Mummy's in the house

As you know, married life can sometimes get a little routine (and hence the lack of updates on my blog) but September came someone to break the stable monotony. I thought I did not miss her all this time being away from home but when she arrived, the all-too-familiar nagging started and that really felt like home, something that I miss. And yes, I am not ashamed to admit it–I am a mummy’s boy and I miss my mother.

Ision and I slaved two days before over cleaning the apartment and I must say it was at its cleanest when she came. On the day of my mum’s arrival, seeing no sign of her 40 minutes after her plane landed got me a little worried but it was just a crowded airport slowing things down (we all know how efficient Australians are). Seconds into our meeting it was as if we have not been apart at all and the warmth of family and motherly love penetrated me deeply.

I did not plan for a trip back to Singapore originally but seeing that air tickets are so cheap now, I booked a flight back over Chinese New Year 2010 after arranging for my mum to come. I intend to take a month off from work for my trip home so I had to save my vacation leave for that. This meant that I could only show my mum around in the weekends. I felt bad leaving her at home doing nothing other than watching television, cooking, strolling in the neighbourhood and of course stuck with someone whom she was separated from by an almost insurmountable language barrier. However I am sure she would enjoy seeing me very much when I am back home next year so conserving my days off is of utmost importance.

Did I mention cooking? Yes I did and boy did I miss home-cooked food prepared by my mum. When I took my first bite of home-cooked goodness in more than a year, my expression was one of relaxed ecstasy. It was soothing, exhilarating, warm and loving all at the same time. It was a feeling that is hard to describe and Ision thought my reaction to the food was rather amusing. It was a pity I did not take any pictures of the glorious dinners prepared by the number one chef in my heart. Here is a partial list of what my mum cooked for Ision and I.

- Pork ribs in dark soy sauce with tau pok (fried beancurd) and hard-boiled eggs
- Fried wantons stuffed with minced pork and mixed vegetables
- Claypot rice with chicken drumsticks, salted fish, Chinese sausage and carrots
- Fried vermicelli with cabbage, carrots, dried shrimps and onions
- Curry chicken Hokkien noodles with potatoes
- Pumpkin omelette
- Pork siew mais (dumplings)
- Fried fish with chilli, garlic and spring onions in a dark sauce
- Thinly-sliced pork fried with capsicum and onions
- Fried rice with Chinese sausage, crab sticks, prawns, salted fish, omelette and onions
- Minced pork ball soup with cauliflower, mushrooms, baby carrots and konnyaku
- Yang Chun noodles in black bean sauce with pork mince and steamed gai lan (Chinese broccoli) in abalone sauce
- Fried minced pork balls with cooked salted egg yolk centre
- Dry wanton egg noodles with ikan bilis (dried anchovies) soup
- Sweet and sour pork with fresh tomatoes
- Fried celery with prawns, mushrooms and onions
- Fried ngoh hiangs (minced pork and prawns with five-spice powder wrapped in beancurd skin)
- Hainanese chicken rice with steamed chicken garnished with cucumber and tomatoes

Being an avid cooker and eater, Ision naturally wanted to learn how to make some of the dishes that he relished so much and so at my request, mum dictated the ingredients and steps to make those mouth-watering treats with which I quickly filled many notebook pages. Ision told me that he has not tasted Hainanese chicken rice as delicious as the one my mum made from scratch. Well you are in luck for here is the amazingly-simple recipe:

Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 cups of jasmine rice
- 8 – 10 cloves of garlic
- Ginger (half the size of your palm)
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- Lump of rock sugar (1/3 the length of your index finger) (or 1 teaspoon of normal sugar)
- 1 cucumber
- 3 tomatoes

Steps:
1) Mash 7 cloves of garlic and ginger and form a mixture with the salt.
2) Evenly coat the chicken with the mixture and stuff the remaining bits into the chicken.
3) Fill 1/3 of a wok with water and once the it boils steam the chicken with high heat for 10 minutes.
4) Continue steaming the chicken with low heat for 20 minutes. The chicken will now be cooked.
5) Using the water in the wok (now containing juices from the chicken), steam the rice in a rice cooker. Add more water depending on how soft you want the rice to be. Taste-test the water mixture before steaming the rice and fine-tune according to taste. Just before steaming, add sugar, 3 garlic cloves and a slice of ginger into the rice.
6) Steam the rice till the water is dry and serve rice with cut chicken, garnished with cucumber slices and tomatoes.

