What Do Scabs Mean to You?

Of course I would read 'Scab Painting' by Yoko Ogawa, published in The New Yorker on July 20, 2023. This story is translated from Japanese by Steven Snyder. 

The narrator's twin brother died overnight in his sleep from a heart attack from a blocked artery. The narrator told a tale of the twin brother having a thing about removing scabs, and how deft he was at it even as a child, without ever causing blood or pain. He even kept these scabs to make a painting. I'm like... 'eiooowww, gross!' 

There was no age given to indicate how old the twins are. I don't even know if the narrator is a man or a woman till it mentioned "tomboy" somewhere. All we know is, their parents died young. So readers may assume that they're adults in their late twenties or mid-thirties. The twin brother has an anxiety issue about his lack of a licence in his 'profession'. However, he didn't need to be licenced. Apparent his profession is an artist of 'scab paintings'. Okaaaay.

Perhaps he felt that he, too, was an impostor, that everyone else had been given the proper documentation or an official badge, and he alone had no credentials. Perhaps he was convinced that the moment would come when his unlicensed status would come to light. And what would he do then? 

But the truth was that he didn’t work in a profession that required a license; nor had he ever pursued one that did. Still, his anxiety only grew deeper. This impostor syndrome shaped his personality, and it’s probably fair to say that it dictated the course of his life, though it never seemed to consume his soul. If anything, he was purified by it.

The narrator could only try to ease his anxiety and keep him fed, and take care of him as best as she could. By and by, we learnt that the brother's anxiety caused him to self-mutilate, by somehow causing injuries to his own body so that they form scabs of different shapes and sizes. Then he could wait for the new skin to form, he could pick at the scab and collect them to make his 'scab paintings' or 'self-portraits'. I was both spooked and sympathetic at the same time.

I think it’s possible that the scab paintings were my brother’s equivalent of a license, a badge meant to prove that his existence was not a mistake, that he had as much right as anyone else to be here. A badge he made by whittling away at his own body.

I didn't realize this story was meant to be a (fictional) eulogy till I got to the end. It was only then I realized that the brother might have been a hikikomori (ひきこもり), a social recluse. It's a very sad story, yet it spoke of the sibling's love for him. There was so little she could do to help him except to try to support his uhhh... hobby. And I don't know if it's better that he died of natural causes, before he could self-mutilate farther. 

In deference to me, my brother had huddled in a tiny ball in our mother’s womb, and then, as though in compensation, he had obtained enormous size. And yet his feeling that he lacked credentials prevented him from going out into society, and he spent his whole life locked away in his minuscule world. Still, I’m extremely gratified that so many of you have gathered here today on his behalf. 

I want to let you know that the chocolate box has been left by the door, and I’d like to ask each of you to select a scab portrait on your way out. I’m sure that my brother would be pleased if you would. My shy brother, my blushing brother, my whistling brother, my chuckling brother, my dreaming brother. . . . In those portraits you’ll find every expression that ever crossed his face. It would give me the greatest pleasure if you would keep them with you for years to come, as badges providing proof that he lived among us.

Braised Chicken & Lupcheong In The Rice Cooker

I haven't done this one-pot rice for a bit because the man wasn't going big on carbs, and this plate at dinner would bust every count he's doing. But he asked for it that day. Okay can. He wanted them preserved sausages too. Cabbage with dried shrimps and fish sauce and chilli padi, and lupcheong rice with chicken.

Soaked the dried scallops, mushrooms and oysters for the afternoon to soften them, and I'll pour this liquid into the rice later. Soaked the dried shrimps separately. Finished up all my stash of Wo Hing lupcheong and yuncheong for this meal, and put the new ones recently bought in Hong Kong in May into the storage boxes. I had no time to go to Wo Hing or other shops in Sheung Wan, or those further out. I bought this batch of preserved sausages from Wing Wah (榮華).

Trimmed the fat off of the bone-in chicken thighs. Marinated them for a bit in dark soy and light soy. Then I seared them and placed the half-cooked thighs into the rice cooker. This protein was pretty much for the man. I wanted the skin though. Heh. #ImpieCooks2023

I usually do one yuncheong and two lupcheong. Today, I did two yuncheong and three lupcheong, because I wanted to taste the new ones from Wing Wah. It was a mountain of preserved sausages. Hahaha. I did wonder if tossing all the preserved sausages into the rice cooker would be too oily. I should have steamed it separately. Aiyah, never mind. I didn't put the braising liquid for the chicken into the rice. Neither did I add salt. It should be fine.  

I used brown rice, so I knew it would take 90 minutes in the rice cooker. With ingredients in the rice cooker, white jasmine rice should take a lot shorter, maybe 45-55 minutes? Basmati is usually done in 30-40 minutes. When it was 10 minutes to the rice being ready, I tossed up the cabbage. Half a head of cabbage at $4 from the supermarket is usually a portion for us too. We love cabbage, but stir-frying a whole head is too much lah. Fish sauce and cabbage is always a winner. We like it spicy, so two chilli padi went in. We used to do three or four. Crazy riiight. Hahaha. Two is just nice. If we have guests over, we just put one.

Dinner turned out fairly well! Not too oily and definitely not salty. Sambal belachan accompanied the meal. So tasty. I shall steam up lupcheong again soon in the donabe, and add some bok choy to do myself a proper one-portion 'claypot' rice.

Of course a dollop of homemade sambal belachan went along with this plate.

Began Pilates with My Gyrotonic Instructor

K, my dependable Pilates instructor has closed the loop with all her clients and gone on maternity leave and easing into a new chapter as a new mother. My Pilates classes still go on, but I'm taking it at a new studio with JY, who is my Gyrotonic instructor. Hehehe.  

JY is a newly certified Pilates instructor. And I thought I would give her some encouragement to also have me as a client for Pilates. Like I said, I prefer my instructors to be also dancers, athletes or be fitness advocates. JY is an experienced Gyrotonic instructor and would completely understand the difference in the mechanics and purpose of both disciplines. I was happy to do a 10-class set of Pilates with her. 

It was a fun first class with JY that was obviously not a class for newbies. She didn't take me through the newbie program and we simply went straight into exercises and movements that suit my body needs for the week. She knows all my weak spots from Gyrotonic, and these spots wouldn't differ too much in Pilates. 

A few classes on, I'm pleased to note that JY doesn't teach Pilates in the same way as she teaches Gyrotonic. Sure, her tone of voice, attentiveness and how she catches my lazy methods are the same. However, in Pilates, she looks at different muscles and formulates different movements. Like I said, Gyrotonic focuses a lot on spiralling and rotation — slightly gentler. Pilates can be full on strength-building and resistance training. JY is very clear on how these two movement disciplines differ.

