Lent Me Your ...

Meat?

A little late for Lent (10 days left) but never too late to start giving up something to become a better self. And in my case, meat.

Inspired by this, I think it makes sense to go more vegan than not for the sake of our own health even if religion is not a reason.

Is this Empathy?

I watch The Pickers because I really like to see those old stuffs and hear about the history behind some of the pieces, even if they are just american history.

I really think I would be like some of those old timer collectors who would amass a ton of stuffs.

In land scarce Singapore, we would be called hoarders.

Bike Bite

Jonathan (my bro-in-law) once said, everyone would have an accident at least once with their bikes. Not in these exact words but to the effect.

I thought accidents with bikes will definitely be a serious one, if not fatal. When and how would my accident be?

And it happened on 13th of November 2017. I skidded and fell off, injuring my knee and elbow, and bruised my ego. It finally happened. 

When I first fell off the bike, I was thinking, "Oh man, this is it, isn't it?". Next thing, I was lying on the tar road my leg under the whole bike but it was generally ok. Scraped knee and elbow. I could get up. The bike was still in one piece.

Two kind souls helped me and the bike to the side of the road and asked if I was ok. I could only tell them yeah and thanked them. At that point I still could not tell if I have other injuries. I checked myself quickly. Checked the bike. Start it up and rode on home.

All of the above happened within 5 mins. Or so. Definitely less than 10 minutes.

On the ride home, I was thinking, "Why am I STILL on the bike? Should I not be thanking God for my life already, abandon the bike, take a cab home and cry under a hot shower?". Not my style, God.

I recovered and composed myself enough to get on home and really rode with more care. Half the time trying to ignore the stings from my knee and elbow. I still did not know how bad the scrapes were at this point. I manage to reach the carpark, parked the bike and reassess the condition of self and bike. I took a quick clean of the wounds and limp on home, dragging my bruised ego along.

When I reached home, all I could think of is thank God for being merciful and that I can still recover fully to learn from this. I asked for pictures to be taken by a wife who was already late for work.

I calm myself down a bit more and nursed by wounds and went to sleep soon.

5 days later, I am writing about it here. Life goes on, thankfully.

The Nostalgia of Zelda

One of the first games I played on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was Super Mario Bros, which came together with the console as a bundle. It was bought in Bukit Timah Plaza and the shop space is now selling totally something else. This was more than 25 years ago of course. 

The other game which I will remember fondly is Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The cartridge was in pretty shiny gold and it cost a hefty $79. Back then, $80 is a lot and too much for a video game.

But for some reason, we were allowed to buy that and even more amazing is I spent hours and hours on it trying to beat a game which a review put that game as (different and with brutal difficulty). I did beat it, of course, along with all other games I ever owned (which was not a lot anyway) on the NES. But this game has a special place in my heart. I loved it.

Despite less than stellar reviews (and I can certainly see why), it was a game that challenged my thoughts and motor skills. This was about the late 80s.

Fast forward 30 years, I bought the same game, online, for $6. It was through the e-store of my Nintendo 3DS. And for a couple of hours last night, I was pounding the digital foes and feeling all the wonderful warmth generated by nostalgia to those carefree years.

I slept well.

Thanks, Link.

Funan

I may have just visited this old place for the last time on Thursday (5th May), before it’s renovation starting from June for 3 years. What did I buy? Printer ink for the officer injket/fax and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest for the 3DS, not that I should be buying more stuffs anyway but that discounted headphone was really tempting.

I have some “affectionate” memories of Funan. Back in early 90s, when I was about a freshman in Ngee Ann Poly, and arcade centres were just about the most common thing in Singapore, I was a frequent visitor to Funan. Not a lot of place elsewhere had this big ass arcade machine which had Virtua Fighter, at $1 a go. I also made some friends who were also Virtua Fighter players. In a way, it molded me socially. “Challenge?”. I even had McD with couple of them during our play breaks.

The McD of Funan is now Old Street Bah Kut Teh. The arcade centre was located right at the top floor, before Challenger took the floor space over and offered 24 hour shopping before deciding that Singaporeans were generally not that nocturnal then for them to do that. They are still there and even as this writing, they are offering discounts for the goods they are too lazy to move out for the renovation.

I wish I remembered more of Funan now that I know its going to be torn down. But then again, most of my IT shopping were done at Sim Lim Square anyway. I guess Funan for me, will be remembered in this very unique way. 

Excitement

What gets me excited?

1) News of scientific breakthroughs or discoveries.

2) Videos of gaming excellence. 

3) Road trips in unfamiliar territories.

4) Fried chicken.

Big Revelation

In one of the episodes of Big History on the History Channel, it was noted that the cellphones we used today would not be possible if not for, the minerals available from various parts of the world, the electromagnetic waves and even the tragedy of the Titanic.

This is somewhat jaw mind-blowing for me because we all know the Titanic story fairly well, thanks for a movie in the late 90s. But aside from the lives lost, it also brought to light the fact that wireless communication was at that time, flawed. This paved the way of wireless communication as we know it today. 

It hit me.

We always see things in a limited perspective. That is because we can't always be able to have the retro perspective. We always think of ourselves and how God and life is so unfair to some of us. 

If only we can see the big picture ...