One reason

Take a guess, how are all these seemingly random events in my life connected?

• No more baking
• Craving for sushi and ice cream
• Jeans feeling tighter
• More frequent trips to the loo
• Having bad dreams due to restless sleep
• Not keen on giving the Husby a hug

Tell ya tomorrow, going off to chillout at Max's Taphouse (I hear there are lots of beers here!)

TB skin test (III) and eye examination

The bad news:

8mm round calcific density projecting over the left scapula, possibly loose body in the subcoracoid recess of the shoulder joint capsule

The good news:

Lungs are clear and well inflated

In other words: No TB! See don't have to be afraid of me yah, even if I happen to talk too fast and saliva fly =P

Well I never knew about the loose body in my shoulder joint, but if it causes pain I shall have it removed. Maybe that explains the extra weight I am putting on! ;)



During the check-up, the nurse instructed me to read off this book with all the numbers to check if I was color-blind; it was the Ishihara Color Test for red-green color deficiencies. You know, it is those full of colored dots like the image on the left. So I started rattling off the numbers I saw on each page: 6, 12, 74, 2... as the nurse was writing the report, like a school kid learning showing off her new skills of counting and reading.



Chicken feet! I was sure I would score 100%!


I turned the page, and I was stumped. My heart skipped a beat.



Oh no, how ah, I cannot see any numbers! All I saw was a bunch of brown dots in that circle!



I squint my eyes, blinked.. Still nothing, no numbers appeared within that circle.

Maybe I should remove my glasses? Cover one eye?


What! Am I somewhat color-blind?




How now brown cow dots?




Tried to connect the dots....




Then the nurse looked over, and on seeing my puzzled look, said: Oh, you skip these two pages, there are no numbers there!


Haha *nervous laughter*, what a scare!


By the way, the image was taken from Wikipedia entry of Ishihara color test. Do you see the number 74? If not, ahhh! Warning bells should go off in your head! Go for an eye-test and color blindness test soon.


And one last thing, I even had a wrist band tagged to me when I went for the X-ray! They were worried they would get the wrong person.


And my new syringe.


Oh, I meant my new syringe pen- designed to scare people! If you don't like this entry, I jab you with it! *evil gleam in the eye*


Turning violent - blame it on the X-ray and loose body!

Mac guy vs PC guy

Here in Baltimore they have been showing a series of ads that compares between Mac and PC, it is really quite cute! I don't know if they have this in Singapore, but if you are interested, you can watch the videos here.

Someone did a rap version of it, and it is way cool! Listen closely to the lyrics.

I have always been a PC person; the only times I use Mac is at work. I got no preference between the two, although Mac tends to have sleeker lines! Or like how now there is a whole series of Mac i- stuff: ipod, ibook, iphone.

Are you going to get the iphone? If you are, be sure to let me know how great it is! I think I will skip it, do not feel the need to get it. It is similar to the ipod, I don't have one! No zen player either. I gave up keeping up with the Joneses - it is never ending. Instead, I just get what I need (ahem, frog rings are counted yah, the more the merrier!).

Ideas for dinner?

To "celebrate" our luck in securing a place to stay, I shall cook lasagna for dinner tonight. I realised I hardly discussed what I have been cooking for meals. There are also no photos to show for it because the lighting at the dining area is not at all pretty at night; it makes all the food look yellow and ugly (Yes, food can look ugly too!).

In general, for lunch I just have bread or canned soup. Hee, I know too much of the latter is bad for my hair and sodium levels, but since I discovered Chunky soup in New Zealand, it has remained one of my favorite food. Sometimes I just eat what ever leftovers from dinner to save the trouble of thinking what to prepare.

For dinners, so far we have made the following dishes to some extend of success (read: edible but you may not like it! ;P )

• Curry vegetables/chicken


• Claypot rice


• Fried rice


• Chicken rice


• Baked rice


• Fried noodles (with what ever noodles we found in the supermarket)


• Sweet and sour pork


• Bak Kut Teh soup


• Lotus root soup with pork ribs


• Char siu pork


• Steamed prawns in Chinese rice wine


• Breaded chicken/pork/fish


• Fish and vegetable soup


• Steamed egg (Chawa mushi)


• Steamed silken tofu with prawn


• Miso soup with noodles and pork


• Spaghetti with tomato paste/chicken soup


• Laksa with udon and cuttlefish ball

One of our favorites would be Caramelized baked chicken (it is like honey chicken!) and Crispy potato wedges, with stir-fried vegetables (or baked vegetables) and white rice. It is like throwing everything thing in the oven to bake!

It is not a lot, but it is so important to have that variety. I always admire how my mom or grandma know what to cook for each meal - would I ever reach that status like auto-pilot when it comes to cooking dinner? I always cheat. When ever I need inspiration for dinner, I turn to the Internet; it never ceases to amaze me what you can find here.

There are still several dishes I hope to cook: Wanton dumplings (pork, prawns and some water chestnuts), steamed fish (I don't know how to clean the fish!), carrot cake (the type with radish?), herb-stuffed red peppers, and egg tart (more like dessert). Wish me luck!

If you have any more ideas of what makes a good dinner, please share!


I'll end off with two food we found here packaged in different names: Kway teow as Thai-styled pasta and rice sticks, green bean (for soup with barley) as Moong bean or mung bean.

Never mind the name, so long as the food looks about the same!

Next time I'll blog about the Chinese take-outs here - there is always something Singaporean in every menu! Can you guess what it is?

No more housing woes!

At noon today, the Husby and I have secured our rental place for the next year! Hurray!

This was a stroke of good luck that we found this place. It appeared on Craig's list late Friday night when the both of us were desperately looking for miracles to happen. We knew from past experience we had to act fast, as the area we live in is very popular with the undergraduate students at the Johns Hopkins University. We called late in the night, set up an appointment, and viewed the apartment the next day.

