FWAH... After work this evening, I piah to Cold Storage again. Had 4 guests over tonight.
If not for 'Good Fren', I wouldn't have known such cute people. =))

Somehow we started talking about 排球女将.
Especially, 小鹿纯. =P
And we trying to test one another on the names of the moves and characters. Weird Crowd. *scratches head*

I prepared my usual East Asian + Angmoh Finger Food Feast again!! =))) 2 days in a row.
Dun you think the Mickey Mouse plates are damn cute?! Very PARTY-like?!! =P


I guess it wasn't filling enough. Someone had to open his 2 packets of chips lor!! =))

I love having people over. =)))

The Public Service Division (PSD) asked me to be part of a focus group this morning.
The profile of the focus group participants are: (1) Single, (2) Female, and (3) Civil Service Senior Officers.
The objective: to find out what's stopping these females from (i) getting married, and (ii) giving birth. =)))

It was quite a funny, yet depressing session. =))
I mean... Come on...
You put a bunch of so-called 'physiologically unproductive' females in a room to talk about work-life balance?!!
How positive can the discussion be?! =))

[It's rather strange. Apart from this focus group, PSD also sent out an email today to seek Civil Servants' feedback on the recent debates about (i) the discrepancy in the perceptions of the Civil Service by locals and foreigners, and (ii) pay increase for the Admin Service and Ministers.

I can't help but to wonder about the intentions behind such a consultative move. It's rather un-Civil Service-like.]

Anyway, I cannot blog about the focus group discussion content due to a confidentiality clause. *shrugz*
Anyone can read up on my thoughts about marriage and parenthood on my blog. No big deal for me.

All that talking got me rather hungry. So I called up an ex-colleague/boss who was working in the same building for lunch.
She brought me to this nice Japanese/Korean restaurant at the Red Dot Museum. We were rather confused about whether it was a Japanese or Korean establishment.


Regardless, the food was very good and affordable.

After work, I piah to Cold Storage to buy some stuff coz Emily was coming over for dinner.
So how... On top of the sushi and cheese/fruit platter, I managed to whip up a chicken dish and some baked salmon.

We had a really good chat over the food and some surprisingly good supermarket brand Cabernet Sauvignon.
So glad that we got to know each from our previous work place. =))

She was very kind and bought me a cool photo frame from the Netherlands. She said it would match our apartment.


NO SHITE!!
IT'S PURRRRRFECT!!

Sometimes, I think I can imagine why tai-tais never get bored. Coz it's really fun to entertain guests! =))

I ALSO WANT!!
'GOOD FREN'!! ARE YOU READING THIS?!! =)))

But other times, I think work is the only means to self-fulfillment. SIGH...

A couple of peeved people commenting on the previous entry.

Oi... Don't too angry. You is not alone. But it's not gonna help the situation.

[I digress: Someone asked if my cats chewed my flowers. The answer is yes. Tiger does. But he only chews on the rose leaves. Dun ask me why. I dunno. Haven't chewed on the leaves to be able to tell the difference.]

Back to angry things.

Last Saturday, 'Good Fren' and I joined Cousin and Cousin-in-law-to-be on their apartment hunt. Somehow we ended up along Joo Chiat Road, headed for a nice cup of caffeine at Siglap, when we decided to stop at Joo Chiat to look at some apartments.

So we parked at one of those car parks in front of one of the many walk-up apartments along Joo Chiat Road. As seen below, my car is the red rectangle.

We were only gone for 15 minutes. And when we came back, the front right wheel of my car was clamped, and there was a crummy piece of paper stucked to my right front window. On it says the Management Committee of Strata Title No. XXX has the right to clamp my wheel coz I've parked in a private car park.

Erm... Ok... There is no sign saying it's a wheel-clamp zone.

And I have to (i) call a certain Mr X and (ii) pay him SGD100 before he will release the clamp. If not, my car will be towed away within 24 hrs and I'll have to pay even more.

Ok... I studied the piece of paper. There was only a Post Box No. No telephone number, no fax number. Nothing. How does one tell whether this is actually a scam?

[We soon realised that it didn't matter whether it was a scam.]

Called the Mr X. He came almost instantly on his bicycle. This rough-looking person who was super hostile.

