If the signage is correct....

.... I'm going on an "Orgasm tour"!



That's because in Langkawi, I get the chance to do snorkelling, watching sunset, sight-seeing...

All of which culminates in this ageless saying for all holiday - "Have fun!"

Totally awed - New species discovery

Totally awed by the read from this website. Somehow feel extremely estacstic that the world is still so beautiful.... but sadly, disappearing fast.

From:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/*:newspecies&template=new_species

How many species are there?
There are approximately 4,500 species of mammals, 5,500 of amphibians, 8,000 reptiles, 10,000 birds and 30,000 marine species currently recognised by science, and that doesn’t include the untold numbers of invertebrates, bacteria and smaller beings (it is believed that there are 15000-20000 species of butterfly).

On average, 2 new species of fish are found every week, and it is thought that the jungles of the world contain many more amphibians and reptiles than have yet been named. Even now we still get a few new bird species discovered every year, and, amazingly, new species of mammal are still found occasionally.

New discoveries
Recent finds include a new Genus of monkey in Tanzania, a new parrot and forest mouse on a small Philippine island, a 'hairy' lobster (This was a whole new family, not species), a new snake in Vietnam, 5 new frogs and a new newt in Laos, a new stingray in Thailand, a new monkey in India, an unusual spitting spider in Madagascar that lives in family groups, and new sharks off Mexico and Indonesia. Borneo is a hotspot for new discoveries; from 1994-2004 361 new species were found there: 260 insects, 50 plants, 30 fish, 7 frogs, 6 lizards, 5 crabs, 2 snakes and a toad.

Sharing with you one of the links from this website:

Extinct bird, not seen for 100 years, photographed and eaten in The Philippines
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/worcesters-buttonquail.html

March 2009. A rare bird that was believed to be extinct as it had not been seen for more than 100 years has turned up in the Philippines and been photographed for the first time, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) has reported.

Unfortunately, the bird was eaten shortly after being photographed as no one at the time realised the bird's importance.

The bird, known as Worcester's buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri), was recorded on both video and still photography by a TV documentary team at Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya in January before it was cooked and eaten.

The WBCP hailed the discovery of the Worcester's buttonquail. "We are ecstatic that this rarely seen species was photographed by accident. What if this was the last of its species?" WBCP president Mike Lu said.

Jill Lowe and her killer cookie!

Not that I would have given up by weekend Phuket trip over watching Jill's guest appearance in S Factor, but missing this episode was a tad disappointing. Thanks to You-tube, I can see how Jill killed her participants with her "nice cookie". Hey, was she inspired by Hansel and Gretel?

S Factor

Under the intoxicating influence of SL LLG who has wheedled me into catching S Factor on Sunday night through his colourful illustrations of certain participants, I have decided to do just that.

The late hour of 10 pm and being at Tampines in the comfort of Goodest Friend's home did not dampen any possibility of spotting and crowning the most bimbotic participants of S Factor.

To say that SL LLG's initial introduction of key characters to look out for is minimally helpful is not doing justice to him, for when the screen lept alive, I have in as much brevity as possible, briefed Goodest Friend that in decreasing order of priority - Kris, Sonia, Holly, Michelle and Kay Kay would be my target sights.

Not that Kris is a gorgeous babe; on the contrary, she has been the most infamous underdog as yet to be voted out. No it's not the supraseeding look she possesses (well.. relative to the other participants), but her vacuous retort in the previous debate round has caught the delight of the TV audience by storm. Nor was the fact that she had been a common hate target (and this was made known very publicly) of other girls, but her most blurry lost countenance she exhibited when she answered questions - all of which had been fleshed out by SL LLG's actions in mockery.

Despite that, I do enjoy watching underdogs... and supporting them. So it was to my great dismay that the Holly InaneSense (not Holy Innocents which all the S factor participants clearly lack) of Holly and Kris respectively were to be voted out!
Sonia the pusher came back with a vengeance and she, being the least muzzled of all, will be my next watch!

Susan Boyle The Singer

Haha... Just loved the way Susan wiggled when being patronised by Simon before holding on her own "And that's just one side of me".

A clear slap to the face of age-ist and "look-ist".

Country Road... Take me Home...

..to the place.... I belong..

And long did the journey back to the land of sense and sensibility it took me.

