concession to leather tags. Those are okay, and in the event of rain, they don't actually get soaked if the dog wears her raincoat. Often, the dog's collars are either water-resistant or easily washed. I use a stainless steel ID tag. These materials suit our lifestyle and activities. 

I love these leather tags made by LéPaw/BigPaw. I don't understand how it's made. Or rather, I see it, I get it, but it's not something I can do. I simply appreciate the end products. The stitching is excellent. We first met them at a pet fair held at Bishan Park, and tried out two leather tags. They were beautiful, and I was looking to get more when we have more collars! Bought another two, and then three more. Ooof. It's as though the dog has many necks to wear all these collars and tags.  

The brand launched a special color of Navy Ghost Burro (blue-ish) under their charity project titled Pet Tag+, in which S$5 from each sale will be donated to an animal welfare charity of their choice. I think last month's donations were to Causes for Animals, in conjunction with Ruff Cuts. 

Just find them on Instagram, that's faster. It's really easy to communicate with the brands over IG DMs. I don't even bother with facebook anymore. It's just clunky. Shopping is a lot more fun on IG. Most of them are earnest business owners, and they're quite efficient. I don't mind buying stuff over IG, especially if the businesses are based in Singapore. Many of these small brands produce quality products, be it handmade in Singapore or bringing in items made in different cities for the local market. If it’s a locally-run business, and owners are sincere and sort out their logistics effectively, that’s enough for me. #SupportLocal

I don't prime Choya's social media account to use her as a cute tool to get freebies. I could have turned her into a pawdel and get a ton of free food, grooming and health products, leashes and whatever. But that's not me. It doesn't appeal. While I certainly don't mind using some of those 'codes' other pawdels offer on items I want, I prefer to pay for products. I want that freedom of judgment on products I use, and total objectivity in any criticism or lavish endorsement of any brand. Heh!

Clearly, the dog doesn't need all these ridiculous accessories. She doesn't care. She'd very much prefer to run free and roll in muck when she goes out. Her Momma is just a sucker since these little things are so adorbs. Ah, I don't put all the nonsense on her at home though. She goes naked rolling around where she pleases. Teehehehee. 

ฉันคิดถึงการสังสรรค์กับเพื่อนๆในกรุงเทพฯ

Ahh I miss hopping on a plane and flying out to Thai cities. ฉันคิดถึงการสังสรรค์กับเพื่อนๆในกรุงเทพฯ I miss the whole thrill and anticipation of getting there and at some point, catch up with the friends in Bangkok (mainly). I miss speaking in the language at length, and being immersed in the grittiness of the city. For all the grey Bangkok is, I also love it- the cacophony, the heat and the starkness. Most of all, I miss the food and all its glorious spices. 

Having Thai food in Singapore just isn't the same. Most restaurants can't churn out the ratio of flavors I love. The cooks here clearly tweak them. Majority of the som tam served here is a gigantic fail. I try to explore go beyond eating at Yhingthai Palace, Un-Yang-Kor-Dai and Kra Pow Thai (Far East Plaza), but not all flavors at new-to-me eateries hit the spot. These few eateries I went to for three meals last week serve up nothing mind-blowing, but they're convenient to schedules of the day, and the food is of course edible. 

Pratunam Market Place & Bar

Stopped by a newly opened Pratunam Market Place & Bar. The decor and all indicated that it's mainly a drinks sort of place. If you want more food options, there's the next door Zenso Thai which does decent krapow things.

When the som tam arrived, it was an LOL moment. This isn't any som tam! It's a re-worked mango salad, emphasis on salad. HAHAHAHA. The spinach and rocket leaves were hilarious. The crab fried rice and the braised pork leg rice were good! Hipster portions and presentation, but good! The chilli sauce it came with was tangy and spicy. Mmmmm.

There was a one-for-one drinks offer for ladies that night, okay lor. Beer it was. Heck, I even miss Chang beer. Well, a cold beer goes down well. Drink fast; some beers just taste horrid after it stands for five minutes. Hahaha.  

Basil & Thyme

We go to Basil & Thyme for its convenient location at Parkland Green, East Coast Park in the evenings. We hardly stop by other restaurants there because I'm really not hot about pizza, fried foods, mediocre pasta and glorified fast food. Just gimme some som tam or kway teow or whatever noodle-thingies.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Thai menu. A restaurant like this sited at East Coast Park, is hardly known for its food. But whatever we have ordered so far, is usually decent! I'm still a bit floored by how much they charge for a small portion of steamed white rice here. S$3 for a tiny portion. But I don't feel it if we use Chope vouchers or have one-dish meals.

That night, we popped in for dinner with the parentals. This meal wasn't for their comfort or convenience, otherwise we'd just end up in restaurants at hotels or very boring Chinese restaurants. (If they want to have the dog join us, then they'll have to learn to bear with sitting outdoors and be comfortable with no air-conditioning and plush seats. No sympathy there from us.) It would do them some good to feel the sea breeze and salt, breathe in fresh air, and be in a park instead of a mall. 

Bangkok J.N. Thai Food

Met the BFF in the hood and we went to lunch at Bangkok J.N. Thai Food at Mega Foodcourt (567 Balestier Road). The stall is located in one of those ubiquitous kopitiams across the island that we hop in for convenience. Food at the stalls ain't great, but they would do for a meal. I was doing a random search and came across the commercial listing that this kopitiam is tenanted till February 2021 and is up for sale, at S$8.2m. LOL Dunno if the food stalls will remain unchanged beyond that. 

The stall's extensive menu is plastered on the wall and the signage. It feels more like Thai-Chinese zi char with some spices rather than Thai food. They don't do somtam, but the menu offers a mango salad. We shared an olive fried rice, stir-fried kailan in oyster sauce and a basil minced pork. 

The basil pork is ermmm.... plain. It's one of least fragrant ones I've come across, with the spice level at virtually zero. The stall provided two sauces- chilli padi and fish sauce, and their homemade chilli shrimp dip. Those were pretty decent, lending some much-needed spices to the meal.

Another Bout of Shitsplosion

I'm exhausted from cleaning up Choya's two bouts of unexpected diarrhea over the past two days. It wasn't continuous, thank gawwd. Just two bouts of mega shits that required mega clean-up. She showed no indication of distress or being unwell. She hasn't eaten anything unusual. She has issues with anxiety and excitement-pooping. I thought it was that, until the second bout in the night. A fully toilet-trained dog pooping on the bedroom carpet, twice. Well. This would be a first. I didn't even bother reacting. She didn't do it on purpose. She is genuinely unwell. 

The first bout of diarrhea happened when we were not at home on Monday. I thought she anxiety-pooped from the whole morning of rain and thunder. The second bout happened at 4.30am on Tuesday when I missed all her cues because I was in deep sleep. Haizzzzz. I simply picked up the dog, wiped her butt and plonked her in the toilet so she wouldn't get in our way of cleaning. When I cleared a path to walk, the man took her out to finish up. At least for now, that she isn't a dog who steps in her poop or eats it. I'm even more relieved that the iRobot is far away and can't be turned on. Imagine that rolling across liquid poop. OMG.  