Mr X: You pay SGD100, I release the clamp.
BM: We've only been parking here for a couple of minutes before you came along to clamp our car * points to the time of clamping.*
Mr X: Illegal parking. No grace period. Pay SGD100.
BM: Erm... How do I know whether this is for real? Is there someone we can call?
Mr X: No. No telephone. You pay, then write to this address. *points at crummy paper with P.O. Box address*
BM: But that's just a P.O. Box. How do I know whether they will reply?
Mr X: (raising his voice) You pay SGD100, I release the clamp!! You want to appeal, then write. You don't pay, then tow your car!! Then you pay more!

Seriously... I felt really violated. It's like we had stepped into some cowboy town in Clean 'O' Singapore. There are better ways to take SGD100 from anybody.

Think about it. He was obviously nearby when he saw us parking our car (which explains the time of clamping).
Instead of asking us to move the car, he waited for us to walk to the showflat next door, then proceeded to clamp the car and rode away quickly.
Yeah... we were only next door.
It's quite clear that 'fine collecting' is his objective. Ensuring that the car park is free of unauthorised cars is obviously a secondary consideration.
He must be getting a cut from the SGD100 collected.

It's quite good money, if you ask me.
But it's just really disgusting that such an arrangement exists. And people complain about Government Car Park attendants?!! HAHAHA!!

What if they had stated SGD1,000 on the piece of crummy paper, I would have had to pay for it regardless. Because I was on 'PRIVATE PROPERTY'. They could have brought me to court for TRESPASSING!
Think about the cost/hassle of going to court vs the mere SGD100 to release the clamp! Or even SGD1,000!!

Cousin suggested for me to leave my car there overnight just to 'enjoy' the SGD100 parking fee. Yeah right... Even if they didn't tow my car away, I doubt there would be much of my car left after 1 night.

Having lived in the East for the 1st 25 years of my life, I think Joo Chiat has regressed and degenerated into Scumland.

Even the famous Bak Kut Teh doesn't taste the same anymore.

It only takes a few bad neighbours to screw up the entire neighbourhood.

And YEAH... You cannot stop them!
It's the 'rights' of private property owners.

This week's flowers. =)))

See oredi = HAPPY!!!

I haven't been blogging much for the past week.
I is lazy. Seriously, I have been rather busy for the past 6 months. This job is taking up a lot of my time. A LOT!!
I think I have aged quite a bit.
I dislike having to put on a peculiarly serious front so as to convince people who are looking out for appearances.

Speaking of my job.
The most happening thing in the past week, has been the hooha about Admin Service and Ministers' pay. In the same week, the rest of the Civil Servants got their promotions and Performance Bonus.

Seriously, I think it's crazy how some get frustrated over not getting a 'B' grade.

(In the Civil Service, most commoners fall within 'C'-band, and some luckier ones find themselves in 'B'. 'A', 'D' & 'E' are 'special' and rare. So hor... in general, the 'better' and attainable grade is 'B'.)

In monetary terms, the difference in Performance Bonus between a 'B'-grader and 'C'-grader is merely a fraction of a month for Senior Officers.

Compare that with the whole numbers type of bonuses which Admin Service officers get, and one ought to realise that there is no point fretting over the fraction.

Some will 'get angry' at the amount the Admin Service is getting. Seriously, what's there to be angry about?

Everyone has a price. And whether you deserve more money really only depends on whether you can secure a higher pay. In simple terms, you earn SGD100 today, but tomorrow, you can find a job that pays you SGD200, then you are worth more than the SGD100 today.

In simple terms, if you cannot find another job that pays you more, then the job you have today is your best price. And if you consciously limit your best price within the Public Service, then do accept the limits of being a peasant.

Nobody ever said it's about 'fairness'.
Fairness is a concept which has been conjured to give hope to the naive.

Actually, the abovementioned concept of 'One's Price' ought to apply to all in the Civil Service, not just the peasants. Just that some understand and accept it more than others.

We have discussed about how meaningless wedding forms are earlier. Quite a few times, actually. I can't even bothered to link them anymore.

Some people borrow in order to have the 'Wedding of a Lifetime'. And you end up with a picture book full of glossy memories which you can show your guests, plus a debt to repay for the next X no. of months.
All it takes is for 1 vainpot and 1 sucker in the couple for this to happen. I think that's crazy.

I heard of something even more ridiculous today.

Some people collude with renovation contractors to increase cashflow. This is how it works:

Renovation costs = SGD30,000
Owner gets Contractor to issue a bill of SGD50,000, and applies for a renovation loan from the bank for this amount.
Contractor gives Owner cash of SGD18,000, i.e. Contractor makes an extra of SGD2,000 for agreeing to participate in this arrangement.
Owner gets more cash, and hopes to repay slowly over the years.