Although I did not take pictures of the food, I did take a lot of pictures (mainly of mum) when we were out and about in Sydney. We roamed every nook of Chinatown, snaked through every cranny of Paddy’s Market, smelled flowers in the Royal Botanic Gardens, soaked in the sights along the sun-drenched Darling Harbour, posed outside the Opera House, people-watching at the Kings Cross red light district, visited The Australian Museum, strolled in Hyde Park, shopped at Paddington, explored the Sydney Fish Market and dined at a typical Aussie pub. Knowing that Sydney does not have a lot to offer to tourists (the beaches are not my mum’s thing, we did not have time for the Star City casino and I find Blue Mountains far too lame or is it simply just too far?), our visits were restricted to the city but that does not mean we did not have fun. And we have the pictures to prove it.

Frolicking in Chinatown. Mum did not expect Sydney to be so Asianized. I think that made her worry less about me being in this “foreign” country.

Spending an afternoon at Darling Harbour. Mum felt strange that Aussies love the giant gas ball so much that they picnic not in the shade but under direct sun. If they did this in Singapore she said, people will think that they are crazy.

We had to visit the red light district in Kings Cross especially when I live less than five minutes away. Nothing much was happening as we were there too early (it can get unsafe late at night with the gangs, drug addicts, drunkards and homeless people) but we did see some interesting people, if you know what I mean.

A panoramic shot with the two most famous Sydney icons taken using the new Sony camera being advertised via free shots uploaded onto the Internet. The perfect weather with the azure sky is one of the things I like most about Sydney.

Another nice shot of the Opera House. Mum loved this picture because of the intimacy between us. It was nice showing her around even if we only visited the tourist spots.

How could we let a yum cha opportunity pass with Ision off work on a Saturday? Being a very good cook, mum felt that this top-notch dim sum restaurant in Chinatown was only average. I think I agree with her to a certain extent but Ision loved it (surprise surprise).

I find mum very cute in this sort-of candid picture. We were at the Royal Botanic Gardens and were looking at all the species of flowers that we have not seen before.

Another city shot that mum liked a lot which I thought was too posed. This was taken after we witnessed a section of the bridge physically turn to one side to let tall ships pass.

The Sydney Fish Market was new to both of us and the time spent exploring it was the most enjoyable in the 16 days we were together. Mum loves to eat octopus a lot. I am not sure if that was reflected in her facial expression.

A fun-loving mum is what she is. The full length of the fish could not be captured from where I was standing (it was packed!) but it could easily be as long as her. My mum loves shopping but not in the conventional sense–she likes to shop for food, especially stuff that is not available in Singapore–what a great housewife.

When at the Fish Market, you eat lobster, plain and simple. My niece back in Singapore yearns for lobsters (having not had it before) and this picture was taken to make her drool.

Many visits to Paddy’s Markets were made to amass the ingredients used to make those yummy dishes. $270 was spent on groceries alone during her trip. In this picture, she was amazed at the size of the chilli.

Sauntering in Hyde Park and a photo op. She walks really slowly because her knees are not strong so it was hard catching up to her slow speed whenever we go out (here or back in Singapore)–she was always more than 3 steps behind me. I guess I must learn to relax more in this country famous for its laid-back lifestyle.

I took a sick day off work on Monday so that I could spend more time with mum and we visited The Australian Museum. Of course this museum was nothing compared to the Smithsonian I was at some years ago but it helped to burn a number of hours in this boring city. This picture was taken at the extinct animals exhibit and she could not help but get a little cheeky with her pose.

A long relaxed shopping trip to Paddington landed us at the Paddington Markets. You would think that a “market” would have cheap things on sale right? Well you now know why we ended up with nothing bought. Mum was impressed by the variety and design of the hand-made fashion accessories though.

This was taken on the last day hours before we went to the airport. I felt really close to her and that I would miss her a lot after she is gone. As for the pose of this picture, I have always wanted to do something like this. My mum is surprisingly light!