Not yet quite drowned in the sea of work and (mainly) countless tuitions, moments of occassional indulgence did come in the weekends. Summing up a few key fond memories over the past 2 months, not in chronological order nor in order of preference:

(1) Sunset Grill.
We finally decided to hunt down this superbly ulu place in Seletar for the famed buffalo wings and chilling out at the corner of the world. Going with Goodest Friend, and my cousin and his goodest friend (basic math tells you it's 2 pairs for good reason), we cabbed down with instructions at hand to the driver, who understandably would take this assignment with a gulp in his throat at every wrong turn. We made it.

(2) Abi's visit
Another highlight where Abi came to Singapore from New Zealand where she is doing her PhD. My Ox classmate, my right and left hand man and woman (SL LLG and Goodest Friend) had been most accomodating, and had offered to accompany Abi either with me or alone to ensure she has the most enjoyable moment in Sing. That without saying earned Goodest Friend the comment that "I like WH.She's just so easy to talk to. Perfectly the type of girl for me.", and "SL is a very funny guy. It's always fun to have him around". From Goodest Friend who feedbacked "Abi is the most friendlyAng Moh I have ever met. I'm glad she said this is the most enjoyable trip she ever had"
Guess it's the case of all's well ends well.

(3) Breaking the Phuket News
Completely suffocated with swallowing this piece of news for the past 5 months, I decided to do myself a GREAT favour by announcing to the keen listener that she is going on a Phuket tour with me over the little weekend getaway for her birthday!
Speechless was the response.
Then came another sharing that we are going to spend our Saturday at this newly established hotel (http://www.capesienna.com/) where there is a jacuzzi in the room, which overlooks the beach. We decided we are just going to nuah on the beach and be totally incommunicado to the outside world.
The plan all came when Tiger airways had a promotion last year, and I snapped up two tickets to Phuket in November with good faith that Goodest Friend and I still remain bestest all the way up to her birthday. Same plan goes for the Cape Sienna accomodation. Go check out the hotel. Damn coolzzz siah.

(4) Undercover job.
Was really excited at the prospect of helping an organization to nap this guy who has been going around selling endangered animal parts. So was out on certain places and putting on my most trustworthy all-auntie-beguiling face. The moment I see the bugger, I am supposed to appear totally interested in an avuncular manner and slowly coaxing the unsuspecting one to flash out whatever he has. Alas, he did not come on that day. Wasted.

(5) Rock wall climbing
Totally freaked me out when I was doing it with my students for the CCA. Never climbed that far up and it was indeed an "eye opener" - eyes widened upon realising how my fear of heights have prevented me from progressing.
Solid fear.

Some days just don't have recessions

One day, someone by the name of Saint Valentine decided that it would be a most wonderful business model and to public service, to find a day that shall boost the economy irregardless of whether there is a bull run or a bear day. So thanks to him, all of us decades down to road continue to splurge and try to outdo other alpha males in ways more than one to see who can single-handedly boost the economy.

Pathetically, I am one of them. If Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith hadn't won the 2002 Nobel economics prize for their studies on irrational decision making behaviour, I would have been well on my way to publish something to that effect. Look, it doesn't make sense to buy flowers and book restaurants at a premium price on every 14th of Feb, but that just happens.

I bit the bait willingly, knowingly and most hopefully. Calling in Pietrasanta Italian Restaurant at Portsdown Road (at Wessex estate), I was told, almost unusually that I should arrive either at 6 pm or 8.15 pm, but not in between. I decided for the former anyway.

It all didn't seem to start off well even before the dinner. I suggested to Goodest Fren that we meet at Clementi and take a taxi to Labrador Park since the street directory says it's close nearby and I wasn't sure if the taxi driver know where Portsdown Road is. The taxi driver was still not clear of where Labrador Park was and made such a huge roundabout that by the time I realised it's not going to work and that perhaps I should try giving him the exact address instead, Lo and Behold! He knew where Portsdown Road was! Saying that it's near Buona Vista, he drove us there. I must have kicked myself because I shouldn't have been so presumptuous and should have told him the exact address before being a smart aleck. Never mind. Treat it as Lesson Numero Uno.