Yes yes I know. Dogs = no carpets, and/or don't set them up up for failure. This dog is fully house-trained but accidents happen. I'll deal. Unfortunately the carpets came before the dog, and they're not removable. The man loves his carpets and he's especially fond of this $2000 carpet in the bedroom. WTF. I don't give a uhhh shit about carpets. They're just allergen-trapping eeky things. This soiled carpet is. Eyond my skills. Turned it over to the professionals. I'm incredibly pleased that the cleaning solutions firm (ChemDry) had an immediate slot for me and turned up promptly later in the afternoon. I know that the stains can't be lifted from a light-colored carpet. That's fine by me. I wanted it disinfected. While the cleaning crew got busy at home, I sent the man out to Decathlon to buy cheap yoga mats. They'll lay across the room in the nights and when we're not home. That should minimize uhh 'spread zone'.

After watching Choya for the whole of yesterday, the man and I made a call to send her to school today, as usual. We informed the the school of her diarrhea, and are on standby to pick her up if the school thinks she needs to go to the vet. Yes, she has diarrhea, but it isn't continuous. It’s unlikely to be infectious or contagious. The two bouts were spread over 14 hours, and she's been doing okay after the Tuesday 4.30am shitsplosion. The liquid is the same chocolate color as her normal poop — no slime jelly, no blood, no worms, no strange bits, no undigested grass. She exhibits no other symptoms. There isn't vomiting, no panting, no difficulty in breathing, no cough, no hacking, no mucus dripping from the nose, and the tongue is the usual pink, She is eating and drinking per normal. She's alert, perhaps a little lethargic; napping more, but willing to do her usual walks. 

Nope, I'm not the kind to rush to the vet clinic at first instance. (Thanks to SkillsFuture credits paying for all those Canine First Responder Courses and random paid/complimentary veterinary talks I keep signing up for.) It helps when I have the vet's number too and he's cool with texts/calls from me. But that's only because he knows I'm not a crazy pawrent who'd text him for every little drop of blood.

Played food detective to try to isolate what might have caused it. She doesn't eat things off the floor. She nibbles on grass that might have pesticides. She hasn't eaten new foods. Either there was a bad batch of something she ingested on Sunday that resulted in literally food poisoning, or it's IBS (not IBD) from too much cheese. And we conclude it's highly possible she has been eating too much cheese. This would be on us. We failed her tummy. Bad pawrents.

I had to cancel my appointments for yesterday and today. I didn't know what's happening and I needed to watch the dog, take her out to poop, check her poop, and make a judgment call if and when to take her to the vet. Luckily there were only two appointments- with one very understanding work associate yesterday, and a lunch today with one girlfriend who told me to take all the time I need and to text her when I'm ready. I was a bit emo after their replies came in, especially after reading the girlfriend's. Her love filled my heart and made me feel less tired when I'm sleep-deprived. I'm thankful that the girlfriend gave me all the space I need to sort out the dog. Not everyone understands the care and attention we give to our furries and fluffies.

Celebrating the MIL's Birthday at O'maJ

[O'maJ has rebranded to Tomahawk on 1 May, 2021.]

The MIL requested to have her birthday dinner at O'maJ so that Choya could come along. Awwwww. Thankful that it was a quiet night at the restaurant so that Choya isn't too nervous about being indoors. She calmed down after a bit. She oddly still has bits of anxiety at O'maJ; perhaps from the clatter of the cutlery and conversation, or simply the contained sound that can't spread out.

The best part- Choya deigned to eat at O'maJ. That girl has decided she doesn't want to eat any meal outside of the home. So O'maJ has been the only venue she would eat at. But with her earlier onset of anxiety, she has refused to eat anything at the restaurant. So I've been ordering the poached Norweigan trout for her to-go. Tonight, I packed it into her food jar, and offered her some in a bowl. (I don't give her all of it normally anyway. I keep half, she eats half.) She didn't want to eat from the bowl. But she accepted it from my hand. DOHHH. So I hand-fed her. She ate the usual half portion! Wow. That's comforting to know.

The menu was slightly refreshed. Nice. Had to have the fig salad all to myself. Hahaha. It was topped with grana padano, passionfruit vinaigrette and candied walnuts. Also had the newest item Chef-Owner John created that hasn't officially gone onto the menu. He was almost apologetic that the soup cost S$50 because of the type of prawn used. It was pea soup with a giant carabinero and a delightful scallop drizzled with hazelnut oil. It was worth it because this table loves prawns, and the kitchen provided a seriously top grade carabinero with our soups.

Ordered the Sanchoku wagyu striploin to be shared. It was supposed to be 300 grams, and it arrived looking rather big still, since it's a bone-in cut the restaurant offered. There were plenty of leftovers so we packed them all home to join the other batch in the freezer. They would all go towards our beef fried rice at some point. Hahaha. The striploin in wagyu isn't my favorite thing. I only had one piece of meat. I gave all my stomach space to the grouper, which I've sorely missed. We were too stuffed to have dessert. But since it was a birthday celebration, the restaurant thoughtfully provided us with a complimentary dessert of a small piece of lava cake with strawberry cheesecake gelato. 

What Makes 'A Good True Thai'?

Had my eye on Sunisa Manning’s ‘A Good True Thai’ (October, 2020), and read it once the book was published. I enjoyed it. I'm always curious about Thai history and politics. It's very painful to plough through fiction written in Thai. I can, but it takes ages, so I’d rather read news articles and journals in Thai, which would be shorter. Heh.

Set in Thailand in the 1970s, the plot references the 1976 Thammasat Massacre, against the backdrop of political change of Prime Ministers. 44 years ago on October 6 at the University’s Tha Prachan campus, more than 100 students were killed by the military and right-wing security forces. The incumbent government doesn’t give air-time to the events of 1976, and the general Thai public keeps silent about it. Till today, Thailand is a country where democracy is a dirty word, and lèse majesté laws reign supreme.

The author doesn't embellish the narrative with too many useless details. She worked in each character, and thought about their revolutionary paths. She worked in Thai history with their life choices. The author had a page of notes at the end detailing the parts where fiction doesn't square with historical events, and the artistic leeway taken in the narrative. 

You could make a comparison of the 1976 event with what's happening in Hong Kong, and what's happening in Bangkok now. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in September to demand for reforms to the monarchy and the Constitution. The protest movement had begun on academic campuses and campaigned against Prayut Chan-o-cha's government. This month, the student-led protests also wanted to oust the Prime Minister, and comment on the state of the King's government. Thailand declared a state of emergency on October 15 for a week in order to quash the protests.

