Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn

Today is the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. It's the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'm not big on eating mooncakes since it's simply a ton of calories, and that sticky mushy taste isn't appealing to my tastebuds. Eiooow. I'm thankful that nobody would buy boxes of mooncakes for us because it's really not appreciated in this home. 

I still buy a few boxes here and there for people who like it. But this year, I needed to seek out vegetarian and halal options for mooncakes (from Delcie's and Fairmont Hotel) that could also cater to a low-sugar and gluten-free preferences. Oooof, yeah, people shifted diets for health or out of necessity, which is a good thing. 

One standard-sized 200-gram mooncake is like... 900 calories. I'll just round it up to 1000 calories. *gulp Most of us would cut up a regular-sized mooncake into eight small pieces to share with people. That one tiny piece is more than enough for anyone. Even a smaller 60-g snowskin version offers 100-calories to choke you up. Uggggh. Never mind the calories, it's the flavors of the mooncakes that I cannot fully appreciate.

The brands, clients and friends still gave me some mooncakes. I couldn't control what brands and clients chose; I've no guilt re-gifting the ones given by brands and clients, and some acquaintances since it's really a perfunctory gesture. However, the ones gifted by friends always mean a little more, and carry genuine well-wishes. So I try to have a bite of each mooncake. I have no preferences over whichever bakeries that produce the mooncakes. They're all the same to me. 

The smart friends went for the low-sugar options, or simply gifted me ONE BIG MOONCAKE or TWO SMALL MOONCAKES. They're so very clever. Hahahaha. I certainly do not mind a bite of one mooncake. That's an excellent call. Two regular-sized mooncakes from each person would be wayyy too much already. 

I didn't just carelessly give these gifts away. I shared them and did taste some of these mooncakes. I don't have a preference for traditional baked mooncakes or the snowskin versions with different fillings. I'm not very into either anyway. While fun and colorful with interesting flavors, they're just... ...  sugar-laden lor. A nibble or two of a mooncake will do. That doesn't mean a nibble or two of ten mooncakes. Just two mooncakes would suffice. 

This year, I tasted three mooncakes — a regular-sized traditional baked version (from Raffles Hotel), a traditional baked black Owa coffee with lotus paste and melon seeds (Mandai Rainforest Resort), and a mini-sized snowskin of whisky and lapsang souchong truffle (from Raffles Hotel, gifted thoughtfully in a pair). I didn't eat all of them in one sitting, obviously. I still have some frozen in the freezer. LOL

The Cost of Having Kopi with My Dog

I don't mind Tembusu at Botanics. I appreciate the indoor air-conditioned portion where they welcome pets. This is part of the previous Cafe Nicole and Under the Linden's new concept. However, I have a problem with pet owners who allow their pets to roam freely and don't understand why dogs ought to be leashed at a cafe. That is a huge issue. If Tembusu turns into a dog cafe style, I'm not going.

Plus the sector where the dogs are, the flower kiosk is there. I will literally break out into hives from the pollen. This is why I've never bothered to go to the group's other cafes. I'm really not a fan of flowers. Now that the flower kiosk is in operation, I might not be headed there often, if at all.

I looked at the items on the table. The breakfast set of two pretty nice eggs, and a thick slab of kaya-butter toast, and a cup of coffee, all cost $14.90++. The kaya wasn't even up to par. That's the price of dining out with dogs, indoors, at a cafe that doesn't offer shitty food. 

Let's not compare coffee to kopi. Nanyang local kopi is not quite the same as an Americano or a piccolo latte. We look at kopi. Honestly, it's hard to find a decent cup of kopi-o-siu-siu-dai for $1.30. It has been a really long time since I had one at a hawker center. (Let’s put aside the good Generation Coffee at Tekka since that's not a common thing.)

I rarely step into hawker centers now because they're simply not on my way to and fro destinations, or they offer food that I'm not keen on. I'm more often at kopitiams. Never have a coffee of any sort at an air-conditioned food court because those definitely suck.

So what do we end up with for consistency? A regular kopitiam that we like, Toast Box or Ya Kun, Killiney, Old Tea Hut or Fun Toast... the sorts. And that's the price of kopi in Singapore. And if I want to have my dog with me while I have this cup of kopi, then I will have to pay more for the 'privilege'. I had better make sure that I can still afford a daily cup of kopi in ten years.

Much Ado About Hair Ties

The originals.

I had to see what the hype is all about. Kknekki. I'm out of hair ties anyway. The cheapo ones are too cheapo and they spoil within months. Hair ties simply disappear as well. I have no idea how they do that. Then I'll need new ones. 