When I arrived promptly with goodest friend at 6, we discovered we were the first to arrive (You know about my occupation hazard that stresses on punctuality). As it turned out, the usual menu didn't apply. They had a standard V Day menu, so it's across the board. Not that we mind, but I just find it disconcerting that they should have two time slots. But being the first to arrive may not necessary means we would be rewarded. You know how the system works. The more efficient one gets penalized.

For some strange reason or so, we were not allowed to change tables despite my request. C'mon, no other guests know about it. Second, other tables with guests who arrived later were served first. What vexed me was when we had to wait 45 min between the appetizer and the main course!! All because they tried to synchronize everybody as late comers were served late, AND we were one of the last to be served.

This was consistent for the coffee and the dessert, to the extent that I had to personally request the waitress time and again (did I mention that we were sitting at the entrance which was not what we wanted and they just couldn't have missed our empty table). Roling my eyes, Goodest Friend was trying to be more assuring but clearly we were on the peripheral.

Goodest Fren even said once she saw this guy behind me raising his hand and telling waitress 1 something about the food. When waitress 1 went to tell Waitress 2, Goodest Fren overheard her murmured "Alamak" with a most sian look.

And yes, we were the last to leave. Thank you very much.

This despite that like the Nan Hwa Ching fish head steamboat, serving the bill was impeccably fast within 20 sec. And all this shit for $130.

Overall, the experience was mediocre at best because the waitresses there were just so inattentive and unorganized. The only thing that cheered me up if only slightly was when Goodest Fren said she quite like the food and the rustic surroundings. But I felt that they have squandered away the good endowment of what the black and white houses and greeneries have on this restaurant. We agree that in future V Day, we would be better off going to have buffet at a typical downtown restaurant and at least we can eat to our hearts content. For picturesque and remote expriences, leave it to non-V Day. Leson Numero Dos.

Still feeling peckish, Goodest Fren and I decided to go to Clarke Quay TCC to have our drinks and some fried calamari. Chatting through the remaining of the evening, we finally agreed that despite all that had happened, it was still quite a memorable one.

And oh, should you decide to patronise the restaurant and the nearby Cicada (which I think is even more fantastic) during non-peak hours, take to Buona Vista MRT, and then take 191. Cicada and another one up the hill are great watering holes, ut take note, the last bus leaves on the early side of 8, so be prepared to cab.

P.S. Incidentally, Sunday Times page 14 just clarified that it should be Saint Raphael whom singles should be praying to and not Saint Valentine, who is more of a patron for attached/married couples. St Raphael was the one credited for solving the crisis of lonely hearts.

Fish head steamboat. Must chiak!!

Lelong lelong!!

All ahn tees, ah sohs, ahn kers, and ah cheks.. Must share with you one very nice place to chiak, lim and tok cock sing song.

The place is..... drumrollll......
Nan Hwa Chong Fish steamboat. And the venue??

No, not Hwa Chong Junior College. But very good try... Any body out there wants to try??



If you got it right, it's within a kopitiam. You can choose the type of fish you want into. Got snapper, grouper, pomfret, etc. Then can order side dishes. We ordered pork chop and also clams. Very sedap!

Well, actually the exact location I also dun noe... But can tell you it's very close to Bugis MRT. Aiyah you noe lah. I always liddat one. Noe how to walk there but cannot name the road. But if you want directions, just take the MRT exit that says to Sir Stamford Raffles Hospital, then you walk out and turn right. Then walk all the way till you can see a row of shophouses. Beside the shophouse got this very big mosque. Walk up the road, and at the corner you can see already lor.

Anyway, I went with Goodest fren and Goodest friend's girlfriend - E. Miss E and goodess fren really like the fish stock, and you know what? Even as we were eating, this uhn ker came and out a reservation sign on our table, then say aiyah you know our place very famous one so that's why after you all leave, this place kenna chok oredi. But no hurry lah, can order for them to add stock.. but sometimes they very slow. Take a long time.

Only thing that is fast is call for bill lor. And this time, it's not even I call for bill. I was talking to goodest friend that we should call for bill, and this ahn ker quickly turn his head around and say, "Mai dan huh??"

Wah lau, super efficient leh.. Everything within earshot pertaining to mai dan he can hear. Other things like call for add soup pretend only.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Curious cases always attract curious audience. It is with this that Goodest Friend and I devoted our Saturday evening to Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchette and the unexpected Tilda Swinton.