Plus it's quite eyebrow-raising to have the current King live in Germany for most of his time, and govern from his residence in the Bavarian Alps. This is a flashpoint. Most Thais don't talk about politics publicly, and most certainly not with random friends and acquaintances. During the week of October 11, Germany took the unusual step of warning the Government of Thailand that their King shouldn't be conducting state business from German soil, 

Ms Adebahr, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said the Thai authorities had assured Berlin that “it is the Prime Minister who conducts government business, and the King of Thailand, as the head of a constitutional monarchy, which Thailand is, lives in Germany in a private capacity”. But “if there were any evidence that the king was indeed conducting government business from here, and that would require a reaction from us, then we would have to assess the situation when that occurs”, she added. 

The book opens with the death of Akarand’s (his nickname is Det) mother Kongkwan, a noble who is the granddaughter of the king who married a commoner. However, his father Udom is illustrious and worked his way up to become the Minister of Education. If Des marries the right wife from a noble family, he gets to keep all the privileges bestowed upon him by his mother's station in life. If he marries a commoner, the royal family doesn't consider the father's achievements as notable, and he loses every privilege, except his education and current assets. 

Det and Chang are childhood friends. Det, Chang and Lek are a trio of good friends at University in the 1970s. Their backgrounds can’t be more diverse, and Lek is of course the romantic love interest of the boys. Lek is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who can't speak Thai fluently. She's a student activist, a dissident labelled by the Ministry of Justice. Chang is a radical, and an eventual Communist. Det shows promise as heir to his mother’s royal bloodline, but if he marries a commoner, he loses all privileges, all connections and all social standing. He joins his friends. He’s a royalist because he believes Communism can co-exist with the monarchy. He becomes part of history. Chang makes a reference to the title in the story. Towards the end, he wondered if things could have been different if he had been "more flexible—in fact, more Thai— would those students have lived? What, if they lived, would they have gone on to do?"

The story pans out... painfully, as history is. Det, Chang and Lek’s stories aren’t theirs alone. Thousands of students share their passions, beliefs and their fate. The students stood on many opposing ideological fronts, each believing their own and skeptical of positive changes, especially any talk of pardon by the incumbent government. 

Chang thinks that he might go back and get a degree in agriculture at one of the northern universities. Forsake political science and a career in journalism. In another life, Lek would teach at university, deliver papers, rile the ruling class, but they talk about making the scale of their revolution smaller. They talk about changing how people believe in the system.

They could try farming. Here. Lek could teach at the local school. Lek says she'll do this if they can bring Det's father to live with them. Then he'll be with the baby, who can still live with Dao.

At this rate they can't build a house, Chang says, they'll have to build a compound. 

As long as she can get books shipped out here, and their intellectual friends can come stay whenever they want.

"We'll be flooded if people come whenever they get sick of Prasert," Chang answers.

They laugh, then are silent. There are those friends who won't come, who can't.

Lek says that by writing the book she gets to live with Wit and Det. Over time, recounting their exploits, her men are speaking, moving, shouting. Maybe if she never stops writing they will live in her mind.

Bit of Steak Frites

We took a stroll around the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade and the Promontory. The clouds hung heavy and we thought we should retreat to dinner. Tried our luck at L'Entrecôte at Customs House. We didn't have a reservation and they seemed full when we walked up to the door to ask about a table. And they had one outdoors for us. Nice! I prefer their outdoor tables. Their Duxton Hill restaurant is way too cramped and noisy. L'Entrecôte has been around for 10 years! This tenth year must be so tough on them, so it's nice to see a crowd on a week day.

The man couldn't resist the beef tartare toast. It was quite delicious! There was a three-course meal set thing, so we had one of that. It came with a salad of random greens and walnuts, an appetizer of crisps with duck rillettes and salmon pate, a main of the restaurant’s standard Trimmed Entrecote Steak, and a dessert of a strawberry tart. That was for the man. I decided to simply order a Trimmed Entrecote Steak for myself, and that came with yes, fries, and a salad, which was fine. The steak is 190 grams, and I would just about manage to finish it. I wouldn't be able to stomach anything else. 

Their steaks arrived sliced up. It's supposed to be an entrecôte steak, but it tasted and seemed like a flat iron, so medium rare might be a bit chewy. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It should fare better done medium. I forgot to tell them to serve the sauce separately. The steaks here are served slathered with sauce. I don't mind a salad soaked in dressing, but not meats. Of course they didn't have mayonnaise or chilli sauce to go with the fries. AH WELL. It's steak frites. At S$36.90++ for a casual dinner, I can't complain.

We came in at 7pm and left by 9pm. Needed to get home to feed the dog her dinner. Oof. It was a surprisingly lovely evening. The wine was easy, and the overhead fan kept us comfortable. The heavy clouds were blown away. It was balmy, and there wasn't even a light drizzle. No rain fell at all. Hahaha. 

Civil Union Law(s)

Roberto de Mattei, president of the conservative Lepanto Foundation in Rome, said Wednesday that “this is perhaps the first time Pope Francis has publicly taken a stance on a specific point of morality against the church’s doctrine.” “There’s no doubt this will add to the great confusion already existing in the Catholic world,” de Mattei said, “and will be fodder for those who maintain that, at least privately, the pope promotes or supports heresy.”

A feature-length documentary on the life and teaching of Pope Francis titled 'Francesco' (2020), directed by Evegeny Afineevsky, premiered at the Rome Film Festival on October 21, 2020. It created a stir for conservatives because in this documentary, for the first time, Pope Francis made it clear that he supports the creation of civil union laws to cover the legal rights for the LGBTQ community. However, the interview was not broadcast in its entirety, and with film edits, I'm not even sure the Pope's words have been taken out of context, and been given an optimistic air.

Still, the Pope said it. Aloud. Wow. That's something. No Pope has ever put it quite like that. And definitely not the Catholic Church as a whole. Even I blinked at the Pope's words. I think that quite a number of Bishops would have collective apoplexy all of this week. Nicole Winfield for TIME noted that while the Pope doesn't endorse same-sex marriages, he makes crystal clear his stance for civil union laws,

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film. “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

While serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope.

Singapore has a long way to go before we repeal Section 377A. It's just an embarrassing law that is severely outdated. Last I checked, we're a secular state. I can't say that we're liberals though. We might even be rather conservative. Just how so, and how much, is highly debatable. The Washington Post on October 22, 2020, sought comments and thoughts from the Catholic organizations, 

“This is huge,” said David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture. “Looking behind all this, [Francis is] basically saying, again, ‘We’re not out here to be culture warriors. We’re not out here to pick fights. We are out here to build up the family.’ ”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore had to issue a statement today to clarify their official position in that the Pope's words have no bearing on official teaching. Okaaaay. I'm not sure how to take the church or the Pope or its priests seriously now. The Church sounds so conflicted on everything, including sexual misconduct by priests. When I say Church, I've stopped referring to it as a whole, or even Vatican-led.  

In a statement, the Catholic Church said the Pope’s remarks in the film Francesco that premiered on Wednesday are “not considered or admissible as an official papal teaching”. 

