Little-Wonder.Net

21 August, 2008

My fetish for unconventional things.

23:48:04 | Little Things | writebacks (5)

There’s this shop at Peninsular Plaza that sells really nifty stuff. It’s one of my favourite haunts each time I head out of school to grab my dinner, and I really can’t resist stepping in there since it’s so … nearby.

It’s tough for me to describe what kind of stuff is being retailed there - because the variety is just too great. Let me just put it this way - the entire store is filled with the results and inventions of several obscure (but deserve to be recognized) innovators.

I’ve gotten myself a really cute lunch box in the shape of a hamburger sometime last year - and it has little containers which can be stacked one over another in three layers within the lunchbox itself. Really great for separating food items but unfortunately, I am not the kind that carries food around so that lunchbox is presently storing my collection of medicated plasters. Hurhurhur.

Oh, and Poopah (my pet poop) was purchased from there as well. I certainly hope you remembered him … and that picture of him sitting on top of my head. ;)

I’ve since glued some eyes to him so he now looks like … poop with wide, innocent eyes. (I ought to put up some pictures of him soon since he’s not getting the attention he deserves. Pardon me, but I just find poop absolutely adorable. Yes, queer fixations I have.)

But my favourite purchase from that store has to be … this calendar.

The blocks can be disassembled and rearranged as and when the month changes, like Lego.

Which means that I have no need to run out and get myself a new calendar when a new year rolls around. It reduces my reliance on paper-based calenders, which is good for the Earth since it can be used and reused forever and ever and ever till the end of time.

Unless a piece goes missing, or should I accidentally break something, or if my dog swallows part of it … only that I don’t have a dog. What am I saying?!?

Although I must admit that I still have child-like tendencies - taking it, pulling everything apart and then putting the pieces back together again randomly just for the fun of it.

Heh, cheap thrills!

Another recent purchase from that place was a silver USB fan - a mini fan gadget thingy which draws power from your computer via its USB port. Really handy for the hot climate that Singapore has, or to make things more bearable when the school decides to shut down it’s central air conditioning system in the middle of the day when I have weekend project meetings.

I’m now eying this black, retro looking lamp from the same place. It’s currently on discount … at $39.90.

Decisions, decisions!

09 August, 2008

A touch of human psychology

23:48:27 | Daily Life, Little Things, Ranting | writebacks (5)

I feel like a big, heaving mess of an emotional baggage.

Yes, yes, and I know that human beings in general, tend to withdraw themselves from people like that - which perhaps explains why I am seldom hearing from the people I usually hear from, especially during the past one month or so.

Nobody likes people with baggage, and I must say the baggage that’s weighing on my back now is one … hugebloodymess which is why I sometime feel as if nobody wants to talk to me at all. (Right, I know I sound scarily clingy/needy here but this was just an observation I’ve made over the past several weeks.)

Human beings are queer people. When one doesn’t need anyone and can stand perfectly straight by his/herself, people are drawn to that person like whoa. However, when one needs people the most, everyone backs away.

I think the fact that I am so very cranky and snappy at every little thing that irks me plays a part as well.

Time to put on my big fat forced smile and head out there as I usually do. After all, everyone prefers to be around happy people, right?

————

Blood test results are out and everything checks out fine. The monocyte counts have fallen into the normal range. Still slightly at the higher end of the range, but at least it’s normal. So, I should be happy, right? Instead, I’m still shrouded in a mess of confusion as to why so many things have been done and I am still not getting well.

Meanwhile, I guess I should just chuck my health aside and just move on for the time being. Perhaps if I ignore the symptoms, they will eventually go away on their own? I know this sounds really illogical but it’s worth a try.

Heading to Genting with ol‘ Mum and Dad tomorrow, fer three days. Perhaps the short break will do me some good. Though I really hope I wouldn’t feel faintish while I’m there - the last thing I want is to be the sick person and ruin the trip for everyone.

————

Anyhoo, this is already some time ago - but the wobbly shelf next to my desk has finally been fixed … I think.

I mean, when a shelf is supposedly tethering off its edge and threatening to fall down very soon, it should be fixed by removing the faulty shelf altogether (along with its loose screws) and reattach it firmly with brand new screws?

Well, I received the announcement from my mum that Mister Contractor has fixed my shelf (after three long months of delay after delay), arrived home … and saw this.

If the picture isn’t obvious enough - Mister Contractor had simply chucked a piece of laminated wood beneath the shelf to hold it upright.

Honestly?!?

I could have done that myself, thankyouverymuch. Do you mean to tell me that I’ve been kept waiting for over three months for you to chuck a piece of something under the wobbly shelf when you’re supposed to be fixing it instead?

I could have easily stuffed several thick textbooks under that shelf and achieved the same effect, sans the waiting.

Fumes.

And if you’re wondering what Mister Contractor had to say to that - I’ve to wait another two or so months for them to fix the damn shelf.

Back to square one, I’d say. :(

08 July, 2008

The tale of two capsicums

04:29:16 | Little Things, Random Musing | writebacks (5)

Was staring very intendedly at the dishes during my dinner today, and made an interesting observation.

Apparently, a lot of ingredients being used in our food are simply there to add flavour, and not for actual consumption. Take for example, the chicken dish I had this evening. Two green capsicums were sliced and boiled together with the gravy but as far as I am concerned - no one in this family eats capsicums.

So, the capsicums were thrown out together with the rest of the gravy after all the chicken was finished.

Likewise, Singaporeans like to drink Bak Kut Teh - which according to Wikipedia, consists of pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices, boiled together with pork bones for hours. My grandma prepares it every now and then, and what I often notice is how everyone gobbles up all the soup, but all the meat gets left behind.

Everything’s just for the flavour, it seems.

And people are now complaining of rising food prices. Does this mean that we should start cutting back on food wastage which occurs just the sake of extracting its flavour?

Then, an interesting idea struck me.

Is there a possibility that a brand new food industry will emerge in the coming years - which involves extracting the essence and flavour from foods and selling the au naturale ‘bottled essence’ to the masses?

As for the remaining, unused parts of the food, they can be donated to impoverished countries such as Africa and whatnot.

Minimizes the wastage, doesn’t it?

One may argue that such an industry already exists - but these are mostly artificial flavours often nowhere close to the real thing. Even if there are flavourings that uses real extracts, they are often tainted with poisons such as MSG. So there seems to be no real option for the health conscious who seeks the best so far.

But ah, well. It was just a random thought. I have no intention of heading into the food industry anyway - so if you are, my idea is yours to steal. (Hehehe.)

Okay, off to sleep.

And I don’t know why am I sitting here and rambling about capsicums at 4 in the morning.