Shopping!

The husband was rather mad at me for going overboard with my shopping today.

I had shopped away several hundreds of dollars within an hour of hitting Tangs, leaving a gaping hole in my pocket and little else for my daily expenses for the rest of January. And December is not even over.

:(

He still doesn't understand women.

We women are willing to chew on air for a month in exchange for the ecstasy of great purchases. And I am willing to chew on air for more for a month in exchange for creature comforts on top of the ecstasy of great purchases.

Furthermore, he couldn't blame me for shopping myself to Broke City. Tangs' home section is a bloody playground for new home owners. There are just so many lovely things to buy!

My heart was completely stolen by a colourful collection of plastic dinnerware by RICE, but I had to rein in the shopping whore in me. A large plate went for S$24 a piece. Bloody hell.

There, I also found the Corelle Warm Pansies collection that Joshua liked! I wasn't able to get them at Robinsons and Metro. So I bought a bunch of plates of various sizes, rice bowls, soup bowls, noodle bowls, sauce dishes and mugs - enough for a party of six. :)



There was a 20% discount off all Corelle products - how to resist?

To match the beautiful Warm Pansies series, I grabbed six lavender-coloured placemats. It was tough resisting pink placemats, which Tangs offered in many wonderful shades.

Oh, I found pretty chopsticks too!



Luck would have it too that I found two new friends to add to my grids at home.



I spotted some lovely potted plants at Tangs too, but I wasn't able to carry more. Alas, plans to revisit Tangs tommorow will now have to be put on hold because of Josh's tongue-lashing.

Gah! Why should I be made to feel guilty about spending my money? Hmph!

Possibly the best ramen in Singapore

People, I've finally found a worthy ramen shop in Singapore! And a bowl of its specialty ramen won't burn a hole your pocket.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is the one.

As you know, I'm not into ramen, and therefore would not go out of my way to look for ramen shops. But during a conversation with a Japanese friend who is based in Singapore, we discussed comfort foods and he identified Hokkaido Ramen Santouka as the restaurant serving the best ramen in Singapore. He would head there for his ramen fix whenever he missed home.

Aww...

So, on Boxing Day, I took Josh there, just to see if it truly was as good as my friend claimed it to be.

We ordered the restaurant's specialty - Tokusen Toroniku Ramen - for only S$19.50. Basically, it was a bowl of ramen with a side dish of the most tender grilled pork slices I've ever sank my teeth into.



There are three soup bases for the ramen - shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce) and miso. Shio worked best for me. Josh's shoyu ramen was a tad too salty and heavy.



A single serving of Tokusen Toroniku Ramen is rather filling, even for someone like Josh. So if you don't want to end up stuffed like a Christmas turkey at the end of your meal there, go for one of their cheaper ramen bowls (S$13.50 for a Shio Ramen). You'll get the same soup stock options, and each bowl comes with two slices of grilled pork.

Just as great, but cheaper and less punishing on your waistline. :)

Oh, and remember to grab a stamp card from the cashier on your way out. It grants you a free half-serving of the yummy Toroniku grilled pork slices on your next visit.

Lovely metals

Life's little happiness comes from being able to snag a WMF 30-piece cutlery set without busting my bank account. :)




Now I just have to find pretty diningware.

Everything but the bed

You know, the new home is good enough for us to move in right now... if we don't mind sleeping on the floor. :)

Everything we need is in. The major appliances, sofa, and dining table and chairs were delivered yesterday. The rain shower has been serving us very well for the past few days. So have the air-conditioners.

The home still lacks personality, as we have not filled it up with photos and stuff that are pretty to look at but serve no other purpose. That we will have to do slowly.

I'm very tired but happy. And I can't bloody wait to have the gang over for beers and junk food soon.

I love my handyman

Oh man. Prepping a new home is hardly a walk in the park.

While I've been busy cleaning the home, Josh has been putting his handyman skills to good use by fixing up some pieces of Ikea furniture.