Of course I'm curious about other Pilates studios, and other styles of 'Pilates'. We'll see how it goes. K's going to be on maternity leave for a few months, so I'm free to explore. Heheh. I'll finish these 10 classes with JY, then I'll see where I'd like to try out. I'm still more keen on classical Pilates than the ones mixed in with HIIT or modified reformers using TRX straps. 

Instructor JY doing a demo for some of the movements.

Please Hold And Don't Leak Again, Metal Frame(s)!

When the rains came and the leak came through the joint in the metal frame at the side of a sealed glass panel at the bottom, I was soooo upset. This is the bedroom. HOW TO SLEEP SIAL. The windows held fine. The metal frame didn't. The leak came in from a compromised sealant at the external metal cladding. Of all leaks, this is one leak I couldn't fix and would require professional help. 

I'm so relieved that my paranoia about rainwater and leaks at the windows that resulted in me catching the leak before it went down to the sub-par parquet flooring. This is clearly wear and tear. This entire side of the window plus glass panels face full-on sun and full-on rain with no slates to block. I'm not surprised that the sealant is compromised from the outside and the internal sealant finally gave way after five years.

I HATE LEAKS AND WATER ISSUES. These give me indigestion. This estate and the flat have water issues all the time. I seem to get them once in two years, going by this count. ROARRRRR.

• Before we moved in, there was a giant hole drilled by the main contractor in the water pipe that caused a waterfall in the kitchen. I think I threw up my lunch when I got the call. Major rectification needed to be done over two days. At the same time, I made the plumber re-seal the pipes to the drainage for the washing machine and the dishwasher, and the sinks.

• That damn flood from the Ariston heated water storage tank. Sub-par water tanks that cracked and leaked within two years. When 52% of the estate's units have cracked water heaters within two years, it's obvious that the developer stinged on such fittings.  

• And now, this damn leak from the joint in metal frame, that's obviously structural even though it's a wear and tear. I should be so glad that this leak happened only after five years.

The estate's Management Office's crew took one look at my videos and photos, came over for a quick look (completely unhelpful), and tossed it over to the estate's developer and their main contractor to sort it out. They have obviously encountered these leakages across a number of units, and it's an issue that can be resolved if the leak is minor and controlled to portions of the external cladding.

A rectification date was set, and I didn't argue with them to bring it forward. On hindsight, I was glad it was almost two weeks later so that the weather would hold fair and bright for the sealant to be placed and dried before the next batch of rains come. After the rectification date was fixed, it promptly rained for four days, two of which was non-stop.

Meanwhile, I went bonkers putting a temporary silicone sealant over the joint to manage the leak till the rectification date. It didn't just leak during the storms — that damn leak continued even after the rains stopped. So I knew that there was water pooling inside the metal frame from outside. It was untenable unless I did something. I didn't dare put a metal spray sealant in case that messed up with the rectification works. Silicone is easy to strip.

Four people came to sort out this leak. Two actually workers and two uhhh giving eye power. They stripped and re-caulked the internal seal, as well as added additional sealant. I asked them to check the other frames and re-caulk them too. They also wiped and checked the outside caulking. Whewww.  

FFS, PLEASE STOP LEAKING FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

One Last Bowl at Old Tiong Bahru Bak Kut Teh :: 老字號中峇魯肉骨茶

Literally called 'pork ribs soup', bak kut teh (肉骨茶) has always been a food that's always there, because there're so many eateries doing that. Importantly, it was a huge part of my life as a young adult needing food before or after an alcohol-fuelled night out. LOLOL 

By this age, I have already made visits to many many bak kut teh eateries around this island. I always prefer the clear peppery soups over herbal or dark bases. Later on, I learnt that the style I prefer is the Teochew style with a strong dose of garlic and pepper. The Hokkien base is darker with soy and more herbs. The Cantonese style is also heavy on the soy and tastes completely medicinal. 

Nowadays, if I have to do bak kut teh, I go to Old Tiong Bahru Bak Kut Teh (老字號中峇魯肉骨茶), Kai Juan (佳園) and Balestier Bak Kut Teh (馬里士他肉骨茶). These three do it garlic and peppery the way I love it. I care more about the soup than the ribs itself. Well, I do eat it, but not that much. I like the pig stomach that they offer on the menu too. Heh! However, come August, to satisfy BKT cravings, I'm going to be down to two eateries. 

Old Tiong Bahru Bak Kut Teh (老字號中峇魯肉骨茶) is shuttering permanently on 30 July 2023. Run by husband and wife team Oliver Ko and Judy Tay, this eatery has been at its current Seng Poh road location for three decades. 

This final month is seeing super brisk business. On busy nights, the eatery has been closing at 9.30/9.45 pm instead of the usual 9pm, or whenever their food runs out. We had to have a few more dinners there before the end of the month. 

They open at 7am, and they have a fair chunk of breakfast crowds all the way through lunch. I can't have bak kut teh this early in the morning. It's not my kind of breakfast! Anything this heavy would simply send me to toilet bowl hell.

Hopped in for dinner. The man takes the ribs and soup, with chay buay, tau kee and tau pok, all of which I don't quite fancy. I usually get a pig stomach soup or lean pork slices. That night, they ran out of pig stomach, so I took the ribs. Those went great with the sambal kangkong and the chai poh omelette. We went for broke and ordered the pig's trotters too. Baahhahaha. Oooh that skin and bit of fats. 1000 calories. Okaay.

Do Memories Hold You Back or Do They Provide Healing Warmth?

It took the flights to and fro Bangkok for me to finish Banana Yoshimoto's 'Dead-end Memories' (first published in Japanese in 2003) / 吉本ばなな『デッドエンドの思い出』because I couldn't concentrate on reading. Otherwise I would have cleared this in an hour. 

Translated into English by Asa Yoneda in 2022, the translator kept the author's economical touch when it comes to language. It made this read rather pleasant. I was just distracted — I was happily utilizing the complimentary in-flight wifi to check on Choya via the pet-cam, and texting the sitters and O. Hurhurhur. 

The five stories in this book see five different women each dealing with a challenging event in their lives, and how kindness from others led them to a more cheerful path, something that ultimately makes them happy, rather than wallow in sadness or uncertainty. (Reviews here, here, here and here.)

'House of Ghosts'

The book opens with 'House of Ghosts', and well, the narrator Secchan encounters the benign ghosts of the previous occupants of her college friend's Iwakura's apartment. He lives in a dilapidated building slated for demotion. The ghosts are an elderly couple who died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The elderly couple used to visit Secchan's family restaurant. Secchan loved cooking and wanted to carry on the meaning of her family business. Iwakura's family runs a bakery that specializes in cake rolls.