Bought a bunch of hair ties from Kknekki. The thing is, these woven hair ties were originally developed and manufactured by Dooji in South Korea. Then the brand was bought over in 2015 and now distributed by Bon Dep, a Scandinavian design brand. That was a standard licensing contract. Then in 2023, Bon Dep and Dooji entered a new partnership agreement. So Bon Dep owns the global Kknekki trademark, and Dooji continues to be Kknekki's exclusive manufacturer.

To that, I giggled. If it's manufactured in South Korea, then we all know how the quality would be like. All our hair things literally come from South Korea now, aside from the usual Chinese suspects. Unlike hair clips which could vary in terms of quality across manufacturers, hair ties are slightly more uniform. And currently, even the fakes try to match the quality of the originals.

Kknekki explains its
branding for AW26.

I also bought a random cabbage brand (山寨貨) to compare. These are like S$4.50 for a stack of eight hair ties. It wasn't at all surprising that the quality is similar. Short of sending these ties in for a lab test, to the naked eye and feel, the fabric, elasticity and all are pretty much the same. 

The plastic bead joints on both were equally smoothly held and didn't 'kiap' any strands of hair. Now the weave. I’m no weaver or fabric expert. The weave is slightly different in its angles. I don't know if the cabbages will hold up in salt water or sweat, or if they would fray quicker. Kknekki apparently holds over 60 individual threads. The cabbages might hold fewer. But both held my hair fine, and both didn't break my hair.

At €3.50 each; €14 for six, and €28 for a box of twelve ties, Kknekki has superb marketing and a credible and fun brand story to price their products as such. Kknekki imprinted its brand name on to the joint. That's the only discernible difference as of now, before any hair tie frays. 

The cabbages vs the originals.

Breakfast for Floofs and The Husband

I was a tad upset that the resort made a decision not to offer breakfast delivery for Choya to the room anymore. I only had two choices — she would either eat it at breakfast with us (out of the question), or I get it boxed to-go for the room. Of course I'd get it boxed. 

When I turned up for the breakfast on the first morning, I understood why. I went at 9.15am. The crowds were so bad that it didn't make it pleasant to be around the breakfast room after 8.50am. They were terribly under-staffed and over-stretched. The breakfast at the hotel sucked. It has never been great, but this round was particularly vile. 

The wifi went out on the first day for 12 hours. The engineers who came at 9pm to try to fix it, couldn't. I bit my tongue to tell them, 'of course not lah'. They're IT engineers or technicians! They need permissions to reset routers and reconfigure things. This isn't a matter of switching routers off and on, or align the television's date and time. The weak router overloaded and crashed when we tried to cast from our netflix app onto to the smart television. IT had to do some updating of software patches and shifting our suite's band to 5GHz. However, we were very appreciative that they bothered to work till 11pm before telling us that they couldn't do it, and would file an incident report for the IT team to follow up the next morning. 

Also, the coffee machine at the breakfast room broke down each time it saw me. It simply couldn't extract the beans as required, or it went bonkers with its sensors. It doesn't produce good coffee to begin with. The coffee beans were middling anyway. I didn't bother with the in-room Nespresso machine or its super limited choice of capsules. After two days of shit coffee in the morning, I gave up and went elsewhere for a proper coffee. I didn't need food. I'm never a breakfast person. Eating this early sends me into IBS hell. But I need caffeine. 

After two days of nonsense, I bailed out of even sitting down for breakfast/brunch at the resort. NO. Even if it comes complimentary with the suite, the experience is terrible. They don't offer anything exclusive for the villas or the suites. Everyone is expected to turn up at the breakfast room and be treated equally to lacklustre food and exhausted staff. It's chaotic. I couldn't even call it an organized chaos. The staff was at breaking point.

I simply sent the husband down to collect the floofs' box. He could grab a bite too, since he needs brekkies and protein. Nobody could screw up eggs that badly. He went between 8am to 8.20am, and had a rather pleasant time. It wasn't that packed at that window. He got his four egg whites and two eggs (with yolk). Heheheheh. He would also try out whatever dishes that didn't look like crap.  

I doubt I'm staying at the hotel again, even if it's the only one that offers a full-sized fridge and freezer in its suite. It feels like they're trying to save costs and maximize room occupancy while on minimum staffing. They don't seem to bother to go the extra mile anymore. While the owners of the property and the general manager remain the same, something has shifted in the policies. They didn't even bother to send me an after-stay note or invitation to send in my feedback. Tsk tsk. 

The husband brought back the boxed food that looked fine since it was catered by Wholesome Paws. The quality is still there, thankfully. However, the resort's kitchen consistently forgot to give us the miso broth along with the kiddos' Japanese breakfast option. I wasn't bothered since I had bone broth for the kiddos. BUT, it's just a matter of attention to details. Tsk tsk. They did remember my request to alternate the kiddos' menu daily.