It added that its “constant teaching on marriage remains unchanged regardless of a civil union between two persons of the same sex approved by the State”. 

And then this quote from the same statement reminds me why it's imperative that there is to be strict separation of Church and State, and an independent Constitution, and we do not follow papal laws and I don't live in the Vatican City so I don't have to adhere by the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State.

“What is legal in society is not necessarily moral or licit for Catholics in the teaching of the Church,” the statement said. 

I don't know if this will temper the vitriol against the LGBTQIA community, but I'm hopeful. I'm tired of having to re-categorize 'friends' into 'acquaintances' or 'dead to me' whenever I discover them to be shockingly right-wing. And now, increasingly, I still have to deal with tedious QAnon conversations, and when undiscerning friends idiotically repeat QAnon statements insidiously inserted in Christian readings, sermons and bible study groups. Human opinions can be so divisive, and frightening. The world is so complicated now. 

Francis’s comment does nothing to alter Catholic doctrine, but it nonetheless represents a remarkable shift for a church that has fought against LGBT legal rights — with past popes calling same-sex unions inadmissible and deviant.

Francis’s statement is also notable within a papacy that on the whole hasn’t been as revolutionary as progressives had hoped and conservatives had feared.

He has long expressed an interest in outreach to the church’s LGBT followers, but his previous remarks as pope have stressed understanding and welcoming rather than substantive policies.

Crushed Eggshells

Eggshell powder is one natural supplement I add to the dog's food. I don't put more than ⅓ teaspoon of eggshell powder into the dog's food daily. I skip it if she's ingesting ground bones or chicken feet. It's not difficult to calculate how much calcium and phosphorus are needed for a 7kg dog. I'm not pedantic to count it like an exact science. I simply watch her calorie intake according to the level of exercise she gets that week. A dog's diet is balanced on a weekly basis to a monthly average, rather than looking at daily intake.   

There're numerous instructions available on the internet on how to clean, dry and grind eggshells into powder. I usually wing it. I clean it and dry it, and bake it at 120dC for eight minutes. Don't bake it for longer than that. Adjust the temperature in ratio with the time. Eggshells tend to end up stinking if it's over-baked. I had a bunch of eggs last week and saved enough shells to grind them powder. 

I really don't mind buying eggshell powder since it's inexpensive. Well, at S$3.80 for an 80g-pack, it's something that I can have for free if I can be bothered to do it at home. Some other shops retail a 100g pack for S$10 because they use organic eggshells from New Zealand. Hahaha. The eggs I buy are good enough. I don't need it organic since we don't usually eat raw eggs nowadays. They're at least poached. I accumulated enough eggshells in the little box, I got out the blender. Nine eggshells yielded about 130 grams of powder. It should last us three months. It doesn't need to be refrigerated. Storing it in an airtight container will do. 

Well, the humans and the dog eat lots of eggs at home weekly, so technically we'll never run out of eggshells to bake and grind into powder. It's just a matter of how long the peeled eggshells keep in the fridge, how much I want to accumulate versus how often a round of eggshells is to baked and ground. 

12 Going on 13

It was absolutely delightful to have brunch with Y and Missy at Gather. It has been many many months since we met IRL. Missy has completed an academic milestone. She has diligently done her studies and revision for the year, and has sat for her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). It's all written in the stars and left in the hands of God now. We'll know how she fares come end November when the results are released and the secondary schools available to her are chosen. 

Missy is a well-adjusted girl and will do fine in any school her grades take her to. She will pass the PSLE well. It's all a matter of how many points she will score in a results-aggregated national examination. Her parents aren't obsessed over her grades to the minute detail; she has been raised to value many more things above grades. At 12 and a little bit more, Missy is rather sensible, a tad more mature than others of her age. Obviously I have no part to play in contributing to this milestone. But I'm just as proud of her as any Aunt is. Wooohooo. 

Now that she has turned 12, she has shed all traces of 'baby-ness'. She's really into fencing, and she's got opinions and a fairly solid head on her shoulders with a huge dose of common sense. I enjoy our conversations. A budding teenager we have. Awwww, she's truly turning out to be a fine young lady. She handed me a card. She thanked me (again) for the flowers sent in September to wish her well for the exams. Tehehehehe. She said she had turned them into dried flowers. Awwwww. Little girls are soooo thoughtful. This one understands the meaningful gestures of snail mail and handwritten cards. Long may she carry it with her. 

The Eleventh Year

[O'maJ has rebranded to Tomahawk on 1 May, 2021.]

The man and I have been married for 11 years, and we've been together for 16. He reminded me so. I didn't take stock and I'm not counting. So ermmm... okay. That's quite a lifetime. He quipped and said he hasn't dated any girl for this long. LOL. NOT FUNNY. SO LAME. Are we in one of DC's multiverse or living in one of its alternate universes?

We didn't chart out celebrations for our eleventh wedding anniversary. We didn't buy each other gifts either. (Absolutely no flowers, thankyouverymuch. I made an exception for our tenth.) I simply made the effort to prep breakfast for the man this anniversary week; be a little more thoughtful and not nag him when he forgets to switch off the lights and fans, or when he drops crumbs all over his armchair. Oof. He made the effort to ask me where I wanted to take the dog and what I wanted to eat. Actually, he does that all the time. He simply made himself available to fetch me around in the car this week, amidst his super busy call schedule. We simply reveled in the mundane. There is romance in the everyday if you know where to look.  

18 October 2020 was a Sunday. There're years when we might feel like doing something special. Then there're years when we don't. This year, we didn't want to have a champagne brunch or a heavy dinner. My stomach isn't equipped for those anymore. Sunday was spent at the park with the dog, and tapau-ing a delicious lunch from the usual favorite Tiffin Bhavan on Campbell Lane in Little India, and we tapau-ed a ban mian dinner from a random food center in Potong Pasir. Hahaha. We spent the day chilling out and in thanksgiving, grateful for our health, a paid-up roof over our heads, not burdened by any family debts, and not having to worry about how next year's bills will be paid. 

On the eve of our wedding anniversary, we went to dinner at O'maJ, and had wine. It was like... the usual weekly dinner I suppose. Except that we were very focused on having truckloads of beef. I haven't had steak like this for a long while, and I didn't mind it. Limited stomach space meant that we could only have the 1.1kg wagyu tomahawk ribeye, and a salted fish burratina served with honey on crisp focaccia. No carbs, and nothing else. The man couldn't resist having his favorite hearty beefy tomato soup. 

The tomahawk came with the usual sides of sautéed mushrooms and garlic mash, but it also offered condiments of freshly grated horseradish, and freshly ground pepper. We get to choose between four peppers- Sarawak white or black pepper, dried green peppers that lent a lime flavor, and dried pink peppercorns that are more fruity. We chose the green peppers to go with the beef. I'm not a mustard person, but freshly grated horseradish is another story. That is such a luxury! Peppers and grated horseradis paired so beautifully with the beef. Mmmmm.