On the roof-top of my apartment where we could see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. They did not both appear in the picture because no one was there to take it for us and the timer shot had a very restricted angle. Nevertheless I really like this picture–looking at it instantaneously brings mum to my side again.

Many nights were spent at home watching downloaded horror movies and snacking on the couch as the Sydney night life revolves around drinking which mum doesn’t do. On one night we were watching while downloading and as soon as the movie was downloaded, we started watching it. Ah... I will miss my fellow horror movie buddy.

A snapshot of how my fridge looked like when mum was here. We had 3 major rounds of grocery-shopping which constantly stocked the fridge. Ision liked the sight of the packed fridge, something which the apartment has not seen before. I still have some of the food left untouched–better use them up soon.

The wonder chef at work. As she is quite short, the high stove meant that her arms and shoulders got tired very quickly and the aches were there throughout her trip. A mother’s love knows no bounds... And Ision should know how lucky he was to benefit from her dedication and culinary expertise.

Toiletries belonging to mum, me and Ision. This picture concisely depicts how well the three of us shared the small apartment. From the picture, how smooth do you think things ran?

Having mum living in our apartment which is strictly meant only to house two people, it got a little crowded and inconvenient at times (I did not feel this way though). With people thrown into tight quarters, friction inevitably caused frustration and things I was unhappy with happened. Fortunately it did not get out of hand and my mum’s trip ended on the same happy note it started on. We were both a little sad and misty-eyed when the last day of her trip came as I sent her off at the airport. But we will see each other again in 4 months and in no time, she will be nagging at me again to take a shower, clean up the house or something else that I will ignore.

Home-cooked food, curling up on the couch watching horror movies with the lights off, exploring new places together, my mum’s loving voice and touch. I thought I did not miss all of these–I guess this is not the first time I get myself wrong.

My first demonstration

“Gay, straight, black, white. Marriage is a civil right.”

That was one of the three sets of chants that were repeatedly heard amongst the attendees of the almost-3000-strong demonstration I took part in last Saturday. My first ever demonstration. Perhaps this is one of the “joys” of living in an open society where freedom of speech and the right to protest are respected. But if Australia were truly an open society, why was there a need to hold that particular demonstration in the first place? In case you still do not have a clue what I am fighting for, it is the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia.

You might not be aware of this but the definition of “marriage” has been re-written in major dictionaries of the world. Quoting the Merriam-Webster dictionary, here is the definition of the word.

“1a: (1) the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage
1b: the mutual relation of married persons: wedlock
1c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage
2: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; especially: the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities
3: an intimate or close union”

So before you formulate any thoughts for or against same-sex marriage, please note that the very meaning of marriage has already been redefined. But what should the proper sequence of events be? Should the acceptance of same-sex marriage in society come before or after the redefining of marriage? This question is really a litmus test that sets the difference between true democracy/the upholding of human rights and political power-play that merely gives the illusion of democracy/the upholding of human rights. The best leader a country can get is one who takes care of his or her entire country even when that very act is against popular opinion. But sadly, the majority of the world’s leaderships is nothing more than a selfish contest for the spot to be at the top. Think Nelson Mandela versus George W. Bush.

“Hey hey, ho ho. Homophobia’s gotta go.”

Before the above chant filled the air, the aforementioned demonstration began with various groups setting up stalls to canvass for the support of same-sex marriage as an immense crowd started to gather at Town Hall Square before the rousing speeches began. Although the issues that were brought up by the speakers were nothing new to the GLBTI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersex) community, it was a chance for still-ignorant passers-by to get a taste of the plight of their fellow mates. At the end of the speeches, the electrifying atmosphere in the air was ready to explode as the chanting got louder and faster. Then commenced the march to Darling Harbour, where the ruling Australian Labour Party was holding its annual conference discussing issues that the country hold dear, including the issue of same-sex marriage. The spectacle of it all was beyond anything I have seen. Placards, banners and flags, policemen stopping traffic to free the entire George Street for the demonstration, the chanting, the indignation. Enough is enough I say and there I was in the thick of it, putting action to words.