She finally saw the ghosts after spending a sensual night with Iwakura. She thought that they live in ghost time and couldn't see her, and seem happy pottering about. Iwakura is due to fly out to Paris to learn cooking, and she visited him one last time, along with sticks of incense and a single white chrysanthemum as offerings for the elderly couple. They also made omurice and pork curry for them as an offering.

This is a very long story. The young lovers took a break as each chased their respective dreams and futures. The apartment was torn down, and in its place, a new one rose. Eight years later, Secchan and Iwakura are married. It's a beautiful love story of a relationship that is set to endure the decades.

I might never get another chance to cook a meal as powerful as that one, but even now, when I got tired and my arms felt heavy, or I started to overseason my dishes, I could think back to the intention I'd poured into it — the old couple's final supper on earth, and my last send-off for Iwakura—and remind myself what it was all for.

Being a cook meant any meal I made could end up being someone's last.

'Mama!' 

We follow the tale of publishing company executive Matsuoka who was poisoned by a colleague via her lunch of curry at the staff cafeteria. She was poisoned by Mr Yamazoe who had a history of stalking his female colleagues. Yu, her boyfriend spent a lot more time getting to know her as she recuperates. They're living together as a trial before marriage. Matsuoka carries a lot of baggage about starting a family of her own. Her dad died when she was four; her mom abused her (found out by the school and authorities), and she was brought up by her grandparents. 

The recovery process is slow. She was on the news as the 'poisoning victim'. She has PTSD from it, and can't deal with questions about the incident from strangers, colleagues or the police anymore. 'Mama!' indeed caused her this much repressed pain. She lashed out at her clients and her boyfriend Yu. She isn't fully comfortable at the office anymore. She took a much-needed time-out for a month — got married with Yu, went for a honeymoon in Hawaii, dealt with all old hurt caused by her mother and new pains, and got better. 

Either way, I'd never been the kind of person to dwell too much on the past, and didn't have a habit of thinking too much about the future, either. So I had no idea that there was a sad and murky swamp biding its time inside me, which an unexpected trigger could bring even in a small way to the surface. 

'Not Warm At All'

This is a lovely but sad tale of a childhood friendship that was abruptly ended. The narrator, a writer studied in Paris and returned to her hometown where she runs workshops and teaches evening classes on French literature. Her family runs a bookstore. She took us through her life and her memories, and of a childhood friend Makoto who was killed in a murder-suicide by his biological mother, who also stabbed his father. She never forgot this friend and remembers him fondly. 

The title 'Not Warm At All' is a discussion between the narrator and Makoto about lights being turned on in homes, and if those lights actually emanate from the humans instead, since lights in a home make one feel warm and welcoming.

But I've still never made a friend as good as Makoto, and while I sometimes date, I've never felt as strongly for a man as I did when I told him we should get married.

I often wonder whether those that are too pure are destined to live fleeting lives, like cats that are beautiful and white as snow, or birds with gossamer features. 

'Tomo-chan's Happiness'

The tale seems to remind us that God doesn't help her when she needs help most, but rather she found a reserve of help within spirits and nature, and something within herself. It tells us of Tomo-chan's life growing up. She saw how her father betrayed her mother with his young secretary, had a baby with her, and hated the boy who sexually violated her at sixteen. She isn't going to fall in love easily, and neither does she harbor high hopes of finding a man "with a warm heart". 

Then she fell in love with Misawa-san, a man who works in another company in the same building, and also lunches at the staff cafeteria. She has noticed him long ago, but he had a girlfriend then. It took some time before the timing was right and they finally met properly when he is single again. She doesn't know if this trip to Hokkaido with Misawa-san will work out. So, 'Tomo-chan's Happiness' — she doesn't know if they'll be happy forever, but the tale says that she's willing to try, and she'll find strength to face it. 

Okaaay. I was a bit bored with this one. What on earth is it trying to say? She isn't my friend, so I don't feel much about her circumstances and what's going on in her life. I'd feel very differently if Tomo-chan is a friend.

'Dead-end Memories'

The final story in the collection is also its titular story. It's a tad weak in its storyline. It tells the tale of a young woman Mimi Yokoyama who tries to sweep things under the carpet until she finally discovers that her fiancé Takanashi has been cheating on her for a year. They've been dating since college days, so she lets it be when he doesn't visit her anymore. They live cities only an hour apart by train. The fiancé doesn't invite her to his new apartment and when she visits, she realizes that he has a new fiancee. Takanashi also owes her a million yen that she doesn't know how to get back. 

She found a confidante in young bartender Nishiyama who works at her uncle's bar. Nishiyama helps her to get it back in the form of a car. I was a tad pissed with Mimi. Why doesn't she stand up for herself? On her own? Instead, she has to seek help in the form of...... another man. But they didn't exactly have a romantic relationship. They felt more like comrades in this life, each offering friendships to the other lonely soul. Her memories ain't that dead-end after all. 

It struck me that family, work, friendships, engagements — all of these were like spiderwebs placed to protect people from the more distressing colors that lurked within themselves. The more safety nets you had under you, the less far you had to fall, and if you were lucky you might live your entire life without even noticing what was below. 

Korean Spicy Seafood Stew at Home!

Needed a distraction from these dreary rains and obsessively watching the leak and soaking up the water pooled. When it's this rainy, there's nowhere fun to go when I'm not in the mood and don't want to get wet. Decided to prep a simple one-pot dinner.

Found many recipes online for sundubu jjigae (Korean spicy tofu stew). The one with seafood sounded easy — haemul sundubu jjigae. Okay can. I have all the chillies, chilli powder and chilli oil in the larder. Popped into the supermarket to get mushrooms, thin slices of beef and pork, loads of tofu, 500g of clams and prawns and a little bit of squid. And bought roast chicken too. I'm too lazy to roast one at home when buying one is so much cheaper and more convenient.

As I added kelp and anchovy stock and water into the pot along with fish sauce and soy sauce, I had to remind myself that this pot wasn't meant to be a soup. It was to be an Asian stew. Hahahaha. Of course I made it spicy, but not too spicy. It was perfect for our preferred spice levels. This pot of stew was surprisingly easy to boil up, and turned out rather pleasing. #ImpieCooks2023 

I wasn't totally keen on the stew; I only wanted the tofu and the meats. Happy with how the slices of beef and pork turned out boiled in the stew. I'm not very keen on Korean sundubu jjigae because I don't sip it, but I don't mind some of the contents slathered over and eaten with rice. The man didn't want to have this stew with rice. Our edible greens are growing really well. Harvested a batch of lettuce and bok choi from the pods to mix in with the stew, and layered shredded chicken breast on top. The man was super pleased because the meal was tasty, spicy, high in protein and low in carbs. That made for a really decent dinner for both of us!