We didn't even bother about which vintage of wine we should have because we aren't connoisseurs. We just wanted something palatable and easy. I was happy with a familiar pinot noir. We picked O'maJ because we didn't want to leave the dog at home. 😂 The girl was on her bestest behavior. She was very smug and proud to be out and about with us. 

What of Witches & Fairies

The title of the essay is intriguing; I've also recently watched the referenced film at the friends' home. So I read it. It talks about how Disney deals with the image(s) of their most powerful witches in their Disney storylines. It’s a short 12-minute piece titled ‘Deconstructing Disney: Motherhood and the Taming of Maleficient’, written by Jeanna Kadlec, and published in Longreads, October 2020.  

The writer noticed how Disney has been treating their witches, especially towards Maleficient, seen as the most powerful and evil of all in drak lore. Maleficient is technically a Dark Faerie — a fairy, not a witch. A faerie more powerful than any in the realm of magic. But she casts spells and she is a woman, so erm... villified too. ‘Maleficient: Mistress of Evil’ (2019) has just been released on Disney+. It’s the sequel to Angelina Jolie’s glorious portrayal of Maleficient in 2014, and she reprised the titular role. This is a Disney film. The ending is erm... a sort of satisfying ending, and Prince Philip and Princess/Queen Aurora live happily ever after. 

In the reboot, Aurora, raised near the Moors, develops a strong relationship with Maleficent, who she understands to be her Fairy Godmother. That Maleficent eventually experiences a kind of compassionate softening and internal transformation through her relationship with Aurora is not, in and of itself, problematic. However, this is a Disney film, and it is no accident that a maternity narrative is represented as the primary way for a woman to experience self-realization. The 2019 Maleficent sequel, Mistress of Evil, only affirms that a mother’s abilities are not ultimately for herself, but for her children. Although a witch is an autonomous, unchecked power, when she becomes a fairy-tale mother — especially the mother of a princess — she still devolves into a plot device with no individuality to speak of. She is beholden to the continuation of the nation-state. Her success lies in self-sacrifice.

This is Disney’s ultimate magic trick: Rebooting “feminist” stories where women, even if they are witches, obliterate themselves.

Historically in reality (for example, the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, 1692), films and books, witches are put down. Hung and burnt. They call them a coven. Women are painted out to be such horrifying creatures who don’t conform to the male notions of a woman’s place and roles in the home and society. Sorceresses have a slightly better brand image than witches. Still. Disney would be the one production company that has merrily featured absent mothers in all their Princess films, along with evil stepmothers. Cue, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (Disney, 1937).

Okaaaay. Maleficient is painted as compassionate, stoic beneath her adult pain. Someone who's willing to sacrifice for Aurora. I'm like... WHAT. Please don't confuse me, Disney. While I love that the production studio tries not to vilify women, and introduce more layers and perspectives to their villains, I find it disturbing that they try to blur the lines like they're a real show. Sorry. How do I put it gently? Like they have a brain. I obviously don't have high expectations of cerebral Disney films. 

Witches in films, Disney or otherwise, are painted as villains, intrinsically evil and incorrigible. Most are scarred by some sort of human pain, either inflicted by their own mother and relatives, or by men. There could be cute witches.. like 'Charmed' (eight seasons, 1998-2006), 'Practical Magic' (1998, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock) and 'Kiki's Delivery Service' (1989, Studio Ghbli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki). Witches in films can be multi-layered, conflicted, torn, for and against war, and generally make-up makes them look wonderful. Witches can come in the form of a suitably non-supernatural but equally horrifying Mildred Ratched. Witches of course can be mothers too. Most suffer great pain or loss before discovering their powers, or turn away from light and walk down a dark path. Disney capitalizes on that as well.

These days, Disney doesn’t kill witches — at least, not as often as they used to. These days, Disney is interested in the ultimate rehabilitation project: How do you make these archetypal wonders, this sublime femininity, less frightening? Less powerful — particularly to people invested in women and queers behaving in normatively gendered ways?

You make the witch a mother.

A Coffee Date

Since I've been lurking around Serangoon for a few appointments and to run a number of errands, I took the chance to have a few casual lunches with J at NEX where there're plenty of boring but dependable food choices. Easy Chinese food meant we have a choice of eating at The Ship, Dian Xiao Er, Canton Paradise, Putien and some other I-forgot-the-names restaurants. NEX is ridiculously crowded though, so we gotta make reservations a day or two prior. The restaurants are packed out at lunch on week days too. 

We usually gotta rush off after lunch, so there isn't time to sit down for a coffee. And, there aren’t good coffee options at the mall anyway. I'd rather not drink those. The usual places for a kopi-o-siu-dai are always packed out. Drinking a coffee while walking now isn't quite do-able. Getting a coffee to-go doesn't make sense either. It simply means that I'll get a cup of coffee only when I get home. 

That day at Canton Paradise, J plonked down a flask on the table. I was like... WOW. SUSTENANCE! She had made coffee at home earlier and brought it out in a flask for me. Wheeeeee. It was still hot, so I couldn't gulp it, but I could certainly do quick sips. OMG. I drank it all while waiting for the food to arrive. (And the food didn't take that long to get to the table.) Certainly gives new meaning to 'coffee date'. Heh. 🤩

I was up early that day running around. And didn't have time to drink any coffee at all. So it was just gorgeous to have a cup of coffee when I most needed it. And beans from Koffee Mameya too. Mmmm. That’s a little bit of travel memento during this year of non-traveling. Ahhh, that beautiful scent of a favored roast and terroir. Some say it's the best drip coffee in Serangoon. I think so too. Muahahaha. 🤎

I'm Getting Tanned!

When the BFF saw me that day, she was like, "FWAAAH, why are you so tanned?" I am?!!! I know I got a little more tanned from runs and walking the dog, but it couldn't be that bad? She started laughing. She's the one who dives regularly, and the moment the government permitted us to do so, she zipped out to dive at Pulau Hantu, and has been doing that every week.

I put out an arm. Erm... my shoulders and arms are like three shades darker than hers. While I'm careful about my face (I spent a lot of money and time on lightening the solar lentigines okay), and now religiously slather sunblock and wear a huge hat without fail, and even carry brollies under the sun, I've neglected every other patches of skin. Hahaha. Realized that my legs are super pale. Ugh. This needs to be rectified. 

I don't swim in sunshine anymore. I do early morning swims when the sun doesn't hit this side of the pool, or night swims. Gotta tan those legs, so I'll have to be in shorts to do so. I can't wear shorts while running. The itch on the thighs get to me within ten minutes. And I never bother running when the sun is high and intense. So I've been wearing shorts when walking the dog in the mornings. I don't think that helps very much.