I'm never good at reading manuals, and would have made abstract artpieces out of the furniture if I had done them myself. So thank goodness for Joshua! :)

Now we have pretty side tables for the bedroom and a kitchen workbench. Yay!

A most fulfilling day

It has been a long day today.

Josh and I woke up early (uh huh, 11am IS early for us) and went shopping at Ikea to get more stuff, and then to Giant to get a bunch of cleaning products to aid us in our mission to turn our new home sparkling clean.

And while at Giant, look what I found!

Hehe! Most adorable.



I cradled all three designs for a long time, pondering which I should buy. Then Josh proffered the best advice ever: "Darling, just buy all since they are all so nice. We'll find use for them."

So tah dah! I bought them all!

It was past 6pm by the time we got to the new home, and started scrubbing, mopping and wiping in earnest.

Never have I felt so much enthusiasm in housework. I was more than happy to go down on my knees and scrub floors with bleach. Nevermind that the chemical burned my kneecaps and fingers. It was fun!

And there was something comforting knowing that Josh was with me, hard at work too.




It was even better when the skies broke with heavy showers, and cold wind started swirling about the apartment. Josh and I took a ciggie break at the service yard and let the rain cool our faces. I loved that feeling!

We were beat by 10.30pm. So we turned down the lights and sat on the cool tiled floor in the living room, drinking juice, munching chips and just enjoying the beauty of the new place.

It shall be round two tomorrow and we can't wait! :)

Nutty as a fruitcake

Oh how far he could swing.

One moment he swore he and his precious son would never ever demand for gifts (Yeah right. Shoving toy catalogues with desired item underlined to us means nothing?).

Another moment he declared that mum- and dad-in-law should buy Ethan presents since they were able to buy presents for the other grandchildren.

Should? The Longman dictionary defines "should" as "ought to", and "ought" as having "a moral duty to do something or shows what is right and sensible".

Hmm... Giving a gift should come from one's heart, no? Giving a gift is not a moral duty that must be fulfilled nor it is the right thing one must do.

The last text message he sent me yesterday night was a threat to "create a scene" at my house. I welcomed him and asked him most frankly, which issue would he like to create a scene over - what his dad said OR the views I have of his precious son.

At that point, it is worthwhile to note that dad-in-law had already sheepishly clarified that there was a misunderstanding, since it was mum-in-law who overheard it... a few years ago.

So that leaves the latter issue. And I believe I am entitled to my own views, especially if those views were formed through personal experience. So if the fool indeed chose to come to my home and pick a fight, I am not in the wrong. I'd be more than happy to give him a few bitch slaps, in fact, especially for always looking down on my husband. I'll give him extras for Moley-moley too.

It turns out, he did not reply to that message. But this morning, I woke up to an insane ranting from him. Part of it read: "I'll not create a scene for both issues because he (his son, I suppose; it was hard to follow the nonsense he was spewing) don't deserve to see evil. Remember bad karma will haunt you."

That message should get me raging again, but for the sheer dramatic nature of the message, I burst out laughing.

One thing that crossed my mind was the Transformers, with him as Optimus Prime. Why? Because if you visit his Facebook page, he posts shout-outs about saving the human race, as if he was leader of the Autobots. I've always suspected him mad, writing things like that at this age of mid-thirties. Now I am sure he is.

Josh warned me against fueling the argument and made me promise last night not to reply anymore, no matter how indecent his brother was.

But but but, how could I resist?

So I texted this reply: "Oh hail thee angel!"

Oh boy, what would I give to be able to see his expression. :)

One's child could never do any wrong

I was still seething after penning the earlier post, and somehow over lunch with Josh, my irritation was ignited.

So I sent his brother a text message to tell him what dad-in-law said, and that I was disappointed that he would do something like that, whether or not he had malicious intent. I did not mince words too, when I told him his precious son had on several occasions demanded for presents from Josh and me.

His brother's reply was furious but nonsensical. "Who the hell spread such a rumour? Who is spreading this rubbish around?"