A Soothing Foot Rub

I had two feet massages in Bangkok, and those were soothing. I don't often bother with feet rubs in Singapore because I can't find the time! I'd rather give that time slot to something else. That day, after dropping off the Smol Girl at the grooming salon, I went to get a foot massage nearby at Thomson Plaza. 

I'm low-keyed stressed from meeting work deadlines and dealing with a leak in the bedroom. It's not a leak I can control. That leak comes from the side wall, which is a metal frame adjoining a sealed glass panel. It's coming through the joint in the metal, and I'm pretty sure it comes in from water pooling in the external metal cladding. There's nothing I could do about it till the estate developer and their contractors come in to fix it next week, when these rains stop. 

Meanwhile, I can't be monitoring the leak 24/7. That's madness. All I could do is to stem the leak is a temporary fix of silicone sealant (easily removed when the crew comes in for rectifications), pile sponges and cloths and hope for the best. The rains have been dreadful. They've gone on for four days! What a Sumatra squall! We're in Southwest monsoon season after all.

The foot rub helped loads. The dude didn't use that much strength because I requested for him to go easy. It eased out the tension in the body. Foot massages tend to make me fall asleep rather early and the sleep is deep. Bedtime tonight would be at 10pm then. Of course it was still raining when I picked up Smol Girl. But she had to pee, so she was super quick about it at the corner grass patch. Whewww. Then we went home to hide away from this dreary weather.  

Choya Was Home Alone!

It was a short trip to Bangkok for the man and I, but it was as long as we were willing to leave Choya, and not exhaust her caregivers. Choya's care required meticulous planning. I knew that leaving Choya at home alone and engaging professional sitters and paying them well for their time and effort to do drop-ins was the way to go. These sitters I've engaged are utterly ethical and have uncompromising values when it comes to caring for dogs. It also helps that they're trained vet techs.

While the sitters are absolutely professional and know how to walk a dog and feed her, I also needed to help them by working out logistics on my side and be very clear and organized. I drafted the AM/PM environment and 10-point instructions, took photos of where things are placed and labeled them, et cetera. We even planned for contingencies of flight delays, because that would mean an extra day of care needed. Choya is completely house trained. She is perfectly fine home alone, till the thunder crackles. Still, this is the first time she was left alone for more than six hours, what more for a few days. There would be some sort of anxiety that I needed to try to foresee, manage and ameliorate. 

Smol Girl is neurotic and has severe storm anxiety. She has a tendency to scratch till her nails and paws bleed. That blood splatter all over can be scary. I needed experienced professionals who know what to do. This isn't a vet emergency unless she tears off a nail. I can't control the weather. I could only pray as hard as I could for weather mercies. Amen. Thankfully, the weather held through the nights, for each of the 12 hours that she was alone. Alexa did her job, and the sitters set the PM environment, with a little help from Gabapentin. No blood was spilled. Thank God.

My neighbors too, were absolutely lovely. They dropped in every afternoon with Maya and Ivy (Choya's childhood friends) to cheer her up. And floof-fwens totally did so. These floofs made her so happy and rode through thunderstorms with her. She counted four sundowns, and then she was thrilled to see us walk through the front door, finally. 🦊

I couldn't believe my ears and luck when O volunteered to be the main human to come check in on Choya. OMG. That was amazingly precious. It's an offer that no money can buy. What a friend! And she did. She really did. I felt so bad that she portioned out so much time for Choya. O has my eternal gratitude. I'll never forget this humongous favor she has done for us.

So many good friends reached out to offer to check in on Choya. They know that sitters can bear the bulk of the work of walking and feeding, but it would be a breeze if everyone rotates to check in on Smol Girl. I'm so appreciative. They didn't need to — these four people got it down pat. But I know that I have many people to depend on in the event of an emergency. I'm blessed, and I can't be more grateful for these friendships. #FriendsForLife All these, gave me a peace of mind to do what I needed to do in Bangkok. 

The man and I came home to a dog who isn't the least bit traumatized by our absence. In fact, she was so cheeky greeting us that night when we stepped through the door. My sweet girl's temperament is still even, and she is herself, all cheek and sass. This, is priceless. 🧡

แล้วพบกันใหม่ กรุงเทพฯ

Just like that, this short jaunt to Bangkok is done! Ate all the fiery chillies and spices, and a ton of som tam. I can't find these flavors in Singapore, and ate them to my heart's content here. Popped into Boots to stock up on eczema creams, meds. I didn't have to step into grocers or supermarkets to get spices, chillies and such because the friends thoughtfully packed all these into a giant carton for me to just lug home as 'fragile baggage'. Oh my. I even managed to get in a few foot massages. But I had no more time to do any other shopping, which was fine by me. Time in the city was so limited that leisure shopping for non-essentials ranked low on the list of to-dos.

I was so pleased to be able to chatter away in Tinglish. I've missed the friends so very much. It was an opportune weekend because many people happened to be in town and were only flying out the next week. Whewww. They would be taking packs of the bak kwa I brought over to many cities. Yayyy. Drank copious amounts of coffee and whisky. I'm sooo glad I caught up with many old Chula mates and long-time friends. รักพวกคุณทุกคน While some of them have popped in to Singapore in the past two years and we had great outings together, it meant a lot more to me to be in Bangkok with them this round.

Picked a convenient hotel in Rosewood that was directly linked to Phloen Chit BTS and to a sheltered walkway leading to Central Embassy mall. I wouldn't be going out of Sukhumvit Road. I mainly lurked at BACC, Chulalongkorn University and Jim Thompson Art Center, so this location was ideal. 

I'm not here to check out famous restaurants or IG-worthy cafes. I'm here to watch a play, to see friends, and get many many IRL hugs. And finally, to speak in Thai instead of having to type out long sentences in Thai. I don't like typing long texts on the phone in Chinese, Thai or Japanese. It's very painful hor. I simply use the rather-workable dictation function. Heh! 

I kept the eating and drinking moderate to keep indigestion at bay, and didn't let a bloated stomach or alcohol in the blood disrupt my sleep. I slept so deeply for six hours every night, dreamless, and woke up refreshed. Being in Bangkok this loooong weekend meant everything to me. I'm still in disbelief that it happened. Placed my trust in Singapore Airlines for punctual flights and faster clearance and immigrations, and it didn't disappoint. When you have a dog who is home alone, you will want to get home to her asap. 