There and then, we decided we would submit an application, and today we signed the lease with the landlord. He was telling us that some parent from New Jersey was very keen to take the apartment, and had offered him a higher price. In fact, the mother and her daughter both turned up when we were signing the lease. I suppose if for some reason we did not show up today to sign the lease, they would have gotten the apartment. Thank goodness for us, the landlord stuck to his word that he had already offered the apartment to us, and kept to the price he stated.

Perhaps that was how we lost the other apartments too, because people were willing to up the price to secure their place. To this end, we thank our lucky stars that this apartment deal worked out!

It was really difficult to find a good place (Well, many definitions of good - safe, secure, convenient, big etc). Some places we saw were so tiny that we were not sure if everything we had could fit in, it was hilarious to some extend, because we realised the living room would barely take a table and sofa! Of course, it was going for a low price which was why we just had to see the place for ourselves. Others were on the first floor, and lacked security grills on the windows. This was an issue for me because I certainly did not want any burglary. Whats more, basements apartments were out- I will miss the sunshine terribly, and it would usually be very cold. Then we also had to factor in the costs of electricity, gas and heating, the latter being essential in winter. Even if we found a place we liked and submitted an application, a lot still depends on the owner/real estate company to decide who gets the place. Plus it is important to see the type of landlord too.

Now that it is settled, we can heave a sigh of relief! ;)

To those who may drop by to stay at our apartment, we would have a proper space for a sofa bed for you (nothing fancy lah, it'll be something from where else but Ikea). Just in case, for some reason you are sending me something in the coming month, do ask me for the address yah!

And I hope the mouse does not move with me!

TB skin test (II)

The nurse took a ruler and measured: 22mm.

In individuals with no known risks for tuberculosis, a positive reaction requires a 15 mm or greater induration (hard swelling). (Source: Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia)

A case where more is not simply better.

So off I went for my chest X-ray at the Outpatient Center. I waited for at least an hour plus for my name to be called :(

All shall be known on Wednesday...

TB skin test (I)

I had a Tuberculosis (TB) skin test (also known as PPD or Mantoux test) done on Friday. The purpose of this test is to see if I have TB, and involved injecting a small amounts of protein from the bacteria that causes TB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) under the skin of my forearm.

If I am infected with TB, then there will be a "bump" on my forearm 48-72 hours post injection. This is because my body would have mounted an immune response to the tuberculin introduced under my skin, resulting in a localised swelling.

Great. That area on my arm is swollen and raised, an very obvious sign that there is an reaction. EEKS! This was taken 24-hours post inoculation, and today it is an even larger bump.

Well, it should come as no surprise to all of us from Singapore (or Asia) who have gone for our Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) shots when we were 12 (I have my large and seriously ugly scar to prove it - it made me really upset when I had such a obvious scar). BCG is a vaccine against tuberculosis, but like many other vaccines, its protective ability defers and usually decreases over time.

There is no BCG mass-immunization in the US, unlike Singapore. As such, this skin test would not be administered in Singapore simply because all of us would have a false positive result!

Now I wonder what the nurse will do tomorrow when she takes a look at my arm. Would I be sent for an X-ray? More tests? Or nothing else since it may be a false positive result? Will update soon.

Leaves

Autumn came real early for this tree; all the leaves are hues of yellow and red while every other tree has abundant green foliage.

Perhaps it has some virus that caused it to remain in this state. It is a spectacular sight on a cool summer day!

The green-eyed frog

Wifey: I love my ring! See it is so pretty with a frog, and it matches what I am wearing today. And the frog is so cute, finally got a frog ring...

Husby: Hmrp *jealous*

Wifey: ...I think it is a great buy! So hard to find a nice frog on a ring... Yadda yadda... *oblivious*


Now I know why the Husby likes to eat frog legs - reduces the competition!



The frog ring to my collection of frogs and chunky rings from a craft fair nearby! You can pick one up at Tigerlillyshop.etsy.com - I absolutely love her stuff. She told me the fabric for this was from boys' tie, nice!

Ooo, finally I found a pet online!

Remember earlier this month I had pretty gold fishes at the side bar? It was really sad that one morning when I came in the check on my blog, they were all gone. Empty! The program kept hanging on me, and so I had to remove all my fishes.

Sob, I was looking for some "pets" to call my own and keep me company.

Then I chanced upon this new site where I can adopt any pet I want, from hedgehog to monkey. How cool is that!! As you can see, I wasted no time in adopting a turtle. Be nice to Avocado now, give her some worms to eat too by clicking on "More". Personally I would rather feed her turtle food pellets, but I cannot change her diet. Oh well, so long as she is happy!

Isn't she pretty? ;) Best of all, I do not have to change her water!

Am I allergic to cats?

Another very quirky ad in Craigslist:

IF YOU HAVE CAT ALLERGIES, THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU.

BEAUTIFUL 2 BEDROOM HOUSE WITH FRONT AND BACK YARD. COMES WITH TWO FULLY GROWN CALICO CATS THAT WILL, WITHOUT A DOUBT, BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR CAT ALLERGIES.

YOU WILL HAVE HIVES WITHIN MINUTES WITH ALL THE CAT HAIR FLYING AROUND THIS JOINT...

Too bad we are not allergic to cats; what a good deal of a 2-bedroom with yard!

No luck so far with the search, and we had two bad experiences with housing agents. (What do you mean the place is taken? You called yesterday to confirm the appointment, and I have been waiting here for the last 20 minutes. And now I have to call you to find out it is taken?)

I'm usually nice as you know that, but now I am seething with anger; may bad karma follow them! (Go watch My name is Earl for what is karma)

If there is no place to stay, maybe I should consider being homeless and ask for money. Someone hire me please.