The catch is that the Contractor can turn around and keep all SGD50,000 which the bank has released!!
Then what's the Owner supposed to do?
Cry foul?!

DUH?!!!
.................................

Last week, after 'Good Fren' and I bought the new car, a familiar thought struck me on the way home.

After the age of 21 years old, all are given the licence to be reckless.

Any 'adult' can start to make 'adult' decisions without guidance. E.g. Get married, buy a car, a flat/apartment etc.
It's really quite scary.
Because at the point where you sign on the dotted line for a multi-year loan, nobody cares about whether you signing yourself away.
Everyone assumes you know WTF you are doing.

And seriously...
How many of us really do know WTF we are doing?!

Every weekend, 'Good Fren' and I would go to Cold Storage to stock up on food and stuff. That's when I'll grab a bunch of flowers.

This week, we bought these balls!!

Very cute hor?!!

I took the day off and found something. Something which I have lost for months. Perhaps about 6 months.

It's called 'Self'.

Went to do something I fancy this afternoon. While I was there, filling up a form, someone walked into the premise and called out,"Blinkymummy!"
A perfect stranger. He shook my hand.
I was quite happy.

And I am now thinking that perhaps I can be Blinkymummy all the time, and not just on my off days. Perhaps I could just write everyday. I would love that.

In the evening, met 'Good Fren' at Orchard Cineleisure to see the Red Cockatoo at Cathay's invitation.


This film is (I quote from the press kit)

"A passionate depiction of youthful protest in the former East Germany. The Red Cockatoo is a dramatic love story set in Spring 1961, months before the Berlin Wall went up. A young trio pursue their cravings for life, rebellion, rock 'n' roll and above all the legendary Dresden dance club "Roter Kakadu".

The female protagonist is a budding poet, which in those days can get someone into a lot of trouble. There was this scene where she was in Roter Kakadu having fun. She suddenly wrote on a postcard addressed to herself to remind herself that she was very happy on that day.

Just 46 years later, she can blog about it. Immortalising her reminder forever in cyberspace and shouting out to the world at the same time. That is, if anyone is listening.
................................

Which is your preferred manner of expression?

Writing? Drawing? Singing? Dancing? Talking? Lying? Cheating? Bullying? Killing?

Got an email from Ed Poole & Associates coz the webmaster of the Pump Room realised that he'd been getting referrals from my blog.

I had heard of Ed Poole when I attempted to wait on tables at China Jump. That was 1997. And China Jump hadn't gone operational. I remember the contractors bringing in pieces of the Jump Box seat cushion to be velcro-ed to the wooden frame. It was an amazing experience to be part of the preparation of a huge party which went on for about 3 years.

Shite... Has it been 10 years?!!

[Sidetrack a little: Because we are in the "Let's sell our cars" mode, I realise that my car will be 5 years old soon. It means that it has been more than 4 years since I last started on my Master. It also means that I have only been working for the past 2 years. Perhaps it's time to study again.]

In any case, the Webmaster sent me a link to an online effort to save the Pearl Bank Apartments.

It's an eye-opener to see archives of Pearlbank's Sales Brochures (in English and Chinese) and Showflat. I think hor... the wallpaper and furniture are in vogue again leh!!

I know it's quite something to own a Pearlbank unit in the 70s, and it is tempting to say things like "YEAH YEAH... They should keep the building! The architecture is worth it! Even URA says it has architectural value!"

But hor... I know... Unless someone or some entity manages to take ownership of the 200+ units in the building, it's really quite difficult to stop the individual owners (with the knowledge of unrealised GPR) from screaming "ENBLOC! ENBLOC!"

It will soon be another Pinnacle@Duxton. Dotted with at least 5 hundred micro flats and some mid-high-level green terraces, gym and children's playground.
Only that it will be inhabited by Yuppies and Employment Pass Holders.

If space-consumers were conscious of value design...

Haven't been blogging for the past couple of days because I have been too busy and have been defeated by food poisoning for the past 48 hours.
Ran a high fever and felt like hell. =_=

By now, I am feeling better, though my stomach still threatens to succumb every now and then.

'Good Fren' and I had taken leave to breathe and to buy car on Friday. But due to unforseen circumstances like last minute work, sickness, death in colleague's family, our plans were turned upside down.
I spent most of Friday on the bed, writhing in pain, while he went back to work.

So, despite all odds, we are going to buy a car today!!
And here is it!!

HO HO HO!!!

