Sunday Sweethearts

Sunday morning at Pasir Ris Park

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What I heard on the train last night-

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Boy: Mummy, can I watch Michael Jackson tonight please? Please Mummy please.

Mummy: No, you must finish your Chinese homework first.

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Boy: Mummy, mummy, look, we are so high! We are above the cars! Mummy why are we so high?

Mummy: That's because we are above ground, not under ground.

Boy: Why are we above the ground?

Mummy: Because that's how they built some parts of the mrt.

Boy: Why can't all be under ground?

Mummy: ...Good question. You should write to the LTA to ask them that.

Boy: (pause) What is LTA?

Mummy: Land Transport Authority.

Boy: Transformers...

Mummy: Not transformers. The government cannot make all the train tracks under ground because sometimes there are stones they cannot remove or other reasons. And they cannot make it all above ground because some places are very crowded.

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Boy: (jumping up and down) Please Mummy please can I watch Michael Jackson later?

Mummy: What did Mummy say just now?

Boy: I just do one more page of Chinese then can already?

Mummy: Maybe you shouldn't have played computer games last night. If you hadn't played you'll be able to watch Michael Jackson tonight.

Boy: (regretfully) Yeah.....

Mummy: If you had woken up earlier today to do your Chinese homework, you would be able to watch Michael Jackson tonight.

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Later they got off at the same stop and as they walked off through a sheltered walkway, the boy jumped to hit something and it scattered over the ground. Mummy was very angry and stood there scolding him and made him pick up the litter he created. I don't know, there was just something about her that made her seem a special good mummy despite the sternness and talks of homework.

i'd like to be, under the sea, in an octupus' garden with you

On September 9 2009 (090909) a box set of all the Beatles cds, remastered (though I'm not sure really what the word means) will be released, each with a mini documentary on the making of each album. That's the only part I am really interested in but the Beatles Anthology might be a better watch! 090909 is also the release date of Beatles Rock Band- yikes! just creepy.

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Today I tried altering purple penang pants and I did it most badly and illogically and my grandmother came and told me to have patience. 'I don't like to do things anyhow,' she said. 'I want to do them properly and neatly.' In the end I did it in her neater way; I hope I will remember her words when I am old and still lacking patience (i will be unpicking my grandchildren's homemade pajamas and sewing on messy stitches and saying to myself, Ah, this will just make their pajamas look more special!) Oh, this makes me think of her now nearly weekly agitated spurts on finding a boyfriend and how she said that night not to be too fussy and to settle for one ('Aiyoh, don't make me worry! I worry everyday!'). So, patience, my friends, when it comes to mending your clothes, but when it comes to waiting for true love, make haste and arrete the fret of the grandmothers of the world.

13 July

Our magic 3 hour forest walk <*:-)

wah lau eh

A part of the photo department- the man in the middle is a legend to me, and the guy behind got his foot sprained while chasing a famous actor on one of those mad squeezing assignments, and there's Judith, the photo technician and spyer on all goings-on. With this job, I understood for real for the first time what it really meant- the joy and pain of work. It really is an incredible job, making art of real life and meeting all kinds of people and going to all sorts of places and situations. I can't quite grasp how to explain it, but it will always be to me in some way and in some reality the best job in the world.

and now, Pulau Pinang. We stayed on Lorong Love the first night in a backpacker's hostel (Old Penang Guesthouse, an old shophouse), our roommates were a taiwanese mother and daughter who rented a motorbike and went around to kampungs and fishing villages themselves! She (the former) wore a skimpy red silk nightie to sleep and walked very loudly on the wooden floor in the corridor, i think it's because she couldn't read english and there were Walk Silently signs.


Famous Keng Swee/Keng Kwee Street chendol, or what Carol calls Violent Chendol, because of the psychotic violent way the auntie scoops and mixes the ingredients while apparently giving her competitor directly across the narrow street an evil glare.

A beautiful temple where we prayed and spent the lovely evening sitting and watching the people go by. Some would go by on their motorbikes or cars, slow down near the temple and then raise their hands in prayer before continuing on. A few slowed down just to gawk at us japanese schoolgirls.


Caretaker of the temple, good friends of the economic analyst we met there who kept asking us what we think of LKY.

Ho Auction room (on the left)

On our last day we decided to look for the famous nyonya kueh (that Carol's mother might have seen on a pck show that went there) and so we dilligently read the map and made it, but nearly missed it because the road sign of Jalan Mesjid was so old and invisible.

Hardworking sweating uncle cutting up hundreds of kuehs for a large order.

His wife, father and auntie inside hard at work rolling dough for the curry puffs. They were wonderfully nice and gave it to us for free in the end.

HAHAHA. Spotted at the heritage walk where there were many old shophouses. They screamed and shielded their faces while holding on to their sandwiches and lunchboxes. The uncle said he sends them to and from school everyday.

Johnny reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while we gallivant outside.

The women in the sea are arabic women clothed from top to toe. They got soaked and all seemed to be having a super fun time.

Alan, the taxi driver we found on the first day and with whom we went to quite a few places! His dream is to backpack in Europe with his friend who can speak English (he can't), but he is saving up first.

Air Itam village, a wonderful place to be.

The super famous Asam Laksa stall in Air Itam that Carol ate from when she was little, and we found it. Hello Uncle!

Her Asam Laksa. What a legend.

My best-ever penang hokkien mee from across the road, and I persuaded the Uncle to let me carry it over (to the Asam Laksa on the opposite side) and he agreed and cleaned his Jacob tray for the deed.

A girl who was wandering around the Penang Hill railway.

The strenuous walk (for older people) down from Kek Lok Si Temple. I tried to say that the walk is quite taxing, but I think she couldn't hear me well and said, 'oh thank you!'

On the 15-hour rickety train ride home. The food is cooked in the dining car, and we had sandwiches, fried rice, beehoon and I had milo four times that day. The cook was bored and showed us magic tricks before a hairdresser from Ipoh joined in.

I love Pulau Pinang.