นี่เป็นวันหยุดที่ยอดเยี่ยมมาก ลาก่อนกรุงเทพ พบกันเร็ว ๆ นี้หวังว่า

Som Tam นัว / ส้มตำนัว

I don't have a lot of time to hunt down restaurants or food that I like. But I'll settle for little restaurants in malls that churn flavors which I can't find in Singapore. Plenty of these around that are conveniently located as I whoosh from appointment to appointment. 

Had to have som tam at any chance I get. I only want to eat Thai food when I'm in Thailand. It's such a short trip that I don't want to be eating any other cuisine. Besides adding on som tam to the meals at whichever restaurant I happen to be at, I also stopped at little stalls on the streets to get a fix. (My stomach is perfectly fine.) For one lunch, when Som Tam Nua (or Som Tam นัว / ส้มตำนัว) simply appeared in front of me while I was looking for a lunch venue, I went in. 

The rather tasty grilled chicken was simply a form of protein to sustain the man. Hahaha. He also wanted some spicy pork rib soup. Sure. Got that. Thought I should eat some more vegetables. Ordered the seasonal vegetables which arrived in the form of stir-fried chives and eggs. Yay!

Opted for the som tam with fermented fish sauce and salted field crab (som tam boo pla ra / ส้มตำปูปลาร้า) , and topped with a salted egg (ไข่เค็ม). I like the entire flavors of this northern style som tam but I'm not keen on the crab bits; the man is though, so he ate all the crab. Heh. I decided to go for broke with the carbs. Ate my som tam with black glutinous rice. This was a pretty good plate! Tangy happiness. What a satisfying meal!

Cannabis :: กัญชา :: Ganja

Procuring cannabis with a legitimate prescription in Thailand for medical purposes has already been legal since 2018. In June 2022, Thailand decreed that possession, cultivation, distribution, consumption, and sales of all cannabis plant parts are legal. While, cannabis extracts and cannabis products (including edibles, food supplements, cosmetics, etc) containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) more than 0.2% by weight are still categorized as narcotics, there is no restriction on THC content for cannabis plant parts. 

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, which means it causes the sensation of getting high that’s often associated with cannabis. However, unlike THC, cannabidiol (CBD) is not psychoactive. Can I trust that a brand makes its products as CBD oil properly without THC in it? Perhaps the regulatory protocols aren't as strict yet. Definitely not in Thailand, I'm sure.

Sure, weed is not cocaine or heroin. When we discuss addiction, is there really a level of severity attached to it? An addiction is an addiction, there isn't a 'not so bad' version or otherwise. Tsk tsk. However, the accessibility is something we can compare. Weed is like sugar and alcohol or nicotine. I don't want it and I need to be able to say no to it.

I'm interested in it for only one form — cannabidiol oil, or commonly termed 'CBD oil'. For the Smol Girl. I've read so much about how tiny amounts of CBD oil is helpful to anxiety-stricken dogs, and older dogs with vestibular and joint issues. Unfortunately I can't access it in Thailand and bring it home to Singapore without severe repercussions.

It is very clear that Singaporeans and her residents have no need to bother about what's legally permitted or for recreational use in Thailand. Unless you're staying there for months and you know that whatever THC amounts ingested it will clear from your system by the time you land at Changi Airport or do that long road trip back to Singapore, and you don't blab about it. 

There are soooo many shops selling cannabis in Bangkok. You don't even have to look very hard for one. They're on every street. We are bound by our own laws to not go near cannabis in any form because we can be prosecuted for it when we return. For us, cannabis and its derivatives in all forms are a Class A controlled drug.  

On this trip, I simply avoided all smoking parlors, stayed far away from those gathered to have a smoke, food and beverage items that stated 'cannabis-flavored'. That included soaps, hand gels, massage oils, aromatherapy mist things, et cetera. I could only do my due diligence according to how much information I could get off of a menu and brochures in a shop or a restaurant. Or via Google. 

As for eating food cooked with cannabis, Talking Point invited some Thais to dine at Kiew Kai Ka and do self-tests for THC for three days after that. Their tests all were negative.

But Rasmon Kalayasiri, the director of Chulalongkorn University’s Centre for Addiction Studies, cautioned that lab tests and tests of hair samples could be more sensitive than self-test kits. “The THC in the leaves is very low in concentration,” she said.  

"However, if you don’t want to have THC in your system, no need to try cannabis food or drinks at all, even small (amounts).”

~ 'Cannabis-flavoured gummies, ‘CBD’ massages in Thailand: Why Singaporean visitors must beware', by Neo Chai Chin on CNA Insider, published on 28 May 2023.

Siwilai Sound Club

Siwilai Sound Club on Charoenkrung Road. Although it shares a space with multi-use creative space Central: the Original Store, the sound club's entrance is at the atmospheric back alley. I love it that it's got that jazz club vibe on the ground floor and a vinyl listening bar thing going on on the second floor. 

Reviews informed me that it's got a great audio system with a balanced frequency spectrum that audiophiles would love and appreciate this bar's great sound reproduction for live music. Six Ojas 12” Coaxial speakers ensure that both musicians and audiences would be suitably cocooned. On the upper floor, a pair of Ojas 816 speakers and an original Urei 1620 mixer, and a set of Technics 1210's complete with Goldring E3 cartridges, are all deftly powered by a 2007 Mcintosh MC252 solid-state amplifier. They will blow you away at listening parties. This sound club's DJs on the upper floor would be definitely way better than say... Lennon's. Heh! 

If you prefer another type of... how should I put it, members' club vibe (think British Club/SRC/Tanglin Club), Siwilai City Club at the top floor of Central Embassy would offer many options too. There's so much space in Bangkok to do all these and realize everyone's music dreams. How very nice. It's so tough to have a space like this in Singapore. 

The drinks list is decent, and of course they do cocktails. I didn't bother with cocktails. I simply stuck to a lovely gentleman's dram of Lagavulin 16 y.o and enjoyed the vibes of the bar, the music and the conversation with friends. It was such a splendid evening! My only gripe — it's really dark! It's dim to begin with, but come 8.30pm, they dim the lights even more! Dohhh. That works only if I'm seated and watching the musicians who would be lit by 'stage lighting' or ambient lighting/moonlight through the glass roof above the piano. 

Samlor's Thai Omelette

Scored a last minute table at hip Samlor สามล้อ on Charoenkrung Road. It's pretty all right, but I'm not impressed with it. Somehow, the flavors are a tad immature, and it falls short of my expectations. But the restaurant is walking distance to the bar that we were headed to after dinner, so it made sense to check out the hype. 

