Meaning of Christmas

What is the meaning of Christmas to you? A colleague asked me this question a few days ago. I replied that perhaps to many people, Christmas is a day of giving and sharing, a day of peace and joy, but to me, it is just another public holiday.

She then asked me if I know what was the reason for Christmas? I told her it was to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Indeed it is. But seems like these days, Christmas has become a day to have parties and to exchange gifts. "Imagine it is your birthday and the whole world is celebrating it, but no one invites you to their celebration!" she said. I smiled and didnt know what to say next. Nevertheless, I am not one of the "guilty ones" - I dont join in the countdown or put up Christmas tree in my home or buy gifts for everyone. I dont even send out Christmas cards now!

Hero Movie!

Woohoo! After the long wait and aniticipation since early October, I finally went to catch the movie yesterday! The movie picks up where the TV special left off and still retains the style and characters of the tv serials. Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) never fails to touch me with his determined pursuit of truth! Oh yes, he is really cool wearing that black leather jacket when he appears in court! (Is it the same old one from six years ago?)

Although some parts of the plot have not been fully explained, the movie is still as good as the tv serials! Way to go, public prosecutor, Kuryu Kohei!

Antique weighing scale

Yoz! Find this familiar? Remember when you last since seen this? I think I would have forgotten its existence if it didn't catch my eye outside a Shop & Save supermarket in a old shopping mall at Tanjong Pagar!

I think I had tried it when I was a little girl, heehee and hey, the "price" for one try remains the same at 10 cents! But even so, wonder how many people will use it? After all, it is so common nowadays to have a bathroom scale in a household. ;)

Is S'pore getting too crowded?

Remember my blog entry on inconsiderate people on Mrts?

And Ani told me she witnessed a fight in the train as it was too crowded and violent shoving began.

Yes, I blame the overcrowding in trains mainly on the increased population in S'pore. When I was in primary school, I remembered my teacher telling us that the population then was about 3 million. And now the statistics show a huge increase to 4.68 million! Why is this so when the birth rate has not been going up?? Well, this is due to the growing number of expatriates and foreign workers living here, about 1 million of them! This figure makes sense, I mean, do you remember having foreign classmates when you were in school? Perhaps we only knew a few from JC onwards. But now, foreign students are so common in primary schools!

The journalist from Today who wrote an article on this spoke to a sociologist professor from NUS. The professor doesn't believe the crowd situation here is bad.
It's nothing compared to Jakarta or Bangkok or any Indian city, he said. He has a different way of looking at "density".

"The only measure of density is the quality of life. If you find yourself unable to be polite and civil, then it's dense."

Maybe the professor is right. Perhaps I am getting more impatient and intolerant.

And maybe not only me alone.

Fruits Galore!

Wahahaha! My title sounds misleading but if you are to eat everything of the above by yourself after a dinner, wow, that's really "galore"!

I really love cherry tomatoes! That's my favourite after-dinner snack! No one really loves them as much as I do at home and great! I can have most of them to myself! I pop them into my mouth as if I can eating grapes! And you know what, one medium-sized tomato may provide almost half of a person’s recommended daily amount of vitamin C. Tomatoes also aid in the development of healthy teeth, bones, hair and skin (吃了脸美美！); lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and possibly reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. :))

Now for the huge and juicy strawberries! They can be really filling man. 2 big ones can fill your stomach like a small apple! Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of antioxidants, which fight free radicals. (Free radicals are elements that can damage cells, and they are thought to contribute to the formation of many kinds of cancer.)

Woohooo! Am I full after these 2 servings of fruits! ;P

Serenity at Raffles Place

I found a new place to have lunch when I am alone :) It is an area along Boat Quay, opposite Fullerton Hotel/ May Bank building, in front of the Asian Civilisation Museum. There are quite a number of small stone benches here and I was sitting at the very bench in the picture, with Fullerton Hotel across the Singapore River. It is really peaceful and quiet here! Such a miracle to find such serenity at the crowded and hectic Raffles Place!

And isn't it lucky of me to find a Lunchtime concert going on at the Museum at 1pm today! (Presented by Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music - every Friday from 12 Oct - 16 Nov - free admission)

Wow! So many people were already there at 1pm! All the seats were occupied and I could only stand at the back. Strangely, most of the audience were either ang-mohs or little children who came with their parents or teachers. Perhaps they were students from music schools. Don't think there were many office workers like me. The performance today were by 4 players on 3 violins and 1 cello. Didnt really take note of the pieces they were playing, they all sounded unfamiliar to me, hahaha. But I could see their harmony and rapport, even without a conductor!

But haiz! Time passed so quickly, I could only stayed for 20 min before I walked back to my office... Wonder what time did their performance end?