The march

A flavour of how the world stands when it comes to same-sex unions. (Click for an enlarged version)

As you can see, Australia seems to not be performing that poorly in this regard. This is especially so since last month when in the areas of taxation and superannuation (the CPF of Australia), the definition of “spouse” has been extended to include all de-facto partners, same-sex or otherwise. FYI, de-facto relationships in Australia refer to unions outside of the man/woman categorisation of marriage. Ision and I are currently by definition in a de-facto relationship automatically but we still need to keep some proof of our relationship in case it gets contested (eg. joint banking account statements, leases with both names, etc). Some Australian states also have a relationship register that formally documents de-facto partnerships in a certificate so that it becomes much easier when the legitimacy of the relationship is put into question (eg. when visiting your partner at the hospital). The state I am in (New South Wales) is to set up a relationship register soon. Discrimination in all other areas like pension, employment, housing and so on have also been abolished. Indeed, Australia seems to be doing quite OK especially for same-sex couples who do not want to have kids (it is still a very big legal hassle at the moment to make everything legitimate if two homosexuals want to start a family). This then begs the question. If there seems to be equality on almost all planes, what is stopping full equality exactly? Before you know it, more questions ensue. Does it make sense that a “legitimate” relationship can actually be placed in the shadow of doubt? Should we simply accept this unequal equality and forever hold our contented peace? With regards to the concept of equal human rights for all being tainted by politics and religion, is there an essential difference between Australia and Singapore?

“What do we want? Same-sex marriage! When do we want it? Now!”

As the chants reached our extremely touristy destination, we made so much noise and gathered so much attention (from the media and onlookers) that officials from the Labour Party conference had to come out to see what the fuss was all about. We were told that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (a Christian by faith) was having lunch when the demonstration was at its climax when it was announced that despite everything, it was decided that the ban on same-sex marriages enacted in 2004 by the homophobic John Howard government was to stay. But that did not stop 80 or so same-sex couples from getting hitched in a mass illegal wedding with real vows and a real pastor. This was really an eye-opener for me and was certainly one of the high points of my residence in Sydney so far.

At Darling Harbour

As the couples sealed their illegal marriages with kisses, I could not help but feel a little depressed that Ision was not there with me (I would make us one of those couples otherwise). Ision’s stance on marriage put simply is that there is no point in doing it if it is not legal. Of course that logic cannot be refuted but a symbolic wedding would nonetheless still hold a lot of weight in my life. Ision also made it clear that he wants us to live together for 3 years before moving on to marriage (that is understandable especially when some of his past relationships ended with love and fidelity not being issues). In addition since we both dislike children and will never have them, getting legally married is not that an urgent need for us. Again that logic sits well in my brain but my heart still pumps with unsettled fervour created by the unfair laws of the land and the impatience of wanting my love for him to be sealed in some way.

Mass Illegal Wedding

However all that has to wait. At the end of our 3 years of cohabitation (the official date being 21st June 2011), if the laws were still against same-sex marriage, we would still want to go ahead with our marriage in the British embassy (Ision holds a UK passport). And as soon as it gets legal in Australia, we will convert that British document into an Australian one (UK does not have same-sex marriages but civil unions which afford couples exactly the same rights as heterosexual marriages). It is only a matter of time before that happens for I have faith in the country I chose to live in over the one I was born in. Following the signing of that piece of paper, we will also hold a wedding ceremony in both Singapore and Australia. Of course a honeymoon trip (to my dream holiday destination, Japan) will be thrown in as well. You might be wondering why are homosexuals trying to follow a heterosexual's formula of living and going to such great lengths to battle over this concept of marriage, of which more than a third ends in divorce. But don’t all couples want the world to observe and celebrate their love for each other in an ultimate act of commitment as well as its legal recognition? Is that too straight a dream to pursue? The very thought of asking that question sets off pangs of unrest in me. Shouldn’t marriage be sugary sweet instead of something played out in a bitter battlefield?

The demonstration came to an end that weather-perfect winter afternoon three hours after it began and I returned home to be in my partner’s arms where all the angst of the day dissolved in an instant. Perhaps love is the only thing worth fighting for in this world. And it warms my heart to know that that war for us has long been won.

How well do you know me?

I have finally got my arse off the seat and created the “How well do you know me” quiz on Facebook, something that I have always wanted to do. Of all the useless and nonsensical stuff on Facebook, I think this is the most meaningful and that was why I put some effort into coming up with this twenty-question quiz. I will give the “model answers” here along with short write-ups so that all of you can understand me that much more. If you have not taken the quiz on Facebook, you can have a go here before checking out the answers.