Here is some distraction: Japanese TV Tetris Game The hilarious clip helped to me to relax a little, thanks Fairy God Sister for sharing this.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon

It was a nice and sunny Sunday, and the Husby and I wondered off to Inner Harbor. What a contrast it was to the last time when we went on a dull and gloomy day. Ah, I love the sunshine! =)

There are two more panoramic shots of the area, scroll right down to the bottom of the page.



Left: Aboard a ship from Brazil
Right: The crowd and another ship to explore


Left: Buildings around the water front
Right: People were in paddle boats, and the water taxi was also running


The National Aquarim glass building; you can see the mock-forest!

Saturday's $106 loot

Thanks to Ian, we managed to go out to H-mart (Asian supermarket) last Saturday, and bought a hundred-dollar worth of groceries to last us for a while. Similar to the last time we went, I bought another pack of prawn crackers. This time they had the giant package, as you can see in the photo, it made the soda can look quite like a dwarf. *munch munch*

We also made a stop at Walmart, and I was happy to pick up the rice cooker, toaster, silicon mini-muffin rack, wine opener and tray for a mere $6! How come so cheap you ask? Not second-hand stuff yah! It was because of the gift card given my dear SPF- thank you so much, now we can have toast and some wine! Hee, I'm so looking forward to you coming over my dear, will bake some mini-muffins then! ;)



Left: Never knew Black and Decker made rice cookers too! I like the fact it comes with a steamer.
Right: Finally, a toaster! (with a note for the flatmates)


Left: Tray for baking brownies, mini-muffins and finally the wine opener
Right: Giant pack of prawn crackers (Dr Peppers as comparison)



Another reason why I love the H-mart, I can get these rice cakes. Probably the closest thing to the Teochew dessert Ah-balling I can get here. (Yes Fairy God-sister, I am still thinking of it; your vivid descriptions are etched in my mind!)

75 cents

I have been thinking about this since last week, and so I know I have to get it out of me, and write it here.

It was the first time I gave money to a African-American lady last week, as in she stopped me, and asked me for some money. Her exact words to me were "Do you know where the Women's Shelter is" and "Could you please spare me 75 cents to get food from the shelter".

She did not look really all that hungry, but she did look like she needed some help according to my gut feelings. Perhaps I looked kind to her, or that I looked rich to her. Or it could be simply because I was a woman and so she decided to approach me. She could have possibly asked everyone she met too. Which ever way it was, I dug out a dollar and passed to her and said "Get some food please".

In case you are wondering how far one dollar can stretch here, it is insufficient to take the bus (one-way trip costs $1.60). To buy a loaf a bread at the Safeway supermarket, the cheapest we could find was $0.89. A can of soda from vending machine would cost a dollar. To me, it would be even more difficult to survive on 75 cents.

I have always been somewhat hesitant to give money to those who stop me, which by far is few and far in between. The ones who have asked me before this lady were all men, and strangely enough, they all asked for a dollar. I would meet them along the streets, and my standard reply had been "Sorry" as I walked away.

Before you judge me and think I am so mean not to even spare some loose change for these people, you got to hear me out.

Some of these people who ask for loose change are homeless people; one of the definition is "an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" according to Wikipedia. An article from MSNBC estimates the number of homeless people in US for 2005 was 744,000. Of these proportions, I truly understand they do sometimes need the money for food. However, there are some shelters around for them to get food, like the soup kitchens run by charity groups or some organization. It is usually not to difficult to know which ones are the homeless ones. They lug along their belongings in bags, and sometimes smell like they have not showered for ages.

What most of us here are most afraid of are those who ask for money to actually use it to buy drugs and alcohol. By supplying them with more money, this would only fuel their habits and eventually aid in their path to destruction of their health. Just by one glance, you can tell if someone is on drugs. Most of them have this stoned look. Those who drink a lot are easy to spot too, you can smell the alcohol on their breaths from a distance. These I stay clear off, and I am most unlikely to give them any money.

Or there would be some who are not all that poor, but they are out to cheat money. By asking for a dollar from each person, these, albeit a tiny proportion, could add up to quite a mean sum at the end of the month to live comfortably.

If you notice, I use the word "ask" for money rather than beg. This is because most of these people I have meet are not like the beggars we see in Asia where they sit in street corners with a can in their hands. The people here walk up to you, and ask you for some money. The Husby and I agreed that the best way to handle it is to say "no, sorry" and walk away. If you ignore them, they will get angry, so it is best to decline and walk away. Of course if the person really looked like they need the money, we would give them some. (Just remember if you decide to give money, do not take out your wallet and pull out all your bills to get the one-dollar bills! Do not show off your wallet and its contents unnecessarily).

And just in case you have this image of homeless people looking terribly skinny and like a bag of bones, you cannot be more wrong. A report by Johns Hopkins showed "Obesity high among Baltimore Homeless" Surprise, surprise isn't it, they are battling obesity instead! What happens is that with just a dollar, junk food and soft drinks are the cheapest; these food are also more calorie-laden than fresh food like carrots and fruit juices. For more in dept discussion on this, you can read this article or this book "The omnivore's' dilemma".

Now that the weather is warmer, there are more homeless people occupying the benches at the parks. Somehow I wonder where do they go during all the cold weary winters. I certainly hope there is some shelter for them when the cold temperatures sets in.

While searching for some of the articles, I found this site: Bums of hire. You hire a bum, and a portion of what they earn goes to you. In return they get a hot meal, a shower and a place to sleep. This practise disturbs me somewhat; it just does not feel right to me. However, they do get a "job". What are your views on this?

Crummy little apartment

Seen on Craigslist was this post for apts/housing for rent:

Enjoy virtually no amenities in this run-down old building, probably ever renovated. No laundry, no parking, no pets...no central air...nothing included in your rent. It is available now, though, roomy, free of insect life, and close to everything. The light's not bad. People have even been known to like it. Need a place to live fast?