Most staycations with/for floofs work if you're staying a night or two, or yours take dry food with cooked toppers. Mine's on raw and sous vide. I need proper storage. The usual hotel rooms don't cut it unless they offer a real fridge and not a mini bar that can't keep cooked food chilled. 

This suite offers a full fridge and freezer — I maximized it by bringing my whole kitchen and plenty of food for the floofs. I like to be neat at the prep and wash area, so I brought dishwashing liquid, brushes, disinfectant spray, food storage boxes, well... everything. 

My floofs ate very well on this staycation. Choya is now demanding to eat four times a day. The total volume of food remains within range. I simply divvy up into four feeds. My schedule is literally worked around hers. This Ryo has also learnt from Choya; he wonders what's so fun in her bowl. He does check it out when she's done but I didn't offer him food, so he has learnt to ask me for food. When he's over at ours, he has taken to eating thrice a day; even on Sentosa with us too. This week, I gave Ryo an extra 60g per day, and for Choya, an additional 35g would suffice. They can't be over-eating too. With the extra exercise and fun smells on Sentosa, they're both mentally and physically stimulated, and have a voracious appetite. 

Why Can't Dog Owners Be More Considerate

I really wish dog owners would step up and be more responsible. It's not just educating yourself about what your dogs needs. It's reminding yourself that not everybody likes your dog. And not everyone welcomes dogs. Stop being so entitled. I have a dog, but it doesn't mean that I like yours. I do not blanket-take to all dogs.  

That evening at an event on Timbre One North, I grimly watched as their unleashed brown Singapore Special entered the grounds with a floofy white friend (who was leashed) and it trotted freely around. I looked at it and I was like, it either wanted to pee or poop or both. 

Choya was nicely chilling under the bench. I was on high alert. This SS had better not approach because I wouldn't be friendly. You could debate until the cows come home whether you're on Team Leashed or Team Unleashed. Justifying that 'my dog is friendly' doesn't mean anything. I've seen many 'friendly' dogs turn aggressive in five seconds, or go bonkers with so much enthusiasm that it is unwelcomed. In Singapore, it's illegal to unleash your dogs or cats in a public space. So that's that. 

And the pawrents? Happily greeted their friends and chatted, leaving their dog to run free. And that dog pooped right in the middle of a patch that people walk on, or stand and smoke. The pawrents were oblivious and didn't pick up the poop. That dog dropped light brown lumps in two spots. Eioooowww. 

Someone must have told them to leash the dog, so they did, after a good 10 minutes. The group sat down, and the mom of the SS told it to sit on the bench. At this juncture, nobody told them about the poop. She was in blissful ignorance and obviously still didn't pick up the poop. OMG. That dog's ass on the bench would hold traces of poop and anal juice. Seriously. If you let your dog onto a public bench, clean its ass or use a pee pad/mat. COME ON.

I didn't say a word to the mom or the friends. They didn't seem friendly. And I wasn't about to get myself into a pickle and spend the whole evening sorting this out. If their own friends didn't bother with those giant lumps of poop (that even I could see from this distance), I sure ain't doing it. Their own friends can step in their friends' dog's poop and pee. Why would I care. 

Fresh Food Boxes Delivered, At 5.30am

I wanted to give myself a break from cooking and food prep. It's more of me being unable to cater to the husband's wants in eating 4-5 meals a day; and they must all be different items. OMG. We could buy it, we could be judicious, but my gawwd. So I decided to try out fresh ready-made meals delivered to the door. Opted for Nutrition Kitchen for two weeks. 

I wouldn't bother subscribing for a month since we don't need to. It has to suit our timings and meal schedules for the week. There're many of these 'healthy boxes' caterers around. I just wanted to delve deeper to ensure that it's indeed separate entities and brands instead of one corporate company owning several brands, or one central kitchen shilling out their menus to different brands. The tiffin caterers have got a bad name doing this sort of stuff.

Some people we know didn't have a good experience with Nutrition Kitchen, and would recommend other brands. But for us, at this juncture, it has been going decent so far. The husband likes the flavors, choices and quality of food. The macros are properly counted, of course. 

At $20.20 per meal (more if sometimes you swap out items), they don't come cheap. But it is cheaper than if I buy ingredients to prep meals for two persons. The economics don't work out. We could get takeout, but it's too much of a fuss too. Sodium levels, grease and such. Decent quality ingredients cooked for us always come at a price. Fish is always an issue. It's like they didn't indicate where their salmon comes from, but it's likely Tasmanian (gosh the controversies...). It's not what I would prefer, but it would have to do. But of course many wonder how tough the steaks would be done this way. Well, the husband ain't complaining. Food is already delivered to the door. These steaks were surprisingly done medium… nearly medium rare, allowing space to be reheated; not at all tough or rubbery-inedible.

