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Friday, February 28, 2020

Pee Protest + Hub Allure

Pee Protest

Pistachio dislikes being left alone in the room. We began to notice that he would pee on the floor whenever we left him alone. Apparently, that is his way of showing us how unhappy he is. It turns out that Pistachio is quite the psychologist. Left alone in a room for 2 minutes, he will pee on the floor. It got to a point where none of us would ever leave him alone. The little idiot dog would punish us by peeing on the floor!

So like even bigger idiots, 3 adults (me, M and The Daughter) all dance to the tune of Pistachio's tiny little cuckoo bird.




Hub Allure

Pistachio is strangely enamoured with The Husband. When he steps into the house, our tiny furball follows behind him, looking up adoringly, hoping for a look or a pat on the head. The Husband does not even see the furball. When he gets home, he always has so much to sort out that he is busy. Yet, Pistachio adores him.

I am home with Pistachio all day. Why don't I get this type of love, huh? This reminds me of how my kids used to behave with The Husband. I do so much for my kids. Yet, they both preferred their Daddy. Where is the justice?


Thursday, February 27, 2020

Gosun Sport Solar Oven Pulled Pork

In the Gosun Sport.

Fork tender pulled apart meat.

Home grown bottle gourd. White short grain rice. Pulled pork with laksa leaf pesto sauce.

Years ago, pulled pork was an energy intensive affair. It required 3 hrs in a Le Creuset dutch oven. That is 3 hrs of electricity gone into heating an oven. This turned into 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. That is 45 minutes of electricity gone into heating the stove top. This day, I made pulled pork using a Gosun Sport (a solar oven). I put the Gosun Sport out in the tropical sun at 1pm and left it there till 6pm. I thought that I might still need to cook it further in the pressure cooker.

The tough pork shoulder roast turned out fork tender perfect, and the meat retained its flavour a lot better than inside the pressure cooker.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

House of Fruits at Beo Crescent


I have a really good contact to share with readers. This fruit stall near Tiong Bahru curates and delivers to me a box of really delicious fruits, every week. At dinner, I asked The Husband, "Would you like some dragonfruit?"

He replied, "I don't like dragonfruit."

He obligingly took one mouthful and then, he took the spoon from my hand and silently ate up both halves of the dragonfruit that I had cut for him.

I asked, "How is it?"

He said, "Ok lah..."

Then, he took the spoon and scraped the bottom of skin, saying, "Hmmmm... the skin is really thin. One can really get a lot of flesh out of these halves.

I asked again, "It is only ok?"

He replied, "Ya... only ok."

Then, he stared longingly at the 2 pieces of dragonfruit peel on the table.

Right now, it is still kumquat season. The kumquats from Lay Keow do not need to be peeled. The skin packs a crisp crunch that spices up the sweet pulp inside. I wonder if one can get kumquat overdose because I have been stuffing my face with kumquats. There is even Cotton Candy grapes, which I kid you not, really taste like cotton candy!





Friday, February 21, 2020

Their Names

After so many months, I finally learnt the names of my favourite braised pork guys. Ok... maybe not their real names but at least I know how the other hawkers call them.

- The pruney faced one is called Ah Yi.
- The tall, plump and fair one is called Ah Tiong.
- The tall, dark and skinny one is called Bao Bei.
- The smiley and quiet one is called Ah Jui.

There is a table just in front of their stall that I sometimes sit at. Today, I was seated there and was trying to figure out how to clear the table of the previous diners' dirty plates AND guard my food from birds, when Ah Yi quietly came out of the stall to remove ALL the dirty dishes from my table. He did this without saying a word and without even looking at me.

Now, THIS is language an autistic person understands: the language of real, sincere, unequivocal action... wordless and no need for eye contact.

Sayaaaaaaaaang him lah! He really warmed my heart and made my meal taste so much better than normally.


Sloppiness About Snottiness

On 20 Feb 2020, The Straits Times reported...

