五金店

today e cat learnt how to change a leaking 'shower hose' (no idea what's e proper term) - e tubing covered by metal (not in all cases) that connects e shower head to e tap. super simple, just that up till now there has never been a need to change any of them in any of e houses that e cat has stayed in. so e cat has never had a chance to try its paw at it, thought it always keeps a blue plastic roll of e very important white tape on standby for plumbing emergencies in e house.

e replacement part was bought from a 五金店 (wu3 jin1 dian4 lit. 'five gold/metal shop'), e Chinese predecessor of HomeFix/VinMart/DIY store that almost always have bare concrete floors, bright white fluorescent lighting, metal grille gates & a shophouse setting. e cat has always wondered why e name 五金店, but never dared to ask e shop owner. why five? what are they? steel, brass, aluminum? copper? chrome? iron? zinc? nickel? or in e case of N|K|F, gold? (which would justify e '金' in 五金店 =P)

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + thewonderingstraycat ]

[291005]

[231005] Millenia:



many years ago, four nuts from e VJ 96 Pre-U sem gang (e cat's bridge partner who ran 12km whenever he was bored, e owner of e soft toy camel that e cat's sis 'bathed' with talcum powder, e cat's primary school classmate Phoa, & e cat) walked westwards starting from ECP McDonald's, across Sheares bridge, & ended up here at this waterfall =)

more Millenia:







[261005] SLG's farewell lunch:



[281005] adidas store window @ citylink:



paper cranes were e 'craze' in Thailand last year, when e government wanted Thais across e country to fold tonnes of them as some sort of symbolic gesture of peace, to be air-dropped over e 3 southernmost provinces. saw some of e paper cranes at e northernmost point of Thailand, hanging from a signboard at e Mae Sai Thai-Burmese border crossing.

[291005] towards e end of e kids' training:



happened so fast & without warning, by e time e cat got e camera out of e bag, no time to even focus or zoom in before e superflexible boy doing e heng2 cha1 came down. to prevent any boh liao complaints of child abuse, details that may allow e identification of e location have been ruined by photoediting - even words & markings on all T-shirts have been painted over =P

************

seen from window of SBS 55 bus home:

"JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR S'POREANS"

scribbled in blue ink on e bus shelter in front of Blk 210, Bishan St 23 =P too bad e cat spotted it only when e bus was pulling out of e bus stop, no time to snap a photo.

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + architecture1 ]

*dream*

purple = by songthaew/truck/bus; blue = by slow boat

map source: www.travelfish.org

maybe next year, maybe e year after, maybe after PhD, maybe maybe maybe....

e cat can be happy spending e rest of its 9 lives travelling around Southeast Asia & Japan, to e hills & mountains, little towns & villages....no need for Paris/London/New York =P

[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat ]

kingfisher & broccoli milo

in e morning e cat made instant cream of broccoli soup in its KE7 98/99 Altius drinking mug.

on e way out to buy lunch, it met Gaurav at e bus stop (second time?).

on e walk back from buying lunch, it spotted a white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis aka. Pekaka Belukar) perched on a an electricity wire along e KTM Malaysian railway tracks, busy looking out for its own lunch. delighted cat =) as delighted as e time when it spotted a common sun skink (Mabuya multifasciata) on e pavement while walking out to Buona Vista MRT at night =) e cat misses e kingfishers that used to hang out on e green railings along e canal running all e way from Mountbatten Road to e flyover over Nicoll Highway near Suntec City, before e whole stretch got torn up for construction of e MRT line.

in e late afternoon before e lab meeting, e cat emptied a packet of instant 3-in-1 milo into its drinking mug & filled it with hot water. & then realised that it had forgotten to wash e mug. which explained e (a lot of) bits of green floating to e surface....broccoli milo tastes a wee bit salty.



[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + nature1 ]

KE7 wushu

[211005] from Felix's camera:



papa checking out what has caught e baby & 'baby-in-law's attention, while e maid gets ready to bash e photographer



************

KE7 wushu has come a long way. plenty of ups & downs since this photo was taken:



[Sep? 1999] KE7 wushu @ 3rd National Wushu display @ Indoor Stadium - some of e people from 96/97, 97/98 & 98/99 batches



[Feb? 2000] 3rd KE7 wushu exhibition @ Far East Square - mostly 98/99 & 99/00 & a few survivors from 96/97 & 97/98 batches

RHAPS then wiped out most of e members & things went into a decline.



