Brokeback Mountain

I just watched Brokeback Mountain with sis and her friend, Pris. I was moved by the characters in the show that tears flow down my cheeks many times. The 2 guys from strangers become good friends and lovers on Brokeback Mountain when they were tasked/hired to bring the sheeps up and down the mountain. Beautiful scenery. After that job, they moved on with their lives, got married and became fathers. When they met 4 years later, they were still attracted to each other and continued to meet for short hike/camps. It affected their marriage and because they couldn't go public with their relationship, there were frustration, sadness and confusion. Sis only cried at one scene and Pris found certain scenes funny and draggy. I quite like some long shots which resemble the techniques used by some art films.

I think it's sad when people can't do what they like or dream due to societal expectations, poverty, etc. To me, it doesn't seem wrong for them to love each other but when they hurt the people around them, it becomes a problem and they didn't know how to resolve it and they end up hurting themselves.

Right now I feel emotionally drained after all the tears.

Pip on my palm. She's growing chubby like Ruth! 

Ruth and her stash of yummy food. 

I'm inspired after looking at the lallang field in my friend's wedding photo album on Fri night and admiring the view of the beautiful greenery of Bishan Park at another friend's flat yesterday afternoon :> Nature is like a soothing balm.  

Baby rice cakes from Hanoi

Early this week on Mon and Tues evenings, I met a friend from Hanoi who was in Singapore for a meeting. I brought her to Tangs, Wisma, Far East Plaza and DFS Galleria for shopping. On both days, we had late dinners after 9.30pm.

Mon: We relaxed @ Indocine outside Wisma Atria and enjoy our meal and music by the live band. Huong was very happy to hear them singing the song "You're beautiful". She gave me and another friend 2 boxes of baby rice cakes from Hanoi. The green coloured cakes taste like our ang ku kueh and has white bean paste and are very sweet.


Tues: We reached Din Tai Fung @ Paragon @ 9.30pm and luckily the last order was extended to 9.45pm. We had these pork dumplings with crab meat and soup inside, vegetable dumpling noodle soup, dou miao and some pickled vegetables. Huong liked the taste of the soup in the dumplings. After dinner, we met 2 other friends to have drinks @ Wala Wala @ Holland V. The 2 girls recommended Sangrila as they remembered it as a nice drink with red wine, fruit juice and pieces of fruits like apple. However, we were quite disappointed that the concoction turned out to be more of red wine, tequila and some slices of lime, orange and a cherry. My face and neck turned warm and red after a while as usual.

It was quite a nice atmosphere and didn't resemble the scenes we saw in Orchard. Here were groups of people rather than couples celebrating Valentine's Day. We may be seeing Huong again in Vietnam if we are attending her wedding end of the year in Hanoi :>

I saw these lovely bowls/dishes at the Household section at the basement of Tangs. If I remember correctly, the ones with the picture of cats "Meow!" and the dogs "Woof!" were priced at $6 to $8. I was tempted to get the flower designed ones for my hamsters :> 

Baked Banana walnut tea cake too. yummy and rich. 

I baked last Sun. M&m cookie. The left have cranberries! 

Hunter lying on the bench with White Neck lying at the other end. 

White Neck lying on the bench with Hunter lying at the other end. 

Hunter and Shadow up on the tree. 

White Neck and Hunter. The 2 male unsterilised cats. It was strange to see them sharing the same bench. However, their tolerance only lasted a short while before White Neck jumped offf the bench and started to provoke Hunter by swiping @ Hunter's tail. And I had to arm with a bottle of water to sprinkle water on them to break them up. 

I folded this paper container to hold the dry cat fold when the ground was soaked with rainwater. They looked cute eating from the containers :> 

1st time carrying a community cat

I just did that an hour ago. Fat Cat was resting on the wet ground at the park and after feeding all the 5 cats, Mum suggested I should carry Fat Cat back to his old sleeping quarters at the void deck opposite my block. Fat Cat nowadays has been hanging around the park instead outside the ground level of the block.