The restaurant felt a tad hip. I was a bit sus about the quality of food. It didn't smell.... right. To be specific, the smells coming out of the kitchen didn't smell like they're sufficiently spiced. Samlor is also run by Chef Joe Napol Jantraget and Chef Saki Hoshino, but they're definitely not at helm in the kitchen. 

We were told that the beef isn't the star protein in this kitchen although they promoted it extensively, and we avoided that. Anyway it's wagyu, so nope. Took a slow-cooked pork krapow presented in lumps that were quite fun. This dish somehow tasted sweet. It wasn't spicy either. The roasted cabbage in fish sauce glaze was okay. It's quite hard to screw up this dish unless you roast that cabbage till the leaves are charred black. 

Decided to try the soup. BIG MISTAKE. The soup was particularly bad, to be honest. It was friggin sour, thin and ill. I didn't want to have it after three spoonfuls. I was like, 'what did you grow up having? Didn't someone teach you how to cook soup?!'  The soup of the day was presented as a clear, a tom yam naam sai with our choice of the fish of the day or tiger prawns. We opted for the fish (blue trevally) which was quite miserable. I counted six small slices. Sure, this isn't a typical clear tom yam, but it was wayyy sour till it wasn't edible. Innovation doesn't work this way, chefs. 

If their tom yam soup is this bad, I'm rather turned off already. Luckily I refused to have any of those som tam or spicy salad starters — they wouldn't be to my taste and I don't need them when I'm already having my fill of it from classic stalls. 

The grilled tiger prawns was fine. 650bht for three prawns. They weren't overcooked, served deskilled, and the garlic butter used was lovely. You can't screw up grilling prawns unless they aren't fresh or you killed them double on the grill/ When the kitchen keeps things simple, it works. 

The man wanted to try the IG-famous 'Samlor Thai Omelette'. It was done like a soufflé on a bed of rice. It was good! It went very well with fish sauce and chillies. The only thing is, this is likely the last dish, so you can't quite wait for it to have the rice and yolk with other dishes. It's a catch-22 situation. If you eat rice with the other dishes prior to the omelette's arrival, there's no way you could eat more rice. And when you see all that yolk on the rice, you'll just be tempted to quaff it all down. 

The dessert of tub tim grob (or we know it as 'red ruby', ทับทิมกรอบ) was surprisingly palatable. No shaved ice in coconut milk, but they use coconut granita. It was delicious! I didn't bother with alcohol though. That would be imbibed later on elsewhere. Opted for sparkling water to go with the meal.

Chef Napol wants to have diners taste "elevated Thai cuisine inspired by local street food with specially selected ingredients". This restaurant's menu is pretty all right, the food is okay, but whatever I tasted tonight, was a tad disappointing. My main gripe about Samlor is, the dishes aren't full of robust hints like how I expect Thai street food to be, and for those that try a tad harder, it doesn't hit the standards of fine Thai food either. This is a miss for me. To be honest, I think the chefs' other restaurant 80/20 would be better suited to my taste. Too bad that my time here is sooo short that I don't have time for a meal at 80/20. 

Said famous 'Samlor Thai Omelette'.

Lennon's at Rosewood Hotel

While Rosewood Hong Kong's Darkside serves up whisky, it's pretty much a hotel bar — it can't escape the feel of being the standard hotel bar across many cities. As usual, on any given night, it's the random mix of partygoers that will lend it the unique vibes of that particular night. I only went because I knew that the girlfriends would enjoy the vibes and the band playing easy jazz and uhhh soft rock. 

Now, Rosewood Bangkok's Lennon's is a bar I wanted to check out. Sited at Level 30, it's a whisky bar tucked behind shelves of vinyls! The bar had a lovely collection of vinyls from many singers, and a few shelves of very cute and nostalgic 8-Bit mixtapes! I spent quite a bit of time here before meeting the friends and after saying goodnight to them.

Lennon's is another hotel bar, but with slightly more character because of the space and effort allocated to the vinyl shelves. That area serves as a private table/corner as well. Unfortunately the DJ that night wasn't very good. His selection of music was extremely pedestrian. Like Top 40s. Terrible. We were seated right next to him, and I could see his line-up. There were so many other choices of genre, but he stuck to boomer music. OMG. WHYYYYyy. I wished he had played something by Phoebe Snow.  

We had ourselves a small party in the corner. Then I realized how local the crowd was that night. Every table around us spoke in both English and Thai. Ours too. Heh! None of us overdid on the alcohol. A few of the friends had an early morning flight to catch, so we took it easy. I stuck to an easy Balvenie Doublewood 12 y.o. Chilling out with these friends whom I've missed so very much, and ignoring the pedestrian music, it felt like, home. มันให้ความรู้สึกเหมือนอยู่บ้านอย่างแน่นอน 

Larb Siab on the Rooftop!

Went at 5.30pm for dinner at Larb Siab on the rooftop of Jim Thompson Art Center. The sun is still blazing and unrelenting at 5.30pm. There isn't any shelter, except for a few seats at the bar counter. Although I think they can put up a tarp or temporary shelter for events and such. Most people only turn up at about 6.30pm as the sun sets. We went early because the skewers take some time to be grilled and it can be a long wait for food to arrive at your table if the crowds whoosh in on a non-rainy evening. 

The owner Arthit 'Fai' Mulsan was an art curator and a Isaan cultural researcher. He decided to experiment with bite-sized meat skewers with Isaan flavors. He found happiness in larb siab. and setting up a grill corner with meat skewers and craft beer. He calls it Isan Spicy BBQ ลาบเสียบ.

The man couldn't be more pleased with dinner. No major carb bombs tonight, except for the beer, and he could eat till he was super full. Hahaha. There were cute skewers of beef onglet, shank, duck thigh, and pork intestines. The joint also offers its special stuffed Isaan sausage with cheese, which was quite tasty! Grilled vegetables include eggplants, okra and orinji mushrooms. The homemade nam prik pao was out of this world piquant.

Apparently Bangkok likes mala beef skewers this year. No thanks. NO MA-LA for me. Larb Siab's skewers are done with Isaan flavors, 'marinated' with toasted rice powder, bird’s eye chilli, lime juice, and fish sauce. These flavors always hit a spot with me. I love them wayyy over anything-mala. I didn't want to have that much beer. But I inhaled more meats than I should have. Mmmmmm.