[2003] CNY performance @ Bugis Junction - numbers have shrunk, but things were going to change =)



[140803] 6 generations of e 10-year-old KE7 wushu, founded in AY93/94; here 7 generations met to discuss how to reverse e trend of shrinking numbers (96/97 batch representative had gone off before e photo-taking)



[2004] 4th KE7 wushu exhibition @ Far East Square - will there ever be another one?



[211005] KE7 wushu @ ICN: this is what old people call hope =)

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + thewonderingstraycat ]

Q|B s|h|e|l|l

today e cat tested out Q|B S|h|e|l|l @ Millenia.

e cat has always been fascinated by e 'shell' design & today it satisfied it curiosity & lived to tell e tale =) pretty neat - there is a little oven-like compartment with a UV lamp where new combs* & e vacuum brushes are sterilised by UV rays**, & a little basket for safekeeping of spectacles; behind e mirror is a compartment where there is space for customers to keep their barang & e booster cushion (for little kids who are too short) is stowed; below e mirror is a little screen that plays some graphics(?) that appear all white to e blind cat; where e cabinet meets e floor is a little opening connected to a vacuum source through which hair on e floor that has been swept up is sucked into. brings to mind airplane toilets & galleys, submarines & campavans - e cat once lived out of a CPU box & is impressed by good design that allows maximum utility of small confined spaces.

24 minutes later (including waiting time), e cat had lost 7-10 inches (numbers are a range due to layering), was $10 poorer & approx >0.5 kg lighter, & e owner of a new comb. sure beats those slimming centre weight loss programmes ;)

e cat observed that men & kids form e majority of customers who patronise these $10-10min-haircut booths/outlets. probably because (1) most kids have relatively simple hairstyles, & (2) men are kids. ladies like e cat's sis need a shampoo+haircut+perm/rebonding+colouring/highlighting+other complicated stuff that involve various chemicals that can be found on e chemicals shelves, toxics cupboard (under lock & key), & flammables & corrosives cabinets (under e emergency shower) in e cat's lab. so e ladies go to salons.

so e cat was e odd one out in e queue, & e only one with long fur. & if e cat charged every shopper who stopped by to watch it getting its fur trimmed (& extra charge for those who poked their heads & big fat noses in), it would have recovered e cost of e grooming session plus much more. apparently e other 2 'shells' simply didn't have e same entertainment value.

e last time e cat had its fur cut was shortly before e Kinabalu trip, which should have been around April 2004? those who said that they would buy 4D when this event occurs, you can go ahead & do so now, & don't forget my cut of e winnings.

************

* exposing certain plastics to UV can affect e integrity of e plastic, just like what happens to plastic ware left in e biological safety cabinets in e lab; true enough, e teeth of e new comb broke off easily =P

** whether this method is reliable is subject to debate; in e lab context, exposure must be for a minimum of 20-25min, & lamps wear out after some time & have to be replaced

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 ]

sada(ne)ko

chanced upon this long-forgotten white 3/4 sleeve blouse in e cupboard, & just couldn't resist:



unfortunately e Sada(ne)ko look is incomplete as e cat does not have any white skirt. & nope this is not e back view of e cat - refer to e cat's hands (& thumbs).

brings to mind e times when e cat scared e heck outta fellow SPS room mates (& campus security guards patrolling e deserted corridors of Medicine & Science faculties) when it walked into e room way past midnight with its fur let down after bathing (finish lab at 2am of cos bathe late lah!) *evil grin* what more that was e around e time when The Ring was first released & some of e SPS people were too freaked out to answer e phone when it rang at night =P scarier than a tall guy all dressed in white vacuuming e SPS room floor at midnight right? ;)

************

this shot is for ang ku kueh:



grow your hair until it reaches your waist - then you can do your own impression of Ayumi Hamasaki's Love Appears album cover ;) no need for wigs!

on e subject of fur, e cat has to try quite hard to imagine how e boi would look like with long white hair. maybe when he can grow it long enough e cat might consider 'kope-ing' a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from e lab for him ;)

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 ]

KE7 ICN

[211005]





so proud of them =) especially e freshies who have had just about 2 months worth of wushu training in their entire lives....like them, this is e place (& exact spot - comm hall!) where e cat first started learning wushu 7+ years ago, & a very confused cat also had to be part of a (external) performance after just 2 months of training.