1) At what age did I write my first song?
a) 4
b) 13
c) 17
d) 23
e) 30

In the first year of junior college when opposite-sex crushes were high in fashion, writing love notes and poems were very common. I jumped on the bandwagon and started writing songs as well. I don’t remember who I wrote the song for and where that song is right now though. 1995 - 1996 was also the time when the Taiwanese singer/song-writer 熊天平 (Panda Xiong) got famous and he was the person who ignited my love for song-writing.

2) How many long-term relationships (> 1 year) have I had?
a) 2
b) 4
c) 6
d) 8
e) 10

My first long-term relationship lasted for 7 years and many of you would know who that person is. There were a lot of small ones that lasted for several months along the way but all of them did not make the mark and in the process causing much heartaches and tears. My next one was with Ision. So far it is 2 years plus and counting!

3) Which of the following places have I lived in?
a) Queens
b) New York City
c) Brooklyn
d) New Jersey
e) The Bronx

I lived in New Jersey for about one and a half years when I was part of a government-sponsored training attachment programme in the pharmaceutical industry. Some of you answered Brooklyn and you are partly correct. I was dating a guy then who lived there and I stayed with him during the weekends. Those were the days when I would roam Manhattan streets aimlessly soaking in all the sights and sounds the island had to offer. I really miss that place!

4) What was the biggest letdown of my 4 years in university?
a) Not finding a relationship on campus
b) Not staying in a student hostel
c) Not spending more time partying/less time mugging
d) Not getting my 1st-class Honours
e) Not pursuing a music-related degree

I have been whining about this for a long time to some of my friends so they must be quite sick of hearing this. Well I only have myself to blame for I offended my research project supervisor big time and he did not give me a good grade in the end. I just needed a grade level-increase and I would have been there. Even a formal appeal amounted to nothing and I practically wasted four sacrificial years of soul-breaking hard work. The worst thing is that some of the 1st-class Honours recipients that year were quite mediocre compared to me!

5) What is the body part that I am most proud of?
a) My hard 6-pack
b) My logical brain
c) My strong thighs
d) My romantic heart
e) My soft hair

Almost all of you got this wrong and of all the wrong answers, this aggravates me the most. I know I have been obsessing over my abs ever since I got them but if you truly know me, you would know that the thing I pride myself most upon is my logical mind and how I can see things in life clearly as a result of having that. Some got this right and you deserve a pat on your backs!

6) What sort of video games do I like to play the most?
a) Sports
b) Puzzle
c) Strategy
d) Arcade
e) RPG

This is one of those trivial questions that I must throw in to make the quiz not seem so heavy. I only restarted playing computer games after getting the Xbox360 a year ago and so I do not expect many of you to know the correct answer. I used to play PC-based RPG games exclusively when I was a young teenager but found that they were too addictive and decided to stop playing altogether to concentrate on my studies. What a good boy I am!

7) What do I want most in my life currently?
a) Securing a loving relationship that lasts forever
b) Being able to buy whatever I want
c) Becoming a famous singer/songwriter
d) Sharing life with close friends
e) Having a job that I have passion for

This is the first trick question (well, sort of a trick question with the operative word being “currently”). I already have a loving relationship right now that I know will last forever (or at least that is what I will continue to strive for all my life). And since I have buried my dream of becoming a singer, the next thing would somehow have to be related to my career. Chemical Engineering was chosen not out of passion but necessity and as discontented as I am at my profession, I am also reluctant to get out of this practical comfort zone. So I guess the way to go is to make the best out of a worst-case scenario and at least work towards not sucking at my job. Some of the jobs (unrelated to music) that I can see myself doing (but not necessarily doing it)–personal trainer (low-paying unfortunately), soft-porn star (don’t be shocked…) and social escort (…because this is coming). Looking at those choices, I think I should either focus on my current job more or seriously consider branching into music as a song-writer.

8) What is my favourite colour?
a) Purple
b) Pink
c) Orange
d) Red
e) Green

This is yet another one of those trivial questions. Purple has always fascinated me because it is neither red nor blue but something that I can never really put my finger on. My favourite gem stone is amethyst because of its colour. Coincidentally it is also the gay colour.