'ART' by NUNi Productions

The whole point of taking this trip to Bangkok, is to see friends and watch Yasmine Reza's 'ART' staged by NUNi Productions. The show has traveled to Chiang Mai, Songkhla, Isan, Hat Yai, and is going to Hua Hin, and Chiang Mai again. It will always return to Bangkok, so I was determined to catch the show in Bangkok, and I was so pleased that I made it. 

Directed by Pattarasuda 'Bua' Anuman Rajadhon, this iteration is shorter at 90 minutes, and felt a lot more compact. It was absolutely delightful! It was heavier on the comedic lines and stressed a lot more on friendship between the three men and their relationship since the director and actors wanted to reach out to a wider audience across Thai provinces. The set is kept simple so that it's adaptable to any performance space the team turns up at. This Bangkok July run is held at Jim Thompson Art Center. 

The actors use their own names in the show, and used national artist Kamol's name as the artist for the 'white painting'. Heh. The production sees Pawit Mahasarinand as Pom, is the buyer of the painting, Nikorn Saetang is Nikorn, the one slated to be married and works at the his uncle-in-law's stationery business, and Damkerng Thitapiyasak is Dam, the 'antagonist' and 'rebel' of the play who is appalled that his friend bought a white painting for 1.2 million baht.

Stayed on for the post-show talk, conducted in Thai, of course. I wasn't actually sure that I could comprehend all of it, especially if it had theater references. But I pretty much understood the conversation. I had to translate for the man, but I didn't do an everything-translation. I simply translated the gist of the questions and the answers provided by director Bua and the actors. There were some comments from the audiences that weren't framed as questions, but rather, as a statement or by way of thanking the actors for their hard work.

The man was rather tickled. He has seen this play in different languages, but not in English. Hahah. He really enjoyed the show. The English and French surtitles projected on the screen had excellent timing vis à vis the actors' delivery of lines. He also preferred this iteration in Thai over the Taiwanese adaptation (presented in Mandarin) by Godot Theatre Company. 

At the post-show dialogue.
From left: Pawit, Dam, Nikorn, and director Bua.

Kub Kao Kub Pla :: กับข้าว'กับปลา

This trip would hold many small meals. Breakfast, two lunches and a dinner and a supper. We would have like, an early small lunch at 11am before another lunch at 2.30pm. It's madness. Today we popped into an outlet of Kub Kao Kub Pla at 11am. 

The friends trolled me. They asked if I knew what the name of the restaurant meant. They didn't pronounce it for me, and the signage was in English. I was like, how would I know?!! What is 'Kub'?! English phonetics to do Thai don't quite cut it for me. Everyone spells words differently. Then I read the Thai name. Oh. กับข้าว'กับปลา 'With rice / With fish'. A restaurant that offers dishes to eat with rice, i.e, a family-style communal dining vibe. Okaaaayyy. I have never spelt it as 'kub' in English; I spell it as 'kap', so there.

Since this is Lunch #1, we took it easy. Four of us shared easy dishes. Pomelo salad with spicy shrimp (yum som O ยำส้มโอ) and stir-fried cabbage in fish sauce. Had a mini version of khanom chin (ขนมจีน) — fermented rice vermicelli with green chicken curry. Sharing these mains make the food more digestible! Four people shared one portion of steamed white rice. Ooof. 

We got to dessert. This restaurant is part of the iBerry dessert chain, so the dessert menu is supplied by iBerry. There was a bowl of dried sweet lotus roots and dates and longan thing that was kinda like cheng tng, and a sorbet of in-season santol (wild mangosteen). I wasn't so keen on it and didn't bother about the names of the desserts I took a bite of. Dessert made the other three diners really pleased.

สวัสดีกรุงเทพอีกครั้ง :: Hello, Krung Thep!

Hey Bangkok/Krung Thep, you're another city of my heart. How I've missed you. Can't believe that I'm here! And I'm here with the husband. It's our first trip together in 3.5 years. Didn't think this could be real because the care of Choya is a huge concern that is our priority. If things didn't pan out, the husband was willing to stay and have me come instead. Can't believe that I managed to make this trip happen. There were so many moving pieces. I put things in place and prayed for the best. I can't be more thankful that it is happening. More about this later. 

It was hilarious because we thought to arrive at the boarding gate at 7am for the 7.30am SQ flight out. They did say that the boarding gate would close 10 minutes before departure time. Yet they sent people out to meet us halfway to the boarding gate. That was 7.05am. I was bemused. We got into our seats at 7.08am. Realized that we were the last ones in. It was a rather empty flight, as expected of this timing. THEN, get this, the moment we belted up, the plane doors closed and we took off at 7.12am. SAY WHAT.

I love complimentary inflight-wifi if I'm on vacation or a personal trip. I really don't mind it to check all my stuff and not to do work. I had plenty of time to text Bangkok peeps that I'm coming in. I didn't exactly tell them prior! I told two friends whom I knew I would meet. I didn't want to bother the rest, especially when this is a peak work period and many are also traveling and won't be in Bangkok.

We landed to a light drizzle in Bangkok. Cleared customs fast and the baggage retrieval wasn't too slow — all done within 40 minutes of arrival. We were still 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. I thought to just take a cab or get the hotel to send a car. But K insisted that she had time, and would pick us up and drop us at the hotel. She was literally on her way to the office, which wasn't near the airport at all. It was a giant detour from home to the airport, and to our hotel, then her office. K decided to skive off the morning (legitimately she could); she had a coffee with us before leaving. I was sooo touched. 🥹

อา เพื่อนรักของฉัน มันดีมากที่ได้พบคุณอีกครั้ง

O爸的福建炒蝦麵!

O dropped by with a surprise box of stir-fried Hokkien prawn noodles (福建炒蝦麵) from her dad! I was like, WHY! HOW?! It was a week day night. None of us wanted to go out, so we met at home. We just wanted to have a chat over one drink instead of knocking back a few glasses at a bar.

Ohhhh. The noodles weren’t a 'special' thing. It wasn't made because the dad knew she was coming over. Whewwwww. I'd have felt rather bad if it was. It just happened that O went home early for dinner and said she was visiting us. At that point, the dad was cooking dinner, and decided to cook an extra portion for us too. The dad filled up a box to feed both the man and I. WAHHHH. The box went into the fridge and became our lunch the next day.

When I opened it, it was like a good 500g of noodles and ingredients. I know because the man went to measure out one portion for 160g. Hahaha. He didn't care — he ate all the carbs in the day so that he could burn them off. And these type of carbs cooked so well? No regrets having them go into the tummy! This box was split into like two meals between us. Breakfast + Lunch for the man, and for me, it became Lunch + Snack. Gosh, soooo satisfying. 有口福咯!