Cleverly woven into the movie are events, things and characters of no seeming import. The clock and its maker, the war, the hummingbird, the captain......
By the time you realise the enormosity of it all of their place in the show in retrospect, you might have sucked in a big lump of air in sheer marvel and only to expirate these air with a gasp of WOW.

More than just curiosity and it certain does not kill the cat, three-legged or otherwise, the movie was deeply invoking. Despite the straightforward storyline of Benjamin being born old and then grow younger as he ages, he is nonetheless not immune to dealing with internal conflicts that are so familiar to the audience. The fact that he is aging backwards makes the confronting of all these dilemmas even all the more pronounced – of seeing loved ones aging and passing on, of responsibilities constantly shifting as the years wear on, of second-guessing what the other woman might be thinking, of listening into his own world what it means by sacrifice. Not that he would have been spared all these had his aging not been reversed. At the very least, it won't be of a greater magnitude than what we would normally experience.

At the end of the show, the audience clapped. What else would you have expected anyway, from this wonderful Case of Benjamin Button.

4th day at Taiwan: Alishan 阿里山國家風景區

We arranged with 高山青大飯店 a bus tour for sunrise, and we did a stop-over in many interesting locations. Early in the morning when we crept out of bed and waiting at a reception, we heard a loud Americanised accent "It's so damn early", to which another voice replied "Don't be so dramatic". Half expecting a kirin to appear (the one making a comment about being early), we instead saw two girls coming down.

We later learnt that the girls had met while studying in the States, and the kirin like voice was from Yokohama. She understood no Mandarin and relied on her friend and her friend's family members to translate. Along the way, exlamations like "Oh my God!" spewed forth her mouth whenever she saw frost, a sea of clouds, etc etc that led me and SL LLG to believe she definitely isn't doing a geography major, or have done any form of geography in schools for that matter.

The coach driver spoke Hokkien (閩南語) most of the time, and while I have belittled SL LLG's knowledge of this dialect, all this condescendence evaporated when he was to my great amazament, explained to me how he heard the guide explaining that there was a particular tree that was touted to be 2000 years old officially, was actually 4000 years as this tree was wrapped around by the 2000 year old tree. Thus the 4000 year old tree was trapped inside.





One of the stops we made was to view the Couple Tree (夫妻樹). The sun-rising watching exercise was almost a ritual to all. We did not really expected it to be such as eye opener. If you do not believe what the fuss is all about, I suggest you watch this video in youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFYFG4qAHKg

I could not upload the video I took, so that is the best you can get.

After that, we had breakfast as arranged by the hotel. We wandered around and took some pictures. After that, we went to Seven Eleven to buy some beef instant noodles and coffee. We decided to have that as our pre-sunrise breakfast. Night fell and we had our steamboat dinner at this restaurant to the left:




Climbing up, you will get to the train station.



We ordered bamboo shoots and roasted boar meat as side dishes. Very oishii!

Asia's tallest Starbucks to imbibe in coffee. What could be more carefree than just sitting there, chatting and talking. But we were quick to remind ourselves that whatever we gossip, the gods are nearer to us now that we were higher in the mountains, so we had better cut some slack in what we say!



Seems like the only clients coming here are likely to be Singaporean. Where we were seated, across the table, some Singaporeans populating it were spouting pidgin Chinese-Eng with our own beloved accent

5th day at Taiwan: Alishan National Parks 阿里山國家風景區

We spent our second day at 阿里山. As we did the bus tour the day before, we decided to take the train. The schedule is kind of special. There is only one train up, and the same train down for the entire day. It is really meant for sun-rise watching.



We took this train!

At a chilly 4.30 am, SL LLG and I made our way to the train station which was located just above the restuarants vicinity. It was already chock-a-block by the time we arrived, but we managed to get our seats. The train was those of a quaint type and sitting inside it brought you back to the 1940s. When we finally arrived at our destination, many passngers wasted no time to take pictures. That was when SL LLG and I got separated.



A picture I took after getting off the train

What made it confusing was that there were two viewing decks. SL LLG being the elderly one decided to settle for the lower one, while those healthy, hearty and colourful characters of a heath had no trouble climbing up winding path that led to a higher viewing ground. There were many Hong Kong and mainland tourists climbing up too, judging from their conversations.



