I believe whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you… stranger.

I’ve been sitting in my room and staring at my computer screen for the past ten minutes thinking of what to write for this week’s reflection when, in walks my dad. “Would you like char kuay tiao for dinner?” he asks. I nod in reply and then BOOM it hits me like Muhammad Ali. Why not write about the food? So, this week’s reflection is going to be about food, food and more food. I might digress though.

I’m really grateful for the fact that Singapore has so many different varieties of food. There’s Chinese, Indian, Western, Malay and even Mexican. You name it, Singapore has it. The local delights here are simply irresistible. I don’t think I can go a month without eating one plate of chicken rice. I remember when JP, a family friend from San Francisco came to Singapore, my family brought him all over the island to explore the different genres of food. It was great fun. I wish I had a photo of his reaction after my uncle told him he had just eaten pig’s intestines. It was priceless!

My uncle and JP (don’t you think he makes the perfect santa clause?)

When I was younger, I used to have a horrible habit of not finishing my food. My mum would then jump into her routine speech about how the kids in Africa were all dying of starvation. Her speech would always fall on deaf ears. You know when you’re the age of 7, you don’t really care about all of that. However, at the age of 13 and after watching footages of starving children on the news, I started to realize the true meaning of that speech. It makes me sad to think that till today there are still kids out there dying from starvation.

I read in an article recently that the only way the country can end its hunger problem is through good governance. This itself is easier said than done. Sometimes I wish problems could go away with the snap of my fingers, but sadly, that’s not the case. So the next time you don’t finish your food, think of the kids in Africa.

I have a newfound love, and it’s called photography. Hence, I’ve become more motivated to do well for the module. I recently discovered that I enjoy walking all over Singapore just to find the right shot. More amazing is that as long as I have a camera with me, I can walk from the Esplanade to Fullerton hotel to Clark Quay and finally to the MRT station without feeling tired at all. The journey might not seem long for some of you, but it is for me and after completing it, I felt a sense of accomplishment. It’s like the camera gives me superhuman strength or something.

Photos play an integral part in everyone’s life. Walk into a person’s house, room or office and you’ll notice at least one picture in a frame. I think the person who invented the camera is a genius. Can you imagine a world without cameras? I know I can’t. All I know is that the world will become a very sad place. Photos capture all the special moments for you in your life and when you’re old and grey one day, you can flip through a photo album and reminisce on the good old times. You can also reflect on a photo, like what I’m going to do now…

(Can u spot me?)

This is 4B3, my oh so lovable secondary four class. Just looking at this photo brings back so many memories. This was taken on the National day celebrations. You see that lady in the centre wearing red? Well, that’s Ms Ho, my co form and math teacher. She’s great fun and she’s the best person to confide in. Our whole class loves her.

You know what I was dreading most about last year? For me, it wasn’t the O’ levels, it was in fact, the last day of school. The finale time where the whole of B3 would be together in the same place at the same time. Words can’t express how much I miss this class. All the laughter, all the tears, all the fights and all the singing! I miss them all.

When you move up to secondary four, you stay in the same class as you were in secondary three. Hence, the first time I met my class was actually in 2005. I was really nervous because I didn’t know anyone. Reason being I had to repeat secondary three all over again due to my atrocious results. It was a horrible period in my life and to make matters worse, all my friends moved up to secondary four and I, on the other hand was left with a whole new bunch of unknown people. I remember thinking to myself that I was going to be such a loner. Thank god that didn’t happen.

I made wonderful friends like Charis, Yihui, Cel, Van, Shab and Muriel. They brought so much joy into my life and as cheesy as this may sound, they made me a better person. I used to be a real bad ass in school. I never did my homework, swore like there was no tomorrow and used to drive teachers up the wall. I even made a teacher cry once. It’s really thanks to them that I’m no longer the bitch I used to be. Missing you guys loads and I can’t wait to see the whole class on Founder’s day.

Wow! All this from looking at one picture so I guess the saying’s true. A picture does say 346 words.

Whenever I hear the word tragedy, I think of two things; Romeo and Juliet and a song. I always thought that tragedy was associated with people dying, but last Friday, I found out I was wrong. (Hey! That rhymes!)