There randomly was mackerel otah in the fridge. Added a strip for the man who really loves prawn and fish otah. Woah, these Hokkien prawn noodles were good! The dad made in the dry version that I prefer, with a bit of chilli tossed in. I added more sambal belachan anyway. Heh! It was chockfull of all the ingredients I love, including a generous amount of fish cake! There were pork belly, prawns, squid, bean sprouts and chives, and egg! What an unexpected treat! NOMS!

Duck Mee Sua and Mackerel At Morsels

Besides the noodle sets (now available at both lunch and dinner) and the a la carte menu, 3-course set lunches on week days are back at Morsels too. I love this little restaurant, but I rarely take friends there unless they have no dietary allergies or preferences. The menu can't cater to preferred diets. Of late, I seem to be going there for lunch more than dinner. 

This week's noodles are kiam chye (salted mustard greens) duck meesua noodles. I like this iteration. I had a cute appetizer of smoked trout, or at least that was what I thought. I didn't actually hear what fish it was. Hehe! It was crispy and non-offensive. The bowl held smoked duck breast, kiam chye braised pulled duck leg gyoza, homemade kiam chye, pickled cherry tomato, mee sua, kiam chye duck broth, fermented duck fat chili. That broth was lovely. Drank it all up.

The man took a 2-course set lunch. There was an appetizer of an oyster and a pani-puri. Too cute. The starter was cured scallop carpaccio; it was full of umami indeed as the scallops sat in a smoked zucchini dashi, fermented cucumber gel, wakame tsukudani. The catch of the week was a mackerel. The mackerel fillet sat in soy dashi, rhubarb compote, edamame cereal. 

We also added on more oysters with tamarillo shrub, pear cucumber vinaigrette, and three cute pidan dumplings in umami chili. Slurrrrrrp. Opted for a crisp and unprocessed namazake (萩の鶴 / 2023新酒の生メガネ専用 / 生原酒) to go with the food. Didn't bother with dessert.

It's not often that the man and I are both free to have lunch together. Hahahaha> we usually work through lunch or schedule a workout of sorts. Most dinners are also eaten with the dog in tow. Today, it was an unexpected free slot, so we decided to ditch the dog and have ourselves a delightful lunch. 

Let's Get Fitter Together

I didn't bother embedding Donald's photos. Ha.
You can see them on the fb post itself.

We all try to do something notable to celebrate our 50th on this earth. Or not. Political analyst and behavioral economist and a good friend of mine, Donald Low, has chosen to mark his 50th with a fundraising campaign for mental health advocates Resilience Collective, an essay about his ageing vs health and weight loss journey, and an 800-meter fun run with friends in Singapore on 11 August. There'll be whisky at some point. Ha! 

At this age, we're all a little more aware of health and ageing. Well, we're living it. We see people around us die, we feel it, and we wonder, how best to die healthily. It's not about weight loss per se for aesthetics anymore; it's an effort to keep the heart less fatigued and the aneurysms at bay. Donald has chosen to make this public to of course raise funds, and to gather the friends and like-minded people together for a good cause. Of course I'm happy to support him in his endeavors, root for his good health and wish him a Happy 50th. 

Donald's essay on JOM is worth a read — 'How I nudged myself into losing 10kg in 10 months, as my doctor advised' published on June 30, 2023. (Yeah, JOM subscribers get the whole piece. If you're just passing by, you get a few paragraphs. :P) Private essays, social media posts and notes to friends are different. He doesn't publish thought essays and opinion pieces often in first person. Academics always are supposed to be neutral or take a side with a lot of proof to sustain a theory.  

He isn't a fitness professional or a trainer or an athlete. He wrote this piece from through the lens of a behavioral economist, and his personal experiences. He suggested 'nudges' are a sustainable way of altering behavior and counter one cognitive bias with another. Okaaaaay. I shall read it and silently compare it to mine. Hurhurhur.

I’ll describe my weight-loss journey through five behavioural insights: the use of a commitment device; the need to counter our (natural) tendency to be overconfident with objective measures and external accountability; the recognition that small changes, accumulated over time to develop into habits, are probably more effective than major overhauls of one’s diet; the benefit of starting with achievable near-term goals; and the value of a social approach to individual change (because humans are inherently social creatures).

This piece talks about our assumptions when using BMI as a gauge for health and calorie-counting as a dependable yardstick. Fair enough. I don't really care about counting calories. I'm not concerned about BMI but I still feel that it can be a warning to me to do something. If BMI picks up, I think my fat to muscle ratio would be wayyyy over and intervention is needed stat. Till today, I still don't own a 'fitness tracker' of any sort.

As many do, Donald faced setbacks in this weight loss journey. He didn't initially succeed in that weight loss even when he upped his exercises and be stricter about his physical activities and trained hard for a race. His blood pressure didn't go down, and his triglycerides count was still off the charts. He had to cut down on his phenomenal appetite for alcohol and his usual intake of carbs.

By race day in November, I had shed about 5kg from half a year ago. I completed the race in just over 23 minutes—quite respectable for a 49-year-old, I told myself. So I thought my weight loss journey was over: I had lost the 5-6kg I wanted to lose, I was race-fit again, and I had managed to do both without cutting down on eating or drinking significantly. 

In December last year, I did another health check to confirm what I had confidently assumed—that I was in good physical health. The results showed the opposite. My blood pressure had gone up, and I would now have to take medication for hypertension. My triglycerides had also not come down much despite all the running, swimming, and weight-lifting. Clearly, I had been overly optimistic that losing weight, and being able to run and swim (much) faster, would translate automatically into good health.

If exercise has never been part of your life, you need to incorporate it. Don't wait till you get a health scare to do so. Many of us have had a ton of activities filling our days as children. Loads of physical fun. We should keep this habit. I'm glad that many know the value of keeping up with a regular fitness regime. And no, walking isn't sufficient unless you're walking 100km a week or you have cardiopulmonary issues that prevent your heart rate from going up. 

For me, I’m not hot about exercising with friends per se. I'm perfectly fine doing it on my own. I'm not keen on group sports activities. Sure, it might be fun with friends — going to gym classes together where we do individual activities. I don't want to ‘run together’ or play badminton, tennis, the sorts. Those are very social group exercise, NO, thank you. If I exercise on a regular basis, I do what's fun for me, and what feels good. I don't need human motivation in that sense. I don't need another person to be present. I'm very happy going to classes on my own. 

If you're in my age group, then you'll totally feel and get what I'm saying. We should organize our medical insurance, estate and wills, and appoint our Lasting Power of Attorney. Let's all try to hit our 50th birthday fit and healthy. Good luck to us.