A month of the unnormal food

Its been almost a month since the death of my grandpa, and almost a month of vegetarian food for me. Pardon me for not mentioning this earlier.

The nun who performed the ritual for my grandpa told us to have vegetarian food for 49 days. This is so that we can help our grandpa and also to accumulate the fortunes for our future. I thought: okie, its just 49 days. Anyway, i love vegetarian food.

However, things aren't that smooth to have vegetarian food. Temptations, resistance and tortures are bound to set in. Other than 2 incidents whereby i accidentally, and i really mean accidentally, ate meat, i resisted all temptations to have meat.

I admit that i am not a true vegetarian, but i do think that vegetarian = no meat. However, thats not exactly the thing! No onions (one of my fav) for me... sob...

So i just shun away from the meats, which anyway it translate to me killing less animals and saving probably a few. For the number of days that i accidentally consumed meat, i'll compensate by adding the no. of days i had them, even if its by a slice. So, instead of finishing my vegetarian diet on 1st sept, i'll have to extend it to 3rd sept.

I know it isn't right to do that and that i should have done it constantly and not breaking it up in between, but its ACCIDENT!!!! lol...

For the past 1 month, i realised something which i won't know til i become a vegetarian. That is the fact that its so difficult to find stalls or places that sell vegetarian food. I sympathise and really respect those true vegetarians who can maintain their diet for months, years or even decades... They are truely great.

I almost gave up. The difficulty in locating the stalls selling them, the price of vegetarian food being much more expensive than the normal meals we had, unless u just order the greenish veggies just persuade and test your limits.

Having lunch during sundays on workdays in town is the worst!!! The only place it seems selling is takashimaya and the food there is so ex!!!

Sometimes, colleagues or friends want to have fast food like KFC or Mac, and helplese me can only watch them chump the meat burgers, jucy wings and tighs, while i eat the coleslaw or fries, drink the chilli sauce, scoop the mayo and think that the fries are just the juicy meats they are having.

2 more weeks to the end of my 49 days of diets. I could not wait to eat meat again. Come on, i am an omnivore.... haha.. And i really hope that there will be more vegetarian food.

Perhaps the no of halal food stalls should equate to the no of vegetarian food. On hindsight, the vegetarian food isn't that bad, and i think i probably will still have them when my diet is finished, being more aware of the places that sell good and cheap vege food.

Try it some day and u will experience the wonders of having them!!

=)

Charm: Every Man dies. But Not Really Every Man LIVES.

The lost of identity

Olympics is a great joy to peoply like me, who loves sports. Last sunday night, i was rooting for China to win USA in the basketball match, and i was amazed by a few of China's players: Yi Jian Lian, Yao Ming and Wang Zhi Zhi.

Yao and Yi packed so much height but yet they are so agile, while Wang commands a rather good position in the center as compared to the bigger, stronger americans. Though being a fan of the action, star packed American 'Redeem Team', i still support China as i'm a chinese.

However, as what is expected of the amercans, they won China and thrashed them by 31 points. The score being 101 - 70. I was disappointed of course, being chinese, but was also inspired by the game.

The following day, I travelled to Potong Pasir, met up with my friend, and had some games of basketball. I was teamed with 3 chinese guys from China, coincidentally, playing against a group of singaporean chinese from a particular secondary school. However, a remark made by one of them, followed by laughters from his team mates, whom i think were school team players from that particular school, angered me.

In my last post, i mentioned about the nationality discrimination. However this game against the 'kids', worsen the thoughts that i had for the education system that probably teaches our very own Singaporeans.

The kid, being a chinese, from probably one of the above average school, said to the chinese in engllish:" This is OLYMPICS!!!" ----> Probably referring to the kids themselves being the "mighty" American team, and my team, consisting of 3 chinese, being the china team. That remark, i think, is a very rude and unrespectful to the chinese, and being a singaporean sharing the same identity with these kids, i felt ashamed.

However, that did not end. The kid, whom i think seldom speaks chinese said in chinese to them:" Zhe shi AO YUN!!", before laughing off with his team mates.

This incident set me thinking about the current generation of singaporeans, probably including those older than me. Though being Singaporean, have these people, be it of all races, forgot where their ancestors came from, forgot what the education have been teaching us, forgot about the moral issues, the root of their being, etc? If they were to go or probably migrate to another country, would they do the same to Singapore? Or would they be what they are now without the protection of Singapore's government on education?

