I’ve been very much into recycling ever since I was 15 and picked up a magazine on how to reduce and recycle waste. But I never got into the whole act properly until I stayed on my own, and bought my own groceries and stuff. I ended up with glass bottles, plastic containers, tin cans, junk paper, oil canisters and lots more.
Do I throw them away? Do I keep them and turn my storeroom into a junkyard of sorts?
What about used cooking oil? Can I just pour them down the drain and hope it won’t pollute the waterways?
And so, with more questions than answers, I joined an online recycling group. But the group is relatively silent on most days, and I sometimes feel as if the moderator and I are the only living creatures there.
Until I met Don Theseira and Mylene Ooi who are both not only passionate recyclers but famous as well (they’ve been profiled in the December 2002 issue of Reader’s Digest and invited all over the country to give talks on recycling and composting). I mean, really passionate. It resonates in their talk. I met them for the first time yesterday when they presented a talk on recycling at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pulau Tikus, Penang.
A Little Bit of Kimchi at Sarang Bahng
I’ve never been very much impressed with Korean food. Aside kimchi, I cannot for the life of me remember what else is authentically Korean. Plus, I don’t take beef.
So it seemed that Korean food wasn’t much to rave about until I had to figure out a place to bring my 23-year-old cousin on her birthday.
Why I settled on Sarang Bahng, a Korean restaurant nestled near the famous (though I cannot figure why) Siriwan Thai restaurant at Krystal Point, Bayan Baru, Penang is also beyond me. Maybe I heard reviews that it was palatable. Plus I wanted to surprise my cousin too. She’s a funky young woman with eccentric tastes so I believed she would be game to try some kimchi.
Not Herself
Time has a way of zipping by these days so I am absolutely sorry if I have not been as frequent as I should in updating my blog. I’ve got a bunch of entries ready but I’ve got to upload some photos too (which really means I’ve to resize them! Not FUN!). Tried a Korean restaurant a few days ago and had my fill of Japanese sashimi just yesterday.
On a personal note, my emotions have not been what they seem to be. My Grandma is not herself these days and we’re all quite worried. Grandma is 82 years old this year and we had planned on celebrating her birthday in style as befitting her grand dame status. Yet she’s rather unwell, to put it mildly. Oh no. It’s not like she’s ill or anything. She isn’t.
She’s just… not herself.
Not as active as before. Mentally, she’s quite alert. But she doesn’t want to get out of bed, citing lethargy and tiredness.
She doesn’t even come downstairs anymore (she loves walking up and down the double-storey semi-detached house of hers).
She eats very little, like a bird.
No one can figure out what is wrong. The doctor came and went, and gave her a nice, thorough check-up. She’s okay.
But we know she’s NOT okay.
Not since Qing Ming. And the spookiest thing is that she mentioned she saw “someone” follow her home after she visited Grandpa’s grave!
Chinese superstitions or not, the elderly and the very young (babies) are not advised to go for Qing Ming. They may “see” or “feel” energies of the graves and then, either fall sick or cry incessantly.
I just hope she’ll be okay enough to cut her birthday cake.
Qing Ming Jie
This year, Qing Ming Jie fell on April 5th. I look forward to the day because it’s a time to remember my late grandfather and great-grandparents. It’s also that one time each year where four generations in my family gather for a hike.
This is a Rant…So Beware
This is a rant because there are just too many self-pitying folks around. Or at least, those that I hear about.
Wellington and Christopher John Francis Boone
It’s been sometime that I read a book which could make me chuckle out loud. At 1.31 am. And this one is highly recommended, for it won the 2003 Whitbread Award.
Surprises? Give Me a Break
I despise having surprises sprung upon. I really detest that. Knowing that predictability can run away in a split second makes me even more wary. Last night, someone gave me a surprise call.
Bookworms Will Love This
Almost forgot to tell you about this. Yes, I have been that (crazy) busy until I forgot to tell you about the mad Popular Bookstore sale.
Funniest One Around
April Fools’ Day is 1 April, as any fool knows. It’s much more ‘celebratory’ when I was in school because no one in school lets you forget that this is the prankster’s day. I am sure you have your own tales of how one is tricked silly by friends. But this one has got to be THE funniest one ever…
Where Have Your Ps and Qs Gone?
There’s something terribly wrong with civil society when civility becomes a thing of the past.I got around to thinking about this and other things like basic courtesy, appropriateness and decorum just today after a friend’s visit the other day.