Anyway, as I was saying when I think of tragedy, I think of Romeo and Juliet and when I think of Romeo and Juliet, I think of The Nanny. For those who haven’t heard of The Nanny, it’s a sitcom. In fact, it’s one of the best! Want to know what it’s about? All you have to do is listen to the theme song or you can just watch this…

I remember one of my favourite episodes was when she was cast to play Juliet. The way she acted out the death scene was priceless! Till today, it still leaves me in stitches. Here’s a short conversation before the death scene, between Fran and the guy who chose her to play Juliet…

Fran: Oh Phillip! I don’t know what my motivation is here. Why does Juliet kill herself?
Phillip: Because without her Romeo, she has no reason to live.
Fran: oh… You can tell this play was written by a man.

HA! I so totally agree… You see, if I was Shakespeare, I’ll probably end the story on a happier note. Have Juliet move on with her life and fall in love with another man named Gilderoy (sounds Shakespeare enough?). I really don’t see why she has no reason to live without her Romeo. Is love really that strong? This leads me to another question; will you risk your life to save someone you love? Honestly, I don’t have an answer. I think the only way I’ll ever find out is during the spur of such a moment.

Now, moving on, the song that I think of is called tragedy and is sung by the Bee Gees. For those who haven’t heard it should listen to it. It’s really old school, but really nice and of course, tragic. I’m a real sucker for old songs. Absolutely adore them. I shall leave you with part of the chorus…

Tragedy
When the feeling’s gone and you can’t go on
It’s tragedy
When the morning cries and you don’t know why
It’s hard to bear
With no one to love you you’re goin’ nowhere

Tragedy
When you lose control and you got no soul
It’s tragedy
When the morning cries and you don’t know why
It’s hard to bear
With no one beside you you’re goin’ nowhere

Tune in next week.

Yes, I am a huge fan of CSI Las Vegas. I absolutely adore the whole cast especially Grissom. He specializes in entomology, he knows sign language and he can read lips. What’s there not to love? He’s definitely one of the coolest characters I’ve seen on television. All those who have no idea what this show is about should at least attempt to watch one episode. I guarantee you’ll fall head over heels in love with it.

I remember when I was in secondary 2, I had to write an essay about my future occupation. I wrote about wanting to be a criminalist. To me, they are the real heroes. They solve the crimes. The cops on the otherhand just catch the crooks and throw them into prison.

In the end, due to my academic capabilities for my science subjects and observation skills, I realized being a criminalist was simply out of my league. I’m horribly unobservant. I can be in the same room with you for two hours and not remember what you were wearing.

Sometimes, after watching the show I can’t help but think about death. Here’s the way I see it. When you die, you become a memory, which after some time people will forget. I don’t know about you, but if I had a choice I would like to know when I’m going to die. At least it gives me time to prepare. Not like those victims in actual crime scenes. BOOM! Guess what? You’re dead… Lyonn kindly provided me with the website www.deathclock.com and apparently, I’m going to die in 2068. We shall see…

Anyway, on my way to school today, I saw an accident and experienced a feeling I’ve never ever felt before. I can’t explain it in words though. It’s one of those things you have to experience it yourself in order to understand. A car had knocked down a motorist. I saw a lady standing in front of the car talking on her phone and a man crouched down next to the motorist who was lying motionlessly on the road. His helmet flung about two metres away from him. It was so scary! It wasn’t an episode of CSI, this was real. Right in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer for the man even though I am currently having some problems with my faith. I felt that this was one prayer god probably wouldn’t turn down.

Scary isn’t it. Not knowing when your time is up. That’s why we have to “live to the hilt!” The quote’s taken from the book an enemy of the people. This isn’t considered as plagiarism right? I guess I’ll stop here for this week’s reflection. Tune in next week.

I made the wrong decision in going to united square yesterday. Toys R Us was having an auction and a sale. One thing that I learnt within the last 24 hours is that when there are toys up for grabs, there’s bound to be children. A LOT of children. They were everywhere! And they were all in different shapes and sizes.

I actually have no problem being around one or two kids, but the minute they start arriving in packs, then that’s a whole different story. Especially when they scream and cry. I get terribly painful migraines and horribly scary nightmares of children eating me at night. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Sometimes, it amazes me how people would rather have children than pets. I personally would rather have 10 dogs than 1 child. I love dogs. If you want me to go all soft on you, all you have to do is put a dog in front of me. That’ll do the trick. I am a firm believer in the phrase “dogs are man’s best friends”. They make me happy all the time unlike children.

I think being a parent is a tough job. There are times; I really admire my parents for putting up with all my crap. I highly doubt I’ll be able to take care of another me. I’ll check myself into a mental institution on the first day. My plan is to retire at the age of 60 as a grumpy old woman with her two dogs by her side. Oh yes! Not forgetting with one grumpy old husband as well.

Take a pick… you know what’s mine.