At the upper viewing ground, there were a few pavilions.

All waited with bated breath as the announcement that the sun was abut to make its debut. Though I had watched it the day before, it was still quite an excitement. After taking a video and some pictures, I made my way down and reunited with SL LLG. On the way back, he shared with me how the guide at the lower viewing ground told them lots of interesting news - like the sun will bounce up and down five times (Lu Lu in The Noose. Remember her?? yah.. will unhesitantly quip Bounce bounce ball 小球球 had she were there), or that global warming will make the growth of plants in the Alishan area used to make wasabi very expensive ion the years to come. In addition, going to Taiwan to watch sun rise in April will require them to be there at 4+ am!! But they will be compensated by the blooming cherry blossoms, etc.

Feeling spent, we returned to have our breakfast and decided to spend the time sleeping because there is essentially nothing to do. When we wake up, we whiled our time away (this is a luxury in retrospect and I wonder when is the next time I can use these words). When we woke up, we went to view a performance by the aborigines (原住民) in particular the Tsou tribe (鄒族).



The 鄒族. Due to the Hans influence, the tribe might go extinct since the total number of individuals were in the thousands.

After that we walked around and decided to buy some stuffs. That was when we formulated the great Alishan mathematical conundrum, and even though ShiLong LLG had receive his Mads degree in Camb!tch, he did not manage to provide the least easiest step. Allow me to recount. Ready for the story sum? Here goes -

SL LLG and I dealt with our Taiwan finance in an easy way. One of us will first pay for everything using our own NT2000, and when that runs out, the next one will take over, and so forth. We called this the Shared Account system. We keep this Shared Account in a different wallet compartment from our own personal account.

While buying some 土產, I realised my personal account is not enough. At that time, I had already put aside NT2000 as Shared Account. So I told SL LLG I will pay first using the shared account.

To illustrate with some numbers, say I wanted to buy coffee powder which cost me NT 500. I had only NT100 in my personal account. So I decided to pay the remaining NT 400 using the Shared Account. As I later remarked that I will return NT200 to the Shared Account, SL LLG pounced onto me and remarked - seems like your maths is not very good. Can you spot the problem? It is rather apparent now as the way I phrase this problem has somewhat make it easy to spot the mistake, but when you are involved, it was strangely confounding.

Nevertheless, SL LLG offered an almost circuitous solution involving transfers betweeen Personal Account to Shared Account, and then also giving him x amount of money. In all that perplexng explications, I finally understood where I was wrong. However, I managed to come up with an easier solution - Just treat the NT400 as a loan from the Shared Account. All I have to do is to pay back that NT 400. The CamB!tch-educated SL LLG was surprised at how this elegant solution had eluded us. We agree on one point however, that the laid-back, insouciant days of vacation in Taiwan had cause our mental faculties to be decidely blunt.



The carpark. Above there were many reaturants. Still further up, the train station.

Once while strolling to pass the time, I lamented how the dearth of activities in Alishan made this place extremely boring if you are staying for 2 days. Sharing with him my business proposal, I said I will set up an Internet cafe and KaraOk. Sl LLG eyes were gleaming when I asked him what would his business proposal be. Without any sense of shame, in an almost unhesitantly manner, he quipped, "I will exploit the 原住民 living here, pouring drinks in KaraOk and performing dance, singing, accompaniment for clients, making sure that a trip up Alishan is worth their time!"

When night fell, we decided to try a different steamboat restaurant. The eagled-eye me happened to spot a quiant looking restaurant and suggested to SL LLG we should dine there. The interior decor was wood-based so it gave us a hark to the past kind of feeling. We picked a far end of the seat, and enjoyed the stew and conversations, eavesdropping on what another table of Singaporeans were talking in gusto to a Taiwanese guide.

Still not quite done with Asia's tallest Starbucks, we went back there again and had our drinks before making our way back to the hotel to pack up our stuffs.

The Apprentice and the Dowager

This is a tale about an apprentice and a dowager set in the Chink dynasty. While the best-intentioned SL LLG may have warned the apprentice that there lies a Dowager who breathes down the neck of anything called Humans different from her own kind, the apprenticen had already heard of this proverbial Cixi even before he started in January.

