..:*･yuka･*:..: May 2009

daddy moments

I'm opening up a new column on daddy moments, which centres on little bite-sized anecdotes of my otochan, who is a comical man by nature. It's amazing how small actions of his that may seem insignificant to some, never fail to put a smile on my face.

Take last night for example, i noticed my dad sulking in my parents' bedroom after my sis, mom and i had finished watching Rails and Ties, a major tearjerker.

Me: Why are you sulking?

Dad: Go away. Leave me alone. (buries his face into the newspapers)

Me (inching nearer): Aww... what happened?

After some coaxing, he finally told me the reason.

Dad (in a small voice): You guys never let me watch tv.

To think that i was so worried something bad might have happened during work!!! Sometimes, i wonder who's the kid here.

crossroads

In 2 days' time, the results for my finals will be released and i am starting to feel the jitters.

I liken myself to be standing at this junction which opens up to two paths - one leads to taking the fourth year in nus, or the other which is to take one year off to work followed by studying abroad. This decision will be made when I know my results on friday.

On one hand, i feel like my current plans right are in a mess and i'm stuck in the middle where i can't move on until i have a clear idea of what i can do.

What happens if i can't do a fourth year in nus? Will i be able to apply to a good school abroad for master's? What if my results aren't that good?

My mind is whirling with such thoughts every day as the release date draws near. What's more, when people start asking me about what i am planning to do next, it's difficult for me because one, i need to explain the entire situation and two, it gets really tiring and troublesome after repeating the same story again and again.

On the other hand, i feel blessed to have my parents who are supportive and insist that i will be provided a good education, including studying abroad. I recall the days at the dinner table, where i was constantly probed by my parents about my future plans. Their habit of asking the exact questions that drive directly to the crux of the matter, often accompanied by some 'correct but rather painful' remarks, helped mould the initially blurry outline of my plan to, what i can safely say now, more defined and goal-orientated one.

Oh well, all i can do now is wait and pray for the best for my results on friday.

qewpie face

Recently, my younger sister's friend has been dropping by at our place before heading off for their math tuition class. Being the shy/hermit, i usually try to avoid bumping into any of my sister's friends whenever they are hanging out at our place.

But today, despite using every avoidance strategy i could possibly think of, yuki's friend X finally saw me for the first time.

Later yuki came up to me with a feedback from X:

X thinks you look young for your age.... she says you look 17.

Which is precisely yuki's age.

Blame it on the qewpie face genes i inherited from the paternal side.

I am constantly battling with a love-hate relationship with my qewpie looks. On one hand, it's nice to be receive compliments on how one looks young. But on the other hand, no one takes me SERIOUSLY because i look like a kid.

When i was in junior college (around the age of 18, yes yuki's current age), there was this petrol kiosk i usually frequented, which was a short distance from my school. The lady at that kiosk once gushed at me as i was paying for something, "Oh look at you, you must be one of those little IP students.. so cute!"

IP students are the brainy ones a.k.a cream of the crop, who enter junior college directly without taking the GCE O-Levels, for a 4-year programme. Which means that they are usually around 14+ years old when they first enter my school.

And when i tried correcting her by stating my real age, she tsked and commented, "But you look so small."

Aargh, kewpie face.

camomile blend

One of my favourite albums, Camomile Blend.

We would play it whenever we have guests over at our place, and they never fail to ask us who this artiste is, because her voice is simply beautiful.

Once in a Very Blue Moon - Emi Fujita

kimchi nabe

As part of an effort to switch to a healthier eating lifestyle, my parents have made many changes to our daily dinner menu from a meat-centred to a more greenies-centred one.

Knowing that I love nabe which is a japanese claypot dish, my dad would choose a different soup base every weekend. After trying out various soup bases like miso, plum sauce, we all agreed that the kimchi base was simply the best.

~Kimchi nabe~

the age of the greenies

First there was the implementation of bring-your-bag policy in the supermarkets, then there was Earth Day, and then recently, hybrid cars are on the rise in the car market.

