Things that you wouldn’t think you miss

dc and I travelled one hour to Ang Moh Kio to get him new spectacles with clip-on visors. You see, cydc have high astigmatism and myopia, so making eyewear is a big burn in the pocket for us. This particular shop at Ang Moh Kio has a friendly (and rather handsome) boss who charges affordable prices for poor grad students like us.

But I digress.

On the way back, we stopped by Ang Moh Kio hub for some kopi. The place was swarmed with people, considering this is a weekend and also the second day of the Great Singapore Sale. For a moment I was slightly hit by culture shock: people mountain people sea (人山人海 – the US is far less densely packed) people are dressed in polo shirts and khaki shorts (uncommon in Boston where it’s cold 9 months of the year), people of different races (just an observation, not being racist here), and the thing that hit me most, a lady telling her family, “Eh, the Glate SingaPORe Sale start al-lady leh'”. It’s both amusing yet heartwarming at the same time to hear something so familiar.

As we walked through the foodcourt, I walked past the 菜饭 stall with the colorful variety of food in big round tins stacked up neatly in three levels, the Korean BBQ stall with economical and sizzling hot plates, the soup stall with the traditional white china ‘urn’-thing with blue paintings in the steamer, the handmade noodle stall with the giant crispy ikan bilis.. I can’t wait to indulge in my Singapore food carnage! As much as dc is a great cook, and most cooking pastes and ingredients are now available in Boston, I think it is presumptuous to then assume that we can transplant the whole food culture to anywhere else in the world. Even the Malaysian cuisine restaurant Penang in the US doesn’t quite cut it yet.

So after being hit by the sights, sounds and smells, we settled on..

Traditional kopi brewed with butter-roasted coffee beans and laced with creamy condensed milk.

Silky white carrot cake fried with cai poh (preserved vegetables) and drenched with egg mixture, served with a handful of fresh chopped spring onions and a healthy dash of savory chilli sauce.

What a great start to our Singapore vacation. Can’t wait to see what the next three weeks will bring (and what weight I will gain from all the good food). :D

At long last.. home in Singapore

After what seemed like a forever wait since we bought our air tickets two months back, cydc have once again survived the long and ever-increasingly turbulent flight back to Singapore. Surprisingly the preparation this time was far less hectic than last year – we completed the house cleaning a couple of days before, and we had so little to pack on Wednesday morning itself that we could even do laundry and find time to confirm our new apartment (since we’re going to be evicted from Eastgate in August).

Leonard and Tricilia very kindly booked a zipcar to give us a life to the airport, as well as generously pass us useful things as they are preparing to move out. It is no secret to dc and I that Leo and Tric are sad to leave after a year here, but our goodbyes at the airport – our last in the US – also hit home to us that when we return three weeks later, there will be no kids, no adults, no gathering at Harvard Square etc. dc asked me if I will be sad when its time for me to go home after PhD.. the answer is no doubt a resounding no, but there will still be some 不舍之情 for the cool weather, cheap stuff, inexpensive travel. Nonetheless, for me, not bearing to leave is still distinct from feeling sad about leaving. Nothing can beat being in Singapore where family, friends and good food are.

Back to our photo log..

Our usual clear the fridge meal before every trip – sausage or ham with sunny side up breakfast.

Since Leo and Tric were coming to pick us up early, we decided to have lunch at the airport – Burger King A1 Steakhouse burger!! The best. Tric says I’m glowing because I’m so excited about going home (I don’t deny it, haha), but is it that obvious? LOL.

Taking noob photos at the airport.. Boston Logan on left and New York JFK on right. Waiting is the most horrific part of travelling. Wait to check in, wait to board, wait to take off (SQ was actually one hour late this time!), wait to arrive. Urgh.

 

 

I don’t usually take bo liao pictures like these.. But the moon last night was SUPER full, and the reflection off the wing and the sea below was just magnificent. Things like these make travelling much more light-hearted and beautiful.

I’ve been good about my jetlag this time – after arrival, we went straight for Ya Kun kaya toast breakfast, sent dc home, freshen up at home, then out for grocery shopping again (we love NTUC!!), lunch, GSS.. only got to nap an hour. I think I’m on good time to kill my jetlag early this year.

On a final note, I miss my sister. She’s in Pahang for camp, while I am sleeping alone at home on my return. :(

9 hours to setting off

So~ darn~ EXCITED!

Great toss of events

All within the past 24 hours. I probably learnt and reflected more on myself than within the past one year, how little control we had over things, how God means by Him being sovereign and how great a boss I have. A painful and agonizing process but God uses all things for his purposes and glory.