It does not require one to be a politics wunderkind to know that to engage in any form of confabulation with THE Cixi, tactfully diplomatic or otherwise, is akin to walking with a time bomb. And yet to use a time bomb as an analogy would have been fallacious, for the Dowager's modus operandi is never as straightforward as an explosion in front of its victims, preferring to claim the victim's life only after taking a circuitous route and boomeranging those who are even vaguely connected to the target.

That was exactly what the apprentice encountered. While taking a stroll in the expansive imperial gardens, the hapless one was accosted, almost being pounced on, by the DOWAGER. To say that the apprentice has dug his own grave would be gravely (no pun intended) immature, an accusation that stems from the dearth of experience that Dowager will not be called Cixi if she had been less sneaky.

When asked how much practice the apprentices had attended hitherto, his reply that it was one almost quickly led to the gathering of the darkest yin clouds on the Dowager's head. Without any signs of disapprobation except to advise the apprentice to do a lot more, it seemed that there was no further room for any parley of necessity.

It wasn't until the next two days that the apprentice realised that the Dowager had sent her missives to inform everyone about the apprentice's perceived misdemeanour, irking all but those who felt the Dowager had created not just a storm in a teacup, but more aptly a cyclone Nigris in a sewing thimble. What set the apprentice at ease was the level of empathy and support these people had garnered for him, with SL LLG being one of the most ardous apologist as evidenced in the sms exchange between the apprentice and him:

THE APPRENTICE: That @#$ sent emails to Mr A and Miss B that I should be doing more. Luckily they were most understanding towards me.

SL LLG: Humph! She is a Micro Manager Best Kept in A Miserable Manger.

THE APPRENTICE: I imagine what she will teach her children when she tells them Aesop Fable - The Dog in the Manger. She will arm-twist the moral of the story by concluding "The b!tch's right in sitting on the hay, for at the end of the day, she will have the final say, yay!"

SL LLG: Never realise you could write such poem about b!tches. You are indeed a Bard with a capital B.

THE APPRENTICE: If I am really a Bard, and if I may add on to your poem, it would read,
She is a Micro Manager Best Kept in A Miserable Manger.
But still pose a Menacing Danger,
To Even the Mightiest Ranger!

SL LLG: Aiyo, you should out this in your blog.

Alors.
Voila!

Tuition has no recession, just like intuition will never go out of fashionnnnnn

In the youtube clip, "Mad TV - Substitute teacher", the Mexican and fakely pious Miss Lindamariarondriguezponpadomgracias was asking the definition of an analogy.



A most assiduous student above raised her hand and replied with an almost esoteric effect that led to Miss L to develop fainting spells, "An analogy is a comparison between two things that are otherwise dissimilar"...


Miss Lindamariarondriguezponpadomgracias's example to the analogy cannot be more lewd than "Travelling leads to humping, just like farting leads to pooping".

Eschewing that and taking a more apposite one which both SL LLG and I are quietly grateful (In the words of Miss L, "¡Ay Dios mío!"), we have found our own tagline. It is.. ahem... listen carefullly....(and dun flame us).

Leson Numero Uno -

Tuiiii-tion has no re-ce-ssion, just like in-tuiiiii-tion will never go out of fashionnnnnnnnn..

Lame. You say.

¡That's right!

Though we are prepared to receive no bonus or worse still, a pay cut, we can always count on tuItion for our much needed lobangs. *So one idea I have* is to take in tuition kids! Thzzzzzzz

Food Blog And Happhy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

I still enjoy celebrating CNY even as much while being an adult. Not least because it's one of those days where my Mum cooks up a storm and the whole family makes a conscientious effort to have dinner together. No, I am not going to write to the Straits Times about cooking up the festive mood, or else they say me the tuition t-cher very insensitive to the gloomy economy.

While in the mood for food, I am going to share with you all my dear readers, a food blog! The recommendations are all decent, and they give true-hearted S'poreans a run for their money. Check this out. Some of the locations are ulu, and this is most befitting for those who are tired of crowded shopping malls and quotidian restaurants.

http://www.flavor.sg/best-restaurants-in-singapore/index.php/best-restaurants-for-valentines-day/

Enjoy!

Fireman story as forwarded by friend

It's not what you know but what you are that makes a difference.

In Phoenix , Arizona , a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia.

Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up & fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible...

The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream to come true.