There are thousands of ways to go green, more than you can impossibly imagine. One intriguing suggestion i chanced upon in this article "Eat Your Greens" by Bryan Walsh, was to start going green with what you eat.

Apparently, a dietary intake that is low in carbs is as capable of reducing the same amount of carbon dioxide as a hybrid Toyota Prius. If we can't afford the hybrid vehicles, why not start from the cheapest option we have - FOOD?

Replacing meat with vegetables and fruits which are at the lower trophic levels of the food chain in our diets, we can not only move towards a healthier lifestyle but also help reduce the carbon footprint.

Making a difference to the Earth's wellbeing as an individual is no longer a far-fetched idea. We can start making changes to our current lifestyles, which may seem minute and insignificant on a global scale. But if every one of us does our part and when all our efforts are added up, it becomes a collaborative effort to sustain both our well-being and Mother Earth's.

The age of the greenies has come.

the caterpillar vs the city boy

My mom found a caterpillar crawling at our patio one day, and being caterpillar-phobic, she was close to hysterics. Pointing at it, my mom was yelling at my dad to get rid of it, since he was lazily sprawled on the bench.

Mom: Caterpillar!!!

Dad (barely looking up from the newspapers): Hmm?

Mom: CATERPILLARRR!!! CAN'T YOU SEE IT???

Dad: Pilla?? What's that?

He was feigning ignorance because he looked very reluctant when he finally put down the newspapers.

Glancing back at my mom's disbelieving stare, he stated simply:

Well you can't blame me for not knowing what a caterpillar is, I'm a city boy.

flu pandemic?

The recent reports on the H1N1 flu have painted a grim picture of the spreading of the virus, citing japan as the most recent country to be severely impacted.

Are we anticipating an impending declaration of a pandemic here?

One thing for certain, it's highly likely we're calling off our japan trip this year.

a fleeting thought

Have you ever had that sudden thought of leaving everything that you have, flying off to somewhere faraway and starting a new life?

I do.

toast-and-butter

My family has this strict breakfast rule of eating 'proper' food which means: no char kway teow (the local fried noodles usually with cockles), no sweet cakes, no chocolates, no cookies... And the list goes on and on.

My past 'approved' breakfast food included: a glass of milk (nasty experience for someone who is not a fan of milk), my favourite honey stars cereal naturally without milk, raisin scones with a cup of English tea.

My current breakfast 'menu' is sort of a back-to-the-classics one: simple toast with butter.

I will patiently toast the bread slice until it is crisp and slightly browned, right before I start spreading the butter evenly so that it melts on the surface of the toast. Mmmm.

Imagine sinking your teeth into the crust and discover the soft fluffy interior as you bite all the way down. And the aroma of melting butter that wafts into your nose.

Bliss.

mac down

The battery charger for my MacBook is currently down, which also means that my macbook is no longer functioning since it's battery capacity is running low:(

I reckon it will take at least a week to get everything fixed. Till then, please do bear with the super short entries since I'm blogging from my iTouch and I'm constantly fumbling with touchscreen keyboard with my fat sausage fingers.

Now my fingers are cramped from all the pressing. Oh boy.

flu scare

I was quarantined in a small little room today because my temperature was slightly high at 37.9 degrees Celsius. And it was all thanks to the fact that I tend to get 'heated up' when I move from one cold environment to a warmer one.

The kind ladies at the CELC office isolated me in a small room for me to cool down under the air-conditioning unit, while my lunch companions (my tutor and my friend) had to wait patiently outside for me >.<

I was so scared that I might need to be quarantined, and started imagining the Straits Times headlines go "NUS girl suspected!"

Thankfully it took me 15 minutes to cool down to 37.3 degrees Celsius, which is presumably the maximally acceptable temperature.

What an experience.

seize the moment

Somehow I have this feeling that I will regret missing this opportunity if I don't do something.

Hmm.

..:･yuka･:..