I gotta say this is the first brutally honest ad I have seen so far; the others may feature buildings this old run-down state, but they often wax lyrical about how wonderful the location is (even though you have to walk 6 blocks or more to that book store they say is "right around the corner").

In case you are wondering how much this is going for, its a whopping $850 per month. Note it says "free of insect life" but no mention of rodents.

Will we take it? This is a no brainer right? With no this and no that included in the rent, there is NO WAY we'll go for it!

Peonies

Over the weekend, the Husby got me these pretty peonies from the Safeway supermarket! (Hee, he paid for all the groceries). These beauties were going for only a $3.50 a bunch, and I could not resist picking them up.

They remind us of my bouquet for our solemnization, and that brings back fond memories ;)








Left: What a painting may look like, similar to this post
Right: The original photograph

Driving

Yesterday the Husby and I went to take a Drug and Alcohol test.

Don't get the wrong idea, we did not so anything wrong!! And it does not involve trying any of the drugs and alcohol, nor any urine test (That would be so odd!). All it was was a written MCQ test, pay $35, and you get the certificate saying that you have passed the test.

The test itself was easy, if you done the reading beforehand. We had to learn all about how alcohol is a drug, and that it does greater harm than heroin. That somehow surprised me, for in Singapore, we sure banned heroin, but alcohol flows freely from the tap. I never looked at alcohol that way before. If you consider that the crimes that occur when people are under the influence or impaired by alcohol, like assault/abuse/rape, it is plausible that alcohol is the root of many evils since it triggers a lengthy intoxication state. The figures given say that one in ten person here in US is alcohol dependent, which works out to be 40 million people in the country. Freaky yah! We also had to read all about drugs, like how crack is like another form of cocaine, and how people take marijuana. We are now experts now on drugs, literary experts that is!

This drug and alcohol test is required if you wish to convert your driver's license to one issued from the Maryland state. With the latter, it makes the car insurance way more affordable. Plus it is also another form of identification when you order drinks for dinner.

Of course there is still the another written test of the road rules here in Maryland/US, as well as the actual driving test. I found it amusing that you have to provide your own car for the driving test. How do you get yourself to the test site if you have rented a car? This meant you would need to drive yourself there in the first place, which is strange to me since if you can drive to the test area, you should already pass the test right?

I have not driven for ages, like some 9 years now. Back then I was elated to pass my driving test on my first try (see I must be good! ;)), but there was no car. Seriously I don't really see the need for a car in Singapore because the transport system is all right; I know it has its flaws and I will not exactly rave about it either. Of course you may beg to differ. Perhaps your job requires you to travel across the island, or you can afford it, so that is good for you.

However I always get peeved when someone asked me why don't I have a car in Singapore. Not everyone comes from a rich family okay, with a cushy job and no worries about money because your family has it all. If your parents got you a car, good for you. If you managed to afford it on your own, now that is even better. For those who are making a lot of unnecessary noise and trying to show off your set of wheels, drive along now, and look out for me when I cross the road, because unlike you, I actually walk on the pavements, I cross the roads and I take the bus.

Wow, I did not know that I kept all those inside of me!

Anyway, I will be driving by the end of the year. Yup, this is one of my resolutions this year, and I am sure I can accomplish that. Here in Baltimore, driving becomes a necessity rather than a luxury. I do not wish to stand in the snow to wait for the bus! For this mammoth task, my mama will be my role model! She did not drive for some twenty years, but picked it up again. See nothing is impossible!

But if you get the chance to sit in my car, say your prayers, buy some insurance and belt up okay? ;)

A cold (boring) day

Today the temperatures have dipped to between 16 C to 19 C, this is a far cry from last week when it was at least 29 C. Had to go find my jacket which I have happily relegated to the back of the closet as I thought I'll not need it in summer!


It could be due to yesterday's storm, which resulted in hail and even tornadoes warning in Maryland. Thank goodness there was not any tornadoes, and even so not in Baltimore city itself (I certainly hope so! Otherwise we better move to a basement apartment). All we had in Baltimore city was some rain in the evening, which is mild compared to the tropical thunderstorms in Singapore.

I should have baked today, something like muffins, chicken casserole and baked potato wedges (save the gas lah) would have been great for such a cool evening. But hee, I got lazy. Come to think of it, I have not baked this week too; trying to get more inspirations of what to bake as well.

On top of that, we have been on the hunt for a new apartment to move to. It made me realised that I was really very sheltered in Singapore. I did not have to worry about renting a place and paying rent. Here we have to find out if the apartment comes with utilities (heat is always a killer in winter!), laundry, in good neighbourhood and secure building. I still really fortunate, for there is the Husby to share the worries with me.

I know that in the past I have complained that it is not as safe here, but the truth is, it is expected as this is the States, and it is Baltimore. If I kept thinking that Singapore is safer blah blah, I should not have bothered to come over then.

In the end, the Husby and I walked down to have western food instead. Yum, burgers are good, warm or cold day! And so this ends my boring entry for a boring day with a satisfied tummy. Ta-ta!

Yahoo photos

I just found out from fishy that Yahoo Photos is closing down, by Sept 20th!

It was announced early May (USAtoday article), but I have not reading the Technology news nor checking Yahoo Photos. This move comes as no big surprise, once you recall that Yahoo had acquired Flickr sometime back in March 2005. I guess Yahoo is fighting with eBay for auctions, and Google for web search, as well as Photobucket for photo services; I still like their email services.

So if you are a Yahoo Photo user, move your stuff to Flickr or any of the other providers before the photos are gone!