Let's hope my stomach holds up!!! =))

I think hor... No need to look any further.
This uncle has the coolest vehicle around.

Found him on the road around Novena/Balestier.
He was totally cool with huge vehicles rumbling past him.

Ok, 'Good Fren' and I went to kaypoh at car showrooms yesterday.

Went to look at 2 different car brands.
HONDA & SUZUKI.

I tell you... The choice is clear.
And I didn't even have to look closely at the Suzuki cars.


We were trying to find out more about their car range when the sales person at the Eunos Car Mart did the following:

X: So what car you looking for?
GF: This *points* and perhaps this. *points*
BM: Can you bring us through the packages?
X: So what are you looking for? You tell me lah!
GF: A small car. Something comparable to the Honda Jazz.
X: So how much you would pay for Honda Jazz? I tell you... this *points at car* is much cheaper.
GF: Honda Jazz is about SGD56,000.
X: *points at small suzuki car* You tell me you will pay SGD56,000 for this? This one is much cheaper! Much cheeeeeeepuuuur!
BM: *takes 'Good Fren's hand* Let's go.

Buying from people like this just means that you will get really frustrated once you have signed on the dotted line.
He's not even listening to his customers.
So there goes his potential deal for 2 cars.

Conversely, the guy at the KAH Motors showroom was really professional and spoke very decent English.
Makes the civics, accords and jazzes more attractive than they already are!

Because 2 of 'Good Fren's colleagues have invited us to their homes earlier, we returned the gesture yesterday noon.

Unable to produce enough food for a lunch of 6 using my ridiculously small kitchen, we bought a set meal for 6 from Crystal Jade Macau Restaurant from Bugis Junction.

(Have I mentioned before that Crystal Jade's concept and expansion are amazing?! From my point of view, they single-handedly raised the mid-level Chinese restaurant standards in Singapore. Previously, mid-level Chinese restaurants were not run as chains.)

Anyway, on our way back, we realised that 1 couple had lost their way, and incidentally, we managed to pick them off the street.
So cute!!

As usual, when people come over, I will get into the 'what-you-wanna-drink-i-have-alcohol' mode, while 'Good Fren' will conduct the apartment tour, which I refuse to do coz that's really YHEW....

But when there is demand, there will be supply.
And if people did this when you were at their place, you'd feel obliged to return the gesture.
Propriety is usually not too logical.
=_=

When I'm on the inevitable tour, I'll always go "FWAH!! Your place is really huge!" coz anybody's place is usually bigger than ours. =))
And the next question is: Who does the cleaning?!
HO HO HO!!! =)))

In any case, I always look forward to the end of the tour and niceties. I think the best part of any gathering is the sitting around with some beverages (preferably alcoholic), and having a nice chat.
About anything. Anything under the sun.
About policies, about religion, about the rationality of being etc.
I believe these are the best conversation topics, because anyone must have a view on these things.

The shittiest conversations are about prices of consumer products.
Come on... We are not in the World of Courts or Best Denki.
Surely we are not defined by what we consume?!

Oh oh... I realised something funny yesterday.
After a while, we had exhausted all topics related to Blinky, Tiger and cats in general, and had watched Blinkymummy bathing Tiger and Blinky on digital video.
The males started on XBOX360. But because they started off with Gears of War, I didn't join in.

So there you had 3 females with absolutely nothing to do.

And being the female host, I was thinking to myself,"Erm... I think this is the part where the female host will suggest some female stuff to talk about, or bring out some female things to show and tell..."

I was really trying to think of something, and trying real hard to remember past examples of what other female hosts did.
From what I could recall, they usually exchanged spa information, and showed their wedding albums + explained where they took the pics and how much it cost etc.

Erm... Ok...

I dun spa a lot, and the only glossy picture album I have is my dated modeling portfolio, which I think by bringing it out will most definitely come across as hao lian... whatever.

Imagine: "Erm... You look very bored... You wanna see my portfolio?"

Alternatively, I thought I could show them my blog, but that would be a little weird too.

Imagine: "Erm... You still look very bored... You wanna read my blog?"

So hor... It was all BLANK.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!
It's damn funny just thinking about it now!

BLANK.

I didn't have anything female to say or show.
AHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!

I then decided to not do anything about the female host role, continued to watch the guys play Gears of War instead, and complained of how silly the game was.
The chicks eventually started to read the papers.

HAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!

Sorry lor... BUT THIS IS DAMN FUNNY!!! =)))
......................................

'Good Fren' and I were more normal in the evening.

