Tragedy of An Auto-Flush Sensor

I was built to serve the forgetful masses in the toilets. But the moment I was installed, an omnimous feeling overcame me.

When the first person my buddy served came in, he opened up the seat cover. Then, darkness fell. And then on, I could only hear sounds...

Then, I felt my button pressed. I let my water out into my buddy. It was done, but it wasn't the same and it never will be. I realised I could never fully satisfy the people I was created to serve. I felt betrayed by the contractors who installed me. I have lost hope in humanity.

Lunch @ Maxwell Market

Just returned from lunch at Maxwell Market.
Quite lucky today, Kelvin's car managed to secure a parking lot at the market the moment we went into the carpark.

I walked past the Hum Ji Peng stall and I only saw the usual lady working on the dough. That really old man wasn't around...

I proceeded to the corner stall selling biscuits and confectionery. I always liked whatever they sold there. cheap, fresh and good. A considerably large bag of xiao man tou biscuits only cost me $1.

Keeping the fire of passion burning

Mum and Dad wore red today. And they went out this morning just before I did. After over 30 years together. They still have their own special way of expressing their love for each other. I guess it's Valentine's Day everyday if they want to.

Mind the GAP

Please mind the gap (beep, beep, beep)
Please mind the gap (beep, beep, beep)
Please mind the gap (beep, beep, beep)
Please mind the gap (beep, beep, beep)
Please mind the gap (beep, beep, beep)
Please mind the platform gap (beep, beep, beep)

Coincidentally, soon after the announcement that Banana Republic and GAP are going to set up shop in Singapore, the inclusion of platform was heard on the MRT.

Maybe SMRT didn't want to subconsciously plug for the American brand. But platform gap and GAP both have a word in common leh.

Maybe there is a need to research for a replacement word for gap.

Opening? Too inviting. People might want to step into it.

Crevice? Too narrow. People's foot won't step into it anyway.

Ravine? Too organic.

Trench? Too military. The guys might start doing fire movement.

Moat? Too defensive. Then must invite people to step across with a drawbridge.

Drain? No water.

Crack? Too crooked.

Hole? Maybe, but it doesn't explain the length.

Lobang? Buay sai lah.

Or if all else fails, invent a new word! But it might make people like me who notice go crazy with the new word...

So I guess gap is still the best word for the gap between the train and platform.

The Bumper Car Incident

My brother, Josh had bought a second-hand Toyota Starlet for his long distance commuting which encapsulates any distance that measures beyond the neighbourhood of Choa Chu Kang but no further than Johor Bahru. (Occasionally, it goes further. But that's besides the point.)

More recently, his car had been involved in an unfortunate series of minor accidents. Even more unfortunate, repairs done on his car have not been very well done. Just weeks back, after returning from the mechanic, (He had lent the car to a friend and it "kissed" from behind.) the car blew off its exhaust silencer. Apparently the mechanic had not checked his car thoroughly. Fortunately, repairs were covered by insurance. So he didn't need to fork out money for repairs. Unfortunately, it was the festive period and everyone was not at work. So his car sounded like it had been zhnged (fyi: zhng = souped up; -ed: past tense) with a really powerful turbo.

I thought it worked pretty well to for a guy like him. I mean, he's somewhat of a beng. And for Singapore roads, turbo is nice for showing off, but it's really only good for racing to the next traffic light a hundred metres away, not to mention that it is a red light there. With turbo, the car is fierce, but that's all. One must still abide the traffic rules. So without the silencer, Josh's car sounded fierce on Singapore roads and that served its purpose.

Right after the silencer had been fixed, his car got into another minor accident again. That sort of made him rather frustrated with a hint of grovelling in self-pity. Talk about arse luck.

Even more recently, the "GT" logo came off from some part of his car and it landed on the bar counter at home.

Somehow I'm having this impression that his Toyota Starlet is gradually falling apart. Maybe he should have gotten a first-hand Korean car in the first place, as advised by Ken. But I guess Josh could take consolation that I don't have a driving licence...

Before Valentine's Day

Only a few days before Valentine's. Many things are going through my head. This year is different. I won't be alone this year. I've got a date...

It started out with a show at the Drama Centre. Then a movie, a dinner, a bus ride home, more dinners, church visit, another bus ride, another movie, dinner, Christmas eve, night cycling on New Year's Eve, dinner, bumping into her on the train, ice-cream fondue, Sentosa Flower Festival, walk on the beach, Ben & Jerry's, dinner, theatre, another church visit. Finally, Valentine's Day.

For someone ordinary, it was a challenge to come up with a romantic day. I guess real life romance don't work the way they do in the movies and television. They've got retakes. More importantly, they've got million dollar budgets. Plus, everybody looks oh-so-glamourous. That's reel life.

Real life, however, is somewhat different. It is not always a bed of roses. Things may not go as planned. You can't promise the moon and the stars. But you can promise time and effort for a relationship and keep it. I ever came across this analogy of claypot rice. If you prepare claypot rice by cutting corners, you won't get good claypot rice. Good claypot rice takes time, effort, patience and understanding.

I definitely believe in the claypot rice theory to relationships. Past relationships have been somewhat strong flavoured dishes that were all the rage. Then they just got boring and faded away.

This time, I want to make things right all the way. But I'm rather disappointed with myself for the lousy plan for Valentine's Day. I'll have to put in more effort for the next date.

Foreword...

"Art imitates life"

Although blogging isn't something that would be considered art, (not yet, at least) it would my most convenient way of expression.

Yellow, Creamy and Bittersweet is a little project to track a Singaporean's life story, for readers to see it evolve, grow with it, age with it, to understand the emotional history which correlates to the physical history. Here, the ideal is for the line between fact and fiction to be removed. Some aspects of this life are real, some aren't. My ideals for this blog is to hopefully engage and entertain you, the reader. However, it is not a glamourous life depicted here. Life isn't always a bed of roses. On many occasions, it will probably be boring, just like real life.

Why name this blog Yellow, Creamy and Bittersweet?
One of Singapore's love is the durian. And for a good durian, it's got to be Yellow, Creamy and Bittersweet. And no, unfortunately it's not about a durian seller in Geylang. Well, not yet, at least. But it is definitely a love for life that is as deep as the link between the Singaporean identity and the durian.

How often will ths be updated?
That is uncertain. Maybe daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly if ever at all. But that's how life goes, right? Unpredictable. Until the day the internet becomes irrelevant, this will probably be a long term project. If fate has its way, there will be more than one writing.

I will be 25 this year, let this journey start from here. Along the way, we'll look back occasionally.