Letter to the mouse

Stepped into the kitchen,
turned on the lights,
opened the fridge,
poured myself a cup of OJ,
and the MOUSE appeared!
Scared the living daylights out of me.

It went from under the stove to under the fridge. The Husby saw it too. If we scare it out, what are we going to do with it? I do not have enough guts to kill a mouse with say a broom! Eeks!

Letter to the mouse leaving in the kitchen under the stove/fridge:

I know you are there mouse.
You saw that we noticed you.
Why are you mocking us?
Do you not have better things to do?
Please find yourself a new home!

Nutella

Most of us would know Nutella, you can find the chocolate-hazelnut spread everywhere these days.

However, most people I've met here, especially if they come from Europe, say that the Made in US Nutella is different from the European ones. I was like "Huh? Really, why? What is the difference?" Our flatmates from Germany and Spain said that the US ones are not rich enough, and not as tasty.

I also mentioned before that there were very few hazelnut products in US, be it in chocolates or nuts. (Sob, they are my favorite nuts) It was then no surprise to discover that hazelnuts are native to Europe and Asia; could this explain why there is a difference in taste between European and US Nutella?

To read more, you can go to Food Maven, a food blog belonging to a lady staying in Baltimore, her entry is titled "Nutella face-off: Italy vs. USA" and her verdict. It was also discussed on a food forum: Heads up about Nutella- European vs. US version. Apparently the US Nutella may contain some trans fat due to the partially hydrogenated peanut oil, but in such small amounts that it could be listed as 0g trans fat. *Liar, now I know it is in there!*

I used to really love Nutella, and I could polish off one bottle in no time. Thus I banned myself from eating it for a long while, because I was a Nutella Monster (Like some Nutella Anonymous - Hi My name is YS, and I am a Nutella addict). It is one teaspoon of Nutella to one-sixth of a piece of bread for me, so you can imagine how fast a bottle goes empty.

So why am I talking about Nutella again? 'Cause the Husby received a bottle of Made in Germany Nutella for his birthday from our flatmate! And oh-so-conveniently I am eating it too. ;) Oh no, this is really bad. It is difficult to resist spooning lots of it onto my wheat bread. The spread is tasty, but I cannot say how different it is from say the American ones or the Singapore ones, as like I mentioned I have not touched Nutella for some years now.

If you are a big Nutella fan, and if you are going to Europe, then you certainly got to try the ones there!

And what do you know, the Nutella Monster lives on in me! *whahahhahaha*

This lovely packing of Made in Germany Nutella has all the chocolate-hazelnut goodness in a colorful glass cup. When all the Nutella is gone (it will be quick!), at least you have the cup (and an expanding waistline)!

Some interesting facts about Nutella taken from Wikipedia:

- Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut-based sweet spread created by the Italian company Ferrero (the makers of Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac and Kinder amongst other delights).

- In many French cities, Nutella-filled crepes are available,often accompanied by sliced fruit such as bananas or strawberries. These are also available in Italy (minus the fruit), where however Nutella-filled croissants are more popular.

-Join the World Nutella Day!

GST raise and package in Singapore

I just signed up for my GST package today via the website http://www.gstoffset.gov.sg/ (Thankful that I read the ST, otherwise I would have missed it!).

A 2% raise to 7% Goods and Service tax this coming July sounds like a lot to me. But when I calculated how long my $200 "gift" will last, it will cover the increase until I spend $10,000. Suddenly it does seem to stretch quite far. Still it is painful to hear that there is a raise in GST, which will eventually hit 10%.

What ever plans you have for that money, be it donate it to charity or splurge on yourself, make sure you remember to claim it! If you want help on how to spend the money, me! me! ask me! ;)

Honfest 2007

Last Saturday the Husby and I went to Honfest 2007 at a nearby neighborhood Hampden!

HonFest is a unique celebration of all things "Bawlmer." is a celebration that pays homage to the neighborhoods, the language and the people of Baltimore. The highlight of the day is the crowning of Baltimore’s Best Hon. What is a Hon? The term Hon is actually a friendly Baltimore greeting and comes from the word honey. However, the women who vie to become Baltimore’s Best Hon are a vision of the sixties-era women with beehive hairdos, blue-eye-shadow, spandex pants and something, anything with leopard print! Taken from Honfest 2007 website

It would take me too much engery to explain what Honfest is all about, so the website says it all. It was originally started by this cafe known as Cafe Hon back in 1994. What started as a small celebration outside the cafe transformed into a two-day street event, with the closure of one road.

You should see the photos of the Hons; they have beehives that will rival Marge Simpson, and probably win! We went there much later in the afternoon, so we missed the Best Hon crowning. Here are some photos for you to admire! Best Hon Contest, Finalist & Winner -from WBAL Baltimore

With this festival comes along learning some Bawlmerese, described on Cafe Hon site as "The language spoken at Cafe Hon, Hon Bar, Hampden and around town". Check out the link for pick up a little local flavour, like how now Baltimore is Bawlmer, nice!

It was crowded when we arrive, people were everywhere, shopping at the stalls, spilling out from the shops and sitting on the sidewalks while sipping their beers. I went into the vintage store to take a look, but left empty-handed. There are just so many things I want from there, but I have to practise control- must not accumuate more stuff!

We spent our money on food instead, filling our tummy was more important! The crab burger was yummy, and so were the deep fried potato snacks. And we bought ourselves the most expensive lemonades ever, at $6 for a large cup! Alas, it was nothing spectacular and was too sweeeeeeeeet. It was fun to sit on sidewalk to eat and people-watch.

Soon after eating, we left the festival, and began our 1.5 mile (2.4 km) walk home. As I am posting the photos now, I am drooling at the crab burger once again. If only I can take a bit into it right now, that would be sweeeeeeeet!




The scene at 36th street. I love the blue skies!