Rumour? What rumour? I advised him to read my message again, and pointed out that dad-in-law - his father - was the one who told me what he heard. This wasn't a rumour.

"Who started this, you better own up!" was his reply, as well as a bunch of other defensive nonsense. He reminded me of the majority of STOMP's readers, who blast brainless comments without fully understanding the content of the news.

"Please read my message again," I replied. "I don't understand what owning up I need to do."

And again, I minced no words when I told him he was more concerned about not being wronged than his father's feelings. "If you think dad misunderstood you, then you should clarify with him, so that he will stop feeling sad," I wrote, rounding off my message.

Josh was cheekier, and sent a reply, saying that dad-in-law must have been lying and he will get a good long lecture later.

Soon after, a long composition from Josh's brother poured forth, about how we had accused his darling son of demanding for presents.

In his words:

"Unlike his classmates and friends who show off PSP, wii, DS, and whatever irresponsible parents shower their poor children with, Ethan never compare himself and ask us for such stupid things. We always teach him good values and explain to him why he is so lucky to play Disney and Cartoon Network games online and on our phones. He is super well-behaved and respectful... Extremely disappointed and sad to hear such views of him! Show you all are ignorant of how we bring him up."

Super well-behaved. Yeah. So well-behaved that he tore opened his baby cousin's presents. So well-behaved that he snorted at us to better get his birthday present soon. So well-behaved that he screamed and howled at family dinners to get attention when the folks were paying more attention to the infants.

And yes, we admit we are absolutely ignorant of how he and Moley-moley bring Ethan up. What sort of parents stand in a corner and simply mutter "Ethan, stop it," when he was being a nuisance?

It is true that in the eyes of (some) parents, their child could do no wrong. Their sweet little angel could never be diabolical.

The brat and his parents strike again

Question:
If you knew that your parents earn very little, and sometimes nothing at all, would you tell them that your child - their grandchildren - had complained about a lack of Christmas presents from grandpa and grandma?


Answer:
For some idiots, yes.

So now poor grandpa feels horrible and is trying to find money to buy that brat a present.

Demonstrating a further lack of brains, those two idiots - none other than Josh's eldest brother and Moley-Moley - informed dad-in-law that their precious little brat has been yearning for a particular lego spaceship set.

I was furious with dad-in-law's decision to buy a gift for the brat just to appease him. Whatever happened to good old discipline? I would have gotten a good whipping from daddy if I were rude enough to demand a gift.

Sidetracking a little now, to remind you why I call that kid a brat - days before his birthday this February, the kid came up to Josh and me and demanded to know what we were getting for him as a present.

When we told him we had no time to shop for his present, he flashed us a snotty look and said, "Hello! You have only today to buy it because it will be my party tomorrow."

Argh.

I told dad-in-law that the brat deserves nothing since he dared to make such a complaint, and age is no excuse for such behaviour. At eight years old, he is old enough to know what is right and wrong.

I was so boiling mad that I even boo-boo'd brother-in-law's insensitivity and lack of intelligence. Everyone in the family knows how poor the old folks are now, after their business went bust. While dad-in-law was able to occasionally sell off some fabrics or curtains, he would take a bus or train just to deliver the goods. That's how he tries to minimise expenses.

I refuse to see dad-in-law waste whatever money he has on a worthless person.

By the look of pain on dad-in-law's face, I suspect I may have gone overboard with my frank crticism. Ah well, truth always hurt.

In addition to this incident, Josh received a text message from his brother who once again, specified the product we should buy for his son for Christmas and the amount we needed to pay.

What cheek!

That got Josh and I really angry again, and we thought up a load of best possible replies:

"Thanks for the offer, but no. We have no intention of buying anything for your son."

"Sorry. No money. Why don't we gift your son that ugly pair of champagne glasses you gave us as our wedding gift? Those things have no place in our new apartment, but we're sure they will look beautiful in your son's room."

"Aiyah! We had already bought him a gift. It is a book on manners. We think he needs that more than anything else."