I gleefully reported back to the BFF about how I'm attempting to even out the skin shades. She shot back, "DID YOU PUT ON SUNSCREEN?" Ermmm... how about no? I keep forgetting and I really don't bother. Putting sunscreen on such a large swathe of skin feels like a waste of time. I'm not baking myself in the sun. It's just getting some UV rays through the trees and for a short time at the parks and beachs. I'm in a bit a hurry to get the legs a little darker anyway. Heh. "Go get a bottle of body moisturizer with SPF 30 lah." Hmmm. We'll see. 

Need Chilli Sauce & Chilli Padi

There’s something about NUDE Seafood’s Grandpa’s Pomfret Soup that keeps us going back for more. Most importantly, NUDE at Marina One is pet-friendly, so Choya can join us at dinner. That plus point keeps us returning weekly for good food. I was just a tad surprised to see it on the menu on a weekday. I thought it was a Friday and weekend special.

Even with the dog, it's quite the perfect venue in heavy rains. There'll always be a break in the rain, and it would be light enough for us to zip out to the side for a pee. Choya is happy to chill out by the table, and she even gets salmon treats from the servers. Hahaha. (We already stock those at home so she knows the smells.)  She does love salmon in this form.They indulge her lah. And I found her she has her favorite servers whom she will only accept treats from. Aiyoh! Fusspot! 

I like NUDE's version of fish and chips (I'm fine with either crusted breadcrumbs or beer-battered), and also their house-made slaw and tartare. The best part- the kitchen offers that sweet-tangy chilli sauce which goes nicely with fish. I can wash the fish and fries all down with loads of chilli. Wheeeeee. I’ll never outgrow chilli sauce eaten this way. Tartare sauce is awesome, and so is mayonnaise, but it's very sad when the rest of the options for condiments are only ketchup and malt vinegar. I can’t deal with eating fish and chips without chilli sauce of some sort. Oof. 

The beer on tap currently is Asahi- either dry or black. A cold one is always welcomed. An Asahi dry is easy to down. Often, I skip the alcohol, because it's rather hot and humid. A cold fruit juice is nicer. I love their berry smoothie. It’s beautifully tangy and thick. It’s such a wonderful drink and dessert combined. I urged the man to get them grilled prawns because we don’t prep raw shellfish at home. (My allergies.) he went for the charcoal-grilled tiger prawns in mango tamarind sauce, lime and crispy basil were a total winner. He loved it. 

Ah, the one thing about their pomfret soup. There isn’t an option of sliced red or green chilli as a condiment. The fish soup is truly delicious and full of umami. A bit of taucheong is served at the side if one needs it saltier. But I’d really want sliced chilli padi to go along with it. I might bring my own next time. Heh. 

Waking Up In The Nights

Seventh Month is over. So at least I can predict the dog’s panic atracks. They’re triggered by thunderstorms and lashing rains. She’s a four-legged barometer. She detects the drop in atmospheric pressure so well that I always know if there’s an impending storm. She's accurate to thirty minutes before the rains hit. Her degree of anxiey and fear is in accordance with the severity of the thunderstorm. She knows how to calm herself down if the rains are light, and thunder doesn’t arrive. She doesn’t care if it drizzles the whole day either. She’s happy to go out in the rain because peeing is paramount.

Each time I open the NEA weather app (my best friend literally; it saves me from a drenching) and see 'pre-dawn and early morning thundery showers', I’m damn sian. Because that means I’ll be awakened by the dog at these ungodly hours. Luckily for me, I fall back to sleep easily. I'd rather take on the responsibility of soothing the dog at night than have the man do it. If he's woken up, he can't get back to sleep. Sleep doesn't come easy for him; insomnia has plagued him all his life.  

Even in deep sleep, I can be woken up by the dog quite fast. Sometimes I try to cover my ears and shut her out for a good ten minutes before I get up. Ultimately I can't very well ignore a nervous dog either whistling or crying from anxiety, or digging the mats/bed and rattling the safety gate from fright. It's not within her power to comprehend certain things. She isn't being whiny or willful. These are genuine needs that I have to address. 

The dog doesn't sleep on our bed. She has her own bed. As it is, we grant her minimum bed privileges and allow her to have a snooze before we turn in. But she doesn't take us up often on that. Once in a while, she does. She sleeps in her own bed, on the chill pad, the carpet or under the dresser, or her favorite place- the bathroom mat. Zzzzz. The whole of last week saw Sumatra squalls, and I HATED THAT. I had to wake up EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. 3am. 5am. 5.45am. 4am. 5am. WTF. Consecutively. The dog barometer was spot on. I was bloody zonked last week. From the looks of it, more to come this week. Fuck. Thankfully, the dog’s anxiety is nothing as wild or hysterical as those Seventh Month inexplicable panic attacks. 

I don't want her panting and pacing to wake the man. So I sit with the dog in the corridor, literally nodding off asleep against the wall. If the rains get heavier, I'll go out to the living room with her. I'll just crawl into the armchair to continue sleeping. The dog will sort herself out. Once out in a wider space for her to 'take stock of the situation', chances are that she'll calm down, come lie quietly by my side, even if she's still trembling a little. We return to the bedroom when the storm abates. And hopefully, I can get in another two hours of sleep before it's truly 'wake up time'.

Table at 7 X Paulaner Brähaus

We finally made it to Table at 7 for dinner. We've never managed to get a meal at its Namly Avenue address (SIM Management House) ever since it re-opened in February. There was a planned dinner in the last week of March that we canceled since we were going into lockdown. It's not a restaurant for two unless said two have the stomachs of four persons. It's better enjoyed if we dine in as a table of at least four. Making a reservation online via its current website is the easiest way to secure a table.

We took the restaurant's special Oktoberfest menu paired with beers from Paulaner Bräuhaus. The four-course dinner was paired with four different but expected standard Paulaner beers. There were the lager (okay), Hefeweizen (ugh, no), Oktoberfest brew (erm... hops. nope), and Dunkel (finally. palatable). BUT some of us took the wine-pairing instead. Teehehehe. I couldn't do that much beer, to be honest. The wines were an Austrian white, and two French reds. They came in the form of a Grüner Veltliner 2019 from Gruber Röschitz, Vincent Girardin's Bourgogne Cuvee Saint-Vincent Rouge 2016 (my favorite of the night), and an easy Vin De Bordeaux Sommet Salue 2008.

I can't do German food, or what has been sold to the world as 'German cuisine'. Without Table at 7's unique fusion menu, I wouldn't want to eat anything branded as 'Oktoberfest'. Karl Dobler and Eugenia Ong's long partnership in Table at 7 has resulted in menus super attractive to the all our tastebuds. There was a choice of starters, entree, main and a dessert. The table was excited over the choices because it offered variety. We added beautifully steamed mussels with super delicious bread. Those arrived way before the starters on the menu, and the mussels began a most delicious night. 