I don't leave the food in these environmentally-friendly sugarcane boxes. I transfer them to a glass container. They seem to keep well enough. At least some of the 'lunches' became dinner for the husband when he's got a couple of calls and late nights at work. 

Nutrition Kitchen indicated that since we chose the morning delivery slot, the food boxes would arrive daily for the week between 5.45am to 10am. We got a delivery dude whose route put us on a damn early arrival timing sial. Well, he has been consistent and dependable; he also texts me daily the moment he drops off the bag. For the first week, the boxes arrived by 5.20am. This is the second week, and he's been driving through the estate's gantries at 5am. I'm more or less awake by 5am too. YAWN. 

A Cool Breeze This Evening

It was mad blazing hot and humid in the morning. Then it was sort of thundery and rainy all afternoon. When 5pm rolled around, only a slight drizzle blanketed the area. We decided to stop by Grub Pasta Kitchen for easy drinks, and an early dinner. 

The grounds were wet, but the rain had abated. The temperatures went down low to 28.5dC. It was such a gorgeous breezy evening at the bistro. Choya was very happy to be sniffing around Bishan Park. She loves these after-the-rains smells. I just have to clean her paws thoroughly after this. 

Truth be told, each time she goes sniffing and licking, my heart jumps. Giardia eggs! Whipworms! Parasites! Protozoa! Fleas and ticks. Extra clostridium! Our city has too many humans, rats and dogs. I have no idea what is going into her stomach each time she sticks her tongue out, or if she inhales some horrible thing. She might not remember her stomachaches and diarrhea. I do.

All I can do is to wipe her down after as soon as I can, and hope she would be fine. Fortified by the supplements, I hope her gut microbiome returns to an acidity level that's sufficient to overcome the bacteria Such is life right? She gets such limited freedom. Everything she does is dictated by us. She doesn't have agency in that sense. I can't put her in a bigger bubble wrap and deprive of her little joys. 

I'm glad that her poop has stabilized two weeks after Round 3 of The Great Shitsplosion. We're also on Round 3 of a low dose of metronidazole. We'll see how this goes. I can't be complacent when it comes to clostridial diarrhea. It's a long and uphill battle... ... for the rest of the year. I can shelve what little of my travel plans now. 

When her doctor suggested getting her tested for Addison's since her bloodwork returned a low NaK, I hesitated because this was just about 1.5 weeks after her day of shitsplosion. If she has Addison's she would have more symptoms, and more indicators in her bloodwork. As much as this is called 'The Great Pretender', I know enough to recognize the signs, and weigh it against the Pacific Rimism (yes that's a thing) unique to these breeds. And I tend to err on the side of caution.   

These Sumatra Squalls

I have held off giving Gabapentin to Choya for months. Gotta restart. The monsoon months were thankfully not too bad. But now, thunderstorms are rolling in fast and furious and totally upsetting her. I'm afraid her gut microbiome is affected too. So it's a light dosage of Gabapentin as well in the recent weeks. 

I can't predict when the storms are rolling in, but a light dose doesn't hurt if the weather app is to be trusted. Or do one after. The point is to keep her cortisol levels constant. 

I used to love the rain, and thunderstorms. Lightning and all that. I still do. But I'm a tad weary of it now. And most certainly not at 3.30am or 4am. 

I loved storm-lit skies. 

Now each thunderclap finds fear 

Curled beside my feet. 

今年端午的鹹肉粽子

Chinese rice dumplings are one of those things that I really like, but I don't want to eat a mountain of it. I only eat Hokkien rice dumplings for the savory intense flavors. It's hilarious when every year in May and June, when the Double Fifth Festival comes round, and I find a few rice dumplings in my freezer that are from the previous year. Hahahah 

But last year, I made concerted effort to eat them before this year. And I didn't anyhow stock too many. So this year, I only found two in the freezer before the new ones came in. Hahahaha. Two are fine; they're like psychological safety keepers in case I suddenly need food. Like how I always keep an unexpired can of spam in the larder. Heh.

This week was rough. The quarter is closing, and it's hectic for both the husband and I. Cleaning up Choya's liquid poop or taking her out to poop and seeing her in pain added to my stress. I told the husband to compartmentalize and let me handle it. He needs to expend more brain cells to sort out his work. He has been on calls till midnight, and up again at 7am. 

We needed easy and quick meals. We have sous vide chicken breasts frozen, and these are easy to thaw out to add to any meals. I steamed sweet potatoes and grilled pumpkin. So we have easy carbs too. And rice dumplings came to our rescue. I'm very lucky to have the friends' Papa Tan's rice dumplings again. It's a privilege to receive these homemade gifts when the friends' parents are still robust enough to make them. 