xiang3 dang1 nian2, e biggest hurdle for e cat (& Boy too) was language! totally lost trying to figure out & make sense of what e coaches & seniors were rattling off. at that time we didn't even know e Chinese words for 'wrist' & 'elbow'. e cat took far longer to remember e Chinese names for e various moves than to learn & master them. even after a year, still had to depend on translations throughout e entire 3+ hours of training, & never stood in e front row for la1 tang4 since we didn't understand e instructions for what to do next. 7+ years on, quite amusing to look back on e days when e cat struggled for months to remember e terms 'yun2 jian4', 'liao2' & gua4' & not jumble e latter two up....really cannot make it =P big fat 10-Q to seniors like YH, ZG, SX & JX & team mates like Dr Kwek & Dr Chia for their superb 'on the fly' translation =)

so happy tonight - e energy was simply GREAT! =)) & e kids had plenty of fun & laughter & enjoyed themselves which is e most important thing =)

************

quick trip back to e lao3 di4 fang1:



e doors now have peepholes. brings to mind how we hockey girls were told to keep our hockey sticks ready behind e door in case of intruder came knocking (anyone wants to buy a Grays hockey stick + puck?). e cat lived here when e toilets didn't even have main doors & PGP wasn't there to spoil e magnificent view, & A1 was connected to B1 instead of B2.

also popped by e baby's current room:



e cat dunno this guy & dunno what he is doing. but he looks evil *frown*



parents have radar. nothing can escape ;) in this photo they are within earshot of each other.



e family, with another cat, e BOI, & a very un-baby-ish 'baby-in-law' (for want of a better title) but missing e tuition teacher. in this photo e 'baby-in-law' is trying to stay within earshot of e baby.

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 ]

bridge through e matrix

super architect designed a super bridge that allows people to walk through buildings:



this bridge allows you to walk through the Matrix:



[ filed under: architecture1 ]

for Pig-pig....

e one who led e cat down e path of addiction



to macha/green tea....

lemme count e ways: green tea cake from Narita airport main building 4F shop, green tea milk in Bangkok & Chieng Rai, green tea Kit Kat, honey lemon green tea in Bangkok, Haagen Daz green tea ice cream, Pokka jasmine green tea, Takashiyama & Liang Court basement Rive Gauche green tea + white chocolate cake, green tea ice cream + azuki red beans + mochi from e now-defunct Kiku Zushi family restaurant @ Ngee Ann City, green tea Fran, green tea cookies, dunno-what-brand Uji green tea ice cream from Meidi-Ya, green tea powdered bavarois mix, Green Heim green tea wafers....*grin*

happy birthday!

[ filed under: catfood ]

quote

from http://seniorthinking.blogspot.com/2005/03/cats-and-dogs.html:

Cats practice sleeping all day long and never seem to be completely satisfied.

[ filed under: cats1 ]

honeydew sago

where can e cat find good honeydew sago? to be specific, e 'orange' version that e cat has come across in catered buffet spreads & hotel Chinese wedding dinners? hawker centres, canteens & food courts only seem to sell e 'white' version, which somehow just isn't satisfying enough for cats =|

[ filed under: catfood ]

awe exhib @ NUS central library

she's back! =)

19 oct - 11 nov @ NUS Central Library:



after spending time in library@orchard & D|S|T|A, these (& a lot lot more photos) are now here to provide distraction for undergrad muggers who will be setting up camp there this coming exam season.

see also:

akha way exhibition
akha way exhibition - library@orchard

[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat + chiangrai_2004 ]

151005

[141005]

fill in e blanks:



bunch of interesting characters, plenty of laughter =P

[151005]

cutting through esplanade underpass on e way home after a dinner of undercooked udon @ marina square Waraku with one J & 3 Ks, suddenly remembered reading something about an exhibition here on Brian's blurty some time ago....





& we (one J + 3 Ks + one cat) were just talking about LKY (e Lim one, not Lee) & 'pressurised carbon' over dinner....(click on photo to view full-size version & text)







same birthday as e cat....astroboy =)





breaking away & leaning towards e dark side....

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + art1 ]

wisdom

We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, & make important choices wisely.