Aside from Bavarian pig's head terrine with herb vinaigrette, Hungarian goulash, white veal sausage with sweet mustard, and pan-fried cheese spaetzle with roasted onion and crispy roasted pork knuckle, the Oktoberfest menu also offered Asian flavors of warm smoked rainbow trout salad, oxtail goreng and lalapan, chargrilled chicken sate with spicy peanut sauce, braised free range chicken leg in buah keluak and mushrooms. We were so so stuffed by the time the mains rolled around. Taking a breather before our mains and sipping the wine was nice, but that also meant giving a chance for food to expand in the stomach. That resulted in me not being able to finish my roasted duck. Haha. But it wasn't wasted. The portions weren't that big, and they were passed on to the man to polish off. As it was, mild indigestion set in for two days after this meal. Hahaha. No sympathy for myself.

Dessert would of course see kaiserschmarrn (sweet scrambled pancakes) with plum compote, apple strudel with vanilla ice-cream, and a local homemade banana crumble with coconut ice-cream. Despite yelling that they were full, the friends obviously had stomach space for dessert. They picked an apple strudel and the banana crumble and happily lapped it up. I picked out the dessert and handed it over the man and the friends to share. Oof. What a decadent dinner!

Waste Not, Want Not

China launched its 'Clean Plates Campaign' 2.0 in August 2020 (the first was in 2013), and told all its residents and citizens to well, clean their plates and not waste food. State media, catering companies, restaurants and even legislature have all rushed to enforce the President's directive. 

President Xi Jin Ping had always advocated policies of thriftiness and bans extravagant state banquets, private dinners between officials and the public. The Chinese government "seeks to fortify a fragile food supply strained by floods, epidemics, locusts and trade wars." President Xi cited a poem by Tang poet Li Shen, and implored the Chinese to “know that each grain on your plate comes from the labor of peasants.” 「习近平一直高度重视粮食安全和提倡“厉行节约、反对浪费”的社会风尚，多次强调要制止餐饮浪费行为。」

“锄禾日当午，汗滴禾下土，谁知盘中餐，粒粒皆辛苦。” 《悯农二首》，李绅（772—846年）

Titled 'China’s mealtime appeal amid food supply worries: Don’t take more than you can eat', Eva Dou's piece in The Washington Post published on 5 October 2020 draws our attention to what's really happening in China too. A country this vast, and it's indeed a headache to feed. If the people are hungry, there will be discontent and there will be political turmoil. 

In China, the two foods in the tightest spots are pork and corn, with the nation’s pigs hit hard by African swine fever and much of the year’s corn crop ruined by floods. But fresh foods of all stripes are in short supply, too, due to the coronavirus pandemic and flooding — from eggs, to seafood, to leafy green vegetables.

.....................

Over the past couple decades, the implicit bargain offered by Chinese leaders has been unprecedented economic advancement and opportunities in exchange for political quiescence. That means the ability for regular folk to eat meat regularly instead of as a luxury, as well as having a range of nutritious foods within reach.

When Xi assumed office in 2012, one of his flagship policies was to eradicate extreme poverty from China by this year. Local officials across the nation have worked to meet this target for years until the pandemic threw a wrench in these plans.

It isn't just about food wastage habits this year. It's really about food shortage, and I'll opine, the short-sightedness of the incumbent US government on its foreign trade policies. If this is a game to score domestic political points, it's not getting funnier. At this juncture, Singapore isn't feeling the total pinch of rising prices. Not fully, anyway. And we're hugely guilty of food wastage. All developed nations are. 

We don't grow anything enough to feed all of Singapore. We import our food and we don't just worry about pork or corn. We worry just about every food item. Staples, carbs, greens and such. Look at how fast bread, flour and rice disappeared off our shelves in April and May. This country cannot survive a real food crisis. China's worries mirror our own, and the rest of the world's. 

I write about food on this blog. I think about food all the time. I like reading about food, and stories behind a dish. There's such pleasure derived from eating well and eating in moderation. Never to the point of indigestion though. Gotta be careful about that. Good food brings comfort not just to the stomach, but to a weary soul. I don't necessarily talk abut food all the time although it's part of the discussion when we meet friends. We talk about what to eat, and that usually decides where we go. It's the social thing to do. We're lucky to have choices of different cuisines at our doorstep. 

I'm keenly aware that our food supply lines can be broken any time, and if that's kept open, we need to admit that our political leaders and government have been working hard to do so. Hunger, and to be at the brink of starvation, these are not situations or feelings that I'm not familiar with, because of the privilege of growing up in Singapore. I daren't even say I empathize because I can't. I'm looking at our unemployment figures rise. Every ripple on this island ties in with the economy. And that has everything to do with the future survival of this little island nation. 

Meanwhile, I buy groceries in moderation, stocking what I need, and paring down the fridge and freezer to basics. (I also live in fear that the freezer breaks down and all the frozen food will go to waste.) When I eat out, I order in moderation. Under-eating isn't going to reduce me to a sad state of hunger. We can all do with a bit of reduction in fats and overall body weight. I always feel that city folks eat too much. Two meals a day are more than enough for me, and many others. 

It's All About Creating Good Poop

After devouring a ton of veterinary and nutritional journals (paid, online access) and borrowed textbooks, I've reached a point where I know enough to properly care for the dog, armed with sufficient knowledge. This means that I don't have to randomly panic or rush to the vet clinic. It also means I have solid facts to back me up against dumb crusaders of whatever 'right' thing to do for dogs. Right-wingers have no place in my life.

Choya has been with us for one year and four months. She'll soon be with us longer than she has been at the kennel. It took ten months to properly wean her off the kibbles she was fed for the first 1½ years of her life at the kennel. I round it up as one year of weaning-off because I judge it by the quality of her poop. She's eager to eat, but her poop tells me another story. It has been inconsistent until we were nine months into fresh foods, pre-and-probiotics, and freeze-dried raw meat, bone and organs (I gravitate towards New Zealand products). 

Her diet now is varied and balanced. Her stomach and gut flora have been merrily exposed to different proteins. She's all good with both raw and cooked beef, venison, crocodile, lamb and goat. She loves all types of fish seared, as well as freeze-dried- cod, salmon, mackerel, whole sardines, pilchard and sprats. Shellfish of cooked prawns, scallops, mussels are fine too. She's okay with duck but isn't keen on turkey, chicken, pork and kangaroo. Hahaha. I doubt she has full-blown food allergies. While she seems fine with chomping on raw chicken feet, she has intolerances to chicken breast meat. I'm not moving her to a fully raw diet, because if I do that, caregiving and feeding is going to be an issue when travel opens up. I'd rather not do that. 

The dog's poop tells me the whole story of what's happening in her intestines. She generally poops once every two days. Daily pooping is not a given. Zzzzz. She produces so little poop that sometimes she deems it unproductive to even bother to squat and squeeze out a tiny lump. Her poop has finally reached the consistency I want. She still has issues with anxiety and excitement pooping (liquid). But those episodes are few and far, thank goodness. I'm quite proud of her poop now. Hahaha. With the gradual exposure to different proteins and a rotated schedule of food that goes into her weekly meals, she has been producing ideal poop for months now. Whewwwww. 