"Thanks for the offer, but no. By the way, we are moving house and we have been dying for a Nespresso machine for the longest time. You can get us that. It costs only a little over S$400. Thanks!"

I voted strongly for the last one, and proposed to Josh that we each pop the fella a text message before our birthdays every year to demand a gift. :)

We also have a good mind not to buy the brat any presents for the next few years, and give him only a $2 hongbao for Chinese New Year.

A worthless response

I am hopping mad now at the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Despite writing in with photo evidence of the offensive food stall operators at the foot of my block and an explanation of how the kitchen helpers carry out their business, an officer with the NEA had only this to say:



It is worthwhile to note that the "discrete inspection" made by the NEA officer was carried out at 8.30am on a Monday morning.

C'mon! Any Singaporean would know that tze char stalls don't start food preparation till late morning and get busy closer to dinnertime. Why of all timings of the day, the NEA officer chose to inspect the offensive stall at 8.30am?

Whatever happened to common sense? Or perhaps common sense isn't that commonly available after all.

I'm surprised that NEA can't do anything to help relieve the residents of the filthy surroundings, when it is always preaching the importance of food safety and public hygiene.

I must tell you how awful the carpark smelled on Sunday morning, after a terribly busy Saturday night. The drain at the back of the food stall is linked to a network of underground drains across the carpark. The air reek of rot.

I don't know how a decomposing human corpse smells like, but I bet it would smell pretty similar to the stench at the carpark.

I've blasted a bunch of photos and an image of NEA's reply to all the newsdesks in Singapore. If NEA isn't of much help, then I hope our newspapers could help to warn the people.


Update at 11.20am: Stomp published my story.

Update at 12.07pm: An officer with the NEA called to assure me that the agency will "monitor this closely" and even asked what would be the best time to conduct checks on the stall.

Update at 12.37pm: A reporter with Shinmin Daily News contacted me for more information. He told me he had interviewed the owner of the tze char stall, who denied preparing raw food on the floor and disposing dirty water into the drains. I told the reporter I had a whole bunch of photos as evidence, and sent more of the best over.

Update at 1.00pm: The stall operators are frantically scrubbing away at the back area, as if eager to get rid of evidence. Nevermind if there would be nothing incriminating left by the time the NEA officers come. All I care for is a cleaner environment, and I'm glad the operators are frightened into being more considerate.

Update at 8.00pm: The NEA replied with a stronger commitment to address the issue we raised. Of the various measures the agency said it would take include prosecution of the food stall operator based on photo evidence we sent in. Thank you, NEA!

Black roses of mine

Josh and I found a really pretty fixture for the new apartment. It was almost perfect, except for the pink roses, which were a shade too dainty for us.

So Josh, my handyman, speared them, turned them into canapes, and spray-painted them black.



TAH-DAH!

Most beautiful. I hope the paint stays on and not peel off tomorrow morning.

Foolish heart

My girlfriend has decided to forgive her husband and take him back.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this and this.

This is despite him being a gambler, a lazy fucker who leaves her to do all the housework, a chauvinistic pig who tells her she has no place to question his whereabouts, and not earning enough to contribute much to household expenses and family holidays - on top of his cheating ways.

Sigh.

Her reason for accepting him again and giving the marriage another go? Their son.

See! See! See! I told you kids always complicate matters.

She believed that her husband would change once he sees her magnanimity. Moreover, "he has promised to break off with her", she said.

Right.

That promise came one week after he declared to his wife that he loved the other woman.

He will never leave the lover. Not when the heart is involved. The affair may go into remission for now, when the awareness of the affair is still hot in the minds of his wife and family members. But he will go return to his old ways because there will always be the longing.

Women, no matter how old they are or how accomplished they are in their career, turn into fools when it comes to matters of the heart.

Some men are worth taking back, judged perhaps by the distance they go to earn back the trust. Some men, like this one, are not.

Alas, she is the master of her life and we have no place to force her to "do the right thing".