Case 83, a 54-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to China... first reported symptoms on Jan 28 and saw a general practitioner (GP) on Feb 1, 5, 6 and 10 before going to NCID on Tuesday. He was confirmed to have the infection the next morning.

From 28 January to 11 February (15 days), this man did not know that he had the Covid19. He probably thought that he had had no recent travel history to China and so, he assumed that all he had was the common cold. 

The thing is this, Singaporeans AND Chinese nationals tend to be very lax about social hygiene. My mother-in-law assumes that she does not have the Covid19 and thus sneezes without restraint. I can hear her from wherever I am in the house. The Singaporean lady who smacked me on the forehead at Chong Pang Market, she too assumed that she was not carrying the Covid19, and thus sneezed at a whole queue of people PLUS a whole long table of patrons, without restraint. This morning, I went for yoga class. The trainer came in looking pale, and complained of being cold. When one suddenly feels cold, there is a chance that one is running a fever. She also insisted on not switching on the aircon. A yoga class participant came in with a phlegmy cough. He too believed that he was not carrying the virus, because he was not masked. No aircon. Sealed room. One coughing pax and a pale looking instructor who felt cold. I rolled up my yoga mat and went home.

I quarrelled with The Husband one night because he came home sniffly and snotted happily at me from the other side of our bed as if it were nothing. He kept saying people at work are sniffly and it CANNOT be Covid19 because it does not FEEL like it! So good hor... my hub can FEEL Covid19 one leh. No need to do lab test lohhhh... Queue up outside Pet’s house and let my hub FEEL your virus.

This guy HERE, also did not FEEL like he had the Covid19.

This type of Sloppiness about Snottiness is the reason why new clusters form and new unlinked cases appear! These folks assume that their snot is ...
- only allergy
- not the Covid19
... and thus, they take no steps to protect others.

My guess is that despite a very high performing government, the spread of Covid19 is inevitable because Singaporeans simply don't have a clue about how their actions affect others. I wrote about the risk of infection at the Sembawang Hot Springs HERE. When that post went viral, someone wrote me a comment citing the bible and accusing me of ...
- not being chill
- seeing the mote in my neighbour's eye without seeing the log in my own
- telling me that he/she had been frequenting the hot spring for years and people there don't nitpick and try to get along.

Basically, I was told that I was not being convivial simply for pointing out issues of interpersonal hygiene! I wonder if this man also feels that other people should chill when he sneezes into the air, in public.

At times like these, I want to point out some advantages to being autistic. Autistic people see the world in black and white. By nature, I worry little about the various shades of grey. If TV is bad for children, we simply had no TV. No such thing as have a TV and sometimes we watch and other times, we don't. Children don't understand gradations of grey. I don't either. If something is good, we will have it. If it is bad, we don't have it. We did not own a TV because it was psychologically bad for children's brains.

Autistic people also are not very sensitive to what others think. It never bothered me that guests would come visit us and we had no TV. It bothered The Husband greatly. Me, I am more focused on the damage that TV will do to my children's brains. It won't occur to me to think of how my friends would view me for NOT having a TV.

In fact, one lady said of my children that they would grow up only booksmart (not streetsmart) for never being exposed to enough stimulation from TV. I just shrugged and got on with life, sans TV. Oh well... at PSLE, hers qualified for Normal stream. Mine went to ACS(I). Hers could not grasp the essentials of a card game requiring subterfuge and strategy. Hers hates to read. Mine loves to read. When you consider that Bill Gates, the world's richest man, reads 23 books a week, then I know that books are better than TV. Mine topped his year for fundraising. Did hers? Why is mine not street smart simply because he watched no TV? 

It was not logical. So, I ignored her.

Conviviality VS Social Hygiene
Apparently, there are some things that just aren't socially acceptable: like refusing to attend CNY parties for fear of Covid19 or speaking out when a stranger sneezes into your face. When you go out with your snotty friend, and she does not wear a mask, you are supposed to smile and bear with it so as not to hurt her feelings.