Pesto Spaetzle

The friends gifted us a ton of food love from Huber's Butchery. There was a box of fresh eier spaetzle that shouldn't be kept long in the fridge. That was the first thing we should eat. So we quickly made a dinner out of it. The portions were just right for the two persons at dinner (one average eater and one small eater). There was no point saving a batch of cooked spaetzle for the next day's lunch. It would be soggy. 

We could just about cook it in any way. It's just egg pasta after all. It's usually cooked with cream or pan-fried with butter, and topped with fried onions as a side. It could be stir-fried with asparagus. It could also be plonked into a gratin. I voted for pesto. One could do almond pesto, green pea pesto, lemon and sausages, kale or chard in ricotta cream sauce, and just about anything.

We didn't have much time to head out to the supermarket, and we should just do an easy version where we would have the required ingredients at home. And yes we did, including a ton of fresh basil leaves! Decided to go with an easy spicy pesto with a ton of garlic and parmesan. Spaetzle cooks super fast. This version cooked in under a minute in boiling water. If we really prefer it more chewy, I'd say just blanch it. Thirty seconds suffice. #ImpieCooks2020

I would be happy with just that — plain pasta and pesto with shallots. But the man needed more depth of flavors and protein. Hahaha. The freezer had frozen scallops and cooked deshelled prawns. Seared those to go with the spaetzle. There was one last ancho chilli (it's a dried poblano) that we sliced up and tossed in with the seafood. Ancho is sweet and mild, but it provided enough flavor to complement plain flour and eggs and cuts through the cheese. 

What's Happening With Our Workouts, Hair Salons & Such?

First published in The Financial Times on October 4 2020 and reprinted in our local paper on October 6, Pilita's Clark's piece 'Why the hair salon, gym and work-related travel may never be the same again' got me chuckling. 

We learnt to live with minor inconveniences during the lockdown, especially haircuts (for all genders with short hair), and going to the gym. I keenly felt the loss of that. Health is paramount on the agenda of course. There's also the camaraderie amongst gym-mates who don't need/want to be friends, the equipment and the useful instructors some instructors dole out. For some services like haircuts, they're still irreplaceable.  

Now that Singapore is halfway back to life pre-lockdown (nobody's talking about the consequences of a second wave when leisure traveling is permitted and cities open their borders), I suppose we've all done a minor stock-taking of our lifestyles and our habits. I did, and realized that there aren't many to revise or change. These and priorities have already shifted last June when Choya came along.

And just think: But for the pandemic, he never would have thought of doing something he wished he had started years ago.

Listening to him talk reminded me of a question that keeps recurring as the Covid crisis goes on.

Will my friend’s discovery — and others like it — end up leaving even deeper scars on some business sectors than the lockdowns and social distancing that are causing so much financial pain today? 

Put another way, once you learn that you can do something cheaper, faster and better at home, will you ever go back to paying someone else more to do it for you? 

Gyms & Workouts

Well, I quit the gym. Found a loophole eight months into a two-year contract and hustled out of it. The gym suspended all my favorite classes, many of the good instructors left and their replacements suck. I didn't want to pay membership fees to go to classes that I don't enjoy. 

My one-on-one pilates and gyrotonic classes in the studio? Those, to me, are irreplaceable. I'm continuing with them. As much as I can exercise without equipment, I enjoy the pointers and corrections at the studios for pilates and gyrotonic. I prefer to stretch on those equipment than to use a stool, a resistance band and a yoga block at home. I'm not that disciplined, so it's very tough for me to keep to an exercise regime at home for months. I can do it for two, three months maybe. But to continue as such, I'll sorely miss the studios. I currently use Aaptiv for my workouts and tweak them to my preferences. 

I've stopped running frequently too. Oof. It's tiring okay. During lockdown, I ran like... maybe three to four times a week to get some sort of caloric burn. But it doesn't really do that much for cardio unless I keep to sprinting 5km in 25 minutes, or 3km in under 15 minutes. Which is what I like. It's efficient. In August and September, I slacked off those runs. Now, I just do one run a week. That's more than sufficient for me. Last week and this week, I'm using the weather as an excuse — I haven't done a single run at all. HAHAHAHAHA. I still do 25 press-ups every day. That's easy. But if I'm not careful and forget about my lats, I'll lose strength in the muscles needed to do pull-ups.

Hair & Hair Salons

I can't very well cut my own hair right? The hairdresser still has to do it for me. Trimming the hair thrice a year sounds about right. I've let the hair grow out so I can simply tie it up and have it out of my face while exercising. A short bob is a tad irritating, and I'd have to go shorter to have it practical.  

I don't have a habit of going to the salon to 'do my hair'. I don't bother with attending social events much, so there isn't a need to like... be glamorous. Neither is a 'wash and blow' part of my living habits. I wash my own hair fine. I'm not the kind of girl who bothers dressing up or finds it fun. I find it a chore still. Hahaha. 

I don't color my hair often now. I don't have the patience to sit at a hair salon for hours. I don't find it pleasurable. It eats into the time that I could use to do so many other things. I touch up the grey roots now and then, and I can easily do that at home with a DIY color kit. At some point, I'll go naturally grey, and that's fine by me.

Whatever else we do for entertainment, and oh the arts?

Where has 2020 gone? Ahhh right, it has been canceled. It's already October. Two more months to the end of the year, and surprise surprise, nobody has year-end travel plans. Ha. When we brought Choya home, I was just thinking to myself 'bye bye long-haul trips'. I didn't count on being aided on this by a pandemic outbreak. I'm likely not traveling in 2021 either. 

Not stepping into a movie theater anytime soon. I'd love to step into a theater to watch a ballet or a play, but it's tough to do that unless they can disinfect those seats. As it was, on normal days, I didn't exactly find them very hygienic. 

I've still drastically reduced dining out. Why bother. I do cook, just not bothered to do fancy or complicated. I don't have the time to do three-hour dinners. I really don't have the luxury of staying on for drinks at bars because my dog needs to pee. I also sleep by midnight nowadays. Chilling out over coffee at cafes isn't quite the norm for me now. I've stopped doing that frequently when Choya joined the home. I do a hit-and-run. The cafes have got to be conveniently located, or at least have a good cup of caffeine. I do miss good coffee and it's nice to sit down for a lovely cup of piccolo latte once a week or so. Otherwise, a cup of kopi-o-siu-dai at Toast Box works too.

Once the pandemic eases, she thinks people will crowd back into bars and restaurants, where they will soon be saying: “Have you been to that new, bespoke kick-boxing gym? Well, I did. Let's try it.”

“This is the sort of thing that people do when they get together,” she told me recently.

Some things may change permanently, but not as many as we now think.

“Right now, we're in a strange period of rediscovery,” she says, and it may not last.

She is probably right, but it’s a period of rediscovery that I hope will last for quite a while to come.