Noanet Woodlands hike

The past weekend was another warm one, for the first time in forever (except for that one freak 32oC afternoon a few weeks back), temperatures rose near 30oC and the guys were itching to go out for some fresh air. I, for one, am all for greenery and birds.. but when they suggested hike, I immediately conjure thoughts of strenuous climbs (like the Blue Mountain hike last year), wild snakes (yikes!) and hot and sweatiness. Half reluctantly, I agreed to go only on the condition that they protect me from seeing any slithering creatures (well, and shopping.. but more on that later..).

Yingkai busy tracing the fastest way to get to the peak. Turns out this hill is only 300+ feet high! LOL.

 

 

Our first landmark was a boulder.. Reminds you of the Singapore Stone in history lessons, doesn’t it?

The woodlands is also somebody’s backyard! All of us were green with envy at the big house and recreation right at their door step.. sans the snakes.

It was a gentle, maybe 20 minute walk before we reach the last steep stretch (which actually is also a short one too). Pity the camera could not capture the depth of the image to see the uphill slope, but nonetheless, dc and I love how the trees form a thick frame along the path.

 

 

Must take photos..

And finally.. after not much effort at all..

Can we see downtown Boston from that little clearing behind the hill?

Yingkai must be sniggering at my anthers.

There was a nice big rock clearing where we had a little picnic of Dunkin’ Donuts (haha talk about calories in versus calories out), enjoyed the view, the sun and talk about everything under it.

And before we leave the peak, a panoramic shot of the little view we get..

On the way down, I was intrigued by the slope of the woodlands, and Yingkai suggested we take a tired-looking photo to show that it was tough hiking up.

And my interpretation..

I got reprimanded by Yingkai because I smiled even though I had to be tired.

Anyway, after the shots, I discovered that the tree we were leaning on had.. yikes, holes.

 

Not sure if these are insect nests (YK’s guess) or woodpecker artifacts (mine), but they were certainly teeming with life.. See the bug?

The observant me also noticed these cute furry leaves:

They had hair all over them, isn’t it cute? It is not difficult then, to conceive that the three scientists will discuss what the utility of hair on leaves is..

So as promised, we went to Burlington Mall to ‘shop’. The truth is, I suggested shopping in jest (you know, to insist on doing a girl thing after the guys’ outing), though every girl will know that it is impossible to do girls’ shopping with two guys following behind, guilting you with their bored faces. :(

We did catch a good sale at Burlington though..

and a close up to see the textures on the canvas that drew dc in..

And I chose this for my nursery:

I can’t wait for the day when I tell my daughter that I was thinking about her when I bought this painting. (The unexcited dc then asked me what if I had a son. grrr)

Spring means nature.

Unlike last spring when it rained every weekend, this year it only rains every Monday and Tuesday. Not that we’re complaining, but sometimes we do wish that the skies will just clear up for a more extended period of time and stop being on such clockwork.

For two weeks, dc was cooped up at home writing his thesis proposal for oral qualifiers (hence his messy table in the previous post. Rest assure that my desk is nowhere as messy as that.). Me, being his lovely wife, of course had to 硬着头皮 and support him by doing *more* cooking than I usually do..

Orange chocolate chip cake

Braised assortment.. haha. It started with pork, mushrooms and black fungus. Later chilli went in for a good kick, and white cabbage appeared to supplement the little romaine lettuce we have for that meal. Surprisingly, it turned out very good! My husband is very proud of me. :D

Soy sauce chicken.

Ok kidding, I didn’t make the chicken – it was bought from a roast meat cafe in Chinatown and it’s amazingly good!   Tender, juicy, flavorful and not too oily. It’s a good and cheap supplement to our lunch boxes.

So two weekends back, dc was pulling his hair out writing his proposal while I was hiding in lab trying to escape the monstrosity of his desk (LOL) and it was beautiful outside. Not wanting to let another weekend with good weather escape us (good weather only comes when we are busy), dc whisked me away from lab and brought us to a park near his workplace.

Happy faces at the park! dc was smiling too half-heartedly. This will be the start of a series of failed couple photos..

dc looks annoyed.

dc looks sly.

dc looks nasal congested. 

dc looks feeble.

Argh give up taking photos of him.

The park was lush with greens.. pity there was no flowers, but we did enjoy the quaint little walk down the windy path..

 

and my favorite photo:

Really like how the tree branch framed the photo. If there was an old couple walking on the path, the harmony of the photo will be perfect. Wish we can be that old couple when the time comes.

There was a saxophonist just playing to himself on the stone bridge at the park.. and ducks and swans just idly looking for food, occasionally ruffling one another’s feathers to make life more interesting.

And as we were walking back after our little picnic, we noticed this little gem peaking out at us from behind the trees.

A stone arch bridge standing silently on the still pond.

With only four green months in Boston, we wished it wouldn’t rain so much when its not cold, so we can enjoy more of what Boston has to offer.