- Edward Osborne Wilson


[ filed under: thewonderingstraycat ]

site of artistic incidents

e cat wants to go to e site of artistic incidents (quirky Japlish =P)
aka. ベネッセアートサイト直島 Benesse Art Site Naoshima, one of Ando Tadao's works

& also to 箱根彫刻の森美術館 Hakone Open-Air Museum

if anyone knows of other such places in Japan with a similar killer combi of good (cool & low humidity) weather + good natural setting & views (mountains, oceans, e more drama e better!) + quiet + good art + good architecture (& use of natural light) + great sense of __B_I_G___F_A_T___S_P_A_C_E__, do let e cat (& changkel) know!

think e cat's affinity for such places has its roots in discarded condemned copies of Pacific Friend magazine salvaged from school libraries that carried feature articles on such places. & some scene in an old j-dorama (aishiteiru to itte kure 愛していると言ってくれ say you love me) filmed in a place that looks like a beautiful art museum. e cat has this strange ability to watch TV shows with 90-100% of its attention on e location/backdrop & birds flying past & trains passing by & trees bending in e wind in e background & 0-10% on e human actors/actresses that are blocking e cat's view of e backdrop.

but e site of artistic incidents & Hakone OAM have to wait for their turn.

for now: Miho Museum in Shiga prefecture + Ando Tadao's 陶板名画の庭 Garden of Fine Art & B-LOCK in Kyoto + certain temples & gardens that e cat once had to study for its architecture cross-faculty module + plenty of trails in e mountains to e north & northwest of Kyoto. this will be Japan trip #2 autumn 2005. #1 was in late spring of 2002.

*sigh* even before going on #2 e cat is already dreaming of places to escape to for #3 (Hokkaido national parks?), #4 & beyond....

[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat + architecture1 + art1 + japanese1 ]

[091005]

e sky gives you something nice to look at everyday, & FOC - how to get bored? =)



westwards, along Still Road South

[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + nature1 ]

emergency food supply takes a bath

PET, at your insistence, e cat finally gave its fish a bath:



each eyeball required 3 rounds X 1 fingertip of KAO Attack laundry detergent powder to regain approx 90% of their former white-ness.

those who are familiar with this guy will know that it has no proper name. it is usually referred to as 'emergency food supply' or 'standby sushi'. e cat has enough trouble trying to remember e names of e humans it deals with, especially those who don't respond to *miao*.

e cat is amazed by people like its sis, who can remember names & history of every single stuffed toy she has, which e cat suspects numbers close to a hundred, including a hippo, donkey, caterpillar, gorilla, kangeroo, koala, monkey & raccoon, apart from e usual fuzzy wuzzy teddy bears, dogs, rabbits & mice. if she acquires any more, e cat will soon have trouble searching for her among them....which brings to mind this SPCA advert that Dungu cut out from a copy of 8 Days a few years ago:



[ filed under: 9_lives_2005 + cats1 ]

[190905] krung thep

last day of e Bangkok trip:



view from 24F of Pathumwan Princess (10-Q Mee for putting us up there!!). e cat spent a bit of time indulging in one of e favourite activities of cats around e world - sitting curled up beside e large window & watching e world go by....extremely satisfying =)

there will be joggers at both of e National Stadium tracks, & soccer players training in e stadium pitch & takraw players in a multi-purpose court near MBK. & university students in their white shirt + black pants/skirt uniforms making their way to e Chulalongkorn campus & younger students to e super prestigious Triam Udom Suksaa school. & teenagers heading for e private tuition centres & TOEFL/SAT/etc prep centres & cram schools in Siam Square. & tourists & shoppers streaming in & out of MBK, Siam Discovery Centre, Siam Centre & Siam Square. & BTS skytrains plastered with colourful adverts pulling in & out of National Stadium & Siam stations. & green+yellow, blue+red & pink taxis, motorcycle taxis with their 'drivers' in faded orange vests, blue & red BKS buses & air con 'microbuses'. & 'normal' police & tourist police officers & soi dogs on e streets. & e wooden structures of Baan Jim Thompson sitting quietly at e end of Soi Kasemsan 2 while e rest of Bangkok around it turns into concrete. & e landmark Baiyoke Sky Plaza towering over e rest of Pratunam.

e view makes e cat miss Bayshore Park.



leaving Don Muang as storm clouds from tropical storm Vicente moved in. realised that this is e first time in at least 10 years that e cat has encountered rain in Thailand....almost all its trips here have been during e hot & dry or cool & dry seasons.

[ filed under: thewanderingstraycat + bangkok_2005 + thai1 ]