When a stranger sneezes into my face, who is being UNconvivial? Me or that stranger?

When a man pours his foot bath onto my eggs, who is being UNconvivial? Me or that man?

At the same time, these same people, shun nurses and doctors who take every precaution to disinfect themselves. Their own lives and those of their children are at risk, ok. They certainly don't subscribe to sloppiness about snottiness. Why are autistic people always accused of lacking conviviality when all we are doing is calling a spade a spade, and seeing things in clearly logical terms, and taking logical decisions? I think neurotypical people are...
- not logical
- lacking in empathy
- lacking in conviviality.

Somehow, it is I who am accused of lacking conviviality when I call out such behaviours.

Mortality Rate
Outside of Hubei, the mortality rate of Covid19 is 0.2%. The flu has a mortality rate of 0.1%. I have concluded that this virus is nothing to be feared.

New Habits
Nonetheless, upper respiratory illnesses are not fun. Whatever the fatality rate, I am not keen to catch any. At home, we have all sorts of remedies to stop an upper respiratory illness before it even starts.
- goldenseal nasal spray
- propolis nasal spray
- echinacea flower tea
- astragalus soup

Also, through this experience, I learnt that having a low EQ can be a good thing.

New Note On Chan Chun Sing's Straight Talk
I am absolutely floored that some netizens are criticising  Chan Chun Sing for his straight talk. In the process of trying to save lives, Chan Chun Sing hurt some people's feelings. Ok what? This appreciation for the hard truth said in bald terms is also an autistic trait. Give me the logic and I will thank you for saving me from worse consequences than my own hurt feelings.

Some things, even I don't know how to say nicely. You bought 16 bags of 10 kg rice. You're an idiot. However nicely you say that, the truth still hurts.

I don't like politicians with very high EQ. I always feel that they are dishonest and say only what people want to hear.














Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Chan Chun Sing

Wah! I tell you... if this man spoke like this at PAP rallies, Petunia would have developed major fan girl crush on him! Behind closed doors, Chan Chun Sing spoke to trusted people. He was secretly audio-taped and what he said was uploaded.

Then, a whole lot of people started shooting him down about...
(1) the way he spoke
(2) the way he scolded Singaporeans
(3) the way he talked about other countries

If you wanna hear what he said, click HERE, and be proud! I had decided not to vote PAP after the idiotic Presidential Election where I did not get to vote. Now, I am not so sure!

(1) He spoke in Singlish. Wah! I'm in love.
(2) He scolded Singaporeans. Oi! He is our leader. If we are stupid, he should scold us.
(3) He talked about other countries. That is other countries' business. I only need to know that this man cares for me, looks out for me and protects me.

The Jerk Who Audiotaped Him
So sneaky! So irresponsible! In this time of crisis, such an action can destabilise the government! A friend of mine works in a bank, and it is her job to do simulations of the economy. The numbers she sees if there is political destabilisation AND a pandemic, are NOT pretty. Many people will lose their jobs!

I saw Chuan Kee's boss at Chong Pang Market this morning. Business is down and it was clear that he was concerned. In fact, he looked so grumpy that I dared not even greet him. You do not disturb a troubled man with something as frivolous as a "Good morning!" Business is poor! Revenue is down! He still has workers to pay! That is enough to keep him awake at night.

The Jerks Who Criticised Him
In this time when the country needs to pull together, don't nitpick. It's like when your child's life is in danger and you are blaming your husband for forgetting to buy you a Valentine's Day present. People's livelihoods are in danger. People's lives are in danger. These jerks are complaining about him scolding the idiots who went out to buy toilet paper!! Huh?! Why?

Those who rushed out to buy toilet paper were really idiotic what!? I mean, when I saw the social media photos, I thought to myself, "If no toilet paper, use water lah!" As for rice, I thought, "Well... when they stock up, I will get to buy fresh rice! Let the idiots buy up all the stale rice."