I gently stroked Fat Cat and talked to him before I attempted to wrap my hands and arms around his belly gently. He was quite heavy and I had to stop twice before we reached the sides of the block. We figured that at least putting him near the block could help him get to shelter faster when it rained suddenly.

I would need to find a more comfortable way of carrying him the next time. Hee. Luckily Fat Cat still rubbed his body near me when I put him down and didn't treat me as an enemy.

Yoga, dinner, hamsters and cats

I haven't been able to reach home in time to join my parents for dinner @ 7pm the past few days because of a number of urgent matters swarming me @ work.

Yesterday I almost thought I could go for my first lunch yoga @ 12.30pm as I had to stay back for some discussion after the department meeting. Luckily, it ended on the dot and I quickly rushed for the yoga class. It was a good workout. Most of the poses are familar as I tried yoga some time back. The sun salutation is giving my arms a bit of ache and my abs are aching a little too. While my 2 friends almost fell asleep after the last relaxation/meditation part, I was quite alert but felt refreshed after it. Looking forward to the Friday lunch yoga.

After a day's work, it feels good to step home and enjoy the dinner prepared by Mum and Dad. We will catch up on what happen at home and at work. Then we clean the hamsters' homes and I'm happy that Pip has finally allowed me to carry her without biting. As I am the only who dare to do so, she seems very enthusiastic in climbing onto my palms and is very interested in the surroundings as I lifted her out of her home.

My worries or headache will go away when mum and I go down to the nearby park to feed the community cats. Shadow, Fat Cat, Shrek, White Neck and Hunter will turn up all at once, waiting for us or appear at different times. Each cat has its own personality and Fat Cat is the one who loves us to give him a massage but his backside is also the smelliest!

Another nice shot of him 

You cannot touch me :P 

Fat Cat playing hide and seek with me. 

White Neck lying there. I wasn't sure if he was being playful or just wanted some attention from me. Hee.

We had shepherd's pie with mum's chicken curry, dad's special concoction of rice with egg and fish balls and veggies with mushrooms for dinner on the 1st day of Chinese New Year. 

I baked 2 containers of shepherd's pie - one fo my family and another for my small aunt's family on the eve of Chinese New Year. 

The end of Chinese New Year celebrations

Yep and I'm still @ home today as I have some time off to clear and chosen today. I thought I could have lunch with a friend and play badminton in the evening with another friend. But too bad I have been down with flu since Mon and I haven't recovered. I feel better this morning but still sniffling without fever. I'm still quite stubborn about seeing a doctor and always try to self-medicate. Sometimes it helps but the last few times, it just worsened and I had no choice but to visit the doctor. Hee.

The past few days away from work and spending more time @ home with family or visiting a few of my relatives seem like a dream at times. Fleeting and at times seem unreal, especially when I was feeling sleepy nursing the flu. It was nice catching up with some of the relatives at my mother's side as they are nice folks. It is strange that we don't visit one another more often but then again after the CNY celebrations, all of us will be busy with our daily lives, work and until someone decides to organise a gathering.

CNY holidays are also a time when we can reflect on our lives since this is the longest public holiday of the year. I have sort of satisfied my desire to do some community work by helping a little with Cat Welfare Society. Mum and I have also been feeding the cats at our nearby small park. I must say Mum is very dedicated as she now visits them in the morning, afternoon and night. I won't miss the night visit and would join Mum in the day visits if I'm free.

Career-wise, I'm still searching for my dream job but right now, I will continue to do my best whatever my bosses ask me to do. Older folks always tell me that I'm lucky to be in my first job and earning a comfortable pay. I agree that I'm fortunate but I will feel happier if I can do something I find meaning in again and step out of the house every morning with a feeling of purpose. Too idealistic perhaps but I have a lifetime to dream and search.

Falling sick also makes me wonder what I should have done better to improve my immunity. I have not been exercising for the past few months. Busy at work is part of the reason and laziness is the other half of the reason. I have signed up for lunch yoga @ my workplace starting next week, every Tues and Fri. Hopefully, this will start my exercise regime.

Now my urgent task is to get well soon, so that I can do whatever I want to do! :>