9) What do I like to do? (arrange in an increasing order of preference)
a) Nude-beaching, karaoke, yumcha, shop, watch movies
b) Yumcha, shop, karaoke, watch movies, nude-beaching
c) Shop, yumcha, watch movies, nude-beaching, karaoke
d) Yumcha, watch movies, nude-beaching, shop, karaoke
e) Karaoke, yumcha, shop, nude-beaching, watch movies

This must be an irritating question to many but a simple way to approach it is to look at the thing you know I like to do the most. In this case it is nude-beaching. Then take note of the wording of question (increasing order of preference) and voila, you have the answer. Yes, I am a nudist (if you don’t already know) and will grab hold of any opportunity to spend some time in my own skin in nature. For the sceptics, you will never know how it feels like until you have tried it!

10) Which of the following do I identify myself with the most?
a) Narcissistic
b) Loving
c) Musically-gifted
d) Honest
e) Gay

This is not an easy question and is quite similar to the “logical brain versus hard six-pack” one. Being honest is one of the character traits that I hold dearest to my heart (I know a lot of my friends like me for that) and I cling on to that even though sometimes it borders on being blunt or tactless. Although being gay is extremely important (see the last question), being honest goes to the very core of my being. Heterosexuals can be humans but I cannot be human if I am not honest. That is how I live my life.

11) When I was a child, what did I want to be when I grew up?
a) Engineer
b) Singer
c) Doctor
d) Policeman
e) I never thought of this question

This is one of those questions that I find strange because it is so over-asked yet something that I have never asked or thought about myself. Perhaps growing up in a poor family has made me such a pragmatic person that dreams got squeezed out of the equation. What could earn the most dough would be the only way to go. This teaching thus left no room for such a question to be asked, let alone answered.

12) Which Singaporean food do I like the most?
a) Po-piah (unfried version of the spring roll)
b) Roti prata (flat bread cooked on a hot plate)
c) Ba ku teh (pork ribs in herbal soup)
d) Indian rojak (deep-fried dough in various forms)
e) Char kway teow (fried noodles in dark soy sauce)

When it comes to my strong discipline in life, food is my Achilles heel. This explains why I am slowly losing my lean abdominal definition (it is still good but not as good as before). And being in a city where authentic Singaporean food is very hard to find, you can imagine how much I miss po-piahs. I saw them being sold for $6 each in a Chinese New Year fair and I thought it was too expensive (I was also too full after having just eaten at that time) and decided not to buy it (big regret for I never saw it being sold ever since. Sigh).

13) Which singer do I think is the most talented?
a) Jay Chou
b) Faye Wong
c) Leehom Wang
d) Tanya Chua
e) David Tao

The operative word in this question is “talented”. Faye is my idol but Jay is by far the most talented of the lot. He created a genre of music that other song-writers emulated and much credit has to be given to him. It is not easy to be a trend-setter nowadays in this increasingly “been there, done that” world. By the way, I heard that Faye is making a comeback. If you have any credible sources to support that, please keep me informed!

14) Which of the following is not what I add to my sentences?
a) Preees-ah
b) F**king hell
c) Alamak
d) Harooo-oh
e) Aiyah

Yes, I do swear but only when I am at home or when no one can hear me (when I am in public). It is usually expressed out of frustration and is not directed at anyone–seeing that I have not really scolded anybody in my life before (is this a normal thing?), I certainly cannot imagine myself swearing at someone in his or her face! The answer to this question is "Alamak".

15) If today is my last day on Earth, what would I do?
a) Party all day long
b) Eat the most sinful food possible
c) Spend all the money in my bank
d) Spend it with Ision
e) Spend it with Ision and my closest friends/family

Is this a trick question? I will leave that up to you. Of course I would want to spend it with my closest friends and family if I have the time. But seeing that it is my last day on Earth (presumably not a scenario of inter-planetary migration), I would want to spend it in Ision’s arms. Just cuddling, till my time is up.