I also thought the people were being idiotic.

Global Shortage of Masks
When the government started to give out 4 masks per household, I looked at my family of 7. It was clear that 4 disposable masks would not be enough for 7 of us if we wear 1 a day each. Clearly, the govt was not trying to achieve that!

Instead, it was clearly for the scenario where the household has NO MASKS at all and if one person in that household falls sick, that one will wear ONE mask to the hospital to test. If he/she is infected, all the other 6 of us will be quarantined. I did not even bother to queue for those 4 masks, just in case I was exposed to the virus in those crowds.

Instead, I went scouting for cloth masks as pictured below. They cost $2.50 per piece and I have 3 for each member of the family to be washed daily.


Kee Chiu
Years ago, Chan Chun Sing caught flak for speaking unbecomingly to Singaporeans. The public christened him Kee Chiu. At that time, I felt a bit turned off by how he spoke to us in public. I reasoned, "He went to Cambridge. Surely, he does not REALLY talk like that! Surely, he is bringing himself down to whatever level he thinks I am at, which does not seem to be very flattering to me."

I felt quite insulted that he had hoped to build rapport with Singaporeans like me, speaking like so.

Today, I realise that emmmm... the man really talks like that when he is at ease with himself. It does not matter if he is speaking in Singlish or French or Queen's English. He makes sense and I now have a huge fan girl crush!


Sunday, February 16, 2020

Snot Etiquette

Mr. Snot
Years ago, I had a heated exchange with a man who sneezed onto my neck just as I was queuing up at The Guardian Pharmacy. I explained to him that he should sneeze into his hands. When I sneeze, I pick up the neckline of my t-shirt and sneeze directly onto my own bra. Absolutely no droplets fly out onto others.

Mrs. Snot
This morning, a lady in her 60s sat next to me as I drank my teh si kosong. She sneezed loudly into the air beside me. Reflexively, in these troubled times, I recoiled, sat further away and moved my cup. At that, Mrs Snot Dispenser looked at me and said, "What?! If you are scared to die, don't leave house?"

I retorted, "There are people dying of the flu. Please sneeze into your hands, in future."

The lady was even more aggressive in her retort. At this point, another lady chimed in, "Actually, next time you sneeze, please sneeze into your hands." She said this quite politely.

Mrs Snot Dispenser exploded into a tirade of abuse.

Then, I exploded. I took a deep breath, leaned over near Mrs Snot's face and let loose an explosive Ah Tchooooooo! right between her eyes. Her pupils dilated. She stopped her yelling and reached out a hand to smack my forehead.

I smiled and said, "Oh my! You hit me! I am going to call the police!"

The lady recoiled and sat silent. By then, I was really angry. Like the best of all Shakespearean actors standing at the centre of an Elizabethan stage, I gave vent to a moving soliloquy, with rising and falling intonation... in my best approximation of a preachy Confucian sage... or as, The Son would put in, in my Teacher-y Mother-y voice.


"You are soooooo old already. Yet, you have nooooooo manners at alllllll! It cannot be that you have eaten more salt than I have eaten rice but have absolutely none of the upbringing of a civilized person living in polite society. Hoooooooow can you sneeze like that without covering your mouth? Do you mean that whenever youuuuuuu step out of the house, other people must stay at home if they are afraid to die? Who are youuuuuuu? I cannot belieeeeeeeeve that you are soooooooo rude! Didn't your mother teach you manners? What kind of upbringing did you have?! You are not young. Surely, at your age, you would have accumulated some wisdom?"


I looked around at my audience, and repeated myself twice more in different words. By this time, everyone was staring balefully at Mrs Snot.

Thankfully, all this happened behind a large pillar and my favourite braised pork guys saw nothing and heard nothing. They did not see how I metamorphosed from a gentle, smiling and soft spoken lady into a 10 foot tall virago, sword in hand and mouth breathing fire. They already think very poorly of me, but at least they think I am gentle and kind. If they had seen my virago side, they will think... (1) does not work (2) cannot cook (3) can't make conversation and (4) bad tempered.