I also hopped in on the shipping when J ordered rice dumplings from Joo Chiat Kim Choo. They offered mini-sized dumplings too. Perfect. I can't eat that much glutinous rice! Got five pieces for myself. I generally don't need any additional sauces to go with rice dumplings. I'm conscious of sodium levels and such. But adding a dash of sambal or XO sauce is often fun. 

Soft Boiled Eggs

I have an egg boiler for the convenience of it. It's great for hard-boiled eggs. But it took two attempts to produce soft-boiled eggs. This boiler runs very hot, so I needed to understand its science. The knob's markings for soft-boiled, half-boiled and full-boiled are completely inaccurate. 

I simply count the time now. Even for fridge-cold eggs, I can't push it to 6.5 minutes. It only requires a max of 4.5 to 5 minutes in the cooker. Then I remove them, letting them sit for another minute in the shell, then I'll dunk it in an ice bath to stop it from cooking further. 

I could have just used a good old pot and water right? That would be easy. But I was too lazy to remove all hob cover and all the things atop to put a pot of water on the boil. So I insisted on using the egg boiler. Heh. 

Soft-boiled eggs at home are so tasty. I can use better eggs (that don't stink), a better quality of soy to enhance all the flavors. Aside from pepper, I also add a sprinkle of garlic and onion powder. The husband loves it as a protein boost before hitting deadlifts or bench presses. He can't eat more than that before a workout. 

It was raining that morning, and we couldn't go out to play or to a Toastbox or Ya kun for the husband to have his fix of eggs. So I boiled up some. There was coriander in the fridge, so it was added to the husband's soft-boiled eggs. The dog likes coriander too. So she also had two leaves, plus a quarter of a hard-boiled egg with her breakfast. Heh.

Grew Peppers

Before I knew it, we are in June. This is the middle of 2026. Time does its stately pace, unperturbed and unbothered through the chaos of the world. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. What we make of it is our choice. Doing 'nothing' in a day is a luxury to me. I have to make the calendar fit in 'nothing' in order to allocate space for myself. And doing 'nothing' still means sorting out the dog's routines and needs. Akin to all who are parents, caregivers, and even domestic helpers. But less taxing for me. It is very hard for us to shirk away from responsibilities and obligations. 

I already feel the march towards the end of life. Mortality. Look at how many people are ill at this age, or dead. It's not depressing to me. It is the march of seasons, and of life. It is what it is. I can attempt to keep healthy if my body's genes and cells don't suddenly decide to mutate. I can only try to keep mobile for as long as it's physically possible. I don't get a say in when my physical body degenerates. That's both up to God, fate and science. 

In the hectic drum of these few weeks, I didn't even notice that the peppers sprouted in the Click & Grow trays. I only remembered to refill the water in the trays once every eight days or so. I mainly use them as a night light. LOL I don't care about flowers or plants, as you know, and I'm deathly iffy about flowering things. 

I always try to grow leafy greens instead of flowering things. Bok choi, kale and all that. Those are easy to eat. Well then, these peppers. They flower. I chuck them in the study. The husband likes seeing them, and the pollen, at these limited pods, is controlled. I can tolerate them.

We had two types of peppers grown. The fat ones and the thinner ones. Plucked the ready peppers. It's time to eat them. These peppers keep fine in the fridge for up to two weeks. They don't turn moldy in such a short span of time. They simply dry up. 

Paired them with random foods. With soon kueh, atop leftover slices of pizza, with to-go boxes from GyG, the roast chicken from the supermarket etc. The peppers went well with all of them. Hehehe. There's a bit of heat in them, nothing they're peppers, not chilli padi, so there's still this underlying hint of sweetness to them. 

The Season for Sweet Mandarin Oranges

I’m not keen on eating mandarin oranges or mikan as fruits. Somehow, they always give me an immediate sore throat or a headache. It's cloying, not exactly refreshing even when chilled. But as orange juice or hallabong juice, they're fine. 

The husband has no such issues and loves his mikan and mandarin oranges, especially the hybrid Red Beauty, and the Korean Hallabong the Red Hyang. He has not much interest in the lukan or ponkan, and no-no to Golden Beauty. The husband loves the jelly-like pulp of Red Beauty. Okay lor. I don't quite fancy it. I prefer the tate and texture of mikan or the Korean mandarin oranges. 

Whatever it is, the mandarin orange peel could be soaked in water, and be used to water the three pots of surviving plants placed outdoors. Wheeeee. 

My usual fruit stall got a great batch of Red Beauty from a farm I specifically wanted. The quality is different from say, the ones sold in cheap batches at Fairprice or CS Fresh. I wondered why the price difference, aside from the packaging. So I bought a cheaper box to try and compare. Well, let's just say the higher pricing at my fruit stall was worth it.