16) Approximately how many times do I check my Facebook every day?
a) 10
b) 20
c) 30
d) 40
e) 50

This was written before Facebook got unblocked at work. I am sure the number is greater now (it was 20 times per day). Well there is nothing more to say other than the fact that Facebook in my opinion is an extremely good way to keep in touch with all my friends especially when I am so far away from them (although I must say that using them to play games is a bit silly).

17) At what age did I come out of the closet?
a) 16
b) 18
c) 20
d) 22
e) 24

This is another one of those questions regarding age that most people will get it wrong (in hindsight, I should not have added them). I came out of the closet when I was still in the army (in my second year) and it involves a long story that I have told a lot of my friends. But I only came out to ALL my army platoon mates during one of the last reservists I attended. They took it extremely well (seeing that they are “Hokkien pengs”) and even wanted invitations to my wedding! But I know life would have been hellish for me if I had come out to them at 20. Maturity and sense need time to develop.

18) What is my biggest concern at work right now?
a) Too many projects to handle with too little time
b) Not fitting into the culture and losing out
c) Workplace being so far from where I live
d) Company is not offering good career progression
e) Irritating colleagues that affect my daily mood

This is a follow-up question to question 7 (if you got that one right). All the choices above are things that I am concerned with right now but only one of them is the biggest. Seeing that I have decided to make the best out of the worst-case scenario, I would naturally desire a career with good progression. Right now my company is supposedly going through a tough patch because of the economy and all external training as well as pay increments are cut (the poor economy is a common excuse for cutting cost). Being a contractor seconded so far away from the head office, I constantly feel left out as well. However I see this job only as a stepping stone (since I urgently needed to settle down with some sort of employment right after I arrived in Sydney) and will definitely move on in one to two years’ time. As to what to move to, it is still up in the air at the moment.

19) What genre of movies do I like the least?
a) Thriller
b) Drama
c) Horror
d) Romance
e) Comedy

This is the last of my trick questions (which is not exactly one if you read the question carefully). I find 99% of all comedies slapstick at worst and cliché at best. Maybe I have a more sophisticated or different sense of humour but most Hollywood productions fail to impress me. That is why I will never pay good money to watch one at the cinema. There is one comedy coming up soon that I want to watch though (on my computer of course). Bruno.

20) How important is being gay to me?
a) Extremely important
b) Very important
c) Important
d) Doesn't matter
e) Not important

I feel that one’s sexual orientation impacts on almost every facade of one’s life (possibly only the spiritual aspect is unaffected–even this is debatable). If you were straight, imagine yourself waking up tomorrow and realising that you are gay. How will your life change? If you were married, how would you handle your spouse? If you had kids, what would you tell them? If sexual urges arose, who would you go to? How will the dynamics of all your other relationships change? Basically your whole life turns upside down. So if you ask yourself the same question, being straight would be extremely important to you as well. Gays who say that their sexuality is not of primary importance to them should all go through the above thought process.

So do you now think that you know me much better? By the way, no one passed this quiz on Facebook thus far and the best score is 45% (I must admit it is a tough one). In retrospect, I should have made three versions of the quiz–easy, moderate and hard! Anyway, what you learn at the end of a test is the important thing, not the results and this applies to everything else in life as well. See how wise I am? All credits go to my brain, not my 6-pack!

A traveller’s tale (part 3)

Finally the third installment of my tale. Do you know this is my first official look at Australia from the perspective of a tourist? I thought I was not a fan of travelling but this trip has certainly put new ideas in my mind.

After a few days on the road, we were back in Melbourne city with this customary city shot. The weather was largely nice–people say that it is slightly worse than Sydney’s but I do not agree.

There are plenty of interesting architecture as well as sculptures littered everywhere in the city. Melbourne is so much better a place to live in compared to Sydney (safer, cleaner, less scary, richer in culture and people seemed warmer). That was a dog-pig-like mini statue by the street I was sitting on. Notice the Chanel store? Yingying queued for an hour to buy a $3000+ bag for a friend! I simply cannot fathom why do people need those things? We went for dinner first instead of waiting with her.

We did a lot of walking around in the city.
This is yet another one of our “posed” candid shots.
There's something sexy about the picture that I can't put on my finger on.