Left: Bands were performing at one of the three stages; too bad we missed the highlights.
Right: Fried Candy Bars and fried cheesecake?? I know there is fried Mars Bar in Singapore, but how would candy bar taste like? O-I-L-Y!


I love my crab cakes!


Left: Funnel cakes are a common fare at these festivals. Click here to see it looks like, and to learn more.
Right: Ribbons of potatoes deep-fried and oh-so-artery-clogging!


Reflection of us at the Sculpture garden on our way back to the apartment!

...and there was two light bulbs!

The landlord had someone come in to fix the light yesterday.

To our surprise, there are actually two light bulbs to the ceiling light instead of one! This meant that we have been living in half the brightness/darkness all these while; no wonder I always found the light dim, but attributed it to an old building.

Suddenly everything looks so much brighter here =)

Maybe that would make me brighter too! *grin*

Darkness...

The fuse of the only light in the room blew! For now there is darkness in the room.

Whoo hoo... Typing with the light from a table lamp is so much fun.

Seriously, this is when you wish you rented a place with 24 hours maintenance. =(

Mouse alert!

Yesterday evening as the Husby was adding the chicken to the wok to fry, the oil splattered out as we forgot to remove all the water from the chicken. The both of us jumped away from the stove.

Next thing I knew, something small and black appeared at the corner of my eye as I looked at the floor, and bumped into my slipper before running towards the cabinet! I screamed in horror!

EEKS! MOUSE! MOUSE! Or worse, was it one big RAT??

It must have been the loud "hissing" sound caused by the frying that scared the rodent out of its hiding place behind the stove, running into my feet along the way.

Ahhhh!

I guess this shouldn't really surprise me that much, as mouse problems are common here. In fact, probably in every city. Even if you stay on the 13th storey, there is no escaping it! The mouse travels along the pipes and invades the houses. All they need is a half-inch gap for them to squeeze through, and voila, your house will have more visitors!

They are smart too, not easily caught in mouse traps according to stories people shared with me. I certainly will not want to use those glue traps, I think they are horribly inhuman because the mouse will struggle and fight its way to get out of the glue, even if it means gnawing its limb off. A grotesque sight indeed.

There was no sightings of the mouse or mice in our apartment prior to yesterday's incident, which made us ponder: why now? One possibility was that all our neighbours have moved out for the summer, or left the place as they have completed their undergraduate studies. We seem to be the only apartment on the fourth level that is occupied and this where the food is. Perhaps it / they have always been around, but just that we have never been formally introduced (Hi, I am the mouse staying in your kitchen!), or seen any of the telltale signs of their occupancy - mouse droppings.

The bigger problem would be why are these mouse indoors? I read in the Citypaper that because there was a big rat problem in the city, and these rats leave on the streets, rampaging through the thrash for food. Therefore the mice hide from the rats in the next best place: indoors. The rats here have also been known to kill stray kittens on the streets. So it seems like rats rule the streets!

I am sure the next place we move into will have a mouse problem too, and I can still live with it so long as it is not a rat problem. Maybe we will now seriously consider keeping cats instead of dogs.

If my cat is like this orange cat Jeff, I may take some getting used to. Jeff the cat has been bringing his kills - from birds to bunnies - to his owners. The website contains disturbing / disgusting images of his kills, but here is the website if you are interested anyway. Imagine waking up to a dead mouse in your face, fresh from the kill and warm to touch! :S

I'll end off with this article "My Small Murders" from Urbanite, a monthly publication in Baltimore city. It is a fictious story of one man's misadventure with mouse problems in his apartment, and how it may have wreaked havoc on his marriage.

Update on Monkey

This morning I asked my mom how was Monkey doing. She said he was as good as ever, which is great to hear.

It is hard to believe that this old Monkey has been with us for some 13 years now, and he still looks like he as 3. Still as cheeky as ever, digging up the garden to sleep in the soil (as it is cooler), then stepping all over the floor when it has been washed. Or how when my mom is pulling the weeds out in the garden, he will follow her around and roll in the grass, pleading with her to rub his fat tummy. This dog does not change its "spots"!

The strangest thing about Monkey (either than his name!) would be that he has two cats as his companion! The cats were probably stray cats who have now feed from Monkey's bowl if he is feeling generous, and keeping him company. Odd enough, he favours one cat over. Hilarious right? It is like we keep the dog, and the dog has cats as his pets! *LOL*

And remember Donkey, Monkey's dog pal? Sad to say, my mom has not see the dog for a long time. Maybe he has run away from home. I just hope it was not mistakenly picked up and sent to the pound.

I sure miss Monkey! Maybe the Husby and I would consider adopting a dog if we get an apartment that allows it! But all that is just talk right now, getting a pet is a big commitment which we have to give serious considerations. Hey, or a ferret, just like in Along came Polly!



These photos taken in September 2006.
Left: Monkey and his favorite spot by the gate. He loves to rest his snout on the railing and spy on my mama. Those two kitty cats in the background are his constant companion
Right: Happy Monkey on the grass, right after a shower

Dinner rolls

I have gotten a little lazy lately with baking bread, but I still crave a snack. So what's a girl got to do to find some food around here? (In Singapore, I would say get Breadtalk or something, but sob... no such thing here)

In comes Pillsbury to the rescue! These open-cut-roll-and-bake dinner rolls were ready in 15 mins tops, isn't that quite something? There was 8 ready to use triangles of dough in the packaging; the dough even had the dotted lines to tell you where to separate each triangle. How neat is that! What's more we picked the ones that had reduced fat and 0g trans fat, so hopefully this is healthier than say a croissant.

I added some sausages in there, along with tomatoes and tuna. About 10 minutes in the oven and it was done! The dinner rolls tasted pretty good too, so now I know what to do when I get lazy. =P

Just for fun, here is the webby to Pillsbury, and you can make the dough boy dance, it is quite cute.