While I have gotten the many cartons (as bulk purchase) as gifts for some friends and older folks, I bought a few cartons of mandarin oranges and mikan for the husband, as well as for bai-nian greetings when we do the limited number of visits during the first week. There should be at least two in the car, and two in the bag for us to bring to anywhere, and as a back-up. I don't want to give people shitty oranges, so this year, I use Red Beauty and Sakura Mandarins.  

It's Definitely Gabapentin Season

It's damn sian to be woken up when I'm fast asleep because of a thunderstorm. Well, it isn't the crackle of the thunder or the rain pelting against the windows per se. I can easily sleep through those. But Choya can't and she's frightened to death of thunderstorms. So I have to be awake to sit with her. 

It's even more deplorable in this scenario — if I'm not asleep by 10.45pm and am awake to do chores and such, and when I'm ready for bed at midnight, the thunderstorm booms at 1am. WTF. It has been doing that for a few nights now. At least these 1am storms do mean that I can sleep by 2.45am or so. Not too bad.

I can't even like sleep in the living room when the thunderstorms roar. She needs me awake and moving. Music doesn't calm her down. Only Gabapentin does. But it doesn't work instantaneously. Sumatra squalls simply decide to form, rather unpredictably. I'm not awake to catch it. My voice seems to calm her down.

She vacillates between wanting to be carried, then put down, then be carried. It's rather exhausting. Reading a random essay seems to calm her down. She doesn't want me to talk to her; she wants to hear my reading voice. The academic tone. Okay. Can. That's my work voice.  

The Sumatra squalls are really annoying. They bring thunder that rumbles every 15 minutes or so as they pass. It takes about 1.5 hours for each squall to fully clear. We're still in inter-monsoon. Good lawwd. I can deal with the 1am storms. I might lack sleep but I'm not incapacitated the next day. These Sumatra squalls that come at 3am and 4am are the worst. Those are debilitating. Or when it stops raining, and I think the thunder has stopped, it happily rumbles again an hour later. wtf, truly.

I've eased off on Gabapentin for a few months, but it's the season to dose Choya again. I do need to keep her cortisol levels constant, and her body's immune system calm and not thinking that it has to fight inflammation (and anxiety) all the time.

It's not as if the thunderstorms will ease up when the Northeast Monsoon finally arrives in like 10 days. We're just going to get dunked with rain and thunder crackling again daily. Bringing out rain-gear and dealing with the wet ain't difficult. Dealing with a dog with true astraphobia in a full-blown anxiety attack is quite another. 

A Foot Rub!

I'm not bothered to hunt down for spas in Bangkok or massage places. This isn't on my to-do list at all. On this trip, I honestly had no time. I would rather wander the streets to soak up the sights and sounds than to sit in a recliner for a foot rub. 

On a day when it poured down at lunchtime, that oddly gave me the leisure for a two-hour foot rub. Heh. We simply walked in to a random shop that looked bright and decent. It was! We're not smack in town, so the prices were reasonable too. I forgot the exact prices, but it was something like S$40 for a two-hour foot rub and S$50 for a body massage with the usual oils. 

I was downstairs at the recliners for a foot rub. It was a nice space that wasn't overly done up or cluttered. My therapist kinda knew that I didn't want something really hard, so she made it soothing. Then she did a 30-minute shoulder and back rub. I told them not to touch my head. I didn't want to trigger any vertigo episodes on this trip although I do have medicine. That was really comfortable.

The husband wanted a massage, so off he toddled upstairs for a two-hour stretch. He was at the gym for a heavy benchpress and squat session. So he was aching all over and needed to ease out tons of knots. Ooof. He got that done and felt so much better.  

Water Storage Tank Woes

The second (developer-installed) water storage heater tank in the flat split and leaked. The water cascaded down from the false ceiling. A WATERFALL. I looked at the dripping ceiling and didn't even shriek. This is my permanent nightmare. Came to pass. I really dislike water leaks of any sort, and especially those coming down from the ceiling. UGH.

On the bright side, I was home and luckily for me, I knew what to do. (Thanks SkillsFuture courses of Plumbing and AC Maintenance 101.) I could immediately turn off the valve at the pipe to the tank, tried to drain it a little, and cleaned up. Mopped the floor thoroughly for now. I'm beyond thankful that the plumbing crew managed to come in the next day. THANK GOODNESS. 

This was the tank that had its thermostat replaced in 2021. So the tank held secure for a few more years and WHOOSH. This original developer-installed tank is too big for two persons in the flat — 56-liters. In order to remove the cracked tank, the crew had to slice off a giant chunk of the false ceiling, a few railings, and removed two lights hanging off of it. Walaoeh. 

