void of existence

In the past week, I have had Nasi Lemak for one of the meals in each day.  I have no idea why.  I guess I am just too lazy to decide what to eat.

I decided to try this hawker centre near home today.  Most of the stalls are closed.  In fact, my wife and I always wonder how the place survive coz most of the stalls are closed throughout the day.  In any case, I went to a stall and ordered Mee Rubus.

It is one of the worst…no, wait….It is the WORST Mee Rubus that I have EVER tasted.  After 3 mouthful, I felt like I have a half decomposed goat in my mouth.    That place is so ban.

If you are into prata, forget Jalan Kayu.  Why drive all the way there for a crap piece of flour that is selling because of yesterday fame?  Just across the street where my place is….the BEST ever roti prata that I have had for a long time.  They are actually crispy and served with two different type of curry, fish and mutton.  I am never a fan of Egg Prata, but this stall’s Egg Prata is out of the world.

In the same coffee shop, there is also a prawn mee stall.  It is great too.  However, a word of caution that they use a lot of seasoning for their soup base.  I am always thirsty for the rest of the day after eating a bowl.

Recently, there have been a lot of reports on wet markets.  It started out when a supermarket chain wanted to buy over the lease rights from a wet market operator.  They even served eviction notice to the current tenants before they got the approval from the relevant authorities for the change of use.

Then there were much clarifications from the authorities and the final word is that there will be no changes to the wet markets.  In fact, as long as the wet markets can substain operationally, they will be allocated with a space.

After that, a journalist by the name of Jessica Sim….or is it Lim?… stirred up some pretty bad shit by saying how outdated those wet markets are and that they should be abolished (along side with all outdated culture practices) so as to be replaced by modern, clean, air-con supermarket.

In reaction, many defended how wet markets provide for what supermarket cannot.  Be it culture, freshness, etc etc.  The reasons why wet markets are in the conditions that they are in, etc etc.

Thats roughly what happened.  Here’s my opinion.

I agree with the following:

-  Wet markets are getting outdated.

-  Wet markets will die out with the older generation.

-  Wet markets need to be freshen up.

-  Wet markets are NOT a cultural assets.

-  Wet markets can be a community focus point.

But I do not believe that we should just phased out wet markets in a blink of an eye, like what our good friend Ms Jessica Sim/Lim wrote.  There are implications to simply phasing them out.  To name the most obvious, what will become of the stallholders, who have probably been doing this for a good part of their lives and probably have little skills in any other areas.

We should perhaps re-train them to cater to a more value added service orientated kind of wet markets.  But before that, let’s look at the setup of wet markets themselves.

Wet markets are like our Budget Terminal at the Airport.  It is crude box with bare necessities.  Supermarkets and Hypermarkets are more like the main terminals at the Airport.  The setup  of the place has a problem in itself.  Wet markets are dimly lit.  Most have bad drainage.  Cheap tiles that get very slippery when wet and take forever to dry.  The list goes on and on.  The point is that if you build a dump, it will be a dump.

Thats why the architect of such places need to wake up before they cause the wet market to become irrelevant.  Send these designers and decision makers to Granville Island.  Look at THAT market there.  Granted that the climate is different, but we should make stalls bigger and with a work area at the back (NOT THE FRONT).

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There are some things that even I cannot deny. Baby X resembles me. Too bad for you, kiddo. You are stuck with my good looks. Muhahahahaha…….

This is interesting information:

But somehow, this presenter irritates me.

It does NOT grow easier. Enjoy your freedom when you are single. Enjoy your freedom when you are married. That is what I have been telling my friends. Once a baby come, there is no such thing as freedom.

As much as I tried to schedule my time for friends, I just do not have as much time as I like. The baby schedule is such:

First month
Confinement. I went home as early as possible. Baby did not fuss much because they are either eating or sleeping. Most importantly, there was the confinement lady to look after the baby. But I did not like having an additional person around the home.

Second month
Terror starts. The confinement lady left. The wife has not fully recovered and trying to care for the baby. It was horrible to see the stress on my wife. Baby will wake up every 3 to 4 hours for feeding. He did not like the air-conditioning. Developed colic. Very difficult to coax to sleep.

Third month
Baby did not like the heat. Brought him out once with his godfather. The fuss was terrible. Body is getting stronger but limited movement.

Fourth month
Baby still did not like to leave the house. Starting to have more movement and better focus on objects.

Fifth month
Baby is not curious about his surrounding. Grabbing things and putting them in his mouth. Starting to flip over.

Sixth month
Baby started to demand attention.

Seventh month
Teething. Horrible horrible horrible.

Eighth month
More teething. Horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible. Likes to be carried. Wants to go outdoor. Chew on anything hard.

Ninth month
Just do not like to stay home. Attention seeking.

Tenth & Eleventh month
Most teeth are out. Starting to know his preference of what he wants and do not want.

Yve and myself were able to sneak out last saturday to have some drinks with friends. Thank to my mother in law for helping. Really appreciate it.

Its a crime of rage and stupidity.  A toddler tore up the cigarettes.  The father went berserk and stomp on the toddler’s head.  The wife thought thats the way that he want to discipline the child.  WHAT THE F***????!!!! Woman…are you stupid?

And also, just because the toddler was stomped to deaf….the news agency does not have to put that picture.

I like the nothing box. I remember once being bugged by an ex-gf who keep asking me ‘what am I thinking?’. Its nothing!!!

Tired. Thats the only thing I can say about taking care of a baby. Baby’s bed time is too early for me and he wakes up too early for me. The one week of leave is more tiring than going to work. There are moments of fun and joy during the week. But I am just too tired right now to think about it. All I want to do is to have a good dinner tonight.

I have always known that my friends will say that they are busy once they have kids. I have always been understanding about their situation. So they can no longer meet for a beer or dinner…not even once a year. I can understand that they are busy, but I cannot understand why they cannot bring their kids and friends together. Maybe not beer..but dinner? During the course of last week, I brought baby X to visit friends’ home, invite friends over to visit us and dinner with friends. I make the effort…for my friends and for the baby to have a chance to socialize with each other. But thats their own choice. Nothing right or wrong about it. Just that its sad. Its always sad when friends de-prioritize us.

So the rest of the in-laws have moved in. I am shocked at the way that they moved. Movers were hired, but they were moving boxes and boxes of stuff before the moving date. They claimed that they wanted to have a head start. Which is fine. On the day of the move, no one came to monitor the move. They stayed at the old house when the movers went. After that, they said they didn’t pack some of the personal items. After 1 week of packing and advance moving and continued packing after movers left….. they forgot things that they use daily. *faint* When I moved, it took me 2 days to pack. And I have quite a bit of things.

So now, its unpacking. Complaints are inevitable. People are not used to have their comfort zone changed. But I just do not like it when people suggest solutions without understanding the actual problem.

I have only one comment. At 1.12 when the spoiler comes out, its damn cool.