What I did in Japan

I sniffed the chilly morning air of Toyko at 5am.



I took the train from Kennin-Makuhari station to Shibuya station on my own, which was quite a feat, considering how terrified I am of getting lost.



I refrained from doing the hokey-pokey on the train platform.



I did what I've always wanted - eat a bowl of ramen in a standing-room-only ramen shop inside a busy Japanese train station. And this bowl of kakiage soba was the best I've ever eaten.



I set foot in Shibuya and personally witnessed the organised chaos its famous cross junction is known for. Then I went into Shibuya 109 mall and made myself depressed because there were just too many things to buy, and I had so little money.



I sat in a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kobe. I even smoked a ciggie on it. :) Three cheers for smoking cabins!



I sort of saw Mt Fuji. It was partially hidden by clouds.



I smiled at bald trees that lined Kobe's clean streets. I love bald trees!



I had a snow cone in Kobe's 10°C weather. Shiok!



I found cute things outside people's houses and shops in Kitano.



I went bonkers at a Hello Kitty shop in Kobe, buying a bunch of things I wanted, needed, did not need and could not afford. The stash included an uber cute apron that cost me over S$60 - and I do not cook.



I sank my teeth into Kobe beef in Kobe.



I visited Toji Temple in Kyoto.



I wept at the picturesque landscape within the temple, and wished Joshua was there with me.



I visited Kennin Temple and sat in front of a zen garden, thinking to myself how wonderful it would be if I need not work and could sit there all day and daydream.



I visited Kiyomizu Temple at night, when it was lit up at specific points to bring out the best of its architecture and autumn foliage.



I walked through Gion, where geishas roam. Unfortunately, I did not see a single geisha.



I visited a kimono factory to see a whole lot of kimonos, fabric products and other Japanese souvenirs I had no interest in buying. I also got to see a kimono fashion show and marvelled at how flat-chested Japanese girls appear in kimomos.



I had a kiseiki lunch at Mukade-ya (Tel: 075-256-7039). Everything was delicately presented and most beautiful. I emerged at the end of lunch still very hungry.



I visited Shimogamo Shrine and stood at its entrance for a minute, taking in the lush greenery that lined the path leading up to the architecture.



I witnessed the process of a traditional 12-layer kimono being put on a "princess". The "princess" looked eerie with her expressionless face.



I discovered Nishiki Food Market, which is a treasure trove of shops selling cooked and raw food, souvenirs, the cutest household stuff and apparel. One could acccess this market by taking the train to Daimaru shopping centre and then walk for less than five minutes.



I tasted the most delish salmon onigiri!



I found a very happy golden tree on the streets of Kyoto.



I had lunch at Restaurant AO (Tel: 075-221-7775), a French-Japanese fusion restaurant set within a conserved machiya. It was beautiful. The food looked beautiful too, but not the best meal I've had in Japan. And the portions were too small for me.



I spent my last night in Kyoto at an izakaya, a bar where the Japanese working crowd gathers after work to drink and bitch about anal bosses and co-workers.



I travelled from Kyoto to Ujigawa, a two-hour bus ride away. It is a lovely place of old houses, beautiful autumn foliage, slow-moving people and plenty of silence. It is also known as the home of the finest matcha.



At Ujigawa, I went into a teahouse and learnt how to be patient and grind my own matcha powder from tea leaves.



At the end of the lesson, I went into a cafe and had a lovely green tea dessert.



As if I was still craving for green tea, I proceeded to Tatsumiya (Tel: 0774-21-3131), a quaint restaurant along Ujigawa, for a green tea-inspired kiseiki lunch. My favourite dish was a mash of green tea-infused tofu skin with crab meat. Again, I was still hungry after the last bite was had. By now, I figured why Japanese women are so slim. They just do not eat enough.

I had a green tea soft-serve ice-cream after my green tea-inspired lunch. I probably shat green tea-flavoured poo the next day.



And finally, I went online to check my bank account and realised I have only a few dollars left.

So it was time to return to Singapore.