Sleep - birds ruffling my feathers

I tried to type a post last night, but I failed. Honestly, I tried, but somehow I was just too distracted by friends chatting with me. You know how it feels like there is this blinking window at the bottom the you just have to click on it to see what is going on. I cannot complain there, because it is always good to have company online. Otherwise I will be quite lonely here.

And I became really sleepy. I blame that on the weather. It has gotten so warm lately that walking to the bus stop under that scorning sun leaves one feeling drained of all energy. Today the temperature is climbing to 35C / 95F; I will be roasted in no time! Somehow I do not recall it being this warm in Singapore; I am just about to experience the real summer here!

So I quit writing the post, and climbed into bed. By then it was midnight. Guess what, the birds started chirping, singing or fighting, whatever you call that. The noise was undeniable coming from the birds in the trees. Can you imagine that they start in the middle of the night! *roll my eyes* It is not just one, but a bunch of them. Don't they see it is the middle of the night, and nowhere near dawn? This reminds me of our neighbours in Malaysia who keep chickens; the cock kept crowing in the night! D'oh! And how Monkey bite one of them who flew into our garden, now that is a totally different story.

I read up a little on why birds make so much noise in the night, like they are all bickering over space in the tree. In the first place, why do birds sing? Generally it would be to attract mates, or defend their territory. So why do they sing at night? Two possibilities: firstly, some species like the nightingale sing at night. The second would be because it is getting brighter in the cities, so birds are triggered to sing. Poor things though, they must be wondering why is the day so long!

As much as I find the singing annoying at night, I would rather hear them than to have none like described in Silent Spring. I just wish I was a heavy sleeper, so the birds would not ruffle my feathers!

More information can be found here:

Songs and calls

RSPB: Ask an expert: We can hear birds singing at night (2am) in trees
adjacent to the house in mid-December. Why?

Postcards

To my dear friends on the other side of the world, I have just dropped off another set of postcards into the mail box. They have the lovely snow flake stamps affixed on them. I hope you will like them!

If you did not get anything in your mail box within the next ten days, please be patient with me as I will try to send to everyone. Your turn will come! But if you feel you want need that postcard now, drop me a line and I will see what I can do about it! ;)

It is so bright!

This photo was just taken at 8.30pm; it sure does not look that late to me! But I am not complaining, in fact, I like it this way much more than the short days during winter. It makes me feel like I have one super long day (that I have just wasted! =P )

Compare to these photos I took about one month back, you can sure see a difference.

Dunkin Donuts in Singapore

Apparently you can now get Dunkin Donuts in Singapore, although there is not store front! The New Paper story reports that it has already been around for three months!

If I was back in Singapore, I am sure I would have called and order a dozen. Hmm.. Maybe more, always room for dessert!

Here is the website to call and order. Has anyone tried it? Is it any good? I feel like munching on my favourite chocolate donut! *greedy greedy*

Google Street View

Have you had of it? You got to check it out here for a demo on the Google site.

I think it is pretty neat that you can see on the street level instead of the one-dimensional map or the the almost two-dimensional satellite views! Unfortunately it is still in the pilot stages and is not available throughout the US but only the major cities like San Francisco and New York. Too bad you cannot see more views of Baltimore!

Actually these views of the streets you see ain't even real time, because when I checked on New York city last night, it was way bright and sunny over there! I didn't know New York city was had the sun all day long - it sure takes the label "the city that never sleeps" to a whole new level. =P

According to this site, this one view of New York Times Square with the give away news ticker was shot in September 2006. Thank goodness they are not real time, or it would be an invasion of people's privacy to some extend. Like how Google Sightseeing reports that someone was caught leaving the adult store, or girls seen sun-bathing. Gasp!

If you see this vehicle, this is the one responsible for all these photos you see on the Google Street view. For more public discussion on Street View, you can read it on Boing Boing.

If it is available in Baltimore, please do not tell my papa okay? Otherwise he will go check out everyday and see what I am up to! Once when I called him on our weekly Friday chats, he told me he had used Google map and satellite to see where I am staying now. Now that was a big surprise, coming from my papa who still opens up junk mails thinking they are the real deal. I am sure it is only a matter of time before he tells me about this street view thingy!

Here is the link to see New York city at the street level without costing you a bomb to fly there from Singapore - enjoy the sightseeing!

Stamps

Two weeks ago, I picked these beautiful snow flake stamps out from the stamp vending machine; I like the machine just as much as the stamps! =D

Last week, we realised that the local postage rate is now 41 cents instead of 39 cents! Fortunately we had not sent out our bills using only the snow flake stamps, for they may not reach their destinations.

Thus we scrambled to buy the 1 cent stamps, 50 cents worth of them so they can complement the snow flake stamps. Hopefully there will be no more 2 cent increases, it gets bothersome!

Sirens

The sirens of the ambulances, fire engines and police cars are really deafening here in the US!

It is so loud that you literally have to cover your ears. There was this one time when the Husby and I were at the School of Medicine, and three fire engines went by in a row. Wow, it was earsplitting that I was worried we may all go deaf! As it was a high build-up of buildings in the area, the volume and intensity of the sirens resulted in vibrations which we could feel; some car alarms went off as a result!

Whats more, you will hear these sirens throughout the day, and sometimes even late into the night. If you stay along the main route of the ambulance rushing to the hospital, you will get an extra dose! I hear that in some countries the sirens are usually turned on only as the emergency vehicle reaches the traffic junction, but here the sirens are blaring for their entire journey. I certainly hope the use of these sirens is not abused! All these loud sirens sure make me wonder if the firemen are deaf. I hope that because the sirens are blasting away from them, their ears are still working well!