Dinner at Singapore Chom Chom before watching "Angels and Demons" (a.k.a a lousy movie). They had the entire Newton Hawker Centre menu in one single restaurant and it was mighty impressive! It was a real gem-of-an-eatery as I really miss Singapore food. The rest were not very impressed though because of the price (especially Yingying). Here in close-up was my yummy dry prawn noodle with pork ribs. The soup (or should I say coloured MSG solution) was bad though.

We watched the musical “Wicked” at the Regent Theatre. It had a contrived plot as it was the prequel to Wizard of Oz and much too kiddy for my taste. Yingying fell asleep many times during the show! The ticket price included a one-course meal at a nearby restaurant with waiters who had no concept of picture-taking and forgot orders!

One of our numerous self-taken pictures (we all suffer the fate of narcissism at times, some more often than others, hehe). This was one of us taking a picture of ourselves–yes, we had a lot of time.

A capture of what I saw during the ghost train-ride that we had to take to enter the Dracula’s dinner cabaret show–a unique experience.
I missed much of the joy of the ride as a result of being too pre-occupied with taking pictures, which is a very common mistake made by tourists.

$16 gone and in exchange was this picture with the cabaret cast and staff. Everyone was in character which made our time there very enjoyable.
The performance was unexpectedly good too, especially that of the guy with the mop-like hair.

At the Queen Victoria Markets–a very small one compared to Paddy’s Market in Sydney (think Bugis Village in Singapore but with plenty of space to breathe). However this place was more interesting because...

...that was where I bought this venus flytrap!
Its growth right now is very stunted because it is winter but I am still giving it a lot of attention as if it were an animal (my new pet).
I hope the plant grows to maturity in time for it to eat up the summer files!

At the beach in St. Kilda–Ision thinks that we look like Hong Kong movie stars in this picture! I wonder who he is referring to...

We visited the Crown Casino where photo-taking inside was prohibited.
As you can see, it was a very cold night but it was a very good one for BK, who won $225 and gave us a dessert treat of cakes and coffee!

The hardworking me–I completed a blog entry (the one before "A traveller's tale") during the spare time I had (while waiting for others to finish shopping at the factory outlet mall).
I must work hard for my faithful blog fans!

So this concludes my tale in which I spent much quality time with my closest friends. It is like yesterday when Yingying was KNN-ing away with Meilian and I busy taking pictures of ourselves. Ah... good memories. With this tale now nicely wrapped up, these memories will forever be stored tidily in my mind, ready to be refreshed whenever I visit this blog.

A traveller’s tale (part 2)

Not to be outdone in the face of Meilian's slew of uploaded pictures, here is the second part of my tale. I know there are not many but do know that I only put what I think is pure gold here.

We stayed at very good (and reasonably-priced) apartments and hotels while we were on the road and this one even had a jacuzzi.
I was the only one who soaked in it though (it took an hour to fill)!

Sunrise along the Great Ocean Road and we made it in time!
It was not easy when Yingying had to complete her face every morning!

The magnificent Twelve Apostles.
It was a quiet and nippy morning but the view was breathtaking.

This is my favourite picture of the Twelve Apostles.
It is good enough to use as a desktop wallpaper.
I particularly like the foggy horizon.

Yet another view of the Twelve Apostles.
We did not manage to count all twelve of them.
Did we even try in the first place? If not, we should have!

Being straight for a second, even if it was only Yingying (hehe)!
During the trip she commented that I am the only guy who can touch her at will without BK batting an eyelid. What a privilege!

We even managed to catch a rainbow
which is something that always cheers me up.
I am sure it has nothing to do with being gay (how ironic).

One of the many great views along the road.
Many thanks to our tireless driver BK!
There was a long stretch where he had to drive in pitch darkness!

A classic Jetstar Star Jumper pose. I have entered the Jetstar photography competition with this picture. Hope I will win something!

Of course I could not resist a bare-chested photo op, even if the cold was a little much. One of us had to always stand guard by the road to warn the others of incoming traffic! It was fun!

Just exactly how cold it was.
(Yingying’s fantasies must have been running wild
when she was taking this picture…)

Our desperate attempt to be models...

...Only to break down into our usual fit.
Thanks for such an enjoyable and laughter-filled trip guys!

Watch out for the last installment, which will come very soon. In the meantime I will plan for my next holiday. Will it be domestic or international...?