She took her son' s hand and asked, 'Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?'

Mommy, 'I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.'

Mom smiled back and said, 'Let's see if we can make your wish come true.'

Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix , Arizona , where she met Fireman Bob, who had! a heart as big as Phoenix

She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, 'Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!

And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy -- one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.'

'They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast.'

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed t o the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.

There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines, the Paramedic's' van, and even the fire chief's car.

He was also videotaped for the local news program.

Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept - that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition....

The chief replied, 'We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes.. Will you please do me a favor?

When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire?'

'It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?'

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window-------- 16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room

With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, 'Chief, am I really a fireman now?'

'Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief said. With those words, Billy smiled and said, 'I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing..'

He closed his eyes one last time.

Out of touch

Dear visitors, I know it has been quite a while since the three legged cat has updated anything on the blog, and also to post the first few days of Taiwan ex-per-en. Not that I am renegading on my promise, but was heavily involved in some of the work stuffs and of course, lots of personal errands too.

To sum it up what had happened to me in case you had mistaken me for being abducted by aliens:
(1) Went to a couple of quaint places for coffee, food and drinks with Goodest Friend. There's this Coffee Nations near Bugis Arab Street. When we were there, Goodest Friend overheard the owner that they had barely set up a few mnths ago, and by the powerful word of mouth, it had attracted a fair share of coffee-lovers seeking some solace. The service is impeccable and I would highly recommend you to there.

(2) Upper Thompson. Again, shophouses have been the theme of recent outings nowadays for Goodest Friend and me. So we chose to go uper thomson road where there is this Liquid Kitchen and many other little shops. There is also an ice-cream parlour nearby which only those who ahd visited there through recommendations by other friends would know. It's kind of tucked away but the delectable ice-cream there certainly deserves your endeavours to find it.

(3) Speaking of ice-cream, there's Udders which is in Novena. Apparently, I was engaging in some small talk with a man I met in SAFRA Yishun gym, and he told me he was the owner! Wow.. apparently, he was a Yishun Town Sec teacher before and when I expressed awe that the school had performed tremendously well in recet years, he could only sigh to say that his batch of teachers worked extra hard for many others to reap the profit. Oh well, he has no regrets leaving the teeching profession for he is now milking all the good profits from his Udders (I mean his shop Udders). They sell both alcoholic and nonalcoholic ice-creams.

(4) O level results. Out of 4 kids I tutored last year, it seems only 1 managed to hit an A for the subject. As for the other 3 kids, they managed Bs and Cs. If you consider that they were al borderline or sub-borderlined (euphemism for the F grades), it's considered value-added. Still 2 of them expressed disappoinment as they left the exam hall feeling happy that they could clinch an A, only to realise they got B. perhaps due to intense moderation? Nevertheless, these were the two testimonies of what two mothers texted me:

"Hi ***, i m pleased to inform that charlene did well for her o levels. physics- A2 and chem - B3. Thank u very much for ur patience and dedication in tutoring her. Without u, she wd hv never made it on her own. God bless u. Regards, charlene's mum, j".

And another from my friend whom I tutored her son. Unfortunately he did not get the A grades he wanted. Still my friend was thinking it might be a blessing in disguise he could not go to a JC as we felt he was more inclined in his maths and science.

"Hi, [V] just got back home. He got b4 for physics, b4 for chem, b3 for a math."

Ok, that's all for now. Am looking forward to updating more on my Taiwan trip when I am done! Thanzzzzz

6th day 臺南 Tainan

We arrived in Chiayi after takig a super long bus ride from 阿里山. There, we had our second serving of turkey rice and also bought some square biscuits (Chiayi's famous for it). To go to 臺南 from Chiayi, we had to take a local train that is only one stop away. Like Chiayi, 臺南 has not much traffic lights and so has the same haphazard feeling.

We were apprehensive of our hotel cos it is the cheapest of all in the Taiwan trip. At S$35/pax, we walked into the lobby with bated breathe and found out that it was actually OK. This was because there was a spare room that was bigger and the hotel receptionist happily gave us. Nevertheless whether this is a good thing we don't know because that night while we were sleeping, SL LLG claimed to have seen a figure outside the balcony, and that he was awaken by the door opening and closing. That, whether I shall leave it to his fecund imagination or as the pan tang me were to say, he has seen something dirty, has still yet to be ascertained.