Bought all the clothes I liked from Bugis Junction and had an East Asian dinner in front of the TV.


What a Saturday!

My Sunday was even more... mundane... Write about it later.

Zer0 sent me this video of Muar Chinese by Muar Chinese.



I watched the video (without reading Zer0's entry), and found the line in the title most attractive. Later, when I read Zer0's entry, I realised that he picked out the same thing from this video. =))

[You can get the lyrics and Zer0's thoughts from his entry.]

I cannot speak for Zer0, but I know why that line strikes with me. Because of how people regard speaking with an 'authentic' accent as important, as sophisticated.

And an 'authentic' accent definitely cannot be a local accent.

You can get it from the UK, the USA, the PRC, but you just cannot adopt the local accent as 'authentic'. =_=

I should check with my Malay and Indian friends on their communities' standards on 'authentic' accents, to compare whether they have the same weird problem too.
.....................

Even if you shake your head at the content of the video, at the very least, it makes me wanna see Muar for myself.

I was on my couch, sipping some red and watching the news when I realised that today was International Women's Day or 三八妇女节.
I kept thinking that today was XXX Meeting day.
I is work fanatic. =_=

Incidentally, this lady colleague shared with me her experience of her staff being rather rude and confrontational with her.
I've had my fair share of rude staff too.
And we concluded that, despite our positions in the hierarchy, if we were not female and perhaps as young, our staff might not have been so daring.

After a hundred years of International Women's Day, such discrimination still exists.

And to make the situation a little more bleak, rude staff is not limited to the male gender.
In other words, females subscribe to the notion that females can be bullied too.

Yesh... You may not want to believe in this, but it's true.
We still subscribe to Gender Discrimination.
And this is coming from someone who does not believe in Gender Equality.

Some things take more than 100 years to be clarified and understood.

Others just stagnate. Forever.

Went to Clarke Quay last Friday to meet up with an ex-colleague.

I must say, Clarke Quay has finally taken off.
It's colourful and buzzing with activities.
Its attraction lies in the co-existence of F&B + Entertainment.

I hope this will go on for a while longer, and not fizzle out like Crazy Horse.

Had dinner and drinks at The Pump Room.


The decor exudes mellow funk.


And so does the food.


The plates were so freaking huge that 3 of us filled up the table for 6-7 rather quickly.

Apparently, this place brews its own beer, but we weren't in the mood. 'Good Fren' had coffee while my ex-colleague and I had wine. =))


It's lovely to find out that JIVE TALKIN' plays there after 10.30pm. Think we shall re-visit the Pump Room on the weekend!!

Perhaps with Moby and my retro-bobbing friends!!
WOO HOO!!!!

Blinky has been using the hole in the wall quite a bit lately.
I think he finds it thrilling to balance himself on the ledge.



Blinky is weird. =))))
......................................

Someone makes a comment on the previous entry, highlighting that she's a 26 yr old mother of one, who's quitting her job because of her child, is currently pursuing a degree and wishes to be a mother of 4 eventually.
Because I have highlighted that educated females tend to have fewer or no children, she ponders about whether she shall be categorised as 'uneducated' or 'aimless'.

My question to this person: Where is your dough coming from?

BTW, just as I wrote my entry last night, there was a report on educated females and decreasing birthrate in today's Today. I do think the sample is a little skewed coz the study was conducted within the South-West CDC boundary only. But I guess the phenomenon is widespread enough.

Allow me to ask a couple of moral question on behalf of all educated females.

1. Is it ok for my children not to be as educated as I am?
2. Is it ok for my children not to be be able to achieve the standard of living which I can provide them with now?
3. Why do I want to have children? Is it because it is the 'natural' thing to do? Is it because it makes me 'complete' as a female? Is it because I want to someone to take care of me when I am old? Is it because most people I know are having children?
4. Is it all about ME ME ME?

I watched SuperNanny on TV over the weekend. I think you must watch it too. And realise that not everyone is suitable for parenthood.
But because everyone has the irrevocable right to be a parent, that this world is a scary place to live in.

BTW, Super Nanny, Jo Frost, does not have any kids of her own. It's not even clear whether she's married to begin with.
She's a professional nanny.
Goes to show bringing up children properly is a full-time profession. None of that multi-tasking Super Mum bullshite. =))

We went for 2nd round of CNY visits yesterday, and managed to visit 3 different couples at their homes.