Lets just spend a few minutes and think about the discrimination u all have against others and if we have the right to do that.

Charm: Ugly is only skin deep.

Nationality Discrimination

I always thought that in a multi-cultural-nationality country such as Singapore, we can accept the likes of foreigners living with us. However, I was proved wrong this week.

I can still remember sometime back when i was still a teenager, rushing to work in Marina Square, i had some stuffs in my mouth. On the overhead bridge, unknowning that a bangladeshi worker was cleaning up the floor on the bridge, i spat. He stared at me, probably thinking: How can you singaporean just spit in the public?

When i glanced up, seeing him, i felt so guilty. I told myself, if i were in his shoes, i would probably be thinking the same. So, i told myself that i would never do it again, notheless, look down on them.

well, i had been working since 2001 in the service sector, and i do see more and more mix nationality couoples. Hmm... u may think, nah... so what?

However, this week, i encountered a problem, and i may be stereo type, and maybe most singaporean will think this way:
-How can a singaporean guy be with a china girl?

Perhaps, most singaporean people will have a rather bad image of china people, indian workers, bangladeshi workers.

I am not. I think they are doing a great service to beautifying our country, filling in the empty slots in jobs that we Singaporeans will not even touch. Aren't they noble?

Yes! they are paid and this is their job. But would u do it if u were in their shoes?

Okie, back to the topic... I know this guy who is a singaporean and this gal who is a chinese from china. This guy has no discrimination against nationality just like me. The 2 got together as a couple.

However, ever since this chinese arrived in Singapore, it seems she has been a target to be bullied by her colleagues around her. These 'colleagues' are Singaporeans and Malaysians, and are also of chinese race. The worse? Upon knowing that the 2 are together, they discriminate the lady to the point of not giving her any pride.

They said that she came to singapore to work and to find a singaporean boyfriend - this, personally, i think, isn't true.

they said that she cannot look for a partner here - this i dun think they are in the right to judge as its not indicated in her contract and not to say in her love life.

okie... there are lots more of discrimination....

I think, we singaporeans, should not be proud that we are an efficient country and forgot that we got to where we are partly because of the foreign workers who came to singapore to work. Love is something that may be hard to control and that u don't plan it, but when it happens, it do happens. If we are to put opurselves in their frame, i am sure u won't want out nationality to be discriminated too..

So, come on, don't just judge people by where they are from and put them with the crows. China has such a big population and that those that we see, have a bad reputation, may not be those that have a good character. DUN LUMP THEM TOGETHER!

For example, if someone murder another person and this is reported in another country. Would u like it to have them say, hey!!! Singaporeans are all murderers!

My answer will be NO!!!

Lets be more civilised and not be proud because we are where we are now. Everyone's human and differs from one another. Judge them only after u have seen them. Dun Discriminate them.

Charm: Dicrimination harms peace and harmony.

The wonders of Durian.

The recent trip back to grandma's house had been a 'fruitful' one for me. As an avid lover of durians, and coinciding with the durian season, its been a 3 days non-stop during hunting; hopping for me and my sister. Eating non-stop of durians. The last day is just so good. With our best uncle, who sponsered us with tens of kgs of durians for the 3 days. haha... its really filling.

On our last day, we'd enjoyed the benefit of this friend of my uncle, who arrived in a lorry of fresh durians from his platations. Wow!!! just eatting and eatting, packing 2 full boxes of durians back to Singapore. The price of all these durians may be expensive in their malaysian currency but if we are to eat there in sing dollars, its so cheap as compared to what we buy in Singapore...

So.. a picture says a thousand words. I'd prepared more than 10000 words for u all... enjoy!!!

The baskets of durians in the stall
The fresh durians arriving in the lorry
See just how many are there?
Try planting one on ur head?
This is my sister!! We are just so fasinated by the lorry of durians!!
She's not satisfied by the 1 durian which we assigned to her.
My uncle and my cousins!!!
The sky's gonna rain but posing with this durian will also do!!

Notice how durians drive people crazy?
we cramped ourselves in the stall because of the heavy rain
I got drenched while riding the bike to the stall. See how happy my sis is?
Rain is not going to spoil my mood for a durian buffet!
The durians are just so fantastic that the crowd keeps thronging in despite the flooding.

Charm: Whats comparable to having a full stomach?