Anyway, as we went into the room, the eagle-eyed me started to notice a few lackings - (1) No hot water dispensary and worse still no kettle! (Later I found out all hot water had to be retrieved from the lobby in a paper cup), (2) No slippers, (3) Queen bed rather than two single bed (Having a fox sleeping beside the cat is not a wise idea, let alone comfortable), (4) a bit of old feeling. Other than that, it is Ok. I once declared to SL LLG that only one thing will make this hotel the BEST, and he laughed.

I shall digress. We went for lunch at this place beside 赤崁樓. The owner thought we were fromm Hong Kong, as is a common ex-pe-ren in Taiwan for these past few days, especially when we speak. 赤崁樓 was originally the site of the city of Providentia built by the Dutch in the 1650s as they outgrew Zeelandia. There are tablets, stone horses/camels and a row of nine turtle-borne steles with inscriptions. It has undergone changes from the Ming Dynasty to the Ching Dynasty to the Japanese occupation and to Taiwan's Retrocession.




There was a free tour so SL LLG and I joined in the tour which introduced the statues of Koxinga and also the story of the horse statue that has a missing leg, as well as one of the turtle carring a stele. It was a nice place to explore, not least because of the old Chinese feel. The guide made the experence a whole lot better as many of the nuances in Chinese architecture would have been carelessly overlooked without expert's advice.

After this, we visited a couple of temples and marvelled at the intricate differences in the carvings, especially since the guide book was able to give a lustrous explanations as to which part of the temple was done in the Ming dynasty and which was not. Philistines of course wouldn't be able to discern. Below is a picture I took in one of the temples.





Above: A plum tree picture. It is said that the last Ming king planted a plum tree in his garden, which has since then been converted into a temple.

We went around to a lot of places including finding a street that the guidebook promised to be the MOST picturesque street in Tainan. We found it eventually but then suddenly we found out that we had suddenly lost our purpose! Feeling a bit spent now we were at the crossroads of deciding what to do before we found our legs carrying us to round and round and round...... exploring what came may... I must admit that Tainan suddenly seemed quite boring... There was even a couple of times where we were almost lost.

Of course along the way we ordered bubble tea, and SL LLG did the most heinous thing of leaving his (and my) cups on the pavements when we couldn't find a dustbin. With my crocodile morals, I pontificated how wrong it is for overseas Singaporeans to dump rubbish in the most uncivilised manner.

Still we were happy to enter this tea house! It was our first tea house since our visit in Taiwan and we were enjoying the tea and the lovely interior. I discovered the second floor is a better deal in terms of ambience so we were indulging in small gossips admists sips. Having our thirst sated, we decided it is best to try the coffin bread. Apparently, it was made of thick toast with the centre cut out so that fillings of what seemed to me like a very rich Campbell soup seafood stuffings can be added. It was apparently "invented" to cater to the American tastes when they were stationed there during the WWII period.

After this, we decided to go to the night market by foot since we were rather full and a walk would do us good.

It was a mistake we would never ever forget.

We must have walked for an hour and passed by this open area. Then both of us had our bladder almost full and wanted to use the (unusually a lot) of mobile toilets in this open area.

Don't they resemble coffins?, I quipped without thinking too much.
Yes, they do leh now that you said it. Be careful of things that will jump out when you open the cubicle door
When SL LLG said this, I froze on my track. With one hand on the door, my ever fertile mind started to be imaginative. If anything, we had successfully scared each other!

Realising that the open area belonged to the night market, we bemoaned that we had come at the wrong day. With a heavy heart, we went to the city centre again by foot. This time round, we explored a bit for some watering hioles (SL LLG would be fascinated by Down Under's watering holes a few weeks later in the gym with his Brother Ong). Then we came into this Japanese restaurant.

Going in, we oredered a German sausage and sake. Hoping it to be a warm one, we were disappointed when it came in ice. All disappointment evaporated however when we took a sip and found it delighted our taste buds! So we went talking in the midst of Japanese chatter. However I noticed when we came in or were leaving, they dint even bother to greet us, though they had considerately done so for those Japanese. Sigh.. those TKPGs (Taiwan Kimono Party Girls).. obviously sucking up to the big toes of the Japanese.