What is really nice, however, is the fact that cars will pull over once the sirens are heard and the vehicle approaches. I have seen cars literally pulling to the side to give way. It is definitely nice to know that at least the purpose of the sirens to inform the public that there is an emergency is not a lost cause. But in Singapore, the same cannot be said. Even when some hear the sirens, or even see the ambulance coming up, they simply do not give way. What are they thinking I wonder! Must be that they pay road taxes too, and therefore they do not have to yield to the right of way. Now that is plain uncivilized!

Sometimes when I am watching Law and Order or CSI, I cannot figure out if the sirens are coming from the show, or are they from the streets! It is like from reel life to real life!

Chargers Candy

I discovered this candy while I was chilling out at Starbucks reading the Citypaper! It was a mixture of the cute packaging, along with the promise of "Chile + lime gum" that had me transfixed and fishing out my wallet. What can I say, I am such a sucker for cute packaging!

The packaging is exactly like a battery, and I read that it can be used to hold six quarters when it is empty. The chile gum (the orange colored ball) was indeed spicy, which was a novelty to me. The green lime gum was less spectacular, and tasted like every other lime gum.

This company has another product: red caffeniated chocolate esspresso beans in similar packaging; that isn't terribly appealing to me. I think I rather have my mocha frap instead!

Charles Village festival 2007

It was the Charles Village festival 2007 last weekend! It was a little like the Flower Mart we had at Mt Vernon, but this had a street parade.

Charles Village is where the Husby and I are staying right now (okay, no jokes on the village please!); there are many students staying here as it is near the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus. We would need to move within the next two months, so it is now time to decide where to shift to.

As I was saying, we caught the last part of the Charles Village parade as we were returning from the Farmers' Market. (I really like the latter as I can get vegetables and fruits at great prices!) There were several school bands with all the cheerleaders marching up the street, and the entire road was closed to traffic. On the other side of the street, stalls lined up the entire length of the road, selling food, trinkets and other knick-knacks.

It is certainly fun to have such festivals. There will be one more this coming weekend, and I hear this is a good one! Looking forward to it!




Charles Village street parade! The colors of their costumes remain me of NUS, the same blue and orange tones!

Goodies in the mail!

Look at all the goodies that arrive in the mail today, don't they all look so yummy!

Thank you so much Dawn, we really like the surprise which will enable us to cook up a storm with all the spices. And laksa! Now that is something we have not had in a while! The pineapple tarts are fantastic too, and we look forward to trying the char siu sauce. *tummy is rumbling in anticipation!* Not forgetting the cute frog staple (in the center of the photo), I love it! It will certainly come in handy!

Next time I must hide my new address from you! =P Thanks once again for the goodies Dawn, we really love it =)

Post #200

This is post #200! *Fireworks please!*

I wanted to commemorate it with something profound and thought provoking.

However, I talk too much, rambling on like a case of bad verbal diarrhoea at times. So I shall reign myself in, before I get carried away.

Here are two pretty little frogs we chanced upon yesterday morning, they were the size of my thumb. You know that I have this thing for frogs (if you didn't know, well, I'll update someday!). There were near a pond, and I am sure there were many more tadpoles in there. These are the times I am very grateful that my camera has a 1cm macro mode to take these fellows up close.

And yes, watch where you are stepping, don't squash them, like what happened here!



Kiss 'em and see if they turn into your knight in shining armour!
Eh, wait ah, are these really frogs??

Hiccups

This evening, a bout of hiccups hit me *hic*!

I think hiccups are fun, especially if you are bored at home. It sure isn't a least bit fun when you are in public places like on buses where everyone will stare at you. So malu leh! Imagine it is all silent, and suddenly *HIC!* erupts from deep within you, at regular intervals! It may have happened to me before, which makes me realise *hic* I do get hiccups quite often.

Holding my breath sometimes helps to get rid of it, but *hic* today it did not work! The next best cure was to get distracted by something else, and not think about the *hic*. Nope, that failed too.

So it was the Husby to the rescue! I tried to scare him, so as to distract myself. Nah, that was *hic* useless.

I ask him if he could do a "not-scary-scare". What exactly is that? I am a scaredy cat, so I wanted a mild scare...

*BOO* That resulted in peals of laughter, and yay! the hiccups were gone...




*hic*

Ahh! It was getting annoying, and I was becoming desperate to get rid of it. *hic* As I sat down at my table, the cure stared at me right in my face: chewing gum! Try it next time, it worked for me!

Here are some interesting things about hiccups I found on Wikipedia:
-Charles Osborne had hiccups continuously for 68 years, from 1922 to 1990! He has the honors of the Longest Attack of Hiccups. Now that is one record I do not want to beat!
-In January 2007, Jennifer Mee, a girl in St. Petersburg, FL, USA, contracted hiccups for almost 6 weeks. (Hmm, does it still come on when you sleep?)
-Ultrasound scan reveal that fetuses have hiccups too!

And Freo gets hiccups too! =)

The real birthday

The real birthday celebration for the week was for my dearest Husby!!!

I thought I stumbled upon the perfect gift:

Nothing! (Picture taken from http://www.iwantoneofthose.com)
That was always his standard reply to my question of what he wants for his birthday. But you know lah, it was hard to part with money to buy nothing, and like the webby writes: it is good for nothing!



I therefore decided that I will bake! The ambitious me intended to bake a cake and make it look like this frog.

Picture taken from www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com


But the idea of having buttercream icing put me off...

Alternatively, it would be great to bake him something like a PS2 cake (Hmm, must upgrade to PS3 now!), the next best thing to owning the real thing...


Picture from gamecakes.com









Alas, these are nothing but castles in the air, for I possess no such skills! All I could try to bake was this:

Not the prettiest cheese cake, but its an average cake with oh-my-gosh! what bad pipings! At least it says all that I want to say! =D