I commented so to The Husband who said, "Aiya! It is a matter of time before they discover what a bitch you are." Oh bless The Husband's heart, he knows I am a bitch and he still loves me!

Only Allergy
One parent remonstrated with me about requiring a Dr.'s memo stating that her child was only allergic, instead of contagious. People always say that autistic people lack empathy but the way I see it, normal people lack empathy too! In the end, I proposed to this parent, "The next time, I get a slightly sniffly child, I will team him/her with your daughter. You will probably not mind, even if there is no doctor's note stating anything."

The Husband came home sniffly and did not bother to wear a mask. He was adamant that it was merely an allergy.

On Facebook, a lady with plenty of friends and who is normally very kind and gracious, posted, "I sneezed and the uncle next to me moved away. I wanted to tell him, "Never mind lah... It is only an allergy. If you move some more, you will fall off the chair."

These are all neurotypical people. Why don't they have empathy? Sniffly is sniffly. Nobody can know whether your snot is contagious or merely allergic.

Only Sick People Need To Wear Mask
Theoretically, this is good advice. In practice, sick people often do not have enough empathy to feel for those around them. They sniffle and sneeze but do not wear masks. Singaporeans seem to believe that others should share in the snot droplets they dispense, simply because...
- they are not that sick
- they are allergic

Even if you are not contagious, you should not foist your mucous onto others', right?

I know the government says (and it is good advice) that well people need not wear mask. However, if ill people cannot be trusted to mask up, then well people will have to. No?





Thursday, February 13, 2020

Sibling Rivalry

Parents who are faced with sibling rivalry may be interested in the notion of Sibling Cannibalism HERE.

Anytime Fitness

4 years ago, Anytime Fitness opened up nearby. I looked at the macho machines and decided, "Nah! Not my thing!" Recently though, it has added an entire calendar of classes. The Daughter came home gushing about the new membership promotion. I signed up and now can attend as many classes as I want for less than $100 a month. In total, I go for 5 classes a week - Pilates, Yoga and Zumba. It works out to be a steal per class. I used to pay $100 for 1 yoga class a week. With this membership deal, I get to attend as many classes as I want.

Such a blessing!


Wednesday, February 12, 2020

May Chng

If you are this person, please know I am trying to get in touch but my emails have probably gone into your trash or spam, and you have left me no phone number.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Safest Place




When the coronavirus hit, I reasoned that Chong Pang Market was the safest place to go. Chong Pang Market looks dirty. The cleaners cannot cope with the crowds so tablesstay uncleaned for a while. Birds fly onto the tables to peck at unattended food. Nobody is trained to the etiquette of returning their trays so tables tend to look a horrible mess. I always have a packet of wet tissue with me at Chong Pang Market to clean the tables properly. I also don't mind cleaning up after the previous diners and after my ownself. 

I tend to be hypervigilant about hygiene at Chong Pang Market because in my head, it is not a very clean place. So, counterintuitively, it is also the safest place. When we come back from Chong Pang Market, we wash ourselves. For me, it is usually a shower. I also feel icky about touching my face at Chong Pang Market.

Also, people at Chong Pang Market usually do not drive. The bulk of the clientele don't travel overseas. Indeed, they rarely venture out of their immediate neighbourhood. Hence, I expected it to be the last place to get the Wuhan virus. The Chong Pang Market hawkers and workers also form a tight knit community. I think the community would get upset with people who dare to come in sick.