Couple A - His colleague + wife
Couple B - My JC friend + wife + 4-month old baby
Couple C - His uni mate + ROMed but yet-to-go-through-customary wife

Here you see the pot luck spread at Couple A's.
I didn't know it was a pot luck arrangement!
We went empty-handed!! AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!


Halfway through the potluck, I commented that the entire arrangement was rather 70s.
It's like one of those parties my folks, aunties and uncles used to have. Those you can find in the faded orangey photographs.
RETRO!!! =)))

We realised something very common amongst these 3 couples we'd visited in 1 Saturday.

1. They stay in HDB flats.
2. They minimally have a bachelor's degree. About half of them had been educated in the UK.
3. Apart from my JC friend, all of them work for the government.

And from our perspective, they are at different stages of couplehood, i.e. from recently ROMed, recently 'fully-married' to recently 'parent-ed'.

For me, it's experiencing the 'normal' couplehood vicariously through their lives. And I learnt a lot from them.
E.g. Baby on breast milk excretes yellow shite, while Baby on formula excretes green shite.
WOW!! Amazing!

But somehow, having seen their lives, it reassures me of my current life, especially when Couple B describes their typical weekday and weekend.

GOSH... I am so not ready for that.
And neither is 'Good Fren'.
['Good Fren' had been so busy with work, and was so tired that he fell asleep amidst a conversation halfway through the Couple B visit!!
WIN OREDI!!]

I know my mother will read this and go:


Erm... I think we are talking about 3 human lives here.
Don't think we should be taking any chances!!

Of course, I think about the bio-clock running out and stuff, but I'll rather let it run out, than to hurry and create a child now because of physiological constraints.

In any case, why do people have kids?

There was another couple over at our place last weekend, and the young mother (former go-getter in terms of studies and work) agreed that her child was the 'reason' for her to let go of her work.
Through our conversation, I saw her expectations of the child, and shuddered at the thought of being the child.
She basically transferred her expectations of herself onto her daughter.

And guess what?
I think it's difficult to resist parenting in this manner.
..................................

Think by now, my mother must be regretting her decision to give me an education. Coz it's a worldwide phenomenon that once you educate the females in any population, they will tend to have fewer or no children.

HO HO HO!! =)))

Some things cannot be undone!

Over the weekend, I found fresh white fungus in Cold Storage.
So, I grabbed some gingko nuts, lotus seeds and pandan leaves as well, to make the perfect sweet dessert soup.


For those who do not know, 'Good Fren' cooks. =)))
He put together a rather yummy pork dish using dark soya sauce.


He said this was a standard dish which he used to make during his uni days.

I don't use dark soya sauce at all because I think it's very harsh.
Too overwhelming.
I prefer light soya sauce.
....................................

Have you ever felt that you don't know how to feel what you are supposed to be feeling?

For example, someone dies and it's supposed to be a really sad day, and you are expecting the sorrows to drown you.
But you just don't feel it.

It's neither about disbelief nor shock.
It's just doesn't hit you.

I have the same problem when I am supposedly 'being nice' to 'Good Fren'.

It's like...
Some people have commented that the midnight cooking(s) and other stuff are uber sweet gestures from me to 'Good Fren'.

But I do not feel 'uber sweet' when I am doing it.

As in... I'd expect some kind of tinkling music playing in the background while I cook, and probably some pink fluff and sparkling bursts of lights floating around as the food is served.
Get the picture?

But this is not the case.
It's just a very simple and direct reaction to the fact that it's late and 'Good Fren' hasn't eaten = I make something for him to consume.

It's almost automatic.
It's very natural.

There are no conscious 'sweetness-creation' efforts.

I blame myself for being overly rational, functional and totally unable to be romantic.

.......................................

Anyway...
Last night, as I was driving home in the rain and trying to sing with Ayumi Hamasaki, I had an epiphany.

I realised why people would put up weight after they had stopped smoking!!

Contrary to popular belief, it's not only because of the increased appetite, because not everyone will experience that.

It's also because of the sudden decrease in exercise.

You see ah...

As a regular smoker, one cannot smoke in the office and has to walk to a smoking corner, area, hideout etc, to light and suck on their fags.
These episodes of walking take place quite a few times a day.
Just calculate the distance covered from your office desk to the lift lobby, to the smoking spot, and back to the lift lobby, then your desk.
Multiply it by 2 to 4 times. Every single work day of the year.

All things being equal, that's definitely more exercise than sitting at your desk for the entire day, and only moving when you go for lunch and toilet breaks.
.........................

Make it up by being HYPER HYPER HYPER!!!
=)))