After all the sawing, they had to drain the old tank, which meant another round of ponding on the floor. Which is fine, because it helped to remove this initial layer of dust. I handed the crew old t-shirts to lay over the dust and water. That would do for now. The real cleaning and mopping would come later on. 

I rolled eyes at the 56-liter tank. It was huge. I honestly didn't need such a huge second tank. A 25-liter will do. The installation was painless. That was much easier to handle for any crew. 

And on the same day, at the same time, I also replaced my front door's digital lock. It was oddly not too chaotic. Removing the old lock and installing a new version was surprisingly quick though. My old lock's dimensions and latches complemented the new one.  

The plumbing crew replaced the false ceiling and plastered it up, and had the kitchen lights fitted back. But of course the paint colors don't match. Never mind. As long as the tank is new and properly installed and running fine. The kitchen lights seem to be holding okay for now.

Damn. I cleaned house. I vacuumed thrice, and mopped thrice, alternating. Luckily I also covered up the kitchen counter. Otherwise it would be madness. I also wiped down the counters and table-tops thrice. 

My First Visit to a QB Premium!

After about 10 months of not bothering with my hair or stepping into any salon (since November 2024), I decided that it was time for minimally a trim. It was a 7.30am start that morning, but I had time to stop by the gym. As I finished up my workout, a thought popped into my head.

There's a QB Premium at Gucco Tower with three stylists, and they seemed really experienced, fast and efficient. If I just want a quick cut, that's simply 15 minutes. 20 minutes tops. That would suffice. My hair is long enough for any average stylist to trim and not mess up. I don't know why I keep thinking of QB Premium as a barbershop for men. Hahahah. The husband goes to them too.

There was barely any queue. The guy in front of me was quickly attended to, and in about five minutes, it was my turn. I didn't bother to pay $2 to choose a stylist. I don't know any of them. Choosing one is the same as not choosing. When my turn came, the stylist that attended to me seemed really practiced. I was watching all of them as I waited. So many people come through daily at this outlet. Practice makes perfect indeed. 

He took two inches off of my ragged ends. Roots and scalp obviously felt lighter, and it was overall neater. $24! I was done in 20 minutes! This would do wonderfully. I was extremely pleased with the sudden idea. 

I didn't have to fuss about making a trip to a specific hair salon. I simply went in the hour that I was free in the middle of the day. I didn't have to sit for three hours at a fancy salon for a trim, cut, and a hair treatment. I cannot be bothered to walk into a salon to have to do small talk or be sold products and services that I don't want.  

On A Shokupan Hunt

Ever since Fine Dining Bakery Mhd Sultan Road suddenly closed down (without prior warning) after a decade or so in business, I have been on a shokupan hunt. There're a few bakeries that do it, but not quite to Fine Dining Bakery's standards. They're generally okay. Every bakery would have a slight tweak to its ratios. I just need to find one that I like. 

Currently I've only found Paaru's iteration that pleases my tastebuds. However, they have only just brought it back and I don't know if it's a regular feature on pre-orders, with collection day pegged to Fridays between 10am to 5pm. I don't mind putting in pre-orders but it would be more convenient to have those loaves done daily and simply on the shelves. 

195 Pearl's Hill Terrace is really quite painful to get to if you're driving because of how the road up to the hill and its carpark are designed. It's a nightmare to attend events there. Don't bother driving. I'd have to pop by early to collect the loaves if I don't want any angst with drivers parking there.

If I have the dog with me, then I can't even have brunch or lunch there since there isn't an outdoor table or even chairs. There's a bench to wait at. and I can probably do coffee. BUT, the area is crawling with mosquitos and the air is deathly still, and humid. Not ideal. Collected loaves that day — for myself and for the friends. So at least that trip is worth it, and I wasn't too bothered by the swarming mosquitos. 

I politely requested for the whole loaves to be sliced up. They do it thickly into six slices. That worked nicely. So if you need your loaves sliced, don't go between noon to 2pm, they're flooded with the lunch crowd. Pick up your loaves at an off-peak timing and nobody would feel hassled.

One could have a slice of shokupan in so many ways. The man loves to have it with otah and butter. To me, one of the best ways is to have it is when freshly baked, with seriously excellent butter. An egg done in any way, is optional. Absolutely satisfying. 

開年初二 :: 吉祥如意福滿門 :: 蝦仁煎蛋

I find a lot of joy in thinking about prepping food for the dogs. I have no interest in giving them treats for the sake of feeding them. I enocurage them to eat well in their main meals. Ryo said he would like two main meals a day, and if he is hungry on some days, he would ask for breakfast or a late-afternoon snack. Choya stuck to her three meals a day. But she doesn’t mind four anyway. Hahaha. 