In contrast, the airconditioned malls recirculate air and since everything looks clean on the surface, people tend to let their guard down. This reminds me of people, really. Some of the nicest looking people actually have no problems taking advantage of others. So, all that glitters is not gold. Gilded tombs do worms enfold. Another talent that autistic people have is that we see right through into someone's heart. You see, we do not understand smiles, flattery, meaningful winks or small talk. We understand action. When The Husband travelled 8 hrs by train one way to see me twice a month, I knew he was a keeper, and I knew I was going to marry him. When my favourite hawkers give me a 50 cents discount and let me skip queue, I understand sincere regard. When a client flatters me but has no problems monopolising my time, and assumes parent coaching hours on (1) how to mature a child and (2) how to not burnout a child ... are free, I also know that person's heart. I lose only money. That person loses my respect. Such people are viruses too.

Recently, I also discovered that coronaviruses and SARS viruses thrive between 4 Deg C to 10 Deg C and they like dry air. These are wintertime pathogens which is why, when we were living in France, wintertime was flu season and people typically took their flu jabs in the fall. It makes sense that heat, humidity and sunlight would be inhospitable to the coronavirus. True enough, sunlight kills the virus in 2.5 minutes.

Then, yesterday, someone Telegrammed me the meme above and I smiled to myself at the blessings of living in the most unsavoury part of Singapore... where there is little aircon and a lot of bad smells. 






Friday, February 7, 2020

Thomson Nature Park


When we lived in France, as a young dating couple, we were housed on the outskirts of town. All we needed to do was to get out of our univesrsity lodgings to be able to take walks along tree lined paths.  It was a really short walk to the Canal du Midi. I walked along its banks in all seasons - spring, summer, fall and winter.

Later on, when we moved to the USA, the children had arrived to complete our little family. Every afternoon, in every season, I would take my children out to the many parks and nature reserves nearby. We climbed trees and looked into robins' nests. We watched mother ducks waddle along with a whole line of yellow ducklings trailing behind. We went fishing. Once, we caught a fish the size of my hand, which we lost because a huge fish of about 1.5 feet long came and ate our catch from off the line. When we came back from the USA, The Son was miserable. He kept asking me, "Mommy, where are the trees?" We had to bring him to Macritchie Reservoir on weekends just to satisfy his need to walk among the trees. Once there, I remember that The Son breathed a sigh.

Nonetheless, everywhere you go in Singapore, there are people. This little island is so densely populated that even out among the trees, there are often hordes of people. So, I was ever so pleased to find a new park along Upper Thomson Road that has relatively fewer people.

The Husband and I had a lovely walk through this park. It was so lovely that I think I will go again next Monday or Tuesday morning at opening time (else, it gets hot) with Tachio on leash.










Thursday, February 6, 2020

Puppy Excursion to Sembawang Park

I was a good boy again this morning. I pood-ed and peed-ed in the right spots again. So, Mama brought me to Chong Pang Market to get limes and squids for dinner tonight. Then, she brought me to this beautiful park with almost no one there! Mama and I had a long walk. I was really tired but I forced myself to walk every step of the way because I am a big boy now.


Oh! I am so tired!

I fell asleep in the car on the way home!


It was so nice to get out into the sunshine!

Then, Mama let me sleep on her lap as she typed a coaching report.



Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Excursion With Mama

Hello! My name is Pistachio. My family members call me Tachio. I was a good boy today. I poo-ed and peed in all the right spots. So, Mama decided to bring me out in a doggie sling. We went to Chong Pang Market. There were so many people and so many smells to explore. It was so fun!





Then, when we got home, Mama needed to do work. So, I sat on her books and watched her. I was a good boy too. I did not chew any of her students' HW. Later, I fell asleep next to Mama's keyboard as she marked mindmaps. It was not a very good nap because Mama kept leaning over to sniff me. I don't understand this Mama. She is always sniffing me. I thought I am the doggie, not she. She also has this habit of hugging me without warning. I don't mind that because my Mama is soft all over, because she is fat.





Below, is where I sit when Papa comes home. My Papa does not want to be my Papa. He thinks that he and I are different species and therefore I should not call him Papa. He never looks at me. He never plays with me. He never feeds me. I don't know why I like him so much. I go crazy when he gets home and when he is watching TV, I like to sit at his feet or under his butt.