I like thinking about food for the floofs and nutritional value they bring. I’m working on balancing Ryo’s gut flora after the major bout of diarrhea and antibiotics last November. I know what he’s allergic to, and his food preferences. It’s both fun and challenging figuring out his diet in order for him to give me consistent solid poop daily. 

Bought amaebi for everyone. They all had the sweet prawns as sashimi on the day they were bought. Ryo isn’t fond of raw seafood, but he ate the amaebi. Choya loves prawns; she’ll eat them in any form. The husband had them as a shrimp cocktail with whisky. Haha.

For $16.90, this was a generous pack. The floofs and the husband couldn’t eat that many prawns in a day. I didn’t want to trigger any histamines or allergies in the floofs from over-eating. So the next day, it was time to sear the prawns. Then it could keep for two more days. #ImpieCooks2025

Ryo can’t do chicken, turkey and eggs. I seared his prawns plain instead and flavored them with thyme and oregano. He definitely prefers prawns (and fish) cooked—seared, really, so there's more umami for him. Made Choya an easy omelette with prawns and kale. She loves eggs, and she loves it when the eggs come with filling. 

As for the husband, I made him a thick omelette with loads of minced garlic. And kale. The kale in the little pods is still growing and going strong. Might as well harvest and use the leaves well. The sweet prawns made the omelette so fragrant. The husband liked having that for breakfast, with kimchi. Heh.

Breakfast was hearty this morning for everyone. Except me because I can't do breakfast much. The floofs and husband needed some fuel before going out to play. Everyone is pleased with the flavors and variety of food they’re getting this week. 

What A Busy Two Weeks!

I was a bit flooded by work (paid and unpaid) over last week, the weekend and this week. It was a tad annoying because a portion of it requires putting on my game face to deal with human emotions. I'm not practiced at that. I probably came across as ridiculously mean. But it's a good thing! I didn't intend to plunge so deep into work in January; I was hoping to do so in February, but all right. I'll take it.

I had to get off my lazy ass and run to five venues over nine hours on both Saturday and Sunday. I found a slot to take Choya for a scheduled heartworm (and hookworm) vaccination jab; and kept her quiet for the rest of the day. Thankfully the 'second monsoon surge' didn't pelt down. They were just rain showers and drizzle. Whewwww. She was perfectly fine because there was almost no thunder at all.

I had to find somewhere to plonk the dog to entertain her too. She went off to her 'Sunday Doggos Social Club' at Potong Pasir where all her Aunties were happy to have her sit with them for a few hours. Then she also managed to get a date for a pack walk. That kept her really thrilled. She'll hang out at Ryo's for a bit this week too. The man is a tad busy, but his schedule isn't as packed as mine. So I put him in charge to pick up the dog and feed her the mid-day meal. Heh. Dog seems rather pleased overall. 

I don't like leaving the dog alone for more than four hours a day. She'll do okay (if there isn't thunder) because she is very assured and comfortable at home. She knows we go away and we'll come back. Still. This Smol Girl dictates my schedule and sets a nightly curfew. Well, she needs her supper and a bedtime walk. So this means I'll always be home before 11pm, preferably at 10pm so I don't have to sleep at 1am.

I can of course do a few hours a week at any client's office or commit to two/three-day conferences. But I honestly can't imagine being stuck in an office full-time without the option of working-from-home at least for two days a week. My current flexible schedule of satisfying freelance and charity projects pays my bills, and is optimal for the dog, and my glutes and spine. 

A Monsoon Surge

Our national weather forecast got this absolutely right when they warned about the four-day monsoon surge over the weekend. We love the 22dC weather and lower humidity, but that comes with unrelenting rains. 

These flash floods are really annoying and real. So we do watch the news on flooding sites and not schedule any meets that requires us to be in these areas over the weekend. A few residential buildings and landed homes got their power and electricity knocked out. Acccck. 

The monsoon season is always wet, but a surge means relentless rain non-stop. I've got out all my rain gear and cleared the patio to air them. Laundry is an issue since the clothes can't dry and when they eventually do, there's this stink since there isn't sun. No, I don't have that fancy self-heating laundry rack. 

My Smol Girl is upset at having to pee and poop on wet grass. She is fine with the rain and all, but she hates wet paws and doesn't like her fur staying wet. I need to wipe her face and paws dry before she gets to them. In case of leptospirosis and all sorts of horrible bacteria lurking in the rain water, and soil remnants. 

Extreme weather conditions. It's wild, isn't it? Bangkok is having a super cool two weeks at about 18dC; Hong Kong hit its 11dC winter. It's a full-on monsoon surge here while LA is burning up with unceasing Santa Ana winds, and zero precipitation forecasted for 15 days.